EasyWriter, A High School Reference

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)