World Book Day: Recommended Reading List from WKU Library
As the World Book Day is approaching, the WKU Library recommends the following books for WKU students to help their academic writing and career development.
Academic Writing
The Craft of Research (e-book)
With more than three-quarters of a million copies sold since its first publication, The Craft of Research has helped generations of researchers at every level—from first-year undergraduates to advanced graduate students to research reporters in business and government—learn how to conduct effective and meaningful research. Conceived by seasoned researchers and educators Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, this fundamental work explains how to find and evaluate sources, anticipate and respond to reader reservations, and integrate these pieces into an argument that stands up to reader critique.
With updated examples and information on evaluation and using contemporary sources, this beloved classic is ready for the next generation of researchers.
On writing well : the classic guide to writing nonfiction (Call No. PE1429 .Z56 2006 )
On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet.
Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sold, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers.
Style : the basics of clarity and grace (e-book)
Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace reflectsthe wisdom and clear authorial voice of Williams’ best-selling book, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, while streamlining every chapter to create a very brief, yet powerfully direct guide to writing with style.
The concise clarity of this book makes it a handy reference for anyone interested in good writing–as well as a quick and ideal guide for freshman composition courses, writing courses across the disciplines, and as a supporting text in courses that require clear and direct writing. Style: The Basics covers the elemental principles of writing that will help students diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of their prose quickly and revise effectively. The text features principles of effective prose written in Williams’ hallmark conversational style, offering reason-based principles, rather than hard and fast rules, for successful, effective writing.
Using Sources Effectively: Strengthening Your Writing and Avoiding Plagiarism (available at Proquest)
This book was written to give you the knowledge and tools you can use to make your research-based writing more powerful and effective. Here are some examples:
- Mini-Research Projects at the end of each chapter to sharpen your research and evaluation skills.
- A set of practical, usefulrhetorical devices to help improve the clarity and impact of your writing.
- Increased emphasis on synthesis writing―weaving source use into your own thinking―to give your writing more interest and persuasive power.
- Instruction in close reading to help you better grasp what an author is discussing or arguing.
- Strategies for organizing and positioning your sources to strengthen your central argument.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Call No. BF76.7. P83 2020)
A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER – The new 2020 copyright release of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. It is the official source for APA Style. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields.
Career Development
The Economist’s Craft (Forthcoming at Princeton University Press) (e-book)
A holistic view of the survival guide for graduate students in business. The topic covers: thesis topic selection, managing the academic network, do’s and don’t for a PhD student, the journal peer-review process etc. A must-read book for anyone who is ambitious pursuing a doctoral degree in social science.
The PhD Grid – Professor Philp Guo’s Memoir (e-book)
This book chronicles the author’s six years of working towards a Ph.D. in Computer Science at Stanford University from 2006 to 2012. A diverse variety of people can benefit from reading it, including:
- undergraduates who might be interested in pursuing a Ph.D.,
- current Ph.D. students who are seeking guidance or inspiration,
- professors who want to better understand Ph.D. students,
- employers who hire and manage people with Ph.D. degrees,
- professionals working in any creative or competitive field where self-driven initiative is crucial,
- and educated adults (or precocious kids) who are curious about how academic research is produced.
Getting a PhD in Economics (e-book)
Getting a Ph.D. in Economics is the first manual designed to meet the specific needs of aspiring and matriculating graduate students of economics. With the perspective of a veteran, Stuart J. Hillmon walks the reader though the entire experience–from the Ph.D. admissions process to arduous first-year coursework and qualifying exams to armoring up for the volatile job market. Hillmon identifies the pitfalls at each stage and offers no-holds-barred advice on how to navigate them. Honest, hard-hitting, and at times hilarious, this insider insight will equip students and prospective students with the tools to make the most of their graduate experience and to give them an edge in an increasingly competitive field.
