The Writer's Handbook

by Faigley, Lester

• ISBN13: 9780134571331
• ISBN10: 0134571339
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2017-02-07
• Publisher: SCHOOL GROUP

Summary

For courses in Writing.

Applying the fundamentals of good writing to a modern world

The Writer’s Brief Handbook, 6th Edition continues the long celebrated tradition of T he Brief Penguin Handbook with a new name. The text teaches students the traditional qualities of good writing that remain sound even during an era of rapid transformation in multimedia. Based on Faigley’s experiences as a writing teacher, the book emphasizes clarity, brevity, readability, consistency, effective design, accurate documentation, freedom from errors, and a human voice: qualities that are prized more than ever in writing for a digital age.

The 6th Edition continues the book’s tradition of starting by asking, How do students learn best? The answer helps instructors understand the importance of students being able to find the right information when they need it without being overwhelmed by detail. Complicated subjects are broken down into processes to help students understand and employ critical skills in their writing.

The Writer’s Brief Handbook, 6th Edition is also available via Revel™, an interactive learning environment that enables students to read, practice, and study in one continuous experience. Learn more.

Author Biography

Lester Faigley holds the Robert Adger Law and Thos. H. Law Professorship in Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin. He was the founding director of the Division (now Department) of Rhetoric and Writing at Texas in 1993, and he later served as Director of the University Writing Center. He was the 1996 Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication. Faigley has published over thirty books and editions, including Fragments of Rationality (Pittsburgh, 1992), which received the MLA Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Planning, Drafting, and Revising

1. Think as a Writer

2. Plan and Draft

3. Compose Paragraphs

4. Rewrite, Edit, and Proofread

Part 2: Analyzing, Informing, Arguing

5. Read with a Critical Eye

6. View with a Critical Eye

7. Write an Analysis

8. Write an Informative Essay

9. Write a Position Argument

10. Write a Proposal Argument

Part 3: Writing in the Disciplines

11. Write About Literature and the Humanities

12. Write in the Sciences and Social Sciences

13. Compose for the Workplace

Part 4: Multimedia And Online Composing

14. Communicate in Multimedia

15. Design Presentations

16. Compose in Online Genres

Part 5: Planning Research and Finding Sources

17. Plan Your Research

18. Find Sources

19. Evaluate Sources

20. Plan Field Research

Part 6: Incorporating and Documenting Sources

21. Use Sources Effectively and Avoid Plagiarism

22. Write and Revise the Research Project

Part 7: Effective Style and Language

27. Write with Power

28. Write Concisely

29. Write with Emphasis

30. Find the Right Words

31. Write to Be Inclusive

8. Understanding Grammar

32. Grammar Basics

33. Fragments, Run-ons, and Comma Splices

34. Subject-Verb Agreement

35. Verbs

36. Pronouns

37. Modifiers

Part 9: Understanding Punctuation And Mechanics

38. Commas

39. Semicolons and Colons

40. Hyphens

41. Dashes and Parentheses

42. Apostrophes

43. Quotation Marks

44. Other Punctuation Marks

45. Write with Accurate Spelling

46. Capitalization and Italics

47. Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Numbers

Part 10: If English Is Not Your First Language

48. Writing in a Second Language

49. Nouns, Articles, and Prepositions

50. Verbs

51. English Sentence Structure