Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Great for STARTERS only! April 22, 2002
45 out of 47 found this review helpful
Good little book, but I'll take her full version any day for upper COLLEGE LEVEL and grad school level work ("A Writer's Reference"), even at twice the price. It's been worth every dollar I paid for it and then some! I've used many ref guides: Ms. Hacker outstrips them all by light years.
But this little guy is very handy, and will get you where you need to go with citations and such as long as you're into basics. PERFECT for high schoolers and for freshmen/sophs in college, but beyond that: GET THE BIG BOOK ("A Writer's Reference")! It's too good to pass up!
 Excellent, succinct coverage of style and grammar February 7, 1999
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
I highly recommend this manual--it is very useful for undergraduates, graduate students, and those in the professional world. Some handbooks cover a lot of material but tend to be bulky and intimidating. Hacker's manual, in contrast, is clear, succinct, and non-intimidating. It covers the fine points of grammar, style, essay and research paper writing, and MLA documentation. If I had to recommend one reference book in English style and grammar to own, I would choose this one. I am a Graduate Student in the M.A. English program at Holy Names College and this manual is helping me get through the Program! Note: if you have a few more dollars to spend, get A Writer's Reference. Third Edition. by Hacker...It is an expanded version of the Pocket Style Manual, adding such subjects as ESL trouble spots, preparing Outlines, etc. It also comes with helpful tab dividers for easy reference use.
A must have for any student! Do not pass up! February 28, 2003
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
I have taught high school junior English for 16 years, and Hacker's manual is the best I've found...by far. First, since many schools have abandoned grammar altogether, many students have little grasp on basic skills. This manual allows students to take a refresher course, complete with detailed examples. Also, this manual helps students with tedious writing strategies that are not taught in some schools. For example, voice, tense, person and tone are all covered, as well as transitions, introductions and effective conclusions. It's easy to read and understand. Finally, in the area of research, MLA, APA and Chicago are all covered. In this fashion, one can compare and easily see the differences each style requires. Often, a student is taking 3 different classes that require 3 different formats. This book succinctly transcends from one to the next. An invaluable section is that of citations. It teaches how to cite, how to avoid plagiarism, and also how to integrate quotations into your paper. Many students don't know how to paraphrase, as some teachers allow copying straight from the encyclopedia to the notebook paper! This book show you how!Finally, for the visually dependent, Hacker includes a sample page of a title page,works cited page, and a first page. A final note in this computer age, Hacker keeps up with the Internet and helps the student with any and all websites and databases. This alone is invaluable. Be sure you get the most updated version. This is the third edition, and I have all my juniors use it. I call it our "mini bible."
The very best March 11, 1999
17 out of 23 found this review helpful
Oh how I wish I had seen this when I was eighteen (I guess it did not exist then!)....I would recommned this without the slightest hesitation....if you hate bulky style guides you need this one....packs a punch in the two hundred odd pages that 'feel' like fifty!Awesome
This is a wonderful teaching resource April 30, 1998
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I require that all of my freshman composition students purchase this book. It is a concise and well organized resource for beginning writers, as well as for more advanced academic and independant writers. It is a handy reference for several standard modes of documentation and for style basics.
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