Media Writer's Handbook : A Guide to Common Writing and Editing Problems

Part I: Building Sentences

Chapter 1: 25 Ways to Improve Writing Immediately

Chapter 2: Nouns

Functions

Concrete or Abstract

Proper or Common

Gender

Singular or Plural

Person

Use by Case in Sentences

Gerunds and Infinitives as Nouns

Chapter 3: Pronouns

Functions

Personal

Demonstrative

Reciprocal

Interrogative

Reflexive and Intensive

Indefinite

Relative

Chapter 4: Noun-Pronoun Agreement

Chapter 5: Verbs and Verbals

Functions

Location in Sentence

Regular or Irregular Spelling

Action or No Action

Active or Passive Voice

Person

Tense

Present

Past

Future

Present Perfect

Past Perfect

Future Perfect

Present Progressive

Past Progressive

Future Progressive

Tense Shifts

Mood

Indicative

Imperative

Subjunctive

Verbals

Gerunds

Participles

Infinitives

Dangling Verbals

Modifiers and Objects

Chapter 6: Subject-Verb Agreement

Chapter 7: Adjectives

Functions

Coordinate

Participles and Infinitives as Adjectives

Chapter 8: Adverbs

Functions

Confusion with Adjective

Infinitives as Adverbs

Chapter 9: Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs

Form Comparisons Irregularly

Cannot Be Compared

Comparing Like Things

Chapter 10: Prepositions

Functions

Objects

Compound Prepositions

Confusion with Adverbs, Conjunctions, and Infinitives

Misuse of Case

Unnecessary Prepositions

Prepositions at the End of Sentences

Chapter 11: Conjunctions

Functions

Coordinating

Subordinating

Placement

Confusion with Prepositions

Correlative

Conjunctive

Chapter 12: Interjections

Functions

Within a Sentence or Standing Alone

Followed by a Comma

Chapter 13: Sentences and Syntax

Sentence Functions

Declarative

Interrogative

Imperative

Exclamatory

Sentence Structures

Simple

Compound

Complex

Compound-Complex

Syntax

Misplaced Dependent Clauses

Misplaced Appositives

Dangling Verbals

Misplaced Prepositional Phrases

Split Infinitives

Split Verb Phrases

Misplaced Time Elements

"Squinting" Modifiers

Dangling Elliptical Elements

Part II: Punctuating

Chapter 14: Periods

How to Use Periods

With Declarative Sentences

With Indirect Questions

With Imperative Sentences

With Rhetorical Questions

With Abbreviations

As an Ellipsis

As a Decimal Point

How Not to Use Periods

With Some Abbreviations

To Indicate Pauses

With Well-Known Abbreviations

With Acronyms

Chapter 15: Question Marks

How to Use Question Marks

With Direct Questions

With Items Listed in a Series

With Parentheses

With Declarative Sentences That End with an Interrogative

Inside or Outside a Terminal Quotation Mark

How Not to Use Question Marks

With Indirect Questions

With Rhetorical Questions

With Parentheses to Indicate Sarcasm or Humor

Combined with a Comma to Separate Statement from Attribution

Chapter 16: Exclamation Marks

How to Use Exclamation Marks

In Declarations

In Commands

In Expressions of Disbelief

In Expressions of Surprise

With Interjections

Inside or Outside Quotation Marks

How Not to Use Exclamation Marks

Combined with Another Exclamation Mark

Combined with a Comma to Separate Statement from Attribution

Chapter 17: Commas

How to Use Commas

With Listing in a Series

After Introductory Material

Before a Coordinating Conjunction

With Explanatory Numbers and Figures

With Appositives

With Direct and Indirect Quotations

With Nonessential Dependent Clauses

With Cities and States

With Dates

With Parenthetical Words

With Numbers

To Avoid Repetition

With Identical Words Used Consecutively

After a Declarative Sentence That Turns Interrogative

With Not and Never Used to Show a Contrast

With Absolute Phrases

To Prevent a Misreading

How Not to Use Commas

With Days of Week

Between Two Sentences

Between Month and Year

With a Coordinating Conjunction

With Titles

With Jr., Sr., II or III

