With SF Writer 2/e the authors did more than offer a revision—they created a new kind of handbook. SF Writer 2/e takes the “writer” in its title seriously.

From its opening paragraph to its concluding almanac, the handbook examines the writing process today from the perspective of writers, young and old, learning new roles and reaching new audiences. The style of SF Writer is energetic and witty, the advice fresh and contemporary, the design ground-breaking.

Almost every major element of SF Writer is new or significantly revised, beginning with an organization that removes the barriers between writing and research. While most handbooks put the chapters on research in back of the book, SF Writer locates these essential strategies up front, in Part II: “Thinking and Research.” This new arrangement helps writers appreciate better the connection between college research and other essential activities such as “Reading Critically” and “Writing Persuasively,” also examined in Part II.

Equally fresh is Part I: “Working as a Writer,” which presents writing as a dynamic activity grounded in practical choices and familiar genres. And because most college assignments still end in a grade, “Working as a Writer” also includes an innovative chapter on “Evaluating Writing.” No other handbook in SF Writer's field covers this sensitive, but important topic.

SF Writer breaks new ground, too, in expanding its coverage of document design and writing for the Web. A full section is now devoted to these subjects, featuring fresh material and rich illustrations. Uniquely, SF Writer treats the design of print and electronic documents as a process, like writing itself. SF Writer embodies these design principals in a volume full of carefully chosen images and photographs—from section dividers that showcase the work of writers to an almanac featuring timelines of notable texts and authors. It's not an accident that SF Writer looks exceptionally fresh and contemporary. In this edition, the media is part of the message.

Yet SF Writer doesn't forget its responsibilities as a guide to grammar, mechanics, usage, and documentation. Its coverage in these areas is unsurpassed. Yet even here, new themes are sounded. For example, the model MLA paper is by a student teacher wrestling with a state mandate for competency testing. The model APA research paper comes from an online journal that publishes undergraduate research in psychology. So both papers demonstrate that undergraduates today really can do serious work as writers and reach live audiences.