A Canadian Writer's Reference with 2020 APA and 2021 MLA Updates
Seventh Edition ©2021 Diana Hacker; Nancy Sommers
Authors
-
Diana Hacker
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 A Writer's Reference, Eleventh Edition (2025); A Pocket Style Manual, Tenth Edition (2025); The Bedford Handbook, Twelfth Edition (2023); Rules for Writers, Tenth Edition (2022); and Writer’s Help 2.0, Hacker Version.
-
Nancy Sommers
Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches in 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. Recently she has been exploring different audiences through publishing in popular media. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and editor of Tiny Teaching Stories on Macmillan Learning's Bits Blog.
Table of Contents
C COMPOSING AND REVISING
C1 Planning
a Assessing the writing situation
b Exploring your subject
c Drafting and revising a working thesis statement
How to solve five common problems with thesis statements
d Drafting a plan
C2 Drafting
a Drafting an introduction
b Drafting the body
c Drafting a conclusion
d Managing your files
C3 Reviewing, revising, and editing
a Seeing revision as a social process
b Using peer review: Revise with comments
c Using peer review: Give constructive comments
How to write helpful peer review comments
d Highlights of one student’s review process
e Approaching global revision in cycles
f Revising and editing sentences
How to improve your writing with an editing log
g Proofreading the final manuscript
h Sample student revision: Literacy narrative
Writing guide: How to write a literacy narrative
i Formatting the final manuscript
C4 Preparing a portfolio; reflecting on your writing
a Understanding the benefits of reflection
b Student writing: Reflective letter for a portfolio
Writing guide: How to write a reflective letter
C5 Writing paragraphs
a Focusing on a main point
b Developing the main point
c Choosing a suitable pattern of organization
d Making paragraphs coherent
e Adjusting paragraph length
A ACADEMIC READING, WRITING, AND SPEAKING
A1 Reading and writing critically
a. Read actively
How to read like a writer
b. Outline a text to identify main ideas
c. Summarize to deepen your understanding
d. Analyze to demonstrate your critical thinking
How to draft an analytical thesis statement
e. Sample student writing: Analysis of an article
Writing guide: How to write an analytical essay
A2 Reading and writing about multimodal texts
a. Read actively
b. Outline to identify main ideas
c. Summarize to deepen your understanding
d. Analyze to demonstrate your critical reading
e. Sample student writing: Analysis of an advertisement
A3 Reading 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
A4 Writing arguments
a. Identify your purpose and context
b. View your audience as a panel of jurors
c. In your introduction, establish credibility and state your position
How to draft a thesis statement for an argument
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
h. Sample student writing: Researched argument
Writing guide: How to write an argument
A5 Speaking confidently
a. Identify your purpose, audience, and context
b. Prepare a presentation
How to deliver a speech
c. Boost your confidence
d. Remix an essay for presentation
A6 Writing in the disciplines
a. Find commonalities across disciplines
b. Recognize the questions writers in a discipline ask
c. Understand the kinds of evidence writers in a discipline use
d. Become familiar with a discipline’s language conventions
e. Use a discipline’s preferred citation style
S SENTENCE STYLE
S1 Parallelism
a With items in a series
b With paired ideas
c Repeated words
S2 Needed words
a In compound structures
b that
c In comparisons
d a, an, and the
S3 Problems with modifiers
a Limiting modifiers such as only, even
b Misplaced phrases and clauses
c Awkwardly placed modifiers
d Split infinitives
e Dangling modifiers
S4 Shifts
a Point of view
b Verb tense
c Verb mood and voice
d Indirect to direct questions or quotations
S5 Mixed constructions
a Mixed grammar
b Illogical connections
c is when, is where, reason . . . is because
S6 Sentence emphasis
a Coordination and subordination
b Choppy sentences
c Ineffective coordination
d Ineffective subordination
e Excessive subordination
f Special techniques
S7 Sentence variety
a Sentence openings
b Sentence structures
c Inverted order
d Question or quotation
WORD CHOICE
W1 Glossary of usage
W2 Wordy sentences
a Redundancies
b Unnecessary repetition
c Empty or inflated phrases
d Simplified structure
e Reducing clauses to phrases, phrases to single words
W3 Active verbs
a Active versus passive verbs
b Active versus be verbs
c Actor named in the subject
W4 Appropriate language
a Jargon
b Pretentious language, euphemisms, “doublespeak”
c Obsolete or invented words
d Slang, regionalisms, nonstandard English
e Levels of formality
f Sexist language
g Offensive language
W5 Exact language
a Connotations
b Concrete nouns
c Misused words
d Standard idioms
e Clichés
f Figures of speech
GRAMMATICAL SENTENCES
G1 Subject-verb agreement
love or loves? have or has? do or does? is or are?
