Quick answers to questions about punctuation, capitalization, plurals, and quotations.
- A guide to copyediting and proofreading
- Special sections on word usage and grammar
- Instructions for preparing notes and bibliographies

Asked to name their ideal job, more people in the UK say they would like to be an author than anything else. Yet with more than 200,000 books now being published here a year and over two million worldwide, the competition is getting fiercer by the minute. As editor in chief of a successful self-publishing house, Chris Newton spends most of his waking hours editing and ghostwriting books for other people, and he knows all about how books can go wrong and how they can be put right. He is also a successful published author, one of his books having been acclaimed by a professional reviewer as having 'a good claim to be the finest biography of an angler ever written'.

Drawing lessons from writers of all ages and writing across genres, a distinguished teacher and writer reveals the enduring importance of writing for our time In this new contribution to Yale University Press's Why X Matters series, a distinguished writer and scholar tackles central questions of the discipline of writing. Drawing on his own experience with such mentors as John Updike, John Gardner, and James Baldwin, and in turn having taught such rising stars as Jesmyn Ward, Delbanco looks in particular at questions of influence and the contradictory, simultaneous impulses toward imitation and originality. Part memoir, part literary history, and part analysis, this unique text will resonate with students, writers, writing teachers, and bibliophiles.

As an environmental scientist, you are used to writing scientific articles, but how confident do you feel writing policy or regulatory documents? Do you feel you have the necessary writing skills to influence policy and inform the public? This refreshingly clear guide provides environmental scientists and conservation professionals with an effective writing process that can be applied in a range of financial, political, or organizational contexts. Baker outlines a replicable seven-step writing formula based on practical experience that acknowledges the complexities inherent in the worlds of endangered species, habitat conservation, and recovery planning. Using the formula, scientists will be able to communicate confidently and successfully with a multitude of audiences. Baker's guide is written for scientists, not professional writers. In it, best practices abound. Practical examples, strategies, and diagrams guide the reader at every step, and selected resources are provided for further reference.

Choreographing Discourses brings together essays originally published by Mark Franko between 1996 and the contemporary moment. Assembling these essays from international, sometimes untranslated sources and curating their relationship to a rapidly changing field, this Reader offers an important resource in the dynamic scholarly fields of Dance and Performance Studies. What makes this volume especially appropriate for undergraduate and graduate teaching is its critical focus on twentieth- and twenty-first-century dance artists and choreographers - among these, Oskar Schlemmer, Merce Cunningham, Kazuo Ohno, William Forsythe, Bill T. Jones, and Pina Bausch, some of the most high-profile European, American, and Japanese artists of the past century. The volume's constellation of topics delves into controversies that are essential turning points in the field (notably, Still/Here and Paris is Burning), which illuminate the spine of the field while interlinking dance scholarship with performance theory, film, visual, and public art. The volume contains the first critical assessments of Franko's contribution to the field by Andre Lepecki and Gay Morris, and an interview incorporating a biographical dimension to the development of Franko's work and its relation to his dance and choreography. Ultimately, this Reader encourages a wide scope of conversation and engagement, opening up core questions in ethics, embodiment, and performativity.

A practical, accessible handbook for anyone thinking about writing a book to build their business, with a wide range of tips and techniques to help plan, write, publishing and promote a book that's integrated with your platform and works to build your reputation, network and credibility from Day 1. In the Extraordinary Business Book Club podcast, Alison Jones goes under the hood of successful business books to discover how they're put together and how they work for the businesses behind them. This book brings together all those inspiring and effective ideas, giving you a unique insight into how some of the world's top business authors work and showing how you can make these ideas work for you too.

Undoing the Silence offers guidance to help both citizens and professionals influence democratic process through letters, articles, reports and public testimony.

Louise Dunlap, PhD, began her career as an activist writing instructor during the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. She learned that listening and gaining a feel for audience are just as important to social transformation as the outspoken words of student leaders atop police cars. "Free speech is a first step, but real communication matches speech with listening and understanding. That is when thinking shifts and change happens."

Dunlap felt compelled to go where the silences were deepest because her work aimed not just at teaching but also at healing both individual voices and an ailing collective voice. Her tales of those adventures and what she knows about the culture of silence -- how gender, race, education, class, and family work to quiet dissent -- are interwoven with practical methods for people to put their most challenging ideas into words.

