Essential books for the student writer

Florianne Jimenez

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Books guaranteed to help students write easier and better

WORD POWER. Arm yourself with the best weapons to take on grueling paper work. Image from Shutterstock

MANILA, Philippines – It’s the most wonderful time of the year: school supplies shopping season! As you pick up some fresh notebooks, pens, highlighters and Post-its for the incoming school year, you may want to get a few books that will make writing your grueling papers a lot easier. The books on this list are guaranteed to be used for more than one school year, and are great references on writing and language to have on any home’s bookshelf.

A good English dictionary

LOST FOR WORDS? A reliable dictionary is your best friend. Photo from http://global.oup.com/

Having a print dictionary in the age of apps and widgets sounds positively archaic, but there are benefits to having a print dictionary on-hand. For one, it inhibits distraction: how many times have you opened up your browser to quickly look up something, and then looked up and realized two hours have gone by? Looking up a word in a print dictionary ensures that you stay on-task. It also gives younger students practice in looking up a topic or a word in alphabetical order. I would recommend the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (12th Ed.)

However, going digital does have benefits too: online dictionaries tend to be more updated, and can be supplemented by video and audio. The best one out there would be the Dictionary.com app, available for Android and Apple iOS. The advantage of this free app is that it works offline, and can be used to look up words in any classroom or lecture hall, Wi-Fi capable or not.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

THE CLASSIC. 'The Elements of Syle' contains basic grammar rules for all levels

Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is a classic reference guide for writers at all levels. It offers a quick review of basic rules of grammar, basic principles of composition, and style tips. While some of its prescriptions have been criticized (link), most of its advice, like ‘Keep it simple, stupid’ and ‘Stick to the active voice’ is timeless and practical.

If you have a little extra to shell out, or you’d like a copy that’s a bit more display-worthy, you can also buy the Strunk and White Illustrated Edition. This version offers the same text as the original with a few updates for the contemporary reader and writer, but now offers fifty-seven whimsical drawings from artist Maria Kalman. As a teacher, I’ve learned that there’s no better way to make students correct an error than to use it in an outrageous example, and Kalman’s drawings fit the bill. These drawings visualize the examples that Strunk and White drew up and help imprint the rules for writers.

A Pocket Style Manual, by Diana Hacker

STYLE MANUAL. Never worry about citations with this handy style guide. Photo from http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/

Many of my students say they like writing their papers, but they hate working on the little niggling details of academic writing, like Works Cited entries, footnotes, and citations. Admittedly, those little details are a pain, but they’re also important conventions in the academic community. To make academic citation a little easier for students, I recommend Diana Hacker’s Pocket Style Manual. Like Strunk and White, this small, portable guide offers tips on style and grammar, but more importantly, has citation guides for multiple disciplines and styles. Whether you use MLA, APA, Chicago, or CBE, the Hacker manual can answer your questions about acknowledging sources.

On Writing Well: The 30th Anniversary Edition, by William Zinsser

ON WRITING WELL. The classic guide to writing non-fiction. From the On Writing Well Facebook page

The earlier selections in this article are useful for students looking for a quick answer to their queries on writing. Admittedly, they’re not books that you’d curl up with and think about the craft of writing. If you want a book that’s more philosophical and conversational, Zinsser’s On Writing Well is a great choice. Zinsser offers both technical insight on the craft of writing mixed with anecdotes from his years as a teacher and writer. – Rappler.com

(Florianne L. Jimenez teaches Literature and College Writing at the University of the Philippines Diliman. She is a Palanca award-winning non-fiction writer, with a creative interest in the self, places, and consciousness. She has a massive to-be-read pile dating back to 2008, which includes such titles as ‘The Collected Stories of Gabriel Garcia Marquez,’ ‘Book 5 of Y: The Last Man,’ and ‘The Collected Works of TS Spivet: A Novel.’)

Image via Shutterstock

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