Contents Preface for Students: Using This Book iii Preface for Instructors vii Part I The Writing Process 1 1 Assessing the Writing Situation 2 a. Understanding how writing happens 2 b. Analyzing the writing situation 3 c. Discovering and limiting a subject 5 d. Considering the audience 9 e. Defining a purpose 13 f. Writing in academic situations 15 2 Developing and Shaping Ideas 19 a. Discovering ideas 19 b. Developing a thesis 31 c. Organizing ideas 35 3 Drafting and Revising 47 a. Writing the first draft 47 b. Revising the first draft 51 c. Editing the revised draft 58 d. Preparing and proofreading the final draft 62 e. Giving and receiving comments 65 f. Preparing a writing portfolio 68 4 Writing and Revising Paragraphs 71 a. Maintaining paragraph unity 73 b. Achieving paragraph coherence 78 c. Developing the paragraph 91 d. Writing special kinds of paragraphs 103 e. Linking paragraphs in the essay 110 Part II Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing 113 5 Taking a Critical Perspective 114 a. Thinking and reading critically 115 xv
xvi Contents b. Viewing images critically 133 c. Writing critically 137 6 Reading Arguments Critically 142 a. Recognizing the elements of argument 142 b. Testing claims 144 c. Weighing evidence 147 d. Discovering assumptions 151 e. Watching language, hearing tone 152 f. Judging reasonableness 153 g. Recognizing fallacies 156 7 Writing an Argument 163 a. Finding a subject 163 b. Conceiving a thesis statement 164 c. Analyzing your purpose and your audience 165 d. Using reason 166 e. Using evidence 171 f. Reaching your readers 172 g. Organizing your argument 176 h. Revising your argument 177 i. Examining a sample argument 178 Part III Using Computers Critically 183 8 Using Key Computer Skills 184 a. Managing files 184 b. Working with spelling and grammar/style checkers 186 c. Using other word-processing tools 189 d. Using electronic mail 192 e. Going places on the Web 196 9 Designing Documents 199 a. Formatting academic papers 199 b. Considering principles of design 200 c. Using the elements of design 203 d. Designing reports, flyers, newsletters, and brochures 212 10 Composing for the Web 220 a. Distinguishing Web compositions from printed documents 220 b. Using HTML 222 c. Creating online papers 223 d. Creating original sites 224 11 Collaborating Online 231 a. Working well in a group 231 b. Participating in discussions 232 c. Working on drafts 234
Contents xvii Part IV Grammatical Sentences 237 12 Understanding Sentence Grammar 238 a. Understanding the basic sentence 239 b. Expanding the basic sentence with single words 247 c. Expanding the basic sentence with word groups 249 d. Compounding words, phrases, and clauses 265 e. Changing the usual order of the sentence 269 f. Classifying sentences 272 13 Case of Nouns and Pronouns 275 a. Compound subjects and complements 276 b. Compound objects 277 c. We or us with a noun 278 d. Appositives 278 e. Pronoun after than or as in a comparison 279 f. Subjects and objects of infinitives 279 g. Who vs. whom 280 h. Case before a gerund 282 14 Verbs 284 Verb Forms 284 a. Regular and irregular verbs 286 b. Sit and set; lie and lay; rise and raise 290 c. Omitted -s and -ed endings 291 d. Helping verbs 292 e. Verb plus gerund or infinitive 298 f. Verb plus particle 300 Tense 303 g. Appropriate tense for meaning 303 h. Sequence of tenses 306 Mood 312 i. Subjunctive verb forms 313 Voice 314 j. Active vs. passive voice 316 15 Agreement 318 a. Agreement between subject and verb 318 b. Agreement between pronoun and antecedent 326 16 Adjectives and Adverbs 333 a. Adjectives only with nouns and pronouns 334 b. Adjectives with linking verbs 334 c. Adjectives with objects; adverbs with verbs 335 d. Comparative and superlative forms 336 e. Double negatives 338 f. Overuse of nouns as modifiers 339 g. Present and past participles as adjectives 339 h. A, an, the, and other determiners 340
xviii Contents Part V Clear Sentences 347 17 Sentence Fragments 348 a. Tests for sentence completeness; revision of fragments 349 b. Subordinate clause 352 c. Verbal or prepositional phrase 353 d. Other fragments 354 e. Acceptable uses of incomplete sentences 355 18 Comma Splices and Fused Sentences 357 Comma Splices 359 a. Main clauses not joined by coordinating conjunction 359 b. Main clauses related by a conjunctive adverb or transitional expression 361 Fused Sentences 363 c. Main clauses with no conjunction or punctuation 363 19 Pronoun Reference 366 a. Clear reference to one antecedent 366 b. Clear placement of pronoun and antecedent 368 c. Reference to specific antecedent 369 d. Indefinite use of it and they 371 e. Indefinite use of you 371 f. Clear use of it 372 g. Appropriate use of relative pronouns 372 20 Shifts 374 a. Person and number 375 b. Tense and mood 376 c. Subject and voice 378 d. Indirect and direct quotations and questions 379 21 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 381 Misplaced Modifiers 381 a. Clear placement of modifiers 381 b. Limiting modifiers 382 c. Squinting modifiers 383 d. Separation of subjects, verbs, and objects 384 e. Separation of parts of infinitives or verb phrases 385 f. Position of adverbs 386 g. Order of adjectives 387 Dangling Modifiers 388 h. Dangling modifiers 388 22 Mixed and Incomplete Sentences 392 Mixed Sentences 392 a. Mixed grammar 392 b. Mixed meaning (faulty predication) 394
