“Even the most useful reference guides are not always, well, shall we say, riveting. A refreshing exception is the new Broadview Guide to Writing, which is smart, helpful, and even fun to read.” —Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, authors of They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing
Key Features
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—A coil-bound reference text suitable for a range of introductory composition and writing courses
—Divided into three sections:
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Writing Processes (including Research, Argumentation, and Style)
Writing Mechanics (Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation)
Writing Contexts (Writing in different academic disciplines, Forms and conventions, and citation)
—Comprehensive treatment of citation style guides, with 2016 MLA style updates
—Expanded treatment of research methods, argument structures, and writing in the workplace
—A unique section on “How to Be Good With Words”—issues of gender, race, class, religion, sexual orientation, disability, etc.
—Expanded coverage for those whose native language is not English
—All-new chapter on reading images
—Extensive companion website featuring interactive exercises
Increasingly, writing handbooks are seen as over-produced and overpriced. One stands out: The Broadview Guide to Writing is published in an elegant but simple format, and sells for roughly half the price of its fancier-looking competitors. That does not change with the new edition; what does change and stay up-to-date is the content of the book. The sixth edition brings a substantial re-organization of the contents under three headings: Writing Processes, Writing Mechanics, and Writing Contexts. Coverage of APA, Chicago, and CSE styles of documentation has been substantially expanded, and the MLA section has now been fully revised to take into account all the 2016 changes. Also expanded is coverage of academic argument; of writing and critical thinking; of writing about literature, of paragraphing; of how to integrate quoted material into one’s own work; of balance and parallelism; and of issues of gender, race, religion etc. in writing. The chapter “Seeing and Meaning: Reading (and Writing About) Visual Images” is entirely new to the sixth edition.
Table of Contents:
How to Use This Book and Its Companion Website
Preface to the Sixth Edition
WRITING PROCESS
P1 Getting Started
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P1.1 Attitude and Voice
P1.2 Academic Style
P1.3 Audience
P1.4 Purpose
P1.5 Focus
P1.6 Discovery
P1.7 Writer’s Block
P1.8 Research
P1.9 Finding Sources
P1.10 Evaluating Sources
P2 Making Sense
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P2.1 Argument
P2.2 Logic
P2.3 Fallacies
P2.4 Thesis
P2.5 Organization
P2.6 Modes of Writing
P2.7 Logical Fluency
P2.8 Your Arguments, Others’ Arguments
P2.9 Incorporating Sources through Summary, Paraphrase, and Question
P2.10 Plagiarism
P2.11 Citation
P3 Improving Style
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P3.1 Stylistic Fluency
P3.2 Diction
P3.3 Syntax
P3.4 Rhythm
P3.5 Figures of Speech
P3.6 Voice
P3.7 Tone
P3.8 Revision and Proofreading
P3.9 Writing by Computer
SPECIAL TOPIC
How to Be Good with Words
WRITING MECHANICS
M1 Grammar
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M1.1 “Right” and “Wrong”
M1.2 Parts of Speech
M1.3 Parts of Sentences
M1.4 Verb Forms
M1.5 Mood and Voice
M1.6 Sentence Combining: How to Build Sentences
M2 Usage
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M2.1 Verb Issues
M2.2 Preposition Issues
M2.3 Noun and Pronoun Issues
M2.4 Word Order
M2.5 Word Meanings
M2.6 Part-of-Speech Conversions
M2.7 Slang
M2.8 Word Conventions
M2.9 Joining Words
M2.10 Wordiness
M2.11 National Variants
M3 Punctuation and Other Conventions
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M3.1 Punctuation Marks
M3.2 Quotations
M3.3 Capitalization
M3.4 Abbreviations
M3.5 Spelling
M4 EAL: For Those Whose Native Language Is Not English
SPECIAL TOPIC
Seeing and Meaning
WRITING CONTEXTS
C1 Writing Across the Disciplines
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C1.1 Different Subjects, Different Styles
C1.2 English Studies
C1.3 Humanities
C1.4 Natural and Applied Sciences
C1.5 Social Sciences
C1.6 Business and Commerce
C2 Forms and Conventions
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C2.1 The Meanings of Texts
C2.2 Meaning and Form in Literature
C2.3 The Text in the Present Tense
C2.4 Authors and Speakers
C2.5 The Scientific Research Paper
C2.6 Scientific Tone
C2.7 First Person and Active Voice
C2.8 Writing in the Workplace
C2.9 Examinations and In-class Essays
C3 Style Guides
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C3.1 MLA Style
C3.2 APA Style
C3.3 Chicago Style
C3.4 CSE Style
Appendix 1: Correction Key
Appendix 2: Essay Checklist
About the Author :
Corey Frost, formerly Coordinator of the Writing Across the Curriculum Program at Brooklyn College, is now a professor in the English Department at New Jersey City University. Karen Weingarten is a professor in the Department of English at Queens College, City University of New York; a former co-Coordinator of the Introductory English program, she is also the author of Abortion in the American Imagination. Doug Babington, an Emeritus Professor in the English Department at Queen’s University, was for many years Director of the Writing Centre there. Don LePan’s other books include The Broadview Pocket Glossary of Literary Terms, How to Be Good With Words, and two novels, Animals and Rising Stories. Maureen Okun is a professor in both the English and the Liberal Studies Departments at Vancouver Island University; her books include Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte Darthur: Selections and The Broadview Pocket Guide to Citation and Documentation.
