Rules for Writers

by Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers

Overview

Rules for Writers supports students from a wide range of backgrounds with accessible explanations, step-by-step advice, class-tested examples, and opportunities to practice and build their writing, grammar, and research skills—all at a tremendous value.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781319244255
Publisher:	Bedford/St. Martin's
Publication date:	10/11/2021
Edition description:	Tenth Edition
Pages:	624
Sales rank:	221,123
Product dimensions:	5.74(w) x 8.05(h) x 1.05(d)

About the Author

Diana Hacker personally class-tested her handbooks with nearly four thousand students over thirty-five years at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland, where she was a member of the English faculty. Hacker handbooks, built on innovation and on a keen understanding of the challenges facing student writers, are the most widely adopted in America. Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, include The Bedford Handbook, Ninth Edition (2014); A Writer’s Reference, Eighth Edition (2015); Rules for Writers, Eighth Edition (2016); and A Pocket Style Manual, Seventh Edition (2015).
 
Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches writing and mentors new writing teachers at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.  She led Harvard’s Expository Writing Program for twenty years, directing the first-year writing program and establishing Harvard’s WAC program. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Her articles "Revision Strategies of Student and Experienced Writers" and "Responding to Student Writing" are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition.  Her recent work involves a longitudinal study of college writing to understand the role writing plays in undergraduate education. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and is coauthor of Fields of Reading, Tenth Edition (2013).

 

Table of Contents

The Writing Process
1  Explore and plan.
a Assess the writing situation.
b Explore your subject.
c Draft a working thesis.
d Sketch a plan.
2  Draft the paper.
a Draft an introduction that includes a
thesis.
b Draft the body.
c Draft a conclusion.
3  Make global revisions; then revise sentences.
a Make global revisions: Think Big.
b Revise and edit sentences.
c Proofread the manuscript.
d Use software tools wisely.
e Manage your files.
STUDENT ESSAY
4  Build effective paragraphs.
a Focus on a main point.
b Develop the main point.
c Choose a suitable pattern of organization.
d Make paragraphs coherent.
e Adjust paragraph length.
 
Academic Writing
5  Writing about texts
a Read actively: Annotate the text.
SAMPLE ANNOTATED ARTICLE
SAMPLE ANNOTATED ADVERTISEMENT
b Sketch an outline.
c Summarize to demonstrate understanding.
d Analyze to demonstrate critical thinking.
e Sample student essay: Analysis of an article
SAMPLE ANALYSIS PAPER
6  Constructing reasonable arguments
a Examine your issue’s social and intellectual
contexts.
b View your audience as a panel of jurors.
c Establish credibility and state your position.
d Back up your thesis with persuasive lines of argument.
e Support your claims with specific evidence.
f Anticipate objections; counter opposing arguments.
g Build common ground.
SAMPLE ARGUMENT PAPER
7  Evaluating arguments
a Distinguish between reasonable and fallacious argumentative tactics.
b Distinguish between legitimate and unfair emotional appeals.
c Judge how fairly a writer handles opposing views.  
   
