The Writer's World: Essays, 2009 MLA Update Edition Book

Preface

Part I The Writing Process

Chapter 1 Exploring

Visualizing the Paragraph and the Essay

Key Steps in Exploring

Topic

Audience

Purpose

Exploring Strategies

Journal and Portfolio Writing

Chapter 2 Developing the Main Idea

Key Steps in Developing the Main Idea

Writing a Thesis Statement

Developing the Supporting Ideas

Chapter 3 Developing the Essay Plan

Key Steps in Developing the Essay Plan

Organizing Supporting Ideas

Developing an Essay Plan

Chapter 4 Developing the First Draft

Key Steps in Developing the First Draft

Writing an Introduction

Writing Complete Body Paragraphs

Writing a Conclusion

Choosing an Essay Title

Writing the First Draft

Chapter 5 Revising and Editing

Key Steps in Revising and Editing

Revising For Unity

Revising for Adequate Support

Revising for Coherence

Revising for Style

Editing for Errors

Writing the Final Draft

Part II Essay Patterns

Chapter 6 Illustration

What is Illustration?

The Illustration Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit an Illustration Essay

A Professional Essay: “Little Brother is Watching” by Eric Gall

Chapter 7 Narration

What is Narration?

The Narrative Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit a Narrative Essay

A Professional Essay: “Out of Sight” by Ryan Knighton

Chapter 8 Description

What is Description?

The Descriptive Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit a Descriptive Essay

A Professional Essay: “Living Among the Bees” by Lucie L. Snodgrass

Chapter 9 Process

What is a Process?

The Process Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit a Process Essay

A Professional Essay: “Do You Have What It Takes to Be Happy?” by Stacey Colino

Chapter 10 Definition

What is Definition?

The Definition Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit a Definition Essay

A Professional Essay: “On Genius” by Dorothy Nixon

Chapter 11 Classification

What is Classification?

The Classification Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit a Classification Essay

A Professional Essay: “Types of Correctional Officers” by Frank Schmalleger

Chapter 12 Comparison and Contrast

What is Comparison and Contrast?

The Comparison and Contrast Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit a Comparison and Contrast Essay

A Professional Essay: “The Dating World” by Naomi Louder

Chapter 13 Cause and Effect

What is Cause and Effect?

The Cause and Effect Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit a Cause and Effect Essay

A Professional Essay: “Friendless in North America” by Ellen Goodman

Chapter 14 Argument

What is Argument?

The Argument Essay

Explore Topics

The Thesis Statement

The Supporting Ideas

The Essay Plan

The First Draft

Revise and Edit an Argument Essay

A Professional Essay: “Keep Your Roses” by Melonyce McAfee

Part III More College and Workplace Writing

Chapter 15 Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Integrating Borrowed Information

Paraphrasing

Summarizing

Chapter 16 The Research Essay

Planning a Research Paper

Gathering Information

Evaluating Sources

Taking Notes

Organizing Your First Draft

Incorporating Visuals

Citing Sources

Using MLA Style

Sample Research Essay

Using APA Style

Chapter 17 The Résumé and Letter Application

Preparing a Résumé

Writing a Letter of Application

Chapter 18 Responding to Film and Literature

Responding to Film and Literature

Structuring Your Written Response

Chapter 19 Becoming a Successful Student

Preparing for Exams

Writing Essay Exams

Part IV The Editing Handbook

Section 1 Effective Sentences ª Section Theme CONFLICT Chapter 20 Identify Subjects and Verbs

Identifying Subjects

Identifying Verbs

Chapter 21 Sentence Combining

Understanding Key Words

Making Compound Sentences

Making Complex Sentences

Chapter 22 Sentence Variety

What is Sentence Variety?

Varying the Opening Words

Combine Sentences with an Appositive

Combining Sentences with Relative Clauses

Writing Embedded Questions

Section 2 Common Sentence Errors ª Section Theme URBAN DEVELOPMENT Chapter 23 Fragments

What Are Fragments?

Phrase Fragments

Fragments with —ing and to

Explanatory Fragments

Dependent-Clause Fragments

Chapter 24 Run-Ons

What Are Run-Ons?

Correcting Run-Ons

Chapter 25 Faulty Parallel Structure

What is Parallel Structure?

Correcting Faulty Parallel Structure

Chapter 26 Mistakes With Modifiers

Misplaced Modifiers

Dangling Modifiers

Section 3 Verbs ª Section Theme INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Chapter 27 Subject-Verb Agreement

Basic Subject —Verb Agreement Rules

More Than One Subject

Special Subject Forms

Verb Before the Subject

Interrupting Words and Phrases

Chapter 28 Verb Tenses

What is Verb Tense?

Past and Present Tenses

Past Participles

Present Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Tense

Passive Voice

Progressive Forms

Chapter 29 Problems with Verbs

Verb Consistency

Avoiding Double Negatives

Non-Standard Forms — Gonna, Gotta, Wanna

Problems in Conditional Forms

Non-Standard Forms —Would of, Could of, Should of

Recognizing Gerunds and Inifinitives

Section 4 More Parts of Speech ª Section Theme FORCES OF NATURE

Chapter 30 Nouns, Determiners, and Prepositions

Count Nouns and Non-Count Nouns

Determiners

Prepositions

Chapter 31 Pronouns

Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement

Indefinite Pronouns

Vague Pronouns

Pronoun Shifts

Pronoun Case

Relative Pronouns

Chapter 32 Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives

Adverbs

Comparative and Superlative Forms

Section 5 Word Use and Spelling ª Section Theme PLANTS AND INSECTS

Chapter 33 Exact Language

Use Specific and Detailed Vocabulary

Avoiding Wordiness and Redundancy

Avoiding Clichés

Using Standard English

Chapter 34 Spelling and Commonly Confused Words

Spelling Rules

120 Commonly Misspelled Words

Look-Alike and Sound-Alike Words

Section 6 Punctuation and Mechanics ª Section Theme HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 35 Commas

What is a Comma?

Commas in a Series

Commas after Introductory Words or Phrases

Commas around Interrupting Words and Phrases

Commas in Compound Sentences

Commas in Complex Sentences

Chapter 36 Apostrophes

What is an Apostrophe?

Apostrophes in Contractions

Apostrophes to Show Ownership

Apostrophes in Expressions of Time

Chapter 37 Quotation Marks, Capitalization, and Titles

Quotation marks

Using Quotations in Research Essays

Capitalization

Titles

Chapter 38 Numbers and Additional Punctuation

Numbers

Additional Punctuation

Section 7 Editing

Chapter 39 Editing Practice

Part V Reading Strategies and Selections

Chapter 40 From Reading to Writing

Reading Strategies

Reading Selections

CONFLICT

“The CSI Effect” by Richard Willing (Cause and Effect)

“Types of Rioters” by David Locher (Classification)

“Naming Good Path Elk” by Kenneth M. Kline (Narration)

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

“My African Childhood” by David Sedaris (Comparison and Contrast)

“Living Environments” by Avi Friedman (Classification)

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

“I, Telemarketer” by Eugene Henry (Narration)

“The Rich Resonance of Small Talk” by Roxanne Roberts (Process)

“Google’s China Web” by Frida Ghitis (Argument)

FORCES OF NATURE

“Weird Weather” by Pamela D. Jacobsen (Illustration)

“The Rules of Survival” by Laurence Gonzales (Process)

“Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer (Description)

“Monsoon Time” by Rahul Goswani (Description)

PLANTS AND INSECTS

Songs of Insects” by Sy Montgomery (Illustration)

Nature Returns to the Cities” by John Roach (Cause and Effect)

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

“Raunch Culture” by Ariel Levy (Definition)

“Twixters” by Betsy Hart (Definition)

“The Untranslatable Word ‘Macho;” by Rose del Castillo Guilbalt (Comparison and Contrast)

“Medicating Ourselves” by Robyn Sarah

Appendix 1: The Basic Parts of a Sentence

Appendix 2: Irregular Verb List

Appendix 3: Verb Tenses

Appendix 4: Combining Ideas in Sentences

Appendix 5: Spelling, Grammar, and Vocabulary Logs

Credits

Index