There are so many guides out there that it is difficult to find your way around. The writing tutors of the Schreibzentrum / Writing Center have therefore begun to review some of these guides. The reviews are structured as follows: 

• Who is the book addressed to?

• What topics are covered?

• What is the conclusion? The conclusion thus summarizes the evaluation of the writing tutors regarding the use of the guidebooks in their studies. This list shall be expanded. Which guidebook do you like and should be listed here? Write us an email or use the comment section below.

We have reviewed the following English guides for you:

Aczel, Richard (2008): How to write an Essay. Klett Lernen und Wissen, GmbH Stuttgart

• Who is the book addressed to

  • This book is for students who are writing their first essays or who want to improve their essay writing abilities. 

• What topics are covered?

  • Approaching the essay question, planning an essay, content and structure, introductions and conclusions, style, finishing touches. 

• What is the conclusion?

  • I loved this book! It was so helpful when I had to write my first argumentative essay for Leuphana. I re-read the first two chapters whenever I need to write an essay and it is the first book I recommend to students when they ask for essay help. This is a great resource. 

Bailey, Stephen (2018): Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. Fifth edition, New York: Routledge.

• Who is the book addressed to?

• What topics are covered?

• What is the conclusion? The conclusion thus summarizes the evaluation of the writing tutors regarding the use of the guidebooks in their studies.

Clark, Roy Peter, 2006). Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. Little, Brow and Company. New York, NY.

• Who is the book addressed to.

  • Aspiring writers, with a slights bias for those with an interested in journalism and reporting. However, the tips are general enough to be useful for everyone. The author's goal is to help the reader become a more fluent and effective writer. 

• What topics are covered?

  • Basic Grammar and sentence structure, making your writing more popwerful, planning your work, and useful writing habits. 

• What is the conclusion?

  • I loved this book. Each section is only a few pages long, making it approachable. The tone is casual and occasionally funny. The author provides easy-to-understand examples and simple rules. 

Eide, Denise, (): The Logic of English

• Who is the book addressed to?

• What topics are covered?

• What is the conclusion?

Feak, Christine B, & John M. Swales, (2009): Telling a Research Story: Writing a Literature Review. University of Michigan

• Who is the book addressed to?

  • This book is written for an academic audience; an audience of researchers. Their main focus is graduate students or junior researchers. focuses on writing a literature review and is not designed to address any of the preliminary processes leading up to the actual writing of the lit. review. The book progresses from general to specific issues in the writing of literature reveiws. It opens with some orientations that raise awareness of the issues that surround the telling of a research story. Issues of structure and matters of language, style, and rhetoric are then discussed. 

• What topics are covered?

  • What is a literature review, starting your lit review, drafting, constructing your discussion, metadiscourse, citation, paraphrasing, and summarizing. 

• What is the conclusion?

  • This book might be good for a student writing a literature-based thesis, however it is more focused on the needs of professors or PhDs. This book was obviously written by academics...it is rather rigid and dry. It has the stiffness and structure of an academic article. 

Goodson, Patricia (2017): Becoming an academic writer: 50 exercises for paced, productive, and powerful writing. SAGE.

• Who is the book addressed to?

  • Anyone who has to do academic writing and wants to improve their practice and their products.

• What topics are covered?

  • academic writing as a craft, i.e., something you get good at by practicing
  • how to establish and maintain a writing habit

• What is the conclusion?

  • This is probably the book that has had the greatest influence on the way I thing about and practice academic writing, so I highly recommend it!

Graff, Gerald/ Birkenstein, Cathy (2009): They say/I say. The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. New York: Norton.

• Who is the book addressed to?

• What topics are covered?

• What is the conclusion? The conclusion thus summarizes the evaluation of the writing tutors regarding the use of the guidebooks in their studies.

Jensen, Joli (2017): Write No Matter What. Advice for Academics. The University of Chicago Press.

• Who is the book addressed to?

  • Academic professionals, but with many chapters that contain valuable tools and insights for everyone producing academic texts from the undergraduate level up.

• What topics are covered?

  • tools that help you secure the time, space, and energy for writing
  • overcoming typical writing myths, i.e., the (sometimes absurd) things we tell ourselves about our work and ourselves: "My paper needs to be the most insightful, brilliant text this world/my professor has ever seen", "I will focus on writing once XY is over." or "This sentence needs to be perfect before I can continue." etc. - sound familiar?

• What is the conclusion?

  • A highly insightful read on how to create the right conditions to start and keep on writing - both from an organizational point of view (planning and tools) and from an emotional one (managing expectations). Easy and quick to read (~150 pages). The clear structure with short subchapters allows you to easily pick out the parts that are relevant to you. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to build a regular and more enjoyable writing practice.