Clarity
8  Prefer active verbs.
a Active versus passive verbs
b Active versus be verbs
c Subject that names the actor
9  Balance parallel ideas.
a Parallel ideas in a series
b Parallel ideas presented as pairs
c Repetition of function words
10  Add needed words.
a In compound structures
b that
c In comparisons
d a, an, and the
11  Untangle mixed constructions.
a Mixed grammar
b Illogical connections
c is when, is where, and reason . . . is because
12  Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers.
a Limiting modifiers
b Misplaced phrases and clauses
c Awkwardly placed modifiers
d Split infinitives
e Dangling modifiers
13  Eliminate distracting shifts.
a Point of view (person, number)
b Verb tense
c Verb mood, voice
d Indirect to direct questions or quotations
14  Emphasize key ideas.
a Coordination and subordination
b Choppy sentences
c Ineffective or excessive coordination
d Ineffective subordination
e Excessive subordination
f Other techniques
15  Provide some variety.
a Sentence openings
b Sentence structures
c Inverted order
16  Tighten wordy sentences.
a Redundancies
b Unnecessary repetition
c Empty or inflated phrases
d Simplifying the structure
e Reducing clauses to phrases, phrases to single
words
17  Choose appropriate language.
a Jargon
b Pretentious language, euphemisms,
“doublespeak”
c Slang, regional expressions, nonstandard
English
d Levels of formality
e Sexist language
f Offensive language
18  Find the exact words.
a Connotations
b Specific, concrete nouns
c Misused words
d Standard idioms
e Clichés
f Figures of speech
Grammar
19  Repair sentence fragments.
a Subordinate clauses
b Phrases
c Other fragmented word groups
d Acceptable fragments
20  Revise run-on sentences.
a Correction with coordinating conjunction
b Correction with semicolon, colon, or dash
c Correction by separating sentences
d Correction by restructuring
21  Make subjects and verbs agree.
a Standard subject-verb combinations
b Words between subject and verb
c Subjects joined with and
d Subjects joined with or, nor, either . . . or,
or neither . . . nor
e Indefinite pronouns
f Collective nouns
g Subject following verb
h Subject, not subject complement
i who, which, and that
j Words with plural form, singular meaning
k Titles of works, company names, words
mentioned as words, gerund phrases
22  Make pronouns and antecedents agree.
a Singular with singular, plural with plural
(indefinite pronouns, generic nouns)
b Collective nouns
c Antecedents joined with and
d Antecedents joined with or, nor, either . . . or,
or neither . . . nor
23  Make pronoun references clear.
a Ambiguous or remote reference
b Broad reference of this, that, which, and it
c Implied antecedents
d Indefinite use of they, it, and you
e who for persons, which or that for things
24  Distinguish between pronouns such as I and me.
a Subjective case for subjects and subject
complements
b Objective case for objects
c Appositives
d Pronoun following than or as
e we or us before a noun
f Subjects and objects of infinitives
g Pronoun modifying a gerund
25  Distinguish between who and whom.
a In subordinate clauses
b In questions
c As subjects or objects of infinitives
26  Choose adjectives and adverbs with care.
a Adjectives to modify nouns
b Adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives,
and other adverbs
c good and well, bad and badly
d Comparatives and superlatives
e Double negatives
27  Choose appropriate verb forms, tenses, and
moods in standard English.
a Irregular verbs
b lie and lay
c -s (or -es) endings
d -ed endings
e Omitted verbs
f Verb tense
g Subjunctive mood
 
Multilingual Writers and ESL Challenges
28  Verbs
a Appropriate form and tense
b Passive voice
c Base form after a modal
d Negative verb forms
e Verbs in conditional sentences
f Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives
29  Articles
a Articles and other noun markers
b When to use the
c When to use a or an
d When not to use a or an
e No articles with general nouns
f Articles with proper nouns
30  Sentence structure
a Linking verb between a subject and its
complement
b A subject in every sentence
c Repeated nouns or pronouns with the same
grammatical function
d Repeated objects, adverbs in adjective
clauses
e Mixed constructions with although
or because
f Placement of adverbs
g Present participles and past participles
h Order of cumulative adjectives
31  Prepositions and idiomatic expressions
a Prepositions showing time and place
b Noun (including -ing form) after a
preposition
c Common adjective + preposition
combinations
d Common verb + preposition combinations
Punctuation
32  The comma
a Independent clauses joined with and, but, etc.
b Introductory elements
c Items in a series
d Coordinate adjectives
e Nonrestrictive elements
f Transitions, parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, contrasts
g Direct address, yes and no, interrogative tags, interjections
h he said, etc.
i Dates, addresses, titles, numbers
j To prevent confusion
33  Unnecessary commas
a Between compound elements that are not independent clauses
b Between a verb and its subject or object
c Before the first or after the last item in a series
d Between cumulative adjectives, an adjective and a noun, or an adverb and an adjective
e Before and after restrictive or mildly parenthetical elements
f Before essential concluding adverbial elements
g After a phrase beginning an inverted sentence
h Other misuses
34  The semicolon
a Between independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction
b Between independent clauses linked with a transitional expression
c In a series containing internal punctuation
d Misuses
35  The colon
a Before a list, an appositive, or a quotation
b Between independent clauses
c Conventional uses
d Misuses
36  The apostrophe
a Possessive nouns
b Possessive indefinite pronouns
c Contractions
d Not for plural numbers, letters, abbreviations, words mentioned as words
e Misuses
37  Quotation marks
a Direct quotations
b Quotation within a quotation
c Titles of short works
d Words as words
e With other punctuation marks
f Misuses
38  End punctuation
a The period
b The question mark
c The exclamation point
39  Other punctuation
a The dash
b Parentheses
c Brackets
d The ellipsis mark
e The slash
 
