Top
Quick Find Road Map
If you sometimes feel a bit unsure as you write, try using the QUICK FIND ROADMAP to get you back on track to effective writing. The roadmap reflects some of the most common writing errors that frustrate writers. To find the information you need, choose the item that best describes the issue you are facing and then turn to the pages referenced.
WORDS AND SENTENCES
Write complete sentences instead of fragments.
Join independent clauses correctly by avoiding comma splices and run-ons.
Match grammatical forms within sentences to avoid shifts and keep sentences clear.
Make sentences with introductory phrases and with modifiers clear.
Know when to use its or it's.
GRAMMAR
Match subjects and verbs in number and person.
Match pronouns to the word or words they refer to.
Use correct verb endings.
Choose verbs that correctly express time in tense and form.
Describe relationships with the correct prepositions for time and place.
PUNCTUATION
Use commas after introductory elements.
Use commas in compound sentences.
Use commas to set off nonrestrictive elements.
Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements.
Use commas with a series of three or more elements that share the same grammatical form.
Use apostrophes correctly.
STYLE AND WORD CHOICE
Choose the best words for your meaning.
Make your writing to the point and concise.
| Thinking, Reading, and Writing Critically | |
| Thinking Like a Writer | |
| Why writing is important | |
| Thinking like a writer | |
| Situation, audience, and purpose | |
| Critical thinking | |
| Steps in critical thinking | |
| Reading Critically | |
| Critical reading | |
| Steps in critical reading | |
| Determining literal meaning | |
| Making inferences | |
| Making evaluations | |
| Close and active reading | |
| Systematic reading | |
| Connecting critical reading to writing | |
| Distinguishing Between Summary and Synthesis | |
| Summarizing | |
| Synthesizing | |
| Synthesizing multiple sources | |
| Synthesizing one source | |
| Viewing Images Critically | |
| Viewing with a critical eye | |
| Writing and Technology | |
| Computers and writers | |
| Creating documents | |
| Finding resources | |
| Managing your work | |
| Communicating with others | |
| Computers and forms of writing | |
| Writing Process | |
| The writing process | |
| The purposes for writing | |
| Informing a reader | |
| Persuading a reader | |
| The writerrsquo;s audience | |
| Writing for a peer-response group | |
| Writing for an instructor | |
| Writing for a supervisor | |
| The writerrsquo;s tone | |
| The writing topic | |
| Selecting your own topic | |
| Narrowing or broadening an assigned topic | |
| The writing situation | |
| Finding ideas | |
| Keeping a journal | |
| Free writing | |
| Chatting | |
| Brainstorming | |
| Asking and answering questions | |
| Clustering | |
| Thesis statements | |
| Outlining | |
| Drafting | |
| Writing a first draft | |
| Overcoming writerrsquo;s block | |
| Revising, Editing, and Proofreading | |
| Revising strategies | |
| Using my thesis statement and essay title to revise | |
| Editing strategies | |
| Proofreading strategies | |
| Composing Paragraphs | |
| Understanding paragraphs | |
| Introductory paragraphs | |
| Topic sentences | |
| Starting with a topic sentence | |
| Ending with a topic sentence | |
| Implying a topic sentence | |
| Supporting details | |
| Coherent paragraphs | |
| Using transitional expressions | |
| Using deliberate repetition and parallelism | |
| Body paragraphs | |
| Composing a narration | |
| Composing a description | |
| Describing a process | |
| Composing an example or illustration | |
| Composing a definition | |
| Composing a comparison and contrast | |
| Composing an analysis | |
| Composing a classification | |
| Composing an analogy | |
| Explaining cause and effect | |
| Concluding paragraphs | |
| Writing to Inform | |
| Informative essays | |
| Studentrsquo;s informative essay | |
| Writing To Argue | |
| Understanding argument | |
| Choosing a topic and developing a claim | |
| Supporting an argument | |
| Types of appeals | |
| Considering the evidence | |
| Structuring an argument | |
| Logical fallacies | |
| Revising argument essays | |
| Studentrsquo;s argument essay | |
| An Overview of Writing Across the Curriculum | |
| Writing across the curriculum | |
| Writing about the humanities and literature | |
| What the humanities are | |
| Types of sources | |
| Types of papers | |
| Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved. |
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