Longman Pocket Writer's Companion Book

Guide for Using this Handbook.

I. WRITING AND READING.

1. Writing and Reading in Communities.

Understanding your writing situation.

Moving from reading to writing.

Focusing on writing processes.

2. Developing a Thesis.

Creating a thesis statement.

Designing an appropriate thesis.

3. Providing Support and Reasoning Clearly.

Reasoning Critically.

Providing Support.

Evaluating support.

4. Paragraphing for Readers.

Focusing paragraphs.

Making paragraphs coherent.

Developing paragraphs.

5. Matching Style and Strategy to a Community of Readers.

Recognizing a community’s style.

Adjusting to a community’s style.

Recognizing a community’s expectations.

6. Designing Documents for Readers.

Planning your document.

Laying out your document.

Using type features.

Using visuals.

Sample documents.

7. Constructing an Argument.

Identifying an issue.

Developing an argumentative thesis.

Developing reasons and supporting evidence.

Presenting counterarguments.

Reasoning logically.

II. CONDUCTING RESEARCH.

8. Planning and Conducting Research.

Recognizing research communities.

Recognizing research topics.

Identifying keywords.

Developing research questions.

Developing search strategies.

Selecting resources for a working bibliography.

Keeping track of your sources and notes.

Pulling your research materials together.

9. Finding Library and Database Resources.

Finding library sources.

Using library resources.

Finding research databases.

Using research databases.

10. Finding Web and Internet Resources.

Developing an online search strategy.

Finding Web and Internet resources.

Searching efficiently.

Using Web resources.

11. Reading and Evaluating Sources.

Summarizing and paraphrasing.

Synthesizing and questioning.

Evaluating sources critically.

Evaluating online sources critically.

Turning inquiry into writing.

12. Integrating and Crediting Sources.

Documenting sources for your community.

Using quotations.

Integrating sources into your text.

Avoiding plagiarism.

Deciding what to document.

III. DOCUMENTING SOURCES.

13. MLA Style.

MLA in-text (parenthetical) citations.

MLA list of works cited.

MLA sample pages.

14. APA Style.

APA in-text (parenthetical) citations.

APA reference list.

APA sample pages.

15. CMS Style.

CMS notes.

CMS bibliography.

16. CSE Style.

CSE in-text citations.

CSE reference list.

Variations in scientific and technical style.

IV. WRITING CORRECTLY.

17. Fragments.

Recognizing sentence fragments.

Editing sentence fragments.

Using partial sentences.

18. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences.

Recognizing comma splices.

Recognizing fused sentences.

Editing comma splices and fused sentences.

19. Pronoun Reference.

Recognizing unclear pronoun reference.

Editing pronoun reference.

20. Agreement.

Recognizing agreement.

Editing subject-verb agreement.

Editing pronoun-antecedent agreement.

21. Correct Forms.

Recognizing and editing verb forms.

Editing for clear tense sequence.

Recognizing pronoun forms.

Editing pronoun forms.

Recognizing adjectives and adverbs.

Editing adjectives and adverbs.

Recognizing and editing comparisons.

V. WRITING CLEARLY.

22. Clear Sentences.

Recognizing unclear sentences.

Editing for clear sentences.

23. Mixed Structures.

Recognizing mixed and incomplete sentences.

Editing mixed and incomplete sentences.

24. Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers.

Recognizing misplaced modifiers.

Editing misplaced modifiers.

25. Unnecessary Shifts.

Recognizing shifts in person and number.

Editing shifts in person and number.

Recognizing shifts in tense.

Editing shifts in tense.

26. Parallelism.

Recognizing faulty parallelism.

Editing for parallelism.

27. Coordination and Subordination.

Recognizing coordination.

Recognizing subordination.

Editing for coordination and subordination.

28. Conciseness.

Recognizing common types of wordiness.

Editing for conciseness.

29. Language Choices.

Recognizing and editing language varieties.

Recognizing and editing disrespectful language.

VI. WRITING WITH CONVENTIONS.

30. Commas.

Recognizing commas that join sentences.

Editing commas that join sentences.

Recognizing commas that set off sentence elements.

Editing commas that set off sentence elements.

Editing disruptive commas.

Editing commas with words in a series.

31. Semicolons and Colons.

Recognizing semicolons that join sentences.

Editing semicolons that join sentences.

Editing semicolons in a complex series.

Recognizing and editing colons.

32. Apostrophes.

Recognizing apostrophes that mark possession.

Editing apostrophes that mark possession.

Recognizing apostrophes that mark contractions.

Editing apostrophes that mark contractions.

33. Quotation Marks.

Recognizing marks that set off quotations.

Editing marks that set off quotations.

Editing quotation marks with titles short works.

34. Italics and Underlining.

Recognizing conventions for italics (underlining).

Editing for conventions for emphasis.

35. Capitals.

Recognizing capitals that begin sentences.

Editing capitals that begin sentences.

Editing capitals that begin words.

36. Abbreviations.

Recognizing and editing abbreviations.

Editing to use abbreviations sparingly.

37. Numbers.

Recognizing when to spell or use numerals.

Editing numbers in general text.

38. Hyphens.

Recognizing hyphens that join words.

Editing hyphens that join words.

Editing hyphens that divide words.

39. Spelling.

Using the computer to proofread for spelling.

Recognizing and editing spelling errors.

40. Other Marks and Conventions.

Recognizing and editing parentheses.

Recognizing and editing dashes.

Recognizing and editing brackets.

Recognizing and editing ellipses.

Recognizing and editing slashes.

Recognizing and editing end marks.

Recognizing and editing electronic addresses.

Combining marks.

Grammar at a Glance.

Glossary of Usage and Terms.

Index.

Guide to ESL Advice.