Full Description
The Practical English Handbook includes concise explanations, abundant examples and models, ample practice opportunity, and help with all stages of the writing process. A coding system breaks down topics and facilitates student use. The book's compact size allows it to fit comfortably in the hand, while the durable sewn binding will withstand constant use. The MLA and APA documentation guidelines thoroughly reflect the most recent changes. Students receive the most up-to-date information on MLA documentation with the enclosed tri-fold card providing NEW 2009 MLA Handbook formats.
Contents
A Memo to Writers1. Accuracy and Logica. Reliable sourcesb. Accurate informationc. Sweeping generalizationsd. Exaggeratione. Circular reasoningf. False comparisonsg. Sticking to the pointh. Appeals to prejudicei. Cause and effectj. The either...or fallacy2. Writing and Revisinga. Finding a worthy subjectb. Developing your ideas and planning your paperc. Organizing systematicallyd. Adapting to your audiencee. Using an appropriate tonef. Choosing appropriate tense and numberg. Stating your thesish. Writing an appropriate length paperi. Writing a first draftj. REvising your draftk. Model paperl. Composing and revising on a computer3. Writing Paragraphsa. Writing a topic sentenceb. Unifying paragraphsc. Developing paragraphsd. Trimming, tightening, or dividing paragraphse. Using appropriate development methodsf. Using transitional devicesGrammar4. GrammarThe Parts of Speecha. Nounsb. Pronounsc. Verbsd. Adjectivese. Adverbsf. Conjunctionsg. Prepositionsh. InterjectionsThe Parts of Sentencesi. Simple subjects, complete subjects, compound subjectsj. Simple predicates, complete predicates, compound predicatesk. Complementsl. Phrasesm. Clausesn. Kinds of sentencesSentence Errors5. Sentence Fragments6. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences7. Verb Forms8. Tense and Sequence of Tensesa. Present tenseb. Past tensec. Future tensed. Progressive tensese. Perfect tensesf. Present infinitiveg. Consistency9. Voice10. Subjunctive Mood11. Subject and Verb: Agreementa. Singular verb with a singular subjectb. Plural verb with a plural subjectc. Compound subjectd. Compound subject with or, nor, etc.e. Phrases and clauses between a subject and a verbf. Collective nounsg. Nouns plural in form, singular in meaningh. Indefinite pronounsi. All, some, part, etc.j. There, herek. Agreement with subject, not predicate nominativel. After a relative pronounm. With titles or words used as wordsn. Expressions of time, money, measurement, etc.12. Pronouns and Antecedents: Agreement, Reference, and Usagea. Singular pronoun with a singular antecedentb. Plural pronoun with a plural antecedentc. Compound antecedent with andd. Compound antecedent with or, nor, etc.e. Collective noun as antecedentf. Each, either, etc.g. Vague and ambiguous antecedentsh. Which, who, thati. Pronouns ending in -self, -selves13. Casea. Subjects and subjective complementsb. Direct objects, indirect objects, objects of prepositionsc. Subjects and objects of infinitivesd. Appositivese. After than or asf. Who, Whomg. Apostrophe or of phrase for possessionh. Words preceding a gerund14. Adjectives and Adverbsa. Adverbs modifying verbs, adjectives, or other adverbsb. After linking verbs be, become, seem, etc.c. After a verb and its objectd. Comparative and superlative degreese. Avoiding double comparatives and superlativesf. Absolute concepts and absolute modifiersg. Avoiding double negativesSentence Structure15. Choppy Sentences and Excessive Coordination16. Subordinationa. Subordination of less important ideasb. Avoiding overlapping subordination17. Completenessa. Omission of verbs and prepositionsb. Omission of that18. Comparisonsa. Illogical comparisonsb. Using the word otherc. Awkward and incomplete comparisons19. Consistencya. Avoiding shifts in grammatical formsb. Avoiding faulty predicationc. Avoid constructions is when, is where, or the reason is because20. Position of Modifiersa. Danglingb. Misplacedc. Limitingd. Squinting21. Separation of Elementsa. Subject and verb, parts of a verb phrase, or verb and objectb. A sentence containing a quotationc. Split infinitives22. Parallelisma. With coordinating conjunctionsb. With correlative conjunctionsc. With and who, and which, or and that23. VarietyPunctuation24. Commasa. Between two independent clausesb. In a seriesc. Between coordinate adjectivesd. After introductory phrases and clausese. With nonessential elementsf. With sentence modifiers, conjunctive