Cover: A Pocket Style Manual, 10th Edition by Diana Hacker; Nancy Sommers

A Pocket Style Manual

info icon

Tenth  Edition©2025  Diana Hacker; Nancy Sommers

ISBN:9781319564254

ISBN:9781319413019

ISBN:9781319596675

About

A Pocket Style Manual provides practical, step-by-step advice for any type of college writing. Straightforward advice about grammar, style, and punctuation gives you quick solutions for writing challenges and for research and citation questions. Now with practical, flexible strategies for working responsibly with generative AI – and more inclusive examples than ever before, Pocket is the ideal companion. No matter where you are in the writing process or in your college career, you will find exactly what you need in this easy-to-read, affordable handbook.

Achieve

Achieve is a single, easy-to-use platform proven to engage students for better course outcomes

Learn More

Table of Contents

Part 0: Becoming a College Writer: Using Academic Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence

Part 1: Clarity
1 Tighten wordy sentences.
          1a Redundancies
          1b Empty or inflated phrases
          1c Needlessly complex structures
2 Prefer active verbs.
          2a When to replace be verbs
          2b When to replace passive verbs
3 Balance parallel ideas.
          3a Items in a series
          3b Paired ideas
4 Add needed words.
          4a Words in compound structures
          4b The word that
          4c Words in comparisons
5 Eliminate distracting shifts.
          5a Shifts in point of view
          5b Shifts in tense
6 Untangle mixed constructions.
          6a Mixed grammatical structure
          6b Illogical connections
          6c Is when, is where, and reason . . . is because constructions
7 Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers.
          7a Misplaced words
          7b Misplaced phrases and clauses
          7c Dangling modifiers
          7d Split infinitives
8 Provide sentence variety.
          8a Combining choppy sentences
          8b Varying sentence openings
9 Find an appropriate voice.
          9a Jargon
          9b Clichés
          9c Slang
          9d Sexist and noninclusive language

Part 2: Grammar
10 Make subjects and verbs agree.
          10a Words between subject and verb
          10b Subjects joined with and
          10c Subjects joined with or or nor
          10d Indefinite pronouns such as someone
          10e Collective nouns such as jury
          10f Subject after verb
          10g Who, which, and that
          10h Plural form, singular meaning
          10i Titles, company names, and words mentioned as words
11 Be alert to other problems with verbs.
          11a Irregular verbs
          11b Tense
          11c Mood
12 Use pronouns with care.
          12a Pronoun-antecedent agreement
          12b Pronoun reference
          12c Case of personal pronouns (I vs. me etc.)
          12d Who vs. whom
13 Use adjectives and adverbs appropriately.
          13a Adjectives
          13b Adverbs
          13c Comparatives and superlatives
14 Repair sentence fragments.
          14a Fragmented clauses
          14b Fragmented phrases
15 Revise run-on sentences.
          15a Revision with a comma and a coordinating conjunction
          15b Revision with a semicolon (or a colon or a dash)
          15c Revision by separating sentences
          15d Revision by restructuring the sentence
16 Consider grammar topics for multilingual writers.
          16a Verbs
          16b Articles (a, an, the)
          16c Sentence structure
          16d Prepositions showing time and place

Part 3: Punctuation
17 The comma
          17a Before a coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses
          17b After an introductory clause or phrase
          17c Between items in a series
          17d Between coordinate adjectives
          17e To set off a nonrestrictive element, but not a restrictive element
          17f To set off transitional and parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, and word groups expressing contrast
          17g To set off nouns of direct address, the words yes and no, interrogative tags, and mild interjections
          17h To set off direct quotations introduced with expressions such as he said
          17i With dates, addresses, and titles
          17j Misuses of the comma
18 The semicolon and the colon
          18a The semicolon
          18b The colon
19 The apostrophe
          19a To indicate possession
          19b To mark contractions
          19c Conventional uses
          19d Misuses of the apostrophe
20 Quotation marks
          20a To enclose direct quotations
          20b Around titles of short works
          20c To set off words used as words
          20d Other punctuation with quotation marks
          20e Misuses of quotation marks
21 Other punctuation marks
          21a The period
          21b The question mark
          21c The exclamation point
          21d The dash
          21e Parentheses
          21f Brackets
          21g The ellipsis
          21h The slash

Part 4: Mechanics
22 Capitalization
          22a Proper vs. common nouns
          22b Titles with proper names
          22c Titles of works
          22d First word of a sentence or quoted sentence
          22e First word following a colon
23 Abbreviations, numbers, and italics
          23a Abbreviations
          23b Numbers
          23c Italics
24 Hyphenation
          24a Compound words
          24b Words functioning together as an adjective
          24c Conventional uses

Part 5: Research
25 Asking a research question
          25a Choosing a focused question
          25b Choosing a debatable question
          25c Choosing a question grounded in evidence
26 Finding appropriate sources
          26a Using the library
          26b Using the web
          26c Using bibliographies and citations
26d Conducting field research, if appropriate
27 Evaluating sources
          27a Evaluating the reliability and usefulness of a source
          27b Reading with an open mind and a critical eye
          27d Constructing an annotated bibliography
28 Managing information; avoiding plagiarism during research
          28a Maintaining a working bibliography
          28b Keeping track of source materials
          28c Taking notes responsibly: avoiding unintentional plagiarism
29 Supporting a thesis
          29a Forming a thesis statement
          29b Organizing your ideas
          29c Using sources to inform and support your argument
30 Avoiding plagiarism
          30a Citing quotations and borrowed ideas
          30b Using the MLA, APA, and Chicago citation systems to lead readers to your sources
          30c Using quotation marks around borrowed language
          30d Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words
31 Integrating sources
          31a Summarizing and paraphrasing effectively
          31b Using quotations effectively
          31c Using signal phrases to integrate sources
          31d Synthesizing sources
32 Integrating literary quotations
          32a Introducing quotations from literary works
          32b Avoiding shifts in tense
          32c Formatting and citing literary passages

Part 6: MLA Style
33 MLA documentation style
          33a MLA in-text citations
          33b MLA list of works cited
34 MLA format; sample research essay
          34a MLA format
          34b Sample MLA research essay

Part 7: APA Style
35 APA documentation style
          35a APA in-text citations
          35b APA list of references
36 APA format; sample research essay
          36a APA format
          36b Sample APA research essay

Part 8: Chicago Style
37 Chicago documentation style
          37a First and later notes for a source
          37b Chicago-style bibliography
          37c Model notes and bibliography entries
38 Chicago format; sample pages
          38a Chicago format
          38b Sample pages from a Chicago research essay

Part 9: Glossaries
Glossary of usage
Glossary of grammatical terms

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.