PART 1 Planning, Drafting, and Revising

1 Think as a Writer

a Think about the process of communication

b Think about how to persuade others

c Think about your audience

d Think about your credibility

e Think about your purpose

f Think about the complex demands of writing today

2 Plan and Draft

a Think about the expectations of college readers

b Establish your goals

c Explore your topic

d Write a working thesis

e Plan a strategy

f Compose a draft

g Write as a member of a team

3 Compose Paragraphs

a Focus your paragraphs

b Organize your paragraphs

c Make your paragraphs coherent

d Consider paragraph length

e Link across paragraphs

f Write effective beginning and ending paragraphs

4 Rewrite, Edit, and Proofread

a Switch from writer to reader

b Learn strategies for rewriting

c Respond to other writers’ drafts

d Edit for particular goals

e Proofread carefully

f Learn to edit the writing of others

PART 2 Writing for Different Purposes

5 Read and View with a Critical Eye

a Become a critical reader

b Read actively

c Recognize verbal fallacies

d Become a critical viewer

e Recognize visual fallacies

6 Write to Analyze

a Understand the goal of a rhetorical analysis

b Analyze the context and the text

c Organize and write a rhetorical analysis

d Sample rhetorical analysis

e Analyze images and other visual texts

7 Write to Reflect

a Find a reflective topic

b Identify a focus

c Organize and write a reflection

d Sample reflective essay

8 Write to Inform

a Find an informative topic

b Narrow your topic and write a thesis

c Organize and write an informative essay

d Sample informative essay

9 Write Arguments

a Position arguments and proposal arguments

b Find an arguable topic

c Make an arguable claim

d Organize and write a position argument

e Sample position argument

f Organize and write a proposal argument

g Sample proposal arguments

PART 3 Writing in the Disciplines

10 Learn to Write in Academic Disciplines

a Become an academic writer

b What counts as evidence in the disciplines?

