Scott Foresman Handbook for Writers (Book Alone)

by Ruszkiewicz, John E.; Friend, Christy E.; Hairston, Maxine E.

• ISBN13: 9780132370035
• ISBN10: 0132370034
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

The best-sellingScott Foresman Handbookhas proven again with this edition that it is still the most comprehensive and innovative writing handbook available. Examples of real writers at work gives this book human expression and reinforces key points about writing, style, and mechanics. Readers usingThe Scott Foresman Handbookwill know what good writing means today and what they will need to know in the future.It incorporates the latest theories and technologies, including civic literacy, visual rhetoric, online research, and service learning and other emerging trends. Topics include the writing process (finding and exploring a topic, focus and organization, drafting and revising, editing and proofreading, and evaluation); writing for academic and public forums; style (crafting opening and closing paragraphs, what kinds of language to use, effective sentences, and stylish sentences); visual design (documents, web sites); grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; research and writing; and documentation.An excellent reference resource for anyone needing to learn effective writing skills, whether for college, business, or other areas.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
PART I Writing Processes	1	(76)
What Does Writing Involve?	2	(11)
Why write?	2	(1)
What does it take to write well?	3	(1)
How does writing work?	4	(2)
How do you define a writing situation?	6	(1)
How do you define your purpose(s) for writing?	6	(2)
How do you write for an audience?	8	(2)
How do you present yourself to readers?	10	(3)
How Do You Find and Explore a Topic?	13	(14)
How do you find a topic?	13	(3)
How do you refine your topic?	16	(4)
How do you explore and develop a topic?	20	(5)
Freewriting	20	(5)
How do you write a topic proposal?	25	(2)
A Topic Proposal	25	(2)
How Do You Focus and Organize a Writing Project?	27	(19)
How do you craft a thesis statement?	27	(4)
An Opening Paragraph with Thesis Statement	30	(1)
How do you avoid plagiarism?	31	(1)
How do you organize a writing project?	32	(8)
How do you outline a paper?	40	(4)
How do you choose a title?	44	(2)
How Do You Write a Draft?	46	(10)
How do you start a draft?	46	(2)
How do you keep a draft on track?	48	(3)
A Drafting Journal	50	(1)
When should you take a break?	51	(1)
How do you know when you have a solid draft?	52	(1)
How do you work on a draft collaboratively?	53	(3)
How Do You Revise, Edit, and Proofread?	56	(21)
What does revising involve?	57	(4)
What does editing involve?	61	(4)
Edited Sentences from Student Papers	64	(1)
What does proofreading involve?	65	(1)
How do you help another writer revise, edit, and proofread?	66	(11)
A Draft with Peer Comments	68	(9)
PART II Writing for Academic and Public Forums	77	(106)
How Do You Write in College?	78	(20)
How do you write a successful academic paper?	78	(8)
Writing an Annotated Bibliography	80	(6)
How do you write on essay examinations?	86	(8)
Framing a Successful Examination Essay	93	(1)
How do you write for electronic forums in a college course?	94	(1)
How do you write a personal statement?	95	(3)
A Personal Statement	97	(1)
How Do You Write for the Public?	98	(10)
How do you write outside the classroom?	98	(6)
Shaping an Argument for a Public Audience	101	(3)
How do you write in service-learning courses?	104	(4)
Collaboration and Service Learning	107	(1)
How Do You Read and Think Critically?	108	(18)
How do you read to understand complex material?	108	(7)
How do you think critically about your reading?	115	(5)
How do you write a response paper?	120	(6)
Responding to a Reading	122	(4)
How Do Written and Visual Arguments Work?	126	(19)
What is an argument?	126	(6)
How do you critically interpret visual arguments?	132	(7)
Analyzing an Advertisement	136	(3)
How can you recognize and avoid fallacies?	139	(6)
How Do You Write Powerful Arguments?	145	(18)
How do you construct a solid written argument?	145	(5)
How do you write an argument that appeals to readers?	150	(4)
How do you effectively address other viewpoints?	154	(9)
An Annotated Argument Paper	156	(7)
How Do You Write About Literature?	163	(20)
What elements should you look for when you read literature?	164	(3)
What approaches can you use to write about literature?	167	(5)
What sources can you use in writing essays about literature?	172	(2)
How do you develop a literary project?	174	(9)
A Literary Analysis Paper	179	(4)
PART III Style	183	(134)
What Makes Paragraphs Work?	184	(15)