a Standard subject-verb combinations
b Words between subject and verb
c Subjects with and
d Subjects with or, nor
e Indefinite pronouns such as someone, each
f Collective nouns such as jury, class
g Subject after verb
h Subject complement
i who, which, that
j Plural form, singular meaning
k Titles, company names, words as words, gerund phrases
G2 Verb forms, tenses, and moods
a Irregular verbs
b lie and lay
c -s endings
d -ed endings
e Omitted verbs
f Tense
g Subjunctive mood
G3 Pronouns
a Pronoun-antecedent agreement
b Pronoun reference
c Pronoun case (I vs. me etc.)
d who and whom
G4 Adjectives and adverbs
a Adjectives
b Adverbs
c good and well; bad and badly
d Comparatives and superlatives
e Double negatives
G5 Sentence fragments
a Subordinate clauses
b Phrases
c Other word groups
d Acceptable fragments
G6 Run-on sentences
a Revision with coordinating conjunction
b Revision with semicolon
c Revision by separating sentences
d Revision by restructuring
MULTILINGUAL WRITERS AND ESL TOPICS
M1 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
M2 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
M3 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 subjects, objects, adverbs in adjective clauses
e Mixed constructions with although or because
f Placement of adverbs
M4 Using adjectives
a Present participles and past participles
b Order of cumulative adjectives
M5 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
M6 Paraphrasing sources effectively
a Avoiding replacing a source’s words with synonyms
b Determining the meaning of the original source
c Presenting the author’s meaning in your own words
PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS
P1 The comma
a Clauses with and, but, etc.
b Introductory elements
c Items in a series
d Coordinate adjectives
e Nonrestrictive elements
f Transitions, parenthetical expressions, etc.
g Direct address, yes/no, interrogative tags, interjections
h He said etc.
i Dates, addresses, titles, numbers
P2 Unnecessary commas
a Compound elements
b Between verb and subject or object
c Before or after a series
d Cumulative adjectives
e Restrictive elements
f Concluding clauses
g Inverted sentence
h Other misuses
P3 The semicolon and the colon
a Semicolon with independent clauses
b Semicolon with series
c Misuses of the semicolon
d Colon with list, appositive, quotation, summary
e Conventional uses of the colon
f Misuses of the colon
P4 The apostrophe
a Possessive nouns, indefinite pronouns
b Contractions
c Plurals of numbers, letters, etc.
d Misuses
P5 Quotation marks
a Direct quotations
b Quotation within quotation
c Titles
d Words as words
e With other punctuation
f Misuses
P6 Other punctuation marks
a End punctuation
b Dash, parentheses, brackets
c Ellipsis mark
d Slash
P7 Spelling and hyphenation
a Spelling rules
b Words that sound alike
c Common misspellings
d Compound words
e Hyphenated adjectives
f Fractions and numbers
g Prefixes and suffixes
h To avoid ambiguity
i Word division
P8 Capitalization
a Proper versus common nouns
b Titles with names
c Titles of works
d First word of sentence
e First word of a quoted sentence
f After colon
P9 Abbreviations and numbers
a Titles with names
b Familiar abbreviations
c Conventional abbreviations
d Units of measurement
e Latin abbreviations
f Plural of abbreviations
g Inappropriate abbreviations
h Spelling out numbers
i Using numerals
P10 Italics
a Titles of works
b Other terms
BASIC GRAMMAR
B1 Parts of speech
a Nouns
b Pronouns
c Verbs
d Adjectives
e Adverbs
f Prepositions
g Conjunctions
h Interjections
B2 Sentence patterns
a Subjects
b Verbs, objects, and complements
B3 Subordinate word groups
a Prepositional phrases
b Verbal phrases
c Appositive phrases
d Absolute phrases
e Subordinate clauses
B4 Sentence types
a Sentence structures
b Sentence purposes
R RESEARCHING
R1 Thinking like a researcher; gathering sources
a Managing the project
b Posing questions worth exploring
How to enter a research conversation
c Mapping out a search strategy
d Searching efficiently; mastering a few shortcuts to finding good sources
How to go beyond a Google search
e Conducting field research
f Writing a research proposal
R2 Managing information; taking notes responsibly
a Maintaining a working bibliography
b Keeping track of source materials
c Taking notes carefully to avoid unintentional plagiarism
How to avoid plagiarizing from the Web
R3 Evaluating sources
a Thinking about how sources might contribute to your writing
b Selecting sources worth your time and attention
c Reading with an open mind and a critical eye
d Assessing Web sources with special care
e Constructing an annotated bibliography
