Rules for Writers, Seventh Edition
Diana Hacker  Nancy Sommers
What’s new on the companion Web site?
hackerhandbooks.com/rules
The companion Web site for Rules for Writers, Seventh Edition, now provides even more help
for college writers in any discipline.
34 new exercises
22 new student papers and other model documents
Nancy Sommers videos
New help with revision
New support for instructors
34 new exercises. New interactive grammar, writing, and research exercises provide even more
opportunities for student writers to practice everything from sentence clarity to documenting
sources in MLA and APA styles.
Content questions? Contact Michelle Clark at mclark@bedfordstmartins.com.
Functionality questions? Contact Tech Support at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Page 1 of 8
Fourteen new model papers and eight other documents in four citation styles. Papers are now
organized in two ways: by documentation style and by genre.
New MLA-style papers: argument paper, concert review, paper-in-progress (draft and
final), outline, and portfolio cover letter
New APA-style papers: literature review, business proposal, nursing practice paper,
business report, reflective essay, and crime report
New CSE-style paper: lab report
New USGS-style paper: report
A collection of professional models such as résumés and business memos
Nancy Sommers videos. These new videos feature author Nancy Sommers addressing topics
such as revision, reading and responding, teacher comments, argument, and the composing
process.
New section on revising. Here you’ll find sample revisions, revision checklists, student papers
(rough and final), and a revising with comments feature designed to help students understand
and apply their teachers’ feedback as they start to rework their papers.
Content questions? Contact Michelle Clark at mclark@bedfordstmartins.com.
Functionality questions? Contact Tech Support at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Page 2 of 8
What if I’m still using the sixth edition?
You can still use the Web site for the sixth edition. You can get there two ways:
1. Use the direct URL:
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/rules6e
You may bookmark this site for your convenience.
2. You can also link to the sixth edition site from the seventh edition site. See the link on the left
side of the page. Except for the new URL, the sixth edition site is unchanged.
Using the Sixth Edition?
Content questions? Contact Michelle Clark at mclark@bedfordstmartins.com.
Functionality questions? Contact Tech Support at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Page 3 of 8
Note for exercise users: Data from the sixth edition site (such as student exercise results) are
not accessible through the seventh edition site. Users of Rules for Writers, Seventh Edition, can
still access the sixth edition site in one of the ways noted on page 3. Instructors teaching with
the sixth edition site can still access their students’ scores on that site.
Do the new exercises function like the others?
As on the Web site for Rules for Writers, Sixth Edition, students must log in to complete
exercises. For instructors to have access to students’ scores, students must record their
instructor’s e-mail address with their student profile. Students will be prompted to enter this
information when they log in.
What’s new for instructors?
Visit hackerhandbooks.com, our new Web site dedicated to providing instructors with
information and ideas from coauthor Nancy Sommers, other teachers of writing, and the
Hacker handbooks editors at Bedford/St. Martin’s. You’ll also find Teaching with Hacker
Handbooks available for download.
Instructor resources are protected so that students cannot gain access to them; instructors
must log in to access these resources.
Have the exercise numbers changed?
Most exercise numbers have changed. The changes are detailed in the following chart, with
numbers and titles of new exercises in bold.
Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers,
Rules for Writers 7th edition vs. 6th edition exercise numbers
RULES 6/e
No.
1-1
1-2
2-2
4-1
4-2
8-1
8-2
8-3
9-1
9-2
9-3
10-1
RULES 7/e
No.
1-3
2-2
2-3
2-4
4-2
4-3
8-2
8-3
8-4
8-5
9-2
9-3
9-4
9-5
10-2
10-3
Exercise Title
Purpose and audience
Thesis statements
Thesis statements
Introductions
Topic sentences
Transitions
Identifying active and passive voice
Active vs. passive voice
Active vs. be verbs
Active verbs
Identifying parallel structure
Parallelism
Parallelism
Parallelism
Needed words
Needed words
Content questions? Contact Michelle Clark at mclark@bedfordstmartins.com.
Functionality questions? Contact Tech Support at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Page 4 of 8
RULES 6/e
No.
10-2
11-1
11-2
12-1
12-2
12-3
12-4
13-1
13-2
13-3
13-4
14-1
14-3
14-2
16-1
16-2
16-3
17-1
17-2
18-1
18-2
18-3
19-2
19-2
19-3
20-1
20-2
20-3
21-1
21-2
21-3
22-1
22-2
22-3
23-1
RULES 7/e
No.
10-4
11-2
11-3
11-4
12-3
12-4
12-5
12-6
12-7
12-8
13-5
13-6
13-7
13-8
13-9
14-5
14-6
14-7
14-8
16-3
16-4
16-5
16-6
17-6
17-7
17-8
18-5
18-6
18-7
19-3
19-4
19-5
19-6
20-4
20-5
20-6
20-7
21-3
21-4
21-5
22-3
22-4
22-5
23-3
Exercise Title
Needed words
Mixed constructions
Mixed constructions
Mixed constructions
Misplaced modifiers
Misplaced modifiers
Misplaced modifiers
Dangling modifiers
Dangling modifiers
Dangling modifiers
Shifts: person and number
Shifts: tense
Shifts: mood and voice, questions and quotations
Shifts
Shifts
Combining choppy sentences
Identifying sentence emphasis
Using coordination and subordination
Combining choppy sentences
Wordy sentences
Wordy sentences
Wordy sentences
Wordy sentences
Jargon
Sexist language
Sexist language
Misused words
Standard idioms
Clichés and mixed metaphors
Sentence fragments
Sentence fragments
Sentence fragments
Sentence fragments
Run-on sentences
Run-on sentences
Run-on sentences
Run-on sentences
Subject-verb agreement
Subject-verb agreement
Subject-verb agreement
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
Pronoun reference
Content questions? Contact Michelle Clark at mclark@bedfordstmartins.com.