Review :
“The chapter on ‘How to Be Good with Words’ braves every thorny patch of ethical usage imaginable with clear-eyed candor, a serious and generous sensibility, and refreshing wit…. [Overall,] The Broadview Guide to Writing is not only informative and impressive; it is smart—smartly written and smartly designed.” — Dennis Paoli, Co-coordinator, Writing Across the Curriculum, Hunter College, CUNY
“This spiral-bound handbook is designed to provide all writers with basic and in-depth guidelines to all stages of the writing process…. The section on academic writing deserves particular mention here. Unlike many other writing handbooks, this volume provides in-depth discussion of the various types of academic writing and their unique characteristics. This section will be useful to the college writer… In particular, the guidance and analysis provided in the Academic Writing section will be of use to the undergraduate student who is expected to write papers in a wide variety of disciplines. Sections on writing about literature, writing about science, writing about texts and writing across the disciplines will clear up confusion on the expectations and norms of these varied types of academic writing…. This volume…can certainly serve as a useful one-stop resource for a wide variety of common questions.” — David Bell, Reference Reviews
“After a careful comparison between the two, I have just switched from A Writer’s Reference to The Broadview Guide to Writing. The lower price is definitely a factor in my decision—but it is so much more than that. The EAL designation [in the Broadview] is so much more welcoming and realistic, [and the overall] tone of the Broadview handbook is so approachable, clear, and encouraging.” — Carol Brown, Diablo Valley College
Comments on Previous Editions
“The Broadview Guide remains the most readable writing guide available—at any price. It’s the only usage guide I’ve ever actually read for fun. Moreover, it’s sensible, and it’s complete. … The authors assume nothing, but they don’t condescend.” — Jacky Bolding, University of the Fraser Valley
“There’s so much to like here: the sense of proportion, the sensible layout, the precision of the usage notes, the sound stylistic advice, and the examples. … The text is clearly informed by the best traditions of composition and rhetoric, but comes across in a disarming fashion with a common sense approach. … Long after the course is over, students will want to keep this book as a manual of style and usage.”— Thomas L. Martin, Department of English, Florida Atlantic University
“While it is often difficult to distinguish one writing handbook from another … The Broadview Guide to Writing proves exceptional in a number of ways. … [It is] an accessible and relevant guide for twenty-first century college students, with a keen eye toward process, style, and documentation.” — Karen Head, Special Advisor to the Writing & Communication Program, The Georgia Institute of Technology
“The Broadview Guide to Writing treats the rhetorical modes appropriately—not in any rigid or formulaic fashion as ends in themselves, but as means of fostering the development of ideas. It emphasizes stylistic fluency, something that writing pedagogy has too often neglected. … And the examples seem to me to be smart and engaging. All in all, this is a book that offers students the respect they deserve—and a book that deserves to be widely used.” — Beth Daniell, Director of Composition, Kennesaw State University
“Comprehensive, affordable, and student-friendly.” — Candice Rai, English Department, University of Washington–Seattle
“I use The Broadview Guide to Writing with my students and I plan to continue using it; it's very good —clear without being condescending. I especially appreciate its comprehensive discussion of writing styles in multiple academic disciplines. And one more thing—my students can actually afford to buy it.”— Jonathan Sadow, State University of New York at Oneonta
