The essential guide for all writers. With over 700 examples of original and edited sentences, this book provides information about editing techniques, grammar, and usage for every writer from the student to the published author.

Lanham's eight simple steps to clearer, more understandable writing will win you praise from bosses, colleagues, and clients. Voice; Business Prose; Professional Prose; Electronic Prose; General Interest; improving your writing.

The essential handbook for writers of whodunits, techno- thrillers, cozies, and everything in between-featuring never-before- published personal writing exercises from some of today's bestselling and award-winning mystery writers.

Now Write Mysteries, the fourth volume in the acclaimed Now Write writing guide series, brings together numerous bestselling authors-including winners of and nominees for the Edgar, Hugo, and Shamus awards, -for the definitive guide to writing mysteries, thrillers, and suspense stories. Now Write Mysteries teaches you everything you've ever wanted to know about crafting a page-turning mystery-from creating a believable detective hero (or terrifying villain), to using real-life cutting-edge investigative techniques to bring your story to life-with practical exercises taken directly from the pros:
Discover the best techniques for seamlessly integrating action into your story with John Lutz, "New York Times"-bestselling author of Urge to Kill, Night Kills, and Serial.
Learn how to fine-tune your sense of place and setting with Louise Penny, "New York Times"-bestselling author of the Armand Gamache mysteries.
Take advice from Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers and writer/producer for Law & Order, on how to compose a scene that lives up to your character's backstory.
Let Marcia Talley, Agatha- and Anthony-winning author of the Hannah Ives mysteries, show you how to build a memorable, engaging detective. (Hint: It's not about making him flawless.) Others included are: Simon Brett, Hallie Ephron, Meg Gardiner, Peter James, Christopher G. Moore, Michael Sears, and many others. No other mystery-writing guide offers the road tested wisdom of so many award-winners and bestselling authors in one place.

Acclaim for "Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success"

"Not into outlining? Then someone did not demonstrate it for you the way Weiland has in her book. If you can make a quick trip grocery list, you can outline your next manuscript to benefit your process, using Weiland's guide."-Leslie Hultgren

..".this is one of the few writing craft books I have read start to finish, was easy to apply to my writing immediately, and helped me follow through on my first draft."-F. Colley

"Ms. Weiland presents a wonderful roadmap for writing while still encouraging you to take those sidetrips that will make your story better. I feel like I can walk the 'high wire' of my imagination because I have the safety net of my outline below it all."-D. Hargan About the Book

Let outlines help you write a better book

Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer's arsenal. "Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success" will: Help you choose the right type of outline for you Guide you in brainstorming plot ideas Aid you in discovering your characters Show you how to structure your scenes Explain how to format your finished outline Instruct you in how to use your outline Reveal the benefits: Ensures cohesion and balance Prevents dead-end ideas Provides foreshadowing Offers assurance and motivation Dispel misconceptions: Requires formal formatting Limits creativity Robs the joy of discovery Takes too much time More Praise for "Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success"

..".this book has revolutionized the way I think about plotting and outlining and, after months of wishing I could find the 'joy of writing' again, I finally have it."-Ashley March

"Each chapter deals with a specific topic and builds a clear idea of the task ahead, and as a great plus every chapter ends with an interview with a published author, explaining how they work their outlines and their personal methods."-Marcus J. Pinto

..".a brilliant tool for any person wanting to learn more about the craft of writing."-Cherie Reich

Traditions of Writing Research reflects the different styles of work offered at the Writing Research Across Borders conference. Organized by Charles Bazerman, one of the pre-eminent scholars in writing studies, the conference facilitated an unprecedented gathering of writing researchers. Representing the best of the works presented, this collection focuses solely on writing research, in its lifespan scope bringing together writing researchers interested in early childhood through adult writing practices. It brings together differing research traditions, and offers a broad international scope, with contributor-presenters including top international researchers in the field

The volume's opening section presents writing research agendas from different regions and research groups. The next section addresses the national, political, and historical contexts that shape educational institutions and the writing initiatives developed there. The following sections represent a wide range of research approaches for investigating writing processes and practices in primary, secondary, and higher education. The volume ends with theoretical and methodological reflections.

