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 ideas
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 Writing online
f Readers with vision loss
Part 2: WRITING IN AND OUT OF COLLEGE
8 Critical Thinking and Reading
a Critical reading
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 critique
10 Writing Arguments
a Elements of argument
b Writing reasonably
c Organizing an argument
d Sample Argument
11 Reading and Writing About Literature
a Writing while reading
b Critical reading
c Sample Analysis
12 Essay Examinations
a Preparing
b Planning
c Starting
d Developing
e Rereading
13 Public Writing
a Business letters and résumés
sample letter and resumes
b Memos
c E-mail
sample memo and email
c 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 Effective 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, not . . . but, etc.
c In comparisons
d With lists, headings, and outlines
17 Variety and Details
a Sentence length
b Sentence structure
c Details
18 Appropriate and Exact Language
A Appropriate language
b Exact language
19 Completeness
a Compounds
b Needed words
20 Conciseness
a Focusing on subject and verb
b Cutting empty words
c Cutting repetition
d Reducing clauses and phrases
e Revising there is, here is, it is
f Combining sentences
g Rewriting 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 Sing/sang/sung and other irregular verbs
b Sit/set, lie/lay, rise/raise
c -s and -ed forms
d Be, have, and other helping verbs
e Verb + gerund or infinitive: stop eating vs. stop to eat
f Verb + participle: look up, look over, etc.
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 She wrote it (active) vs.It was written (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 and 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 Bigger, most talented, and other 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 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 Reason is because and other mixed meanings
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 a series
e Two or more adjectives
f Dates, addresses, place names, numbers
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 Quotations 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 6: SPELLING AND MECHANICS
45 Spelling and the Hyphen
46 Capital Letters
47 Italics or Underlining
48 Abbreviations
49 Numbers
Part 7: RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION
50 Research Strategy
a Planning
b Research journal
c Researchable subject and question
d Goals for sources
e Working, annotated bibliography
51 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, video
j Your own sources
52 Working with Sources
a Evaluating sources
b Synthesizing sources
c Gathering information
d Using summary, paraphrase, quotation
e Integrating sources
53 Avoiding Plagiarism and Documenting Sources
a Plagiarism on the Internet
b What not to acknowledge
c What must be acknowledged
d Online sources
e Documenting sources
54 Writing the Paper
a Focusing and organizing
b Drafting, revising, and formatting
55 MLA Documentation and Format
a Parenthetical text citations
b List of works cited
c Format of paper
d Sample MLA Paper
56 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
