The Brief Penguin Handbook

PART 1 PLANNING, DRAFTING, AND REVISING 1 Think as a Writer1a Think about the process of communication1b Think about how to persuade others1c Think about your audience1d Think about your credibility1e Think about your purpose2 Plan and Draft2a Think about the expectations of college readers2b Establish your goals2c Explore your topic2d Write a working thesis2e Plan a strategy2f Compose a draft2g Write as a member of a team3 Compose Paragraphs 3a Focus your paragraphs3b Organize your paragraphs3c Make your paragraphs coherent3d Consider paragraph length3e Link across paragraphs3f Write effective beginning and ending paragraphs4 Rewrite, Edit, and Proofread 4a Switch from writer to reader4b Learn strategies for rewriting4c Respond to other writers’ drafts4d Edit for particular goals4e Proofread carefully4f Learn to edit the writing of othersPART 2 WRITING FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES5 Read and View with a Critical Eye5a Become a critical reader5b Read actively5c Recognize verbal fallacies5d Become a critical viewer5e Recognize visual fallacies6 Write to Analyze6a Understand the goal of a rhetorical analysis6b Analyze the context and the text6c Organize and write a rhetorical analysis6d Sample rhetorical analysis6e Analyze images and other visual texts7 Write to Reflect 7a Find a reflective topic7b Identify a focus7c Organize and write a reflection7d Sample reflective essay8 Write to Inform 8a Find an informative topic8b Narrow your topic and write a thesis8c Organize and write an informative essay8d Sample informative essay9 Write Arguments 9a Position arguments and proposal arguments9b Find an arguable topic9c Make an arguable claim9d Organize and write a position argument9e Sample position argument9f Organize and write a proposal argument9g Sample proposal argumentsPART 3 WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINES10 Learn to Write in Academic Disciplines10a Become an academic writer10b What counts as evidence in the disciplines?11 Write in Specific Genres11a Write an essay examination11b Write an observation11c Write a case study11d Write a lab report in the sciences11e Write a letter of application11f Write a résumé12 Write about Literature12a Become a critical reader of literature12b Develop an interpretation12c Write a literary analysis12d Sample literary analysisPART 4 DESIGNING AND PRESENTING13 Communicate with Words, Images, and Graphics13a Write in multimedia13b Think about verbal and visual relationships13c Know where images and graphics work best13d Know where words work best14 Design for Print and the Screen14a Start with your readers14b Design pages14c Choose type14d Compose images14e Edit images14f Create tables, charts, and graphs14g Design a Web site15 Design Presentations 15a Plan a presentation15b Design visuals for a presentation15c Deliver an effective presentationPART 5 RESEARCHING16 Plan Your Research16a Analyze the research task16b Find a topic16c Determine what kind of research you need16d Draft a working thesis16e Start a working bibliography17 Find and Evaluate Sources in Databases17a Know the strengths of database sources17b Find information in databases17c Construct effective database searches17d Evaluate database sources17e Locate elements of a citation in database sources18 Find and Evaluate Sources on the Web18a Know the strengths and weaknesses of Web sources18b Find reliable Web sources18c Construct effective Web searches18d Find visual sources online18e Evaluate Web sources18f Locate elements of a citation in Web sources19 Find and Evaluate Print Sources19a Know the strengths of print sources19b Find books19c Find journal articles19d Evaluate print sources19e Locate elements of a citation in print sources20 Plan Field Research20a Know what you can obtain from field research20b Conduct interviews20c Administer surveys20d Make observations21 Incorporate Sources and Avoid Plagiarism21a Understand the purposes of sources21b Incorporate sources21c Avoid plagiarism21d Quote sources without plagiarizing21e Summarize and paraphrase sources without plagiarizing22 Write and Revise the Research Project22a Revisit your research22b Plan your organization22c Write a draft22d Select and introduce quotations22e Review your draft22f Revise, revise, revisePART 6 DOCUMENTINGFive Steps for Documenting Sources1 Which documentation style do I use?2 What kind of source am I using?3 When do I cite sources?4 How do I cite a source in my paper?5 How do I cite sources at the end of my paper?23 MLA Documentation23a In-text citations in MLA style23b Books in MLA-style works cited23c Journals and magazines23d Newspapers23e Government documents, pamphlets, dissertations, and letters23f Library database publications23g Online publications23h