This exemplary collection, like the conference that it grew out of, will bring new perspectives to the rich dialogue of contemporary research on writing and advance understanding of this complex and important human activity.

This accessible and wide-ranging book is an invaluable introductory guide through the choices to be made when deciding how to report research. Writing and Presenting Research covers research written as theses and dissertations; chapters, books, reports and articles in academic, professional or general media such as newspapers; and also reviews the options for presenting research orally as lectures, keynotes, conference papers and even TV game shows. These forms of reporting research have well-established conventions for their formats, but they also have growing numbers of alternative possibilities. This has generated debate about what is, or is not, acceptable, and the aim of this book is to make this debate more manageable for those wanting to assess which of the conventional or alternative possibilities on offer is most appropriate for reporting their current research. Arranged in easily followed sections enlivened with checklists, style variations, examples and reflection points, Writing and Presenting Research has relevance to the social sciences, arts, humanities, natural and applied sciences and law and is an invaluable reference tool for new and experienced researchers alike. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!

This book provides a practical and richly informative introduction to feature writing and the broader context in which features journalists operate. As well as covering the key elements and distinctive features that constitute good feature writing, the book also offers a rich resource of real life examples, case studies and exercises. The authors have drawn on their considerable shared experience to provide a solid and engaging grounding in the principles and practice of feature writing. The textbook will explore the possibilities of feature writing, including essential basics, such as: Why journalists become feature writers The difference between news stories and features What features need to contain How to write features The different types of features The text is intended for both those who are studying the media at degree level and those who are wishing to embark on a career in the print industry. It will be invaluable for trainee feature writers.

In today's high-stakes environment, standardized test scores determine much more than student performance. Scores are linked to school status, the amount of funding a school receives, and ultimately a teacher's job security. Which means teachers not only need to teach their students how to write well for practical purposes-they must also teach them how to write well on timed tests. Luckily, it is possible to do both using one curriculum. This book provides teachers with a writing curriculum that prepares students for standardized writing tests while helping them develop skills for lifelong writing success. Adaptations for gifted students and for low-performing students are also provided. Finally, a way for teachers to provide direct quality writing instruction that allows them to meet testing demands in time and with confidence!

This book examines the institutional history and disciplinary future of creative writing in the contemporary academy, looking well beyond the perennial questions 'can writing be taught?' and 'should writing be taught?'.
Paul Dawson traces the emergence of creative writing alongside the new criticism in American universities; examines the writing workshop in relation to theories of creativity and literary criticism; and analyzes the evolution of creative writing pedagogy alongside and in response to the rise of 'theory' in America, England and Australia.
Dawson argues that the discipline of creative writing developed as a series of pedagogic responses to the long-standing 'crisis' in literary studies. His polemical account provides a fresh perspective on the importance of creative writing to the emergence of the 'new humanities' and makes a major contribution to current debates about the role of the writer as public intellectual.

"The Muses Among Us" is an inviting, encouraging book for writers at any stage of their development. In a series of first-person letters, essays, manifestos, and notes to the reader, Kim Stafford shows what might happen at the creative boundary he calls "what we almost know." On the boundary's far side is our story, our poem, our song. On this side are the resonant hunches, griefs, secrets, and confusions from which our writing will emerge. Guiding us from such glimmerings through to a finished piece are a wealth of experiments, assignments, and tricks of the trade that Stafford has perfected over thirty years of classes, workshops, and other gatherings of writers.

Informing "The Muses Among Us" are Stafford's own convictions about writing--principles to which he returns again and again. We must, Stafford says, honor the fragments, utterances, and half-discovered truths voiced around us, for their speakers are the prophets to whom writers are scribes. Such filaments of wisdom, either by themselves or alloyed with others, give rise to our poems, stories, and essays. In addition, as Stafford writes, "all pleasure in writing begins with a sense of abundance--rich knowledge and boundless curiosity." By recommending ways for students to seek beyond the self for material, Stafford demystifies the process of writing and claims for it a Whitmanesque quality of participation and community.

