NEW

A Writer's Reference with Writing about Literature

Eleventh Edition

Publication Date: February 14, 2025

Comb-Bound ISBN: 9781319562601

Pages: 592

**The handbook that boosts the other AI – academic intelligence**

In the age of artificial intelligence, A Writer’s Reference with Writing About Literature continues to boost literacy and build academic intelligence. It supports students as they use tools critically and responsibly to compose in a variety of genres for a range of purposes and...

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A Writer's Reference with Writing about Literature

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ISBN: 9781319562601
A Writer's Reference with Writing about Literature

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FULL FINAL BRIEF TOC 04.23.24

Hacker/Sommers

A Writer’s Reference, Eleventh Edition (2025)

CONTENTS

C | Composing and Revising

C1 Planning

C2 Drafting

C3 Writing paragraphs

C4 Reviewing, revising, and editing

C5 Reflecting on your writing; preparing a portfolio

A | Academic Reading and Writing

A1 Reading and writing critically

A2 Reading and writing about multimodal texts

A3 Reading arguments

A4 Writing arguments

A5 Writing in the disciplines

R | Researched Writing

R1 Thinking like a researcher; gathering sources

R2 Managing information; taking notes responsibly

R3 Evaluating sources

MLA | MLA Style

List of MLA in-text citation models

List of MLA works cited models

MLA-1 Supporting a thesis

MLA-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

MLA-3 Integrating sources

MLA-4 Documenting sources

MLA-5 MLA format; sample research essay

APA CMS | APA Style and CMS Style

List of APA in-text citation models

List of APA reference list models

APA-1 Supporting a thesis

APA-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

APA-3 Integrating sources

APA-4 Documenting sources

APA-5 APA format; sample research essay

CMS (Chicago) style

List of CMS-style notes and bibliography entries

CMS-1 Supporting a thesis

CMS-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

CMS-3 Integrating sources

CMS-4 Documenting sources

CMS-5 Chicago format; sample research essay

S | Sentence Style

S1 Parallelism

S2 Needed words

S3 Problems with modifiers

S4 Shifts

S5 Mixed constructions

S6 Sentence emphasis

S7 Sentence variety

W | Word Choice

W1 Glossary of usage

W2 Wordy sentences

W3 Active verbs

W4 Language that fits the writing situation

W5 Exact language

G | Grammatical Sentences

G1 Subject-verb agreement

G2 Verb form, tenses, and moods

G3 Pronouns

G4 Adjectives and adverbs

G5 Sentence fragments

G6 Run-on sentences

M | Multilingual Writers and ESL Topics

M1 Verbs

M2 Articles

M3 Sentence structure

M4 Using adjectives

M5 Prepositions and idiomatic expressions

M6 Paraphrasing sources effectively

P | Punctuation and Mechanics

P1 The comma

P2 Unnecessary commas

P3 The semicolon and the colon

P4 The apostrophe

P5 Quotation marks

P6 Other punctuation marks

P7 Spelling and hyphenation

P8 Capitalization

P9 Abbreviations and numbers

P10 Italics

B | Basic Grammar

B1 Parts of speech

B2 Sentence patterns

B3 Subordinate word groups

B4 Sentence types

I | Index

______________________

L | Writing about Literature (included only in the Writing about Literature version of the handbook)

L1 Reading to form an interpretation

L2 Planning the paper

L3 Writing the paper

L4 Observing conventions

L5 Integrating quotations from the text

L6 Using secondary sources

L7 Sample papers

Easy to use and easy to understand. The handbook’s explanations are brief, accessible, and illustrated by examples, many by student writers. The book’s numerous boxes, charts, checklists, and menus are designed to help users find what they need quickly. Our digital products, too, are designed for users’ convenience as an accessible homework or classroom tool.

Authoritative, trustworthy instruction for college writers. Class-tested by hundreds of thousands of students and instructors, A Writer’s Reference with Writing About Literature teaches composition and rhetoric concepts in approachable and practical ways. Users who loved the writing guides, how-to boxes, model essays, and “notes to self” in the previous edition will be pleased to know they are still here in the new edition — as are the engaging visual presentations of writing topics and video tutorials that help with argument, analysis, and annotated bibliography. Citation advice in three styles promotes critical thinking and responsible writing.

New advice builds AI literacy. A new opening section provides a framework for developing AI literacy and introduces benefits and limitations of AI tools, advice about using them ethically and effectively, and practical guidance for crafting prompts. Tips throughout the handbook encourage students to try generative AI in different writing situations, and new citation models help students practice responsibility when they work with AI-generated material. Six new interactive tutorials in Achieve reinforce concepts related to generative AI.

More inclusive than ever before. New examples reflect current diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles. A new “Widening the Research Conversation” section empowers students to search for sources with diverse viewpoints and to write to include rather than to exclude. And a more flexible view of correctness and a wider embrace of language varieties help students see “school English” in a broader context.

Better support for corequisite composition. Achieve with A Writer’s Reference enables students enrolled in corequisite composition to succeed. A Student’s Companion offers college success and reading strategies, graphic organizers, and more than sixty exercises on writing and grammar topics. Interactive self-paced modules address key noncognitive (soft-skill) topics: time management, study skills, and growth mindset. And concurrent access allows students who are enrolled in both composition and corequisite support to access two Achieve courses for the price of one.

“A Writer’s Reference is easy for students to navigate, and we often use it in class for revision activities.” – Ashleah Wimberly, Florida State University

“I am looking forward to implementing the new AI tips. They provide boundaries to guide students into ethical, responsible academic behaviors while helping them feel empowered to use AI.” – J. Erin Rowe, Appalachian Bible College

“A Writer’s Reference is the only textbook that every single faculty member agrees on.” --Kristin Redfield, Forsyth Technical Community College

“The visual approach will help students stay engaged, retain information, and recall information.” --Bridgette Weir, Nashville State Community College

“Students can achieve their own writing growth and their own writing success with the right tool. Achieve is that tool.” --Jennifer Duncan, Georgia State University, Perimeter College

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.

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