Lebrun, Jean-Luc (2009): Scientific writing: A reader and writer's guide, World Scientific.

• Who is the book addressed to?

  • Academic professionals writing research papers, but contains interesting advice for anyone wanting elevate their academic texts to a new level

• What topics are covered?

  • The book is all about how to improve your text from the perspective of the reader, including
    • the linguistic tools you can use to guide and sustain your readers' attention 
    • the stylistic and contentwise decisions that make it easier for your reader to understand you
    • the characteristics of good titles and headings
    • the features of useful figures
    • how to write abstract, introduction, and conclusion in a way that highlights your contribution and makes your paper interesting to your reader

• What is the conclusion?

  • I would recommend this book to people who already have solid academic writing skills in English and are now looking for ways to make their texts even better for readers.

Manser, Martin & Stephen Curtis, (2002): The Penguin Writer's Manual (Available in the Writing Center)

• Who is the book addressed to?

  • All those who want to improve their use of English. 

• What topics are covered?

  • Part One: Grammar, usage, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and abbreviations.
    • The vocabulary section provides word formations, etymology, prefixes and suffixes, and a history of the English languages. If someone wishes to understand the history of English and how that history influences English grammar rules, this is a good place to start. 
  • Part Two: Will show you how to prepare and plan a piece of writing. 
    • Communication, preparation and revision
    • Style
      • This section is useful for those looking to improve their English writing. If you have received feedback from a professor that your writing is confusing or illogical, this section may help you write more clearly. 
    • Letters and other communications
    • Reports, presentations, essays and theses
      • provides an efficient summary of different text types for those who know every little about the topic. The sections of reports, presentations, essays and theses provide a solid overview of each genre. If a student is looking to understand the basics of these text types, this is a good resource with which to begin. 
    • notes, summaries, agendas, and minutes
    • Using information technology
      • As this book was published in 2002, the information regarding the internet is outdated. 

• Conclusion

  • While this book makes some interesting points, the writing style is not as engaging as other manuals on style and grammar that I have read. It is a good 'starting resource' for several topics, however i would look to other authors to provide more engaging reading material. 
  • Penguin Publishing also provides guides on English punctuation, grammar, proverbs, and idioms. These guides are all available at the Writing Center. 

Reed, Mark S. (2017): The Productive Researcher. Aberdeenshire, Fast Track Impact

• Who is the book addressed to?

  • For those in academic who want to have a better work-life balance while still produce work of which they can be proud and for those struggling to manage the demands of their academic schedules. 

• What topics are covered?

  • Part 1: Principles for productivity: personal motivation, self-perception, prioritization, SMART goals
  • Part 2: Plans that work, say 'Yes' to say 'No,' How to write a Literature Review in a week, spend less time on emails and meetings, spend less time online. 

• What is the conclusion? 

  • The author, Mark Reed, has an open and honest writing style. In the first chapter, he speaks openly about his panic attacks as a young researcher with imposter syndrome. He also writes about his struggles following specific 'productivity guidelines.' As a result of his experience, Reed provides the reader with a set of personal, value-based goals and principles. He then shows the reader how she can adapt and apply these principles to her specific situation. I appreciated that this book explores the reader's personal motivations and asks the reader to do a lot of self-reflection. I found this 'self-guided' approach more engaging than a set of hard rules would have been. 

Strunk, William/ White, E.B. (1959): The Elements of Style. 1. ed., New York, Macmillan.

• Who is the book addressed to?

  • Struck originally wrote the Elements of style for his first semeter university students at Cornell University after he noticed that they often struggled with English grammar. This small book explains the most common grammar rules for the English language through simply examples. This is often the first book university students use when trying to improve their writing. 

• What topics are covered?

  • Basic rules of usage. 
  • Principles of composition
  • Form
  • Words and expressions that are commonly misused. 
  • An approach to style. 

• What is the conclusion? 

  • The book is written simply, rules are explained clearly, and each section is brief. This book will be most helpful to those with a C1 in English and those who are interested in understanding the details of grammar and usage. 

Williams, Joseph M. (2000). Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Addison-Wesley Education Publishers, Inc. 

• Who is the book addressed to?

  • The book is addressed to writers of prose with a slight leaning towards academics.

• What topics are covered?

  • Style as choice, clarity, grace, and ethics. 

• What is the conclusion?

  • I found the sections on gender usage and ethics most interesting. He touches on the writer's ethical obligation to write clearly and well such that a reader my get full benefit from the work. Williams pointed out that academia often overcomplicates its writing when trying to seem superintelligent - Williams argues this is an ethical flaw: we should communicate our research as clearly as possible such that the widest audience may benefit from our research. This book will be useful to anyone struggling with 'degrees of complexity' in her writing.