CD-ROM, software, and unedited online sources23i Visual sources23j Multimedia sources23k Informational notes23l Sample research paper with MLA documentation24 APA Documentation24a In-text citations in APA style24b Books and nonperiodical sources in the APA-style references list24c Periodical sources24d Online sources24e Visual, computer, and multimedia sources24f Sample paper with APA documentation25 CMS Documentation25a Books and nonperiodical sources in CMS-style citations25b Periodical sources25c Online and computer sources25d Multimedia sources25e Sample pages with CMS documentation26 CSE Documentation26a In-text citations in CSE style26b Books and nonperiodical sources in CSE-style references26c Periodical sources26d Online sources26e Sample pages with CSE documentationPART 7 EFFECTIVE STYLE AND LANGUAGE27 Write with Power27a Pay attention to verbs27b Stay active27c Find agents27d Vary your sentences27e Give your writing personality28 Write Concisely28a Eliminate unnecessary words28b Reduce wordy phrases28c Simplify tangled sentences29 Write with Emphasis29a Manage emphasis in sentences29b Forge links across sentences29c Use parallel structure with parallel ideas29d Use parallel structure with lists29e Use parallel structure in paragraphs30 Find the Right Words30a Be aware of levels of formality30b Be aware of denotation and connotation30c Use specific language30d Use effective figurative language31 Write to Be Inclusive31a Be aware of stereotypes31b Be inclusive about gender31c Be inclusive about race and ethnicity31d Be inclusive about other differences31e Recognize international varieties of EnglishPART 8 UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR 32 Grammar Basics 32a Sentence basics32b Word classes32c Clauses32d Phrases32e Sentence types33 Fragments, Run-ons, and Comma Splices 33a Fragments33b Run-on sentences33c Comma splices34 Subject-Verb Agreement 34a Agreement in the present tense34b Singular and plural subjects34c Indefinite pronouns as subjects34d Collective nouns as subjects34e Inverted word order34f Amounts, numbers, and pairs35 Verbs 35a Basic verb forms35b Irregular verbs35c Transitive and intransitive verbs35d Shifts in tense35e Shifts in mood36 Pronouns 36a Pronoun case36b Pronoun agreement36c Problems with pronouns and gender36d Vague reference37 Modifiers 37a Choose the correct modifier37b Place adjectives carefully37c Place adverbs carefully37d Revise disruptive modifiers37e Revise dangling modifiersPART 9 UNDERSTANDING PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS38 Commas 38a Commas with introductory elements38b Commas with compound clauses38c Commas with nonrestrictive modifiers38d Commas with items in a series38e Commas with coordinate adjectives38f Commas with quotations38g Commas with dates, numbers, titles, and addresses38h Commas to avoid confusion38i Unnecessary commas39 Semicolons and Colons 39a Semicolons with closely related main clauses39b Semicolons together with commas39c Colons in sentences39d Colons with lists40 Hyphens 40a Hyphens with compound modifiers40b Hyphens with compound nouns40c Hyphens that divide words at the ends of lines40d Hyphens for clarity41 Dashes and Parentheses 41a Dashes and parentheses versus commas41b Dashes and parentheses to set off information41c Other punctuation with parentheses41d Other punctuation with dashes42 Apostrophes 42a Possessives42b Contractions and omitted letters42c Plurals of letters, symbols, and words referred to as words43 Quotation Marks 43a Direct quotations43b Titles of short works43c Other uses of quotation marks43d Misuses of quotation marks43e Other punctuation with quotation marks44 Other Punctuation Marks 44a Periods44b Question marks44c Exclamation points44d Brackets44e Ellipses44f Slashes45 Write with Accurate Spelling 45a Know the limitations of spelling checkers45b Distinguish homonyms46 Capitalization and Italics 46a Capital letters46b Italics47 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Numbers 47a Abbreviations47b Acronyms47c NumbersPART 10 IF ENGLISH IS NOT YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE48 Write in a Second Language48a Understand the demands of writing in a second language48b Use your native language as a resource48c Use dictionaries48d Understand English idioms49 Nouns, Articles, and Prepositions49a Kinds of nouns49b Count and noncount nouns49c Singular and plural forms49d Articles49e Prepositions50 Verbs 50a Types of verbs50b Be verbs50c Modal auxiliary verbs50d Verbs and infinitives50e Verbs and -ing verbals50f Conditional sentences50g Participial adjectives50h Phrasal verbs51 English Sentence Structure51a Subjects51b English word order51c Placement of modifiers51d Adjectives with prepositionsGlossary of Grammatical Terms and Usage Index