DETAILED CONTENTS Preface xiii TO THE STUDENT Getting Started 1 Chapter 1 The Importance of Writing 3 Avoiding the Two Major Problems of Poor Writing 5 Writing as a Life Skill 6 Chapter 2 Elements of Good Writing 7 Good Writing: Four Misconceptions 7 Good Writing Doesn t Have to Be Complicated 7 Good Writing Doesn t Have to Be Long 8 Good Writing Is More Formal than Talking 9 Good Writing Needs Proper Punctuation 10 The Computer, Writing, and You 10 11 PART 1 Writing Effective Sentences 13 Chapter 3 The Simple Sentence and the Independent Clause 15 The Subject 15 Nouns 15 Pronouns 16 Using Pronouns to Eliminate Repetition 16 Identifying Subjects 17 Subjects and Prepositional Phrases 20 The Verb 23 Action Verbs 23 Linking Verbs 26 Helping Verbs 28 iii
CHEC.0381.FMppi-xx 05/21/03 8:36 AM Page iv iv Verb Tense (Time) 31 Compound Subjects 36 Compound Verbs 38 Correcting Sentence Fragments 40 45 Chapter 4 Linking Independent Clauses Using the Comma and Coordinators 47 Coordinating Conjunctions Using Coordinating Conjunctions 47 48 Correcting Run-on and Comma Splice Sentences Run-on 54 Comma Splice 54 60 Chapter 5 Page 4 Combining Independent Clauses Using the Semicolon 62 68 Chapter 6 Combining Independent Clauses Using the Adverbial Conjunction 69 74 Putting It All Together 74 Chapter 7 Adding a List 80 Punctuating and Placing the List Parallelism in a Series 83 81 86 Chapter 8 Adding a Colon for Variety 93 88 53
CHEC.0381.FMppi-xx 05/21/03 8:36 AM Page v v Chapter 9 The Dependent Clause 94 Independent versus Dependent Clauses Punctuating Dependent Clauses 97 94 101 Chapter 10 The Introductory Phrase 102 Introductory Phrase Variety 104 109 Chapter 11 Starting a Sentence with an Introductory Word 110 Punctuating the Introductory Word When to Use Introductory Words 110 110 115 Page 4 Chapter 12 Adding Interrupters to the Sentence 116 122 Putting It All Together: Sentence Combining to Improve Paragraph Style 123 PA R T 2 Writing Effective Paragraphs Prewriting Activities 127 128 Listing 128 Clustering (Mind Mapping) Cubing 130 Cross-Examination 130 129 Chapter 13 The Paragraph Support Sentences 133 134 139 Six Important Support Questions 139 Creating the ing Outline of a Paragraph 140 Writing the First Draft 143 Page 154
CHEC.0381.FMppi-xx 05/21/03 8:36 AM Page vi vi Revising the First Draft 143 Proofreading: The Final Step 145 151 151 152 152 153 153 Chapter 14 Description 154 Types of Description 154 Dominant Impressions 155 Sensory Images 157 Comparisons 159 Simile 159 Metaphor 159 Personification 159 A Ten-Step Process for Writing the Descriptive Paragraph 165 Writing the Descriptive Paragraph 165 Example of the Ten-Step Process at 166 170 170 Place Thing Page 171 170 170 171 171 171 171 Chapter 15 Narration 173 The Point of the Story 174 Developing the Narrative Paragraph 175 Model Narrative Paragraphs 176 Transitional Expressions: Showing Time Sequence 177 185
CHEC.0381.FMppi-xx 05/21/03 8:36 AM Page vii Chapter 16 Using Examples 188 189 Transitional Expressions: Introducing Examples Using One Extended Example 195 199 199 189 200 200 200 200 Chapter 17 Classification 202 Breaking Down a Topic 203 204 Transitional Expressions: Linking Your Classifications 205 Chapter 18 Process 216 Page 173 Types of Process 217 Organizing the Process Paragraph 218 Transitional Expressions: Connecting the Steps 220 227 227 228 228 228 228 Chapter 19 Comparison and Contrast 230 Deciding to Compare or Contrast 230 232 Organizing Comparisons and Contrasts 234 220 vii
