Hackett Publishing

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Engagingly written and illustrated with scores of telling examples, this plainspoken how-to book for college writers identifies those qualities that most typically distinguish good writing from bad and provides practical measures for avoiding pitfalls.

Included are do's and don'ts for achieving concision, clarity, and flow, as well as pointers on using punctuation, writing gracefully, citing sources, and structuring persuasive writing.

Championing "the plain style" with a keen appreciation for the uses to which language can be put—including abuses to which it is prone—The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing is a guide that never fails to remind readers why good writing matters so much in the first place, in college and beyond.

"Unusual for a style handbook, Nuts and Bolts embeds writing advice in essays that identify rhetorical structures as tools for 'shaping your ideas, questions, and convictions to share with others.' While it offers suggestions that will help writers fine-tune their sentences and paragraphs, it has a lot to say about the machinery of college writing on a grander scale—the switches, transformers, and fans which must function well before a unit can be bolted together. Thoughtful chapters cover concision, clarity, flow, punctuation, gracefulness, using sources, paragraphs, and beginnings and endings; the table of contents can help a writer pinpoint sections, but the context provided by the essays is what makes this guide shine. Examples are taken from a broad range of humanities disciplines, and an appendix summarizes documents and citation styles in Chicago, MLA, and APA formats. This worthy successor to Strunk and White concludes, 'When you write something worth reading it won't be because you followed the rules and conventions. . . . It will be because you had something real to say, and said it with clarity and grace.' Summing up: Highly recommended."
    
     —P. Finley, CHOICE

"The ability to write well 'is not a frill for the few, but an essential skill for the many'—so declared the National Commission on Writing in its 2003 report on 'The Need for a Writing Revolution.' Michael Harvey speaks to that need. With concision and wit, he shows college students how to write papers that are clear, cogent—and also stylish."

     —James Miller, Editor, DÆDALUS

"Simply the best guide to clear and effective writing since Strunk and White. Indispensable for students—and for their teachers, who will also find themselves writing better with Michael Harvey's help."
    
    —Terry Nardin, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

"I'm quite sure that my students are tired of hearing me say—almost daily—that I just love this book and wish I had written it myself. It so perfectly matches my course, my teaching style, and my approach to writing and is exactly the book I wish I had written! A couple of my colleagues have also read it and were just delighted with it.


    "My students have also said that they appreciate it, especially the very concrete grammar tips that totally relate to and improve their writing style. They think it's one of the best blends of grammar within the context of writing that they've worked with. They also really appreciate the low price; as high school seniors saving furiously for college, they appreciate any 'breaks' they can get. Several of them have also commented on the nice size; they slip it in a folder and carry it with them everywhere for a quick, handy reference."
    
    —Rebekah Wierenga, South Christian High School, Grand Rapids, Michigan

"Even the most sophisticated writer could benefit from this work, which nevertheless aims at the broad audience of students trying to learn, step by step, how to write. Interestingly, this is more than a 'how to' book. The author's aim, clearly stated, is to deflate pompous language and to instill the habit of plain language and clear thinking. He manages to do so in such a way that his own writing embodies the clarity (and grace) that he helps his reader to achieve. Other approaches might do as well. But it is hard to imagine doing a better job at teaching good writing."
     —Peter A. Y. Gunter, University of North Texas

"This book is unlike any other in the comp field—it's short, it's not preachy, and it values authentic plain style.  I love that it's sometimes funny—but funny in a very elevated way."

     —Heal McKnight, Department of English, Kirkwood Community College

". . . I want to thank you for publishing such a writing gem. . . . I was so impressed with the advice in the book that I purchased a copy for each of my graduating AP Literature & Composition seniors."
    
    —Rhonda S. Johnston, MacArthur High School, Lawton, Oklahoma

"I wish I had come across this gem sooner. . . . Next year, my students will buy Nuts and Bolts rather than Strunk and White."
    
    —Sean George, Wolfe City High School

"I enjoyed the crisp specificity of the examples of pompous usage/style in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. . . . I will recommend it to my students."
    
    —Rachel Hadas, Department of English, Rutgers University

"The best, most concise book of its kind. Not just for beginners. I am using it with advanced seniors as a needed brush up of their prose."
    
    —Howard M. Ziff, Department of Journalism, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"Great text!  A review for seniors but excellent for discussions anyway.  Tone, style, process commentary and 'supportive realism' are spot-on."
    
    —Michael J. Montoya, Department of Chicano/Latino Studies and Anthropology,

University of California, Irvine

"I have taught writing for fifteen years. Never have I come across a better, more concise, and cogent explication of good writing."
    
    —Mel Waterhouse, Mira Costa College

“I have taught writing to hundreds of college students by using Harvey’s Nuts & Bolts.  The lessons are clear and concise.  It addresses the key issues. . . . By the end of the semester, they’ve read the entire book, learned the lessons, and feel a great sense of accomplishment.”
    
    —Adrienne Baxter Bell, Assistant Professor of Art History, Marymount Manhattan College

Michael Harvey is Associate Professor of Business Management, Washington College.

CONTENTS:

Introduction.

1. CONCISION
The Pompous Style at School.

2. CLARITY
1. Choose Verbs over Nominalizations.
2. Choose Active Verbs over Linking Verbs.
3. Choose the Active Voice over the Passive Voice.
Clarity and Honesty.

3. FLOW
1. Use Consistent Characters.
2. Use Pronouns and Other Pointers.
3. Use Punch Lines.
4. Use Conjunctions and Other Linking Words.

4. PUNCTUATION
Commas and Comma Splices.
Semicolons.
Colons.
Dashes.
Parentheses.
Questions.

5. GRACEFULNESS
1. The Historical Present.
2. Appositives.
3. Parallelism.
4. Tricolon.
5. Concession.
6. Qualification.

6. USING SOURCES
Winning Your Audience's Trust.
Weaving Sources into Your Prose.
Quoting Effectively.

7. PARAGRAPHS
The Function of Paragraphs.
Opening Sentences.
Designing Paragraphs.
Sections.

8. BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS
Beginnings.
Endings.
Last Thought.

APPENDIX
Generic Formats.
CMS, MLA, APA Style Guide.
Citation and Reference Examples.
Works Cited.

Also Available:

A Rulebook for Arguments (Fourth Edition)

Writing with Sources (2nd Edition)

Writing a Successful Research Paper: A Simple Approach