The Open Handbook: Keys for Writers

I. The Writing Process 1. Define the Writing Task 1a. Purpose 1b. Audience 1c. Requirements, assignments, and schedules 1d. Tone 1e. Standard English and other Englishes 1f. In your own words: Resisting the lure of copy and paste 2. Think Critically about Reading and Writing 2a. How to read critically 2b. Annotating a reading 2c. Critical reading of your own writing 3. Generate Ideas 3a. Finding a topic 3b. Journals, blogs, and online conversations 3c. Freewriting 3d. Brainstorming, listing, and mapping 3e. Journalists' questions 4. Find a Focus and a Structure 4a. From topic to thesis 4b. Formulating a working thesis—and why you need one 4c. Developing support 4d. Planning and structuring your essay: Road maps, purpose statements, and outlines 4e. The power of a title 5. Develop Paragraphs 5a. Paragraph basics 5b. Focus and topic sentence 5c. Unity 5d. Strategies for developing paragraphs 5e. Coherence with links, parallel structures, and transitions 6. Construct an Argument 6a. What makes a good argument? 6b. Topic 6c. An arguable claim (thesis), reasons, and evidence 6d. Argument structures 6e. Appeals, common ground, and opposing views 6f. Logic and flaws in logic 6g. A student's argument essay 7. Draft, Revise, and Edit 7a. Tips for writing and managing drafts 7b. Writing collaboratively 7c. Giving and getting feedback 7d. Beginning and ending well 7e. Tools for content revision 7f. Tools for editing and proofreading 7g. A student's drafts 8. Pay attention to the 5 C's of Style 8a. The first C: Cut 8b. The second C: Check for action 8c. The third C: Connect 8d. The fourth C: Commit 8e. The fifth C: Choose the right words 8f. Put it all together: Delight your readers II. Document Design, Visual Power 9. Academic Documents: Page and Screen 9a. Formats for academic essays 9b. Title and identification 9c. Title page 9d. Formatting with MS Word 9e. Academic writing online 10. Visual Presentation of Text and Data 10a. Typefaces 10b. Color 10c. Headings, columns 10d. Lists 10e. Tables, charts 11. Visuals: Analysis and Preparation 11a. How to read images critically 11b. Visuals and argument 11c. Multimedia presentations 11d. PowerPoint 11e. Sample PowerPoint slides III. Editing for Common Sentence Problems 12. How a Sentence Works (Review) 12a. What a sentence is 12b. Subject and verb 12c. Parts of speech 12d. Phrases 12e. Clauses 13. Top Sentence Troublespots 13a. Students' FAQs 13b. Top sentence troublespots 14. The Boundaries of a Sentence: Fragments, Run-ons, and Comma Splices 14a. What is a fragment? 14b. Dependent clause fragments 14c. Phrase fragments 14d. Missing subject, verb 14e. Fragments missing subject after and, but, or 14f. Intentionally use/frag. 14g. Run-on, comma splice 14h. Correcting run-on, splices 15. Sentence Snarls 15a. Tangles: Mixed constructions, faulty comparisons, convoluted syntax 15b. Misplaced modifiers 15c. Dangling modifiers 15d. Shifts 15e. Logical sequence 15f. Necessary / unnecessary words 15g. Faulty parallelism 16. Verbs 16a. Verb forms 16b. Verbs commonly confused 16c. Verb Tenses 16d. -ed endings 16e. Indirect quotations 16f. Conditional sentences 16g. Active / passive voice 17. Subject-Verb Agreement 17a. The -s ending 17b. Subject separated from verb 17c. Subject after verb 17d. After linking verb 17e. Tricky subjects 17f. Collective nouns 17g. Subects with and, or, nor 17h. Indefinite pronouns 17i. Quantity words 18. Pronouns 18a. Personal pronouns 18b. Possessive forms 18c. Clear reference 18d. Agreement with antecedent 18e. Gender bias 18f. Consistent point of view 18g. You 18h. Intensive, reflexive pronouns 18i. Who/whom, whoever/whomever 19. Adjectives and Adverbs 19a. Correct Forms 19b. After linking verbs 19c. Compound adjectives 19d.. Position of adverbs 19e. Double negatives 19f. Comparative and superlative forms 19g. Faulty comparisons 20. Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns 20a. Who, whom, whose, which, or that 20b. Agreement of verbs 20c. Restrictive, nonrestrictive clauses 20d. With prepositions IV. Editing for Punctuation, Mechanics, and Spelling 21. Punctuation and Meaning 22. End Punctuation 22a. Period 22b. Question mark 22c. Exclamation point 23. Commas 23a. Two checklists—comma: yes, comma: no 23b. Comma before and, but, etc., between independent clauses 23c. Comma after an introductory word, phrase, or dependent clause 23d. Commas to set off an extra (nonrestrictive) phrase or clause 23e. Commas with transitional expressions and explanatory insertions 23f. Commas separating three or more items in a series 23g. Commas between coordinate adjectives 23h. Comma with a direct quotation 23i. Special uses of commas 23j. When not to use commas: Nine rules of thumb 24. Semicolons and Colons 24a. Two checklists—semicolon: yes, semicolon: no 24b. Two checklists—colon: yes, colon: no 25. Apostrophes 25a. Two checklists—apostrophe: yes, apostrophe: no 25b. Apostrophe to signal possession 25c. Apostrophe in contractions 25d. Apostrophes with plurals: Special cases 25e. It's versus its 26. Quotation Marks 26a. Guidelines for using quotation marks 26b. Punctuation introducing and ending a quotation 26c. Quotation marks in dialogue 26d. Double and single quotation marks 26e. Quotation marks with titles, definitions, and translations 26f. When not to use quotation marks 27. Other Punctuation Marks 27a. Dashes 27b. Parentheses 27c. Brackets 27d. Slashes 27e. Ellipsis dots 28. Italics and Underlining 28a. Titles of long works 28b. Transportation 