adverbs, and elements out of orderg. With degrees, titles, dates, places, addressesh. For contrast or emphasisi. With mild interjections and yes or noj. With direct address and salutationsk. With expressions like he said, she remarkedl. With absolute phrasesm. To prevent misreading or to mark an omission25. Unnecessary Commasa. Between subject and verb, verb and object, adjective and word it modifiesb. Before coordinating conjunctionsc. Not with essential clauses, phrases, or appositivesd. After coordinating conjunctionse. Before subordinating conjunctionsf. After the opening phrase of an inverted sentenceg. Before the first or after the last item in a seriesh. Before thani. After like or such asj. With period, question mark, dash, exclamation pointk. Before parentheses26. Semicolonsa. Between independent clauses not connected by a coordinating conjunctionb. To separate independent clausesc. In a series between items that have internal punctuationd. Not between elements that are not grammatically equal27. Colonsa. After formal introduction of a quotationb. After formal introduction of a series of itemsc. After a formal introduction of an appositived. Between two independent clausese. In salutations, times, bibliographical entriesf. Not after linking verbs or prepositions28. Dashes29. Parentheses30. Brackets31. Quotation Marksa. Direct quotations and dialogueb. Quotation within a quotationc. Titles of short worksd. Not with titles of your own paperse. Not for emphasis, slang, irony, humorf. Not with block quotationsg. With other punctuation32. End Punctuationa. Period at end of a sentenceb. Period after abbreviationsc. Ellipsis points for omissiond. Punctuation of titlese. Question mark after direct questionf. No question mark within parentheses or exclamation point for humorg. Exclamation pointMechanics33. Manuscript Forms, Business Letters, and Resumesa. Manuscriptsb. Business letters and applicationsc. Resumes34. Italicsa. Titlesb. Names of ships and trainsc. Foreign wordsd. Words, letters, figurese. Rarely use for emphasisf. Not for titles of your own papers35. Spellinga. Spell-checkingb. Proofreadingc. Distinguishing homonymsd. Spelling strategies36. Hyphenation and Syllabicationa. Compound wordsb. Compound adjectivesc. Compound numbersd. Dividing a word at the end of line37. Apostrophesa. For possessive nouns not ending in sb. For possessive of singular nouns ending in sc. Without s for possessive of plural nouns ending in sd. For possessive of indefinite pronounse. For joint possessionf. For omissions and contractionsg. For acronyms and words being named38. Capital Lettersa. First word of sentenceb. In titlesc. First word of direct quotationsd. Titles with namese. Title of head of nationf. Proper nounsg. Family namesh. The pronoun I and the interjection Oi. Months, days of the week, holidaysj. B.C., A.D, deities, religions, sacred booksk. Specific courses39. Abbreviations and Symbolsa. Days, months, measurement, states, countriesb. Acceptable abbreviationsc. Acceptable symbols40. Numbersa. Spelled outb. Consistencyc. For complete dates, addresses, page and chapter references, percentages, hoursDiction and Style41. Dictiona. Frequently using a dictionaryb. Precise meaningc. Connotationd. Colloquialisms and contractionse. Slangf. Dialectg. Words used as the wrong part of speechh. Idiomsi. Specialized vocabularyj. Building a vocabulary42. Stylea. Concisenessb. Repetitionc. Flowery languaged. Claritye. Triteness and clichesf. Figures of speechLiterature43. Writing About Literaturea. Choosing a subjectKinds of literary papersb. Using a precise paper titlec. Not beginning with broad philosophical statementsd. Appropriate developmente. Paraphrasing and plot summaryf. Original Thinkingg. Not writing about yourself or the reader"h. Providing sufficient evidencei. Using quotationsj. Not moralizingk. Acknowledging sourcesl. Writing about a storym. Writing about a poemModel PaperResearch44. Writing a Research Papera. Choosing a subjectb. Major research toolsc. General reference aidsd. Specialized reference aidse. Evaluating sourcesf. Taking notesg. Quoting and paraphrasing accurately; avoiding plagiarismh. Producing an outlinei. Following a system of documentationj. MLA style of documentationk. Model research paper, MLA stylel. APA style of documentationm. Model research paper, APA styleGlossary of Usage45. Glossary of Exactness and UsageEnglish as a Second Language (ESL)46. English as a Second Language (ESL)a. ESL checklistb. ESL listsGlossary of Terms47. Glossary of Terms"
