LB Brief

LB Brief offers 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.

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