Writers' Handbook - 2012 Book Archive

592 Pages·2012·16.54 MB·English

Writers' Handbook
v. 1.0
This is the bookWriters' Handbook(v. 1.0).
This book is licensed under aCreative Commonsby-nc-sa 3.0(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/
3.0/)license. See the license for more details, but that basically means you can share this book as long as you
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same terms.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments................................................................................................................. 1
Dedication............................................................................................................................... 4
Preface to Teachers.............................................................................................................. 5
Preface to Students............................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 1: Writing to Think and Writing to Learn...................................................... 14
Examining the Status Quo...........................................................................................................................15
Posing Productive Questions......................................................................................................................21
Slowing Down Your Thinking.....................................................................................................................27
Withholding Judgment................................................................................................................................31
Chapter 2: Becoming a Critical Reader .......................................................................... 35
Browsing the Gallery of Web-Based Texts.................................................................................................36
Understanding How Critical Thinking Works...........................................................................................47
Reading a Text Carefully and Closely.........................................................................................................50
Chapter 3: Thinking through the Disciplines............................................................... 58
Exploring Academic Disciplines.................................................................................................................59
Seeing and Making Connections across Disciplines.................................................................................64
Articulating Multiple Sides of an Issue......................................................................................................67
Chapter 4: Joining the Conversation............................................................................... 72
Raising the Stakes by Going Public............................................................................................................73
Recognizing the Rhetorical Situation........................................................................................................79
Rhetoric and Argumentation......................................................................................................................88
Developing a Rhetorical Habit of Mind......................................................................................................95
Chapter 5: Planning............................................................................................................ 99
Choosing a Topic........................................................................................................................................100
Freewriting and Mapping..........................................................................................................................104
Developing Your Purposes for Writing....................................................................................................107
Outlining.....................................................................................................................................................112
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Chapter 6: Drafting........................................................................................................... 116
Forming a Thesis........................................................................................................................................117
Testing a Thesis..........................................................................................................................................119
Supporting a Thesis...................................................................................................................................124
Learning from Your Writing.....................................................................................................................129
Learning from Your Reading....................................................................................................................132
Generating Further Questions..................................................................................................................135
Using a Variety of Sentence Formats.......................................................................................................138
Creating Paragraphs..................................................................................................................................142
Chapter 7: Researching.................................................................................................... 153
Organizing Research Plans........................................................................................................................154
Finding Print, Online, and Field Sources.................................................................................................163
Choosing Search Terms.............................................................................................................................166
Conducting Research.................................................................................................................................169
Evaluating Sources.....................................................................................................................................173
Taking Notes...............................................................................................................................................177
Making Ethical and Effective Choices......................................................................................................181
Creating an Annotated Bibliography.......................................................................................................186
Managing Information..............................................................................................................................189
Chapter 8: Revising........................................................................................................... 192
Reviewing for Purpose...............................................................................................................................193
Editing and Proofreading..........................................................................................................................197
Making a Final Overview...........................................................................................................................201
Chapter 9: Designing........................................................................................................ 204
General Text Formatting Considerations................................................................................................205
Creating and Finding Visuals....................................................................................................................213
Incorporating Images, Charts, and Graphs.............................................................................................218
Chapter 10: Publishing..................................................................................................... 223
Choosing a Document Design....................................................................................................................224
Developing Digital Presentations.............................................................................................................231
Presenting Orally.......................................................................................................................................235
Chapter 11: Academic Writing....................................................................................... 240
Meeting College Writing Expectations....................................................................................................241
Using Strategies for Writing College Essays............................................................................................244
Collaborating on Academic Writing Projects..........................................................................................251
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Chapter 12: Professional Writing.................................................................................. 257
Writing Business Letters...........................................................................................................................258
Writing to Apply for Jobs..........................................................................................................................261
Composing Memos.....................................................................................................................................270
E-mail and Online Networking.................................................................................................................273
Chapter 13: Writing on and for the Web...................................................................... 278
Composing in Web-Based Environments.................................................................................................279
Creating Websites......................................................................................................................................282
Collaborating Online..................................................................................................................................285
Creating an E-portfolio..............................................................................................................................291
Using Web Links Effectively......................................................................................................................294
Chapter 14: Public and Personal Writing .................................................................... 298
Writing Newsletters...................................................................................................................................299
Creating Flyers and Brochures.................................................................................................................302
Developing Ads...........................................................................................................................................306
Writing Personal Letters...........................................................................................................................309
Chapter 15: Sentence Building....................................................................................... 312
Incorporating Core Sentence Components (Avoiding Fragments).......................................................313
Choosing Appropriate Verb Tenses.........................................................................................................316
Making Sure Subjects and Verbs Agree...................................................................................................321
Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers, Dangling Modifiers, and Split Infinitives...........................................326
