The Bedford Handbook

by Hacker, Diana; Sommers, Nancy

• ISBN13: 9781457608025
• ISBN10: 1457608022
• Edition: 9th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-10-18
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Based on surveys with more than 1,000 first-year college students, Bedford Handbook fosters good habits for college writers as well as providing extensive support for college reading and writing.

Author Biography

Diana Hacker personally class-tested her handbooks with nearly four thousand students over thirty-five years at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland, where she was a member of the English faculty. Hacker handbooks, built on innovation and on a keen understanding of the challenges facing student writers, are the most widely adopted in America. Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, include The Bedford Handbook, Eighth Edition (2010); A Writer’s Reference, Seventh Edition (2011); Rules for Writers, Sixth Edition (2008); and A Pocket Style Manual, Fifth Edition (2008).

Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches writing and mentors new writing teachers at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.  She led Harvard’s Expository Writing Program for twenty years, directing the first-year writing program and establishing Harvard’s WAC program. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Her articles Revision Strategies of Student and Experienced Writers and Responding to Student Writing are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition.  Her recent work involves a longitudinal study of college writing to understand the role writing plays in undergraduate education. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and is coauthor of Fields of Reading, Ninth Edition (2010).

Table of Contents

LC = LearningCurve

 

Preface for Instructors 
Introduction: Becoming a College Writer 

Part I The Writing Process 
1  Exploring, planning, and drafting [e-Pages]     
Becoming a college writer: Choose topics you care about 
       a  Assessing the writing situation 
       b  Exploring your subject 
       c  Drafting and revising a working thesis  
       d  Drafting a plan 
       e  Drafting an introduction 
       f  Drafting the body 
       g  Drafting a conclusion 
       h  Managing your files   
2  Revising, editing, and reflecting [e-Pages]     
Becoming a college writer: Form a community of readers around you  
       a  Revising with comments  
       b  Approaching global revision in cycles  
       c  Revising and editing sentences; proofreading a final draft 
       d  Student writing: Literacy narrative  
            Writing guide: Literacy narrative 
       e  Preparing a portfolio; reflecting on your writing  
            Writing guide: Reflective opening statement for a portfolio 
3 Building effective paragraphs [e-Pages]     
       a  Focusing on a main point 
       b  Developing the main point 
       c  Choosing a suitable pattern of organization 
       d  Making paragraphs coherent 
       e  Adjusting paragraph length 
Part II  Academic Reading and Writing 
4  Reading and writing critically [e-Pages]     
Becoming a college writer: Engage with the texts you read  
       a  Reading actively 
       b  Outlining a text to identify main ideas 
       c  Summarizing to deepen your understanding 
       d  Analyzing to demonstrate your critical reading 
       e  Sample student essay: Analysis of an article 
           Writing Guide: Analyzing a written text  
5  Reading and writing about images and multimodal texts [e-Pages]      
       a  Reading actively 
       b  Outlining to identify main ideas 
       c  Summarizing to deepen your understanding 
       d  Analyzing to demonstrate your critical reading  
       e  Sample student essay: Analysis of an advertisement 
6  Reading and writing arguments [e-Pages]     
Becoming a college writer
       a  Distinguishing between reasonable and fallacious argumentative tactics 
       b  Distinguishing between legitimate and unfair emotional appeals   
       c  Judging how fairly a writer handles opposing views 
       d  Identifying your purpose and context  
       e  Viewing your audience as a panel of jurors 
       f  Establishing credibility and stating your position 
       g  Backing up your thesis with persuasive lines of argument 
       h  Supporting your claims with specific evidence  
       i  Anticipating objections; countering opposing arguments  
       j  Building common ground 
       k  Sample argument paper 
           Writing Guide: Constructing an argument  
7  Reading and writing about literature [e-Pages]     
       a  Reading actively 
       b  Forming an interpretation 
       c  Drafting a working thesis 
       d  Using evidence from the text; avoiding plot summary 
       e  Observing the conventions of literature papers   
       f  Integrating quotations from the text 
       g  Documenting secondary sources and avoiding plagiarism 
       h  Sample student essays 

