The Modern Writer's Handbook

by O'Hare, Frank; Kline, Edward A.

• ISBN13: 9780205193424
• ISBN10: 0205193420
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-01-01
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Summary

This book will help you develop and refine your writing skills with guidance from your instructor. It does not provide you with a foolproof formula for writing an essay for avoiding all errors. No such shortcuts exist. The book offers you options not laws.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
PART I THE PROCESS OF WRITING
Preparation for Writing	2	(8)
Keeping a Journal	2	(1)
Reading and Being a Critical Reader	3	(5)
Checklist: Critical Reading	6	(2)
Writing Letters	8	(1)
Using Observation	8	(2)
The Process of Writing: First Draft	10	(25)
Prewriting	10	(15)
Checklist: Questions on Audience and Tone	24	(1)
Stating a Thesis	25	(4)
Outlining	29	(4)
Writing the First Draft	33	(2)
Checklist: Drafting Strategies	34	(1)
The Process of Writing: Revision	35	(23)
Revision Is Re-Vision	35	(5)
Checklist: Questions to Help you Revise Critically and Analytically	37	(2)
Checklist: Guidelines for Collaboration and Peer Critiques	39	(1)
Sample First Draft	40	(5)
The Final Draft	45	(6)
Components of the Essay	51	(5)
Proofreading and Editing	56	(2)
Checklist: Proofreading and Editing	57	(1)
Writing with a Computer	58	(8)
Overcoming Computer Phobia	59	(2)
Prewriting	61	(1)
Drafting	62	(1)
Revising	62	(1)
Collaboration	63	(1)
Editing and Formatting	64	(1)
Printing	65	(1)
Writing Coherent Paragraphs	66	(31)
Unity	68	(7)
Organizational Strategies	75	(4)
Patterns of Development	79	(7)
Transition	86	(3)
Transitional Paragraphs	89	(8)
Thinking Critically and Writing Arguments	97	(19)
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning	97	(2)
Truth in Reasoning	99	(1)
Writing Arguments	99	(5)
Logical Fallacies	104	(12)
PART II GRAMMAR
The Parts of a Sentence and Parts of Speech	116	(31)
The Parts of a Sentence	116	(9)
Subjects	117	(3)
Predicates	120	(1)
Complements	121	(4)
The Parts of Speech	125	(22)
Nouns	125	(2)
Verbs	127	(5)
Verbals	132	(2)
Pronouns	134	(5)
Adjectives	139	(1)
Adverbs	140	(2)
Prepositions	142	(2)
Conjunctions	144	(3)
Interjections	147	(1)
Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences	147	(11)
Phrases	147	(3)
Prepositional Phrases	147	(1)
Verbal Phrases	148	(2)
Clauses	150	(3)
Independent Clauses	150	(1)
Dependent Clauses and Subordination	151	(2)
Sentences	153	(5)
Types of Sentences	153	(5)
PART III SENTENCE FORM
Fragments	158	(5)
Fragments Lacking a Subject	158	(1)
Fragments Lacking a Predicate	159	(1)
Phrase Fragments	160	(1)
Dependent Clause Fragments	161	(1)
Intentional Fragments	162	(1)
Comma Splices and Fused Sentences	163	(4)
Comma Splices	163	(2)
Fused Sentences	165	(2)
Verb Forms	167	(15)
Principal Parts for Regular and Irregular Verbs	167	(4)
Verb Forms for Tense, Voice, and Mood	171	(8)
Choosing Appropriate Forms for Troublesome Verbs	179	(3)
Subject--Verb Agreement	182	(10)
Compound Subjects	183	(1)
Intervening Phrases or Clauses	184	(1)
Collective Nouns	185	(1)
Nouns Plural in Form but Singular in Meaning	186	(1)
Indefinite and Relative Pronoun Subjects	187	(2)
Titles	189	(1)
Units of Measurement, Time, and Money	189	(1)
Inverted Sentence Order	190	(1)
Agreement with Subject, Not Predicate Nominative	190	(2)