Writing guide: How to write an annotated bibliography
MLA Papers
MLA-1 Supporting a thesis
a Forming a working thesis
b Organizing your ideas
c Using sources to inform and support your argument
MLA-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
a Understanding how the MLA system works
b Understanding what plagiarism is
c Using quotation marks around borrowed language
d Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
How to be a responsible researcher
MLA-3 Integrating sources
a Summarizing and paraphrasing effectively
b Using quotations effectively
c Using signal phrases to integrate sources
d Synthesizing sources
MLA-4 Documenting sources
a MLA in-text citation
b MLA list of works cited
c MLA information notes
MLA-5 Manuscript format; sample paper
a MLA manuscript format
b Sample MLA research paper
APA Papers
APA-1 Supporting a thesis
a Forming a working thesis
b Organizing your ideas
c Using sources to inform and support your argument
APA-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
a Understanding how the APA system works
b Understanding what plagiarism is
c Using quotation marks around borrowed language
d Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
APA-3 Integrating sources
a Summarizing and paraphrasing effectively
b Using quotations effectively
c Using signal phrases to integrate sources
d Synthesizing sources
APA-4 Documenting sources
a APA in-text citations
b APA list of references
APA-5 Manuscript format; sample research paper
a APA manuscript format
b Sample research paper
CMS (Chicago) Papers
CMS -1 Supporting a thesis
a Forming a working thesis
b Organizing your ideas
c Using sources to inform and support your argument
CMS -2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
a Using the CMS system for citing sources
b Understanding what plagiarism is
c Using quotation marks around borrowed language
d Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
CMS -3 Integrating sources
a Using quotations appropriately
b Using signal phrases to integrate sources
CMS -4 Documenting sources
a First and later notes
b Bibliography
c Model notes and bibliography entries
CMS -5 Manuscript format; sample research paper
a CMS manuscript format
b Sample CMS pages
L TAB: WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE
L1 Reading to form an interpretation
a Get involved in the work; be an active reader.
b Form an interpretation.
L2 Planning the paper
a Draft a thesis.
b Sketch an outline
L3 Writing the paper
a Draft an introduction that announces your interpretation.
b Support your interpretation with evidence from the work; avoid simple plot summary.
L4 Observing the conventions of literature papers
a Refer to authors, titles, and characters according to convention.
b Use the present tense to describe fictional events.
c Use MLA style to format passages quoted from the work.
L5 Integrating quotations from the text
a Do not confuse the work’s author with a narrator, speaker, or character.
b Provide context for quotations.
c As you integrate quotations, avoid shifts in tense.
d To indicate changes in a quotation, use brackets and the ellipsis mark.
e Enclose embedded quotations in single quotation marks.
f Use MLA style to cite passages from the work.
L6 Using secondary sources
a Use MLA style to document secondary sources.
b Avoid plagiarism.
L7 Sample papers
Product Updates
The ebook has been updated to give your students the latest guidance on documenting sources in MLA style and follows the guidelines set forth in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (April 2021).
A new how-to approach offers step-by-step instruction that will help students apply writing advice in practical ways and transfer skills to many different kinds of writing assignments. Fourteen new boxes offer the straightforward help that instructors and students want—how to go beyond a Google search, how to write better peer review comments, and more.
New Writer’s Choice boxes on grammar and style offer opportunities for students to practice critical thinking at the sentence level. A new rhetorical approach emphasizes decision making (between first or third person, between active and passive voice, and so on) based on a writer’s purpose and audience.
New ways to navigate bring students to key content quickly. Common student questions about writing, written in plain language, appear on each tab and help students find answers to questions such as How do I separate a source’s ideas from my own? and What can I do if my writing is too wordy? Useful chapter previews direct students to specific help within the writing and research chapters.
