COMING SOON 14-February-2025
A Writer's Reference
Eleventh Edition
Publication Date: February 14, 2025
Comb-Bound ISBN: 9781319413002
The handbook that boosts the other AI – academic intelligence
In the age of artificial intelligence, A Writer’s Reference continues to boost literacy and build academic intelligence. It supports students as they use tools critically and responsibly to compose in a variety of genres for a range of purposes and audiences. The eleventh...
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C | Composing and Revising
C1 Planning
- a. Build your academic intelligence.
- b. Assess your writing situation.
- c. Explore your subject.
- d. Draft and revise a working thesis statement.
- e Draft a plan.
- a. Draft an introduction.
- b. Draft the body.
- c. Draft a conclusion.
C3 Writing paragraphs
- a. Focus on a main point.
- b. Develop the main point.
- c. Make paragraphs coherent.
- d. If necessary, adjust paragraph length.
- e. Choose a suitable strategy for developing paragraphs.
C4 Reviewing, revising, and editing
- a. Use peer review: Give constructive comments.
- b. Learn from peer review: Revise with comments.
- c. Reflect on comments: Develop a revision plan.
- d. One student’s peer review process.
- e. Approach global revision in cycles.
- f. Revise globally by making a reverse outline.
- g. Revise and edit sentences.
- h. Proofread and format your work.
- i. Sample student revision: Literacy narrative.
C5 Reflecting on your writing; preparing a portfolio
- a. Reflect on your writing.
- b. Prepare a portfolio.
- c. Student writing: Reflective letter for a portfolio.
A | Academic Reading and Writing
A1 Reading and writing critically
- a. Read actively.
- b. Outline a text to identify main ideas.
- c. Summarize to deepen your understanding.
- d. Analyze to demonstrate your critical thinking.
- e. Sample student essay: Analysis of an article.
A2 Reading and writing about multimodal texts
- a. Read actively.
- b. Summarize a multimodal text to deepen your understanding.
- c Analyze a multimodal text to demonstrate your critical reading.
- d Sample student writing: Analysis of an advertisement.
A3 Reading arguments
- a. Read with an open mind and a critical eye.
- b. Evaluate ethical, logical, and emotional appeals as a reader.
- c. Evaluate the evidence behind an argument.
- d. Identify underlying assumptions.
- e. Evaluate how fairly a writer handles opposing views.
A4 Writing arguments
- a Identify your purpose and context.
- b. View your audience as skeptical readers.
- c. Build common ground with your audience.
- d. In your introduction, establish credibility and state your position.
- e. Back up your thesis with persuasive lines of argument.
- f. Support your thesis with specific evidence.
- g. Anticipate objections; counter opposing arguments.
- h. Sample student writing: Argument.
A5 Writing in the disciplines
- a. Find commonalities across disciplines.
- b. Recognize the questions writers in a discipline ask.
- c. Understand the kinds of evidence writers in a discipline use.
- d. Become familiar with a discipline’s language conventions.
- e. Use a discipline’s preferred citation style.
R| Researched writing
R1 Thinking like a researcher; gathering sources
- a. Manage the project.
- b. Ask questions worth exploring.
- c. Map out a search strategy.
- d. Search efficiently; master a few shortcuts to finding good sources.
- e. Keep yourself on track with a research proposal.
- f. Conduct field research, if appropriate.
R2 Managing information; taking notes responsibly
- a. Maintain a working bibliography.
- b. Keep track of source materials.
- c. As you take notes, avoid unintentional plagiarism.
R3 Evaluating sources
- a. Evaluate the reliability and usefulness of sources.
- b. Read with an open mind and a critical eye.
- c. Assess sources for reliability and purpose.
- d. Construct an annotated bibliography.
MLA | MLA Style
List of MLA in-text citation models
List of MLA works cited models
MLA-1 Supporting a thesis
- a. Form a working thesis.
- b. Organize your ideas with a rough outline.
- c. Consider how sources will contribute to your essay.
MLA-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
- a. Understand how the MLA system works.
- b. Understand what plagiarism is.
- c. Use quotation marks around borrowed language.
- d. Put summaries and paraphrases in your own words.
MLA-3 Integrating sources
- a. Summarize and paraphrase effectively.
- b. Use quotations effectively.
- c. Use signal phrases to integrate sources.
- d. Synthesize sources.
MLA-4 Documenting sources
- a. MLA in-text citations.
- b. MLA list of works cited.
- c. MLA information notes. (optional)
MLA-5 MLA format; sample research essay
- a. MLA format.
- b. Sample research essay in MLA style.
APA CMS | APA Style and CMS Style
List of APA in-text citation models
List of APA reference list models
APA-1 Supporting a thesis
- a. Form a working thesis.
- b. Organize your ideas.
- c. Consider how sources will contribute to your essay.
- a. Understand how the APA system works.
- b. Understand what plagiarism is.
- c. Use quotation marks around borrowed language.
- d. Put summaries and paraphrases in your own words.
APA-3 Integrating sources
- a. Summarize and paraphrase effectively.
- b. Use quotations effectively.
- c. Use signal phrases to integrate sources.
- d. Synthesize sources.
APA-4 Documenting sources
- a. APA in-text citations.
- b. APA list of references.
APA-5 APA format; sample research essay
- a. APA format.
- b. Sample research essay in APA style.
