I now own 4 of these Keys for or Rules for Writters Books. Hmmm!!! this ought to give you a clue that I have been to English Class a couple of times in the past. The great thing is that every time I get a new book, it is more complete than the last one. I must say that the Key's for Writers is laid out in a more user friendly way than the other ones. This may seem insignificant but its not and let me explain why this so important for real life.
First: I have several close friends who are attorneys. One who was former prosecutor for New York City and now is a law professor at Dartmouth College. When I was attending classes in my previous school, he was a wealth of information. In talking to each of them, I was suprised to learn that the most important skill a paralegal or any person in the legal field can have is the ability to Correctly Spell and Write English! I am capitalizing this because it is amazing but it is the one skill that most people in that profession do not possess! There have been many cases actually thrown out due to clerical errors. This translates into child molesters being let go or murder's being let go. So if you do not believe that being able to read and write English counts for anything then think about it when you find the released is in your neighborhood. Extreme example? It happens more than you may know.
Anything in Yellow in the book will help with the grammar and spelling.
Secondly: We live in a world where intentional or not people are out to steal from us. This can be though identity theft or car jacking. Let's face it no one is immune. Maybe I have a warped sense of humor but I know there is nothing more annoying than when I spend 60+ hours writing a paper for a Composition clas. , and then find that later on, someone has used my work. Yes this also has happened to me. I wrote a paper on BP and later found that it had been distributed online for other's to use without my knowledge or permission. I am still not 100% sure of how it happened but it did. Now I can tell you that I got a 100% on the paper I can also tell you that I personally contacted government agencies for my sources. I used my other books to see how to cite the sources correctly. This paper took months to research and to write. How you cite sources in this book can be found on p14. Now I also had to do this in APA format. I have also had papers in MLA format.
Let me tell you if the period is not in the correct place it can be counted as plagerism! Point is that I was beyond livid when I found that my work had been tossed around the internet. There are 2 things people should know: 1. Any reputable college has a paper checking service they use to ensure that the paper you are writing is authentic and not a copy of someone elses work. Meaning if you buy a paper, even a paper from years ago, that paper should still be in a system somewhere under the origional author's name. Automatic dismissal from your school! 2. With Google Docs, the fact that the work has a place for you being listed as the author may help cut down on this type of stealing from happening. It is a good program.
I found that the more I have used my book, the better my spelling and writing has become it is just natural. I found that having to use the spell checker has lessened. I still run it but I don't live by it as much. How we write and communicate shows to the world.
I am truly glad you took so much away from Keys for Writers. This book is a very helpful tool for every student. It is also important to note that the book is required for both you English Composition I & II. Please do not lose the loose paper with an activation code as you need that in your English classes as well. Great work.
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