Customer Reviews:
"Happy Customer".......2006-02-26
The item I purchased was on time. I was able to use the textbook in time for college.
Book Description
This best-selling text is more than a comprehensive introduction for the business writing course; it also serves as a post-college reference tool for students launching their careers. Successful Writing at Work takes a practical approach to prepare students for the wide array of communication tasks they will face on the job. The text is recognized for its abundance of realistic situations and problems, broad range of real-world examples, and detailed guidelines for drafting, editing, and producing professional documents and graphics.
To facilitate learning, the text is organized into four sections that build logically and sequentially. Part 1 introduces the basics: keys to effective writing, ethics, the writing process, and collaborative writing. Part 2 explores such simple business writing tasks as memos, types of business letters, emails, and how to conduct a job search. Part 3 covers the fine points of conducting research and documenting sources. Part 4 details more complex business communication activities, from designing visuals and web sites to writing proposals, drafting short and long reports, and making oral presentations.
- New! Updated technology coverage includes researching with electronic and online resources; writing for the web; creating visually effective web sites; using computer programs such as PowerPoint and Corel Draw to enhance oral presentations; and learning new technologies that continue to change the way people communicate in the workplace.
- New! Added writing instruction covers how to prepare news releases in the chapter on Summarizing Material, and instructions for policies and regulations in the chapter on Writing Instructions. The Documenting Sources chapter features up-to-date coverage of MLA and APA documentation styles.
- New! Up-to-date, thought-provoking approaches to business writing include enhanced coverage of thinking globally and multiculturally when communicating in various business contexts and engaging new real-world examples that demonstrate the kinds of situations students will face on the job.
- New and Updated! Tech Notes throughout the text show students how technology can be used in various types of business communication.
- This edition retains the text's hallmark features: strong coverage of the writing process, ethics in the workplace, and audience analysis and writing for various audiences.
- Assignments and descriptions put students in a workplace mindset by asking them to imagine themselves in such roles as a customer service representative, web site designer, or job candidate.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent writing tool.......2002-04-03
Whether you are a novice at writing or just need help wording documents, this book is a wonderful guide. Samples are plenty, complete from determining who is your audience to effective guidelines and checksheets. You will learn simple editing techniques, exercises for practice. Extensive guidelines are given whether you do a resme, letter, research, short and long reports, proposal, charts, etc. Included, also is some instruction on technical writing (manuals, visuals, figures, etc.)
The book is well prepared, easy to read, formatted and designed well for easy reference. You don't have to be a "writer" to use this book. It is for anyone who may write a memo to a proposal in business. I encourage the use of this book; as it is one of the better I have used. ....MzRizz
Book Description
Madsen's book should be welcome both to graduate students about to undertake dissertations and to faculty needing to learn the role of thesis adviser. . . . Madsen tells how to propose, outline, write, defAnd, and possibly publish a dissertation, information which should save graduate students years, pain, and money.
--Library Journal
Customer Reviews:
Woefully out-of-date.......2007-05-19
The author refers to the "microcomputer" and suggests you consider purchasing a modem and getting to know your library's card catalog. Sure, it's always good to choose the right adviser, but any book can tell you that. Get something more recent.
Concise and Complete.......2000-09-09
If you are about to start work on a disertation and intend to buy just one book on how to manage it, this would be a very good choice. However do read more than one!
A comprehensive guide to the dissertation!.......1999-04-13
As someone who works privately with students, helping them with dissertations and theses, I highly recommend this book. When students call me in regard to assistance with their dissertation or thesis, I recommend that they buy this book and use it as an ongoing reference. As the title states, the information contained in this book anticipates and answers many of the questions that students have about the dissertation process, from proposal to completion. It is the most comprehensive guideline that I have come across in recent years.
A comprehensive guide to the dissertation!.......1999-04-13
As someone who works privately with students, helping them with dissertations and theses, I highly recommend this book. When students call me in regard to assistance with their dissertation or thesis, I recommend that they buy this book and use it as an ongoing reference. As the title states, the information contained in this book anticipates and answers many of the questions that students have about the dissertation process, from proposal to completion. It is the most comprehensive guideline that I have come across in recent years.
