A Pocket Style Manual with Exercises, with 2021 MLA Update
Ninth Edition ©2021 Diana Hacker; Nancy Sommers Formats: E-book, Print
As low as $19.99
As low as $19.99
Authors
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Diana Hacker
Diana Hacker personally class-tested her handbooks with nearly four thousand students over thirty-five years at Prince George's Community College in Maryland, where she was a member of the English faculty. Hacker handbooks, built on innovation and on a keen understanding of the challenges facing student writers, are the most widely adopted in America. Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin's, include A Writer's Reference, Eleventh Edition (2025); A Pocket Style Manual, Tenth Edition (2025); The Bedford Handbook, Twelfth Edition (2023); Rules for Writers, Tenth Edition (2022); and Writer’s Help 2.0, Hacker Version.
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Nancy Sommers
Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches in Harvard's Graduate School of Education. She led Harvard's Expository Writing Program for twenty years, directing the first-year writing program and establishing Harvard's WAC program. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Her articles “Revision Strategies of Student and Experienced Writers” and “Responding to Student Writing” are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition. Recently she has been exploring different audiences through publishing in popular media. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and editor of Tiny Teaching Stories on Macmillan Learning's Bits Blog.
Table of Contents
1 Tighten wordy sentences.
2 Prefer active verbs.
3 Balance parallel ideas.
4 Add needed words.
5 Eliminate distracting shifts.
6 Untangle mixed constructions.
7 Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers.
8 Provide sentence variety.
9 Find an appropriate voice.
Grammar
10 Make subjects and verbs agree.
11 Be alert to other problems with verbs.
12 Use pronouns with care.
13 Use adjectives and adverbs appropriately.
14 Repair sentence fragments.
15 Revise run-on sentences.
16 Consider grammar topics for multilingual writers.
Punctuation
17 The comma
18 The semicolon and the colon
19 The apostrophe
20 Quotation marks
21 Other punctuation marks
Mechanics
22 Capitalization
23 Abbreviations, numbers, and italics
24 Hyphenation
Research
25 Posing a research question
26 Finding appropriate sources
27 Managing information; avoiding plagiarism
28 Evaluating sources
MLA Papers
29 Supporting a thesis
30 Avoiding plagiarism
31 Integrating sources
32 Integrating literary quotations
33 MLA documentation style
34 MLA format; sample research paper
APA Papers
35 Supporting a thesis
36 Avoiding plagiarism
37 Integrating sources
38 APA documentation style
39 APA format; sample research paper
Chicago Papers
40 Supporting a thesis
41 Avoiding plagiarism
42 Integrating sources
43 Chicago documentation style
44 Chicago format; sample pages
CSE Papers
45 CSE documentation style
46 CSE format
Exercises
Product Updates
Summer 2024 Updates:
New! Exclusive Hacker/Sommers Content: AI Guides for Instructors and Students.
Boost AI literacy with Generative AI and College Writing, a brief resource by Nancy Sommers that helps college writers understand the opportunities and challenges of AI use in academic settings. Separate instructor and student guides offer support for using AI ethically and responsibly, with assessment to help reinforce concepts. Now available in the Achieve courses for A Writer’s Reference, Rules for Writers, A Pocket Style Manual, The Bedford Handbook, and Achieve-Writer’s Help-Hacker.
Ninth Edition Updates (2021):
Authors
-
Diana Hacker
Diana Hacker personally class-tested her handbooks with nearly four thousand students over thirty-five years at Prince George's Community College in Maryland, where she was a member of the English faculty. Hacker handbooks, built on innovation and on a keen understanding of the challenges facing student writers, are the most widely adopted in America. Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin's, include A Writer's Reference, Eleventh Edition (2025); A Pocket Style Manual, Tenth Edition (2025); The Bedford Handbook, Twelfth Edition (2023); Rules for Writers, Tenth Edition (2022); and Writer’s Help 2.0, Hacker Version.
-
Nancy Sommers
Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches in Harvard's Graduate School of Education. She led Harvard's Expository Writing Program for twenty years, directing the first-year writing program and establishing Harvard's WAC program. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Her articles “Revision Strategies of Student and Experienced Writers” and “Responding to Student Writing” are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition. Recently she has been exploring different audiences through publishing in popular media. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and editor of Tiny Teaching Stories on Macmillan Learning's Bits Blog.
Table of Contents
1 Tighten wordy sentences.
2 Prefer active verbs.
3 Balance parallel ideas.
4 Add needed words.
5 Eliminate distracting shifts.
6 Untangle mixed constructions.
7 Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers.