Pronouns: Agreement, Reference, and Usage	192	(9)
Pronoun--Antecedent Agreement	193	(3)
Pronoun Reference	196	(3)
Pronoun Usage	199	(2)
Pronoun Case	201	(8)
Subjective, Possessive, and Objective	201	(8)
Adjectives and Adverbs	209	(8)
Misused Adjective Forms	209	(1)
Misused Adverb Forms	210	(3)
Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives and Adverbs	213	(2)
Double Negatives	215	(2)
Shifts and Mixed Constructions	217	(10)
Shifts	217	(8)
In Number	217	(1)
In Person	218	(1)
In Voice	219	(1)
In Mood	220	(1)
In Verb Tense	221	(1)
Tense with Clauses	222	(1)
Tense with Infinitives	223	(1)
Tense with Participles	224	(1)
Mixed Constructions	225	(2)
Mixed Sentence Structure	225	(2)
Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers	227	(4)
Dangling Modifiers	227	(1)
Misplaced Modifiers	228	(2)
Squinting Modifiers	230	(1)
Sentence Completeness	231	(6)
Faulty Predication	231	(3)
False Comparisons	234	(1)
Incomplete Comparisons	234	(1)
Ambiguous Comparisons	235	(1)
Omitted Comparative Words	235	(2)
English as a Second Language	237	(25)
Nouns, Articles, and Quantifiers	237	(5)
Adjectives and Adverbs	242	(4)
Verb Forms	246	(9)
Verbs in Sentences	255	(7)
PART IV CLEAR SENTENCES
Coordination, Subordination, and Parallelism	262	(10)
Coordination	262	(2)
Subordination	264	(3)
Parallelism	267	(5)
Conciseness versus Wordiness	272	(7)
Wordiness and Repetition	272	(4)
Flowery Language	276	(1)
Directness of Assertion	277	(2)
Variety and Emphasis	279	(15)
Variety of Sentence Structure	280	(7)
Emphasizing Important Elements of a Sentence	287	(7)
PART V DICTION AND STYLE
Appropriate Word Choice	294	(7)
Slang	296	(1)
Colloquialisms	297	(1)
Jargon	298	(1)
Gobbledygook	299	(2)
Sexist and Biased Language	301	(6)
Sexist Language	301	(4)
Biased Language	305	(2)
Exact Word Choice	307	(9)
Specific and General Words	307	(1)
Concrete and Abstract Words	308	(2)
Denotation and Connotation	310	(6)
PART VI PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS
End Punctuation	316	(5)
The Period	316	(2)
The Question Mark	318	(1)
The Exclamation Point	319	(2)
The Comma	321	(18)
Between Coordinate Elements	321	(4)
After Introductory Words, Phrases, and Clauses	325	(1)
Before Certain Terminal Elements	326	(3)
Around Interrupting Elements	329	(5)
Unnecessary Commas	334	(5)
The Semicolon	339	(4)
Between Independent Clauses	339	(2)
Between Items in a Series	341	(1)
Misused Semicolons	341	(2)
The Colon	343	(4)
Before Elements Introduced Formally	343	(1)
Before Formal Appositives	344	(1)
Between Two Independent Clauses	344	(1)
In Salutations and Bibliographical Entries	345	(1)
Misused Colons	345	(2)
The Dash	347	(2)
With an Introductory Series	347	(1)
With Parenthetical Elements	347	(1)
With Terminal Elements	348	(1)
Parentheses	349	(3)
With Parenthetical Comments and Additional Information	349	(2)
With Items in a Series	351	(1)
With Other Punctuation Marks	351	(1)
Brackets	352	(2)
With Inserted Information	352	(1)
With Parentheses	353	(1)
Quotation Marks	354	(7)
For Direct Quotations	355	(1)
Block Quotations	355	(2)
For Quotations within Quotations	357	(1)
For Titles of Short Works	357	(1)
With Other Punctuation Marks	358	(1)
Misused Quotation Marks	359	(2)
Ellipsis Points	361	(1)
Italics or Underlining	362	(3)
For Titles	362	(1)
For Words	363	(2)
The Apostrophe	365	(5)
In Possessive Forms	365	(3)
In Plural Forms	368	(1)
