Bird by Bird is the bible of writing guides - a wry, honest, down-to-earth book that has never stopped selling since it was first published in the United States in the 1990s. Bestselling novelist and memoirist Anne Lamott distils what she's learned over years of trial and error. Beautifully written, wise and immensely helpful, this is the book for all serious writers and writers-to-be.

All students are required to write assignments. Despite this, there seem to be few books available that provide concise guidelines as to how to compile them. Those that are available are often outdated and complicated, and do not illustrate well how the information, once gathered, should be integrated and implemented. Assignment writing uses practical examples to show clearly how to approach and write an assignment. Contents include the following: The process of assessing, planning, writing, editing and handing in an assignment; Technical requirements, such as the use of scientific language, abbreviations, tables and figures, as well as neatness and binding; Referencing techniques and the compilation of a list of sources; Formatting the document, from cover to cover. Assignment writing is aimed at all students needing to produce assignments to the standard required by tertiary institutions.

A productive writer writes regularly, produces goal-directed written work and enjoys the process. Productive writing addresses the problem of why some people publish with ease and others struggle, and seeks to take the non-productive writer and turn him or her into a prolific one. Important themes in the book are dealing with writer's block, procrastination and making time to write. An array of explanations, research and activities is presented to encourage exploring, thinking, speculating, testing, documenting, questioning and developing authority. Crafting the document itself is just one part of the writing spectrum. The increasing focus on research and publishing at universities and universities of technology makes this book an important contribution to the available literature on research. Addressing throughput for postgraduate students and output for academic staff, the book is aimed at both these categories. Productive writing complements two earlier research books by Cecile Badenhorst, Research writing and Dissertation writing, and focuses on important aspects of research that are not covered in those books.