More help for research writers equips students with up-to-date citation guidelines—including MLA 2016 and Chicago 2017 guidelines—and formatting help. The seventh edition includes ample instruction in conducting responsible research, the foundation of academic work, and features a new APA-style paper.
LaunchPad: A digital companion that engages in new ways and offers new teaching material. LaunchPad offers innovative practice and assessment tools in a fully customizable course space. LaunchPad allows you to mix our resources with yours, assign easily, and save yourself time.
- New video tutorials for writing and citation help students with difficult academic concepts. 24 new tutorials combine engaging video with scorable practice items to help with argument writing, analytical writing, annotated bibliography, and MLA and APA style.
- Diagnostics that help establish a baseline for instruction. Eight diagnostics are available to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement on grammar and reading topics. The diagnostics offer visual reports that show and track performance by topic, class, and student.
- LearningCurve adaptive quizzing. The pre-built units include LearningCurve, game-like online quizzing that adapts to what students already know and helps them focus on what they need to learn. LearningCurve links to supplemental study pages to support students as they work through topics.
- Video tools make it easy to integrate open-source content (videos from YouTube and other sources) into your LaunchPad course and allow you to build scorable, trackable response assignments around that content.
- Grammar Girl podcasts offer an alternative way for students to review writing and grammar concepts. LaunchPad includes more than 150 new and engaging podcasts that you can use in the classroom or assign as homework
Authors
-
Diana Hacker
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 A Writer's Reference, Eleventh Edition (2025); A Pocket Style Manual, Tenth Edition (2025); The Bedford Handbook, Twelfth Edition (2023); Rules for Writers, Tenth Edition (2022); and Writer’s Help 2.0, Hacker Version.
-
Nancy Sommers
Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches in 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. Recently she has been exploring different audiences through publishing in popular media. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and editor of Tiny Teaching Stories on Macmillan Learning's Bits Blog.
Table of Contents
C COMPOSING AND REVISING
C1 Planning
a Assessing the writing situation
b Exploring your subject
c Drafting and revising a working thesis statement
How to solve five common problems with thesis statements
d Drafting a plan
C2 Drafting
a Drafting an introduction
b Drafting the body
c Drafting a conclusion
d Managing your files
C3 Reviewing, revising, and editing
a Seeing revision as a social process
b Using peer review: Revise with comments
c Using peer review: Give constructive comments
How to write helpful peer review comments
d Highlights of one student’s review process
e Approaching global revision in cycles
f Revising and editing sentences
How to improve your writing with an editing log
g Proofreading the final manuscript
h Sample student revision: Literacy narrative
Writing guide: How to write a literacy narrative
i Formatting the final manuscript
C4 Preparing a portfolio; reflecting on your writing
a Understanding the benefits of reflection
b Student writing: Reflective letter for a portfolio
Writing guide: How to write a reflective letter
C5 Writing paragraphs
a Focusing on a main point
b Developing the main point
c Choosing a suitable pattern of organization
d Making paragraphs coherent
e Adjusting paragraph length
A ACADEMIC READING, WRITING, AND SPEAKING
A1 Reading and writing critically
a. Read actively
How to read like a writer
b. Outline a text to identify main ideas
c. Summarize to deepen your understanding
d. Analyze to demonstrate your critical thinking
How to draft an analytical thesis statement
e. Sample student writing: Analysis of an article
Writing guide: How to write an analytical essay
A2 Reading and writing about multimodal texts
a. Read actively
b. Outline to identify main ideas
c. Summarize to deepen your understanding
d. Analyze to demonstrate your critical reading
e. Sample student writing: Analysis of an advertisement
A3 Reading 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
A4 Writing arguments
a. Identify your purpose and context
b. View your audience as a panel of jurors
c. In your introduction, establish credibility and state your position
How to draft a thesis statement for an argument
