The Writing Process Writing with a Computer Planning Analyzing the writing task Choosing a subject Focusing on a topic Generating ideas and collecting information Determining your purpose for writing Establishing a thesis statement Analyzing your audience Making an outline Writing a Draft Choosing a good title Writing the body of your composition Writing the beginning and ending Revising Revising the largest elements first Revising your sentences and diction Conducting peer conferences Editing Editing for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics Preparing the final copy Proofreading the final copy Student Sample: Annotated Student Essay Designing a document Understanding the principals of design Understanding the elements of design Using visuals Formatting academic manuscript Writing in College and Beyond Academic writing Study skills Time management Note-taking in class Reading effectively Essay examinations Critical thinking and active reading Writing arguments Understanding the elements of argument Making appropriate appeals Considering your audience
Refuting the opposition's argument Student Sample: An ANNOTATED ARGUMENT ESSAY Online writing E-communications Composing online Oral presentations Outlining Preparing and practicing Using visuals Public writing Business letters Resumes Memos Letters to the editor Paragraphs Unity Writing a topic sentence Relating all sentences to the controlling idea Development Developing paragraphs fully Using the strategy implied in your topic sentence to develop your paragraph Coherence Arranging sentences in the most effective order Using transitional words and phrases Repeating key words and phrases Using parallel structure Using transitions to link paragraphs Beginnings and endings Clarity and Sentence Style Parallelism Use parallel constructions with coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so) Use parallel constructions with correlative conjunctions (either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also, both/and, whether/or) Use parallel constructions in comparisons with than or as Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Place modifiers where they will be most effective Connect a dangling modifier to the main part of the sentence Shifts Use pronouns that are consistent in person and number Maintain the same verb tense Maintain the same mood Keep subject and voice consistent
Avoid unnecessary shifts from direct to indirect quotation Keep tone and style consistent Maintain the same point of view Unified and Logical Sentences Use only relevant details Avoid mixed or illogical constructions Subordination and Coordination Use subordination to group short, choppy sentences into larger units of thought Do not subordinate excessively Use coordination to put ideas of equal importance in grammatical structures of equal weight Emphasis Achieve emphasis by placing the most important words and phrases at the beginning or end of a sentence Place ideas that occur in a series in a logical and climactic order Use the active rather than the passive voice Repeat important words for emphasis Occasionally use a short, dramatic sentence Achieve emphasis by using periodic sentences Achieve emphasis by using balanced constructions Sentence Variety Avoid the overuse of short simple sentences Vary your sentence openings Do not overuse compound sentences Word Choice Eliminating Clutter Focus on subjects and verbs Eliminate redundancies Delete empty words and phrases Reduce inflated expressions to their core meanings Convert clauses to phrases Exactness Choose words that accurately denote what you want to say Choose words whose connotations suit your purpose Use specific and concrete words Use idioms correctly Use figurative language Replace clichés with fresh language Appropriateness Choose an appropriate degree of formality Use standard English Avoid pretentious language
Use technical language only where appropriate Avoid vogue words Bias in Writing The Dictionary The Thesaurus Sentence Parts and Patterns Grammar Essentials Parts of Speech Parts of Sentences Phrases Clauses Types of Sentences Subject-Verb Agreement To choose the correct verb form, identify the subject of the sentence Use a plural verb with most compound subjects joined by and With subjects joined by or or nor, make the verb agree with the subject that is closest to it Treat most collective nouns as singular The relative pronouns who, which, and that take verbs that agree with their antecedents Treat most indefinite pronouns as singular Make the verb agree with the subject even when the subject comes after the verb Make a verb agree with its subject, not with a subject complement Use a singular verb with most singular nouns ending in -s When the title of a work is the subject of a sentence, use a singular verb When a word used as a word is the subject, use a singular verb When the subject of a sentence is a noun clause, use a singular verb Verbs: Form, Tense, Mood, and Voice Use the principal parts of irregular verbs correctly Use lay and lie and set and lsit correctly Use the correct verb tense to convey your meaning Use sequences of tense forms that are logically related Use verbs in the correct mood Use the active voice Pronoun Problems A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender, number, and person Be sure a pronoun's antecedent is clear Use pronouns in the correct case Use who or whom according to how the word functions in its own clause Adjectives and Adverbs Use adverbs, not adjectives, to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs Use an adjective, not an adverb, as a subject complement
Use bad/badly and good/well correctly Use the demonstrative adjective that agrees with the noun it modifies Use the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs correctly Fragments Join a phrase fragment to an existing sentence, or rewrite it as a sentence Join a subordinate clause fragment to an existing sentence, or rewrite it as a sentence Make an appositive fragment part of a sentence Keep a compound predicate within a single sentence Use sentence fragments intentionally to add emphasis and to write realistic dialog Comma Splices and Run-On Sentences Separate clauses into two sentences with a period Connect clauses with a semicolon Connect clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) Restructure the sentence by subordinating one of the clauses Punctuation The Comma Use commas with independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction Use commas with introductory words or word groups Use commas with nonrestrictive elements Use commas to separate items in a series Use commas to separate coordinate adjectives Use commas with parenthetical and transitional expressions Use commas with contrasted elements Use commas to set off speech tags such as she said Use commas with mild interjections, words of direct address, the words yes and no, and interrogative tags Use commas according to accepted practice Use commas to prevent confusion or misreading Use commas to indicate an omitted word or words Avoid unnecessary commas The Semicolon Use a semicolon to join closely related main clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction Use a semicolon to join main clauses when a transitional expression or conjunctive adverb introduces the second main clause Use semicolons to join items in a series containing other punctuation Do not use the semicolon to join structures of unequal grammatical rank The Colon Use a colon to link independent clauses when the second clause serves to explain the first Use a colon to introduce a series
