Synopses & Reviews
The Writer's Harbrace Handbook, Third Edition, is grounded in the belief that an understanding of the rhetorical situation-the writer, reader, message, context, and exigence (the reason for writing)-provides the best starting place for effective writing and reading. This edition guides student writers in employing that rhetorical understanding as they choose the most effective information to include, the best arrangement of that information, and the most appropriate language to use. This writing-first handbook moves students through the steps that constitute successful writing, from finding appropriate topics and writing clear thesis statements to arranging ideas and developing initial drafts.
Review
"I was floored to see references to a Writing Center, one of the most marginalized of academic entities, but possibly the most useful and praiseworthy room on any campus. This proves that the authors are really concerned with reading and writing."
Review
"I would describe the Harbrace as a handbook that seems more rhetorically sophisticated and in-depth than other handbooks I have used."
Review
"How to describe the new Harbrace? Old Professor Hodges would roll over in his grave! It's still comprehensive, but now it's hip, too. The perfect blend of advice about sentence construction and e-composing."
Review
"If I were to describe the Writer's Harbrace to a colleague, I would say that it takes an explicitly rhetorical approach to writing in different academic situations. I would say that the grammar and diction chapters use cutting-edge approaches to teaching students how to identify and correct grammar problems and enhance their prose style. I was happy to see that the rhetorical approach to teaching grammar and style I have been using for the past two years (especially) is now "standardized" in a handbook."
Synopsis
Bringing fresh voices and insight to the compact yet comprehensive WRITER'S HARBRACE HANDBOOK, Second Edition, rhetorician Cheryl Glenn and linguist Loretta Gray provide this market-leading handbook with groundbreaking treatment of writing.
About the Author
Professor of English and Women's Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, Cheryl Glenn is widely known for her scholarship, leadership, and teaching. Besides authoring The Harbrace Guide to Writing and co-authoring The Harbrace Handbooks, she is author of the prize-winning Rhetoric Retold: Regendering the Tradition from Antiquity Through the Renaissance; Unspoken: A Rhetoric of Silence; Rhetorical Education in America; and several other titles. Glenn's rhetorical scholarship has earned her many awards, including three National Endowment for the Humanities awards, the Conference on College Composition and Communication's Richard Braddock Award, Rhetoric Review's Outstanding Essay Award, and Best Book/Honorable Mention from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women. She has served as President of the Coalition of Women Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition, and is a member of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Executive Committee, Chair of the Modern Language Association (MLA) Division on the History and Theory of Rhetoric and Composition, and a member of the MLA Delegate Assembly. Glenn's teaching and scholarship have earned her three university teaching awards. She has recently served as Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, the largest organization of writing and rhetoric teachers in the world. Robert K. Miller is professor of English at the University of St. Thomas where he teaches first-year composition, advanced composition, persuasive writing, and rhetorical theory in addition to teaching writing in a multidisciplinary program. Committed to the principle that teachers of writing should write, Miller is the author of numerous books, essays, and articles. Professor of English at Central Washington University, Loretta Gray has three degrees related to her interest in composition and applied linguistics: Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (School for International Training), Master of Arts in Spanish (Middlebury College), and Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics (Boston University). She has experience teaching English to non-native speakers in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. In addition, she taught Spanish at Clemson University and applied linguistics at the School for International Training. Dr. Gray has been teaching composition and applied linguistics courses at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, since 1992. She also is co-author of the textbook Rhetorical Grammar.
Table of Contents
WRITING. 1. Reading and Writing Critically. Reading and writing as processes. The rhetorical situation. Previewing a text. Distinguishing content from personal response. Engaging all elements of the rhetorical situation. Successful academic reading and writing. Taking advantage of academic support opportunities. 2. Planning and Drafting Essays. Finding appropriate and focused subjects. Stating a thesis clearly. Arranging ideas. Drafting with well-developed paragraphs. Experimenting with different strategies for development. Writing the first draft. 3. Revising and Editing Essays. Revision as process. Introductions, conclusions, and titles. Unified and coherent paragraphs. Transitions within and between paragraphs. Peer-reviewed draft and revised draft. Editing. Proofreading. The final draft. 4. Writing under Pressure. Taking advantage of deadlines. Abbreviating the writing process. Managing writer's block. Preparing for essay examinations. Writing under pressure in the workplace. 5. E-writing. Composing for the Web. Electronic mail (email). Discussion groups and forums. Online media. 6. E-designing. Visual elements of a Web site. Graphics (tables, charts, diagrams). Format and the rhetorical purpose. Format and readability. 7. Writing Arguments. Determining an argument's purpose. Establishing an arguable statement. Distinguishing between fact and opinion. Establishing a position or claim. Developing an effective argument. Using rhetorical appeals. Arranging an effective argument. Understanding logic. Recognizing rhetorical fallacies. Sample argument essay. 