The Concise Wadsworth Handbook

pt. 1 Writing Essays 1.Understanding Purpose and Audience 1a.Determining Your Purpose 1b.Identifying Your Audience 2.Planning an Essay 2a.Understanding the Writing Process 2b.Computers and the Writing Process 2c.Understanding Your Assignment 2d.Choosing a Topic 2e.Finding Something to Say 3.Using a Thesis to Shape Your Essay 3a.Understanding Thesis and Support 3b.Developing an Effective Thesis Statement 3c.Revising Your Thesis Statement 3d.Constructing an Informal Outline 4.Drafting and Revising 4a.Writing a Rough Draft 4b.Moving from Rough Draft to Final Draft 4c.Using Specific Revision Strategies 4d.Editing and Proofreading 4e.Preparing a Final Draft 4f.Creating a Writing Portfolio 5.Writing Paragraphs 5a.Writing Unified Paragraphs 5b.Writing Coherent Paragraphs 5c.Writing Well-Developed Paragraphs 5d.Patterns of Paragraph Development Contents note continued: 5e.Writing Special Kinds of Paragraphs 6.Thinking Critically 6a.Distinguishing Fact from Opinion 6b.Evaluating Supporting Evidence 6c.Detecting Bias 6d.Understanding Inductive Reasoning 6e.Understanding Deductive Reasoning 6f.Recognizing Logical Fallacies 7.Writing an Argumentative Essay 7a.Planning an Argumentative Essay 7b.Using Evidence Effectively 7c.Organizing an Argumentative Essay 7d.Writing and Revising an Argumentative Essay 8.Writing Essays about Literature 8a.Reading Literature 8b.Writing about Literature 8c.Sample Essay about Literature (without Sources) 8d.Excerpts from Sample Essay about Literature (with Sources) pt. 2 Developing Strategies for Academic and Professional Success 9.Reading to Write 9a.Previewing a Text 9b.Highlighting a Text 9c.Annotating a Text 9d.Reading Electronic Texts 9e.Writing a Critical Response 10.Writing Essay Exams Contents note continued: 10a.Planning an Essay Exam Answer 10b.Shaping an Essay Exam Answer 10c.Writing and Revising an Essay Exam Answer 11.Writing for the Workplace 11a.Writing Letters of Application 11b.Designing Print Resume's 11c.Designing Electronic Resumes 11d.Writing Memos 11e.Writing Email 12.Designing Effective Documents 12a.Creating an Effective Visual Format 12b.Using Headings 12c.Constructing Lists 12d.Using Visuals 12e.Using Desktop Publishing 13.Writing in a Digital Environment 13a.Considering Audience and Purpose 13b.Writing in a Wired Classroom 13c.Writing Collaboratively Online pt. 3 Sentence Style 14.Building Sentences 14a.Constructing Simple Sentences 14b.Identifying Phrases and Clauses 14c.Building Compound Sentences 14d.Building Complex Sentences 15.Writing Varied Sentences 15a.Combining Choppy Simple Sentences 15b.Breaking Up Strings of Compound Sentences Contents note continued: 15c.Varying Sentence Openings 16.Writing Emphatic Sentences 16a.Conveying Emphasis through Word Order 16b.Conveying Emphasis through Sentence Structure 16c.Conveying Emphasis through Parallelism and Balance 16d.Conveying Emphasis through Repetition 16e.Conveying Emphasis through Active Voice 17.Writing Concise Sentences 17a.Eliminating Wordiness 17b.Eliminating Unnecessary Repetition 17c.Tightening Rambling Sentences 18.Using Parallelism 18a.Using Parallelism Effectively 18b.Revising Faulty Parallelism 19.Choosing Words 19a.Choosing an Appropriate Level of Diction 19b.Choosing the Right Word 19c.Using Figures of Speech 19d.Avoiding Inappropriate Language 19e.Avoiding Offensive Language pt. 4 Understanding Grammar 20.Using the Parts of Speech 20a.Using Nouns 20b.Using Pronouns 20c.Using Verbs 20d.Using Adjectives 20e.Using Adverbs 20f.Using Prepositions Contents note continued: 20g.Using Conjunctions 20h.Using Interjections 21.Using Nouns and Pronouns 21a.Understanding Case 21b.Determining Pronoun Case in Special Situations 21c.Revising Pronoun Reference Errors 22.Using Verbs 22a.Understanding Verb Forms 22b.Understanding Tense 22c.Understanding Mood 22d.Understanding Voice 23.Using Adjectives and Adverbs 23a.Understanding Adjectives and Adverbs 23b.Using Adjectives 23c.Using Adverbs 23d.Using Comparative and Superlative Forms 24.Revising Fragments 24a.Recognizing Fragments 24b.Revising Dependent Clause Fragments 24c.Revising Phrase Fragments 24d.Revising Detached Compounds 24e.Using Fragments Intentionally 25.Revising Run-Ons 25a.Recognizing Comma Splices and Fused Sentences 25b.Correcting Comma Splices and Fused Sentences 26.Revising Agreement Errors 26a.Making Subjects and Verbs Agree 