Contents xix Incomplete Sentences 396 c. Compound constructions 397 d. Comparisons 397 e. Careless omissions 398 Part VI Effective Sentences 403 23 Emphasizing Ideas 404 a. Using subjects and verbs effectively 404 b. Using sentence beginnings and endings 406 c. Arranging parallel elements effectively 409 d. Repeating ideas 411 e. Separating ideas 411 f. Being concise 412 24 Using Coordination and Subordination 415 a. Coordinating to relate equal ideas 416 b. Subordinating to distinguish main ideas 419 c. Choosing clear connectors 425 25 Using Parallelism 428 a. Using parallelism for coordinate elements 428 b. Using parallelism to increase coherence 433 26 Achieving Variety 435 a. Varying sentence length and structure 436 b. Varying sentence beginnings 438 c. Inverting the normal word order 441 d. Mixing types of sentences 441 Part VII Punctuation 445 Chart 446 27 End Punctuation 448 The Period 448 a. With statements, mild commands, and indirect questions 448 b. With abbreviations 449 The Question Mark 449 c. With direct questions 449 d. To indicate doubt 450 The Exclamation Point 451 e. With emphatic statements, interjections, and commands 451 f. Overuse 451 28 The Comma 453 a. Main clauses linked by coordinating conjunction 455 b. Introductory elements 457
xx Contents c. Nonessential elements 459 d. Absolute phrases 464 e. Phrases expressing contrast 464 f. Series and coordinate adjectives 465 g. Dates, addresses, place names, long numbers 467 h. With quotations 468 i. To prevent misreading 470 j. Misuse and overuse 471 29 The Semicolon 477 a. Main clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction 477 b. Main clauses related by a conjunctive adverb or transitional expression 480 c. Long or internally punctuated main clauses 482 d. Long or internally punctuated series items 482 e. Misuse and overuse 483 30 The Apostrophe 486 a. Possessive case 486 b. Misuse with noun plurals, verbs, and personal pronouns 489 c. Contractions 491 d. Plural abbreviations, dates, and words or characters named as words 492 31 Quotation Marks 494 Chart 495 a. Direct quotations 496 b. Quotation within a quotation 497 c. Dialog 498 d. Titles of songs, short stories, and so on 498 e. Words used in a special sense 499 f. Overuse 500 g. Placement with other punctuation marks 500 32 Other Punctuation Marks 503 a. The colon 503 b. The dash 506 c. Parentheses 508 d. Brackets 510 e. The ellipsis mark 511 f. The slash 514 Part VIII Mechanics 517 33 Capitals 518 a. First word of a sentence 518 b. Titles and subtitles of works 519 c. Pronoun I and interjection O 520 d. Proper nouns and adjectives 520
Contents xxi e. Titles before proper names 522 f. Unnecessary capitalization 522 34 Underlining or Italics 525 a. Underlining vs. italics 525 b. Titles of books and periodicals 526 c. Names of ships, aircraft, spacecraft, trains 527 d. Foreign words and phrases 527 e. Words, letters, and numbers named as words 527 f. For emphasis 528 g. In online communication 528 35 Abbreviations 530 a. Titles before and after proper names 531 b. Familiar abbreviations and acronyms 531 c. BC, AD, AM, PM, no., and $ 531 d. Latin abbreviations 532 e. Inc., Bros., Co., and & 532 f. Misuse with units of measurement, geographical names, and so on 533 36 Numbers 535 a. Numerals vs. words 535 b. For dates, addresses, and so on 536 c. Beginning sentences 537 37 Word Division 538 a. Ends and beginnings of lines 538 b. Hyphenated words 538 c. Electronic addresses 539 d. Confusing word divisions 539 Part IX Effective Words 541 38 Using Appropriate Language 542 a. Revising nonstandard dialect 543 b. Using regionalisms only when appropriate 544 c. Using slang only when appropriate 544 d. Using colloquial language only when appropriate 545 e. Revising obsolete or archaic words and neologisms 545 f. Using technical words with care 546 g. Revising indirect or pretentious writing 546 h. Revising sexist and other biased language 547 39 Using Exact Language 552 a. Using the right word for your meaning 552 b. Balancing the abstract and concrete, the general and specific 555 c. Using idioms 557
