Writing Simplified : A Composition Guide Book

I. OVERVIEW: THE WRITING PROCESS.

1. The Writer's Mindset.

Attitude.

Desire.

Practicality.

2. The Writer's Tools.

Paper and Writing Instruments.

Dictionary and Thesaurus.

3. Steps in the Writing Process.

4. Step One: Planning and Prewriting.

Planning.

Prewriting.

5. Step Two: Drafting.

6. Step Three: Editing and Revising.

7. Step Four: Proofreading and Correcting.

8. The Elements of Good Writing.

Unity.

Organization.

Development.

Coherence.

9. Exercises (The Writing Process).

II. PREWRITNG: WHERE TO BEGIN.

10. Basic Writing Techniques.

11. Finding Topics.

12.Brainstorming.

13. Listing.

14. Freewriting.

Journals.

Stream of Consciousness.

15. Looping.

16. Mapping.

17. Clustering/Branching.

18. Writing Drafts.

First Drafts.

Secondary Drafts.

Final Drafts.

19. Manuscript Preparation.

Length Specifications/Recommendations.

Handwritten Papers.

Word-processed Papers.

Printer.

Format/Labeling.

Titles.

Spacing.

Margins.

Edited American English.

III. WRITING EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS.

20. What Is a Paragraph?

The Topic Sentence.

Wording.

Placement.

The Unifying Idea.

21. Unity.

Topic.

Audience.

Purpose.

22. Organization.

Introductory Sentence.

Body Sentences.

Closing Sentence.

23. Fact vs. Opinion.

24. Development of Body Paragraphs.

Details.

Examples.

Descriptions.

25. Evaluating and Editing Your Paragraphs.

Evaluating Structure.

Evaluating Development.

Evaluating Specific Wording and Clarity.

Evaluating the Closing Sentence.

26. Exercises (Writing Paragraphs).

Questions About Paragraphs.

Fact vs. Opinion.

Paragraph Structure.

Sentence Sorting.

Paragraph Development.

Group Activity.

Evaluating Paragraphs.

IV. ESSAYS: WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT.

27. What Is an Essay?

28. Planning and Prewriting.

Topic, Audience, and Purpose.

Essay Structure and Length.

Introduction and Thesis Sentence.

From Topic to Thesis Sentence.

Body.

Conclusion.

29. Using Outlines.

Main Points.

Sub-points.

30. Introductory Paragraph.

31. Body Paragraphs.

Topic Sentences.

Paragraph Development.

32. The Concluding Paragraph.

33. Paragraph Hooks and Transitions.

34. Guidelines for Writing a Good Essay.

35. Writing in the Classroom.

36. Checking Your Essays: A Sample Completed Essay.

37. Evaluating Your Writing: Checklist.

Evaluating Unity.

Evaluating Organization.

Evaluating Development.

Evaluating Coherence.

Revising and Editing.

Proofreading.

38. Good, Mediocre, and Ineffective Writing.

39. Exercises (Writing Essays).

V. WRITING: STRATEGIES FOR PARAGRAPH/ESSAY DEVELOPMENT.

40. Introduction to Writing Strategies.

41. Narration.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Narration Exercise.

42. Example.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Example Exercise.

43. Description.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Description Exercise.

44. Definition.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Definition Exercise.

45. Process.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Process Exercise.

46. Enumeration/Chronology.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Enumeration/Chronology Exercise.

47. Classification.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Classification Exercise.

48. Comparison and/or Contrast.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Comparison and/or Contrast Exercise.

49. Cause and/or Effect.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Cause and/or Effect Exercise.

50. Argument.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Argument Exercise.

51. Dialectical Persuasion.

Explanation.

Sample Paragraph/Essay.

Dialectical Exercise.

52. Writing a Summary.

VI. REVIEW: THE WRITING PROCESS.

53. Editing and Revising.

Adding.

Deleting.

Checking Organization.

Checking Length.

Checking Points and Support.

Checking Coherence.

Checking Introduction and Conclusion.

54. Collaborative Writing.

Editing for Unity.

Editing for Organization and Development.

Editing for Parallelism.

Editing for Coherence.

VII. APPENDIX: THE FINE POINTS.

55. Checking Grammar.

Fragments.

Fused Sentences and Comma Splices.

Subject-Verb Agreement.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement.

Adjectives and Adverbs.

Misplaced Modifiers.

56. Checking Punctuation.

The Comma.

The Semicolon.

The Apostrophe.

Abbreviations and Numbers.

Quotation Marks.

Italics (or Underlining).

57. Spelling.

Basic Spelling Rules.

Dictionary.

Computerized Spell Checkers.

Mnemonic Devices.

Commonly Misspelled Words.

58. Usage.

Confused Words (affect/effect, good/well, less/fewer, lie/lay, etc.).

Common Problems (contractions, double negatives, slang, split infinitives, etc.).

59. Proofreading.

VIII. ELEMENTS OF STYLE.

60. Improving Style.

Intentional Fragments.

Joining Main Clauses Logically.

Beginning Sentences with And.

More About Coordination and Subordination.

61. Sexist Language.

62. Eliminating Awkwardness: Parallelism.

Defining and Achieving Parallelism.

Detecting Faulty Parallelism.

Evaluating Parallelism.

63. Coherence.

Achieving Coherence.

Sentence Combining.

Exercises (Sentence Combining).

IX. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR COLLEGE WRITING.

64. Answering Essay Questions.

Understanding the Question or Statement.

Following Instructions.

Helpful Suggestions.

Writing Your Answer.

Sample Answer to Essay Question.

65. Writing the Research Paper: MLA Style.

Selecting a Topic.

The Working Bibliography.

Taking Notes.

Sample MLA Works Cited Entries.

Checking Your Research.

Sample MLA Paper.

X. REFERENCE/CROSS REFERENCE.

66. Answer Keys.

67. Index.