26b.Making Pronouns and Antecedents Agree Contents note continued: 27.Revising Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 27a.Revising Misplaced Modifiers 27b.Revising Intrusive Modifiers 27c.Revising Dangling Modifiers 28.Revising Awkward or Confusing Sentences 28a.Revising Unwarranted Shifts 28b.Revising Mixed Constructions 28c.Revising Faulty Predication 28d.Revising Incomplete or Illogical Comparisons pt. 5 Understanding Punctuation Overview of Sentence Punctuation: Commas, Semicolons, Colons, Dashes, Parentheses (Chart) 29.Using End Punctuation 29a.Using Periods 29b.Using Question Marks 29c.Using Exclamation Points 30.Using Commas 30a.Setting Off Independent Clauses 30b.Setting Off Items in a Series 30c.Setting Off Introductory Elements 30d.Setting Off Nonessential Material 30e.Using Commas in Other Conventional Contexts 30f.Using Commas to Prevent Misreading 30g.Editing Misused Commas 31.Using Semicolons 31a.Separating Independent Clauses Contents note continued: 31b.Separating Independent Clauses Introduced by Transitional Words and Phrases 31c.Separating Items in a Series 31d.Editing Misused Semicolons 32.Using Apostrophes 32a.Forming the Possessive Case 32b.Indicating Omissions in Contractions 32c.Forming Plurals 32d.Editing Misused Apostrophes 33.Using Quotation Marks 33a.Setting Off Quoted Speech or Writing 33b.Setting Off Long Prose Passages and Poetry 33c.Setting Off Titles 33d.Setting Off Words Used in Special Ways 33e.Using Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation 33f.Editing Misused Quotation Marks 34.Using Other Punctuation Marks 34a.Using Colons 34b.Using Dashes 34c.Using Parentheses 34d.Using Brackets 34e.Using Slashes 34f.Using Ellipses pt. 6 Understanding Spelling and Mechanics 35.Improving Spelling 35a.Understanding Spelling and Pronunciation 35b.Learning Spelling Rules 36.Knowing When to Capitalize Contents note continued: 36a.Capitalizing the First Word of a Sentence 36b.Capitalizing Proper Nouns 36c.Capitalizing Important Words in Titles 36d.Capitalizing the Pronoun l, the Interjection O, and Other Single Letters in Special Constructions 36e.Capitalizing Salutations and Closings of Letters 36f.Editing Misused Capitals 37.Using Italics 37a.Setting Off Titles and Names 37b.Setting Off Foreign Words and Phrases 37c.Setting Off Elements Spoken of as Themselves and Terms Being Defined 37d.Using Italics for Emphasis 38.Using Hyphens 38a.Breaking a Word at the End of a Line 38b.Dividing Compound Words 39.Using Abbreviations 39a.Abbreviating Titles 39b.Abbreviating Organization Names and Technical Terms 39c.Abbreviating Dates, Times of Day, and Temperatures 39d.Editing Misused Abbreviations 40.Using Numbers 40a.Spelled-Out Numbers versus Numerals 40b.Conventional Uses of Numerals Contents note continued: pt. 7 Doing Research and Documenting Sources 41.Writing a Research Paper 41a.Moving from Assignment to Topic 41b.Doing Exploratory Research and Formulating a Research Question 41c.Assembling a Working Bibliography 41d.Developing a Tentative Thesis 41e.Doing Focused Research 41f.Taking Notes 41g.Fine-Tuning Your Thesis 41h.Constructing an Outline 41i.Writing a Rough Draft 41j.Revising Your Drafts 41k.Preparing a Final Draft 42.Finding Information 42a.Finding Information in the Library 42b.Finding Information on the Internet 42c.Doing Field Research 43.Evaluating Sources 43a.Evaluating Library Sources 43b.Evaluating Internet Sources 44.Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting Sources 44a.Writing a Summary 44b.Writing a Paraphrase 44c.Quoting Sources 44d.Integrating Source Material into Your Writing 45.Synthesizing Sources 45a.Understanding Synthesis 45b.Planning a Synthesis Contents note continued: 45c.Writing a Synthesis 46.Avoiding Plagiarism 46a.Defining Plagiarism 46b.Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism 46c.Avoiding Intentional Plagiarism 46d.Avoiding Other Kinds of Plagiarism 46e.Revising to Eliminate Plagiarism 47.MLA Documentation Style 47a.Using MLA Style 47b.MLA-Style Manuscript Guidelines 47c.Model MLA-Style Research Paper 48.APA Documentation Style 48a.Using APA Style 48b.APA-Style Manuscript Guidelines 48c.Model APA-Style Research Paper pt. 8 Bilingual and ESL Writers 49.Grammar and Style for ESL Writers 49a.Using Verbs 49b.Using Nouns 49c.Using Pronouns 49d.Using Adjectives and Adverbs 49e.Using Prepositions 49f.Understanding Word Order.