How do you construct unified paragraphs?	184	(4)
How can you organize paragraphs?	188	(5)
How can you create polished paragraphs?	193	(2)
How can you improve paragraph appearance?	195	(4)
How Do You Craft Opening and Closing Paragraphs?	199	(8)
What makes an opening paragraph effective?	199	(4)
What makes a closing paragraph effective?	203	(4)
How Do You Manage Transitions?	207	(9)
How do you spot problems with transitions?	207	(3)
How can you strengthen transitions?	210	(6)
What Kinds of Language Can You Use?	216	(23)
How formal should your writing be?	216	(4)
How emotionally charged should your language be?	220	(5)
How do you choose reader-friendly language?	225	(4)
How do you avoid stereotyped language?	229	(6)
How do you handle language varieties?	235	(4)
How Do You Construct Effective Sentences?	239	(49)
How are sentences structured?	239	(7)
What do modifiers do?	246	(5)
What are phrases?	251	(8)
What do clauses do in sentences?	259	(5)
What types of sentences can you write?	264	(2)
How does coordination build sentences?	266	(6)
How does subordination build sentences?	272	(4)
How does parallelism work?	276	(6)
How do you craft balanced sentences?	282	(1)
How do you craft cumulative sentences?	283	(5)
How Do You Write Stylish Sentences?	288	(29)
What are agent/action sentences?	289	(6)
How can you achieve clarity?	295	(4)
How can you write more economically?	299	(9)
How can you achieve sentence variety?	308	(4)
How do you use figurative language?	312	(2)
How do you develop and hone your writing style?	314	(3)
PART IV Design and Shape of Writing	317	(70)
How Do You Design Documents?	318	(26)
How do you design documents with a computer?	318	(2)
How do you lay out pages?	320	(9)
How do you choose type?	329	(2)
How do you use charts, tables, and graphs?	331	(6)
How do you use images and photographs?	337	(5)
How do you work with color?	342	(2)
How Do You Create Professional and Business Documents?	344	(24)
Email	345	(2)
Business letters	347	(3)
Letters of application	350	(2)
Resumes	352	(4)
Professional memos	356	(3)
Messages to online forums	359	(3)
Newsletters	362	(2)
Brochures	364	(4)
How Do You Design an Oral Presentation?	368	(10)
What are the basics of an effective oral presentation?	368	(5)
How do you manage the technology of a presentation?	373	(5)
How Do You Design a Web Site?	378	(9)
How do you structure your Web project?	378	(3)
How do you design your pages?	381	(6)
PART V Grammar	387	(144)
Questions About Subject-Verb Agreement?	388	(14)
Agreement: Is the subject singular or plural?	388	(5)
Agreement: Is the subject an indefinite pronoun?	393	(2)
Agreement: Is the subject a collective noun?	395	(3)
Agreement: Is the subject separated from its verb?	398	(1)
Agreement: Is the subject hard to identify?	399	(3)
Questions About Verb Tense, Voice, and Mood?	402	(17)
How do you choose verb tenses?	402	(5)
How do regular and irregular verbs differ?	407	(5)
Problems with tense in parallel constructions?	412	(1)
Questions about tense consistency in longer passages?	413	(2)
Do you understand active and passive voice?	415	(1)
What is the subjunctive mood and how do you use it?	416	(3)
Questions About Verbals?	419	(7)
What are verbals?	419	(3)
How do verbals cause sentence fragments?	422	(1)
What is a split infinitive?	423	(3)
Questions About Plurals, Possessives, and Articles?	426	(8)
How are nouns made plural?	426	(3)
Questions about possessives?	429	(3)
Should it be a or an?	432	(2)
Questions About Pronoun Reference?	434	(6)
Do pronouns lack antecedents?	434	(1)
Are pronoun references unclear?	435	(2)
Questions about this, that, which, and it?	437	(3)
Questions About Pronoun Agreement?	440	(9)
Do antecedents and pronouns agree in number?	440	(2)
Questions about agreement with indefinite pronouns?	442	(4)
Treat collective nouns as singular or plural?	446	(1)
Questions about agreement involving or, nor, either . . . or, neither . . . nor?	447	(2)
Questions About Pronoun Case?	449	(10)
Questions about pronouns in subjective and objective case?	449	(6)
Difficulties with possessive pronouns?	455	(1)
Confused by its/it's and whose/who's?	456	(3)
Questions About Pronoun Choices?	459	(10)
When to use I, we, you, or one?	459	(3)
Do your pronouns treat both sexes fairly?	462	(2)
Questions about that, which, and who?	464	(2)
Questions about reflexive and intensive pronouns?	466	(3)
Questions About Modifiers?	469	(17)
What's the problem with misplaced or dangling modifiers?	469	(2)
Where should adjectives go?	471	(2)
How do you manage predicate adjectives?	473	(2)
Questions about absolute adjectives?	475	(1)
Questions about adverb form?	476	(1)
