CAROLYN BAN  

Graduate School of Public and International Affairs  
University of Pittsburgh 

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            RESOURCES FOR WRITING

Compiled by Carolyn Ban
University of Pittsburgh

NOTE:  I welcome suggestions for additions to this list.

For writing style and organization, see:
William Zinsser, On Writing Well, the Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, HarperCollins, 2006.

John H.  Cochrane,”Writing Tips for PhD Students” [or for anyone who wants to improve their writing]
http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/phd_paper_writing.pdf

William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, The Elements of Style – a classic overview of good writing style, including a review of basic rules of punctuation, grammar, and composition.

For a review of English grammar and punctuation, see:
http://esl.about.com/od/englishgrammar/a/a_punctuation.htm
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-English-Punctuation-Correctly

Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the Zero Tolerance approach to Punctuation, Gotham Books, 2003.  This is actually an amusing book about punctuation.

On editing and revising:
Claire Kehrwald Cook, Line by Line: How to Edit your own Writing, Modern Language Association of America, 1985.
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1188&SiteId=cbmsnhp41188&sc_extcmp=JS_1188_home1&GT1=10785&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=662df41262354cf3a8180b9e55a5572d-254761739-WU-2 contains some useful tips on how to proofread effectively.