8 Provide sentence variety.
9 Find an appropriate voice.
Grammar
10 Make subjects and verbs agree.
11 Be alert to other problems with verbs.
12 Use pronouns with care.
13 Use adjectives and adverbs appropriately.
14 Repair sentence fragments.
15 Revise run-on sentences.
16 Consider grammar topics for multilingual writers.
Punctuation
17 The comma
18 The semicolon and the colon
19 The apostrophe
20 Quotation marks
21 Other punctuation marks
Mechanics
22 Capitalization
23 Abbreviations, numbers, and italics
24 Hyphenation
Research
25 Posing a research question
26 Finding appropriate sources
27 Managing information; avoiding plagiarism
28 Evaluating sources
MLA Papers
29 Supporting a thesis
30 Avoiding plagiarism
31 Integrating sources
32 Integrating literary quotations
33 MLA documentation style
34 MLA format; sample research paper
APA Papers
35 Supporting a thesis
36 Avoiding plagiarism
37 Integrating sources
38 APA documentation style
39 APA format; sample research paper
Chicago Papers
40 Supporting a thesis
41 Avoiding plagiarism
42 Integrating sources
43 Chicago documentation style
44 Chicago format; sample pages
CSE Papers
45 CSE documentation style
46 CSE format
Exercises
Product Updates
Summer 2024 Updates:
New! Exclusive Hacker/Sommers Content: AI Guides for Instructors and Students.
Boost AI literacy with Generative AI and College Writing, a brief resource by Nancy Sommers that helps college writers understand the opportunities and challenges of AI use in academic settings. Separate instructor and student guides offer support for using AI ethically and responsibly, with assessment to help reinforce concepts. Now available in the Achieve courses for A Writer’s Reference, Rules for Writers, A Pocket Style Manual, The Bedford Handbook, and Achieve-Writer’s Help-Hacker.
Ninth Edition Updates (2021):
Writing help at a glance.
A Pocket Style Manual with Exercises provides practical advice for any level of college writing. Straightforward instruction on grammar, style, and punctuation gives students quick answers to their writing questions. Step-by-step guides and a how-to approach to research writing help students form research questions, integrate sources, and more. Coverage of and numerous citation models for four different styles teach students how to cite by example. Paired with Achieve, an engaging and powerful digital platform (see Related Titles for more details), A Pocket Style Manual with Exercises helps students find exactly what they need no matter where they are in the writing process -- or their college careers.Looking for instructor resources like Test Banks, Lecture Slides, and Clicker Questions? Request access to Achieve to explore the full suite of instructor resources.
Instructor Resources
Instructor Resources
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Diana Hacker; Marcy Carbajal Van Horn; Jonathan S. Cullick; Sara McCurry | Fourth Edition | ©2021 | ISBN:9781319342029You've selected:
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Sometimes also referred to as a spiral-bound or binder-ready textbook, loose-leaf textbooks are available to purchase. This three-hole punched, unbound version of the book costs less than a hardcover or paperback book.
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We can help! Contact your representative to discuss your specific needs for your course. If our off-the-shelf course materials don’t quite hit the mark, we also offer custom solutions made to fit your needs.
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FAQs
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Are you a campus bookstore looking for ordering information?
MPS Order Search Tool (MOST) is a web-based purchase order tracking program that allows customers to view and track their purchases. No registration or special codes needed! Just enter your BILL-TO ACCT # and your ZIP CODE to track orders.
Canadian Stores: Please use only the first five digits/letters in your zip code on MOST.
Visit MOST, our online ordering system for booksellers: https://tracking.mpsvirginia.com/Login.aspx
Learn more about our Bookstore programs here: https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/contact-us/booksellers
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Our courses currently integrate with Canvas, Blackboard (Learn and Ultra), Brightspace, D2L, and Moodle. Click on the support documentation below to find out more details about the integration with each LMS.
Integrate Macmillan courses with Blackboard
Integrate Macmillan courses with Canvas
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-
If you’re a verified instructor, you can request a free sample of our courseware, e-book, or print textbook to consider for use in your courses. Only registered and verified instructors can receive free print and digital samples, and they should not be sold to bookstores or book resellers. If you don't yet have an existing account with Macmillan Learning, it can take up to two business days to verify your status as an instructor. You can request a free sample from the right side of this product page by clicking on the "Request Instructor Sample" button or by contacting your rep. Learn more.
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-
-
Sometimes also referred to as a spiral-bound or binder-ready textbook, loose-leaf textbooks are available to purchase. This three-hole punched, unbound version of the book costs less than a hardcover or paperback book.
-
-
-
We can help! Contact your representative to discuss your specific needs for your course. If our off-the-shelf course materials don’t quite hit the mark, we also offer custom solutions made to fit your needs.
-
A Pocket Style Manual with Exercises, with 2021 MLA Update
A Pocket Style Manual with Exercises provides practical advice for any level of college writing. Straightforward instruction on grammar, style, and punctuation gives students quick answers to their writing questions. Step-by-step guides and a how-to approach to research writing help students form research questions, integrate sources, and more. Coverage of and numerous citation models for four different styles teach students how to cite by example. Paired with Achieve, an engaging and powerful digital platform (see Related Titles for more details), A Pocket Style Manual with Exercises helps students find exactly what they need no matter where they are in the writing process -- or their college careers.
Select a demo to view:
Sample Achieve