PART I. GRAMMAR AND USAGE
1. Grammar Basics
Using Standard English
Talking Shop
Key Principles of Grammar
Web Resources: Grammar Help
2. Phrases, Clauses andSentences
Phrases
Clauses
Restrictive Versus Nonrestrictive Sentences
Sentence Errors
3. Subjects and Objects
Kinds of Subjects
Kinds of Objects
Common Nouns Versus Proper Nouns
The Forms Nouns Take
Pronoun Person, Number and Gender
Pronoun Cases
Relative Pronouns
Pronouns Ending in Self or Selves
Verbal Nouns: Gerunds and Infinitives
4. Verbs
Helping Verbs Versus Main Verbs
Transitive Verbs Versus Intransitive Verbs
Tenses
Sequence of Tenses
Making Verb Tenses Agree
Active Voice Versus Passive Voice
Mood
Nouns Used as Verbs
Verbals
5. Making the Parts Agree
Subject-Verb Agreement
Conjunctions
Collective and Uncountable Nouns
Other Confusing Nouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Intervening Nouns and Pronouns
Subject and Predicate Nominative in Disagreement
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Making Sentences Parallel
6. Modifiers and Connecting Words
Modifiers
Comparative Forms of Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives Versus Adverbs
Coordinate Adjectives Versus Compound Modifiers
Articles
Sentence Adverbs
Participles
Double Negatives
Interjections
Connecting Words
Prepositions
Conjunctions
Conjunctive Adverbs
7. Getting Words in the Right Order
Misplaced Modifiers
Adverb Placement
Less Confusing Jumbled Words
Orders
8. Usage: Finding the Right Word
Misused Words and Mistaken Phrases
Confused Words
PART II. MECHANICS
9. Punctuation
Commas
Quotation Marks and Other Problems of Quoting
Semicolons
Colons
Dashes
Parentheses
Hyphens
Apostrophes
Slashes
Periods, Exclamation Points and Question Marks
10. Spelling Relief
Spelling Rules
Words Often Misspelled
Hyphenation as a Spelling Problem
American vs. British Spelling
PART III. STYLE
11. Writing as a Journalist
Keys to Good Journalistic Writing
Clarity
Correctness
Web Resources: Writing Help
12. Conciseness
Tightening
What to Tighten, A to Z
Web Resources: Concise Writing
13. Sexism Racism and Other "Isms"
Don't Be Ridiculous
Language Turns to the Future
New Players in the New Millennium
A Brief History of "isms"
Future Realities: More Language Transformation Coming
Dealing with Reality
The Nonbias Rule
Symbolic Annihilation
Dumping Today's Stereotypes
Web Resources: Sensitive Language
PART IV. WRITING
METHODS FOR
DIFFERENT MEDIA
14. Writing News That's Fit for Print
News Leads
Pick the Best Angle
Hard-News Leads
Problems with Hard-News Leads
Soft-News Leads
Soft-News Clichés
What Comes After the Lead?
Web Resources: JournalismReviews
15. Writing News for Broadcast
Print vs. Broadcast News
Do Broadcasters Have to Know Grammar?
Broadcast Hard-News Leads
Broadcast Story Structure
Broadcast Style Summary
Web Resources: Broadcasting
16. Writing for the Online Media
Online Media are Unique
Writing and Presenting Online News
Online Media vs. Traditional Media
Web Resources: Online Media
Appendix: Wire-Service Style Summary
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Capitalization
Numbers
Web Resources: Associated
Press Style
Bibliography
Index