Louise Dunlap gives writing workshops around the country for universities and social justice, environmental, and peace organizations that help reluctant writers get past their internal censors to find their powerful voice. Her insight strengthens strategic thinking and her "You can do it " approach makes social-action writing achievable for everyone.

A step-by-step guide through the entire process of preparing and publishing high-quality technical manuals
The Complete Guide to Writing and Producing Technical Manuals shows the reader how to create clear, well-organized technical manuals for any equipment, simple or complex. Requiring no specialized background knowledge, this unique guide lays out all the aspects of the job--from initial concept to final publication. The author draws on more than twenty-five years' experience as a technician and technical writer to provide authoritative, easy-to-follow instructions on how to organize detailed technical information into a finished, high-quality technical manual.
Major topics include:
* Planning procedures for technical manuals
* Manual types and arrangements, including operation manuals, maintenance and repair instructions, illustrated parts lists, and more
* Layout and format, including sample page layouts
* Writing style and technical editing techniques
* Front matter and introductions
* Illustration and table preparation, including typical charts, diagrams, and illustrations
* Preparing camera-ready copy
* Printing and binding
* Organizing a technical handbook department
* And much more

Fully illustrated and supported by handy appendices and a glossary of technical terms, The Complete Guide to Writing and Producing Technical Manuals is an indispensable reference for all engineers, scientists, and technical writers who need to produce effective, professional technical manuals.

-- Finishing and publishing a PhD is daunting as, for most students, it will be their first experience working within the academic system. This guide offers a helping hand during and when making decisions about how to move on with their career, specifically in the biological sciences. -- Examples are tailored to biological science, offering a unique reference for PhD students in these disciplines. -- The author has authored more than 200 peer reviewed scientific papers and book chapters, and five books. He has been the Editor-in-Chief of an ISI journal for 9 years, and has graduated more than 20 postgraduate students. His blog on writing and publishing in biological sciences is read by thousands globally. -- Most of the 25,000 universities in the world have postgraduates in biological sciences, and emerging economies, such as India and China, will have special interest in this book as their academic systems still fall outside of the academic mainstream. -- The book has many short, easy to read, chapters which are interconnected to provide a comprehensive treatment of each subject, and it explore the 'hot' topics in academic publishing, from Open Access to new blockchain models, as well as academic bullying.

Using an informal, hands-on approach, this practical guide reviews the basics of good technical writing. It provides a simple, effective system for writing all types of technical documents including letters, memos, minutes, procedures, manuals, proposals, progress reports, and final reports. You will gain a better understanding of the writing process and learn how to: improve the coherence of your writing, write better paragraphs, write better sentences, choose the right word and more.

No matter who you are, your story is a part of something big-the fabric of history and the human experience. Once written and shared, your story will change someone. And that someone is most likely you. A Story that Matters offers an accessible and simplified way to get your stories written. Each chapter is divided into three sections: the first discusses memoir writing in the context of themes-motherhood, childhood, relationships, professional life, and spiritual journey; the second provides basic writing and editing prescription, with a focus on common beginner mistakes and roadblocks; and the third provides a sample story related to the life theme discussed in the first section of the chapter. Chock full of writing and editing lessons that focus on how to get a first draft written and how to craft the draft into a compelling story, A Story That Matters explores our ability to help, heal, and connect to others through story, reminding us of the greater need for a broader array of authentic voices in the story-sharing universe.

Writing True Stories is the essential book for anyone who has ever wanted to write a memoir or explore the wider territory of creative nonfiction. It provides practical guidance and inspiration on a vast array of writing topics, including how to access memories, find a narrative voice, build a vivid world on the page, create structure, use research-and face the difficulties of truth-telling. This book introduces and develops key writing skills, and then challenges more experienced writers to extend their knowledge and practice of the genre into literary nonfiction, true crime, biography, the personal essay, and travel and sojourn writing. Whether you want to write your own autobiography, investigate a wide-ranging political issue or bring to life an intriguing history, this book will be your guide. Writing True Stories is practical and easy to use as well as an encouraging and insightful companion on the writing journey. Written in a warm, clear and engaging style, it will get you started on the story you want to write-and keep you going until you reach the end.