Book Description
For busy fundraisers, writing letters of appeal can be confusing and laborious. Now, a guide from the nation's premier letter-writing tutor--direct mail expert Mal Warwick--shows fundraisers what makes the best letters work. Whether its general advice about the most effective mail strategies, or specific advice for those interested in the details of a direct mail campaign, Warwick keeps fundraisers on track when he reminds: "You're writing for results--not a Pulitzer Prize."
In How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters, Warwick's step-by-step model for writing a successful appeal walks you through the critical stages; his topics range from laying the groundwork for a prosperous campaign all the way through to the importance of thanking donors. Supported by an extensive collection of model letters, Warwick's no-nonsense, jargon-free work has helped thousands of fundraisers achieve results.
Read a review written by Charity Channel Founder/CEO Stephen C. Nill:
http://charitychannel.com/publish/templates/?a=471&z=25
Customer Reviews:
You must buy this book.......2007-05-10
If you ever think you will have to write a fundraising letter, you NEED this book. Too many people think it is just like writing any other kind of letter but it isn't. There is a rhyme and, more importantly, a reason to it. Don't write a fundraising letter without reading this book first.
How To Write a Successful Fund Raising Letter.......2007-05-07
Excellent for a review of those with experience and super for those new at the experience. We have used it for both occasions
Disappointed.......2007-01-17
I am not an expert in writing fundraising letters. So, when I found a book with a title "How to write successful Fundraising Letters" it was as if I had won the lottery. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it because I was on a dealine to write a fundraising letter for a non-profit organization for which I had volunteered. I ordered the book, and paid just as much to have it deleivered the next day (local bookstores do not carry it). I found the book to be a tutorial and not something I could quickly benefit from. It is written to teach how to properly write and follow-up a fundraising campaign letter. The samples provided were very specific to 3-4 scenarios and did not offer much context. I guess I was looking for a book with hundreds of samples so that I could pick and choose phrases, paragraphs, etc.
Success at Last.......2007-01-11
I have toyed around with various funderaising letters over the years, reinventing the wheel each time. This book is a tremendous guideline for writing great fundraising letters and has many great examples.
I was able to raise over $100,000.00 in a recent campaign and for the first time I have had a number of people comment on how well the letter appealed to them, and how well it was written. I keep this book close at hand.
Development officer.......2006-11-06
have read part of it not all---so far it is good and helpful
Book Description
This new edition of the acclaimed step-by-step guide encompasses all aspects of typescript preparation from first to final draft, including efficient use of word processing, electronic database literature services, the Internet, and email. The authors provide sensible advice on inclusive word choices and communication for writers and readers of different first languages. Abundant examples, practical tips, and self-help exercises draw on extensive experience with actual typescripts. In addition, a detailed index and numerous references make information easy to find. Applicable to a variety of scientific writing contexts, Successful Scientific Writing is a powerful tool for improving individual skills, as well as an eminently suitable text for classes or seminars on scientific writing.
Customer Reviews:
Great for scientific papers.......2007-04-12
Found it useful for writing my class papers it gives you a way to organize your thoughts before writing them!
Scientific Writing - A difficult task made easier.......2003-11-21
"Successful Scientific Writing" is a well written, user friendly and sometimes humorous guide to effective scientific writing. Even the wire, lay open binding is user friendly. The text is up to date, well organized and provides guidance on effective use of computers and software in the entire scientific endeavor. Of course the primary strength is in helping the reader through the writing and publication of the scientist's efforts. This concise work would be especially appropriate as a text in scientific writing classes. The exercises provided would be great student assignments. Additionally the exercises are fun and enhance points made in the text. Matthews, et al have given us a guide that is appropriate for advanced writers as well. Virtually every page has gems of wisdom or insights that will enhance the end result of scientific communication. This book may be especially helpful for those that are "stuck" in trying to get started writing or have complete "writers block". After reading and using this book, readers will likely be thankful that the authors have so adeptly conveyed their wisdom and vast experience in helping others to write with greater clarity and brevity.
Good, but could be better.......2003-07-08
Our lab used this book for a study group on effective scientific writing. We are located in Korea, so with the exception of the instructor and I, all participants were not native speakers of English. As a result, this review is from the viewpoint of foreign students. It is based on chapter reviews written by the members of our lab after finishing the book.
The book is just what it claims to be, a step-by-step approach to writing a scientific manuscript intended for publication. The first chapter helpfully furnishes a checklist (Table 1.3) for preparing a research paper. The chapter is actually a summary of the rest of the book so a reader already in the process of writing can easily find which chapter they wish to skip to via Table 1.3.