           ANALYSIS with a primary source and secondary sources  

Part III Clear Sentences  
8 Prefer active verbs. [e-Pages, LC]
       a  Active versus passive verbs  
       b  Active versus be verbs  
       c  Subject that names the actor  
9 Balance parallel ideas. [e-Pages, LC]
       a  Parallel ideas in a series  
       b  Parallel ideas presented as pairs  
       c  Repetition of function words  
10 Add needed words.     
       a  In compound structures  
       b  that  
       c  In comparisons  
       d  a, an, and the  
11 Untangle mixed constructions.    
       a  Mixed grammar  
       b  Illogical connections  
       c  is when, is where, and reason . . . is because  
12 Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers. [e-Pages]    
       a  Limiting modifiers  
       b  Misplaced phrases and clauses  
       c  Awkwardly placed modifiers  
       d  Split infinitives  
       e  Dangling modifiers  
13 Eliminate distracting shifts. [e-Pages, LC]

       a  Point of view (person, number)  
       b  Verb tense   
       c  Verb mood, voice  
       d  Indirect to direct questions or quotations  
14 Emphasize key ideas. [e-Pages]     
       a  Coordination and subordination  
       b  Choppy sentences  
       c  Ineffective or excessive coordination  
       d  Ineffective subordination  
       e  Excessive subordination  
       f  Other techniques  
15 Provide some variety. [e-Pages]     
       a  Sentence openings  
       b  Sentence structures  
       c  Inverted order  
       d  Question or quotation 

Part IV Word Choice  
16 Tighten wordy sentences. [e-Pages, LC]     
       a  Redundancies  
       b  Unnecessary repetition  
       c  Empty or inflated phrases  
       d  Simplifying the structure  
       e  Reducing clauses to phrases, phrases to single words  
17 Choose appropriate language. [e-Pages, LC]     
       a  Jargon  
       b  Pretentious language, euphemisms, “doublespeak”  
       c  Obsolete and invented words  
       d  Slang, regional expressions, nonstandard English  
       e  Levels of formality  
       f  Sexist language  
       g  Offensive language  
18 Find the exact words. [e-Pages, LC]     
       a  Connotations  
       b  Specific, concrete nouns  
       c  Misused words  
       d  Standard idioms  
       e  Clichés  
       f  Figures of speech  

Part V Grammatical Sentences  
19 Repair sentence fragments. [e-Pages, LC]
       a  Subordinate clauses  
       b  Phrases  
       c  Other fragmented word groups  
       d  Acceptable fragments  
20 Revise run-on sentences. [e-Pages, LC]

       a  Correction with coordinating conjunction  
       b  Correction with semicolon, colon, or dash  
       c  Correction by separating sentences  
       d  Correction by restructuring  
21 Make subjects and verbs agree. [e-Pages, LC] 

       a  Standard subject-verb combinations  
       b  Words between subject and verb 
       c  Subjects joined with and  
       d  Subjects joined with or, nor, either . . . or, or neither . . . nor  
       e  Indefinite pronouns  
       f  Collective nouns  
       g  Subject following verb  
       h  Subject, not subject complement  
       i  who, which, and that  
       j  Words with plural form, singular meaning  
       k  Titles of works, company names, words mentioned as words, gerund phrases  
22 Make pronouns and antecedents agree. [e-Pages, LC]

       a  Singular with singular, plural with plural (indefinite pronouns, generic nouns)  
       b  Collective nouns  
       c  Antecedents joined with and  
       d  Antecedents joined with or, nor, either . . or, or neither . . . nor  
23 Make pronoun references clear. [e-Pages, LC]
       a  Ambiguous or remote reference  
       b  Broad reference of this, that, which, and it  
       c  Implied antecedents  
       d  Indefinite use of they, it, and you  
       e  who for persons, which or that for things  
24 Distinguish between pronouns such as I and me. [e-Pages]     
       a  Subjective case for subjects and subject complements  
       b  Objective case for objects  
       c  Appositives  
       d  Pronoun following than or as  
       e  we or us before a noun  
       f  ubjects and objects of infinitives  
       g  Pronoun modifying a gerund  
25 Distinguish between who and whom. [e-Pages]     
       a  In subordinate clauses  
       b  In questions  
       c  As subjects or objects of infinitives  
26 Choose adjectives and adverbs with care. [e-Pages]     
       a  Adjectives to modify nouns  
       b  Adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs  
       c  good and well, bad and badly  
       d  Comparatives and superlatives  
       e  Double negatives  
27 Choose appropriate verb forms, tenses, and moods in standard English. [e-Pages, LC]
       a  Irregular verbs  
       b  lie and lay  
       c  -s (or -es) endings  
       d  -ed endings  
       e  Omitted verbs  
       f  Verb tense  
       g  Subjunctive mood  

