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Table of Contents

The Top Twenty
Academic Essentials

WRITING

1 A Writer’s Choices
     a Moving from social to academic writing
     b Meeting expectations for academic writing
     c Considering the assignment and purpose
     d Choosing a topic
     e Reaching appropriate audiences
     f Considering stance and tone
     g Considering time, genre, media, and format
     h Planning Timed writing 
     i Writing application essays
          A Student’s College Application Essay
     j Collaborating
2 Exploring, Planning, and Drafting
     a Exploring a topic
     b Developing a working thesis
     c Gathering evidence and doing research
     d Planning and drafting [e-Pages]
     e Developing paragraphs
          Student Paragraph
     f Designing Texts
     g Reviewing [e-Pages]
     h Revising [e-Pages]
     i Editing
     j Reflecting
          Excerpt of Student Portfolio Cover Letter [e-Pages]
3 Critical Thinking and Argument
     a Reading critically
     b Identifying basic appeals in an argument
     c Analyzing the elements of an argument
     d Making an argument
     e Identifying logical fallacies
     f Organizing an argument
          A Student’s Argument Essay [e-Pages]
4 Multimodal Writing
     a Planning online assignments
     b Creating presentations
          A Student’s Presentation [e-Pages]
5 Writing in the Disciplines
     a Writing in Academic genres
     b Understanding disciplinary styles and evidence
          Sample Writing in the Disciplines
6 Writing to Make Something Happen in the World
     a Deciding what should happen
     b Connecting with audiences
     c Sample Student Writing [e-Pages]

SENTENCE GRAMMAR

7 Verbs
     a Forming regular and irregular verb forms
     b Using Lie and lay, sit and set, rise and raise
     c Using verb tenses
     d Sequencing verb tenses
     e Using active and passive voice
     f Using mood appropriately
8 Subject-Verb Agreement
     a Checking for words between subject and verb
     b Checking agreement with compound subjects
     c Making verbs agree with collective nouns
     d Making verbs agree with indefinite pronouns
     e Making verbs agree with Who, which, and that
     f Making linking verbs agree with subjects
     g Making verbs agree with subjects that end in –s
     h Checking for subjects that follow the verb
     i Making verbs agree with titles and words used as words
     j Considering spoken forms of be
9 Adjectives and Adverbs
     a Using adjectives after linking verbs
     b Using comparatives and superlatives
10 Modifier Placement
     a Revising misplaced modifiers
     b Revising disruptive modifiers
     c Revising dangling modifiers
11 Pronouns
     a Considering a pronoun’s role in the sentence
     b Making pronouns agree with antecedents
     c Making pronouns refer to clear antecedents
12 Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
     a Separating the clauses into two sentences
     b Linking the clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction
     c Linking the clauses with a semicolon
     d Rewriting the two clauses as one independent clause
     e Rewriting one independent clause as a dependent clause
     f Linking the two clauses with a dash
13 Sentence Fragments
     a Revising phrase fragments
     b Revising compound-predicate fragments
     c Revising clause fragments

SENTENCE STYLE

14 Consistency and Completeness
     a Revising faulty sentence structure
     b Matching subjects and predicates
     c Using consistent compound structures
     d Making complete comparisons
15 Coordination and Subordination
     a Relating equal ideas
     b Distinguishing main ideas
16 Conciseness
     a Eliminating redundant words
     b Eliminating empty words
     c Replacing wordy phrases
     d Simplifying sentence structure
17 Parallelism
     a Making items in a series or list parallel
     b Making paired ideas parallel
     c Using words necessary for clarity
18 Shifts
     a Revising shifts in tense
     b Revising shifts in voice
     c Revising shifts in point of view
     d Revising shifts between direct and indirect discourse
     e Revising shifts in tone and diction

PUNCTUATION/MECHANICS

19 Commas
     a Setting off introductory elements
     b Separating clauses in compound sentences
     c Setting off nonrestrictive elements
     d Separating items in a series
     e Setting off parenthetical and transitional expressions
     f Setting off contrasting elements, interjections, direct address, and tag questions
     g Setting off parts of dates and addresses
     h Setting off quotations
     i Avoiding unnecessary commas
20 Semicolons
     a Linking independent clauses
     b Separating items in a series containing other punctuation
     c Avoiding misused semicolons
21 End Punctuation
     a Using periods
     b Using question marks
     c Using exclamation points
22 Apostrophes
     a Signaling possessive case
     b Signaling contractions
     c Understanding apostrophes and plural forms
23 Quotation Marks
     a Signaling direct quotation
     b Identifying titles of short works and definitions
     c Using quotation marks with other punctuation
     d Avoiding misused quotation marks
24 Other Punctuation
     a Using parentheses
     b Using brackets
     c Using dashes
     d Using colons
     e Using slashes
     f Using ellipses
25 Capital Letters
     a Capitalizing the first word of a sentence
     b Capitalizing proper nouns and proper adjectives
     c Capitalizing titles before proper names
     d Capitalizing titles of works
     e Revising unnecessary capitalization
26 Abbreviations and Numbers
     a Using abbreviations
     b Using numbers
27 Italics
     a Italicizing titles
     b Italicizing words, letters, and numbers used as terms
     c Italicizing non-English words
     d Italicizing names of ships, planes, and trains
     e Using italics for emphasis
28 Hyphens
     a Using hyphens with compound words
     b Using hyphens with prefixes and suffixes
     c Avoiding unnecessary hyphens

LANGUAGE

29 Writing to the World
     a Thinking about what seems "normal"
     b Clarifying meaning
     c Meeting audience expectations
30 Language That Builds Common Ground
     a Examining assumptions and avoiding stereotypes
     b Examining assumptions about gender
     c Examining assumptions about race and ethnicity
     d Considering other kinds of difference
31 Varieties of Language
     a Using standard varieties of English appropriately
     b Using varieties of English to evoke a place or community
     c Using varieties of English to build credibility with a community
32 Word Choice
     a Using appropriate formality
     b Considering denotation and connotation
     c Using general and specific language effectively
     d Using figurative language effectively
     e Making spell checkers work for you
     f Improving spelling
     g Building Vocabulary

MULTILINGUAL WRITERS

33 Sentence Structure
     a Using explicit subjects and objects
     b Following English word order
     c Adapting structures from genres
     d Checking usage with search engines
34 Nouns and Noun Phrases
     a Understanding count and noncount nouns
     b Using determiners
     c Using articles
35 Verbs and Verb Phrases
     a Building verb phrases
     b Using infinitives and gerunds
     c Using conditional sentences appropriately
36 Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases
     a Choosing the right preposition
     b Using two-word verbs idiomatically

RESEARCH

37 Conducting Research
     a Beginning the research process
     b Choosing among types of sources
     c Using library resources
     d Finding useful Internet sources
     e Doing field research
38 Synthesizing Sources, Evaluating Sources, and Taking Notes
     a Evaluating the usefulness and credibility of potential sources
     b Reading and interpreting sources
     c Synthesizing sources
     d Taking notes
39 Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
     a Integrating quotations, paraphrases, and summaries
     b Checking for excessive use of source material
     c Integrating visuals and media
     d Knowing which sources to acknowledge
     e Avoiding plagiarism
40 Writing a Research Project
     a Drafting your text
     b Reviewing and revising a research project
     c Preparing a list of sources
     d Editing and proofreading

DOCUMENTATION

41 MLA Style
     a Understanding MLA citation style
     b Following MLA manuscript format
     c Creating MLA in-text citations
     d Creating an MLA list of works cited
     e A sample student research project, MLA style
42 APA Style
     a Understanding APA citation style
     b Following APA manuscript format
     c Creating APA in-text citations
     d Creating an APA list of references
     e A sample student writing project, APA style
43 Chicago Style
     a Understanding Chicago Style
     b Following Chicago manuscript format
     c Creating Chicago in-text citations
     d Creating a Chicago list of references
     e A sample student writing project, Chicago style

Glossary of Usage (commonly confused words)

Authors

Andrea A. Lunsford

Andrea Lunsford, Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor of English emerita and former Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University, joined the Stanford faculty in 2000. Prior to this appointment, she was Distinguished Professor of English at The Ohio State University (1986-2000) and, before that, Associate Professor and Director of Writing at the University of British Columbia (1977-86) and Associate Professor of English at Hillsborough Community College. A frequent member of the faculty of the Bread Loaf School of English, Andrea earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Florida and completed her Ph.D. in English at The Ohio State University (1977). She holds honorary degrees from Middlebury College and The University of Ôrebro.

Andreas scholarly interests include the contributions of women and people of color to rhetorical history, theory, and practice; collaboration and collaborative writing, comics/graphic narratives; translanguaging and style, and technologies of writing. She has written or coauthored many books, including Essays on Classical Rhetoric and Modern Discourse; Singular Texts/Plural Authors: Perspectives on Collaborative Writing; and Reclaiming Rhetorica: Women in the History of Rhetoric, as well as numerous chapters and articles. For Bedford/St. Martin’s, she is the author of The St. Martins Handbook, The Everyday Writer, and EasyWriter; the co-author (with John Ruszkiewicz) of Everything’s an Argument and (with John Ruszkiewicz and Keith Walters) of Everything’s an Argument with Readings; and the co-author (with Lisa Ede) of Writing Together: Collaboration in Theory and Practice. She is also a regular contributor to the Bits teaching blog on Bedford/St. Martin’s English Community site.

Andrea has given presentations and workshops on the changing nature and scope of writing and critical language awareness at scores of North American universities, served as Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, as Chair of the Modern Language Association Division on Writing, and as a member of the MLA Executive Council. In her spare time, she serves on the Board of La Casa Roja’s Next Generation Leadership Network, as Chair of the Kronos Quartet Performing Arts Association--and works diligently if not particularly well in her communal organic garden.

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