Additional Recommended
Reading, Viewing, and/or Listening
General
Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer 2019
A good guide to pick up and read a short chapter or refer to end a years long argument about whether a there should be two or one space after a sentence. It's delightfully snarky so it keeps you entertained. And! There is a game to go with it!
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White (1918-2021)
The classic go-to for sentence-level crafting in practical texts; a solid starter reference.
Grammar for a Full Life by Lawrence Weinstein (2020)
A bit of a throwback for those who eschew grammar, but Weinstein’s is a fun and meaningful approach. He tackles key grammatical constructions and talks about how our mechanical choices can help us become the people we want to be—for example, how using active, transitive constructions can make us more powerful and ethical people.
Pedagogue podcast by Shane A. Wood (2019-Present)
While plenty of episodes are worth listening to, we’re especially recommending Episode 6, with Nancy Sommers, who speaks about responding to student writers.
Rethinking Expertise by Harry Collins and Robert Evans (2009)
Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, by Joseph M. Williams & Joseph Bizup (1981-2016)
This is one I come back to more and more, for myself and for students. Choosing a few key lessons to share with students and walking them through those with direct applications to a piece of their own writing tends to work best; I use these in the style triage slides that I use with most of my classes (posted on this page).
*The more recent editions are updated, but also pricey; older editions are adequate and cheap on used book sites.This is the excerpt I’ve been sharing most often in recent years, with a few key ideas highlighted.
Stylish Academic Writing, by Helen Sword (2012)
The book is great for demystifying ideas that academic=tangled/obfuscating writing, across disciplines. If you want a quick take, here’s an article on it from the Wall Street Journal.
“Why Students Should Write All Subjects,” by Youki Terada (2021)
“Writing improves learning by consolidating information in long-term memory, researchers explain. Plus, five engaging writing activities to use in all subjects.”
DIsciplinary Writing
*Obviously, most of the resources below are science-specific; 1 is history. This list is a work in progress—I welcome suggestions of books YOU have found helpful in learning to write in your field—if you send them, I’ll add them here, read through them myself, and probably recommend them in the future, so please share anything you’d recommend!
The Best American Science Writing edited by Michio Kaku (2020)
These semi-annual anthologies can be nice to read just as examples of the range of what “science writing” can actually encompass. There’s no writing instruction in these books, but I often recommend/lend out copies to students as examples to consider.
The Craft of Science Writing by Siri Carpenter (2020)
Scientific Writing Made Easy: A Step- by- Step Guide to Undergraduate Writing in the Biological Sciences by Sheela P. Turbek (2016)
A “succinct step-by-step guide to scientific writing that can be directly disseminated to undergraduates enrolled in biological science courses. The guide breaks down the scientific writing process into easily digestible pieces, providing concrete examples that students can refer to when preparing a scientific manuscript or laboratory report.”
Writing History in the Digital Age by Kristen Nawrotzki and Jack Dougherty
Writing Science in Plain English by Anne E. Greene (2013)
TEACHING WRITING ONLINE
I-WROTE, University of Virginia Writing and Rhetoric Program
An online resource created and launched in the wake of Covid, to support instructors in preparing for teaching writing courses in the online environment.
Aimed primarily at ENWR instructors, but a lot of the material transfers beyond that program.
Teaching Writing Online, University of Virginia Libraries
Pitched to educators at the 9-12 grade level, this collection of helpful resources transfers easily to university-level teaching as we all navigate the online environment for at least a little longer.
Including a nice “10 Tips for Effective Feedback” sheet by former UVA/Grad Seminar faculty member Marcus Meade
Other Tools
Analyzes text that you paste in, to give you a quick glimpse of problem areas/patterns, etc. I have tried the desktop app for this one and didn’t find it especially better than the web-based tool, but that could just be me. It’s a nice interface, helpful with limitations.
This tool is a creation of Helen Sword (whose book and article are also linked above). I’ve used the “Take the Test” feature for years with students; the full-on Word add-on is new, and I still need to try it.
Like the Hemingway App—you paste in text and the tool analyzes for patterns. The color-coding is nice, so you can see how much of each issue is happening and where, etc. Take it with a grain of salt; it’s still a computer doing its best; but this can be a helpful interactive for student writers.
UNC Writing Center, Tips & Tools
The "citation, style, & sentence-level concerns" is a place where you might found especially helpful readings/exercises regarding mechanics/style.
How to Write: Academic Writing for Different Audiences
A helpful Twitter thread from psychologist Dr. Lucy Foulkes.
Heidi’s Style Triage Slides
I mix these up a bit depending on the class, and I’m always working to add more/better concrete examples to help explain the principles. Feel free to ask me to clarify anything you need, and feel free to repurpose content as works for you in your classes!