Editing Books

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Sixth Edition

Joseph Gibaldi

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Subjects -> Medicine -> Research -> General AAS
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Best of Class 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Modern Language Association has developed a crisp contemporary style with ready application well beyond the realms of modern literature. The style is an evolution of Chicago style. The reference format for the "Works Cited" in MLA-speak, are virtually indistinguishable from those in Chicago-style bibliographies. However, MLA has added a unique parenthetical "author-page" citation to reference sources in the text. This is easy for both scholars and non-scholars alike to comprehend and use, making this a good general-purpose style.

The MLA Handbook does an excellent job of representing the style, though with occasional foibles. These tend to be more a distraction than a nuisance, and are often ignored when the style is used in scholarly publication. For example, there is a marked predisposition for the use of abbreviations in references. This is unnecessary, and can present some rather unsavory phrases when sounded out, such as "U of Chicago P" for University of Chicago Press. Page space is rarely so confined as to make the parsimonious use of letters productive, so many authors and journal editors forgo this frugality. The handbook devotes an entire twenty-page chapter to the topic.

There is a tendency in the handbook expand features beyond their useful application. In the last edition the requirements for presenting quotations was elaborated far beyond the needs of most scholars. This was circumscribed in the current edition, but references to electronic sources were elaborated far beyond their credible application. Such references can have up to fifteen elements! An ephemeral online source cannot be made permanent and credible by elaborating the reference to it, and this appears to be an attempt to do just that. These features, too, can be employed as needed or safely ignored.

Missing from the handbook is any reference to the use of headings and subheadings in research papers. The handbook claims that most instructors discourage their use. However, an informal sampling of articles published in the MLA's own journal, PMLA, found that about half did make use of subheadings. This seems a bit hypocritical, especially in a handbook that gets a mite preachy about plagiarism. Do as I do, do as I say, or what? To be credible the handbook should reflect the style as applied in print.

These criticisms border on the trivial simply because there is nothing else to complain about. At its best, the style employs simple rules. For example, if a number can be written in one or two words write it out. Otherwise use numerals, and always use numerals for precise measures. In contrast, APA (American Psychological Association) style has elaborate rules requiring some small numbers to be written as words, others as numerals. MLA style is free of such exceptions. As long as the style and handbook are approached with a measure of tolerance for its idiosyncrasies, it is easy to use and adequately comprehensive for all the tasks of scholarship. Only if you have delved into other research styles such as APA, AMA (American Medical Association), and Chicago can you appreciate the simplicity of MLA style and the masterly way it has been documented in the handbook. There is elegance in ordered simplicity, and more so than any other research style, MLA style has achieved that elegance.

Editorial Review:

Since it was first published in 1977, the MLA Handbook has sold nearly four million copies worldwide. Now completely revised and updated, the guide contains detailed information on using computers for research and writing and on citing electronic publications. Features include two-color printing, lie-flat binding, and a complete subject index.

The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications

Amy Einsohn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not for book publishing 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

All major publishing houses use Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., as their preferred spelling standard. There the noun is "copy editor": two words, not one as in the title of this book. Therefore, anyone using this reference work and hoping to work in the field is at an immediate disadvantage. Take my word for it: I have worked at and for major literary houses for decades, and letters requesting work as a "copyeditor" do not inspire confidence in the writer's aptitude.

Editorial Review:

The Copyeditor's Handbook is a lively, practical manual for newcomers to publishing and for experienced editors who want to fine-tune their skills or broaden their understanding of the craft. Addressed to copyeditors in book publishing and corporate communications, this thoughtful handbook explains what copyeditors do, what they look for when they edit a manuscript, and how they develop the editorial judgment needed to make sound decisions.
This revised edition reflects the most recent editions of The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.), and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.).

Copyediting & Proofreading For Dummies (For Dummies (Language & Literature))

Suzanne Gilad

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Small Business & Entrepreneurship -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great proofreading resource 4 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

I've been doing some freelance proofreading work, but I didn't know how much I still had to learn until reading this book! Sue Gilad has a lot of information: everything from grammar rules and spelling mistakes to the differences between copyediting and proofreading (glad SOMEONE could finally pinpoint the differences!). This book is clearly written and a wonderful resouce. The only thing I think it could have improved upon was the secion for finding freelance jobs. In Gilad's online book Paid to Proofread (paidtoproofread[dot]com), she offers more in-depth suggestions about creating a resume from zilch, and also ofers more in depth info about approaching editors. On the other hand, the Dummies book contains way more information about resources and grammar. All in all, this is the most comprehensive and clearly written book on proofreading I've read.