Mechanics
40  Abbreviations
a Titles with proper names
b Familiar abbreviations
c Conventional abbreviations
d Latin abbreviations
e Inappropriate abbreviations
41  Numbers
a Spelling out
b Using numerals
42  Italics
a Title of works
b Names of ships, spacecraft, and aircraft
c Foreign words
d Words as words, letters as letters, numbers as numbers
43  Spelling
a Spelling rules
b The dictionary
c Words that sound alike
d Commonly misspelled words
44  The hyphen
a Compound words
b Hyphenated adjectives
c Fractions and compound numbers
d With certain prefixes and suffixes
e To avoid ambiguity or to separate awkward double or triple letters
f Division of words and electronic addresses
45  Capitalization
a Proper vs. common nouns
b Titles with proper names
c Titles and subtitles of works
d First word of a sentence
e First word of a quoted sentence
f First word after a colon
g Abbreviations
 
Grammar Basics
46  Parts of speech
a Nouns
b Pronouns
c Verbs
d Adjectives
e Adverbs
f Prepositions
g Conjunctions
h Interjections
47  Sentence patterns
a Subjects
b Verbs, objects, and complements
c Pattern variations
48  Subordinate word groups
a Prepositional phrases
b Verbal phrases
c Appositive phrases
d Absolute phrases
e Subordinate clauses
49  Sentence types
a Sentence structures
b Sentence purposes
 
Document Design
50  Principles of document design
a Selecting appropriate format options
b Using headings to guide readers
c Using lists to guide readers
d Adding visuals that support your purpose
51  Academic formatting
52  Business formatting
a Using established conventions for business letters
b Writing effective resumes and cover letters
c Writing clear and concise memos
d Writing effective e-mail messages
 
Research
53  Conducting research
a Posing questions worth exploring
b Mapping out a search strategy
c Searching a database or consulting a print index to locate articles
d Consulting the library’s catalog to locate books
e Using a variety of online tools to locate other sources
f Using other search tools
g Conducting field research
54  Evaluating sources
a Determining how a source might contribute to your writing
b Selecting sources worth your time and attention
c Selecting appropriate versions of online sources
d Reading with an open mind and a critical eye
e Assessing Web sources with special care
55  Managing information; avoiding plagiarism
a Maintaining a working bibliography
b Keeping track of source materials
c Avoiding unintentional plagiarism
 
Writing papers in MLA style
56  Supporting a thesis
a Forming a working thesis
b Organizing ideas with a rough outline
c Using sources to inform and support your argument
57  Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
a Citing quotations and borrowed ideas
b Enclosing borrowed language in quotation marks
c Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
58  Integrating sources
a Using quotations appropriately
b Using signal phrases to integrate sources
c Synthesizing sources
59  Documenting sources in MLA style
a MLA in-text citations
b MLA list of works cited
c MLA information notes (optional)
60  MLA manuscript format; student research process and sample paper
a MLA manuscript format
b Highlights of one student’s research process
c Sample MLA research paper
 
Writing papers in APA style
61  Supporting a thesis
a Forming a working thesis
b Organizing ideas
c Using sources to inform and support your argument
62  Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
a Citing quotations and borrowed ideas
b Enclosing borrowed language in quotation marks
c Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
63  Integrating sources
a Using quotations appropriately
b Using signal phrases to integrate sources
c Synthesizing sources
64  Documenting sources in APA style
a APA in-text citations
b APA list of works cited
65  APA manuscript format; sample paper
a APA manuscript format
b Sample MLA research paper

Editorial Reviews

"Too many handbooks are absolutely cluttered. I appreciate Rules for Writers for its simplicity and ease of use."

— Allegra Blake, Central Michigan University

"My students are busier than ever before. I like that Rules is compact enough for them to have in their backpacks at all times. They also benefit from the always-available online help."

— Lisa Beckelhimer, University of Cincinnati

From the Publisher