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
h. Sample student writing: Researched argument
Writing guide: How to write an argument
A5 Speaking confidently
a. Identify your purpose, audience, and context
b. Prepare a presentation
How to deliver a speech
c. Boost your confidence
d. Remix an essay for presentation
A6 Writing in the disciplines
a. Find commonalities across disciplines
b. Recognize the questions writers in a discipline ask
c. Understand the kinds of evidence writers in a discipline use
d. Become familiar with a discipline’s language conventions
e. Use a discipline’s preferred citation style
S SENTENCE STYLE
S1 Parallelism
a With items in a series
b With paired ideas
c Repeated words
S2 Needed words
a In compound structures
b that
c In comparisons
d a, an, and the
S3 Problems with modifiers
a Limiting modifiers such as only, even
b Misplaced phrases and clauses
c Awkwardly placed modifiers
d Split infinitives
e Dangling modifiers
S4 Shifts
a Point of view
b Verb tense
c Verb mood and voice
d Indirect to direct questions or quotations
S5 Mixed constructions
a Mixed grammar
b Illogical connections
c is when, is where, reason . . . is because
S6 Sentence emphasis
a Coordination and subordination
b Choppy sentences
c Ineffective coordination
d Ineffective subordination
e Excessive subordination
f Special techniques
S7 Sentence variety
a Sentence openings
b Sentence structures
c Inverted order
d Question or quotation
WORD CHOICE
W1 Glossary of usage
W2 Wordy sentences
a Redundancies
b Unnecessary repetition
c Empty or inflated phrases
d Simplified structure
e Reducing clauses to phrases, phrases to single words
W3 Active verbs
a Active versus passive verbs
b Active versus be verbs
c Actor named in the subject
W4 Appropriate language
a Jargon
b Pretentious language, euphemisms, “doublespeak”
c Obsolete or invented words
d Slang, regionalisms, nonstandard English
e Levels of formality
f Sexist language
g Offensive language
W5 Exact language
a Connotations
b Concrete nouns
c Misused words
d Standard idioms
e Clichés
f Figures of speech
GRAMMATICAL SENTENCES
G1 Subject-verb agreement
love or loves? have or has? do or does? is or are?
a Standard subject-verb combinations
b Words between subject and verb
c Subjects with and
d Subjects with or, nor
e Indefinite pronouns such as someone, each
f Collective nouns such as jury, class
g Subject after verb
h Subject complement
i who, which, that
j Plural form, singular meaning
k Titles, company names, words as words, gerund phrases
G2 Verb forms, tenses, and moods
a Irregular verbs
b lie and lay
c -s endings
d -ed endings
e Omitted verbs
f Tense
g Subjunctive mood
G3 Pronouns
a Pronoun-antecedent agreement
b Pronoun reference
c Pronoun case (I vs. me etc.)
d who and whom
G4 Adjectives and adverbs
a Adjectives
b Adverbs
c good and well; bad and badly
d Comparatives and superlatives
e Double negatives
G5 Sentence fragments
a Subordinate clauses
b Phrases
c Other word groups
d Acceptable fragments
G6 Run-on sentences
a Revision with coordinating conjunction
b Revision with semicolon
c Revision by separating sentences
d Revision by restructuring
MULTILINGUAL WRITERS AND ESL TOPICS
M1 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
M2 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
M3 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 subjects, objects, adverbs in adjective clauses
e Mixed constructions with although or because
f Placement of adverbs
M4 Using adjectives
a Present participles and past participles
b Order of cumulative adjectives
M5 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
M6 Paraphrasing sources effectively
a Avoiding replacing a source’s words with synonyms
b Determining the meaning of the original source
c Presenting the author’s meaning in your own words
PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS
P1 The comma
a Clauses with and, but, etc.
b Introductory elements
c Items in a series
d Coordinate adjectives
e Nonrestrictive elements
f Transitions, parenthetical expressions, etc.
g Direct address, yes/no, interrogative tags, interjections
h He said etc.
i Dates, addresses, titles, numbers
P2 Unnecessary commas
a Compound elements
b Between verb and subject or object
c Before or after a series
d Cumulative adjectives
e Restrictive elements
f Concluding clauses
g Inverted sentence
h Other misuses
P3 The semicolon and the colon
a Semicolon with independent clauses
b Semicolon with series
c Misuses of the semicolon
d Colon with list, appositive, quotation, summary
e Conventional uses of the colon
f Misuses of the colon
P4 The apostrophe
a Possessive nouns, indefinite pronouns
b Contractions
c Plurals of numbers, letters, etc.
