Quick Access Reference for Writers, MLA Update

For courses in first-year composition.

This version of Quick Access: Reference for Writers has been updated to reflect the 8th Edition of the MLA Handbook (April 2016)*

The most balanced coverage of the writing process, grammar, research, and other issues important to today’s students.

Perfect for students seeking support at any stage of the writing process, Quick Access: Reference for Writers, Eighth Edition continues its emphasis on critical thinking and reading as fundamental skills, integral to quality writing and sound research practices. Trusted authors Lynn Troyka and Doug Hesse provide everything in this compact-sized handbook that composition students need – how to write college papers, use and document sources, write online, write with visuals, master grammar, and use correct punctuation. Designed for easy use and speedy entry into all topics, this book welcomes students into a conversation about becoming better writers.

* The 8th Edition introduces sweeping changes to the philosophy and details of MLA works cited entries. Responding to the “increasing mobility of texts,” MLA now encourages writers to focus on the process of crafting the citation, beginning with the same questions for any source. These changes, then, align with current best practices in the teaching of writing which privilege inquiry and critical thinking over rote recall and rule-following.

Lynn Quitman Troyka, Professor of Writing, at the City University of New York (CUNY), has taught at Queensborough Community College and in the graduate Language and Literacy program at City College. Former editor of the "Journal of Basic Writing, "her writing and research appears in major journals and various scholarly collections. She conducts workshops in the teaching of writing. Lynn is co-author of "Quick Access Reference for Writers," Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall (2007), "QA Compact, "First Edition, Prentice Hall (2007), Canadian editions of her "Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers "and "Quick Access Reference for Writers, Structured Reading, "Seventh Edition, Prentice Hall (2007), and "Steps in Composition, "Eighth Edition, Prentice Hall (2004). Dr. Troyka received the 2001 CCCC Exemplar Award, the highest CCCC award for scholarship, teaching, and service; the Rhetorician of the Year Award; and the TYCA Pickett Award for Service. She is a past chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC); the Two-Year College Association (TYCA) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE); the College Section of NCTE; and the Writing Division of the Modern Language Association. "This information," says Dr. Troyka, "tells what I've done, not who I am. I am a teacher. Teaching is my life's work, and I love it." 
Doug Hesse, Professor of English and Director of Writing at the University of Denver as of fall 2006, previously held several positions at Illinois State University, including Director of the Honors Program, Director of Writing Programs, and Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching. Dr. Hesse earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Inaddition to teaching at Illinois State, he's also taught at the University of Findlay, Miami University (as Wiepking Distinguished Visiting Professor), and Michigan Tech. Dr. Hesse has had numerous national leadership roles in the teaching of writing. He is past Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), the nation's largest professional association of college writing instructors. A past president, as well, of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA), Hesse edited that organization's journal, "Writing Program Administration. "He is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Executive Committee and the Modern Language Association (MLA) Division on Teaching as a Profession Executive Committee. He is the author of 45 articles and book chapters, in such journals as "College Composition and Communication, College English, JAC," "Rhetoric Review, "the "Journal of Teaching Writing, "and others, and in such books as "Essays on the Essay; Writing Theory and Critical Theory; The Writing Program Administrator's Sourcebook; Literary Nonfiction; The Private, the Public, and the Published; Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st Century Technologies; "and others. He is also co-author, with LynnTroyka, of the "Quick Access Reference for Writers, "Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall (2007) and "Quick Access Compact, "First Edition, Prentice Hall (2007). Illinois State University named him Outstanding University Researcher. "Of all these accomplishments," says Dr. Hesse, "the one that matters most to me is being named Distinguished Humanities Teacher at Illinois State. That one came from my students and suggests that, in however small a way, I've mattered in their educations and lives.