Writing Intensive Essentials for College Writers

Part 1 Common Assignments across the Curriculum 1. Writing in College 2. Informative Reports a. Understanding the assignment b. Approaching writing an informative report as a process 3. Interpretive Analyses and Writing about Literature a. Understanding the assignment b. Approaching writing an interpretive analysis as a process 4. Arguments a. Understanding the assignment b. Approaching writing an argument as a process 5. Other Kinds of Assignments a. Personal essays b. Lab reports in the experimental sciences c. Case studies in the social sciences d. Essay exams e. Oral presentations f. Coauthored projects g. Portfolios 6. Designing Documents for Page and Screen a. Getting margins, spacing, type, and page numbers right b. Thinking intentionally about design c. Using and integrating visuals d. Designing pages for the Web Part 2 Researching 7. Understanding the Purpose of Research Projects a. Understanding primary and secondary research b. Recognizing the connection between research and college writing c. Choosing an interesting research question d. Creating a research plan 8. Finding Print and Online Sources a. Consulting sources b. Using the library c. Searching the Internet 9. Evaluating Your Sources a. Print sources b. Internet sources c. Evaluating a source's arguments 10. Conducting Research in the Archive, Field, and Lab a. Adhering to ethical principles b. Preparing for archival research c. Planning your field research d. Keeping a notebook when doing lab research 11. Working with Sources and Avoid Plagiarism a. Maintaining a working bibliography b. Note taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing c. Avoiding plagiarism and copyright infringement d. Taking stock 12. Writing the Paper a. Planning and drafting b. Integrating quotations, paraphrases and summaries c. Documenting your sources 13. Discipline-Specific Resources in the Library and on the Internet Part 3 MLA Documentation Style 14. MLA Style: In-Text Citations MLA In-Text Citations: Directory to Sample Types 15. MLA Style: List of Works Cited MLA Works-Cited Entries: Directory to Sample Types 16. MLA Style: Explanatory Notes 17. MLA Style: Paper Format 18. Pages from a Student Paper in MLA Style Part 4 APA Documentation Style 19. APA Style: In-Text Citations APA In-Text Citations: Directory to Sample Types 20. APA Style: References APA In-Text Citations: Directory to Sample Types 21. APA Style: Paper Format 22. Pages from a Student Paper in APA Style Part 5 Other Documentation Styles 23. Chicago Documentation Style Chicago Style: Directory to Sample Note and Bibliography Entries 24. CSE Documentation Style CSE Name-Year Style: Directory to Sample Reference-List Entries CSE Number Style: Directory to Sample Reference-List Entries Part 6 Editing for Clarity 25. Avoid Wordiness a. Redundancies and unnecessary modifiers b. Wordy phrases c. Roundabout sentences 26. Add Missing Words a. Compound structures b. The word that c. Words in comparisons d. The articles a, an, the 27. Unscramble Mixed Constructions a. Mixed-up grammar b. Illogical predicates 28. Fix Confusing Shifts a. Shifts in point of view b. Shifts in tense c. Shifts in mood and voice 29. Use Parallel Construction a. Items in a series b. Paired ideas 30. Fix Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers a. Misplaced modifiers b. Ambiguous modifiers c. Disruptive modifiers d. Split infinitives e. Dangling modifiers 31. Use Coordination and Subordination Effectively a. Coordination used for ideas of unequal importance b. Major ideas in subordinate clauses c. Excessive subordination 32. Vary Your Sentences a. Sentence openings b. Sentence length and structure c. Cumulative and periodic sentences d. An occasional inversion, a rhetorical question, or an exclamation 33. Choose Active Verbs a. Alternatives to be verbs b. The active voice 34. Use Appropriate Language a. Slang, regional expressions, and nonstandard English b. Levels of formality c. Jargon d. Euphemisms and doublespeak e. Biased or sexist language 35. Use Exact Language a. Connotations b. Specific and concrete words c. Standard idioms d. Cliches e. Figures of speech f. Misusing words 36. Glossary of Usage Part 7 Editing for Grammar Conventions 37. Fix Sentence Fragments a. Dependent-clause fragments b. Phrase fragments c. Other types of fragments 38. Repair Comma Splices and Run-on Sentences a. Joining two clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction such as and or but b. Joining two clauses with a semicolon c. Separating clauses into two sentences d. Turning one of the independent clauses into a dependent clause e. Transforming two clauses into one independent clause 39. Maintain Subject-Verb Agreement a. When a word group separates the subject from the verb b. Compound subjects c. Collective subjects d. Indefinite subjects e. When the subject comes after the verb f. Subject complement g. Relative pronouns h. Phrases beginning with ing verbs i. Titles of works, names of companies, or words representing themselves 40. Master Problems with Verbs a. Regular and irregular verbs b. Lay and lie, sit and set, rise and raise c. Adding an s or es ending d. Adding a d or an ed endinge. Tenses f. Use of the past perfect tense g. Uses of the present tense h. Complete verbs i. Mood 41. Master Problems with Pronouns a. Pronoun agreement b. Pronoun reference c. Pronoun case d. Who and whom 42. Master Problems with Adjectives and Adverbs a. Adverbs b. Adjectives c. Positive, comparative, and superlative adjectives and adverbs d. Double negatives 43. Watch for Problems with English Grammar of Special Concern to Multilingual Writers a. Using articles (a, an, the) appropriately b. Using helping verbs with main verbs c. Using complete subjects and verbs d. Using only one subject or object Part 8 Editing for Correctness: Punctuation, Mechanics, and Spelling 44. Commas a. After an introductory word group b. Between items in a series c. In front of a coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses d. Between coordinate adjectives e. To set off nonessential elements f. With transitional and parenthetical expressions, contrasting comments, and absolute phrases g. To set off words of direct address, yes and no, mild interjections, and tag questions h. To separate a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence i. With dates, addresses, titles, and numbers j. To take the place of an omitted word or phrase or to prevent misreading k. Common errors 45. Semicolons a. To join independent clauses b. With transitional expressions that separate independent clauses c. To separate items in a series when the items contain commas d. Common errors 46. Colons a. To introduce lists, appositives, or quotations b. When a second independent clause elaborates on the first one c. Other conventional uses d. Common errors 47. Apostrophes a. To indicate possession b. With indefinite pronouns c. To mark contractions d. To form plural numbers, letters, abbreviations, and words used as words e. Common errors 48. Quotation Marks a. To indicate direct quotatioMaimon, Elaine is the author of 'Writing Intensive Essentials for College Writers', published 2006 under ISBN 9780073258904 and ISBN 0073258903.