Preventing Mixed Constructions..............................................................................................................333
Connecting Pronouns and Antecedents Clearly.....................................................................................335
Chapter 16: Sentence Style ............................................................................................. 342
Using Varied Sentence Lengths and Styles.............................................................................................343
Writing in Active Voice and Uses of Passive Voice................................................................................350
Using Subordination and Coordination...................................................................................................358
Using Parallelism.......................................................................................................................................363
Avoiding Sexist and Offensive Language.................................................................................................372
Managing Mood..........................................................................................................................................376
Chapter 17: Word Choice................................................................................................. 381
Controlling Wordiness and Writing Concisely........................................................................................382
Using Appropriate Language....................................................................................................................385
Choosing Precise Wording........................................................................................................................389
Using the Dictionary and Thesaurus Effectively....................................................................................397
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Chapter 18: Punctuation.................................................................................................. 403
Using Commas Properly............................................................................................................................404
Avoiding Unnecessary Commas...............................................................................................................415
Eliminating Comma Splices and Fused Sentences..................................................................................418
Writing with Semicolons and Colons.......................................................................................................423
Using Apostrophes.....................................................................................................................................427
Using Quotation Marks..............................................................................................................................432
Incorporating Dashes and Parentheses...................................................................................................438
Choosing Correct End Punctuation..........................................................................................................441
Knowing When to Use Hyphens...............................................................................................................445
Chapter 19: Mechanics..................................................................................................... 449
Mastering Commonly Misspelled Words.................................................................................................450
Using Capital Letters..................................................................................................................................461
Abbreviating Words and Using Acronyms..............................................................................................469
Inserting Numbers into Text....................................................................................................................475
Marking Words with Italics.......................................................................................................................480
Chapter 20: Grammar....................................................................................................... 483
Making Sure Subject and Verbs Agree.....................................................................................................484
Avoiding General Verb Problems.............................................................................................................491
Choosing the Correct Pronoun and Noun Cases.....................................................................................501
Making Pronouns and Antecedents Agree..............................................................................................506
Using Relative Pronouns and Clauses......................................................................................................514
Using Adverbs and Adjectives..................................................................................................................516
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Appendix A: Writing for Nonnative English Speakers.............................................. 524
Parts of Speech...........................................................................................................................................525
English Word Order...................................................................................................................................527
Count and Noncount Nouns......................................................................................................................529
Articles........................................................................................................................................................530
Singulars and Plurals.................................................................................................................................534
Verb Tenses................................................................................................................................................536
Correct Verbs..............................................................................................................................................538
Modal Auxiliary Verbs...............................................................................................................................540
Gerunds and Infinitives.............................................................................................................................543
Forming Participles...................................................................................................................................545
Adverbs and Adjectives.............................................................................................................................546
Irregular Adjectives...................................................................................................................................549
Indefinite Adjectives..................................................................................................................................552
Predicate Adjectives..................................................................................................................................553
Clauses and Phrases...................................................................................................................................554
Relative Pronouns and Clauses.................................................................................................................556
Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases..................................................................................................557
Omitted Words...........................................................................................................................................559
Not and Other Negative Words.................................................................................................................560
Idioms..........................................................................................................................................................562
Spelling Tips...............................................................................................................................................563
American Writing Styles, Argument, and Structure..............................................................................566
Appendix B: A Guide to Research and Documentation............................................. 567
Choosing a Documentation Format..........................................................................................................568
Integrating Sources....................................................................................................................................569
Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing..............................................................................................570
Formatting In-Text References................................................................................................................573
Developing a List of Sources.....................................................................................................................577
Using Other Formats..................................................................................................................................584
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Acknowledgments
I'd like to recognize
• Ellen McPeek Glisan for her extensive work helping to create an early
sketch and draft of significant portions of the book;
• Carol Whitney for her early project management expertise;
• Michael Boezi for his early encouragement of this project and his
consistent enthusiasm for it throughout;
• Jeff Shelstad for taking the time to talk with my department in January
of 2009;
• Eric Frank for his vision for the future of textbooks and higher
education;
• Pam Hersperger for her steady editorial hand and command of the
complicated process of putting a book like this together;
• Claire Hunter for her editorial assistance and encouragement;
• Stacy Claxton, Christina Chimi, Elvis Ramirez, and the copy editors and
formatting experts at Scribe;
• Kelly McDonald, Jen Welchans, Brett Sullivan, and others atUnnamed
Publisherwho have helped to get the word out about this book and the
concepts behind it;
• my colleagues in composition at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community
College, across the commonwealth of Virginia, and around the country;
• my family for their patience with my monomaniacal devotion to this
project; and
• my students, who inspire me every day with their courage and
determination to make a better life for themselves, their families, and
their communities.
The author andUnnamed Publisherwould like to acknowledge the following
reviewers:
• Miranda S. Miller
Gillette College
• Melanie Jenkins
Snow College
• Jon Zonderman
1
Acknowledgments
Naugatuck Valley Community College
University of Bridgeport
• Dr. Robert Soza
Mesa Community College
• Sheila R. Craft
Ivy Tech Community College
• Brett H. Bodily
North Lake College
• Marilyn Wooldridge
Tarrant County College
• Dr. Julia Sexton
Tarrant County Community College—South Campus
• Lindsey Davis
Tarrant County College
• Andrew S. Tomko
Bergen Community College
• Lisa M. Giles
University of New England
• Vickie Melograno
Atlantic Cape Community College
• Dr. L. Lennie Irvin
San Antonio College
• Jeff Landon
John Tyler Community College
• Karyn L. Smith
Housatonic Community College
• Jonathan Purkiss
2
Acknowledgments
Pulaski Technical College
• Jennifer Ravey
Lamar University
• Kristen M. Dechert
Mississippi State University
• Martha Michieka
East Tennessee State University
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