Where should adverbs go?	477	(2)
What's wrong with double negatives?	479	(2)
How do comparatives and superlatives differ?	481	(3)
Questions about nonessential and essential modifiers?	484	(2)
Is English a Second Language for You (ESL)?	486	(10)
Common problem areas for ESL writers	487	(6)
State Your Thesis Early	487	(4)
Don't Repeat Points; Develop Them	491	(1)
Cite Sources Carefully	492	(1)
Finding other ESL resources	493	(3)
Questions About Verbs (ESL)?	496	(20)
Which verb tense should you use?	496	(8)
Punctuate Sentences Carefully	504	(1)
How do you use transitive and intransitive verbs?	504	(2)
How do you use two-word and three-word verbs?	506	(3)
Which modal should you use?	509	(7)
Questions About Gerunds, Infinitives, Articles, or Number (ESL)?	516	(15)
How do you use gerunds and infinitives?	516	(6)
Questions about articles and number agreement?	522	(9)
PART VI Punctuation and Mechanics	531	(78)
How Do You Punctuate Sentence Endings?	532	(6)
When do you use periods?	532	(1)
When do you use question marks?	533	(2)
When should you use exclamation marks?	535	(3)
Problems with Sentence Boundaries: Fragments, Comma Splices, and Run-ons?	538	(9)
How do you identify and fix sentence fragments?	538	(3)
When are fragments okay?	541	(1)
How can you avoid comma splices?	542	(3)
How can you fix run-on sentences?	545	(2)
How Do You Use Commas?	547	(15)
When are commas needed to separate items in a sentence?	547	(4)
When should commas enclose words and phrases?	551	(2)
When are commas needed to connect parts of a sentence?	553	(2)
Where are commas not necessary or wrong?	555	(4)
What special uses do commas have?	559	(3)
Questions About Semicolons and Colons?	562	(8)
When do you use semicolons?	562	(4)
When do you use colons?	566	(4)
How Do You Use Quotation Marks and Ellipses?	570	(8)
When do you use quotation marks?	570	(4)
When do you use ellipses?	574	(4)
How Do Parentheses and Brackets Differ?	578	(4)
When do you use parentheses?	578	(2)
When do you use brackets?	580	(2)
Questions About Dashes, Hyphens, and Slashes?	582	(8)
When do you use an em dash?	582	(2)
When do you use an en dash?	584	(1)
When do you use hyphens?	585	(3)
When do you use slashes?	588	(2)
Questions About Italics and Capitalization?	590	(9)
When do you use italics?	590	(2)
When do you capitalize?	592	(7)
Questions About Abbreviations and Numbers?	599	(10)
How do you handle abbreviations?	599	(6)
How do you handle numbers?	605	(4)
PART VII Research and Writing	609	(62)
How Do You Design a Research Project?	610	(8)
How do you claim a topic?	610	(3)
How do you plan a project?	613	(3)
How do you schedule a project?	616	(2)
How Do You Find Information?	618	(18)
How do you use a library?	618	(4)
How do you find research materials?	622	(7)
How do you search by keywords?	629	(3)
How do you do field research?	632	(4)
How Do You Evaluate Sources?	636	(9)
How do you evaluate research materials?	636	(6)
How do you position research sources?	642	(3)
How Do You Use Sources Responsibly?	645	(11)
How do you annotate research materials?	645	(3)
Should you summarize or paraphrase research materials?	648	(5)
Do you understand academic responsibility?	653	(3)
How Do You Introduce and Quote from Sources?	656	(7)
How do you introduce material from borrowed sources?	656	(3)
How do you modify direct quotations?	659	(2)
What conventions govern direct quotations?	661	(2)
How Do You Produce a Final Draft?	663	(8)
Is the organization solid?	663	(1)
Is the format correct?	664	(4)
Are the details correct?	668	(3)
PART VIII Documentation	671	(154)
How Do You Document a Research Paper?	672	(14)
What are documentation styles?	672	(1)
How do you document a research project?	673	(3)
Where do you find information to document a source?	676	(10)
How Do You Use MLA Documentation?	686	(64)
Step 1: In the body of your paper, place a note for each source you use	687	(8)
Step 2: On a separate page at the end of your project, list alphabetically every source you have cited	695	(37)
Sample research paper---MLA	732	(18)
How Do You Use APA Documentation?	750	(48)
Step 1: In the body of your paper, place a note for each source you use	751	(5)
Step 2: On a separate page at the end of your project, list alphabetically every source you have cited	756	(20)
Sample empirical research paper---APA	776	(22)
How Do You Use CMS Documentation?	798	(27)
How does CMS documentation work?	798	(1)
How do you use CMS footnotes and endnotes?	799	(2)
How do you format CMS footnotes and endnotes?	801	(11)
How do you format CMS bibliographies?	812	(1)
Sample literary analysis---CMS	813	(12)
Glossary of Terms and Usage	825	(26)
Credits	851	(6)
Index	857