For Omissions	368	(1)
In Contractions	368	(2)
The Hyphen	370	(6)
In Compound Nouns	370	(1)
In Compound Adjectives	370	(2)
In Compound Numbers and Fractions	372	(1)
With Prefixes and Suffixes	372	(1)
For Word Division at the End of a Line	373	(3)
The Slash	376	(1)
Abbreviations	377	(4)
For Titles or Designations	377	(1)
For Acronyms and Organizational Abbreviations	378	(1)
In Dates and Numbers	379	(1)
Avoiding Unconventional Abbreviations	380	(1)
Numbers	381	(4)
Numbers versus Words in Sentences	381	(1)
For Conventional Identifications	382	(3)
Manuscript Form	385	(5)
For All Papers	385	(1)
For Computer-Generated Papers	386	(1)
For Typewritten Papers	387	(1)
For Handwritten Papers	388	(2)
PART VII SPELLING
Spelling Accurately	390	(8)
Doubling the Final Consonant	390	(2)
Dropping the Silent e	392	(1)
Changing the y to i	393	(1)
Choosing between ei and ie	394	(1)
Forming Noun Plurals	394	(4)
Troublesome Words	398	(4)
A List of Troublesome Words	398	(3)
Homonyms	401	(1)
Capitalization	402	(8)
First Words of Sentences or Verses	402	(1)
Titles, Names, and Words Based on Names	403	(3)
Conventional Capitalization	406	(4)
PART VIII THE RESEARCH PAPER
Selecting and Limiting a Topic	410	(5)
Exploring Resources	412	(1)
Exploring Purpose	413	(1)
Exploring Scope	414	(1)
Checklist: Determining Scope	414	(1)
Doing Research	415	(20)
Finding Information	415	(11)
Primary and Secondary Sources of Information	426	(7)
Checklist: Evaluating Primary and Secondary Sources	427	(6)
Compiling a Working Bibliography	433	(2)
Writing the Research Paper	435	(16)
Taking Notes	435	(5)
Prewriting	440	(1)
Formulating a Preliminary Thesis and Constructing a Working Outline	441	(1)
Constructing a Formal Outline	442	(2)
Writing and Revising the Paper	444	(3)
Checklist: Revising Your Research Paper	445	(2)
Avoiding Plagiarism	447	(4)
Checklist: Avoiding Plagiarism	450	(1)
Documenting Sources---MLA Style	451	(15)
Preparing the List of Works Cited	451	(3)
Sample MLA Works Cited Entries	454	(7)
Sample In-Text Parenthetical Citations---MLA Style	461	(4)
Content Notes	465	(1)
Documenting Sources---APA and Other Styles	466	(15)
Preparing the List of References	467	(2)
Sample APA References	469	(6)
Sample In-Text Parenthetical Citations---APA Style	475	(2)
Other Documentation Styles	477	(4)
Sample Research Papers	481	(39)
Sample MLA Paper	481	(17)
Sample APA Paper	498	(22)
PART IX ACADEMIC AND BUSINESS WRITING
Writing in the Humanities and about Literature	520	(16)
Writing about Literature	521	(7)
Checklist: Literary Topics	524	(4)
Sample Literary--Art Analysis	528	(8)
Writing in the Social, Natural, and Applied Sciences	536	(11)
Writing in the Social Sciences	536	(4)
Writing in the Natural Sciences	540	(4)
Writing in the Applied Sciences	544	(3)
Writing Essay Examinations	547	(7)
Preparing for the Examination	547	(1)
Evaluating the Question and Timing Yourself	548	(1)
Deciding on a Response Strategy	549	(1)
Planning and Prewriting	550	(1)
Drafting Your Response	550	(1)
Revising	551	(1)
Sample Essay Examination Response	551	(3)
Checklist: Strategies For Taking Essay Examinations	553	(1)
Writing for Business	554	(14)
The Memo	554	(2)
The Business Letter	556	(7)
Facsimile Transaction	563	(1)
The Resume	564	(4)
Glossary of Usage	568	(17)
Glossary of Grammatical Terms	585	(16)
The User's Self-Help Section	601	(12)
Index	613