About the Book
A compact, easy-to-use guide, The Writer’s Brief Handbook offers clear definitions, helpful explanations, and up-to-the-minute research and reference tools—altogether the best concise yet comprehensive reference available for today’s writers in any context. An extensive research section provides clear guidelines for how to research online, and examples of special-purpose writing—email, letters to the editor, business reports, and others—make this book useful to everyone who puts pen to paper—or fingers to keyboards.
Table of Contents:
I. COMPOSING.
1. Writing with a Computer.
2. Planning.
Analyze the writing task.
Choose a subject.
Focus on a topic.
Generate ideas and collect information.
Determine your purpose for writing.
Establish a thesis statement.
Analyze your audience.
Make an outline.
3. Writing a Draft.
Choose a good title.
Write the body of your composition.
Write the beginning and ending.
4. Revising.
Revise the largest elements first.
Revise your sentences and diction.
Conduct peer conferences.
5. Editing.
Edit for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Prepare the final copy.
Proofread the final copy.
6. Annotated Student Essay.
II. PARAGRAPHS.
1. Unity.
Topic sentence.
Controlling idea.
2. Development.
Completeness.
Topic sentence strategy.
3. Coherence.
Effective order.
Transitional words and phrases.
Key words and phrases.
Parallel structure.
Transitions to link paragraphs.
III. GRAMMAR ESSENTIALS.
1. Parts of Speech.
Verbs.
Nouns.
Pronouns.
Adjectives.
Adverbs.
Prepositions.
Conjunctions.
Interjections.
2. Parts of Sentences.
Subjects.
Predicates.
Objects.
Complements.
3. Phrases.
Prepositional phrases.
Verbal phrases.
Appositive phrases.
Absolute phrases.
4. Clauses.
Adjective clauses.
Adverb clauses.
Noun clauses.
5. Types of Sentences.
Classification by structure.
Classification by purpose.
IV. ESL BASICS.
1. Verbs.
Modals.
Perfect tenses.
Progressive tenses.
Passive voice.
Two-word verbs.
Verbs followed by infinitive or gerund.
2. Nouns, Quantifiers, and Articles.
Noncount nouns.
Quantifiers.
Indefinite article (a or an).
Definite article (the).
3. Adjectives and Adverbs.
Cumulative adjectives.
Present and past participles.
Adverbs.
4. Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases.
Correct prepositions.
Necessary prepositions.
Unnecessary words in prepositional phrases.
Infinitives.
Compound prepositions.
Adjective + preposition combinations.
5. Parts of Sentences.
Omitted verbs.
Omitted subjects.
Expletives (there, here, it).
6. Special Problems.
Word order for questions.
Questions with who, whom, and what.
Indirect questions.
Reported speech.
Conditional sentences.
7. Confusing Words and Phrases.
V. SENTENCE BASICS.
1. Subject-Verb Agreement.
Identify subjects.
Compound subjects.
Subjects joined by or or nor.
Collective nouns.
Relative pronouns who, which, and that.
Indefinite pronouns.
Subject after verb.
Subject complements.
Singular nouns ending in -s.
Titles as subjects.
Words used as words.
Noun clauses.
2. Verbs: Form, Tense, Mood, and Voice.
Irregular verbs.
Lay and lie and set and sit.
Tense.
Sequences of tense forms.
Mood.
Active voice.
3. Pronoun Problems.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Pronoun reference.
Case of pronouns.
Who and whom.
4. Adjectives and Adverbs.
Adverbs with verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Adjectives as subject complements.
Bad/badly and good/well.
Demonstrative adjective-noun agreement.
Comparative and superlative.
5. Fragments.
Phrase fragments.
Subordinate clauses.
Appositives.
Compound predicates.
Intentional fragments.
6. Comma Splices and Run-On Sentences.
Separate sentences.
Connect clauses with a semicolon.
Connect clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
Restructure the sentence.
VI. SENTENCE STYLE.
1. Parallelism.
With coordinating conjunctions.