d Misuses
P5 Quotation marks
a Direct quotations
b Quotation within quotation
c Titles
d Words as words
e With other punctuation
f Misuses
P6 Other punctuation marks
a End punctuation
b Dash, parentheses, brackets
c Ellipsis mark
d Slash
P7 Spelling and hyphenation
a Spelling rules
b Words that sound alike
c Common misspellings
d Compound words
e Hyphenated adjectives
f Fractions and numbers
g Prefixes and suffixes
h To avoid ambiguity
i Word division
P8 Capitalization
a Proper versus common nouns
b Titles with names
c Titles of works
d First word of sentence
e First word of a quoted sentence
f After colon
P9 Abbreviations and numbers
a Titles with names
b Familiar abbreviations
c Conventional abbreviations
d Units of measurement
e Latin abbreviations
f Plural of abbreviations
g Inappropriate abbreviations
h Spelling out numbers
i Using numerals
P10 Italics
a Titles of works
b Other terms
BASIC GRAMMAR
B1 Parts of speech
a Nouns
b Pronouns
c Verbs
d Adjectives
e Adverbs
f Prepositions
g Conjunctions
h Interjections
B2 Sentence patterns
a Subjects
b Verbs, objects, and complements
B3 Subordinate word groups
a Prepositional phrases
b Verbal phrases
c Appositive phrases
d Absolute phrases
e Subordinate clauses
B4 Sentence types
a Sentence structures
b Sentence purposes
R RESEARCHING
R1 Thinking like a researcher; gathering sources
a Managing the project
b Posing questions worth exploring
How to enter a research conversation
c Mapping out a search strategy
d Searching efficiently; mastering a few shortcuts to finding good sources
How to go beyond a Google search
e Conducting field research
f Writing a research proposal
R2 Managing information; taking notes responsibly
a Maintaining a working bibliography
b Keeping track of source materials
c Taking notes carefully to avoid unintentional plagiarism
How to avoid plagiarizing from the Web
R3 Evaluating sources
a Thinking about how sources might contribute to your writing
b Selecting sources worth your time and attention
c Reading with an open mind and a critical eye
d Assessing Web sources with special care
e Constructing an annotated bibliography
Writing guide: How to write an annotated bibliography
MLA Papers
MLA-1 Supporting a thesis
a Forming a working thesis
b Organizing your ideas
c Using sources to inform and support your argument
MLA-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
a Understanding how the MLA system works
b Understanding what plagiarism is
c Using quotation marks around borrowed language
d Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
How to be a responsible researcher
MLA-3 Integrating sources
a Summarizing and paraphrasing effectively
b Using quotations effectively
c Using signal phrases to integrate sources
d Synthesizing sources
MLA-4 Documenting sources
a MLA in-text citation
b MLA list of works cited
c MLA information notes
MLA-5 Manuscript format; sample paper
a MLA manuscript format
b Sample MLA research paper
APA Papers
APA-1 Supporting a thesis
a Forming a working thesis
b Organizing your ideas
c Using sources to inform and support your argument
APA-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
a Understanding how the APA system works
b Understanding what plagiarism is
c Using quotation marks around borrowed language
d Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
APA-3 Integrating sources
a Summarizing and paraphrasing effectively
b Using quotations effectively
c Using signal phrases to integrate sources
d Synthesizing sources
APA-4 Documenting sources
a APA in-text citations
b APA list of references
APA-5 Manuscript format; sample research paper
a APA manuscript format
b Sample research paper
CMS (Chicago) Papers
CMS -1 Supporting a thesis
a Forming a working thesis
b Organizing your ideas
c Using sources to inform and support your argument
CMS -2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
a Using the CMS system for citing sources
b Understanding what plagiarism is
c Using quotation marks around borrowed language
d Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
CMS -3 Integrating sources
a Using quotations appropriately
b Using signal phrases to integrate sources
CMS -4 Documenting sources
a First and later notes
b Bibliography
c Model notes and bibliography entries
CMS -5 Manuscript format; sample research paper
a CMS manuscript format
b Sample CMS pages
L TAB: WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE
L1 Reading to form an interpretation
a Get involved in the work; be an active reader.
b Form an interpretation.
L2 Planning the paper
a Draft a thesis.
b Sketch an outline
L3 Writing the paper
a Draft an introduction that announces your interpretation.
b Support your interpretation with evidence from the work; avoid simple plot summary.
L4 Observing the conventions of literature papers
a Refer to authors, titles, and characters according to convention.
b Use the present tense to describe fictional events.
c Use MLA style to format passages quoted from the work.
