Revel for The Little, Brown Compact Handbook -- Access Card

Jane E. Aaron has taught writing at New York University and several other schools. She is the author of eight successful and long-lived composition textbooks, including The Little, Brown Handbook and The Little, Brown Compact Handbook.   Michael Greer teaches writing, editing, and publishing in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He also teaches courses in multimedia, online course design, and assessment for the Graduate Certificate in Online Writing Instruction at UA, Little Rock. Michael edits the journal Research in Online Literacy Education and is a founding member of the Global Society of Online Literacy Educators. He publishes and presents on topics including user-centered design, interactive media, and digital publishing. Michael serves as a faculty advisor and author for Gadget Software, where he is helping to design and develop a mobile learning platform. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Preface 




I. THE WRITING PROCESS




1. The Writing Situation 

1.1 Writing situation


1.2 Audience


1.3 Purpose


1.4 Subject


1.5 Genre and medium





2. Invention 

2.1 Journals


2.2 Freewriting


2.3 Brainstorming


2.4 Mind mapping


2.5 Questions





3. Thesis and Organization 

3.1 Thesis


3.2 Organization


Sample informative essay 




4. Drafting 

4.1 First draft


4.2 Sample draft


Sample first draft 




5. Revising 

5.1 Revision plans


5.2 Peer review


5.3 Sample revision


Sample revised draft





6. Editing, Formatting, and Proofreading 

6.1 Editing 

Sample edited paragraph


6.2 Final draft


Sample final draft





7. Paragraphs 

7.1 Flow


7.2 Unity


7.3 Coherence


7.4 Development


7.5 Introductions and conclusions





8. Presenting Writing 

8.1 Academic writing 

Sample paper in MLA format


8.2 Visuals and media 

8.3 Writing online


Sample literacy narrative blog post 

8.4 Portfolios 







II. WRITING IN AND OUT OF COLLEGE




9. Academic Writing 

9.1 Purpose and audience 

9.2 Genre


9.3 Writing with sources 

9.4 Academic language 

9.5 Communication in academic settings 




10. Critical Reading and Writing 

10.1 Techniques of critical reading 

10.2 Summarizing


10.3 Critical response


10.4 Visual analysis


10.5 Writing a critical analysis 

10.6 Sample critical analysis 

Sample critical analysis of a text




11. Argument

11.1 Elements of argument 

11.2 Engaging readers 

11.3 Organization


11.4 Visual arguments 

11.5 Sample argument 

Sample proposal argument 




12. Essay Exams 

12.1 Preparing 

12.2 Planning 

12.3 Writing


Sample essay exam response 




13. Oral Presentations 

13.1 Organization


13.2 Delivery


Sample presentation slides 




14. Public Writing 

14.1 Social media 

14.2 Business letters 

Sample business letter 

14.3 Job applications 

Sample résumés 

14.4 Memos, reports, and proposals
Sample memo and report 

14.5 Community service 

Sample social-media post and newsletter 







III. CLARITY AND STYLE




15. Emphasis 

15.1 Subjects and verbs 

15.2 Sentence beginnings and endings 

15.3 Coordination 

15.4 Subordination 




16. Parallelism 

16.1 Understanding parallelism 

16.2 Equal elements 




17. Variety and Details 

17.1 Sentence length and structure


17.2 Details 




18. Appropriate and Exact Language 

18.1 Standard English 

18.2 Sexist and biased language


18.3 Exact language 




19. Completeness 

19.1 Compounds


19.2 Adding needed words 




20. Conciseness 

20.1 Subjects and verbs 

20.2 Empty words 

20.3 Unnecessary repetition 

20.4 Other strategies 




IV. SENTENCE PARTS AND PATTERNS




Basic Grammar




21. Parts of Speech 

21.1 Nouns, pronouns, and verbs


21.2 Adjectives and adverbs


21.3 Prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections





22. The Sentence 

22.1 Subjects and predicates


22.2 Sentence patterns





23. Phrases and Subordinate Clauses 

23.1 Phrases


23.2 Subordinate clauses





24. Sentence Types 

24.1 Types of sentences 







Verbs




25. Verb Forms 

25.1 Verb forms


25.2 Easily confused verb forms


25.3 Verb endings


25.4 Helping verbs


25.5 Verb + gerund or infinitive


25.6 Verb + particle





26. Verb Tenses

26.1 Verb tenses


26.2 Sequence of tenses





27. Verb Mood

27.1 Subjunctive mood


27.2 Consistency





28. Verb Voice

28.1 Active and passive voice


28.2 Consistency





29. Agreement of Subject and Verb 

29.1 Subject-verb agreement