8. Finding Sources Online and in Print. Understanding research needs and methods. Choosing a topic and framing a research question. Navigating the Web. Using library resources. Conducting field research. 9. Evaluating Sources Online and in Print. Determining credibility of authors. Determining credibility of publishers. Evaluating Web sites and other online sources. Determining bias from commitment. Recognizing relevant sources. 10. Using Sources Responsibly. Understanding a research paper's purpose. Taking notes. Creating a working bibliography. Integrating sources. Avoiding plagiarism. 11. Citing Sources and Submitting Final Papers. MLA-style documentation. MLA student paper. APA-style documentation. APA student paper. CMS documentation. CMS student paper. CSE/CBE-style documentation. CSE/CBE student paper. COS documentation. 12. Writing Academic Discourse. How disciplines define evidence. How disciplines use evidence. Differences in the language and style among disciplines. Discipline-specific formats and documents. 13. Writing to Interpret Literature. Recognizing literary genres. Using specialized vocabulary. Critical approaches to literature. Purpose of literary interpretations. Reading carefully to write well. Following special conventions. Sample literature essay. 14. Writing in the Social and Natural Sciences. Writing in the social sciences. Sample social science field report. Writing in the natural sciences. Sample natural science lab report. 15. Writing in Business. Efficiency and business writing. Sample business plan. Sample resume. Sample letter of application. Sample grant proposal. GRAMMAR. 16. Sentence Essentials. Subjects and predicates. Verbs. Subjects and complements. Basic sentence patterns. 17. Phrases and Clauses in Sentences. Phrases. Clauses. Sentence forms. 18. Sentence Fragments. Revising phrases punctuated as sentences. Revising clauses punctuated as sentences. Using fragments intentionally. 19. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences. Recognizing comma splices and fused sentences. Revising comma splices and fused sentences. Revising with transitional words and phrases. Dividing quotations. 20. Modifiers. Adjectives. Adverbs. Degrees of comparison. Nouns or word groups as modifiers. Awkward or ambiguous modifiers. The double negative. 21. Pronouns. Kinds of pronouns. Subjective, objective, or possessive cases. Clause as determiner of pronoun case. Pronoun-antecedent agreement. Pronoun references. 22. Verbs. Verb forms. Verb tenses. Voice. Mood. Subject-verb agreement. EFFECTIVE SENTENCES. 23. Sentence Unity. Relating ideas clearly. Choosing and arranging details. Avoiding mixed metaphors and mixed constructions. Making subject and predicate relate logically. Adding necessary articles, pronouns, and prepositions. Including all necessary verbs and auxiliaries. Making complete comparisons. Completing intensifiers. 24. Subordination and Coordination. Subordinating to combine short sentences. Subordinating and coordinating to relate clauses. Avoiding faulty or excessive subordination. 25. Parallelism. Balancing similar grammatical elements. Clarifying relationships within a sentence. Linking two or more sentences. Using correlative conjunctions. Emphasizing key ideas. 26. Emphasis. Placing words at the beginning or end of a sentence. Using periodic sentences. Arranging ideas from least to most important. Using active, forceful verbs. Repeating important words. Inverting word order. Balancing constructions. Varying sentence lengths. 27. Variety. Revising short, choppy sentences. Revising monotonous sentence openings. Varying the structure of compound sentences. Separating subjects and verbs. Using questions, commands, and exclamations. DICTION. 28. Good Usage. Usage and the rhetorical situation. Writing in a clear, straightforward style. Appropriate word choice. Inclusive (non-prejudiced) language. Benefits of dictionaries. Using a thesaurus. 29. Exactness. Choosing accurate words. Using fresh expressions. Understanding idioms. Using first and second person effectively. Providing clear definitions. 30. Conciseness. Making every word count. Eliminating needless words. Avoiding unnecessary repetition. Using pronouns and elliptical constructions. PUNCTUATION. 31. The Comma. Before coordinating conjunctions linking independent clauses. After introductory words, phrases, or clauses. Separating parallel elements. With non-essential (nonrestrictive) elements. With parenthetical elements. For ease in reading. Unnecessary or misplaced commas. 32. The Semicolon. Connecting independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction. Separating elements that contain commas. Misuse with unequal grammatical parts. 33. The Apostrophe. Indicating ownership and other relationships. Marking omissions of letters or numbers. Forming certain plurals. 34. Quotation Marks. With direct quotations, and including dialogue. With titles of short works. For tone or emphasis of specific words. With other punctuation marks. 35. The Period and Other. Punctuation Marks. The period. The question mark. The exclamation point. The colon. The dash. Parentheses. Square brackets. Ellipsis points. The slash. MECHANICS. 36. Spelling, the Spell Checker, and Hyphenation. Using a spell checker. Spelling and pronunciation. Spelling words that sound alike. Prefixes and suffixes. Confusion of ei and ie. Hyphenation. 37. Capitals. For proper names, their abbreviations, and acronyms. For titles that precede people's names. For the first, last, and all major words in titles. The first word of sentences and directly quoted speech. Unnecessary capitals. 38. Italics. For titles of separate works. For foreign words. For names of legal cases. For names of specific ships, submarines, aircraft, spacecraft, and satellites. For words, letters, or figures referred to as such. For emphasis. 39. Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Numbers. Abbreviations before and after proper names. Abbreviations in addresses. Abbreviations in citations of research sources. Abbreviations as substitutes for certain words. Acronyms. Numbers. Special usage of numbers. Glossary of Usage. Glossary of Terms.