LB Brief with Tabs

LB Briefoffers the authority and currency of its best-selling parent, The Little, Brown Handbook, in two briefer, spiral-bound formats (one with tabs and one without tabs) at affordable prices.   As in its previous 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. The Fourth Edition builds on the handbook’s usefulness with four main emphases: (1) reading and writing across the curriculum, including an expanded chapter on academic writing, showing students how to write in response to texts, and more coverage of argument, with information on how to handle opposing views and strengthen an ethical appeal; (2) research writing, including expanded discussions on how to find and evaluate print and Web sources,  and a new research-paper-in-progress; (3) up-to-date documentation guidelines, including the most recent revisions to MLA and APA documentation styles, with numerous models of new media in each style and new annotated sample sources; (4) more writing process instruction, including a new student work-in-progress and new discussions of voice in writing. 

Table of Contents:
Preface for Students  Preface for Instructors    Part 1: Writing Process 1    The Writing Situation      a    Analysis      b    Subject      c    Purpose      d    Audience 2    Invention      a    Journal keeping      b    Observing      c    Freewriting      d    Brainstorming      e    Drawing      f    Asking questions 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; conclusions      e    Linking paragraphs 7    Document Design      a    Academic papers      b    Principles of design      c    Elements of design      d    Illustrations      e    The Web      f    Readers with vision loss   Part 2: Writing in and out of college 8    Critical Thinking and Reading      a    Critical reading techniques      b    Critical response      c    Critically viewing images 9    Academic Writing      a    Responding to texts      b    Purpose      c    Audience      d    Structure and content      e    Language      f    sample critical response 10   Writing Arguments      a    Elements of argument      b    Reasonableness      c    Organization      d    sample argument 11   Reading and Writing About Literature      a    Writing while reading      b    Critical reading      c    sample literary analysis 12   Taking Essay Exams      a    Preparing      b    Planning      c    Drafting      d    Rereading      e    sample Essay Exams 13   Public Writing      a    Business letters and résumés           sample letter and résumés      b    Memos           sample Memo      c    E-mail           sample e-mail message      d    Community work           sample newsletter 14   Making Oral Presentations        a    Purpose and audience      b    Organization      c    Delivery           sample powerpoint slides   Part 3:  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, 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    Revising there is or it is      f    Combining sentences      g    Avoiding jargon   Part 4: Sentence Parts and Patterns Basic Grammar 21   Parts of Speech 22   The Sentence 23   Phrases and Subordinate Clauses 24   Sentence Types 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 tenses: have/had/will have sung      c    Progressive tenses: 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    Verb preceding subject      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    Appropriate you      e    Consistency Modifiers 33   Adjectives and Adverbs      a    Adjective vs. adverb      b    Adjective with linking verb: felt bad      c    Comparisons      d    Double negatives      e    Participles: boring vs. bored      f    A, an, the; 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 5: 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 with however, 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 a quotation      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 6: Spelling and Mechanics 45   Spelling 46   Hyphen 47   Capital Letters 48   Italics or Underlining 49   Abbreviations 50   Numbers   Part 7: 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    Your library's Web site      b    Searching electronically      c    Reference works      d    Books      e    Periodicals      f    The Web      g    Other online sources      h    Government publications      i    Images, audio, and video      j    Your own sources 53   Working with Sources      a    Evaluating sources      b    Synthesizing sources      c    Gathering information      d    Using summary, paraphrase, quotation      e    Integrating sources 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; 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