Functionality questions? Contact Tech Support at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Page 5 of 8
RULES 6/e
No.
23-2
23-3
24-1
24-2
25-1
25-2
26-1
26-2
27-1
27-2
27-3
28-1
28-2
28-3
28-4
29-1
29-2
30-1
30-2
30-3
30-4
31-1
32-1
32-2
32-3
33-1
34-1
34-2
35-1
36-1
37-1
39-1
40-1
41-1
42-1
RULES 7/e
No.
Exercise Title
23-4
23-5
24-3
24-4
25-2
25-3
25-4
26-3
26-4
27-4
27-5
27-6
27-7
27-8
27-9
28-5
28-6
28-7
28-8
28-9
29-3
29-4
29-5
30-5
30-6
30-7
30-8
31-2
Pronoun reference
Pronoun reference
Pronoun case (such as I vs. me)
Pronoun case (such as I vs. me)
who and whom
Pronoun case: review
Pronoun case: review
Adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives and adverbs
Irregular verbs
Irregular verbs
Standard English verb forms
Standard English verb forms
Verb tense and mood
Verb tense and mood
Verb forms and tenses
Verb forms with modals
Conditional sentences
Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives
Using verbs: review
Using articles
Using articles
Articles and types of nouns
Omissions and repetitions
Sentence structure
Present vs. past participles
Order of cumulative adjectives
Prepositions showing time and place
32-8
32-9
32-10
33-3
33-4
34-3
34-4
35-2
36-3
36-4
37-3
37-4
39-2
40-2
41-2
42-2
Major uses of the comma
Major uses of the comma
All uses of the comma
Misuses of the comma
Misuses of the comma
The semicolon and the comma
The semicolon and the comma
The colon, the semicolon, and the comma
The apostrophe
The apostrophe
Quotation marks
Quotation marks
Other punctuation marks
Abbreviations
Numbers
Italics
Content questions? Contact Michelle Clark at mclark@bedfordstmartins.com.
Functionality questions? Contact Tech Support at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Page 6 of 8
RULES 6/e
No.
44-1
45-1
62-1
62-2
62-3
62-4
62-5
62-6
62-7
63-1
63-2
63-3
63-4
63-5
64-1
64-2
64-3
64-7
64-8
64-4
64-5
64-6
64-9
65-1
49-1
52-1
53-1
53-2
53-3
53-4
53-5
53-6
54-1
54-2
54-3
54-4
55-1
RULES 7/e
No.
Exercise Title
44-2
45-2
46-5
46-6
46-7
46-8
46-9
46-10
46-11
46-12
46-13
46-14
46-15
46-16
47-4
47-5
47-6
47-7
47-8
47-9
48-4
48-5
48-6
48-7
48-8
48-9
48-10
48-11
48-12
49-2
53-1
The hyphen
Capital letters
Parts of speech: nouns
Parts of speech: nouns
Parts of speech: pronouns
Parts of speech: pronouns
Parts of speech: verbs
Parts of speech: verbs
Parts of speech: adjectives
Parts of speech: adjectives
Parts of speech: adverbs
Parts of speech: adverbs
All parts of speech
All parts of speech
Subjects
Subjects
Subject complements and direct objects
Indirect objects and object complements
All objects and complements
Linking, transitive, and intransitive verbs
Prepositional phrases
Prepositional phrases
Objects of prepositions
Verbal phrases
Verbal phrases
Subordinate clauses
Subordinate clauses
Subjects of subordinate clauses
Phrases and clauses
Sentence types
Research questions
56-1
56-2
57-1
57-2
57-3
57-4
57-5
57-6
58-1
58-2
58-3
58-4
59-1
Thesis statements in MLA papers
Thesis statements in MLA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in MLA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in MLA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in MLA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in MLA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in MLA papers
Recognizing common knowledge in MLA papers
Integrating sources in MLA papers
Integrating sources in MLA papers
Integrating sources in MLA papers
Integrating sources in MLA papers
MLA documentation: in-text citations
Content questions? Contact Michelle Clark at mclark@bedfordstmartins.com.
Functionality questions? Contact Tech Support at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Page 7 of 8
RULES 6/e
No.
55-2
55-3
55-4
55-5
55-6
57-1
58-1
58-2
58-3
58-4
58-5
59-1
59-2
59-3
59-4
60-1
60-2
60-3
60-4
60-5
60-6
RULES 7/e
No.
59-2
59-3
59-4
59-5
59-6
59-7
59-8
61-1
61-2
62-1
62-2
62-3
62-4
62-5
63-1
63-2
63-3
63-4
64-1
64-2
64-3
64-4
64-5
64-6
64-7
64-8
67-1
Exercise Title
MLA documentation: in-text citations
MLA documentation: in-text citations
MLA documentation: identifying elements of sources
MLA documentation: works cited
MLA documentation: works cited
MLA documentation: works cited
MLA documentation
Thesis statements in APA papers
Thesis statements in APA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in APA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in APA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in APA papers
Avoiding plagiarism in APA papers
Recognizing common knowledge in APA papers
Integrating sources in APA papers
Integrating sources in APA papers
Integrating sources in APA papers
Integrating sources in APA papers
APA documentation: in-text citations
APA documentation: in-text citations
APA documentation: in-text citations
APA documentation: identifying elements of sources
APA documentation: reference list
APA documentation: reference list
APA documentation: reference list
APA documentation
Thesis statements in literature papers
Content questions? Contact Michelle Clark at mclark@bedfordstmartins.com.
Functionality questions? Contact Tech Support at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Page 8 of 8