Handbook for Writers

Table of Contents

• Licensing Information

• Preface

• Chapter 1: Writing to Think and Writing to Learn

  • Examining the Status Quo
  • Posing Productive Questions
  • Slowing Down Your Thinking
  • Withholding Judgment

• Chapter 2: Becoming a Critical Reader

  • Browsing the Gallery of Web-Based Texts
  • Understanding How Critical Thinking Works
  • Reading a Text Carefully and Closely

• Chapter 3: Thinking through the Disciplines

  • Exploring Academic Disciplines
  • Seeing and Making Connections across Disciplines
  • Articulating Multiple Sides of an Issue

• Chapter 4: Joining the Conversation

  • Raising the Stakes by Going Public
  • Recognizing the Rhetorical Situation
  • Rhetoric and Argumentation
  • Developing a Rhetorical Habit of Mind

• Chapter 5: Planning

  • Choosing a Topic
  • Freewriting and Mapping
  • Developing Your Purposes for Writing
  • Outlining

• Chapter 6: Drafting

  • Forming a Thesis
  • Testing a Thesis
  • Supporting a Thesis
  • Learning from Your Writing
  • Learning from Your Reading
  • Generating Further Questions
  • Using a Variety of Sentence Formats
  • Creating Paragraphs

• Chapter 7: Researching

  • Organizing Research Plans
  • Finding Print, Online, and Field Sources
  • Choosing Search Terms
  • Conducting Research
  • Evaluating Sources
  • Taking Notes
  • Making Ethical and Effective Choices
  • Creating an Annotated Bibliography
  • Managing Information

• Chapter 8: Revising

  • Reviewing for Purpose
  • Editing and Proofreading
  • Making a Final Overview

• Chapter 9: Designing

  • General Text Formatting Considerations
  • Creating and Finding Visuals
  • Incorporating Images, Charts, and Graphs

• Chapter 10: Publishing

  • Choosing a Document Design
  • Developing Digital Presentations
  • Presenting Orally

• Chapter 11: Academic Writing

  • Meeting College Writing Expectations
  • Using Strategies for Writing College Essays
  • Collaborating on Academic Writing Projects

• Chapter 12: Professional Writing

  • Writing Business Letters
  • Writing to Apply for Jobs
  • Composing Memos
  • E-mail and Online Networking

• Chapter 13: Writing on and for the Web

  • Composing in Web-Based Environments
  • Creating Websites
  • Collaborating Online
  • Creating an E-portfolio
  • Using Web Links Effectively

• Chapter 14: Public and Personal Writing

  • Writing Newsletters
  • Creating Flyers and Brochures
  • Developing Ads
  • Writing Personal Letters

• Chapter 15: Sentence Building

  • Incorporating Core Sentence Components (Avoiding Fragments)
  • Choosing Appropriate Verb Tenses
  • Making Sure Subjects and Verbs Agree
  • Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers, Dangling Modifiers, and Split Infinitives
  • Preventing Mixed Constructions
  • Connecting Pronouns and Antecedents Clearly

• Chapter 16: Sentence Style

  • Using Varied Sentence Lengths and Styles
  • Writing in Active Voice and Uses of Passive Voice
  • Using Subordination and Coordination
  • Using Parallelism
  • Avoiding Sexist and Offensive Language
  • Managing Mood

• Chapter 17: Word Choice

  • Controlling Wordiness and Writing Concisely
  • Using Appropriate Language
  • Choosing Precise Wording
  • Using the Dictionary and Thesaurus Effectively

• Chapter 18: Punctuation

  • Using Commas Properly
  • Avoiding Unnecessary Commas
  • Eliminating Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
  • Writing with Semicolons and Colons
  • Using Apostrophes
  • Using Quotation Marks
  • Incorporating Dashes and Parentheses
  • Choosing Correct End Punctuation
  • Knowing When to Use Hyphens

• Chapter 19: Mechanics

  • Mastering Commonly Misspelled Words
  • Using Capital Letters
  • Abbreviating Words and Using Acronyms
  • Inserting Numbers into Text
  • Marking Words with Italics

• Chapter 20: Grammar

  • Making Sure Subject and Verbs Agree
  • Avoiding General Verb Problems
  • Choosing the Correct Pronoun and Noun Cases
  • Making Pronouns and Antecedents Agree
  • Using Relative Pronouns and Clauses
  • Using Adverbs and Adjectives

• Appendix A: Writing for Nonnative English Speakers

  • Appendix Introduction
  • Parts of Speech
  • English Word Order
  • Count and Noncount Nouns
  • Articles
  • Singulars and Plurals
  • Verb Tenses
  • Correct Verbs
  • Modal Auxiliary Verbs
  • Gerunds and Infinitives
  • Forming Participles
  • Adverbs and Adjectives
  • Irregular Adjectives
  • Indefinite Adjectives
  • Predicate Adjectives
  • Clauses and Phrases
  • Relative Pronouns and Clauses
  • Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases
  • Omitted Words
  • Not and Other Negative Words
  • Idioms
  • Spelling Tips
  • American Writing Styles, Argument, and Structure

• Appendix B: A Guide to Research and Documentation

  • Appendix Introduction
  • Choosing a Documentation Format
  • Integrating Sources
  • Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
  • Formatting In-Text References
  • Developing a List of Sources
  • Using Other Formats