PART 1 WRITING FOR READERS
1 Writers, Readers, and Communities
Academic, public, and work communities
1 Communities in action
2 Choices and limits
Identifying electronic communities
2 Discovering and Planning
Getting started
1 Try informal writing
2 Use listing
3 Ask strategic questions
Keeping a writing/reading journal
1 How to keep a reading and writing journal
2 Thinking, writing, and discovering
Structuring ideas and information
1 Draw a cluster
2 Create a tree diagram
3 Build a time sequence
4 Create a problem-solution grid
5 Outline
Planning: Paper in progress
3 Purpose, Thesis, and Audience
Recognizing your purpose
1 Identify the focus
2 Define the purpose
Using purpose to guide your writing
1 Rough out a purpose structure
Defining a thesis or main idea
1 Turn topics into theses
2 Complicate or extend your rough thesis
3 Expand your thesis with specifics
4 Modify your thesis
Different kinds of thesis statements
Recognizing your audience
Specific readers and communities of readers
Adapting to readers and communities of readers
4 Drafting
From planning to drafting
1 Draft in manageable parts
2 Develop a general structure
3 Assess your purpose and redraft
Drafting strategies
1 Write about your writing
2 Draft quickly
3 Semidraft
4 Talk it out or take a break
Collaborative drafting
1 Do parallel drafting
2 Do team drafting
3 Do intensive drafting
5 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
Major revisions
1 Redraft unworkable material
2 Reorganize poorly arranged paragraphs or sections
3 Add new material
4 Delete unnecessary or redundant material
Minor revisions
1 Revise for sense
2 Revise for style
3 Revise for economy
Collaborative revising
1 Respond helpfully
2 Make the most of response
3 Workplace collaboration
Revising: Paper in progress
Editing your own writing
1 Final editing for economy and style
2 Editing for grammatical problems
Collaborative editing
Editing on the computer
1 What computer editors can do
2 What computer editor can't do
Proofreading
6 Paragraphs
Focused paragraphs
Creating paragraph focus
1 Topic sentence at the beginning
2 Topic sentence plus a limiting or clarifying sentence
3 Topic sentence at the end
4 Topic sentence implied rather than stated
Paragraph coherence
Creating paragraph coherence
1 Repeating words and phrases
2 Supplying transitions
3 Using parallel structure
Developed paragraphs
1 Developing paragraphs with details
2 Creating paragraph structures
Introductory and concluding paragraphs
1 Creating introductory paragraphs
2 Creating concluding paragraphs
7 Sentences
Clear sentences
1 Use significant subjects
2 Avoid unnecessary nominalizations
3 Use I, we, and you as subjects
4 Be careful with strings of nouns
5 Use clear and specific verbs
6 Keep subjects and verbs clearly related
Direct sentences
Emphatic sentences
1 Use sentence beginnings and endings
2 Create emphatic sentence patterns
3 Use the passive voice with care
Revising for variety
1 Vary sentence length
2 Vary sentence types
3 Vary sentence structure and patterns
4 Create surprise
8 Assessing Writing
Assessing your own writing
1 Saying what you want to say
2 Sharing what you want to share
3 Being honest about things that didn't work or shortcuts you took
4 Recognizing what you didn't understand
5 Deciding on a revision plan
Assessing someone else's writing
1 Deciding what makes a difference for you as a reader
2 Believing and doubting
3 Prompting change
4 Working with others
How others assess your writing
1 Where readers start evaluating
2 How readers move through your writing
3 How readers decide on evaluation standards
Assembling and assessing your portfolio
1 Choosing the best
2 Choosing and assessing for variety
3 Introducing and explaining your selections
PART 2 CRITICAL THINKING AND ARGUMENT
9 Thinking Critically and Reading Critically
What is critical thinking?
Building a chain of reasoning
1 Focus on conclusions
2 Include information and inferences
3 Assess evidence and reasoning
4 Consider your readers' assumptions
Persuasive reasoning
1 Be well informed
2 Acknowledge other perspectives and anticipate reader's reactions
3 Be balanced and reasonable
4 Assess the appropriateness of strong bias to the occasion
What is critical reading?