In the subsequent chapters, the authors provide good advice accompanied by helpful tables, examples and exercises, although the figure chapter could have used more tips on actually preparing the figures. Examples of poorly prepared and corrected figures would be a useful study aid. One student suggested that the second chapter on computer use was not particularly informative for graduate-level students. Regarding the chapter on grammar (chapter 6), another student pointed out that in some scientific articles, ungrammatical sentences are not corrected in order to effectively deliver the point.
The overall use of informal expressions and phrases seemed intended to make the text livelier for English-speaking students, but was confusing for several participants with English as a second language. We would like to suggest that the authors take their own advice and refrain from using slang and jargon. Several of us liked Appendix 2 and thought it was a good read for those unfamiliar with the practice of journal editors.
Apparently the authors had intended to attract those who had not already submitted a manuscript to read their book, but Successful Scientific Writing contains many helpful pointers for published scientists and journal editors, as well.
Watch what you eat!.......2000-03-06
Words can hardly express the beauty and cleverness of "Successful Scientific Writing" by Matthews, Bowen and Matthews as a step-by-step guide on how to write scientific reports for publication in English. I am using this book for a course that I teach on scientific writing at the Postgraduate School of Health Sciences at Aarhus University in Denmark, and I find it to be perfect! Before this book was published, there was none that dealt so well and so entertainingly with so many aspects of what it actually takes to prepare a manuscript for publication in a scientific journal. Many young (and old) scientists are good thinkers, but they are often poor writers! Thus, although they may have been able to design and carry out an experiment, they often lack the ability to express what they have done clearly and concisely. This book is for them! The first few chapters provide mainly words of encouragement for getting the writing process underway. There are also remarkable bits of advice, such as the notion of avoiding certan snacks that could derail ones momentum. In my view, the crux of the book appears in chapters 5, 6 and 7 in which extraordinarily lucid and practical instructions and exercises are presented for improving one's ability to write scientifically. There are also tips on how to optimize word-processing so that the manuscript submitted to the editor of a journal is most likely to be accepted for publication. Perhaps some old-timers in Science can do without this book, but they should nevertheless have a copy of it on hand for their students.
well written and worthwhile.......1999-11-09
it is unfortunate the authors did not review the most recent scientific style and format conventions of the council of biology editors(accepted internationally) that were published in 1994. had they done so, they would not have made a number of the errors that show up scattered about in the text. i use parts of this text , especially the exercises, in a course i teach on scientific writing and have to make the corrections as we go along
Book Description
Expanded and revised again for its Third Edition, this popular book and its companion CD-ROM are highly accessible, self-contained desktop references developed to be informative, practical, and easy to use. They help small and mid-sized businesses as well as non-profit organizations and public-sector agencies to achieve effective, efficient, and disciplined business development, proposal development, and knowledge management (KM) processes. These, in turn, contribute to increased contract awards and enhanced levels of revenue. Using this book, any small company or organization with a viable product or service can learn how to gain and keep a client's attention, even when working only a few employees. Entrepreneurs can use this resource to assist in the establishment of best-of-breed business development, proposal development, knowledge management, and publications infrastructures and processes within their organizations. In many ways, a small company's future performance in the marketplace will be a direct result of how effectively it chooses to implement the disciplined business development, proposal development, and KM processes and methodologies as well as the modes of thinking presented in this work. All 18 chapters have been updated and expanded to provide you with the very latest guidance on effective proposaling—so essential to the growth and development of your organization.
CD-ROM Included! Features useful proposal templates in Adobe Acrobat, platform-independent format; HTML pointers to Small Business Web Sites; a comprehensive, fully searchable listing Proposal and Contract Acronyms; and a sample architecture for a knowledge base or proposal library.
Recent reviews of the Second Edition of this work have been published in Business Week (New York); Minorities and Women in Business (Washington, D.C.); Canada One Magazine; E-merging Business magazine (Pacific Palisades, California); Small Business Advisor (Los Angeles); and Women's Business of South Florida (Hollywood, Florida). Amazon.com, where it ranks in the top 1% of sellers, includes 10 exemplary reviews of the Second Edition of the book, as well.
Customer Reviews:
Knowledge-Based Mentorship!.......2003-02-19
The most comprehensive, single source, small business strategy guidebook I have read and applied.
