EasyWriter, A High School Reference
Fifth EditionAndrea A. Lunsford
©2014Table of Contents
The Top Twenty
Academic Essentials
WRITING
1 A Writer’s Choices
a Moving from social to academic writing
b Meeting expectations for academic writing
c Considering the assignment and purpose
d Choosing a topic
e Reaching appropriate audiences
f Considering stance and tone
g Considering time, genre, media, and format
h Planning Timed writing
i Writing application essays
A Student’s College Application Essay
j Collaborating
2 Exploring, Planning, and Drafting
a Exploring a topic
b Developing a working thesis
c Gathering evidence and doing research
d Planning and drafting [e-Pages]
e Developing paragraphs
Student Paragraph
f Designing Texts
g Reviewing [e-Pages]
h Revising [e-Pages]
i Editing
j Reflecting
Excerpt of Student Portfolio Cover Letter [e-Pages]
3 Critical Thinking and Argument
a Reading critically
b Identifying basic appeals in an argument
c Analyzing the elements of an argument
d Making an argument
e Identifying logical fallacies
f Organizing an argument
A Student’s Argument Essay [e-Pages]
4 Multimodal Writing
a Planning online assignments
b Creating presentations
A Student’s Presentation [e-Pages]
5 Writing in the Disciplines
a Writing in Academic genres
b Understanding disciplinary styles and evidence
Sample Writing in the Disciplines
6 Writing to Make Something Happen in the World
a Deciding what should happen
b Connecting with audiences
c Sample Student Writing [e-Pages]
SENTENCE GRAMMAR
7 Verbs
a Forming regular and irregular verb forms
b Using Lie and lay, sit and set, rise and raise
c Using verb tenses
d Sequencing verb tenses
e Using active and passive voice
f Using mood appropriately
8 Subject-Verb Agreement
a Checking for words between subject and verb
b Checking agreement with compound subjects
c Making verbs agree with collective nouns
d Making verbs agree with indefinite pronouns
e Making verbs agree with Who, which, and that
f Making linking verbs agree with subjects
g Making verbs agree with subjects that end in –s
h Checking for subjects that follow the verb
i Making verbs agree with titles and words used as words
j Considering spoken forms of be
9 Adjectives and Adverbs
a Using adjectives after linking verbs
b Using comparatives and superlatives
10 Modifier Placement
a Revising misplaced modifiers
b Revising disruptive modifiers
c Revising dangling modifiers
11 Pronouns
a Considering a pronoun’s role in the sentence
b Making pronouns agree with antecedents
c Making pronouns refer to clear antecedents
12 Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
a Separating the clauses into two sentences
b Linking the clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction
c Linking the clauses with a semicolon
d Rewriting the two clauses as one independent clause
e Rewriting one independent clause as a dependent clause
f Linking the two clauses with a dash
13 Sentence Fragments
a Revising phrase fragments
b Revising compound-predicate fragments
c Revising clause fragments
SENTENCE STYLE
14 Consistency and Completeness
a Revising faulty sentence structure
b Matching subjects and predicates
c Using consistent compound structures
d Making complete comparisons
15 Coordination and Subordination
a Relating equal ideas
b Distinguishing main ideas
16 Conciseness
a Eliminating redundant words
b Eliminating empty words
c Replacing wordy phrases
d Simplifying sentence structure
17 Parallelism
a Making items in a series or list parallel
b Making paired ideas parallel
c Using words necessary for clarity
18 Shifts
a Revising shifts in tense
b Revising shifts in voice
c Revising shifts in point of view
d Revising shifts between direct and indirect discourse
e Revising shifts in tone and diction
PUNCTUATION/MECHANICS
19 Commas
a Setting off introductory elements
b Separating clauses in compound sentences
c Setting off nonrestrictive elements
d Separating items in a series
e Setting off parenthetical and transitional expressions
f Setting off contrasting elements, interjections, direct address, and tag questions
g Setting off parts of dates and addresses
h Setting off quotations
i Avoiding unnecessary commas
20 Semicolons
a Linking independent clauses
b Separating items in a series containing other punctuation
c Avoiding misused semicolons
21 End Punctuation
a Using periods
b Using question marks
c Using exclamation points
22 Apostrophes
a Signaling possessive case
b Signaling contractions
c Understanding apostrophes and plural forms
23 Quotation Marks
a Signaling direct quotation
b Identifying titles of short works and definitions
c Using quotation marks with other punctuation
d Avoiding misused quotation marks
24 Other Punctuation
a Using parentheses
b Using brackets
c Using dashes
d Using colons
e Using slashes
f Using ellipses
25 Capital Letters
a Capitalizing the first word of a sentence
b Capitalizing proper nouns and proper adjectives
c Capitalizing titles before proper names
d Capitalizing titles of works
e Revising unnecessary capitalization
26 Abbreviations and Numbers
a Using abbreviations
b Using numbers
27 Italics
a Italicizing titles
b Italicizing words, letters, and numbers used as terms
c Italicizing non-English words
d Italicizing names of ships, planes, and trains
e Using italics for emphasis
28 Hyphens
a Using hyphens with compound words
b Using hyphens with prefixes and suffixes
c Avoiding unnecessary hyphens
LANGUAGE
29 Writing to the World
a Thinking about what seems "normal"
b Clarifying meaning
c Meeting audience expectations
30 Language That Builds Common Ground
a Examining assumptions and avoiding stereotypes
b Examining assumptions about gender
c Examining assumptions about race and ethnicity
d Considering other kinds of difference
31 Varieties of Language
a Using standard varieties of English appropriately
b Using varieties of English to evoke a place or community
c Using varieties of English to build credibility with a community
32 Word Choice
a Using appropriate formality
b Considering denotation and connotation
c Using general and specific language effectively
d Using figurative language effectively
e Making spell checkers work for you
f Improving spelling
g Building Vocabulary
MULTILINGUAL WRITERS
33 Sentence Structure
a Using explicit subjects and objects
b Following English word order
c Adapting structures from genres
d Checking usage with search engines
34 Nouns and Noun Phrases
a Understanding count and noncount nouns
b Using determiners
c Using articles
35 Verbs and Verb Phrases
a Building verb phrases
b Using infinitives and gerunds
c Using conditional sentences appropriately
36 Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases
a Choosing the right preposition
b Using two-word verbs idiomatically
RESEARCH
37 Conducting Research
a Beginning the research process
b Choosing among types of sources
c Using library resources
d Finding useful Internet sources
e Doing field research
38 Synthesizing Sources, Evaluating Sources, and Taking Notes
a Evaluating the usefulness and credibility of potential sources
b Reading and interpreting sources
c Synthesizing sources
d Taking notes
39 Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
a Integrating quotations, paraphrases, and summaries
b Checking for excessive use of source material
c Integrating visuals and media
d Knowing which sources to acknowledge
e Avoiding plagiarism
40 Writing a Research Project
a Drafting your text
b Reviewing and revising a research project
c Preparing a list of sources
d Editing and proofreading
DOCUMENTATION
41 MLA Style
a Understanding MLA citation style
b Following MLA manuscript format
c Creating MLA in-text citations
d Creating an MLA list of works cited
e A sample student research project, MLA style
42 APA Style
a Understanding APA citation style
b Following APA manuscript format
c Creating APA in-text citations
d Creating an APA list of references
e A sample student writing project, APA style
43 Chicago Style
a Understanding Chicago Style
b Following Chicago manuscript format
c Creating Chicago in-text citations
d Creating a Chicago list of references
e A sample student writing project, Chicago style
Glossary of Usage (commonly confused words)