The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing

by Harvey, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780872205734
• ISBN10: 0872205738
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co Inc

Summary

Engagingly written and filled with judicious examples, this short, practical, inexpensive handbook combines advice on writing clearly and plainly, structuring a piece of argumentative writing, and avoiding grammatical and other common mechanical errors -- including those in quoting and citing.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
1 Concision	1	(9)
The Pompous Style at School	3	(7)
2 Clarity	10	(12)
1. Choose Verbs over Nominalizations	13	(2)
2. Choose Active Verbs over Linking Verbs	15	(1)
3. Choose the Active Voice over the Passive Voice	16	(4)
Clarity and Honesty	20	(2)
3 Flow	22	(12)
1. Use Consistent Characters	23	(2)
2. Use Pronouns and Other Pointers	25	(2)
3. Use Punch Lines	27	(3)
4. Use Conjunctions and Other Linking Words	30	(4)
4 Punctuation	34	(12)
Commas and Comma Splices	35	(4)
Semicolons	39	(2)
Colons	41	(1)
Dashes	42	(1)
Parentheses	43	(1)
Questions	44	(2)
5 Gracefulness	46	(10)
1. The Historical Present	47	(1)
2. Appositives	48	(2)
3. Parallelism	50	(3)
4. Tricolors	53	(1)
5. Concession	53	(2)
6. Qualification	55	(1)
6 Using Sources	56	(13)
Winning Your Audience's Trust	57	(2)
Weaving Sources into Your Prose	59	(2)
Quoting Effectively	61	(8)
7 Paragraphs	69
The Function of Paragraphs	69	(2)
Opening Sentences	71	(3)
Designing Paragraphs	74
Sections	71
8 Beginnings and Endings	18	(68)
Beginnings	78	(4)
Endings	82	(2)
Last Thought	84	(2)
Appendix: Documentation and Citation Formats	86	(17)
Generic Formats	86	(2)
CMS, MLA, and APA Style Guide	88	(15)
Works Cited	103