Working It Out

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ISBN: 9780070116207 | 0070116202
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 9/1/1996

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Working It Out is a unique text that conveniently provides 240 specific writing strategies covering the full range of the writing process, not only helping writers prepare and organize their papers but also helping them to overcome specific challenges - for example, Chapter Eight: "I Can't Think of the Right Word" - and by overcoming these challenges to develop an effective approach to writing.

Preface

xvii

A Preface to the Student: How to Use This Book

xxi

The Big Picture: An Overview of the Writing Process and Essay Structure

(14)

The Writing Process

(2)

The Context for Writing

(4)

Essay Structure

(5)

How to Become a Better Writer

(1)

Myths about Writing

(2)

PART 1 PREWRITING

(26)

``I Don't Know What to Write.''

(14)

Try Freewriting

(2)

Try Clustering

(2)

Try Listing

(1)

Try Brainstorming

(1)

Examine Your Topic from Different Angles

(1)

Write an Exploratory Draft

(1)

Relate the Topic to Your Own Experience

(1)

Talk into a Tape Recorder

(1)

Talk to Other People

(1)

Put Your Topic on the Back Burner

(1)

Identify Your Writing Context

(1)

Keep a Journal

(2)

Combine Techniques

(1)

Develop Your Own Writing Topic

(2)

Use a Computer

(2)

``My Ideas are All Mixed Up.''

(10)

Check Your Thesis

(1)

Use Topic Sentences

(1)

Write a Scratch Outline

(1)

Construct an Outline Tree

(1)

Complete an Outline Worksheet

(1)

Make Outline Cards

(1)

Construct an Outline Map

(3)

Write an Abstract

(1)

Write a Postdraft Outline

(1)

Use Transitions

(1)

Use a Computer

(3)

PART 2 DRAFTING

(24)

``I Know What I Want to Say, But I Can't Say It.''

(6)

Get Rid of Distractions

(1)

Write in a New Place

(1)

Switch Your Writing Tools

(1)

Write on a Daily Schedule

(1)

Write a Letter to a Friend

(1)

Write in a Natural Style

(1)

Speak into a Tape Recorder

(1)

Write for Yourself Instead of for a Reader

(1)

Walk Away

(1)

Set Intermediate Goals for Yourself

(1)

Write the Introduction Last

(1)

Concentrate on What You Can Do and Skip What You Can't Do

(1)

Resist the Temptation to Rewrite as You Draft

(1)

Allow Your Draft to Be Rough

(1)

Write Fast and Don't Look Back

(1)

Write an Outline

(1)

Return to Idea Generation

(1)

Think Positively

(1)

``I'm Having Trouble with My Introduction.''

(4)

Explain Why Your Topic Is Important

(1)

Provide Background Information

(1)

Tell a Story

(1)

Find Some Common Ground with Your Reader

(1)

Describe Something

(1)

Begin with the Thesis and the Points You Will Discuss

(1)

Keep It Short

(1)

Skip It

(1)

Use a Computer

(1)

``How Do I Back Up What I Say?''

(6)

Tell a Story

(1)

Add Some Description

(1)

Provide Examples

(1)

Give Reasons

(1)

Show Similarities or Differences

(1)

Explain Causes or Effects

(1)

Explain How Something Is Made or Done

(1)

Explain What Would Happen If Your View Were Not Adopted

(1)

``I Don't Know How to End.''

(3)

Explain the Significance of Your Main Point

(1)

Provide a Summary if Your Reader Will Appreciate One

(1)

Explain the Consequences of Ignoring Your View

(1)

Conclude with a Point You Want to Emphasize

(1)

Restate Your Thesis for Emphasis

(1)

Keep It Short

(1)

``I Can't Think of the Right Word.''

(3)

Write in a Natural Style

(1)

Use ITTS

(1)

Substitute a Phrase or a Sentence for a Troublesome Word

(1)

Ask Around

(1)

Freewrite for Three Minutes

(1)

Skip the Problem and Return to It Later

(1)

Use Simple, Specific Words

(1)

Use the Thesaurus and Dictionary Wisely

(1)

Use a Computer

(1)

PART 3 REVISING

(30)

``I Don't Like My Draft.''

(3)

Be Realistic

(1)

Walk Away

(1)

Share the Draft

(1)

Listen to Your Draft

(1)

Identify Two Changes That Will Improve the Draft

(1)

Try to Salvage Something

(1)

Write a Second Draft without Looking at the First

(1)

Do Not Despair if You Must Start Over

(1)

Do the Best You Can with What You Have

(1)

``I Don't Know What to Change.''

(8)

Walk Away

(1)

Describe Your Draft Paragraph by Paragraph

(1)

Type Your Draft

(1)

Listen to Your Draft

(1)

Underline Main Points

(1)

Outline Your Draft after Writing It

(1)

Revise in Stages

(1)

Share Your Introduction and Conclusion

(1)

Share Your Draft with a Reliable Reader

(1)

Construct a Reader Profile

(1)

Pretend to Be Someone Else

(1)

Use a Revising Checklist

(1)

Trust Your Instincts

(1)

Do Not Edit Prematurely

(1)

Use a Computer

(2)

``My Draft Is Too Short.''

(4)

Underline Major Points

(1)

Show after You Tell

(1)

Return to Idea Generation

(1)

Check Your Thesis

(1)

Use a Computer

(1)

``My Draft Is Too Long.''