Read to understand
1 Prereading strategies
2 Reading strategies during and after
Read to respond and evaluate
1 Note responses while reading
2 Share interpretations and insights
3 Respond in writing
10 Constructing an Argument
Occasions for argument
1 Existing issues
2 Potential issues
3 Identify arguable issues
Developing your stance
1 Articulate your stance
2 Clarify your ideas
Developing a thesis
1 Focus on an argumentative claim
2 Create a thesis statement
3 Revise your thesis statement
11 Developing, Supporting, and Documenting an Argument
Developing reasons that support your claim
Using varied kinds of evidence
1 Use examples
2 Use quotations and ideas from authorities
3 Use detailed information
4 Use comparisons
Incorporating counterarguments
Logical strategies (logos)
Emotional strategies (pathos)
Data-warrant-claim (Toulmin) reasoning
Audience and purpose (Rogerian argument)
Misleading and illogical reasoning
Documented argument or position paper
1 Sample position paper
2 Comment on Paul Pusateri's Paper
12 Creating a Visual Argument
Explaining
1 Calling attention to an issue
2 Explaining an issue or problem
Providing evidence
Reading images critically
Multimodal materials
PART 3 PRESENTING YOUR WORK
13 Designing Documents
Goals of document design
Format choice
1 Consider your rhetorical situation and readers' needs
2 Determine the form and shape of your document
Layout
1 Use visual cues
2 Arrange information effectively
Typeface choices
Visuals
1 Table organize information
2 Graphs and charts represent relationships among data
3 Other visual devices serve varied purposes
Web pages
1 Establishing a purpose and a persona for your Web page
2 Considering your audience
Model documents
14 Multimodal Presentations
Multimodal compositions
1 Photographs
2 Advertisements
3 Videos
4 Oral presentations
Analyzing multimodal presentations
1 Purpose and focus
2 Detail and explanation
3 Design
Composing multimodal presentations
1 Developing your craft
2 Computer software
Evaluating multimodal presentations
15 Writing Online
Online writing
1 Understanding your online audience and your purpose
2 Creating an online persona
3 Netiquette
Avoiding plagiarism and acting ethically online
1 Always document or credit information borrowed from others
2 Do your own work
3 Know the rules
E-mail choices
1 Elements of email
2 Email appearance
3 Using the functions of email
Participating in online communities
1 Discussion lists
2 Web-based forums: Blogs
3 Real-time writing
Participating in virtual classrooms
1 Using electronic courseware
2 Taking courses online
16 Speaking Effectively
Effective oral presentation
1 Planning your presentation
2 Rehearsing your presentation
3 Giving your presentation
SAMPLE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
4 Assessing the results
Speech Anxiety
Group presentations and other public forums
1 Effective group presentations
2 Effective speaking in public forums
3 Effective comments on boards and committees
PART 4 WRITING FOR SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES
17 Academic Writing: General Education
Analyzing assignments
1 Syllabus assignments
2 Detailed assignments
3 Assignment goals
Common types of information-driven assignments
Summaries
Annotated bibliographies
Literature reviews
Essay exams (information-driven)
1 Sample information-driven essay exam
2 Commentary on student essay exam
Short documented paper
Common types of point-driven assignments
Critiques
Reviews
Essay exams (point-driven)
Position papers
18 Writing in the Arts and Humanities
Writing about texts
Reading literary and artistic texts
1 Reading for meaning
2 Reading for technique
Writing about literary and artistic texts
1 Writing about meaning
2 Writing about technique
The text analysis
1 Sample literary text analysis
2 Commentary on student text analysis
Analyzing and interpreting visual texts
1 Sample visual analysis
2 Commentary on student visual analysis
Reviews and critical analyses (critiques) in the arts and humanities
1 Sample critical analysis of a film
2 Commentary on student analysis
19 Writing in the Social and Natural Sciences
Research in the social sciences
Common types of writing assignments in social science courses
Reviews of research
1 Sample social science literature review
2 Commentary on student literature review
Informative reports
Reports of original research
Research in the natural and applied sciences
Common types of writing assignments in natural and applied science courses
Lab reports
1 Sample lab report
2 Commentary on student lab report
Abstracts
Informative reports
Scientific explanation for a general audience
1 Sample scientific explanation for a general audience
2 Commentary on student scientific explanation for a general audience
20 Public Writing
Goals of public writing
Analyzing public audiences
Types of public writing
Flyers
Letters to the editor
Speaking in public settings
21 Workplace Writing
Goals of workplace writing
1 Plan according to your reader's needs
2 Draft as clearly as possible
3 Revise and edit
Workplace writing process
1 How are writing projects assigned?
2 Is most writing done individually, or in work groups?
3 Does the company have a formal editing process?
4 Does the company have a formalized set of writing genres?
5 How are revisions to documents such as work procedures and technical specifications controlled?
Business letters
Memos
Email
Resumes and application letters
1 Use categories to construct your resume
2 Submitting your resume
PART 5 RESEARCHING AND WRITING
22 Getting Started: Researching and Writing
Choosing a topic
1 Respond to your assignment
2 Recognize your interests
3 Browse for an issue or problem
Narrowing a topic
1 Broad subject to limited topic
2 Surveying potential topics
Aims of research writing
1 Informative research project
2 Persuasive research project
Research questions
Preliminary thesis
Audience inventory
Developing a search strategy
1 Resources
2 Search tools
3 Keywording
4 Working bibliography
Timeline
Assessing sources
Reading sources critically
1 Identifying questions
Taking notes
1 Cards
2 Research journal
Summarizing, paraphrasing, synthesizing, and interpreting
1 Summarizing
2 Paraphrasing
3 Synthesizing
4 Interpreting
23 Library Resources
From general to specific sources
1 General resources
Kinds of library resources
1 Online catalogs
2 Periodicals, print and electronic indexes, and government documents
Evaluating library resources
24 Databases
Reference databases
Full-text databases
Databases containing abstracts
Indexing or bibliographic databases
Resource databases
Evaluating database resources
25 Internet Resources
Internet search strategy
Search engines
1 General search engines
2 Advanced search engines
3 Metasearch engines
4 Focused search sites and question-oriented sites
Kinds of Web sites
1 Individual Web sites
2 Sponsored Web sites
3 Blogs
4 Online periodicals and books; electronic versions of print publications
5 Government publications sites
6 Discussion groups and newsgroups
Evaluating online resources
26 Field Resources and Fieldwork
Field research
Surveys, polls, and questionnaires
1 Surveys and polls
2 Questionnaires
Interviews
Obtaining human subjects' consent and approval
Ethnographies
27 Avoiding Plagiarism and Integrating Sources
Plagiarism in college
The problem of intention
When to document sources
Common knowledge
Quotations, summaries, facts, and visuals
1 Quotations
2 Summaries and paraphrases
3 Facts, details, and statistics
4 Visuals
Integrating sources for specific purposes
1 Introducing a topic and providing background
2 Summarizing prior research
3 Providing examples and cases
4 Showing evidence or support
5 Expanding an idea
6 Taking issue with a claim
28 Writing, Revising, and Presenting Research
Planning
