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The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing (Paperback)

~ (Author) "CONCISION, leanness of words, is a natural place to begin because wordiness is so common in student writing and because (unlike losing weight) being concise..." (more)
Key Phrases: pompous style, conjunctive adverbs, linking verbs, The Discourses, United States, American Constitution (more...)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A worthy successor to Strunk and White. . . . Highly recommended. -- Choice, April 2004

Simply the best guide to clear and effective writing since Strunk and White. Indispensable for students. -- Terry Nardin, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Product Description

Engagingly written and illustrated with scores of telling examples, this plainspoken how-to book for college writers identifies those qualities that most typically distinguish good writing from bad and provides practical measures for avoiding pitfalls.

Included are do's and don'ts for achieving concision, clarity, and flow, as well as pointers on using punctuation, writing gracefully, citing sources, and structuring persuasive writing.

Championing "the plain style" with a keen appreciation for the uses to which language can be put—including abuses to which it is prone—The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing is a guide that never fails to remind readers why good writing matters so much in the first place, in college and beyond.

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Product Details

Paperback: 103 pages
Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company (September 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0872205738
ISBN-13: 978-0872205734
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,669 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#32 in Books > Reference > Words & Language > Rhetoric
#49 in Books > Reference > Education > College Guides

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
CONCISION, leanness of words, is a natural place to begin because wordiness is so common in student writing and because (unlike losing weight) being concise isn't really so hard. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pompous style, conjunctive adverbs, linking verbs, college essays, inexperienced writers

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Discourses, United States, American Constitution, Julius Caesar, Robin Dunbar, The Trouble, Becoming Human, Edward Krupat, Ian Tattersall, John Locke, Lewis Thomas, Oliver Sacks, Second Treatise of Government, Second World War

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Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 57 books:

The Trouble with Science by Prof. Robin Dunbar on 4 pages
Becoming Human: Evolution and Human Uniqueness by Ian Tattersall on page 17, page 45, and page 80
Hamlet in Purgatory by Stephen Greenblatt in Front Matter, and page 35
Gendered Anthropology (European Association of Social Anthropologists) by T. Del Valle in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon on page 52, and Back Matter

See all 57 books this book cites

1 book cites this book:

Swapping Lies! Deception in the Workplace by Marc A. Bringman on page 304

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

The New Oxford Guide to Writing by Thomas S. Kane

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	92% buy the item featured on this page: The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing 4.4 out of 5 stars (15) $7.50
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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hip, Handy, and Highly Literate, November 13, 2003

By A Customer

I first encountered "Nuts and Bolts" several years ago, when it was just a web-site. Back then, Yahoo! gave it one of their "cool sites" awards (complete with cute little sunglasses.) It became such a hit on the web, Hackett decided to give Professor Harvey a publishing contract.

Its great that they did, because the other college writing handbooks are either deadly dull or sprouting whiskers. Nuts and Bolts is neither dry nor bewhiskered -- it is hip, handy, and highly literate. This new book could (and should) evict Strunk and White, Turabian, Chicago Style Book, and all the other has-beens and never-weres as the one book every college student (yes, including science majors) should carry in their book bag. (Dissertation-writers may still need Chicago for their fine brush-work, but everyone else will find this jack-of-all-topics addresses most high-school and college needs.)

What's so great about this book? Essentially, it provides one-stop shopping for the essentials of good college term-paper writing -- usually dispensed in travel-sized doses of only three or four pages.

Nuts and Bolts presumes little, but teaches much. It rides no high horses, grinds no axes, curries no favors. Yet it is both idiot- and pedant -proof. Never written an essay before, but want to know what one is? Nuts and Bolts will tell you, without making you feel stupid for having asked. (Enlightening but non-overwhelming flashback to Montaigne included). Want to know what good sentences look like? (hint: active verbs) How to cite a "blog" in an essay? (take that, Strunk and White!) "Nuts and Bolts" does all this and (much) more while always remembering that brevity is the soul of pedagogy.

Finally, though it crisply marches student essays from the first head-scratch to the last push of the "print" button, its elegant writing and efficient layout make Nuts and Bolts ideal for sustained soaks or surgical strikes as needs dictate. Perfect example: Nuts and Bolts provides side-by-side comparisons of how each of the three major citation-systems expect students to format books, articles, websites (etc.) in their bibliographies and footnotes. A veritable god-send for the student triple-majoring in English Lit, Psychology, and Bio!

This book is written so clearly, and presumes so little background on the part of its reader (Professor Harvey has obviously studied the average scantily-trained college student in its native habitat) that you almost don't realize how supremely intelligent it is. Though it will probably mostly be assigned for remedial purposes, the book is so engagingly written it will inspire even very good writers -- teachers and professors included -- to carry it around in their own soft-sider brief cases. Adios, Strunk and White. Hello, Nuts and Bolts.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cure for Mediocre Writing, October 5, 2005

By	SCOTT A. MACPHEE (Coeur d'Alene, ID United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I use this book in my AP Language and Composition class. My Seniors suffer all the typical problems . . . wordiness, imprecise use of language, poor introductions and conclusions, and weak transitions. Nuts and Bolts addresses all of these, and does so in a clear, convincing manner.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to tighten his writing.

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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Rate Guide to Writing, October 20, 2003

By	Crazy Mel W "crazymel" (San Marcos, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I have taught English at the college level since 1989 and spend a great deal of time treating just the same errors that this text redresses. If you are an English instructor, I would highly encourage you to buy this book and consider adopting it for your classes. If you seek to write better prose, it would behoove you to buy this book, read it, and put its lessons into practice. Michael Harvey writes clearly and does not ask you to do anything stupid. I have never found a book that does that. Believe me, I have looked.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars not high school friendly
I was very disappointed in this product after purchasing it for my 11th grader. The book is an ode to the authors intelligence; lots and lots of unnecessary explanations that... Read more

Published 14 days ago by Tutoringmom

3.0 out of 5 stars Handy
Online study is nice but it is good to have an actual book to leaf through.

Published 1 month ago by Verla Miller

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential book for college and business writing
This is an essential gift book for any student. Really, don't send someone to high school or college without it. Read more

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5.0 out of 5 stars Should be bundled with high school diplomas
As a graduate student in Psychology I get to read and correct mountains of papers from intro-level classes. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Andy Knapp

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit sparse in the spine
This is a helpful book, but lacks some key aspects needed in college level English classes. Example: paraphrasing is not covered. Quotes are covered extensively though. Read more

Published 20 months ago by D. Wigal

5.0 out of 5 stars Surpasses Strunk and White
I'm a fan of The Elements of Style. I still have the students in my freshman composition class read it each year for its clear, concise guidelines to writing with style... Read more

Published on October 27, 2007 by oddsfish

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent little book
The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing goes over the fundamentals of good essay writing such as concision, clarity, flow, punctuation, and topic sentence for a paragraph and so on... Read more

Published on July 16, 2007 by Blue Sky

5.0 out of 5 stars Big help for college
Anyone who wants a no nonsense approach for how to write (in general), needs this book. It teaches you how to write clearly and concisely and cuts through all the garbage. Read more

Published on May 21, 2007 by D. Mroz

5.0 out of 5 stars I should have gotten this book when I first started college!!
I love this book! It has helped me so much in my writing. I used to get C's on my essays and research papers and now I get all A's! Read more

Published on April 22, 2007 by Lauren Harrell

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
1st time in college? Get this book. It hepled me out and it will help you.

Published on April 10, 2007 by Frankie Jenkins

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