L5 Integrating quotations from the text
a Do not confuse the work’s author with a narrator, speaker, or character.
b Provide context for quotations.
c As you integrate quotations, avoid shifts in tense.
d To indicate changes in a quotation, use brackets and the ellipsis mark.
e Enclose embedded quotations in single quotation marks.
f Use MLA style to cite passages from the work.
L6 Using secondary sources
a Use MLA style to document secondary sources.
b Avoid plagiarism.
L7 Sample papers
Product Updates
The ebook has been updated to give your students the latest guidance on documenting sources in MLA style and follows the guidelines set forth in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (April 2021).
A new how-to approach offers step-by-step instruction that will help students apply writing advice in practical ways and transfer skills to many different kinds of writing assignments. Fourteen new boxes offer the straightforward help that instructors and students want—how to go beyond a Google search, how to write better peer review comments, and more.
New Writer’s Choice boxes on grammar and style offer opportunities for students to practice critical thinking at the sentence level. A new rhetorical approach emphasizes decision making (between first or third person, between active and passive voice, and so on) based on a writer’s purpose and audience.
New ways to navigate bring students to key content quickly. Common student questions about writing, written in plain language, appear on each tab and help students find answers to questions such as How do I separate a source’s ideas from my own? and What can I do if my writing is too wordy? Useful chapter previews direct students to specific help within the writing and research chapters.
More help for research writers equips students with up-to-date citation guidelines—including MLA 2016 and Chicago 2017 guidelines—and formatting help. The seventh edition includes ample instruction in conducting responsible research, the foundation of academic work, and features a new APA-style paper.
LaunchPad: A digital companion that engages in new ways and offers new teaching material. LaunchPad offers innovative practice and assessment tools in a fully customizable course space. LaunchPad allows you to mix our resources with yours, assign easily, and save yourself time.
- New video tutorials for writing and citation help students with difficult academic concepts. 24 new tutorials combine engaging video with scorable practice items to help with argument writing, analytical writing, annotated bibliography, and MLA and APA style.
- Diagnostics that help establish a baseline for instruction. Eight diagnostics are available to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement on grammar and reading topics. The diagnostics offer visual reports that show and track performance by topic, class, and student.
- LearningCurve adaptive quizzing. The pre-built units include LearningCurve, game-like online quizzing that adapts to what students already know and helps them focus on what they need to learn. LearningCurve links to supplemental study pages to support students as they work through topics.
- Video tools make it easy to integrate open-source content (videos from YouTube and other sources) into your LaunchPad course and allow you to build scorable, trackable response assignments around that content.
- Grammar Girl podcasts offer an alternative way for students to review writing and grammar concepts. LaunchPad includes more than 150 new and engaging podcasts that you can use in the classroom or assign as homework
Personal, practical, and digital...All the right stuff for student writers
The ebook has been updated to give your students the latest guidance on documenting sources in MLA style and follows the guidelines set forth in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (April 2021).
A Hacker handbook has always been a how-to manual for building confidence as a college writer. Diana Hacker conceived A Writer’s Reference as a quick-access innovation in handbook format, and Nancy Sommers continues to reinvent its content for an evolving course emphasizing critical reading and writing. For more than 20 years, the book has allowed students to build confidence and take ownership of their college writing experience.
A Canadian Writer’s Reference, Seventh Edition, and a variety of exciting digital options together represent a next-level tool for college writers. What’s most exciting? An emphasis on help that is personal, practical, and digital. A Canadian Writer’s Reference is reimagined as a system that helps students target their needs and see their successes; that offers innovative practice with writing, reading, thinking, and research; and that lives in an engaging multimedia environment.
e-Book tools and custom options allow students and teachers to personalize the handbook. How-to pages, writing guides, student models, and exercises and activities deliver pragmatic, transferable lessons. And with an e-book and tools that make assigning and assessing a breeze, LaunchPad will be the digital solution that boosts your confidence as well as your students’. A Canadian Writer’s Reference, class tested by thousands of postsecondary writers, still offers the right stuff.
Looking for instructor resources like Test Banks, Lecture Slides, and Clicker Questions? Request access to Achieve to explore the full suite of instructor resources.
FAQs
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Are you a campus bookstore looking for ordering information?
MPS Order Search Tool (MOST) is a web-based purchase order tracking program that allows customers to view and track their purchases. No registration or special codes needed! Just enter your BILL-TO ACCT # and your ZIP CODE to track orders.
