Keys for Writers A Brief Handbook

Contents I. The Writing Process 1. Getting Started and Finding a Focus 2. Organizing Ideas 3. Revising and Editing 4. Writing an Argument 5. Exams, Literature, Oral Reports, Service Writing, Lab Reports II. Doing Research/Evaluating Sources 6. Research Basics a. What is research? b. Writing a research paper c. Research papers in the disciplines 7. Searching for Sources a. Merger of library/Web b. Basic reference works c. Research resources in 24 subject areas d. Searching for sources in print e. Searching for sources online f. Search engines g. Keyword searches h. A sample search 8. Evaluating Sources a. Read critically b. Recognize a scholarly article c. Evaluate works originating in print d. Evaluate sources originating on the Internet 9. Recording and Acknowledging Sources a. Keep track of sources b. Avoid plagiarism c. Notetaking d. Summary, paraphrase, and quotation e. Know what to cite f. Engage and synthesize 10. Integrating Sources a. Get mileage from sources b. Introduce source material c. What, when, how to quote d. Fit a quotation in your sentence e. Checklist: Using quotation f. Boundaries of a citation III. MLA Documentation 11. Citing Sources 12. List of Works Cited 13. Sample Paper IV. APA, CBE, Chicago, and CGOS Documentation 14. APA: Citing Sources 15. APA: List of References 16. APA Sample Paper 17. CBE Style 18. Chicago Style 19. CGOS V. Technology: For Communication, Document Design, and Work 20. E-mail a. Writing for online readers b. E-mail style c. Netiquette d. Online addresses e. Attachments 21. Online Discussions a. E-mail discussion lists b. Usenet groups, Web forums, bulletin boards c. Chat rooms, MOOs, MUDs d. Distance learning 22. Web Site Design a. The nature of hypertext b. Web site design tools c. Planning a web site d. For Web site design: tips e. Useful resources f. Sample Web sites 23. Design Features a. Word processing tools b. Typefaces c. Color d. Headings e. Lists 24. Visuals a. Tables b. Charts and graphs c. Illustrations, graphics 25. Essay Formats a. Page or screen b. Guidelines: college essays c. Title and identification d. Portfolio presentation 26. Resumes, Letters 27. Business Letters 28. PowerPoint VI. Style/Five C''s of Style 29. First C: Cut 30. Second C: Check for Action 31. Third C: Connect 32. Fourth C: Commit 33. Fifth C: Choose Your Words 34. Sentence Variety 35. Writers'' Voices 36. Style Tips VII. Common Sentence Problems 37. Top 10 Sentence Problems/Grammar Review a. Top 10 problems b. Parts of speech c. Common sentence patterns d. Phrases e. Clauses 38. Sentence Fragments a. Phrases b. Dependent clauses c. Missing verb d. Missing subject e. Part of compound predicate f. Intentional use 39. Run-ons and Comma Splices a. Identifying b. Correcting 40. Sentence Snarls a. Fuzzy syntax b. Misplaced modifiers c. Dangling modifiers d. Shifts e. Faulty predication f. Definitions and reasons g. Adverb clause as subject h. Omitted words i. Restated subjects j. Faulty parallelism 41. Verbs a. Verb forms b. Verbs commonly confused c. Forms of be d. Tenses e. Present tenses f. Past tenses g. -ed endings h. Tense shifts i. Indirect quotations j. Conditional sentences 42. Passive Voice a. When to use b. How to form c. Who''s doing what? d. As connector e. Overuse 43. Subject-Verb Agreement a. Basic principles b. Intervening words c. Linking verb, subject, and complement d. Subject after verb e. Tricky singular subjects f. Collective nouns g. Compound subjects h. Indefinite pronouns and quantity words i. Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives j. Possessive pronouns k. Clauses with what 44. Pronouns a. Personal pronouns b. Possessive forms c. Clear reference d. Agreement with antecedent e. Gender bias f. Consistent point of view g. Appropriate use of you h. Intensive and reflexive i. Who/whom 45. Adjectives/dverbs a. Correct forms b. Proper use c. After linking verbs d. Compound adjectives e. Position of adverbs f. Order of adjectives g. Double negatives h. Comparative and superlative forms i. Faulty comparisons 46. Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns a. Appropriate use b. Agreement of verb c. Agreement after one of d. Restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses e. Wth quantity words f. Clauses with prepositions g. Tat as relative pronoun h. Position of relative clause i. Unnecessary pronoun j. Were and when VIII. Punctuation, Mechanics, Spelling 47. Commas a. Commas: yes and no b. With coordinating conjunction/idependent clauses c. With introductory phrase or clause d. With nonrestrictive elements e. With transitions f. With items in a series g. With coordinate evaluative adjectives h. With direct quotations i. When not to use j. Special uses 48. Apostrophes a. Apostrophes: yes/no b. Tosignal possession c. With plural nouns d. In contractions e. In plurals f. It''s versus its 49. Quotation Marks a. Guidelines b. Punctuation introducing and ending a quotation c. Dialogue d. Double and single quotation marks e. With titles of short works f. When not to use 50. Semicolons a. Between two independent clauses b. With items in a list containing internal commas c. When not to use 51. Other Punctuation Marks a. Periods, question marks, exclamation points b. Colons c. Dashes d. Parentheses e. Brackets f. Slashes g. Ellipsis dots 52. Italics/Underlining a. Titles of long works b. Transportation c. Letters, numerals, words d. Non-English words e. When not to use 53. Capitalization a. Proper nouns/adjectives b. Titles before names c. Major words in titles d. After a colon or at beginning of a quotation 54. Abbreviations a. Titles with people''s names b. Familiar names c. Terms used with numbers d. Common Latin terms e. When not to abbreviate f. Plurals of abbreviations 55. Numbers a. Conventions b. When to spell out c. When to use numerals d. Plurals of numerals 56. Hyphenation a. With prefixes b. In compound nouns and compound adjectives d. In spelled-out numbers e. At end of a line 57. Online Guidelines a. Punctuation in URLs b. Underlining/italics online c. Capital letters online d. Hyphens online e. Asterisks online 58. Spelling a. Plurals of nouns b. Doubling consonants c. Spelling with -y or -i d. Internal ie or ei e. Adding a suffix f. Accents, umlauts, ets. IX. For Multilingual/ESL Writers 59. Culture, Language, and Writing a Differences/not deficits b. Language learning c. Guide to transfer errors 60. Nouns and Articles a. Categories of nouns b. Uncountable nouns c. Basic rules for articles d. The for a specific reference e Which article? 4 questions f. Proper nouns/articles 61. Verbs and Verbals[read more]