Part VI Multilingual Writers and ESL Challenges   
28 Verbs [e-Pages, LC]      
       a  Appropriate form and tense  
       b  Passive voice  
       c  Base form after a modal  
       d  Negative verb forms  
       e  Verbs in conditional sentences  
       f  Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives  
29 Articles [e-Pages, LC]     
       a  Articles and other noun markers  
       b  When to use the  
       c  When to use a or an  
       d  When not to use a or an  
       e  No articles with general nouns  
       f  Articles with proper nouns  
30 Sentence structure [e-Pages, LC]      
       a  Linking verb between a subject and its complement  
       b  A subject in every sentence  
       c  Repeated nouns or pronouns with the same grammatical function  
       d  Repeated objects, adverbs in adjective clauses  
       e  Mixed constructions with although or because  
       f  Placement of adverbs  
       g  Present participles and past participles  
       h  Order of cumulative adjectives  
31 Prepositions and idiomatic expressions [e-Pages]     
       a  Prepositions showing time and place  
       b  Noun (including -ing form) after a preposition  
       c  Common adjective + preposition combinations  
       d  Common verb + preposition combinations  

Part VII Punctuation  
32 The comma [e-Pages, LC]
       a  Independent clauses joined with and, but, etc.  
       b  Introductory clauses or phrases 
       c  Items in a series  
       d  Coordinate adjectives  
       e  Nonrestrictive elements  
       f  Transitions, parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, contrasts  
       g  Direct address, yes and no, interrogative tags, interjections  
       h  he said, etc.  
       i  Dates, addresses, titles, numbers  
33 Unnecessary commas [e-Pages]     
       a  Between two words, phrases, or subordinate clauses  
       b  Between a verb and its subject or object  
       c  Before the first or after the last item in a series  
       d  Between cumulative adjectives, an adjective and a noun, or an adverb and an adjective  
       e  Before and after restrictive or mildly parenthetical elements  
       f  Before essential concluding adverbial elements  
       g  After a phrase beginning an inverted sentence  
       h  Other misuses  
34 The semicolon [e-Pages]      
       a  Independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction  
       b  Independent clauses linked with a transitional expression  
       c  Series containing internal punctuation  
       d  Misuses  
35 The colon [e-Pages]
       a  Before a list, an appositive, a quotation, or a summary  
       b  Conventional uses 
       c  Misuses  
36 The apostrophe [e-Pages, LC]

       a  Possessive nouns  
       b  Possessive indefinite pronouns  
       c  Contractions  
       d  Not for plural numbers, letters, abbreviations, words as words  
       e  Misuses  
37 Quotation marks [e-Pages]     
       a  Direct quotations  
       b  Quotation within a quotation  
       c  Titles of works  
       d  Words as words  
       e  With other punctuation marks  
       f  Misuses  
38 End punctuation   
       a  The period  
       b  The question mark  
       c  The exclamation point  
39 Other punctuation marks [e-Pages]     
       a  Dash  
       b  Parentheses  
       c  Brackets  
       d  Ellipsis mark  
       e  Slash  

Part VIII Mechanics  
40 Abbreviations [e-Pages]     
       a  Titles with proper names  
       b  Familiar abbreviations  
       c  Conventional abbreviations  
       d  Units of measurement 
       e  Latin abbreviations  
       f  Plural of abbreviations 
       g  Misuses  
41 Numbers [e-Pages]     
       a  Spelling out  
       b  Using numerals  
42 Italics [e-Pages]     
       a  Titles of works  
       b  Names of spacecraft, aircraft, and ships  
       c  Foreign words  
       d  Words as words, letters as letters, and numbers as numbers 
43 Spelling   
       a  Spelling rules  
       b  The dictionary  
       c  Words that sound alike  
       d  Commonly misspelled words  
44 The hyphen [e-Pages]    
       a  Compound words  
       b  Hyphenated adjectives  
       c  Fractions and compound numbers  
       d  With certain prefixes and suffixes  
       e  To avoid ambiguity or to separate awkward double or triple letters  
       f  Word division  
45 Capitalization [e-Pages, LC] 
       a  Proper versus common nouns  
       b  Titles with proper names 
       c  Titles and subtitles of works  
       d  First word of a sentence  
       e  First word of a quoted sentence  
       f  First word after a colon 
       g  Abbreviations  

