Effective Writing

A practice book for achieving writing skills in American English in such areas as letters, stories, reports, articles, instructions, business letters, memos, and opinion essays.

Writing for Change

Writing use cases as a means of capturing the behavioral requirements of software systems and business processes is a practice that is quickly gaining popularity. Use cases provide a beneficial means of project planning because they clearly show how people will ultimately use the system being designed. On the surface, use cases appear to be a straightforward and simple concept. Faced with the task of writing a set of use cases, however, practitioners must ask: "How exactly am I supposed to write use cases?" Because use cases are essentially prose essays, this question is not easily answered, and as a result, the task can become formidable. In Writing Effective Use Cases, object technology expert Alistair Cockburn presents an up-to-date, practical guide to use case writing. The author borrows from his extensive experience in this realm, and expands on the classic treatments of use cases to provide software developers with a "nuts-and-bolts" tutorial for writing use cases. The book thoroughly covers introductory, intermediate, and advanced concepts, and is, therefore, appropriate for all knowledge levels. Illustrative writing examples of both good and bad use cases reinforce the author's instructions. In addition, the book contains helpful learning exercises--with answers--to illuminate the most important points. Highlights of the book include: A thorough discussion of the key elements of use cases--actors, stakeholders, design scope, scenarios, and more A use case style guide with action steps and suggested formats An extensive list of time-saving use case writing tips A helpful presentation of use case templates, with commentary on when and where they should be employed A proven methodology for taking advantage of use cases With this book as your guide, you will learn the essential elements of use case writing, improve your use case writing skills, and be well on your way to employing use cases effectively for your next development project.

The second edition of Effective Writing in Psychology helps users produce crisp scientific communication, form concise unambiguous arguments, and render technical information clear and comprehensible. The new edition incorporates the latest guidelines contained within the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual. Clear guidelines on effective writing illustrate how to generate strong and compelling prose, even when the writing is not aimed at a research audience Incorporates changes to the guidelines contained in the 6th edition of the APA publication manual Includes material on how to adapt APA style for poster presentations using PowerPoint, and for oral presentations Contains a new section on using the Internet to present research papers and a new chapter on conducting a literature search, to guide students through databases, keywords, sources, and connections between articles Highlights methods for selecting a research topic and organizing papers Features a sample manuscript showing common deviations from correct APA style and a version demonstrating appropriate use of APA style

Skills for Effective Writing teaches a wide variety of discrete writing skills and offers extensive practice in each one. Skills for Effective Writing teaches these skills, such as identifying topic sentences and recognizing irrelevant information, and offers extensive practice opportunities. When students master discrete skills, all of their writing improves. This allows teachers to focus their time and feedback on the content of student work.

This is an engaging and practical introduction to the elements of grammar, sentence structure, and style that you need to write well across a range of academic, creative, and professional contexts, deftly combining practical strategies with scholarly principles. The second edition includes updated material based on a longstanding commitment to writing and to best international practice. It includes advice on reading; language; grammar and style; structuring; designing; paragraphing; punctuation; workplace and academic documents; digital writing for social media; and revising, editing, and proofreading. How Writing Works should be on the desk of everyone who needs to write: students, professionals in all fields, and creative writers. It is an essential handbook for working writers and writing workers in the contemporary writing-reliant workplace. The accompanying companion website includes video interviews and presentations from leading grammarians including Professor David Crystal and Professor Geoff Pullum, in addition to online quizzes and activities to support readers’ learning.

This concise text is written specifically to help students and practitioners hone their techniques and develop their skills when it comes to writing in a clear, accessible and, above all, rigorous manner. There are sections on good essay writing and how to construct an argument, referencing and plagiarism, and reflective and critical writing. More than just another study skills book, Effective Writing Skills for Social Work is focused on real, day-to-day practice issues and the complex academic demands faced by social work students.

Intended for both students and practitioners in public administration who want to communicate more effectively with a variety of audiences, this book offers clear, easy-to-understand guidelines on how to write more clearly, concisely, and coherently, as well as correctly. It covers the basics of good English and applies those basics to general forms (such as memos, letters, and e-mails) and more specific forms (such as newsletters, proposals, budget justifications, and rules) used in the public sector.