Editorial Review:

Turn your knack for language into a lucrative career

Must-know techniques and resources for maximizing your accuracy and speed

Interested in becoming a copyeditor or proofreader? Want to know more about what each job entails? This friendly guide helps you position yourself for success. Polish your skills, build a winning résumé and land the job you've always wanted. Books, magazines, Web sites, corporate documents - find out how to improve any type of publication and make yourself indispensable to writers, editors, and your boss.

• Balance between style and rules
• Master the art of the query
• Use proofreader symbols
• Edit and proof electronic documents
• Build a solid freelancing career

Associated Press Guide to News Writing: The Resource for Professional Journalists

Cappon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This author is the epitome of witty 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Even if you're not interested in journalism - if all that you're looking for is a fun read - then pick up this book. He takes examples of good work and explains why it's good, as well as poor work and points out the deficiencies in a way this is both entertaining and enlightening. I don't agree with all of his opinions, but I very much enjoyed the book nonetheless.

A Great and Essential Read for New Writers 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I love this book! As a working journalist for some national newspapers the sentiment here reminded me of what my editors told me when I started out. I also work as a writing professor and started using this as mandatory reading for my newspaper and magazine writing class. The basic premise of the book is to write tightly, clearly and to rid one's work of irritating nonsense and twaddle. It's the only way to get published so the advice is best followed. The examples of news writing that the author offers are also very helpful.

excellent refresher--but have your dictionary handy 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

A superb refresher for veteran journalists--and light-hearted. Cappon is as much a humorist as an editor and instructor. Besides its wealth of ideas and corrections, the guide is a fun read. But be within arm's reach of your dictionary as you proceed. Cappon assumes such terms as "rococo," "fatuous," "tautology" and "pedagogue" are in your casual vocabulary. And of course you know what "bowwow language" is. (Are you certain?)

Daniel Elton Harmon
www.danieleltonharmon.com

Editorial Review:

Offers a practical review of the essentials of good journalistic writing.

The Elements of Legal Style

Bryan A. Garner

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Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not just for lawyers 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I am a physician who tested out of all college English to focus on science. Writing chart notes, scientific articles, or even parts of textbooks does not prepare one for the type of writing one must do when performing legal work.

Scientific-technical writing, legal writing, or the best-selling novel all require different writing styles. Mr. Garner's book must be a help to law students based on other reviews but importantly to me; it is very accessable to those who have never attended law school.

Legal style is a "style" that is important in the profession of law. If you do any work in this area at all, whether it is on the stand or writing essays, it behooves the non-lawyer to read this book. So, even though I agree with the glowing reviews from lawyers, this book may be even more important to those of us who must do legal work but have never been to law school.

Editorial Review:

With expanded coverage in this new edition, The Elements of Legal Style features additional sections, many more examples, and a thoroughly researched appendix that contains 80 major statements on prose style--what it is and how to attain it. Inspired by Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, this book clearly (often wittily) explains the full range of what legal writers need to know: mechanics, word choice, structure, and rhetoric, as well as all the special conventions that legal writers should follow in using headings, defined terms, quotations, and many other devices. Garner also provides abundant examples from the best legal writers of yesterday and today, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Clarence Darrow, Frank Easterbrook, and Antonin Scalia.
If you want to make your writing clearer, more precise, more persuasive, and above all more stylish, The Elements of Legal Style offers the surest--and the most enjoyable--means to that end.

Revision And Self-Editing (Write Great Fiction)

James Scott Bell

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Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Don’t let the revision process intimidate you any longer. Discover how to successfully transform your first draft into a polished final draft readers won’t be able to forget.

In Write Great Fiction: Revision & Self-Editing, James Scott Bell draws on his experience as a novelist and instructor to provide specific revision tips geared toward the first read-through, as well as targeted self-editing instruction focusing on the individual elements of a novel like plot, structure, characters, theme, voice, style, setting, and endings. You’ll learn how to:

• Write a cleaner first draft right out of the gate using Bell’s plotting principles
• Get the most out of revision and self-editing techniques by honing your skills with detailed exercises
• Systematically revise a completed draft using the ultimate revision checklist that talks you through the core story elements

Whether you’re in the process of writing a novel, have a finished draft you don’t know what to do with, or have a rejected manuscript you don’t know how to fix, Revision & Self-Editing gives you the guidance you need to write and revise like a pro.