The tactical processes Robert Frey recommends gets you focused early by crystallizing your business strategy, mentoring you step by step, establishing knowledge-based decision points and executing a successful proposal.
The CD is a great plus with schedules, proposal templates, and more to get you started for your next contract award!
Fellow Small Business CEOs, Institutionalize this Material!!.......2002-12-10
In this blue-ribbon edition, Robert Frey provides enough valuable proposal management detail to establish your proposal department, to write your proposal manager's job description, to outline your proposal team's functions, to produce topflight and winning proposals, and to measure the proposal team's success. And if that were not enough, Frey offers his bravura insights into knowledge management and how this wonderful concept can be realistically and incrementally applied to the proposal development process.
Frey mentors you to success with regard to every aspect of proposal management. Frey's style is not staid and wooden. To the contrary, his love for his audience and his desire for their proposal management success shines forth. I would pay twice as much for the book. My company's proposal win rate this year alone proves the worth of the material in these pages. Invest in it, do what it says, and prepare for the reward.
Excellent Source of Proposal Management Information.......2002-11-20
Bob Frey has again created a valuable source of information that should be on every Business Development professional's desk. It presents a clear and concise approach to properly managing the proposal business acquisition process, including creating a winning proposal. The use of Knowledge Management approach to leveraging intellectual property provides an excellent approach to crafting a winning strategy and incorporating it in the proposal. I highly recommend this book.
An Indispensible Resource for Small Govenment Contractors.......2002-05-21
The previous editions of Robert Frey's invaluable book "Successful Proposal Strategies for Small Businesses" have already established this title as a virtual bible of proposal development for small business government contractors, particularly in the support services. Now, with this third edition, some 20% longer and with extensive new material, Frey expands the utility of this important book by integrating his approach with the emerging discipline of Knowledge Management.
In addition to his complete yet concise discussion of nuts-and-bolts proposal issues such as organization of the proposal volumes, establishing the role of the proposal manager, and so on, Frey demonstrates how an effective organization of corporate intellectual capital can be a critical resource in the marketing proposal process. Importantly, he provides step-by-step procedures for creating such an added-value environment.
As in the previous two editions, Frey's approach is very highly application-oriented. He lays out theory when necessary, but his principal goal -- which he achieves admirably -- is to equip the reader with an exhaustively complete set of marketing and proposal development procedures and tools (all the way down to a template for phone lists!).
If I have any complaints at all, it is that the sequence of chapters could use some rearranging; a chapter on internatiohnal proposals seems to be placed unexpectedly, and there is one very brief chapter on private-sector solicitations that could be easily merged with another chapter or deleted altogether. But these are quibbles. This book has garnered a well-deserved reputation as arguably the premier reference work in this field. It is inadequate to state that it deserves a place in every small government contractor's library; it would be more accurate to say that such firms cannot afford *not* to have this book and pay close attention to it!
Amazon.com
Aspiring screenwriters don't need another book on how to write a screenplay, says Karl Iglesias. What they need is a book on how to be a screenwriter. Voilà: The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, featuring interviews with 14 screenwriters, arranged by subject. The result reads like a panel discussion, touching on such subjects as collaboration, schmoozing, discipline, Hollywood, and story pitching. The dream of winning a Hollywood jackpot has lured everyone and his gardener into the screenwriting game. Still, despite the unencouraging odds, "all you need to do is write a good script," says Scott Rosenberg (Beautiful Girls). Some of the book's best advice concerns one of the screenwriter's most formidable hurdles: getting a screenplay read. Submit it to film festivals and screenwriting competitions, or follow Tom Schulman's (Dead Poet's Society) advice and hire an entertainment attorney. After all, "most of them know a lot of agents." --Jane Steinberg
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read.......2007-05-14
This is a must read for anyone who aspires to be a screen writer. Any wannabe writer has their own personal favorite blogs, a blog that helps inspire, motivate and teach them. This book is almost a best of those blogs from successful writers whose movies they have written have actually BEEN PRODUCED.
The one main theme of this book is just write and write and write because you love writing and not because you want the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle. Great writing will open a lot of doors for one and most importantly, keep that door open.
In my opinion, I like to study and and read how successful writers from all genres got their first break, their work ethic and how most importantly they work through writer's block and rejection. Again, Karl Iglesias' book does that successfully.
