Customer Rating:
Summary: A Writer's Reference
Comment: Quick Access is truly a reference for any writer whether they are just beginning to write or have been published. I have found the content to be searchable and user-friendly as a reference for a college student, and I plan to keep the book as an aid for writing papers for school or job reports.

The information is organized in a concise, logical format starting with tips on how to begin writing and later concluding using the Modern Language Association's (MLA) approved format for citing sources. However, even if I did not need advice on how to begin writing or citing sources, I would still find this guide useful. Included in the guide are explanations about sentence structure, paragraph structure, and even basic word usage (for example, the difference between accept and except is defined). Quick Access covers the slight differences which can make a writer stronger and proficient.

Quick Access is designed to be read as a reference book and not cover-to-cover. The table of contents located in the front of the book helps to locate general information quickly and the index in the back helps to locate specific information. No matter which topic you have questions about, there is a corresponding section which can be found with ease.

There are several sections which can be of use to certain writers with various skill levels. For students, reference to MLA format is extremely useful. But students not only find MLA format useful, but also the section about writing a research paper. For the beginning writer, thesis structure along with sentence and paragraph composition provides insight about where to begin and how to continue. And for the experienced writer attempting to hone their skills, the sections regarding punctuation and mechanics, and document design would further develop their writing. No matter which level you consider yourself, Quick Access provides references to improve your talent as a writer.

For the business professional, the Document Design segment contains helpful suggestions and guidelines for creating professional writings that are not research papers or essays. Electronic email and memorandums have become a readily used form of communication in today's information age. Although there is no set standard format, Quick Access guides writers in writing a clear, logical, and professional document which can impress any reader whether they are a boss or a client.

Among the many sections, one is devoted to suggestions for multilingual writers. This section advises speakers of foreign languages on the technical aspect of the English language. The book continues in the same logical order by stating the rule and then proving and exemplifying its use. While this does provide some insight into how to develop skills for writing in English, Quick Access does not dedicate itself to instructing multilingual writers in the English language. It is primarily a reference, which severely limits the depth in which it is able to explain the fundamentals. A writer of another language may find the guide too brief in the multilingual section and therefore, find Quick Access not as useful as English speakers.

In today's information age, writing is important. Expressing ideas can be difficult and tedious, but Quick Access has the information to guide and direct any writer in the direction of an expert. I recommend this book to all those student, business, and professional writers who wish to enhance their abilities.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Say "Yes" to Quick Access
Comment: Lynn Quitman Troyka's Quick Access is a useful and accurate guide to many elements of good writing for high school and college students. As a college student, I found that the book was a straightforward tool that I could turn to for any type of assignment to critique and improve my own writing. It is very well organized and covers many relevant topics in a concise, but in-depth form.
The color-coded dividers and table of contents outline everything that is covered in the book in a way that makes things very easy to find. The dividers mark chapters and writing tactics such as sentence and word structure, research, documentation techniques, and many grammar basic and advanced rules.
The examples used by the book ranged from simple to complex and were all labeled clearly and had comments about the examples nearby in bold.
There are two parts of the book that stand out in my mind as being the most helpful; chapters 26-28 and the "Punctuation and Mechanics" section. Chapters 26-28 summarizes the most important techniques covered in the MLA Handbook in approximately forty pages. The "Punctuation and Mechanics" section is quite helpful, too. It not only discussed some basic grammar rules, but also detailed etiquette regarding when to use capitals, italics, and abbreviations that I was unaware of.
The book works well with its companion website, which I thought supported many of the book's concepts very well with additional examples and explanations. The site was not functioning every time I tried to use it, but that has nothing to do with content.
I would recommend the book for any student or writer, for that matter, who is trying to learn to achieve their best writing possible, both in style and in form.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Quick Review
Comment: Ignoring all of the aesthetic appeals that writing possesses, a writer must think about the proper format of the paper as part of the presentation of the writing. In particular, students as writers, such as me, must follow certain guidelines for writing assignments. The requirements for proper format, though, are constantly changing and are often difficult to attain. However, Lynn Quitman Troyka has composed the Quick Access (QA), a reference book that provides student writers with guidelines to the writing process and proper formation techniques. Because it presents the technicalities of the writing process in a user-friendly fashion, the Quick Access aids student writers in writing mechanically accurate compositions.
In outlining the actual format of the QA, the writer is able to see that the QA takes its readers through the entire writing process. The first section of the QA, entitled "Thinking and Reading Reflectively" discusses the way in which readers turn themselves into writers by extracting something meaningful from the text that they read into something even more profound on paper. I found this section particularly useful with eliminating writer's block. Troyka encourages her readers in this section to actively read by taking notes along the margins of the book. This technique helps to later trigger the mind of thoughts that were derived from the reading that can later be reflected on in writing.
Continuing on to the next section of the QA, the writer is introduced to the "Writing Process", which includes instructions on processes such as brainstorming, outlining, thesis and body composition, transitional topic sentences, and formatting conclusions. By applying all of these techniques to my writing, I was able to compose much more organized papers with coherent ideas that weren't lost in my overall message.
The next two sections of the QA, "Sentences" and "Words", continue to discuss the details of the writing process. The following sections of the QA elude into the mechanics of writing. Research techniques are noted along with the proper methods of citing and composing bibliographies. For instance, in dealing with bibliographical citations, Troyka provides a list of all of the possibilities of bibliography entries on pg. 139 and then continues on to offer an example of each possibility, a reference technique that has proven to be extremely helpful to me in particular. I am currently a freshman at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In living in D.C., I have been introduced to several new sources for research, including the Library of Congress where I was required to research an article from 1837. Upon having to cite this source in my bibliography, I was able to find an example of how to do so in the QA without having to look at any other resources. The final sections of the QA are pure reference that center on grammar rules.
While this appears to be an abundance of information, the QA is easy for writers to direct through. Each section of the QA is labeled and contains a list of contents on the inside cover of the information in each section. The actual information in the QA is broken down into sections that highlight specific points that Troyka wants to emphasize. After explaining certain techniques, Troyka always includes random examples of what she was just explaining. For example, after explaining transitional sentences, Troyka includes a list of words that aid in using this method on pg. 36 of the QA. By doing this, I was better able to understand the concepts that Troyka was discussing and more easily apply them to my own papers.
Quick Access is an extremely useful source for college students. I have been able to use the QA as a guide that has helped me transfer from "high school writing mode" to "college writing mode" in which writing is more of a thinking process. The QA is also a reference book that applies to any subject for any paper. I've used the QA for both History and English papers, and I will most likely continue using the QA as a source for further writing assignments that I'll encounter in the future.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Quick Access- A Handy Reference Guide
Comment: I found the Quick Access manual very useful as a guide to me in the development and expansion of my own writing ideas and in the growth of my ability to read texts more actively and closely. Although there were only certain sections of the manual assigned to my freshmen English class to read, dealing mainly with the writing process and reading more effectively, the manual also addresses grammar, documentation, and multilingual topics. Quick Access's step by step instructions on the writing process is organized in a logical manner that can be helpful to anyone who is beginning to write a paper yet still needs some guidance. Many people will have written papers before entering college; however, this manual refreshes one's memory by listing definitions and examples of key terms, and suggestions on how to get past writer's block. The format of the manual makes it easy to flip through to find a specific definition or example in which I need further clarification on. For instance, the manual does a good job of narrowing down a thesis statement that is too broad into one that is specific and to the point. In addition, the thesis statement's listing of basic requirements is an effective tool for one to use when approaching their own thesis.