11 Write in Specific Genres

a Write an essay exam

b Write an observation

c Write a case study

d Write a lab report

e Write a letter of application

f Write a résumé

12 Write about Literature

a Become a critical reader of literature

b Develop an interpretation

c Write a literary analysis

d Sample literary analysis

PART 4 Designing and Presenting

13 Communicate with Words, Images, and Graphics

a Write in multimedia

b Think about verbal and visual relationships

c Know where images and graphics work best

d Know where words work best

14 Design for Print and the Screen

a Start with your readers

b Design pages

c Choose type

d Compose images

e Edit images

f Create tables, charts, and graphs

g Design a Web site

15 Design Presentations

a Plan a presentation

b Design visuals for a presentation

c Deliver an effective presentation

PART 5 Researching

16 Plan Your Research

a Analyze the research task

b Find a topic

c Determine what kind of research you need

d Draft a working thesis

e Start a working bibliography

17 Find and Evaluate Sources in Databases

a Know the strengths of database sources

b Find information in databases

c Construct effective database searches

d Evaluate database sources

e Locate elements of a citation in database sources

18 Find and Evaluate Sources on the Web

a Know the strengths and weaknesses of Web sources

b Find reliable Web sources

c Construct effective Web searches

d Find visual sources online

e Evaluate Web sources

f Locate elements of a citation in Web sources

19 Find and Evaluate Print Sources

a Know the strengths of print sources

b Find books

c Find journal articles

d Evaluate print sources

e Locate elements of a citation in print sources

20 Plan Field Research

a Know what you can obtain from field research

b Conduct interviews

c Administer surveys

d Make observations

21 Incorporate Sources and Avoid Plagiarism

a Understand the purposes of sources

b Incorporate sources

c Avoid plagiarism

d Quote sources without plagiarizing

e Summarize and paraphrase sources without plagiarizing

22 Write and Revise the Research Project

a Revisit your research

b Plan your organization

c Write a draft

d Select and introduce quotations

e Review your draft

f Revise, revise, revise

PART 6 Documenting

Five Steps for Documenting Sources

1 Which documentation style do I use?

2 What kind of source am I using?

3 When do I cite sources?

4 How do I cite a source in my paper?

5 How do I cite sources at the end of my paper?

23 MLA Documentation

a In-text citations in MLA style

b Books in MLA-style works cited

c Journals and magazines

d Newspapers

e Government documents, pamphlets, dissertations, and letters

f Library database publications

g Online publications

h CD-ROM, software, and unedited online sources

i Visual sources

j Multimedia sources

k Informational notes

l Sample research paper with MLA documentation

24 APA Documentation

a In-text citations in APA style

b Books and nonperiodical sources in the APA-style references list

c Periodical sources

d Online sources

e Visual, computer, and multimedia sources

f Sample research paper with APA documentation

25 CMS Documentation

a Books and nonperiodical sources in CMS-style citations

b Periodical sources

c Online and computer sources

d Multimedia sources

e Sample pages with CMS documentation

26 CSE Documentation

a In-text references in CSE style

b Books and nonperiodical sources in CSE-style references

c Periodical sources

d Online sources

e Sample pages with CSE documentation

PART 7 Effective Style and Language

27 Write with Power

a Pay attention to verbs

b Stay active

c Find agents

d Vary your sentences

e Give your writing personality

28 Write Concisely

a Eliminate unnecessary words

b Reduce wordy phrases

c Simplify tangled sentences

29 Write with Emphasis

a Manage emphasis in sentences

b Forge links across sentences

c Use parallel structure with parallel ideas

d Use parallel structure with lists

e Use parallel structure in paragraphs

30 Find the Right Words

a Be aware of levels of formality

b Be aware of denotation and connotation

c Use specific language

d Use effective figurative language

31 Write to Be Inclusive

a Be aware of stereotypes

b Be inclusive about gender

c Be inclusive about race and ethnicity

d Be inclusive about other differences

e Recognize international varieties of English

PART 8 Understanding Grammar

32 Grammar Basics

a Sentence basics

b Word classes

c Clauses

d Phrases

e Sentence types

33 Fragments, Run-ons, and Comma Splices

a Fragments

b Run-on sentences

c Comma splices

34 Subject-Verb Agreement

a Agreement in the present tense

b Singular and plural subjects

c Indefinite pronouns as subjects

d Collective nouns as subjects

e Inverted word order

f Amounts, numbers, and pairs

35 Verbs

a Basic verb forms

b Irregular verbs

c Transitive and intransitive verbs

d Shifts in tense

e Shifts in mood

36 Pronouns

a Pronoun case

b Pronoun agreement

c Problems with pronouns and gender

d Vague reference

37 Modifiers

a Choose the correct modifier

b Place adjectives carefully

c Place adverbs carefully

d Revise disruptive modifiers

e Revise dangling modifiers

PART 9 Understanding Punctuation and Mechanics

38 Commas

a Commas with introductory elements

b Commas with compound clauses

c Commas with nonrestrictive modifiers

d Commas with items in a series

e Commas with coordinate adjectives

f Commas with quotations

g Commas with dates, numbers, titles, and addresses

h Commas to avoid confusion

i Unnecessary commas

39 Semicolons and Colons

a Semicolons with closely related main clauses

b Semicolons together with commas

c Colons in sentences

d Colons with lists

40 Hyphens

a Hyphens with compound modifiers

b Hyphens with compound nouns

c Hyphens that divide words at the ends of lines

d Hyphens for clarity

41 Dashes and Parentheses

a Dashes and parentheses versus commas

b Dashes and parentheses to set off information

c Other punctuation with parentheses

d Other punctuation with dashes

42 Apostrophes

a Possessives

b Contractions and omitted letters

c Plurals of letters, symbols, and words referred to as words

43 Quotation Marks

a Direct quotations

b Titles of short works

c Other uses of quotation marks

d Misuses of quotation marks

e Other punctuation with quotation marks

44 Other Punctuation Marks

a Periods

b Question marks

c Exclamation points

d Brackets

e Ellipses

f Slashes

45 Write with Accurate Spelling

a Know the limitations of spelling checkers

b Distinguish homonyms

c Learn spelling rules

46 Capitalization and Italics

a Capital letters

b Italics

47 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Numbers

a Abbreviations

b Acronyms

c Numbers

PART 10 If English Is Not Your First Language

48 Write in a Second Language

a Understand the demands of writing in a second language

b Use your native language as a resource

c Use dictionaries

d Understand English idioms

49 Nouns, Articles, and Prepositions

a Kinds of nouns

b Count and noncount nouns

c Singular and plural forms

d Articles

e Prepositions

50 Verbs

a Types of verbs

b Be verbs

c Modal auxiliary verbs

d Verbs and infinitives

e Verbs and -ing verbals

f Conditional sentences

g Participial adjectives

h Phrasal verbs

51 English Sentence Structure

a Subjects

b English word order

c Placement of modifiers

Glossary of Grammatical Terms and Usage

Index