PUBLISHED GUIDES TO GOOD WRITING

Many books offering advice on good writing can be purchased or can be found in a library.  These books offer advice applicable to History majors as well as students in all other fields.  Indeed, most persons whose jobs require a lot of writing own one or more of these guides.

1.  William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, The Elements of Style. 4th ed., 1999.  Published by Allyn and Bacon.  Price: $14.95.  This is probably the best-selling style book of the past century.  It is just over 100 pages long, and contains a handy, interesting compendium of advice of all sorts.  It is usually just referred to as “Strunk and White.”  If you can afford to buy only one guide to good writing, make this the one.

                                                                                   

2.  The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition, 1993.  Published by the University of Chicago.  Price: $45.00.  This is the all-inclusive “Bible” among guides to writing.  If you have any question about grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc., it is probably answered here.  For example, if you wish to refer to a ship in the U.S. Navy, should you type a) USS Constitution b) USS Constitution , or  c) “USS Constitution”?  (Answer: b).   If Mr. Jones loses his hat, do we refer to the lost item as a) Mr. Jone’s hat b) Mr. Jones’s hat c) Mr. Joneses’ hat? (Answer: b).   This book contains over 900 pages.  In addition to chapters on style, it contains chapters on documentation (in notes and bibliographies), the art of translating from foreign languages, preparation of indexes for books, and many other topics of interest to professional writers.

                                                                                   

 3.  William G. Connolly and Allan M. Siegal, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, revised edition, 1999.  Price: $30.00.   Intended mainly for journalists, this book covers many of the same topics discussed in Strunk and White and The Chicago Manual of Style.  It is an excellent guide for general writers in all disciplines.                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                               

 

There are many other writing guides on the market.  The three mentioned above are the most famous and most widely respected.  All three are available in Friedsam memorial Library. One can also purchased them through a bookstore or via the Internet (eg, Amazon or Barnes and Noble).

  Here are a handful of other highly recommended published guides to wring and research:

  Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual. 3rd ed.  New York: Bedford Books, 2000. $18.75.

                                                                       

Harris, Muriel. The Writer’s FAQs: A Pocket Handbook.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. $15.60.

                                                                                  

 

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