A Pocket Style Manual

by Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers

Becoming a college writer means becoming a college researcher, and it can be a challenge for students to keep all of the guidelines and best practices straight for each class. Enter A Pocket Style Manual. The eighth edition—with its emphasis on step-by-step how-to instruction that helps students apply writing, research, and citation advice in practical, transferable ways—is a powerful companion for writing in all disciplines. What’s more, it includes complete and updated guidelines for 2016 MLA style and features more than 300 documentation models in MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE styles. With Pocket’s new research help, tested and trusted grammar and style advice, and digital tools that make practice, tracking, and grading simple, you’ve got the most powerful pocket guide for college writing and research.

Genres: Reference, Writing, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Language, School, Education

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

NEED TO OWN FOR ALL STUDENTS!! Used for both Eng101 and ENG102. Very helpful. Very detailed.
Additional resource linked from Diana Hackers web-site: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/pocke...

[Chris]

If you’re on this website, you probably know 80 percent of this already.

[Janet Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am constantly using this book in my classroom. If you have grammar questions, APA issues, or MLA issues then you should use this book. Diane Hacker also has a website, if you just need a quick reference.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my life-saving reference book in college, particularly when I was working on my Masters Degree. Its compact size and spiral binding made it easy to carry between classes and the library. Recommended if you can get a copy.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why didn't I buy this in my first year of study. It's a fantastic little book.

[Heather]

Required resource in a previous editing job. Fairly easy to find information and love the spiral binding. Updating now to newer edition (8th) to consider as a resource for my current writing staff.

[Dylan Bean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing papers was the worst.

[Marcus Goncalves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for grammar overall, but it needs an update.

[Jim Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do recommend "A Pocket Style Manual," by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, Eighth Edition.

I used the APA format for the online courses, at American Public University, that I have taken in retirement. The MLA format is new to me; the guide looks like it will be very helpful.

I am a fan of "The Careful Writer - A Modern Guide to English Usage" by Theodore M. Bernstein, (1965), and I often wonder how unfashionable this makes me. Hacker and Sommers reassure me that many of my crotchets are still apposite. If you disagree, please feel free to push back.

I am inclined to ignore some of the "9a Jargon" (p. 15) guidance.
"Impact is a fine word when something is struck with considerable force, or (impacted) a tooth is blocked by surrounding bone. I am of the antediluvian camp that will be describing the "affect on the environment," or the "environmental effect." I consider "impactful" to be an egregious solecism.

I do agree that "viable" should be used to describe living organisms. I also recognize that "practical" does not denote probability of success. Still "practicable" is a far better choice than "workable."

I do agree that "dialogue" is a noun, never a verb.

"9d Sexist language" (p. 17) is excellent.

"Absolute concepts" (p. 40) is right out of Bernstein, and I could not agree more. Something is either unique, or it is not.

"If the first independent clause introduces a quoted sentence, use a colon" (p. 44) is new to me.

The authors do not explicitly address "fewer" (for countable) nouns vs. "less" for noncount nouns, but the distinction is clear. Nor do they address in the increasing use of "amount" for items that are countable. They do make the distinction between countable and noncount nouns sharply enough that I would hope the next edition will be explicit, and ban the use of "amount" for countable nouns as Bernstein does on p. 40 of his Guide. The discussion of noncount, vs. countable, nouns is in the section for multilingual speakers: apparently they expect native speakers to know better.

"Between items in a series" (p. 56) confirms the use of the Oxford coma.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book, not with the intention to sit with it and read it from cover to cover one time. No, I bought this book because it was recommended to me by one of my English professors and she was spot on.

This book is great as a reference guide. It includes how to apply the styling guidelines by the three most know style entities: APA, MLA and Chicago; plus also shows CSE (which I must admit I just found out about it). In addition, the first part of the book is dedicated to how use grammar properly and how to build your papers.

There is a reference in the first pages to a website with additional (up-to-date) content about these writing styles.

I still plan to buy the original works, that is the APA, MLA and Chicago Manuals, but in the meantime I know this book will save me from those sudden moments when you realize that you have to add a particular citation to your work and you have no idea how to do it.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really, really good little manual, especially concerning its size. I've read a lot of short ones that are filled with too much prose to make them useful, or that don't have the examples or specifics I need. There's only been one thing so far, a specific example of a rule, that I looked up and couldn't find, and I wasn't able to find it anywhere online, either. Only the good ol' Chicago Manual of Style helped me out and since I have a hard copy of that, too, I'm good to go. (I like having hardcopies because sometimes my Internet is just too slow.) Highly recommended.

[Kendra Vollmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manual is a great tool to use when writing using the Chicago style. It provides a multitude of examples that helps to write in the proper format. I liked the layout and how it took me through many different aspects of the style. It was extremely helpful to use while writing my paper and I will definitely use it as a resource in the future. I recommend this to anyone who struggles to remember how to properly format and complete citations.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, I've spent a lot of quality time with this little book. It is our assigned text for our info lit classes. I have to say that it is pretty darned handy, with basic information about citation styles and sound wisdom about conducting library research for just $10.

Oh, yeah, and Barbara Fister has been the person revising it in recent editions :)

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

WISH I'd had this toward the end of high school and the beginning of college. I won't use another grammar/punctuation/style/research/citing guide again, especially when it's HALF the price of the original textbook. This efficiently replaces the combination of reference books I've used when teaching - including Strunk & White. I should have had this YEARS ago, but now will suffice.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an indispensable tool. If you write papers, essays, reviews, etc., this is the book for you. It has concise entries on style, citations (MLA, Chicago, APA), and more. A handy backpack staple. The larger full style manual is also excellent as a desk reference.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say? I'm not reading my book club's book this month because I am reading this book and others preparing each week for a Basic Writing Refresher workplace workshop I am teaching this month.

[James Richmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how this book helped with my studies not only for my career, but also as a scholar. I recommend this to anyone who's looking to up their writing skills, or wishes to take more intensive writing courses.

[Aynur Safarova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been using this book for almost a year and has been very helpful in my MSc degree and with my papers. Clear guidance with lots of examples, are well-structured and easy to refer different styles.

[Michael Cheehy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I should have read a long time ago. I am a student and this book will be invaluable as it gives guides for different formats as well as regular writing tips. You will even discover how to use a hyphen, so I would recommend this book.

[Rajiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of you native speakers who write English as a second language, Hacker is the book for you.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly helpful little book. It's small and it's explanations are concise.

[Lafcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pocket reference - if you have big pockets. Clarity, grammar, punctuation and mechanics, research, documentation, and usage/grammatical terms.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for toting around campus. Compact.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diana Hacker is one of the experts on style. I prefer her larger edition, but this one works well too.

[Christopher Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

The single best resource for correctly citing anything in any format that I was able to find in four years of college.

[untogether · Rating 5 out of 5]

Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age by Diana Hacker (2005)

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guess what I'm teaching in the fall and spring? Comp!

[Jonathan]

None

[Erika Forth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a very helpful resource when I quickly needed to look up a certain usage rule. It was particularly helpful in doing papers in styles I don't normally work with, like APA or Chicago.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as complete as "Little Brown" but more portable. MLA cowers in fear of you when you're armed with this.