1 Think about your goal - again!
2 Review your research questions
3 Redevelop you thesis
Drafting
An informative research paper
1 Consider readers
2 Look for a pattern
3 Consider familiar plans
A persuasive research paper
1 Key elements
2 Plan your reasoning and support
3 Arrange statements and evidence in persuasive order
Presentation strategies
1 Create a presentation
2 Use photographs
3 Create a film
4 Design a Web page
PART 6 DOCUMENTING SOURCES
29 Ten Serious Documentation Problems
Choosing the right documentation style
Deciding what to document
Understanding the importance of documentation
Following a publication's style
Incorrect placement of a citation
Missing information in a citation
Wrong details in a citation
Wrong kind of entry in references list
Missing information in references entry
Wrong details in references entry
30 MLA Documentation
In-text citation examples
Works Cited list
Sample MLA paper
31 APA Documentation
In-text (parenthetical) citations
References list
Sample APA paper
32 CMS Documentation
Endnotes and footnotes
1 Select endnotes or footnotes
2 Content and explanatory notes
Note examples
Bibliography
Student CMS paper
33 CSE Documentation
Elements of scientific and engineering styles
1 In-text citations
2 Reference list
Scientific in-text citations
1 Using the name-and-date method
2 Using the number method
Scientific reference list
Student CSE paper
PART 7 GRAMMAR
34 Ten Serious Grammar Errors
Fragment
Fused Sentence
Unclear Pronoun Reference
Lack of Subject-Verb Agreement
Dangling Modifier
Shift
Misused or Missing Apostrophe
Unnecessary Comma
Missing or Misused Quotation Marks
Double Negative
35 Sentence Elements and Patterns
Words
1 Recognizing nouns and articles
2 Recognizing pronouns
3 Recognizing verbs
4 Recognizing adjectives
5 Recognizing adverbs
6 Recognizing prepositions
7 Recognizing conjunctions
8 Recognizing interjections
Subjects and predicates
1 Creating sentence subjects
2 Creating sentence predicates
Phrases and clauses
1 Recognizing prepositional phrases
2 Recognizing absolute phrases
3 Recognizing appositive phrases
4 Recognizing verbal phrases
5 Recognizing subordinate clauses
Sentence types
1 Recognizing sentence structures
2 Recognizing sentence purposes
36 Verbs
Simple present and past tense
1 Watch for irregular verbs
2 Using present and past tense in academic settings
Participles: Recognizing and editing
Progressive and perfect tenses: Editing
1 Check the helping verb in progressive tenses
2 Check the form of the past participle in the past perfect tense
Troublesome verbs (lie, lay, sit, set)
Active and passive voice
Clear tense sequence
Subjunctive mood
37 Nouns and Pronouns
Noun forms
Pronoun forms
1 Recognizing pronoun case
2 Choosing subjunctive forms
3 Choosing objective forms
4 Choosing possessive forms
Common problems with pronouns
1 Pay attention to compound subjects and objects
2 Watch for we or us with a noun
3 Be alert for subject complements
4 Check appositives
5 Be careful with comparisons using than or as
6 Be cautious when using myself and other reflexive pronouns
Who and whom
38 Agreement
Subject-verb agreement (simple)
Subject-verb agreement (complex)
1 What for plural forms with singular meanings
2 Be alert for collective nouns
3 Check subjects linked by and, or, and nor
4 Pay attention to separated subjects and verbs
5 Recognize unusual word order
6 Watch for there is, there are
7 Pay attention to is, appears, feels, and other linking verbs
8 All, everybody, none; who, which, that - using special subjects
9 Pay special attention to titles and names
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
1 Recognize antecedents joined by and, or, and nor
2 Pay attention to everyone, any, something, (indefinite pronouns) as antecedents
3 Watch for collective nouns as antecedents
39 Adjectives and Adverbs
What adjectives and adverbs do
Avoiding confusion between adjectives and adverbs
1 Figure out what a modifier does in a sentence
2 Be alert for verbs like look, feel, prove, and is
3 Pay special attention to real/really, sure/surely, bad/badly, and good/well
Comparatives and superlatives: Correct forms
1 Watch out for illogical comparatives
2 Look for imprecise use of comparatives
3 Check for double comparatives
Avoiding double negatives
PART 8 SENTENCE PROBLEMS