Flatter, more collaborative organizational structures, combined with the pressure to translate innovative ideas into action quickly, are increasing the need by technical professionals-such as computer programmers, design specialists, engineers, and R&D scientists-to expand their repertoire of communication and managerial skills. In this highly accessible and practical book, Harry Chambers offers a wealth of strategies and tactics for building these skills, to the benefit of individuals, teams, and companies. In his trademark shoot-from-the-hip style, Chambers identifies specific real-world challenges that technical professionals face in the workplace, and offers definitive guidelines for enhancing their communication skills-from making presentations to giving and receiving criticism to navigating office politics. Featuring interviews with people in the trenches, as well as self-assessment tools and exercises, "Effective Communication Skills" will become a valued resource for technical professionals and their colleagues, trainers, and HR departments in all industries.

What can teachers in British and American inner-city schools learn from each other about literacy training? To explore this question, Sarah Warshauer Freedman and her British colleagues set up a writing exchange that matched classes from four middle and high schools in the San Francisco Bay area with their London equivalents.

"Exchanging Writing, Exchanging Cultures" offers concrete lessons to school reformers, policymakers, and classroom teachers about the value and effectiveness of different approaches to teaching writing. Freedman goes beyond the specific subject matter of this study, looking anew at Vygotsky's and Bakhtin's theories of social interaction and addressing the larger questions of the relationship between culture and education.

This volume describes the formative years of English composition courses in college through a study of the most prominent documents of the time: magazine articles, scholarly reports, early textbooks, teachers' testimonies-and some of the actual student papers that provoked discussion. Includes writings by leading scholars of the era such as Adams Sherman Hill, Gertrude Buck, William Edward Mead, Lane Cooper, William Lyon Phelps, and Fred Newton Scott.

Educators, academics, or business persons will find this book convenient and irreplaceable--a must to have on hand, whether writing for the first time or after years of experience. Arthur Asa Berger's guidelines and suggestions are suitable for all types of written work. . . . The entire book is a good example of practicing what you preach in that he writes with style, economy, and purpose. Read and apply Berger's writing skill techniques to enhance the effectiveness of your next writing project. --Canadian Home Economics Journal When academics speak of their writing, they are almost always referring to their books and articles. Yet, in their scholarly career, more time and effort will be spent on business correspondence--memos, letters, reports, proposals--than the items that appear on a vita. And, in most cases, no training is ever provided about how to effectively produce and present these kinds of documents. Arthur Asa Berger's brief, practical guide does just that, taking the reader through the most common kinds of business correspondence that a university professor is required to produce and offering useful advice to make these communications as effective as possible. He covers important genres such as letters of recommendation, tenure, letters, and grant proposals. In the second half of the book, Berger offers general suggestions on effective writing--brainstorming and collaborating, persuasion, outlining and revising, designing documents, avoiding writer's block, and using computers, among other topics. Just as the quality of your published pieces affects your career, so can the quality of your correspondence help or hinder academic success. Improving Writing Skills demystifies and guides you through this process.

Tracing the growth of ancient biography from the fifth century to the first century B.C., Arnaldo Momigliano asks fruitful questions about the origins and development of Greek biography. By clarifying the social and intellectual implications of the fact that the Greeks kept biography and autobiography distinct from historiography, he contributes to an understanding of a basic dichotomy in the Western tradition of historical writing. The Development of Greek Biography is fully annotated, and includes a bibliography designed to serve as an introduction to the study of biography in general. This classic study is now reissued with the addition of Momigliano's essay "Second Thoughts on Greek Biography" (1971).

Ideal for anyone interested in writing short stories or for introductory courses in fiction writing, A Short Story Writer's Companion is a highly accessible guide to the craft of creating short fiction. Written in an engaging style, this book enables beginning writers to recognize what works in writing short stories, what doesn't, and why. Part One of A Short Story Writer's Companion discusses fictional truth and significant detail, helping students of the form to make good sense of the often taught creative writing maxim, "Show, don't tell!" Part Two delves into the elements of fiction: character, point of view, plot, setting and time, metaphor, and voice. The author uses specific examples from a variety of widely anthologized short stories to demonstrate how each component functions as a part of the whole and offers advice on the techniques of using each of the elements successfully. Part Three closely examines the fiction-writing process and helps guide writers who may never have written a short story before through drafting, revising, and polishing short stories of their own.

Learning Japanese "kana" is no problem when you practice, practice, practice

Grasp the art of expressing yourself in written Japanese with "Practice Makes Perfect: Writing Japanese Kana." Perfect for intermediate to advanced learners of Japanese, this workbook leads you step-by-step through the complexities of writing hiragana and katakana characters. You work at your own pace so you gain confidence and become comfortable with this skill as you progress through the book.

You will get plenty of practice, practice, practice using proper techniques for writing Japanese characters, words, and sentences, enhancing your language-learning experience.

"Practice Makes Perfect: Writing Japanese Kana" is packed with: Clear and easy-to-understand examples that illustrate how to write hiragana and katakana characters Hundreds of exercises to build and flex your writing skills A unique writing grid to help you improve your handwriting as you practice the characters

In the tradition of Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird," a critically acclaimed National Book Award finalist shares inspiration and practical advice for writing a memoir.
Writing memoir is a deeply personal, and consequential, undertaking. As the acclaimed author of five memoirs spanning significant turning points in her life, Beth Kephart has been both blessed and bruised by the genre. In "Handling the Truth," she thinks out loud about the form--on how it gets made, on what it means to make it, on the searing language of truth, on the thin line between remembering and imagining, and, finally, on the rights of memoirists. Drawing on proven writing lessons and classic examples, on the work of her students and on her own memories of weather, landscape, color, and love, Kephart probes the wrenching and essential questions that lie at the heart of memoir.
A beautifully written work in its own right, "Handling the Truth" is Kephart's memoir-writing guide for those who read or seek to write the truth.

Built around practical exercises, this book helps students to practise and master core reading and writing skills crucial to the successful study of philosophy. "The Philosophy Skills Book" will help you to master the core skills you need to succeed in your study of Philosophy. Taking you through a series of exercises that will help you practise and perfect your reading and writing of Philosophy, this book covers such topics as: Finding arguments and drawing conclusions; Finding and resolving inconsistencies; Brainstorming and planning your essays; Summarizing and defending your argument; Using quotations; and, Avoiding common errors. Whether you want to get your studies off to a flying start or improve your final grade, "The Philosophy Skills Book" will help you develop the skills you need to be a better Philosopher.

The "Blueprints" academic writing series offers a unique combination of instruction in the rhetorical processes, while focusing on paraphrasing, summarizing, and synthesizing. This dual focus helps students develop good writing habits and avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism. Additional Writing Assignments from Academic Disciplines allows them to practice their new skills on the types of writing tasks they will face outside the ESL classroom.

Conversations in Context: Identity, Knowledge, and College Writing invites students to learn about and participate in a series of related conversations about student identities, the aims of the university, and the conventions of academic writing. Rather than seeing academic writing as consisting of objective statements of "truth," the editors of this textbook view it as a social construction of knowledge that requires rhetorical choices as well as empirical research. This book represents academic writing as a sequence of continuing conversations within discourse communities provides a variety of oppotunities to engage with and participate in these converstaions.

Read, Reason, Write unites instruction in critical reading and analysis, argument, and research strategies with a rich collection of readings that provide both practice for these skills and new ideas and insights for readers.

Through all of its years, this text has been committed to showing students how reading, analytic, argumentative, and research skills are interrelated and how these skills combine to develop each student's critical thinking ability.