Shortcuts for the Student Writer

Based on the popular textbookRules of Thumb, this handy quick-reference guide has been designed for use by students or anyone else in need of writing advice. It's an all-in-one, at-aglance resource that provides fast, concise answers to common questions about: Grammar Punctuation Style Usage Formal Correspondence E-mails Memos Proposals Resumes Searching the Web Creating templates Editing And more

Jay Silverman (New York, NY) has received national fellowships and an Honors Program Award for Excellence in Teaching at Nassau Community College. Diana Roberts Wienbroer (New York, NY) has taught writing for more than 30 years and served as chair of the English Department of Nassau Community College.

Acknowledgments

vii

How to Use Shortcuts for the Student Writer

xi

PART 1: CORRECTNESS

A Word about Correctness

2

(1)

Commonly Confused Words

3

(7)

One Word or Two?

10

(3)

Spelling

13

(3)

Capitalization

16

(2)

Abbreviations and Numbers

18

(2)

Apostrophes

20

(1)

Consistent Pronouns

21

(3)

Correct Pronouns

24

(2)

Vague Pronouns

26

(2)

Recognizing Complete Sentences

28

(3)

Period or Comma? Run-on Sentences and Sentence Fragments

31

(7)

Feature: Using but, however, although

37

(1)

Commas

38

(3)

Semicolons

41

(1)

Colons

42

(1)

Dashes and Parentheses

43

(2)

Quotation Marks

45

(4)

Titles: Underlines, Italics, or Quotations Marks

49

(1)

Shifting Verb Tenses

50

(2)

Verb Agreement

52

(1)

Word Endings: s and ed

53

(2)

Tangled Sentences

55

(5)

PART 2: PUTTING A PAPER TOGETHER

What to Do When You're Stuck

60

(4)

Addressing Your Audience

64

(2)

Writing with a Thesis

66

(3)

Finding an Organization for Your Essay

69

(3)

Introductions

72

(2)

Paragraphs-Long and Short

74

(3)

Transitions

77

(2)

Incorporating Quotations

79

(2)

Conclusions

81

(1)

How to Make a Paper Longer (and When to Make It Shorter)

82

(2)

How to Work on a Second Draft

84

(3)

Shortcuts for "Word"

87

(5)

Proofreading Tips

92

(2)

Format of College Papers

94

(3)

Special Case: Writing an Essay in Class

97

(3)

Special Case: Writing about Literature

100

(8)

PART 3: THE RESEARCH PAPER

How to Start a Research Project

108

(3)

Three Essential Research Skills

111

(6)

Feature: When You Find Too Few or Too Many Sources

112

(5)

Getting Information at the Library

117

(3)

Getting Information Online

120

(3)

Feature: Sizing Up a Website

121

(2)

Writing the Research Paper

123

(5)

Plagiarism (Cheating)

128

(1)

What Is Documentation?

129

(2)

Documentation: The MLA Style

131

(15)

Documentation: The APA Style

146

(9)

Documentation: The Chicago Style (Footnotes)

155

(9)

PART 4: GROWING AS A WRITER

Keeping a Journal

164

(2)

Adding Details

166

(2)

Recognizing Clichès

168

(1)

Eliminating Offensive Language

169

(2)

Trimming Wordiness

171

(2)

Using Strong Verbs

173

(2)

Varying Your Sentences

175

(5)

Finding Your Voice

180

(1)

Postscript

181

(2)

A List of Valuable Sources

183

(5)

About the Authors

188

(1)

Index

189

(6)

Troubleshooting Guide

195

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Shortcuts for the Student Writer

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials