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Table of Contents

1 A Writer’s Choices

*1a Understanding expectations for academic writing

1b Moving between informal and formal writing

1c Email and other "in-between" writing

1d Considering the assignment and purpose

1e Choosing a topic

1f Considering audiences

1g Considering stance and tone

1h Considering time, genre, medium, and format

1i Collaborating

2 Exploring, Planning, and Drafting

2a Exploring a topic

2b Developing a working thesis

2c Gathering evidence and doing research

2d Planning and drafting

2e Developing paragraphs

3 Making Design Decisions

3a Design principles

3b Appropriate formats

3c Visuals and media  

3d  Ethical use of visuals and media

4 Reviewing, Revising, and Editing

4a Reviewing

4b Revising

4c Editing and proofreading  

Top Twenty Tips for Editing Your Writing

5 Sharing and Reflecting on Your Writing

5a Sharing with audiences

*5b Creating a portfolio

5c Reflecting on your own work

*5d Student writing: Reflection

6 Learning from Low-Stakes Writing

6a The value of low-stakes writing

6b Types of low-stakes assignments

7 Reading and Listening Analytically, Critically, and Respectfully

7a Previewing

7b Annotating

7c Summarizing

7d Analyzing

7e Student writing: Rhetorical analysis

8 Arguing Ethically and Persuasively

*8a Listening (and reading) purposefully and openly

8b Identifying basic appeals in an argument

8c Analyzing the elements of an argument

8d Arguing purposefully

8e Making an argument

8f Organizing an argument

*8g Student writing: Argument essay

*9 Writing in a Variety of Disciplines and Genres

*9a Recognizing expectations of academic disciplines

*9b Understanding and using genres

*9c Adapting genre structures

*9d Choosing genres for public writing

*9e Student writing: Samples in a variety of disciplines and genres

10 Creating Presentations

10a Considering task, purpose, and audience

10b Writing a memorable introduction and conclusion

10c Using explicit structure and signpost language

10d Preparing a script for ease of presentation

10e Planning visuals

10f Practicing

10g Delivering the presentation

*10h Student writing: Excerpts from a presentation

11 Conducting Research

*11a Understanding challenges to research today

11b Beginning the research process

11c Choosing among types of sources

11d Using library resources

11e Finding credible Internet sources

11f Doing field research

12 Evaluating Sources and Taking Notes

*12a Checking facts

12b Evaluating the usefulness and credibility of potential sources

12c Reading and analyzing sources

12d Synthesizing sources

*12e Keeping track of sources

12f Working with quotations, summaries, and paraphrases

*12g Creating an annotated bibliography

*12h Student writing: Annotated bibliography entries

13 Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism

*13a Using sources ethically

13b Integrating quotations, paraphrases, and summaries

13c Integrating visuals and media

13d Knowing which sources to acknowledge

13e Avoiding plagiarism

14 Writing a Research Project

14a Drafting your text, including illustrations

14b Reviewing and revising a research project

14c Preparing a list of sources

14d Editing and proofreading

*14e Student writing: Outline of a research project

15 MLA Style

15a Understanding MLA citation style

15b Considering the context of your sources

15c Following MLA manuscript format

15d Creating MLA in-text citations

List of examples: In-text citations in MLA style

15e Creating an MLA list of works cited

List of examples: Works cited in MLA style

15f  Student writing: Research-based argument, MLA style

16 APA Style

16a Understanding APA citation style

16b Following APA manuscript format

16c Creating APA in-text citations

List of examples: In-text citations in APA style

16d Creating an APA list of references

List of examples: References in APA style

16e Student writing: Causal analysis essay with abstract, APA style

17 Chicago Style

17a Understanding Chicago citation style

17b Following Chicago manuscript format

17c Creating Chicago notes and bibliographic entries

List of examples: Notes and bibliographic entries in Chicago style

17d Student writing: Research-based history essay (excerpts), Chicago style

18 CSE Style

18a Following CSE manuscript format

18b Creating CSE in-text citations

18c Creating a CSE list of references

List of examples: References in CSE style

18d Student writing: Biology literature review (excerpts), CSE style

*19 Writing across Cultures and Communities

19a Thinking about what seems "normal"  