Another section of the manual that is worth reading are the strategies to overcome writer's block. The suggestions are interesting, such as writing from the center of the essay out instead of from the beginning to the end, or pretending you are writing an email to a certain person. In one paper I recently wrote, I took the manual's suggestion of writing starting from the center. It was actually easier for me to write down the main points of the body before worrying about an introduction.

Quick Access helped me prepare my rough drafts by preventing me from spending too much time worrying about the points of grammar to put in sentences. Rather, as I wrote a sentence that I was not sure was grammatically correct, I put a note in the margin so I would remember to go back to it later. This process enabled me to get all of my ideas down in a free-flowing manner so I would not lose my train of thought.

For those of us who struggle with grammar, there is also an editing checklist which gently reminds us of common punctuation mistakes that people make when writing. For example, the checklist asks if commas have been used correctly and references the chapter to refer to if having difficulty in this area. The grammar basics section is easy to refer to and understand within seconds of locating the page number.

Having a good comprehension of active and close reading can make a world of difference in grasping written material. By following the book's example of highlighting important terms and relating readings to my own experiences helped me to understand topics more fully. Annotation is a strategy that can help everybody to stay focused, by allowing one to figure out their own ways of engaging the texts.

Quick Access is not your ordinary type of reference book for writers. Most of the main points in this manual are stated concisely no more than a few paragraphs which requires less time reading and comprehending, and allows more time to work to refine your own papers. This manual is not time consuming to read and, if followed correctly, will most definitely expand one's writing horizons. The time saved can be used for tackling other challenging course requirements. Quick Access is a handy resource that students can refer to throughout their college years and beyond.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Quick Access...a great reference
Comment: The Quick Access book by Lynn Quitman Troyka is an easy way to help both students and non-students in their writing. I used this book in my college freshman English class and while I did not use every aspect of the book, it did provide me with exactly what I needed to get make sure my writing skills were up to par. It's easy to use format and to the point sections made this writing reference book better than those I have used before
Because it was my first writing class in college, I wanted to make sure that my grammar and MLA documentation were correct. In many cases I was familiar with the grammatical rules, but was not completely sure about the specifics. Clearing up these uncertainties without devoting large amounts of time to searching and reading about the rule was very easy using the Quick Access book. The large colorful tabs allowed me to flip to the section I needed with great ease. I could easily discern whether I was looking for help with sentences, documentation or punctuation. Whether I needed to check my comma splices or my works cited page, it was very simple to just open to the section you needed and follow the index to find the correct page. Then after flipping to that particular section, the indexes about each section lead the way to your particular interest. Each specific section included several different types of help. The overviews about the area helped me discern if I should in fact be using the punctuation mark that I chose. Also, there were many examples which helped me use the tool correctly. Not only did it clearly show the correct usage in a sentence but often there were many different examples. After using this book on my papers I felt confident that my grammar was correct. However, this book did more than help with grammar. I also used the sections on thesis statements and on MLA documentation. Both of these areas typically cause me problems, so it was extraordinarily useful to have an easy reference at my fingertips.
I believe that the most helpful aspect of this book, at least for me, were the examples that came with each area. After the brief description of the area, as well as some general frequently asked questions concerning the topic, the examples are added. These examples, which include anything from the progression of a weak thesis statement to a strong statement or a sample works cited page, make it certain that the reader will understand the concept. The examples cover each and every type of usage and often multiple examples on one point so to be sure that there is no mistaking the correct usage.
This book served its purpose for me in all the areas for which I needed it. I intend to keep this book for all of my other classes so that I will be able to refer to it when I am again in a quandary about the correct way to cite a website. I would strongly recommend this book to all high school and college students. I would also however recommend this book to all those who may have questions about particular rules of grammar and who do not want to waste large amounts of time searching for an answer.

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