40 Sentence Fragments
Sentence fragments: Recognizing
1 Look for a subject and a verb
2 Look for although, because, that, since, and other subordinating words
3 Look for troublesome constructions
Sentence fragments: Editing
Partial sentences
41 Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
Comma splices and fused sentences: Recognizing
Comma splices and fused sentences: Editing
1 Create separate sentences
2 Join main clauses with a comma plus a coordinating conjunction
3 Join main clauses with a semicolon
4 Join main clauses with a semicolon plus a conjunctive adverb or transitional expression
5 Subordinate one of the clauses
6 Join the clauses with a colon
42 Pronoun Reference
Unclear pronoun reference: Recognizing and editing
1 Watch for pronouns with several possible antecedents
2 Pay attention to pronouns widely separated from their antecedents
3 Create clear reference chains
Nonspecific pronoun reference
1 Use it, which, this, and that with care
2 Look for it used in more than one sense
3 Watch for antecedents that are implied rather than directly stated
Matching who, which, and that to antecedents
43 Misplaced, Dangling, and Disruptive Modifiers
Misplaced modifiers: Recognizing and editing
1 Pay attention to a modifier's location
2 Pay attention to only, simply, even, and other limiting modifiers
3 Be alert for squinting modifiers
4 Pay attention to clauses beginning with who, which, and that, or other subordinators
Dangling modifiers: Recognizing and editing
Disruptive modifiers: Recognizing and editing
1 Pay attention to separated subjects and verbs
2 Pay attention to separations between verbs and objects (or complements)
3 Be alert for split infinitives or verb phrases
Using absolute phrases effectively
44 Shifts
Person and number
1 Pay attention to shifts in person
2 Pay attention to shifts in number
Tense and mood
1 Pay attention to shifts in tense
2 Be alert for shifts in mood
Voice
Direct and indirect quotation
45 Mixed and Incomplete Sentences
Mixed sentences: Recognizing and editing
1 Recognizing topic shifts
2 Editing topic shifts
3 Recognizing shifts in grammatical pattern
4 Editing shifts in grammatical pattern
Incomplete sentences: Recognizing and editing
1 Recognizing and avoiding incomplete or illogical comparisons
2 Recognizing appropriate and inappropriate omissions
46 Parallelism
Problems with parallelism: Recognizing and editing
1 Check for parallelism in a series
2 Decide which words to repeat
3 Pay attention to parallelism with paired sentence elements
Creating parallelism beyond the sentence
1 Creating parallel sentence clusters
2 Creating parallel paragraphs
Parallelism in lists
47 Coordination and Subordination
Creating coordination
Problems with coordination: Recognizing and editing
1 Look for excessive coordination
2 Check for illogical coordination
Creating subordination
Problems with subordination: Recognizing and editing
1 Be alert for illogical or unclear relationships
2 Be careful with troublesome subordinators: as/while, and which, but that, and who
3 Watch out for excessive subordination
PART 9 WORDS AND STYLE
48 Wordiness
Common types of wordiness
1 Eliminate empty words and phrases
2 Edit wordy and repetitive sentences
Cliches, generalizations and overblown language
1 Omit cliches
2 Edit overblown language
3 Eliminate excessive writer's commentary
49 Style, the Dictionary, and Vocabulary
Word choice, readers' needs, and writers' purposes
1 Adjust your diction to your readers' needs
2 Adjust your diction to your purpose
3 Adjust your diction to your persona
4 Use specialized diction appropriately
Precise diction
1 Choose specific words
2 Choose words with appropriate connotations
3 Edit for archaic words and neologism
4 Edit for idiomatic and trite expressions
Using a dictionary and thesaurus
1 Use a dictionary
2 Use a thesaurus
Building vocabulary
1 Vocabulary and the writing process
2 Vocabulary and the reading process
50 Appropriate and Respectful Language
Home and community language varieties
1 Learn to see dialect variations as rules
2 Understand standard English as a function of power and social prestige
3 Become aware of the grammatical variations in your home dialect
How dialects influence writing
1 Become aware of oral language influences