EVERYDAY EDITING: Inviting Students to Develop Skill and Craft in Writer's Workshop

Jeff Anderson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

I'm Writing "Grammar" and "Fun" in the Same Sentence 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Jeff Anderson's book offers lots of practical ideas for tweaking your writer's workshop and making your students better writers. He devotes chapters to various skills and how to teach them (serial commas, appositives, participles, etc.). One of his basic tenets is selecting good examples of sentences from your own readings of YA books, then using them as teaching tools by asking kids what they notice (it might be how appositives are punctuated, or how the colon introduces a list). The sentences interest the kids because they are taken from high interest books, and instead of learning from BAD sentences that are riddled with mistakes for correction, students learn from models that are free of mistakes (novel thought -- "mentor" sentences instead of "mental" ones).

You can find plenty of sentences to use in your own readings, but if you don't have time, Anderson provides examples for you in this book. He also devises sentence combining activities by "deconstructing" good mentor sentences and asking students to put them together again (where's Humpty Dumpty when you need him?). Again, great idea. Studies have proven that sentence combining is an effective teaching tool.

I just used Anderson's idea for creating an Appositive Book with separate flaps for the subject, the appositive, and the verb parts of the sentences and my students loved it. By raising different flaps in the partitioned book, they were able to create some amusing (OK, silly) sentences using appositives. It's stuff like this that makes stuff like grammar (the Teflon of our teaching chores) stick!

Recommendation: Buy. Then use. Frequently.

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS): The Easy Way!

Peggy M. Houghton, Timothy J. Houghton

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent Resource!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I highly recommend this handbook to anyone who must utilize CMS style of writing. It is a conccise booklet of everything the majority of writers need to know.

Editorial Review:

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) is an accepted format used by many academic and nonacademic institutions and publications. The purpose of this book is to simplify the mechanics of developing a paper using the Chicago style. The book covers many of the detailed specifications of the Chicago style...including spacing, margins, captilization, citing of sources, etc. It also contains suggestions that enable the reader to fulfill CMS rules and regulations while focusing on the content, rather than the format, of the actual document.

The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage : The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative Newspaper

Allan M. Siegal, William G. Connolly

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Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"A foolish consistency," Emerson insisted, "is the hobgoblin of little minds." That may well be, but editors have enough reasons to reject your work; don't let sloppy inconsistencies be one of them. The New York Times Manual of Style & Usage was written for the paper's editors and writers, but it is a fine, up-to-date resource for anyone's use. Our language is ever-mutating, and a guide such as this will ensure that you understand the impact your words might have before they reach print. Should you use Native Americans or American Indians? Debark or disembark? Did you know that thermos is no longer a trademark, but that Popsicle and Dumpster are? Writing, when you get down to it, is nothing more than the careful choosing of words. This style book will ensure that you don't choose carat when you mean karat, jury-rigged when you want jerry-built, chow chow when chowchow is called for, or V-8 when you could have had a V8. A naysayer may bridle against the strictures of such a rule book, but the authors believe "the rules should encourage thinking, not discourage it." Plus, "a rule," they say, "can shield against untidiness in detail that might make readers doubt large facts." We'd call the book "user-friendly," but that, we've learned, can be downright "reader-tiresome." --Jane Steinberg

Phunny Stuph: Proofreading Exercises with a Sense of Humor

M.S. Samston

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Middle School Teacher Pick 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

As a middle school writing teacher, I had trouble getting students interested in proofreading and editing. These proofreading activities are fast and easy to use, and what middle schooler doesn't enjoy a joke to spice up an assignment?

(untitled) 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

After trying at least four other proofreading exercise programs over the years, I've finally found the winner of the bunch. These proofreading exercises are at just the right level for my middle schoolers, and the humor keeps them engaged. The jokes are helping improve my EL students' reading comprehension, as well. At first, my EL students had to frequently ask for the explanation to a joke. Now, most of them pick up on the context clues that create the humor. I highly recommend "Phunny Stuph."

Editorial Review:

Jokes and humorous urban legends make up all 100 proof-reading exercises in this useful and engaging book. The errors include a little bit of everything - missing punctuation, spelling mistakes, errors in usage, sentence fragments, and more. Each exercise includes teaching notes and an example of a possible correction.