With Restrictive Appositives

With Some Adjectives in a Series

With Essential Clauses and Phrases

With Relative Pronouns and Essential Dependent Clause

With Like, Such as or Similar to

With Self Pronouns

With an Incomplete Direct Quotation

With Question or Exclamation Marks and Attribution

Chapter 18: Semicolons

How to Use Semicolons

With Independent Clauses

With Items Listed in a Series

With a Conjunction Adverb

Combined with a Coordinating Conjunction

How Not to Use Semicolons

With a Verb That Introduces a List

With Commas and Semicolons

Chapter 19: Colons and Dashes

How to Use Colons

For Simple Tasks

To Relate Time

With a Listing or a Series

Before an Announcement

Before an Explanation

For Emphasis

With Some Appositives

With Some Quotations

To Replace Some Verbs

With Titles and Subtitles

Outside of Quotation Marks

How Not to Use Colons

With Some Verbs That Introduce Lists

After a Preposition

After Like, Such As, or Including

How to Use Dashes

With a List or Series

To End a Sentence with a List or Series

To Clarify or to Emphasize Appositive Material

Before a Name Following a Quotation

With an Abrupt Interruption

For a Surprise or a Dramatic Ending

How Not to Use Dashes

In Place of Hyphen

Chapter 20: Parentheses and Brackets

How to Use Parentheses and Brackets

To Insert Explanations or Clarifications

To Insert Directions

To Insert Missing Information

To Insert Corrections

To Insert Parenthetical Material Inside Other Parenthetical Material

With Periods

How Not to Use Parentheses and Brackets

Frequently

To Insert Lengthy Material

Interchangeably

Chapter 21: Slashes and Hyphens

How to Use Slashes

To Show That Either Choice is Applicable

To Express a Fraction or a Date in Digits

To Show Line Breaks in Quoted Poetry

How Not to Use Slashes

As A Substitute for a Hyphen

How to Use Hyphens

With Compound Adjectives

With Compound Predicate or Linking Adjectives

With Compound Nouns

With Compound Numbers

With Zip Codes

To Replace To or Until

In Suspended Compounds

To Divide Words by Syllables

To Avoid Confusion in Meaning

Between Prefix, Proper Noun or Number

After Prefixes Self, All, and Ex

With Some Verbs

How Not to Use Hyphens

With Some Compound Adjectives

After Very or an ly Ending

After Some Prefixes

With Some Ages Expressed in a Compound

With Some Suspended Compounds

Chapter 22: Apostrophes

How to Use Apostrophes

Before s

After s

In Some Journalistic Uses

In Special Circumstances

With Compound Nouns

To Show Joint Ownership

To Show Separate Ownership

When a Possessive Follows Word It Modifies

With Contractions

To Replace a Letter or a Figure

To Form Certain Plurals

With Words Spelled Same in Both Singular and Plural

How Not to Use Apostrophes

With Possessive or Relative and Personal Pronouns

With Descriptive Names

To Form Most Common Plurals

Chapter 23: Quotation Marks

How to Use Quotation Marks

With Direct Quotations

With Attribution Following Quotations

With Attribution Preceeding Quotation

With Attribution in the Middle of Quotation

With a Two-Sentence Quotation

With an Incomplete Quotation

With a Multi-Paragraph Quotation

With One-Speaker Quotation

With a Quotation Within a Quotation

With a Word or Words Used in a Special Way

With Some Titles

How to Use with Other Punctuation

With Commas and Periods

With Question and Exclamation Marks

Separating a Question or Statement from Its Attribution

With Commas

With Semicolons

With Complete Sentences

To Avoid Confusion Between Persons Being Quoted

Chapter 24: Sensitivity in Language

Part III: Quick Reference

Reference 1: Words Frequently Confused

Reference 2: Words Frequently Misspelled

Reference 3: Irregular Verbs

Reference 4: Wordiness and Trite Expressions

Reference 5: When to Use a Hyphen, One Word, or Two Words

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