29.2 Unusual word order


29.3 Subjects joined by conjunctions


29.4 Indefinite and relative pronouns


29.5 Collective and plural nouns








Pronouns




30. Pronoun Case

30.1 Subjective, objective, and possessive cases


30.2 Compound subjects and objects


30.3 Who or whom


30.4 Common questions 




31. Agreement of Pronoun and Antecedent

31.1 Person, number, and gender 

31.2 Antecedents with and, or, or nor


31.3 Indefinite pronouns 

31.4 Collective nouns 




32. Reference of Pronoun to Antecedent

32.1 Clear reference 

32.2 Specific reference 

32.3 Appropriate you







Modifiers




33. Adjectives and Adverbs

33.1 Adjective vs. adverb 

33.2 Comparatives and superlatives 

33.3 Double negatives 

33.4 Participles as adjectives 

33.5 Determiners




34. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

34.1 Misplaced modifiers 

34.2 Dangling modifiers







Sentence Faults




35. Sentence Fragments
35.1 Identifying fragments 

35.2 Correcting fragments 

35.3 Acceptable fragments




36. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
36.1 Identify comma splices 

36.2 Correcting comma splices




37. Mixed Sentences
37.1 Mixed meaning 

37.2 Mixed grammar 

37.3 Repeated elements







V. PUNCTUATION


38. End Punctuation
38.1 Period 

38.2 Question mark 

38.3 Exclamation point




39. Comma
39.1 Uses of the comma 

39.2 Main clauses with conjunctions 

39.3 Introductory elements 

39.4 Nonessential elements 

39.5 Series and coordinate adjectives 

39.6 Quotations 

39.7 Unnecessary commas




40. Semicolon
40.1 Main clauses without conjunctions 

40.2 Main clauses with transitional words 

40.3 Main clauses with commas 

40.4 Unnecessary semicolons




41. Colon

41.1 Uses of the colon




42. Apostrophe

42.1 Possession 

42.2 Contractions and abbreviations




43. Quotation Marks

43.1 Direct quotations 

43.2 Titles of works 

43.3 Words used in a special sense 

43.4 With other punctuation




44. Other Marks

44.1 Dash 

44.2 Parentheses 

44.3 Ellipsis mark 

44.4 Brackets 

44.5 Slash







VI. SPELLING AND MECHANICS




45. Spelling and the Hyphen
45.1 Common spelling problems 

45.2 Spelling rules 

45.3 Hyphenating




46. Capital Letters

46.1 Conventions 

46.2 First word of sentence 

46.3 Titles and subtitles 

46.4 Proper nouns and adjectives




47. Italics or Underlining
47.1 Titles of works 

47.2 Foreign words and emphasis




48. Abbreviations

48.1 Uses of abbreviations 

48.2 Misuses of abbreviations




49. Numbers

49.1 Numerals and words 

49.2 Dates and addresses







VII. RESEARCH WRITING




50. Research Strategy

50.1 Planning 

50.2 Research questions 

50.3 Search strategies 

50.4 Working bibliographies 

Sample annotated bibliography entry




51. Finding Sources
51.1 Search strategies 

51.2 Reference works 

51.3 Books and periodicals 

51.4 Web search strategies 

51.5 Social media 

51.6 Government publications 

51.7 Visuals and media 

51.8 Primary research




52. Working with Sources
52.1 Gathering information 

52.2 Evaluating sources 

52.3 Synthesizing sources 

52.4 Summary, paraphrase, and quotation 

52.5 Integrating sources




53. Avoiding Plagiarism
53.1 Defining plagiarism

53.2 Information you do not need to cite 

53.3 Information you must cite 

53.4 Documenting sources 

53.5 Copyright and permissions




54. Writing the Paper
54.1 Thesis and organization 

54.2 Drafting, revising, editing, formatting







VIII. WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINES




55. Literature

55.1 Literary analysis 

55.2 Writing assignments 

55.3 Tools and language 

55.4 Citing sources 

55.5 Sample literary analysis
“The Healing Power of Mrs. Todd”




56. Writing in Other Disciplines

56.1 Humanities 

56.2 Social sciences 

56.3 Natural and applied sciences




57. MLA Documentation and Format
Indexes to models

57.1 In-text citations

57.2 Works cited 

57.3 Paper format 

57.4 Sample MLA paper
“The Dream of Sustainable Agriculture”




58. APA Documentation and Format

Indexes to models

58.1 In-text citations 

58.2 Reference list 

58.3 Paper format 

58.4 Sample research report 

“Perceptions of Mental Illness”




59. Chicago Documentation
Indexes to models

59.1 Notes and bibliography 

59.2 Models




60. CSE Documentation

Indexes to models

60.1 Name-year citations 

60.2 Numbered text citations 

60.3 Reference list




Glossary of Usage 

Glossary of Terms 

Index 



Culture and Language Guide