Writer's Reference 6e & MLA Quick Reference Card [Plastic Comb]

Diana Hacker (Author), Barbara Fister (Author)

Product Details

• Plastic Comb: 488 pages
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's; 6th edition (November 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312465319
• ISBN-13: 978-0312465315
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Standard for Writing Well, January 5, 2009

By 

Just Anonymous (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Writer's Reference 6e & MLA Quick Reference Card (Plastic Comb)

An earlier edition of this book was required for one of my undergraduate english courses. At the time, I thought it was the best writer's reference ever written.

The reason it's so good is because it is both designed very well and has great content that is simple to understand. Sometimes, one of the most frustrating aspects of writing is the laborious process of going through a reference to find a rule that you need to apply and then understanding the rule to apply it correctly. The Hacker's guide makes almost every rule and example easy to find. First, it is spiral bound so a writer can open the page and it lays flat where most other writer's references are tightly bound stiff small books that refuse to stay open. Second, this book is tabbed with special tabs for punctuation, grammar, and an MLA quick reference guide. So, the tabs and the spiral bound make this book's design a winner. In addition to the ease of use through tabs and the spiral binding, this book is filled with the latest rules of using the english language in written form. It is also filled with real world examples that illustrate the proper usage of a particular rule. Overall its the best writer's reference out there.

One thing, the book alone will not make you write better, but it will give you the tools and if you spend time practicing, your writing will improve. My writing still needs quite a bit of work but thanks to Diana Hacker, I can generally get the point across in my writing.

I loved the original Hacker's guide so much that I purposefully picked up a Writer's Reference 6th edition recently and I must say, it has only gotten better over the years with sturdier spiral binding and plastic covered tabs that are considerably more durable than the first edition. I picked up the new edition because after almost 20 years, I figured some of the rules of english had changed just a bit and I wanted the latest reference. Overall a wonderful product.

Yes, it is expensive but don't think of this as a paperback or spiral bound workbook; this is the "standard" english writer's reference text on the market. You will not find a better product out there. If you're writing a PHD or Master's thesis, get this. If you're an undergrad trying to make it through an english class and your professor recommended another text, get this one in addition to whatever he/she requires. You will not be dissappoined and if you're at all like me, you will wind up reaching for your Hacker's Guide, as we in-the-know call it, very often.

PLEASE NOTE:
There are now several versions of this guide, one for ESL students, one for Literature students, one for Academic writers, and one with some additional exercises. You can find them all at Amazon if you dig a bit - just wanted to pass that detail along so that you would get the one you need/want.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Writing Resource, February 8, 2008

By 

S. Donaldson Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Writer's Reference 6e & MLA Quick Reference Card (Plastic Comb)

This Book is the best writing reference book I have ever used. Just about every writing situation is explained and gives great ideas and provides alternative methods for writing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Writer's Reference, an academic essential, January 15, 2009

By 

Vida L. Staples "university student" (Gonzales, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writer's Reference 6e & MLA Quick Reference Card (Plastic Comb)

This book is an absolute essential for academic writing and covers MLA, APA and CMS styles of writng, and includes grammar, punctuation, research, structure, references and much more. It is a required reference for my University Academic Writing course, and is an invaluable asset for composing and writing well structured, cohesive academic papers. I can't recommend it highly enough, it is a huge time saver when putting a collegiate level paper together. I got it through Amazon.com, and was very satisfied with the book and delighted with the price.