CONTENTS

A Personal Message . . . vi

To the Instructor vii

Hints for Using This Book xvi

Question and Correct

and Compare and Correct

      Question and Correct: Some

of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About Writing qc1

      Compare and Correct cc1

The Writing Process

1   Purposes and Audiences 1

a Purpose 1

b  Topic 1

c  Thesis 2

d  Audience 2

2   Writing Processes and Strategies 4

a  Planning 4

b  Drafting 10

c  Organizing 11

d  Collaborating 12

e  Revising 16

f   Editing and Proofreading 18

3   Paragraphs 20

a  Unity 20

b  Coherence 20

c  Development 21

d  Introductions and Conclusions 21

e  Patterns of Organization 21

4   Argument 28

a  Writing and Reading Arguments 28

b  Considering the Audience 29

c  Finding a Topic 32

d  Developing Your Arguments 33

e  Organizing Your Arguments 36

5   Visual Argument 39

a  Similarities and Differences Between Verbal and Visual Argument 41

b  Reading Visual Arguments 45

c  Writing Visual Arguments 47

Revising Sentences for Accuracy, Clarity, and Variety

6   Comma Splices and Fused Sentences 49

a  Comma Splices 50

b  Fused or Run-On Sentences 50

7   Subject-Verb Agreement 52

a  Singular and Plural Subjects 53

b  Buried Subjects 53

c  Compound Subjects 54

d  Or and Either/Or Subjects 54   

e  Clauses and Phrases

as Subjects 55

f  Indefinites as Subjects 55

g  Collective Nouns and Amounts as Subjects 56

    h Plural Words as Subjects 56

                 i Titles, Company Names, Words, and Quotations as Subjects 56

     j Linking Verbs 57

     kThere (is/are), Here (is/are) and It 57

l Who/Which/That and One of as Subjects 57

8   Sentence Fragments 59

a  Unintentional Fragments 60

b  Intentional Fragments 63

9   Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers 65

a  Dangling Modifiers 65

b  Misplaced Modifiers 67

10 Parallel Constructions 69

a  Parallel Structure 69

b  Faulty Parallelism 70

11 Consistency (Avoiding Shifts) 72

a  Shifts in Person or Number 72

b  Shifts in Verb Tense 73

c  Shifts in Tone 74

d  Shifts in Voice 74

e  Shifts in Discourse 75

12 Faulty Predication 76

13 Coordination and Subordination 78

a  Coordination 78

b  Subordination 80

14 Sentence Clarity 83

a  Moving from UnKnown (Old)