xxii Contents d. Using figurative language 560 e. Using fresh expressions 562 40 Writing Concisely 564 a. Focusing on the subject and verb 564 b. Cutting or shortening empty words and phrases 566 c. Cutting unnecessary repetition 568 d. Reducing clauses to phrases, phrases to single words 569 e. Eliminating there is and it is constructions 569 f. Combining sentences 570 g. Rewriting jargon 570 41 Using Dictionaries 573 a. Choosing a dictionary 573 b. Working with a dictionary s contents 576 42 Improving Your Vocabulary 580 a. Understanding the sources of English 580 b. Learning the composition of words 582 c. Learning to use new words 586 43 Spelling and the Hyphen 589 a. Recognizing typical spelling problems 589 b. Following spelling rules 592 c. Developing spelling skills 597 d. Using the hyphen to form compound words 602 Part X Research Writing 605 44 Planning a Research Project 606 a. Starting out 607 b. Finding a researchable subject and question 609 c. Developing a research strategy 612 d. Making a working bibliography 615 45 Finding Sources 621 a. Searching electronically 621 b. Finding reference works 626 c. Finding books 630 d. Finding periodicals 633 e. Finding sources on the Web 639 f. Finding other online sources 645 g. Finding pamphlets and government publications 646 h. Generating your own sources 648 46 Working with Sources 651 a. Evaluating sources 651 b. Synthesizing sources 660
Contents xxiii c. Mining and interacting with sources 663 d. Using summary, paraphrase, and quotation 667 e. Integrating sources into your text 674 47 Avoiding Plagiarism and Documenting Sources 680 a. Committing and detecting plagiarism on the Internet 682 b. Knowing what you need not acknowledge 682 c. Knowing what you must acknowledge 683 d. Acknowledging online sources 686 e. Documenting sources 688 48 Writing the Paper 690 a. Developing a thesis statement 690 b. Creating a structure 691 c. Drafting the paper 695 d. Revising and editing the paper 696 e. Preparing and proofreading the final draft 698 49 Using MLA Documentation and Format 700 a. Using MLA in-text citations 700 b. Preparing the MLA list of works cited 709 c. Using MLA document format 736 50 Two Research Papers in MLA Style 740 The Information Superhighway: Toll Road or Public Way? 742 Annie Dillard s Healing Vision 775 Part XI Writing in the Academic Disciplines 781 51 Working with the Disciplines Goals and Requirements 782 a. Using the disciplines methods and evidence 782 b. Understanding the disciplines writing assignments 783 c. Using the disciplines tools and language 784 d. Following the disciplines styles for source citations and document format 784 52 Reading and Writing About Literature 786 a. Using the methods and evidence of literary analysis 786 b. Understanding writing assignments in literature 794 c. Using the tools and language of literary analysis 795 d. Citing sources and formatting documents in writing about literature 797 e. Drafting and revising a literary analysis 797 f. Writing about fiction, poetry, and drama 803 53 Writing in Other Humanities 812 a. Using the methods and evidence of the humanities 812
xxiv Contents b. Understanding writing assignments in the humanities 813 c. Using the tools and language of the humanities 813 d. Citing sources in Chicago style 818 e. Formatting documents in Chicago style 828 54 Writing in the Social Sciences 831 a. Using the methods and evidence of the social sciences 831 b. Understanding writing assignments in the social sciences 833 c. Using the tools and language of the social sciences 833 d. Citing sources in APA style 838 e. Formatting documents in APA style 856 f. Examining a sample social science paper 859 55 Writing in the Natural and Applied Sciences 863 a. Using the methods and evidence of the sciences 863 b. Understanding writing assignments in the sciences 864 c. Using the tools and language of the sciences 865 d. Citing sources in CSE style 869 e. Formatting documents in CSE style 878 f. Examining a sample science paper 879 Part XII Special Writing Situations 883 56 Essay Examinations 884 a. Preparing for an essay examination 884 b. Planning your time and your answer 885 c. Starting the essay 887 d. Developing the essay 887 e. Rereading the essay 891 57 Business Writing 892 a. Writing business letters and job applications 893 b. Writing business memos 902 c. Communicating electronically 904 58 Oral Presentations 905 a. Writing and speaking 905 b. Considering purpose and audience 906 c. Organizing the presentation 907 d. Delivering the presentation 909 Glossary of Usage 914 Glossary of Terms 932 Index Index-1