(3)

Check Your Thesis

(1)

Eliminate Unnecessary Points

(1)

Outline Your Draft

(1)

Eliminate Wordiness

(1)

Do Not Overwrite Your Introduction or Conclusion

(1)

``My Writing Seems Boring.''

(5)

Replace General Words with Specific Ones

(1)

Add Description

(1)

Add Specific Examples

(1)

Tell a Story

(1)

Use the Active Voice

(1)

Substitute Action Verbs for Forms of To Be

(1)

Rewrite Cliches

(1)

Eliminate Statements of the Obvious

(1)

Check Your Thesis

(1)

Use a Computer

(1)

``My Writing Sounds Choppy.''

(5)

Use Different Sentence Openers

(2)

Very the Placement of Transitions

(1)

Combine Short Sentences

(1)

Follow Long Sentences with Short Ones and Short Sentences with Long Ones

(1)

Use Your Ear

(1)

Use a Computer

(2)

PART 4 EDITING

(48)

``I Have Trouble Finding My Mistakes.''

(6)

Edit Last

(1)

Leave Your Work for a While

(1)

Point to Each Word and Punctuation Mark

(1)

Use a Ruler

(1)

Prepare a Fresh, Typed Copy of Your Draft

(1)

Listen to Your Draft

(1)

Learn Your Pattern of Error

(1)

Use an Editing Checklist

100

(1)

Trust Your Instincts

100

(1)

Edit More than Once

101

(1)

Learn the Rules

101

(1)

Get Some Help

101

(1)

Use a Computer

101

(2)

``I Used a Period and a Capital Letter, so Why Isn't This a Sentence?''

103

(6)

Isolate Everything You Are Calling a Sentence

104

(1)

Read Your Draft Backward

104

(1)

Check -ing and -ed Verb Forms

104

(1)

Check for Fragment Warning Words

105

(1)

Watch Out for Who, Whom, Whose, Which, and Where

106

(1)

Eliminate the Fragments

106

(2)

Use a Computer

108

(1)

``How Can This Be a Run-On Or a Comma Splice? It's Not Even Long.''

109

(4)

Study Sentences Individually

110

(1)

Underline Run-On and Comma Splice Warning Words

111

(1)

Forget about Long and Short

111

(1)

Use a Computer

112

(1)

``I/Me, She/Her, He/Him, They/Them, We/Us, Who/Whom---What's the Difference?''

113

(7)

Cross Out Everything in the Phrase but the Pronoun

113

(1)

Cross Out Words That Rename

114

(1)

Add the Missing Words in Comparisons

115

(1)

Circle They, Their, and Them, and Draw and Arrow to the Nouns They Refer To

116

(1)

Pay Special Attention to Everybody, Everyone, Everything, Somebody, Someone, Something, Anybody, Anyone, and Anything

116

(1)

Circle Who and Whom and Underline the Rest of the Clause

117

(1)

Circle You

117

(1)

Underline It and They to Avoid Unstated Reference

118

(1)

Watch Out for Unclear Reference

118

(1)

Use a Computer

119

(1)

``I'm Not Sure Which Verb To Use.''

120

(5)

Cross Out Phrases before the Verb

120

(1)

Rewrite Questions

121

(1)

Rewrite Sentences Beginning with Here and There

122

(1)

Circle Each, Either, Neither, One, None, Anyone, Anybody, Anything, Everyone, Everybody, Everything, Someone, Somebody, and Something

123

(1)

Listen to Your Verb Tenses

123

(2)

``I Have Trouble With the Forms of Modifiers.''

125

(5)

Draw an Arrow from the Modifier to the Word Described

125

(2)

Remember that Good Is an Adjective and Well Is an Adverb---With One Caution and One Exception

127

(1)

Each Time You Use More or Most, Check to Be Sure You Have Not Used an -er or -est Form

127

(1)

Check Every Sentence That Opens with an -ing or -ed Verb Form

128

(1)

Move Modifiers Near the Words They Describe

129

(1)

``Why Can't I Place a Comma Wherever I Pause?''

130

(3)

Find the Subject and Look in Front of It

130

(1)

Circle and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet, and Look Left and Right

131

(1)

Look for Series

131

(1)

Identify Nonessential Elements

132

(1)

``I Have Trouble with Apostrophes.''

133

(3)

Identify the Missing Letter (s)

133

(1)

Use It's Only When You Can Substitute It Is or It Has

134

(1)

Avoid Contractions

134

(1)

For Possessive Forms, Ask Two Questions

134

(1)

Use a Computer

135

(1)

``I Can't Spell.''

136

(7)

When in Doubt, Check It Out

136

(1)

Buy Two Dictionaries

137

(1)

Use a Spelling Dictionary

137

(1)

Use a Pocket Spell Checker

137

(1)

Learn Correct Pronunciations

137

(1)

Break a Word into Parts

137

(1)

Break a Word into Syllables

138

(1)

Look for Prefixes

138

(1)

Use Memory Tricks

138

(2)

Underline Words to Check Later

140

(1)

Keep a Spelling List

141

(1)

Use a Computer

141

(2)

PART 5 WRITING PRACTICE

143

(6)

Ideas For Writing

145

(4)

APPENDIXES

149

(10)

Appendix 1 Keeping a Process Log

151

(2)

Appendix 2 Using Reader Response Questionnaires

153

(3)

Appendix 3 Coping with Essay Examinations

156

(3)

Index

159

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Working It Out

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