 to known (New) Information 83

b  Using Positive Instead of

 Negative Statements 84

c  Avoiding Double Negatives 84

d  Using Verbs Instead of Nouns 85

e  Making the Intended Subject

 the Sentence Subject 85

f   Using Active Instead of Passive

  Voice 86

15 Transitions 87

a  Repetition of a Key Term or Phrase 87

b  Synonyms 87

c  Pronouns 87

d  Transitional Words and Phrases 88

e  Transitions in and Between Paragraphs 89

16 Sentence Variety 93

a  Combining Sentences 93

b  Adding Words 94

c  Changing Words, Phrases,

and Clauses 95

Parts of Sentences

17 Verbs 99

a  Verb Phrases 100

b  Verb Forms 100

c  Verb Tense 103

d  Verb Voice 111

e  Verb Mood 111

f   Modal Verbs 113

18 Nouns and Pronouns 114

a  Nouns 114

b  Pronouns 117

19 Pronoun Case and Reference 122

a  Pronoun Case 122

b  Pronoun Reference 127

20 Adjectives and Adverbs 132

a  Adjectives and Adverbs 132

b  A/An/The 135

c  Comparisons 137

21 Prepositions 140

a  Common Prepositions 141

b  Idiomatic Prepositions 141

c  Other Prepositions 142

22 Subjects 143

23 Phrases 146

24 Clauses 148

a  Independent Clauses 148

b  Dependent Clauses 151

25 Essential and Nonessential Clauses and Phrases 155

a  Essential Clauses and Phrases 155

b  Nonessential Clauses

and Phrases 156

26 Sentences 158

a  Sentence Purposes 161

b  Sentence Structures 161

Punctuation

27 Commas 165

a  Commas in Compound

Sentences 166

b  Commas After Introductory Words, Phrases, and Clauses 168

c  Commas with Essential

and Nonessential Words,

Phrases, and Clauses 171

d  Commas in Series and Lists 173

e  Commas with Adjectives 175

f   Commas with Dates, Addresses, Geographical Names,

and Numbers 177

g  Other Uses for Commas 179

h  Unnecessary Commas 181

28 Apostrophes 183

a  Apostrophes with Possessives 183

b  Apostrophes with Contractions 184

c  Apostrophes with Plurals 184

d  Unnecessary Apostrophes 185

29 Semicolons 189

a  Semicolons in Compound

Sentences 189

b  Semicolons in a Series 191

c  Semicolons with Quotation

Marks 191

d  Unnecessary Semicolons 192

30 Colons 193

a  Colons to Announce Elements

at the End of a Sentence 193

b  Colons to Separate Independent Clauses 194

c  Colons to Announce

Quotations 194

d  Colons in Salutations and Between Elements 195

e  Colons with Quotation Marks 19

f    Unnecessary Colons 195

31 Quotation Marks 197

a Quotation Marks with Direct

and Indirect Quotations 197

b Quotation Marks for Minor Titles and Parts of Wholes 199

c Quotation Marks for Words 199

d Use of Other Punctuation with Quotation Marks 200

e Unnecessary Quotation Marks 200

32 Hyphens 202

a Hyphens to Divide Words 202

b Hyphens to Form Compound Words 202

c Hyphens to Join Word Units 203

d Hyphens to Join Prefixes, Suffixes,and Letters to a Word 203

e Hyphens to Avoid Ambiguity 204

33 End Punctuation 205

a Periods 205

b Question Marks 207

c Exclamation Points 209

34 Other Punctuation 210

a Dashes 210

b Slashes 212

c Parentheses 214

d Brackets 215

e Ellipsis (Omitted Words) 217

 Mechanics and Spelling

35 Capitals 219

36 Abbreviations 223

a Abbreviating Numbers 223

b Abbreviating Titles 223

c Abbreviating Place Names 224

d Abbreviating Measurements 224

e Abbreviating Dates 224

f Abbreviating Initials Used

as Names 224

g Abbreviating Latin

Expressions 225

h Abbreviating Documentation 225

37 Numbers 227

38 Underlining/Italics 230

a Underlining for Titles 230

b Other Uses of Underlining 231

39 Spelling 233

a Proofreading 233

b Using Spell-Checkers 235

c Some Spelling Guidelines 235

d Plurals 241

e Sound-Alike Words (Homonyms) 243

Style and Word Choice

40 Sexist Language 247

a Alternatives to Man 247

b Alternative Job Titles 247

c Alternatives to the Male or Female Pronoun 248

41 Unnecessary Words 250

a Conciseness 250

b Clichés 253

c Pretentious Language 254

 42 Appropriate Words 255

a Standard English 255

b Colloquialisms, Slang, and Regionalisms 255

c Levels of Formality 257

d Jargon and Technical Terms 260

e General and Specific Words 261

f Concrete and Abstract Words 262

g Denotation and Connotation 264

h Offensive Language 264

ESL Concerns

43 American Style in Writing 267

44 Verbs 268

a Helping Verbs with Main Verbs 268

b Two-Word (Phrasal) Verbs 270

c Verbs with -ing and to + Verb

Forms 271

45 Omitted Words 274

a Verbs 274

b Subjects and There or It 274

46 Repeated Words 275

a Subjects 275

b Pronouns and Adverbs 275

47 Count and Noncount Nouns 276

48 Adjectives and Adverbs 279

a Placement 279

b Order 279

c A/An/The 280

d Some/Any, Much/Many, Little/Few,

Less/Fewer, Enough, No 283

49 Prepositions 284

50 Idioms 286

Research

51 Finding a Topic 289

a Deciding on a Purpose 290

b Understanding Why Plagiarism Is Wrong 292

c Deciding on a Topic 296

d Narrowing the Topic 297

e Formulating a Research Question 299

f Formulating a Thesis 300

52 Searching for Information 302

a Choosing Primary and Secondary Sources 302

b Searching the Internet 305

c Searching Libraries 312

d Searching Other Sources 315

53 Using Web Resources 318

a Web Site Bibliographic

Information 318

b Useful Web Sites 321

54 Evaluating Sources 326

a Getting Started 327

b Evaluating Internet Sources 328

c Evaluating Bibliographic Citations 335

d Evaluating Content 337

55 Collecting Information 340

a Keeping Notes on a Computer 340

b Printing and Annotating Photocopies and Printouts 341

c Starting a Working Bibliography 344

d Writing Notecards 346

56 Using Sources and Avoiding

Plagiarism 346

a Recognizing Plagiarism 346

b Summarizing Without Plagiarizing 352

c Paraphrasing Without Plagiarizing 354

d Using Quotation Marks to Avoid Plagiarizing 356

e Using Signal Words and Phrases

to Integrate Sources 361

57 Writing the Research Paper 367

a Getting Started 367

b Planning and Organizing 368

c Writing a Draft 370

d Reviewing the Draft 371

e Revising, Editing, and Checking  the Format 371 MLA Documentation

58 Documenting in MLA Style 374

a In-Text Citations 375

b Endnotes 378

c Works Cited List 379

d Sample MLA-Style Research

59 Documenting in APA Style 422

a In-Text Citations 423

b Footnotes 426

c References List 426

d Sample APA-Style Research Paper 435

60 Documenting in Other Styles 462

a Chicago Manual of Style (CM) 462

b Council of Science Editors (CSE) 471

c Columbia Online Style (COS) 475

d Resources for Other Styles 482

Document Design, Public Writing, and Writing About Literature

61 Document Design 485

a Principles of Document Design 486

b Visual Elements 488

c Web Page Design 490

d Paper Preparation 497

62 Public Writing 504

a Public Documents 505

b Résumés 514

63 Writing About Literature 527

a Ways to Write About Literature 527

b Writing the Assignment 529

c A Glossary of Literary Terms 531

d Conventions in Writing

About Literature 531

e Sample Paper 533

Glossary of Usage 539

Glossary of Grammatical Terms 550

Index 570