If you've ever struggled to craft a powerful message that really hits the spot, you'll know it's harder than it looks. Wouldn't it be helpful to have an expert on hand to explain how the professionals really do it? Better still, how about a whole range of writers ready to pass on their trade secrets? Well that's exactly what you'll find in the pages of this book. Think of it as a rocket-assisted launch for your writing career, structured over ten distinct lessons and illustrated with classic and contemporary international examples of the best copywriting. Designed to help anyone who works with words improve their writing, this book is packed with practical techniques and features effective exercises to pump up your persuasive powers. Includes inspiring contributions from professional writers, an in-depth look at the challenges involved in writing copy for brands and worked examples that cover writing for digital, brand storytelling and packaging copy.

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

"Superb writing advice... hilarious, helpful and provocative." -- "New York Times Book Review."

"A warm, generous and hilarious guide through the writer's world and its treacherous swamps." -- "Los Angeles Times."

"A gift to all of us mortals who write or ever wanted to write... sidesplittingly funny, patiently wise and alternately cranky and kind -- a reveille to get off our duffs and start writing "now," while we still can." -- "Seattle Times."

Whether you are daunted by a blinking cursor or frustrated trying to get the people in your head onto the page, writing stories can be intimidating. It takes passion, tenacity, patience and a knowledge of-and faith in-the writing process. A manual for the apprentice fiction writer, Storyville! demystifies that process; its bold graphics take you inside the writer's mind and show you how stories are made. John Dufresne provides insight into the building blocks of fiction. With original prompts and exercises crafted with Dufresne's singular dry wit, and Evan Wondolowski's playful and illuminating graphics on every page, Storyville! is the perfect companion for aspiring writers of all levels.

Are you struggling with your dissertation? Have you started too late and now you're panicking? Help is here! Your Dissertation in Education is a straight-forward, plain English guide to doing and writing your project. It will take you from start to finish, with practical and friendly advice on every page. This second edition includes: - A new Foundations section with the concepts and tools you need to get started - An expanded guide to methodology and writing about methods - A new chapter on mixed methods An essential companion on your dissertation journey, this book is ideal for students across education, including teacher training, early childhood and education studies. The Student Success series are essential guides for students of all levels. From how to think critically and write great essays to planning your dream career, the Student Success series helps you study smarter and get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips and resources for study success!

Most movies include a love story, whether it is the central story or a subplot, and knowing how to write a believable relationship is essential to any writer's skill set. Discover the rules and laws of nature at play in a compelling love story and learn and master them. Broken into four sections, The Heart of the Film identifies the critical features of love story development, and explores every variation of this structure as well as a diverse array of relationships and types of love. Author Cynthia Whitcomb has sold over 70 feature-length screenplays and shares the keys to her success in The Heart of the Film, drawing on classic and modern films as well as her own extensive experience.

Two books in one: a handy guide to the process of academic writing and a brief but thorough introduction to the basics of film form, film theory and film analysis. Clear, accessible and surprisingly affordable, it's the only writing guide a student of film will ever need.

LEARN HOW TO WRITE, FORMAT AND RELEASE YOUR OWN BOOK VIA THE INCREASINGLY SUCCESSFUL METHOD OF SELF PUBLISHING. If you've ever wanted to publish your own book, either in print or online as an ebook, this book is the indispensable guide you need. It covers absolutely every aspect of self publishing, from the different platforms and formats such as Amazon kindle or Apple ibooks, to the practicalities of ebook technology. It takes a creative look at the self-publishing process, encouraging you to think out of the box, as well as giving you inspiration and advice for the writing process. You will recieve practical advice on manuscript preparation, editing, cover design and other production issues, along with successful strategies for marketing, distributing and selling your book - and writing another. Anybody can upload a file, but it takes skill to really publish a book. With 'Try it now' exercises, key facts and case studies, this book is all you need to publish your book beautifully and prominantly. ABOUT THE SERIES The Teach Yourself Creative Writing series helps aspiring authors tell their story. Covering a range of genres from science fiction and romantic novels, to illustrated children's books and comedy, this series is packed with advice, exercises and tips for unlocking creativity and improving your writing. And because we know how daunting the blank page can be, we set up the Just Write online community at tyjustwrite, for budding authors and successful writers to connect and share.

8 books condensed into one, this compendium writing guide is for everyone looking to improve their writing skills, grammar, spelling and punctuation in one easy step. Whether you want to write a novel, draft a report, create a compelling CV, write a letter of protest to the council, or sign off an email, this book is for you and all the family. This latest edition of the Writing Guide is the essential desk companion for anyone requiring a friendly guide to modern communication.