The Little Penguin Handbook Book

Part 1 Composing

1 Think as a Writer

a Think about the process of communication

b Think about your audience

c Think about your credibility

2 Read and View with a Critical Eye

a Become a critical reader

b Become a critical viewer

3 Plan and Draft

a Establish goals and find a topic

b Write a working thesis

c Determine your organization

d Focus your paragraphs

e Write effective beginning and ending paragraphs

4 Revise, Edit, and Proofread

a Evaluate your draft

b Learn strategies for rewriting

c Edit for specific goals

d Proofread carefully

e Review the writing of others

5 Write Arguments

a Position arguments and proposal arguments

b Find an arguable topic and make a claim

c Organize and write a position argument

d Make a proposal

e Organize and write a proposal argument

6 Write in Academic Genres

a Write an observation

SAMPLE OBSERVATION

b Write a rhetorical analysis

SAMPLE RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

c Write an essay exam

SAMPLE ESSAY EXAM RESPONSE

7 Write for Online Courses

a Use courseware

b Keep track of online coursework

c Participate in online course discussions

SAMPLE DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING

d Observe netiquette

PART 2 Planning Research and Finding Sources

Research Map: Conducting Research

8 Plan Your Research

a Analyze the Research Task

b Find and Narrow a Topic

c Determine What Kind of Research You Need

d Draft a Working Thesis

e Create a Working Bibliography

9 Find Sources

a Develop Strategies for Finding Sources

b Find Sources in Databases

c Find Sources on the Web

d Find Multimedia Sources

e Find Print Sources

f Keep Track of Sources

10 Evaluate Sources

a Determine the Relevance of Sources

b Evaluate Database and Print Sources

c Evaluate Web Sources

11 Plan Field Research

a Know What You Can Obtain from Field Research

b Conduct Interviews

c Administer Surveys

d Make Observations

PART 3 Incorporating and Documenting Sources

12 Understand and Avoid Plagiarism

a What is Plagiarism?

b Avoid Plagiarism When Taking Notes

c Avoid Plagiarism When Quoting Sources

d Avoid Plagiarism When Summarizing and Paraphrasing

13 Use Sources Effectively

a Decide When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

b Integrate Quotations

14 MLA Documentation

MLA Documentation Map

a Citing Sources in an MLA-Style Project

b Creating the List of Works Cited

c In-text Citations in MLA Style

d Illustrated Samples and Index of Works Cited

e Journals, Magazines Newspapers, and Other Print Sources

f Books

g Library Database Sources

h Web Sources and Other Online Sources

i Visual Sources

j Multimedia Sources

k Sample Research Paper with MLA Documentation

SAMPLE PROPOSAL ARGUMENT IN MLA STYLE

15 APA Documentation

a In-text Citations in APA Style

b Illustrated Samples and Index of References

c Periodical Sources

d Books

e Online Sources

f Visual and Multimedia Sources

g Sample Pages from a Research Paper with APA Documentation

16 CMS Documentation

a The Elements of CMS Documentation

b Books and Nonperiodical Sources

c Periodical Sources

d Online Sources

e Sample Pages with CMS Documentation

17 CSE Documentation

a In-Text References in CSE Style

b Books and Nonperiodical Sources

c Periodical Sources

d Online Sources

e Sample Pages with CSE Documentation

Part 4 Effective Style and Language

18 Write with Power

a Recognize active and passive voice

b Use action verbs

c Find agents

d Vary your sentences

19 Write Concisely

a Eliminate unnecessary words

b Reduce wordy phrases

c Simplify tangled sentences

20 Write with Emphasis

a Manage emphasis within sentences

b Forge links across sentences

c Use parallel structure with parallel ideas

21 Find the Right Words

a Be aware of levels of formality

b Be aware of denotation and connotation

c Use specific language

d Write to be inclusive

e Recognize international varieties of English

Part 5 Understanding Grammar

22 Fragments, Run-ons, and Comma Splices

a Fragments

b Run-on sentences

c Comma splices

23 Subject-Verb Agreement

a Agreement in the present tense

b Singular and plural subjects

c Indefinite pronouns as subjects

d Collective nouns as subjects

e Inverted word order

f Amounts, numbers, and pairs

24 Verbs

a Basic verb forms

b Irregular verbs

c Transitive and intransitive verbs

25 Pronouns

a Pronoun case

b Pronoun agreement

c Avoiding sexist pronouns

d Vague reference

26 Shifts

a Shifts in tense

b Shifts in mood

c Shifts in voice

d Shifts in person and number

27 Modifiers

a Choose the correct modifier

b Place adjectives carefully

c Place adverbs carefully

d Hyphens with compound modifiers

e Revise dangling modifiers

28 Grammar for Multilingual Writers

a Nouns

b Articles

c Verbs

Part 6 Understanding Puncutation and Mechanics

29 Commas

a Commas with introductory elements

b Commas with compound clauses

c Commas with nonrestrictive modifiers

d Commas with items in a series

e Commas with coordinate adjectives

f Commas with quotations

g Commas with dates, numbers, titles, and addresses

h Commas to avoid confusion

i Unnecessary commas

30 Semicolons and Colons

a Semicolons with closely related main clauses

b Semicolons together with commas

c Colons in sentences

d Colons with lists

31 Dashes and Parentheses

a Dashes and parentheses to set off information

b Dashes and parentheses versus commas

c Other punctuation with parentheses

32 Apostrophes

a Possessives

b Contractions and omitted letters

c Plurals of letters, symbols, and words referred to as words

33 Quotation Marks

a Direct quotations

b Titles of short works

c Other uses of quotation marks

d Other punctuation with quotation marks

e Misuses of quotation marks

34 Other Punctuation Marks

a Periods

b Question marks

c Exclamation points

d Brackets

e Ellipses

f Slashes

35 Capitalization, Italics, Abbreviations, Numbers

a Capital letters

b Italics

c Abbreviations

d Acronyms

e Numbers

Glossary of Grammatical Terms and Usage

Index

Credits

Revision Guide