Whether you're composing a letter, writing a school thesis, or starting a novel, The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing offers expert advice on how to think more creatively, how to conjure up ideas from scratch, and how to express those ideas clearly and elegantly. No matter where you find yourself in the writing process - from the daunting blank page to the rough draft that needs shaping to the small but important questions of punctuation - you'll find what you need in this one handy, all-inclusive volume.

The Essential Guide to Writing History Essays is a step-by-step guide to the typical assignments of any undergraduate or master's-level history program in North America. Effective writing is a process of discovery, achieved through the continual act of making choices--what to include or exclude, how to order elements, and which style to choose--each according to the author's goals and the intended audience. The book integrates reading and specialized vocabulary with writing and revision and addresses the evolving nature of digital media while teaching the terms and logic of traditional sources and the reasons for citation as well as the styles. This approach to writing not only helps students produce an effective final product and build from writing simple, short essays to completing a full research thesis, it also teaches students why and how an essay is effective, empowering them to approach new writing challenges with the freedom to find their own voice.

Plain English is an essential tool for effective communication. Information transmitted in letters, documents, reports, contracts, and forms is clearer and more understandable when presented in straightforward terms. The Oxford Guide to Plain English provides authoritative guidance on how towrite plain English using easy-to-follow guidelines which cover straightforward language, sentence length, active and passive verbs, punctuation, grammar, planning, and good organization.This handy guide will be invaluable to writers of all levels. It provides essential guidelines that will allow readers to develop their writing style, grammar, and punctuation. The book also offers help in understanding official jargon and legalese giving the plain English alternatives.This guide gives hundreds of real examples and shows 'before and after' versions of texts of different kinds which will help readers to look critically at their own writing. Helpfully organized into 21 short chapters, each covering a different aspect of writing. Clearly laid out, and easy to use,the Oxford Guide to Plain English is the best guide to writing clear and helpful documents.

The Oxford Guide to Effective Writing & Speaking is the essential guide for everyone who needs to communicate clearly and effectively. It combines practical advice on specific writing and speaking tasks with detailed self-help chapters covering grammar, spelling, and the writing process itself.

Covers the writing process, the structure of essays, exposition, sentences, diction, description, narration, and punctuation.

This work takes you step by step through the art of argument, from thinking about what to write and how you might write it, to how you may strengthen your claims, and how to come to a strong conclusion.

This essential resource helps all writers organize, shape, and complete their work while expressing their ideas creatively and clearly. Rules of style and technique are covered, with examples of expert prose from the masters. An Appendix covers punctuation and grammar.