The truth you need to hear before pursuing your dreams.......2006-04-10
I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Iglesias at the Screenwriting Expo. He knows his craft, he loves the business. And he's brutally honest in conveying the realistic odds of breaking into Hollywood. While no one ever says it's easy, he can tell you just how hard. This book is a must read for any aspiring screenwriter. Interviewing some of the greatest screenwriters, they all are forthcoming in telling their own tales of struggle, achievement, success, and most of them, frustration.
This book may be geared toward all screenwriters, however it succeeds in leaps and bounds, by telling the realistic truth any up-and-coming screenwriter needs to hear. Too often people are putting together a script hoping to win the lotttery, sell it for mid-six figures, and not taking the time to understand that the money should never be the motivating factor of writing any script. And if that's your only motivation, you'll never succeed in making your dream come true. This book reminds those of us that do it for a different reason, what that reason is. It's the love of writing. Anything else, any other reason, is simply a waste of time and energy.
Mr. Iglesias lays it out in plain view, through interview after interview, just how much of an uphill battle it is get someone to simply give your script a look, and even then, chances of your selling it are slim. Nicholas Kazan once spoke at a seminar. He told them to go turn in their registration forms and go home. He then told them that if any of them seriously entertained that advice, they would never make it. It's all about challenge and it's all about sacrifice. This book will help you realize how important both of those things are.
Yes, I am tired of reading old reviews on Screenwriting Books too........2006-03-06
I always find it frustrating when I go to Amazon and look at the reviews that are posted and find that they are at least 2 to 3 years old. So I decided to at least make a more up-to-date review.
First and foremost, this book is NOT a `How to Write a great Script' book. This book is about screenwriters and their knowledgeable insight on the practice we all know as Screenwriting. These established screenwriters ( Akiva Goldman: A Beautiful Mind, A Time to Kill, and the up coming The Da Vinci Code Steven E. de Souza: Die Hard, 48 Hours.) reference their past experience on what works, what does not work, and what habits you need to establish to have a successful career in the shark infested waters of Hollywood. Not sure how many hours you need to write day in day out? Thinking that you are the only one with a spouse and kids, fearing that you will not have enough time to write? Arrived at Hollywood lost with no plan of action on how to get your script read? Worried that you born yesterday and began sending inquiry letters to agents and producers? Fear of rejection (it is inevitable) from everyone? All these topics are discussed and more in this book.
This book is required reading for all serious screenwriters. I also suggest Breakfast with sharks by Michael Lent, The Art of Dramatic writing by Lajos Egri, Story by Robert Mckee, Making a good script Great by Linda Seger, and The Writer Got Screwed by Brooke A. Wharton.
A Must Have For Aspriring Screenwriters.......2005-11-28
This is one of thost books that you absolutely must read if you are an aspiring screenwriter. It's a goldmine of quality information to help you go from being a decent or lousy writer to a great one. Fourteen of Hollywood's most successful screenwriters share their secrets and tips to writing and selling your scripts to Hollywood. It's like getting private lessons from the pro's. Don't pass this book up, it will make a big difference in your writing career.
A good "dip-in" book for the isolated writer.......2004-12-20
Think of this book this way: it's you having a cup of tea with a bunch of good and not-so-good (but working) screenplay writers. This is not a formula for greatness, but rather a list of suggestions and experiences that you can greatly benefit from if you are so inclined.
Don't be put off by the cover. This is a good book. The best thing about it is it creates a sense of community and exchange of knowledge in what is essentially an isolated (and some might argue isolating) occupation.
This is a "dip-in" book which I find useful and refer to often.