19b Clarifying meaning

19c Meeting audience expectations

20 Language That Builds Common Ground

20a Examining assumptions and avoiding stereotypes

*20b Examining assumptions about gender and pronouns

20c Examining assumptions about race and ethnicity

*20d Considering abilities and disabilities

21 Varieties of Language

21a Using "standard" English appropriately

*21b Using varieties of English

22 Word Choice

22a Using appropriate formality

22b Considering denotation and connotation

22c Using general and specific language effectively

22d Using figurative language effectively

22e Making spell checkers work for you

*23 Varying Sentences

*23a Varying sentence length

*23b Varying sentence openings

24 Consistency, Completeness, and Effectiveness

24a Revising confusing sentence structure

24b Matching subjects and predicates

24c Using consistent compound structures

24d Making complete comparisons

25 Coordination and Subordination

25a Relating equal ideas

25b Distinguishing main ideas

26 Conciseness

26a Eliminating redundant words

26b Eliminating empty words

26c Replacing wordy phrases

26d Simplifying sentence structure

27 Parallelism

27a Making items in a series or list parallel

27b Making paired ideas parallel

27c Using words necessary for clarity

28 Shifts

28a Revising shifts in tense

28b Revising shifts in voice

28c Revising shifts in point of view

28d Revising shifts between direct and indirect discourse

29 Verbs and Verb Phrases

29a Using regular and irregular verb forms

29b Building verb phrases

29c Using infinitives and gerunds

29d Using lie and lay, sit and set, rise and raise

29e Using verb tenses

29g Using active and passive voice

29h Using mood appropriately

29i Using conditional sentences appropriately

30 Nouns and Noun Phrases

30a Understanding count and noncount nouns

30b Using determiners

30c Using articles

31 Subject-Verb Agreement

31a Checking for words between subject and verb

31b Checking agreement with compound subjects

31c Making verbs agree with collective nouns

31d Making verbs agree with indefinite pronouns

31e Making verbs agree with who, which, and that

31f Making linking verbs agree with subjects

31g Making verbs agree with subjects that end in –s

31h Checking for subjects that follow the verb

31i Making verbs agree with titles and words used as words

31j Considering spoken forms of be in varieties of English

32 Adjectives and Adverbs

32a Using adjectives after linking verbs

32b Using comparatives and superlatives

33 Modifier Placement

33a Revising misplaced modifiers

33b Revising disruptive modifiers

33c Revising dangling modifiers

34 Pronouns

34a Considering a pronoun’s role in the sentence  

34b Making pronouns agree with antecedents

34c Making pronouns refer to clear antecedents

35 Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

35a Choosing the right preposition

35b Using two-word verbs idiomatically

36 Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

36a Separating the clauses into two sentences

36b Linking the clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction

36c Linking the clauses with a semicolon

36d Rewriting the two clauses as one independent clause

36e Rewriting one independent clause as a dependent clause

36f Linking the two clauses with a dash

37 Sentence Fragments

37a Revising phrase fragments

37b Revising compound-predicate fragments

37c Revising clause fragments

38 Commas

38a Setting off introductory elements

38b Separating clauses in compound sentences

38c Setting off nonrestrictive elements

38d Separating items in a series

38e Setting off parenthetical and transitional expressions

38f Setting off contrasting elements, interjections, direct address, and tag questions

38g Setting off parts of dates and addresses

38h Setting off quotations

38i Avoiding unnecessary commas

39 Semicolons

39a Linking independent clauses

39b Separating items in a series containing other punctuation

39c Avoiding misused semicolons

40 End Punctuation

40a Using periods

40b Using question marks

40c Using exclamation points

40d Using end punctuation in informal writing

41 Apostrophes

41a Signaling possessive case

41b Signaling contractions

41c Understanding apostrophes and plural forms

42 Quotation Marks

42a Signaling direct quotation

42b Identifying titles of short works and definitions

42c Using quotation marks with other punctuation

42d Avoiding misused quotation marks  

43 Other Punctuation

43a Using parentheses

43b Using brackets

43c Using dashes

43d Using colons

43e Using slashes

43f Using ellipses

44 Capital Letters

44a Capitalizing the first word of a sentence

44b Capitalizing proper nouns and proper adjectives

44c Capitalizing titles before proper names

44d Capitalizing titles of works

44e Revising unnecessary capitalization

45 Abbreviations and Numbers

45a Using abbreviations

45b Using numbers

46 Italics

46a Italicizing titles

46b Italicizing words, letters, and numbers used as terms

46c Italicizing non-English words

46d Italicizing names of aircraft, ships, and trains

46e Using italics for emphasis

47 Hyphens

47a Using hyphens with compound words

47b Using hyphens with prefixes and suffixes

47c Avoiding unnecessary hyphens

Glossary of Usage

Index/Glossary of Terms

Revision Symbols

For Multilingual Writers

Authors

Andrea A. Lunsford

Andrea Lunsford, Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor of English emerita and former Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University, joined the Stanford faculty in 2000. Prior to this appointment, Lunsford was Distinguished Professor of English at The Ohio State University (1986-2000). She has also been Associate Professor and Director of Writing at the University of British Columbia (1977-86). Currently a member of the faculty of the Bread Loaf School of English, Professor Lunsford earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Florida and completed her Ph.D. in English at The Ohio State University (1977).

Professor Lunsford's scholarly interests include contemporary rhetorical theory, women and the history of rhetoric, collaboration and collaborative writing, current cultures of writing, intellectual property and composing, style, and technologies of writing. She has written or coauthored many books, including Essays on Classical Rhetoric and Modern Discourse; Singular Texts/Plural Authors: Perspectives on Collaborative Writing; and Reclaiming Rhetorica: Women in the History of Rhetoric, as well as numerous chapters and articles. For Bedford/St. Martin’s, she is the author of The St. Martin's Handbook, The Everyday Writer, EasyWriter, and Writing in Action; the co-author (with John Ruszkiewicz) of Everything’s an Argument and (with John Ruszkiewicz and Keith Walters) of Everything’s an Argument with Readings; and the co-author (with Lisa Ede) of Writing Together: Collaboration in Theory and Practice.

Professor Lunsford has conducted workshops on writing and program reviews at dozens of North American universities, served as Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, as Chair of the Modern Language Association Division on Writing, and as a member of the MLA Executive Council.

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