Writers INC: A Student Handbook for Writing & Learning

In high school I didn't write much other than what was assigned in my English classes so it's probably a good thing I wasn't exposed to this wonderful resource while still too immature to appreciate it.

Writer's Inc is the best writing/English/reading textbook I've ever seen—an everything learning guide for every subject that writing touches, which is nearly everything. The book's only major flaw is it tries to cover too many subjects, and that's probably a result of it being specifically for the classroom.

Regardless, the tone is warm and true. This is an invitation to leave your reservations behind and come explore the world through writing.

I've had a my copy since college - it was a gift from my mom - and it still maintains a spot within arm's reach of my computer at work. It's a more than handy one-stop source for guidance as to proper punctuation, grammatical structure, commonly misspelled & misused words, and includes all sorts of examples. Although parts of it are dated (citation style has changed just a tad, and the internet altered things just a tiny amount since 1990!), there's still lots of good, solid information packed into its 378 pages. And who can resist the handy-dandy ruler printed on the back inside cover!

Seriously, an excellent reference worth picking up used or in an older edition if you can't find a newer one in print.

This is a great english resource. I still use it, even though I bought it early in high school.