Though no books are required for this course, there are some that you may find useful. Investigate them at your leisure, and choose those that you think will be most helpful to you during your college years (and beyond). The lists here are intended to be suggestive, not exhaustive.

The following three books discuss style in general, and are enjoyable to read:

• Fogarty, Mignon. 2008. Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
• Fogarty, Mignon, and Erwin Haya. 2011. Grammar Girl Presents the Ultimate Writing Guide for Students. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
• Harvey, Michael. 2003. The Nuts & Bolts of College Writing. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Co.

The books below are reference works. They cover such issues as the writing process, grammar, citation, and the styles appropriate to the various disciplines (Zotero is incredibly helpful for handling citation styles, but it won’t help you with the writing style appropriate to a particular discipline).

It’s good to have such a reference work available. I’d suggest you look them over (you’ll find these or similar books in many library reference departments), and choose one that covers the style(s) — e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago (CMS) — most commonly used in your intended major.

• Gibaldi, Joseph, and Modern Language Association of America. 2009. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America.
• Hacker, Diana. 2012. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
• Hacker, Diana, and Marcy Carbajal Van Horn. 2011. A Writer’s Reference. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.
• Lipson, Charles. 2011. Cite Right: a Quick Guide to Citation styles–MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press.
• Turabian, Kate Larimore. 2007. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press.