Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary ($26.95) comes with a one-year subscription to its Web site. Roget’s International Thesaurus ($21.95) is still the best way to stop using the same word again and again. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers ($17) covers everything from endnotes to semicolons. Short on cash? Many schools give students free access to online reference guides–or you could just hit the library.