Canadian Stores: Please use only the first five digits/letters in your zip code on MOST.
Visit MOST, our online ordering system for booksellers: https://tracking.mpsvirginia.com/Login.aspx
Learn more about our Bookstore programs here: https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/contact-us/booksellers
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Our courses currently integrate with Canvas, Blackboard (Learn and Ultra), Brightspace, D2L, and Moodle. Click on the support documentation below to find out more details about the integration with each LMS.
Integrate Macmillan courses with Blackboard
Integrate Macmillan courses with Canvas
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If you’re a verified instructor, you can request a free sample of our courseware, e-book, or print textbook to consider for use in your courses. Only registered and verified instructors can receive free print and digital samples, and they should not be sold to bookstores or book resellers. If you don't yet have an existing account with Macmillan Learning, it can take up to two business days to verify your status as an instructor. You can request a free sample from the right side of this product page by clicking on the "Request Instructor Sample" button or by contacting your rep. Learn more.
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Sometimes also referred to as a spiral-bound or binder-ready textbook, loose-leaf textbooks are available to purchase. This three-hole punched, unbound version of the book costs less than a hardcover or paperback book.
-
-
-
We can help! Contact your representative to discuss your specific needs for your course. If our off-the-shelf course materials don’t quite hit the mark, we also offer custom solutions made to fit your needs.
-
FAQs
-
-
Are you a campus bookstore looking for ordering information?
MPS Order Search Tool (MOST) is a web-based purchase order tracking program that allows customers to view and track their purchases. No registration or special codes needed! Just enter your BILL-TO ACCT # and your ZIP CODE to track orders.
Canadian Stores: Please use only the first five digits/letters in your zip code on MOST.
Visit MOST, our online ordering system for booksellers: https://tracking.mpsvirginia.com/Login.aspx
Learn more about our Bookstore programs here: https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/contact-us/booksellers
-
-
-
Our courses currently integrate with Canvas, Blackboard (Learn and Ultra), Brightspace, D2L, and Moodle. Click on the support documentation below to find out more details about the integration with each LMS.
Integrate Macmillan courses with Blackboard
Integrate Macmillan courses with Canvas
-
-
-
If you’re a verified instructor, you can request a free sample of our courseware, e-book, or print textbook to consider for use in your courses. Only registered and verified instructors can receive free print and digital samples, and they should not be sold to bookstores or book resellers. If you don't yet have an existing account with Macmillan Learning, it can take up to two business days to verify your status as an instructor. You can request a free sample from the right side of this product page by clicking on the "Request Instructor Sample" button or by contacting your rep. Learn more.
-
-
-
Sometimes also referred to as a spiral-bound or binder-ready textbook, loose-leaf textbooks are available to purchase. This three-hole punched, unbound version of the book costs less than a hardcover or paperback book.
-
-
-
We can help! Contact your representative to discuss your specific needs for your course. If our off-the-shelf course materials don’t quite hit the mark, we also offer custom solutions made to fit your needs.
-
A Canadian Writer's Reference with 2020 APA and 2021 MLA Updates
The ebook has been updated to give your students the latest guidance on documenting sources in MLA style and follows the guidelines set forth in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (April 2021).
A Hacker handbook has always been a how-to manual for building confidence as a college writer. Diana Hacker conceived A Writer’s Reference as a quick-access innovation in handbook format, and Nancy Sommers continues to reinvent its content for an evolving course emphasizing critical reading and writing. For more than 20 years, the book has allowed students to build confidence and take ownership of their college writing experience.
A Canadian Writer’s Reference, Seventh Edition, and a variety of exciting digital options together represent a next-level tool for college writers. What’s most exciting? An emphasis on help that is personal, practical, and digital. A Canadian Writer’s Reference is reimagined as a system that helps students target their needs and see their successes; that offers innovative practice with writing, reading, thinking, and research; and that lives in an engaging multimedia environment.
e-Book tools and custom options allow students and teachers to personalize the handbook. How-to pages, writing guides, student models, and exercises and activities deliver pragmatic, transferable lessons. And with an e-book and tools that make assigning and assessing a breeze, LaunchPad will be the digital solution that boosts your confidence as well as your students’. A Canadian Writer’s Reference, class tested by thousands of postsecondary writers, still offers the right stuff.
Select a demo to view:
Sample Achieve