Use a colon to draw attention to an appositive Use a colon to introduce a direct quotations Use a colon to mark conventional separations Do not misuse colons The Apostrophe Use an apostrophe to mark the possessive case Use an apostrophe to indicate contractions Use an apostrophe to pluralize letters, numbers, abbreviations, and words cited as words Do not misuse apostrophes Quotation Marks Use quotation marks with direct quotations Use quotation marks to indicate the titles of short works Use quotation marks to indicate words used as words Follow convention when using other marks of punctuation in combination with quotation marks Do not misuse quotation marks Other Punctuation Marks The period The question mark The exclamation point The dash Parentheses Brackets The ellipsis mark The slash Mechanics Capitals Capitalize proper nouns Capitalize proper adjectives Capitalize abbreviations Capitalize titles with names Capitalize the first word of a sentence or a deliberate sentence fragment Capitalize the first word of an independent clause after a colon Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence Capitalize poetry exactly as the poet has Capitalize the first and last words and all other important words in the titles of works Capitalize only the first word in the complimentary close of a letter Abbreviations Abbreviate titles before and after proper nouns Use the conventional abbreviations
Use conventional abbreviations for organizations, corporations, and countries Use scholarly Latin abbreviations sparingly Numbers Spell out numbers of one or two words use figures for all other numbers and amounts Follow convention in using figures Italics/Underlining Underline or italicize the titles of long works Underline or italicize the names of ships, planes, trains, and spacecraft Underline or italicize numbers, letters, and words referred to as such or used as illustrations Underline or italicize foreign words and phrases Underline or italicize a word or words for emphasis sparingly The Hyphen Use a hyphen with compound words Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun Use a hyphen with compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine and with written fractions Use a hyphen with the prefixes all-, ex-, great-, and self-, and with the suffix -elect Use a hyphen to signal that a word is divided and continued on the next line Spelling Learn the basic spelling rules Distinguish between words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings Research Writing Developing a research strategy Planning a work schedule Choosing a topic and research question Determining what you already know about your topic Finding sources Determining a search strategy Learning to use keyword searches Locating books Locating articles Locating Internet sources Using reference books Using interviews and questionnaires Selecting and Evaluating Sources Previewing your print and online sources Evaluating your print and online sources Keeping Track of Information
Keeping a working bibliography Reading and analyzing your sources Taking complete and accurate notes without plagiarizing Documenting Sources MLA in-text citations APA in-text citations CMS footnotes or endnotes CSE in-text citations Writing the research paper Determining a thesis and organizing the evidence Avoiding plagiarism Integrating quotations, paraphrases, summaries, and visuals into your text Revising and formatting a research paper Writing in the Disciplines Overview of writing in the disciplines Understanding writing assignments Methodology and evidence Discipline-specific resources Language and stylistic conventions Documentation and format guidelines Reading and writing about literature Writing assignments for literature Reading and analyzing a literary text Library and Web resources for literary study Observing the conventions of writing about literature Documentation and format Annotated student essay about literature Writing in the humanities Writing assignments Methodology and evidence Literary and Web resources for the humanities Documentation and format Writing in the social sciences Writing assignments Methodology and evidence Library and Web resources for the social sciences Documentation and format Writing in the natural and applied sciences Writing assignments Methodology and evidence Library and Web resources for the sciences
Documentation and format MLA Style Documentation and Format MLA-Style documentation MLA in-text citations Directory to MLA in-text citation models MLA information footnotes or endnotes MLA list of works cited Directory to MLA list of works cited models MLA manuscript format Student Sample: Annotated student MLA research paper APA Style Documentation and Format APA-style documentation APA in-text citations Directory to APA in-text citations APA references APA manuscript format Student Sample: Annotated student APA research paper CMS Documentation Format / CSE Documentation Format CMS documentation CMS endnotes or footnotes CMS bibliography CMS note and bibliography models Directory to CMS note and bibliography models CMS manuscript format Student Sample: Annotated student CMS research paper CSE documentation CSE in-text references CSE list of references Directory to CSE list of references ESL Basics Verbs Modals Perfect tenses Progressive tenses Passive voice Two-word verbs Verbs followed by an infinitive or a gerund Nouns, Qualifiers, and Articles Noncount nouns Quantifiers for noncount and count nouns Indefinite article (a or an)
Definite article (the) Adjectives and Adverbs Cumulative adjectives Present and past participles Adverbs Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases Correct prepositions Necessary prepositions Unnecessary words in prepositional phrases Remember that infinitives cannot be used as the objects of prepositions Learn some common compound prepositions Learn some common adjective + preposition combinations Parts of Sentences Omitted verbs Omitted subjects Expletives (there, here, it) Special Problems Word order for questions Questions with who, whom, and what Indirect questions Reported speech Conditional sentences Confusing Words and Phrases Glossary of Usage / Index Credits Correction Symbols Table of Contents provided by Blackwell's Book Services and R.R. Bowker. Used with permission.