With correlative conjunctions.
With comparisons with than or as.
2. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers.
Placement of modifiers.
Dangling modifiers.
3. Shifts.
Shifts in person and number.
Shifts in verb tense.
Shifts in mood.
Shifts in subject and voice.
Shifts in quotation.
Shifts in tone and style.
Shifts in point of view.
4. Unified and Logical Sentences.
Relevant details.
Mixed or illogical constructions.
5. Subordination and Coordination.
Choppy sentences.
Excessive subordination.
Ideas of equal importance.
6. Emphasis.
Placement of important words and phrases.
Logical order.
Active voice.
Repetition.
Short, dramatic sentences.
Periodic sentences.
Balanced constructions.
7. Sentence Variety.
Overuse of short, simple sentences.
Sentence openings.
Overuse of compound sentences.
VII. WORD CHOICE.
1. Eliminating Clutter.
Subjects and verbs.
Redundancies.
Empty words.
Inflated expressions.
Unnecessary clauses.
2. Exactness.
Denotation.
Connotation.
Specific and concrete words.
Idioms.
Figurative language.
Clichés.
3. Appropriateness.
Degree of formality.
Standard English.
Pretentious language.
Jargon.
Vogue words.
4. Bias in Writing.
5. The Dictionary.
6. The Thesaurus.
7. Glossary of Usage.
VIII. PUNCTUATION.
1. The Comma.
Independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction.
Introductory word groups.
Nonrestrictive elements.
Series.
Coordinate adjectives.
Interruptive expressions.
Contrasted elements.
Speech tags.
Mild interjections, direct address, yes and no, interrogative tags.
Titles, names, dates, and other conventions.
To prevent misreading.
To indicate omissions.
Unnecessary commas.
2. The Semicolon.
Independent clauses.
With transitional expressions or conjunctive adverbs.
With other punctuation.
Misuses.
3. The Colon.
Independent clauses.
Series.
Appositives.
Direct quotations.
Business letters, biblical references, titles and subtitles, bibliographic entries.
Misuses.
4. The Apostrophe.
Possessive case.
Contractions.
Plurals.
Misuses.
5. Quotation Marks.
Direct quotations.
Titles.
Words used as words.
With other punctuation.
Misuses.
6. Other Punctuation Marks.
The period.
The question mark.
The exclamation point.
The dash.
Parentheses.
Brackets.
The ellipsis mark.
The slash.
IX. MECHANICS.
1. Capitals.
Proper nouns.
Proper adjectives.
Organizations, government agencies, call letters, acronyms.
Titles, family relations, epithets.
Sentences, deliberate sentence fragments.
With colons.
Quoted sentences.
Poetry.
Titles, subtitles.
Complimentary close of letter.
2. Abbreviations.
Titles with proper nouns.
A.D., B.C., a.m., p.m., no.
Organizations, corporations, government agencies, states, countries.
Latin abbreviations.
3. Numbers.
Words vs. numbers.
Dates, times, addresses, chapters and pages, percentages, and other conventions.
4. Italics/Underlining.
Titles.
Ships, planes, trains, spacecraft.
Numbers, letters, words used as such.
Foreign words.
For emphasis.
5. The Hyphen.
Compound words.
Two or more words used as a single adjective.
With compound numbers, written fractions.
Prefixes and suffixes.
Word division.
6. Spelling.
Conventional spelling rules.
Words that sound alike.
X. DOCUMENT DESIGN.
1. Understanding the Principles of Design.
Establish direction, or flow.
Use white space.
Group related elements.
Give emphasis.
Maintain consistency.
2. The Elements of Design.
Margins and line spacing.
Type styles and sizes.
Headings and subheadings.
Lists.
3. Visuals.
Tables, charts, and graphs.
Diagrams.
Illustrations and photographs.
Clip art.
4. Understanding Web Site Design.
5. Formats for Academic Manuscript.
XI. WRITING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY/WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE.
Writing an Argumentative Essay.