CHEC.0381.FMppi-xx 05/21/03 8:37 AM Page viii viii Block Method 234 Point-by-Point Method 234 Transitional Expressions: Connecting Your Comparisons and Contrasts 235 244 244 245 245 245 245 Chapter 20 Definition 247 Simple Definitions 247 Extended Definition 249 of an Extended Definition 256 256 250 257 257 257 257 Chapter 21 Persuasion (Including Cause and Effect) Page 228 Building the Persuasive Paragraph 260 The Pro/Con List 263 Support in Persuasion Paragraphs 266 Organization Patterns 268 Transitional Expressions for Persuasion 272 Persuasive Logic: Cause and Effect Reasoning 259 274 Causal Chains 275 Problems to Avoid 275 Transitional Expressions for Cause/Effect Writing in a Cause/Effect Paragraph 278 279 Persuasion Causes of... Effects of... 279 279 279 280 280 280 280 276 276
CHEC.0381.FMppi-xx 05/21/03 8:37 AM Page ix ix PA R T 3 Writing Effective Essays 283 Chapter 22 The Essay 285 The Five-Paragraph Essay 285 The Introductory Paragraph 286 The Thesis Sentence 286 Expressing an Attitude in the Thesis Sentence The Essay Map in the Thesis Sentence 289 Putting It All Together Introductory Sentences The Body Paragraphs 288 290 293 295 Support Sentences 295 Six Important Support Questions The Concluding Paragraph 296 297 Call to Action 297 Warning 297 Prediction 298 Evaluation 298 Sample Student Essay 298 305 305 306 306 307 307 Page 285 The Writer s Resources GRAMMAR Nouns 309 310 310 Pronouns 312 Personal Pronouns 313 Relative Pronouns 314 Demonstrative Pronouns 316 Indefinite Pronouns 317 Reflexive Pronouns 318 Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Verbs 324 Present Tense 324 Past Tense 325 Regular Verbs Irregular Verbs The Verb Be 325 326 330 319
CHEC.0381.FMppi-xx 05/21/03 8:37 AM Page x x Additional Practice for Complex Verb Forms Present Perfect/Past Perfect Forming the Passive Voice Subject/Verb Agreement 339 Compound Subject/Verb Agreement Adjectives 333 333 335 340 343 Adverbs 345 Conjunctions Interjections 347 348 Clauses and Phrases 348 Independent and Dependent Clauses Phrases 349 Commonly Used Phrases 349 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Types of Sentences 348 352 355 The Simple Sentence 355 The Compound Sentence 355 The Complex Sentence 356 The Compound-Complex Sentence 356 Additional Practice with Prepositions Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases Preposition Combinations Articles 356 356 359 362 CAPITALIZATION AND NUMBERS 367 Capitalization 367 Numbers 368 ADDITIONAL PUNCTUATION RULES The Apostrophe 370 Quotation Marks Page 216 Parentheses Brackets The Dash The Hyphen 370 372 376 377 379 381 Underlining or Italics 382 Interrupters: Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses and Phrases (Modifiers) 384 WORDS AND MEANING 389 Commonly Misspelled Words Words That Sound Alike 389 390 Contractions That Sound Like Other Words 395
DETAILED CONTENTS xi Words That Sound or Look Almost Alike 397 Confusing Verbs That Sound Alike: Lie/Lay; Rise/Raise; Sit/Set 400 Two- and Three-Word Verb Phrases 403 Readings 407 DESCRIPTION The Mute Sense, DIANE ACKERMAN 408 The Ice Cream Truck, LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ 410 Halloween Havoc, ERIN NELSON (STUDENT) 413 NARRATION The Roommate s Death, JAN HAROLD BRUNVAND 415 The Eye of the Beholder, GRACE SUH 418 Shattered Sanctuary, STEPHANIE K. HIGGS (STUDENT) 421 EXAMPLE Heroine Worship: The Age of the Female Icon, HOLLY BRUBACH 424 The Culture of Violence, MYRIAM MIEDZIAN 428 CLASSIFICATION The Plot Against People, RUSSELL BAKER 433 Michelangelo Madness, MARTIN BRINK (STUDENT) 435 PROCESS Conversational Ballgames, NANCY MASTERSON SAKAMOTO 436 How to Cram, JILL YOUNG MILLER 439 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts, BRUCE CATTON 443 Hasta la Vista, Arnold, MARGARET TALBOT 446 DEFINITION Discrimination Is a Virtue, ROBERT KEITH MILLER 450 The Handicap of Definition, WILLIAM RASPBERRY 453 PERSUASION The Revolt of the Black Bourgeoisie, LEONCE GAITER 455 Cyberspace: If You Don t Love It, Leave It, ESTHER DYSON 458 Limited Answer Key 462 Glossary 469 Credits 472 Index 474