28c. Letters, numerals, and words referring to the words themselves 28d. Words from other languages 28e. When not to use italics 29. Capital Letters, Abbreviations, and Numbers 29a. Capital letters 29b. Abbreviations and acronyms 29c. Numbers 30. Spelling and Hyphenation 30a. Checking spelling 30b. Plurals of nouns 30c. Doubling consonants 30d. Spelling with -y or -i 30e. Internal ie or ei 30f. Adding a suffix 30g. Accents, umlauts, tildes, cedillas 30h. Hyphens 31. Online Punctuation V. Editing for Writers with Other Languages (ESL), Other Englishes 32. Culture, Language, and Writing 32a. Englishes around the world 32b. Difference, not deficit 32c. Learning from errors 32d. Editing guide to vernacular Englishes 32e. Editing guide to multilingual transfer errors 33. Nouns and Articles 33a. Categories of nouns 33b. Uncountable nouns 33c. Rules for articles (a, an, the) 33d. The for specific reference 33e. Which article? Four basic questions 33f. Proper nouns and articles 34. Verbs and Verb Forms 34a. Forms that cannot function as a main verb 34b. Do, have, and be 34c. Modal auxiliary verbs 34d. Infinitive after verbs and adjectives 34e. Verbs followed by -ing form used as a noun 34f. Verbs followed by an infinitive or -ing form 34g. -ing and -ed verb forms used as adjectives 35. Word Order and Sentence Structure 35a. Inclusion of a subject 35b. Order of sentence elements 35c. Direct and indirect objects 35d. Direct and indirect quotations and questions 35e. Dependent clauses with although, because 35f. Unnecessary pronouns 35g. Order of adjectives 36. Prepositions and Idioms 36a. Idioms with prepositions 36b. Adjective + preposition 36c. Verb + preposition 36d. Phrasal verbs 36e. Preposition + -ing verb form 36f. Get used to and used to VI. Writing a Documented Research Paper 37. Research and the Dangers of Plagiarism 37a. Research today: The plusses 37b. Research today: The minuses 37c. Consequences of Plagiarism 37d. Avoid plagiarism 38. Planning the Project 38a. Organizing research 38b. Schedule 38c. Primary, secondary sources 38d. Topic, question, thesis 38e. Research proposal 39. Finding and Evaluating Sources 39a. Searching online for print and online sources 39b. Basic reference works 39c. Books, articles 39d. Scholarly articles 39e. Finding sources online 39f. Web sources: Develop junk antennae 39g. Anatomy of a Web site 39h. Sources in 27 subject areas 40. Using Sources Responsibly (More Ways to Avoid Plagiarism) 40a. Working / annotated bibliographies 40b. Keeping track, annotating, taking notes 40c. What to cite / what style 40d. Introducing, integrating sources 40e. Summarizing, paraphrasing 40f. Citation boundaries 40g. Quoting 41. Preparing the Research Paper or Presentation 41a. Putting yourself in your paper 41b. Importance of your thesis 41c. Driving the organization with ideas, not sources 41d. Making an outline to help with revision 41e. Including visuals 41f. Guidelines for writing research paper drafts VII. MLA Documentation 42. Citing Sources in Your Text 42a. Two basic MLA style features 42b. FAQs about MLA citations 42c. Sample in-text citations At a Glance: Index of MLA In-Text Citations 42d. Explanatory footnotes or endnotes 43. Setting Up the MLA List of Works Cited 43a. Format and organization of the list 43b. How to list authors, months, and publishers 43c. How to list Internet sources 43d. Page numbers (or lack of) in online works 44. Sample Entries in the MLA List At a Glance: Directory of MLA Sample Entries 44a. Print books or parts of books 44b. Online books or parts of books 44c. Articles in print (or microform) 44d. Articles in an online library subscription database 44e. Articles in an online periodical or Web site 44f. Reference works — print and online 44g. Web sites and Web pages 44h. E-mail: Personal and public 44i. Performance, multimedia, visual works, and works of art — live, print, and online 44j. Miscellaneous works — live, print, and online 45. Sample Documented Paper, MLA Style VIII. APA Documentation 46. Citing Sources in Your Text 46a. Two basic APA style features 46b. Sample author/date in-text citations At a Glance: Index of APA In-Text Citations 46c. Notes, tables, and figures 47. Entries in the APA List of References At a Glance: Directory of APA Sample Entries 47a. List format and organization 47b. Guidelines for listing authors 47c. Books and parts of books (print and online) 47d. Articles in print 47e. Articles online 47f. Web sites, Web documents, and e-mail 47g. Multimedia and miscellaneous works — live, print, and online 48. Sample Documented Paper, APA Style IX. Writing throughout College—and Beyond 49. Writing under Pressure 49a. Essay exams and short-answer tests 49b. Meeting deadlines 50. Showcasing Your Work: Portfolios and Oral Presentations 50a. Preparing a portfolio 50b. Preparing an e-portfolio 50c. Presenting an oral report 51. Communicating Online in Formal Contexts and Public Forums 51a. E-mail netiquette in formal and public contexts 51b. Online discussion lists, bulletin boards, and discussion boards 51c. Newsgroups and blogs 52. Writing in the Disciplines and in the Community 52a. Writing across the curriculum 52b. Writing about literature 52c. Writing in the sciences 52d. Writing in the social sciences 52e. Writing in community service courses 53. What's Next? Writing to Move On 53a. Preparing a r'sum?: Print and electronic 53b. Writing a job application cover letter 53c. Writing a personal statement for graduate school admission Glossary of Usage Answer Key Index