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As an English professor, without fail, the semester starts something like this. Everyone thinks they are brilliant, first paper comes back, students stress and they ask what they can do to be brilliant writers. It is a mystery to them, a mystery they want to decode. I think these books are useful for anyone who wants to write better.
Other than the obvious, don’t write your paper the night before.
Every year I recommend three books.
- The Little Seagull Handbook by Richard Bullock and Francine Weinberg: This nifty little thing has everything you need to know about MLA and APA format. It shows you how to cite any type of source. Literally, every source you can imagine. Little Seagull will be your best friend in high school,college, grad school and any time you need to write. You guys will have a wonderful relationship and not just for your English classes.
- The Elements of Style by William Struck Jr. and E.B. White: This slim volume teaches you everything you need to know about grammar. The collection really has not changed much over time. The Elements of Style is a classic.
- The Deluxe Transitive Vampire (The Unlimited Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon: Now that’s a title! If you get bored easily this book is for you. It has everything that the Elements of Style has with a little twist. When I say twist I mean examples with vampires and unicorns.
The great thing about these books is that they are useful for more than just your English Literature or English Composition classes. They can help you write a paper for law school, a history paper, or a blog post!
“Be curious, not judgmental.” Walt Whitman
Ahhh, the Delux Transitive Vampire is THE BEST.
Author
Best suggestion ever for school. You know all the books!
*deluxe 🙄