LB Brief, MLA Update Edition

LB Brief provides students of varying skills and interests with clear, reliable, and accessible explanations of handbook basics–the writing process, grammar and usage, and research writing. Concise and easy to use it focuses on 3 main emphases: writing in and out of college, visual literacy, and research writing. LB Brief  helps writing students find what they need and then use what they find.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: WRITING PROCESS                                                      1              The Writing Situation a              Analysis                                                b              Subject c              Audience d              Purpose   2              Invention  a              Journal keeping b              Observing c              Freewriting d              Brainstorming e              Clustering f               Asking questions g              Reading   3              Thesis and Organization  a              Thesis statement b              Organization                 Sample Essay   4              Drafting  a              Starting b              Maintaining momentum c              Sample First Draft   5              Revising and Editing a              Revising the whole essay b              Sample revision c              Editing d              Formatting; proofreading e              Sample Final Draft f               Collaborating g              Preparing a writing portfolio   6              Paragraphs a              Unity around a central idea b              Coherence c              Development d              Introductions and conclusions e              Linking paragraphs   7              Document Design a              Academic papers b              Principles of design c              Elements of design d              Illustrations e              Papers submitted online f               Readers with disabilities   PART TWO: WRITING IN AND OUT OF COLLEGE   8              Academic Writing              a              Academic habits b              Audience c              Purpose d              Structure and content e              Language   9              Study Skills a              Time management b              Listening and note taking in class c              Reading d              Exams                 Sample Essay Exams   10           Critical Reading and Writing a              Critical reading b              Critically viewing images c              Critical writing                 Sample Critique of a Text   11           Writing Arguments a              Elements of argument b              Writing reasonably c              Organizing an argument d              Sample Argument   12           Reading and Writing About Literature a              Writing while reading b              Critical reading c              Sample Works and Papers   13           Public Writing a              Business letters and résumés Sample Letter and Résumés b              Memos                 Sample  Memo c              Electronic mail                 Sample E-mail Message d              Community work                 Sample Newsletter and Brochure e              Web composition Sample Web Page   14           Oral Presentations a              Purpose and audience b              Organization c              Delivery                 Sample Powerpoint Slides   PART THREE: CLARITY AND STYLE   15           Emphasis a              Subjects and verbs b              Sentence beginnings and endings c              Coordination d              Subordination         16           Parallelism a              With and, but, or, nor, yet b              With both . . . and, etc. c              In comparisons d              In lists, headings, and outlines   17           Variety and Details a              Sentence length b              Sentence structure c              Details   18           Appropriate and Exact Words a              Appropriate words b              Exact words   19           Completeness a              Compounds b              Needed words   20           Conciseness a              Focusing on subject and verb b              Cutting empty words c              Cutting repetition d              Tightening clauses and phrases e              Cutting there is or it is f               Combining sentences g              Avoiding jargon   PART FOUR:  SENTENCE PARTS AND PATTERNS   Basic grammar 21           Parts of Speech    a              Nouns b              Pronouns c              Verbs d              Adjectives and adverbs e              Prepositions and conjunctions f               Interjections   22           The Sentence       a              Subject and predicate b              Predicate patterns c              Alternative patterns   23           Phrases and Subordinate Clauses   a              Phrases b              Subordinate clauses   24           Sentence Types a              Simple sentences b              Compound sentences c              Complex sentences d              Compound-complex sentences   Verbs 25           Forms a              Irregular verbs b              Sit/set; lie/lay; rise/raise c              -s and-ed forms d              Helping verbs e              Verb + gerund or infinitive f               Verb + particle   26           Tense a              Present tense: sing b              Perfect tense: have/had/will have sung c              Progressive tense: is/was/will be singing d              Consistency e              Sequence   27           Mood a              Subjunctive: I wish I were b              Consistency   28           Voice a              Active vs. passive b              Consistency   29           Subject-Verb Agreement   a              -s and -es endings b              Intervening words c              Subjects with and d              Subjects with or or nor e              Everyone and other indefinite pronouns f               Team and other collective nouns g              Who, which, that h              News and other singular nouns ending in -s i               Inverted word order j               Is, are, and other linking verbs k              Titles; words being defined   Pronouns              30           Case a              She and I vs.her and me b              It was she vs.It was her c              Who vs.whom d              Other constructions   31           Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement a              Antecedents with and b              Antecedents with or or nor c              Everyone, person, and other indefinite words d              Team and other collective nouns   32           Pronoun Reference a              Clear reference b              Close reference c              Specific reference    d               Definite it and they    e               Appropriate you f               Consistency   Modifiers              33           Adjectives and Adverbs a              Adjective vs. adverb b              Adjective with linking verb: felt bad c              Comparisons d              Double negatives e              Present and past participles: boring vs. bored f               A, an, the, and other determiners   34           Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers a              Misplaced modifiers b              Dangling modifiers   Sentence Faults   35           Sentence Fragments a              Tests b              Revision c              Acceptable fragments   36           Comma Splices and Fused Sentences a              Main clauses without and, but, etc. b              Main clauses with however, for example, etc.   37           Mixed Sentences a              Mixed meaning b              Tangled grammar c              Repeated subjects and other parts   PART FIVE:  PUNCTUATION   38           End Punctuation a              Period b              Question mark c              Exclamation point   39           Comma a              Main clauses with and, but, etc. b              Introductory elements c              Nonessential elements d              Items in series e              Two or more adjectives f               Dates, addresses, etc. g              With quotations h              Misuses   40           Semicolon a              Main clauses without and, but, etc. b              Main clauses withhowever, for example, etc. c              Main clauses or series items with commas d              Misuses   41           Colon a              Concluding explanation, series, etc. b              Salutation; title and subtitle; time c              Misuses   42           Apostrophe a              Possession b              Misuses c              Contractions d              Plural abbreviations, etc.   43           Quotation Marks a              Direct quotations b              Within quotations c              Titles of works d              Words used in a special sense e              Misuses f               With other punctuation   44           Other Marks a              Dash or dashes b              Parentheses c              Ellipsis mark d              Brackets e              Slash        PART SIX: SPELLING AND MECHANICS   45           Spelling 46           Hyphen  47           Capital Letters 48           Underlining or Italics 49           Abbreviations 50           Numbers                PART SEVEN: RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION   51           Research Strategy a              Planning b              Research journal  c              Subject and question d              Goals for sources e              Working, annotated bibliography   52           Finding Sources a              Searching electronically b              Reference works c              Books d              Periodicals e              The Web f               Other online sources g              Government publications h              Images i               Your own sources   53           Working with Sources a              Evaluating sources b              Synthesizing sources c              Gathering information d              Using summary, paraphrase, quotation    e               Integrating sources into your text   54           Avoiding Plagiarism and Documenting Sources          a              Plagiarism and the Internet b              What not to acknowledge c              What must be acknowledged d              Online sources e              Documenting sources   55           Writing the Paper a              Focusing and organizing b              Drafting, revising, and formatting   56           MLA Documentation and Format a              Parenthetical text citations b              List of works cited c              Format of paper d              SAMPLE MLA PAPER      57           APA Documentation and Format      a              Parenthetical text citations b              List of references c              Format of paper d              SAMPLE APA PAPER   Glossary of Usage               Answers to Selected Exercises          Index