1. Understanding the Elements of Argument.
Topics.
Claims.
Data, or evidence.
Warrants, or assumptions.
2. Making Appropriate Appeals.
Logical appeals.
Emotional appeals.
Ethical appeals.
3. Considering Your Audience.
Audience.
Rogerian (“common ground”) audience strategy.
4. Refuting the Opposition's Arguments.
5. Annotated Student Argumentative Essay.
6. Organizing the Argumentative Essay.
Writing About Literature.
1. Carefully Read and Analyze the Literary Text.
2. Observe the Conventions for Writing About Literature.
3. Use Quotations Purposefully and Effectively.
4. Annotated Student Literary Essay.
XII. SPECIAL KINDS OF WRITING.
1. E-communications.
E-mail.
E-mail attachments.
Listservs.
Netiquette.
2. Business Writing.
Business letters.
Résumés.
Memos.
3. Oral Presentations.
Outline.
Prepare and practice.
Visuals.
4. Essay Examinations.
Budget your time.
Answer the question.
Analyze the verbs.
Plan your essay.
Proofread.
5. Response/Reaction Writing.
6. Review of Literature Writing.
7. Annotated Bibliography vs. Abstract.
8. Reports.
9. Letters to the Editor.
XIII. RESEARCH.
1. Conducting Library and Internet Research.
Choose a research topic and a question.
Determine a search strategy.
Locate books using library catalog.
Locate articles using a database or periodical index.
Conduct research on the Internet.
Use reference books as necessary.
Use interviews, questionnaires, and other community sources.
2. Selecting and Evaluating Sources.
Preview your print and online sources.
Evaluate your print and online sources.
3. Keeping Track of Information.
Keep a working bibliography.
Read and analyze your sources.
Take complete and accurate notes without plagiarizing.
4. Documenting Sources.
Use an accepted style system.
Consult a discipline-specific style manual.
XIV. MLA PAPERS.
1. Determining a Thesis and Organizing Evidence.
Formulate a thesis statement.
Organize your evidence; develop an outline.
2. Avoiding Plagiarism.
Credit all direct quotations and borrowed ideas.
Use quotation marks for borrowed language.
Write summaries and paraphrases.
3. Integrating Quotations, Paraphrases, and Summaries.
Choose an appropriate signal phrase.
Use signal phrases to introduce direct quotations.
Use signal phrases to introduce paraphrases and summaries.
4. Documenting Sources.
MLA in-text citations.
MLA list of works cited.
MLA information notes.
5. MLA Manuscript Format.
Annotated Student MLA Research Paper.
XV. APA PAPERS/CMS PAPERS.
APA PAPERS.
1. Determining a Thesis and Organizing Evidence.
Formulate a thesis statement.
Use headings to organize your evidence.
2. Avoiding Plagiarism.
Credit all direct quotations and borrowed ideas.
Use quotation marks for borrowed language.
Write summaries and paraphrases.
3. Integrating Quotations, Summaries, and Paraphrases.
Choose an appropriate signal phrase.
Integrate direct quotations smoothly.
Use signal phrases to introduce paraphrases and summaries.
4. Documenting Sources.
APA in-text citations.
APA references.
5. APA Manuscript Format.
6. Annotated Student APA Research Paper.
CMS (CHICAGO) PAPERS.
1. Determining a Thesis and Organizing Evidence.
Formulate a thesis statement.
Organize your evidence.
2. Avoiding plagiarism.
Credit all direct quotations and borrowed ideas.
Use quotation marks for borrowed language.
Write summaries and paraphrases.
3. Integrating Quotations, Summaries, and Paraphrases.
Choose an appropriate signal phrase.
Integrate direct quotations smoothly.
Use signal phrases to introduce paraphrases and summaries.
4. Documenting Sources.
Endnotes or footnotes.
Bibliography.
Note and bibliography models.
5. CMS Manuscript Format.
6. Annotated Student CMS Research Paper.
Acknowledgments.
Index.
Correction Symbols.
