The aim of this book is simple: to provide students—regardless of their past writing experiences or current skills— specific, mostly objective techniques that can help them produce better writing. Students should not have to depend on nor should they necessarily trust the subjective opinions of other students, teachers, or any so-called experts who cannot diagnose the source of specific problems or weaknesses. Given the right tools and methods, students can learn to identify their own tendencies and assess strengths and weaknesses in their own and others’ writing. This book is meant to help them do just that.