Written collaboratively by writing instructors at the Queen's University Writing Centre, A Writer's Handbook is a compact yet thorough guide to academic writing for a North American audience. This clear and concise handbook outlines strategies both for thinking assignments through and for writing them well. The third edition is revised and updated throughout.

Features of the third edition:

- Updated citation section (MLA, APA, Chicago, scientific, electronic)

- Updated section on using and citing electronic sources

- Expanded coverage of report writing and business letters

Comments:

"The third edition of A Writer's Handbook beautifully speaks to and meets the needs of its target readers: university undergraduate students. Casson and the other contributors truly understand the common and most significant issues of undergraduate writing, whether in the humanities or the sciences, and they communicate with refreshing clarity the strategies, techniques, and information students will need in order to write effectively. An accessible, concise, and engaging resource. Highly recommended!" - Michael Johnstone, University of Toronto

"My students will find A Writer's Handbook immediately helpful; it makes sense of what professors often fail to explain but expect students to know and perform effortlessly." - Caroline L. Eisner, Director of Academic Writing, AcademicCoachingandWriting.org, and co-editor of Originality, Imitation, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age

"What makes Casson's Handbook so unusual is also what makes it most useful to me in my teaching: it is actually readable. My students like it, and they learn from it because they like it. I'm certain that they will continue to like what they read in this new edition." - John Eustace, Acadia University

Leslie E. Casson teaches Writing and Communications at Queen's University and St. Lawrence College, Kingston, Ontario.

Table of Contents: [Back to Top]

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Understanding the Assignment

Looking for Action

Different Verbs, Different Essays

Chapter 2: Planning and Outlining

Gathering Material

What/How/Why

Organizing Material —Developing Your Thesis and Outline

Chapter 3: Paragraphs

The Long and the Short of It

What/How/Why ... Again

Focus and Coherence

Transitions

Beginnings and Endings

Know Your Project

Chapter 4: Stylistic Decisions

Editing with Your Ears

Content vs. Grammar

To Be or Not ...

Prepositional Phrases

Tone

Beware Your Thesaurus

Figurative Language

Be Precise or Be Realistic

Chapter 5: Essential Grammar

Clauses

Voice: Passive or Active?

Making Contact: Working with Connectors

She or Her, Who or Whom? It All Depends on the Case

Mood

Chapter 6: Punctuation

That's All I Have to Say. Period.

Connecting Ideas: Commas and Dashes

Connecting More Ideas: Colons and Semicolons

Exclamation Points!

Ellipses and Brackets: Clarifying Quoted Material

Contraction and Possession: The Apostrophe

When Not to Use an Apostrophe: Possessive Pronouns

Chapter 7: Documentation

The P Word: Plagiarism

When to Cite a Source

When Not to Cite a Source

Documentation Systems

1. Modern Language Association (MLA) Format
2. American Psychological Association (APA Format)
3. Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Style) Format
   

Chapter 8: Business Writing

Reader-Centred Writing: It's All about You

Always Look on the Bright Side: Making Negatives Positive

Creating Information Snapshots: Parallel Structure

Creating More Information Snapshots: Bullets and Headings

Formats and Templates: Workplace Communications

Some Notes on Email

Chapter 9: Writing in the Sciences

IMRAD: Formatting Your Lab Report

Abstracts: Making the Essentials Concrete

Passive Voice: It's Not All about You

Giving Credit: Documentation Formats

Tone: Be Direct and Be Objective

Appendix 1: Confusable Words: Usage and Misusage

Appendix 2: Recommended Writing Guides