The Official Web site for Diana Hacker

Welcome to the official site for handbooks by Diana Hacker. From here, you can learn more about the books or access a variety of resources through each book's companion site.

For more than thirty years, Diana Hacker was a member of the English faculty at Prince George's Community College in Maryland, where she class-tested her handbooks with thousands of college writers. Hacker handbooks are popular because they work as references that students can—and do—use on their own.

Click here to learn more about the MLA 2009 update.

Teaching with Hacker Handbooks
This new collection helps novice and seasoned teachers integrate a handbook into their composition or writing intensive course. Part I includes chapters, such as “Designing Effective Assignments” and “Responding to Student Writing,” that address larger teaching concerns. Part II offers ten Modules, such as “Teaching Argument” and “Teaching Paragraphing,” each including a discussion of common challenges and a class activity. And Part III includes handouts, assignments, and syllabi from writing teachers across the country.

Preview a sample chapter, “Designing Effective Assignments.”

The Bedford Handbook, Eighth Edition
The eighth edition combines classic Hacker usability with a next-generation focus on academic writing and research and new navigation that helps students pull together advice for each assignment. Developed with the help of students and teachers at more than 35 colleges and universities, the new edition reflects the ways students write and revise in their comp course and beyond. What’s more, The Bedford Handbook remains a portable size; it’s still a comprehensive reference that’s as easy to consult as it is to carry. With the help of new co-author Nancy Sommers, it’s everything college writers need—in the palm of their hands.