Amazon.com
"The best reading experiences," says Sol Stein, "defy interruption." With Stein's assistance, you can grab your reader on page 1 and not let go until "The End." Stein--author of nine novels (including the bestselling The Magician) and editor to James Baldwin, W.H. Auden, and Lionel Trilling--offers "usable solutions" for any writing problem you may encounter. He is authoritative and commanding--neither cheerleader nor naysayer. Instead, he rails against mediocrity and demands that you expunge it from your work. Perhaps the concept of scrutinizing every modifier, every metaphor, every character trait sounds like drudgery. But with Stein's lively guidance, it is a pleasure. Stein recommends that you brew conflict in your prose by giving your characters different "scripts." He challenges you, in an exercise concerning voice, to write the sentence you want the world to remember you by. He uses an excerpt from E.L. Doctorow to demonstrate poorly written monologue and a series of Taster's Choice commercials as an example of dialogue that works. Stein's bottom line is that good writing must be suspenseful. Your job, says Stein, "is to give readers stress, strain, and pressure. The fact is that readers who hate those things in life love them in fiction." --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
Stein on Writing provides immediately useful advice for all writers of fiction and nonfiction, whether they are newcomers or old hands, students or instructors, amateurs or professionals. As the always clear and direct Stein explains here, "This is not a book of theory. It is a book of usable solutions-how to fix writing that is flawed, how to improve writing that is good, how to create interesting writing in the first place." With examples from bestsellers as well as from students' drafts, Stein offers detailed sections on characterization, dialogue, pacing, flashbacks, trimming away flabby wording, the so-called "triage" method of revision, using the techniques of fiction to enliven nonfiction, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Thank you, Sol!.......2007-07-11
Thanks to what I learned from Sol Stein's marvelously written book, I am now a published author with a university press. It isn't just for you novelists. If you're a writer, buy it, read it, re-read it, and sleep with it.
From a "Transient" writer.......2007-06-30
First off, I like the book. It has some real gems of wisdom in it. About the only thing that bugged me is the constant reference to genre fiction as "transient" fiction. Yes, "transient" as in "transitional to a higher form" (at best) or as in "homeless transient demonstrating public incontinence" (at worst). I can only surmise that the "higher form" in this case would be literary fiction, which the author goes to great pains to tell us is the only fiction worthy of anyone's time. After the read I felt, as a published author of "transient fiction", that I owe it to the world to someday print a book discussing "snooty fiction", and its relative lack of worth, at great length.
Sheer Genius.......2007-03-31
This is just piling on but this has to be the best book on writing ever published. Stein is the master mentor, tough, specific, and relentless. The book is not easy because the content is so dense. He makes you see writing through a new lens and enlightens on every page.
A Keeper...But!.......2007-02-06
Four stars from me. I wanted an excuse to give the book 5 stars but it just doesnt rate 5. The author's HOW TO GROW A NOVEL is 5 stars, and contains most of the information this book contains. I think the other book is written better than this one.
What grabbed my attention in this book is the excessive use of auxillary verbs....is, am, are, was, were, have, had, has, etc. They have their uses, and they shouldnt be used where a strong verb works better alone. The passive-voice bothers me. The second thing that caught my eye is how Stein dilutes his advice. Too much anecdotal narrative and digressions. I like my advice straight without the cocoanut water and cherry. Again, Stein doesnt dilute things in the other book. And my final problem is Stein's tip-o-the hat to political correctness. Can we please get over trying to appease everyone on the planet! and tip-toeing around anything remotely controversial?
Otherwise the book is a good addition to your writing library. I bought the other book, HOW TO GROW A NOVEL, and if it persists in keeping my esteem I may dump this one...but not just yet.
Wonderful help for writer of fiction and nonfiction.......2007-01-23
I live in Sweden and here it is not many book about writing with this quality. Me and a writing friends has got a real kick of the book and discussed many topics that Stein write about. It has moved our projekts forward and we want to thank Stein for the help. We really recommend it for writer, who is not so experienced. It is also a good help for all kind of writing. As we write novels I will also buy Steins book about that. Both me and my friend are happy that the computer world has opened up the possibility to buy books from english writer. Earlier it was only possible when travelling.
Amazon.com
The essay is the one part of the college application that allows an admissions committee to get a glimpse not only of what you are (grades, scores, club member), but of who you are. "Applicants are constantly advised to 'put their best foot forward,'" says Fred Hargadon, the dean of admissions at Princeton University and a contributor to this book. "But I must confess that I always liked the ones who put both feet forward." That doesn't mean that your essay needs to shock. It means you must put everything you've got into it. It means that "if you think the college might receive even one other essay like yours," according to Brooks School college counselor William K. Poirot, "rewrite it."