Part IX Grammar Basics  
46 Parts of speech [e-Pages, LC]
       a  Nouns  
       b  Pronouns    
       c  Verbs   
       d  Adjectives    
       e  Adverbs   
       f  Prepositions   
       g  Conjunctions   
       h  Interjections  
47 Sentence patterns [e-Pages]  
       a  Subjects  
       b  Verbs, objects, and complements  
       c  Pattern variations  
48 Subordinate word groups [e-Pages]      
       a  Prepositional phrases 
       b  Verbal phrases  
       c  Appositive phrases 
       d  Absolute phrases  
       e  Subordinate clauses 
49 Sentence types [e-Pages]     
       a  Sentence structures 
       b  Sentence purposes 

Part X Researched Writing  
50 Conducting research [e-Pages]      
Becoming a college writer: Join a research conversation  
       a  Managing stress by managing the project 
       b  Posing questions worth exploring  
       c  Mapping out a search strategy  
       d  Searching efficiently; mastering a few shortcuts to finding good sources  
       e  Conducting field research, if appropriate 
51 Managing information; taking notes responsibly [e-Pages]    
       a  Maintaining a working bibliography  
       b  Keeping track of source materials  
       c  Avoiding unintentional plagiarism  
52 Evaluating sources [e-Pages]      
       a  Determining how sources might contribute to your writing  
       b  Selecting sources worth your time and attention  
       c  Selecting appropriate versions of online sources   
       d  Reading with an open mind and a critical eye   
       e  Assessing Web sources with care   
       f  Constructing an annotated bibliography  
           Writing Guide: Annotated bibliography  

Writing MLA papers  
53 Supporting a thesis [e-Pages]     
       a  Forming a working thesis  
       b  Organizing ideas with a rough outline  
       c  Using sources to inform and support your argument  
       d  Drafting an introduction for your thesis  
       e  Providing organizational cues  
       f  Drafting the paper in an appropriate voice  
54 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism [e-Pages]      
       a  Understanding how the MLA system works  
       b  Avoiding plagiarism when quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing sources  
55 Integrating sources [e-Pages]      
Becoming a college writer: Provide context for sources    
       a  Using quotations appropriately  
       b  Using signal phrases to integrate sources  
       c  Synthesizing sources   

56 MLA documentation style [e-Pages]      
       a  MLA in-text citations  
       b  MLA list of works cited  
       c  MLA information notes (optional)  
57 MLA manuscript format; sample research paper  
       a  MLA manuscript format  
       b  Sample MLA research paper  
           Writing guide: Research paper  

Writing APA papers  
58 Supporting a thesis [e-Pages]      
       a  Forming a working thesis 
       b  Organizing your ideas 
       c  Using sources to inform and support your argument 
59 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism [e-Pages]      
       a  Using the APA system for citing sources 
       b  Avoiding plagiarism  
60 Integrating sources [e-Pages]   
       a  Using quotations appropriately  
       b  Using signal phrases to integrate sources  
       c  Synthesizing sources    
61 APA documentation style [e-Pages]     
       a  APA in-text citations 
       b  APA list of references 
62 APA manuscript format; sample research paper  
       a  APA manuscript format 
       b  Sample APA research paper 

Writing Chicago papers  
63 Chicago papers [e-Pages]     
       a  Supporting a thesis  
       b  Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism  
       c  Integrating sources  
       d  Chicago documentation style    
       e  Chicago manuscript format  
       f  Sample Chicago research paper  

Part XI Writing in the Disciplines   
64 Learning to write in a discipline 
       a  Finding commonalities across disciplines 
       b  Recognizing the questions that writers in a discipline ask 
       c  Understanding the kinds of evidence that writers in a discipline use 
       d  Becoming familiar with the discipline’s language conventions 
       e  Using a discipline’s preferred citation style 
65 Approaching writing assignments in the disciplines 
       a  Writing in psychology 
       b  Writing in business  
       c  Writing in biology 
       d  Writing in nursing 

APPENDIX: A Document Design Gallery