2 Consider your word choices
3 Distinguish between slang and dialect
4 Recognize hypercorrection
Sexist language: Recognizing and editing
1 Avoid implying stereotyped views
2 Avoid gender-stereotyping roles and occupations
3 Beware of male terms used generically
4 Avoid implying sexist views
5 Avoid making unwarranted claims
Discriminatory language: Recognizing and avoiding
1 Avoid derogatory terms
2 Revise unfair stereotypes
3 Choose appropriate group names and terms
PART 10 PUNCTUATION, MECHANICS, AND SPELLING
51 Commas
Joining sentences
Setting off introductory phrases
Setting off nonrestrictive modifiers
1 Recognize nonrestrictive and restrictive modifiers
2 Pay special attention to modifying clauses, phrases, and appositives
Setting off parenthetical expressions
Using commas in a series
Separating coordinate adjectives
Dates, numbers, addresses, place names, people's titles, and letters
1 Dates
2 Numbers
3 Addresses and place names
4 People's names and titles
5 Salutations and closings of letters
Commas with quotations
Commas to make your meaning clear
Commas that do not belong
1 Do not insert a comma after words like although and because that introduce a clause
2 Do not insert a comma between a subject and a predicate
3 Do not overuse commas
52 Semicolons and Colons
Using semicolons
1 Try joining two sentences with a semicolon
2 Use a semicolon with words such as however, on the other hand
3 Use a semicolon with deleted structures
4 Use a semicolon with a complex series
Using colons
1 Use a colon to introduce examples, statements, and lists
2 Use a colon to introduce questions
3 Use a colon to separate titles and subtitles
4 Use a colon to join sentences
5 Avoid overuse and misuse of colons
53 Apostrophes
Marking possession
1 Add an apostrophe plus -s to mark possession in singular nouns
2 Add an apostrophe to mark possession in plural nouns
3 Add an apostrophe plus -s or an apostrophe to only the last word in a noun phrase
Marking contractions and omissions
1 Use an apostrophe to contract a verb form
2 Use an apostrophe to mark plural letters
3 Use an apostrophe to abbreviate a year
4 Use an apostrophe to show colloquial pronunciation
54 Quotation Marks
Marking quotations
1 Direct quotations
2 Indirect quotations
3 Quotations inside quotations
Block quotations
Dialogue
Titles of short works
Special meanings of words and phrases
Irony, sarcasm, and authorial distance
55 Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points
Periods
1 End a sentence with a period
2 Use periods in abbreviations
Question marks
1 End a direct question with a question mark
2 Watch for other uses of question marks
Exclamation points
1 End an emphatic statement with an exclamation point
2 Watch for other uses of exclamation points
56 Special Punctuation
Parentheses
1 Use parentheses to set off words or sentences
2 Watch for special uses of parentheses
Brackets
1 Use brackets for interpolations
2 Use brackets within parentheses
Dashes
1 Use dashes for emphasis
2 Avoid overuse of dashes
Ellipses
1 Use ellipses in quotations with omitted words
2 Use ellipses for other gaps
Slashes
1 Use slashes with alternative words
2 Use slashes when quoting lines of poetry
57 Capitalization
Beginning a sentence
1 Capitalize the opening word in a quoted sentence
2 Capitalize a freestanding sentence in parentheses
3 Decide whether to capitalize following a colon
4 Decide whether to capitalize elements in a series or list
Proper nouns and adjectives
1 Capitalize proper nouns and adjectives
2 Capitalize the pronoun I and the interjection O
Titles of works
58 Italics (Underlining)
Following conventions
1 Italicize titles of long or major works
2 Italicize names of specific vehicles
3 Italicize foreign words and phrases
4 Italicize words, letters, and numbers named as words
Emphasis
59 Hyphens and Word Division
Dividing words
Joining words
1 Check hyphens in compound words
2 Hyphenate familiar compounds correctly
3 Hyphenate compound modifiers correctly
4 Use hyphens to create new compounds
60 Numbers
Spelling out or using numerals
1 Spell out number of one or two words
2 Spell out number that begin a sentence
3 Express related numbers in a consistent form
Special conventions
1 Use numerals when appropriate
2 Spell out numbers when appropriate
Too many numbers