The bulk of this book, as its title promises, comprises 100 examples of successful college-application essays. There are those who believe that reading essays will make you a better essay writer and those who don't. But reading these essays--and the experts' comments on them--will help you figure out what you want to write and how best to write it. From the essays included here, one surmises that the narrower your focus, the more effective the essay, as long as your narrowness doesn't cross over into insignificance. What matters most is not what you write about (these essays take on late-night TV game shows, self-induced baldness, the picture on a bag of Goldfish crackers, a family drive on the New Jersey Turnpike, and even a seven-inch plastic Godzilla), but what you do with your subject matter. --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
These are the essays that helped their authors gain admission to Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Wellesley, Colby, and other outstanding schools-followed by invaluable comments by experts in admissions, placement, and college counseling at some of the best learning institutions around the country. This helpful guide includes:
€ 100 complete essays with professional commentary
€ Examples of essays on common topics (family background, athletics, work experience), as well as the more offbeat
€ Essays on the immigrant experience by foreign-born students
€ A "What Not to Do" chapter from a top college counselor
€ and more
Customer Reviews:
Very good.......2004-11-26
The essays are seperated into topics (eg. Applying to College, work experience, coming to america), and each include good essays.
The book includes essays of the admittants to top tier colleges (Ivies), and some second tier ones. Interestingly, there are no essays from MIT! (No surprise though, considering the rivalry betwene MIT and Harvard -- the book was organized by Harvard newspaper)
Overall, great book.
BUY THIS BOOK!.......2004-04-27
Before I bought this book I thought my essay was pretty good until I bought this book. Then I knew that I could make my essay even better just by just following the essays in the book. I didn't even think I needed to get a guide book for my essay because I thought it was pretty good already without help from an essay book. But apparently this book worked really good because I did not get deferred from college! I got into my first choice just by using this book and I recommend it to anyone even to those who do not think they need a guide book for their essays because they think their essays are already pretty good like I thought mine was.
BUY THIS BOOK!
uninventive and most unhelpful.......2004-02-10
There are a few gems here, but for the most part, these essays are the same well-written but dry, uninventive slop every other high school senior dribbles out: how the abroad student haf a Life Changing Experience! how an athlete Crossed the Finish Line! how when pet Fluffly croaked it was a Formative Experience! If you really want insight into how to write a well-crafted, unique essay, with sounds suggestions, seek out the great book by Harry Bauld.
Varied College Essays.......2001-03-28
I purchased 3 College Essay books (100 Successful College Application Essays, 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, and Essays That Worked), and have the following comments... I believe that the Harvard book has the best suggestions on how to write an essay, along with the best commentary/critique. However, the essays are a bit too polished. I think for 90% of prospective college students, their essays would be more like those in and patterned like those in Essays That Worked. For varied ideas on essays, the 100 Successful book gives some good ideas, but I believe many of the essays to be subpar. I did each book to have some interesting general reading, especially if one likes "short stories"... or if one is interested in 17 & 18 year olds, and what goes thru their minds.
Reality.......2000-06-03
This book has lots of college essays that could be used for reference when writing an college essay. However, it's too concentrated on Ivy League schools and not other competitive schools. The comments that are suppose to be reviewed by college counselors and admissions officers are poor. Most of them just explains that they are creative. It does not comment much on how the author should redo or learn from their mistakes and do this thing. Not as informative as they claim to be.
Books:
- Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace (2nd Edition)
- Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace (2nd Edition)
- Successful Writing at Work
- Technical Communication
- Technical Communication (10th Edition)
- Technical Communication
- The Art of Talking to Anyone: Essential People Skills for Success in Any Situation
- The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their Employees, Retain Talent, and Drive Performance
- The Challenge of Effective Speaking (with CD-ROM and SpeechBuilder Express/InfoTrac )
- The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide to Writing Clear, Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business Documents (Elements of Series)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Holy Blood, Holy Grail Illustrated Edition: The Secret History of Jesus, the Shocking Legacy of the
- West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883
- Non-Disclosure and Confidential Agreements Line by Line: A Detailed Look at NDA's, How to Change The
- O.M.A.R. Study Guide: Online Multimedia Accounting Review
- The Commanding Heights: The Battle Between Government and the Marketplace That Is Remaking the Moder
- Wings of Fire
- The Lean Communications Provider: Surviving the Shakeout through Service Management Excellence
- Macroeconomic Essentials - 2nd Edition: Understanding Economics in the News
- Reasoning and Method in Economics: An Introduction to Economic Methodology
- Prochloron: A Microbial Enigma
General
| Essays
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing
The Brief Wadsworth Handbook
Psychology: From Science to Practice (2nd Edition) (MyPsychLab Series)
Basic Grammar and Usage
Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers (8th Edition) (MyCompLab Series)