CMS (Chicago) style
List of CMS-style notes and bibliography entries
CMS-1 Supporting a thesis
- a. Form a working thesis.
- b. Organize your ideas.
- c. Consider how sources will contribute to your essay.
CMS-2 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
- a. Use the CMS system for citing sources.
- b. Understand what plagiarism is.
- c. Use quotation marks around borrowed language.
- d. Put summaries and paraphrases in your own words.
CMS-3 Integrating sources
- a. Use quotations effectively.
- b. Use signal phrases to integrate sources.
CMS-4 Documenting sources
- a. First and later notes for a source.
- b. CMS-style bibliography.
- c. Model notes and bibliography entries.
CMS-5 Chicago format; sample research essay
- a. CMS format.
- b. Sample pages from a Chicago-style essay.
S | Sentence Style
S1 Parallelism
- a. Balance parallel ideas in a series.
- b. Balance parallel ideas presented as pairs.
- c Repeat function words to clarify parallels.
S2 Needed words
- a. Add words needed to complete compound structures.
- b. Add the word that where needed for clarity.
- c. Add words needed to make comparisons logical and complete.
- d. Add the articles a, an, and the where necessary for grammatical completeness.
S3 Problems with modifiers
- a. Put limiting modifiers in front of the words they modify.
- b. Place phrases and clauses so that readers can see at a glance what they modify.
- c. Move awkwardly placed modifiers.
- d. Avoid split infinitives when they are awkward.
- e. Repair dangling modifiers.
S4 Shifts
- a. Make the point of view consistent in person and number.
- b. Maintain consistent verb tenses.
- c. Make verbs consistent in voice.
- d. Avoid sudden shifts from indirect to direct questions or quotations.
S5 Mixed constructions
- a. Untangle the grammatical structure.
- b. Straighten out the logical connections.
- c. Avoid is when, is where, and reason . . . is because constructions
S6 Sentence emphasis
- a. Coordinate equal ideas; subordinate minor ideas.
- b. Combine choppy sentences.
- c. Avoid ineffective and excessive coordination.
- d. Do not subordinate major ideas.
- e. Do not subordinate excessively.
- f. Experiment with techniques for gaining emphasis.
S7 Sentence variety
- a. Vary your sentence openings.
- b. Use a variety of sentence structures.
- c. Try inverting sentences occasionally.
W | Word Choice
W1 Glossary of usage
W2 Wordy sentences
- a. Eliminate redundancies.
- b. Avoid unnecessary repetition of words.
- c. Cut empty or inflated phrases.
- d. Simplify the structure.
- e. Reduce clauses to phrases, phrases to single words.
W3 Active verbs
- a. Choose active voice or passive voice depending on your writing situation.
- b. Replace be verbs that result in dull or wordy sentences.
- c. As a rule, choose a subject that names the person or thing doing the action.
W4 Language that fits the writing situation
- a. Avoid jargon, except in specialized writing situations.
- b. Avoid most euphemisms and doublespeak.
- c. In most contexts, avoid slang.
- d. Choose a level of formality that fits the writing situation.
- e. Avoid sexist and noninclusive language.
W5 Exact language
- a. Select words with their connotations in mind.
- b. Prefer specific, concrete nouns.
- c. Do not misuse words.
- d. Use common idioms.
- e. Do not rely heavily on clichés.
- f. Use figures of speech with care.
G | Grammatical Sentences
G1 Subject-verb agreement
- a. Learn to recognize typical subject-verb combinations.
- b. Make the verb agree with its subject, not with a word the comes between.
- c. Treat most subjects joined with and as plural.
- d. With subjects joined with or or nor (or with either. . .or or neither. . .nor), make the verb agree with the part of the subject nearer to the verb.
- e. Treat most indefinite pronouns as singular.
- f. Treat collective nouns as singular unless the meaning is clearly plural.
- g. Make the verb agree with its subject even when the subject follows the verb.
- h. Make the verb agree with its subject, not with a subject complement.
- i. Who, which and that take verbs that agree with their antecedents.
- j. Words such as athletics, economics, physics, statistics, and news are usually singular, despite their plural form.
- k. Titles of works, company names, words mentioned as words, and gerund phrases are singular.
G2 Verb form, tenses, and moods
- a. Choose among the forms of irregular verbs.
- b. Distinguish among the forms of lie and lay.
- c. Use -s (or -es) endings on present-tense verbs that have third-person singular subjects.
- d. Do not omit -ed endings on verbs.
- e. Do not omit needed verbs.
- f. Choose the verb tense that suits your meaning.
- g. Use the subjunctive mood in the few contexts that require it.
G3 Pronouns
- a. Make pronouns and antecedents agree.
- b. Make pronoun references clear.
- c. Distinguish between pronouns such as I and me.
- d. Distinguish between who and whom.
G4 Adjectives and adverbs
- a. Use adjectives to modify nouns.
- b. Use adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
- c. Distinguish between good and well, bad and badly.
- d. Use comparatives and superlatives with care.
- e. Avoid double negatives.
G5 Sentence fragments
- a. Test for sentence completeness.
- b. Attach fragmented subordinate clauses or turn them into sentences.
- c. Attach fragmented phrases or turn them into sentences.
- d. Attach other fragmented word groups or turn them into sentences.
- e. Exception: A fragment may be used for effect.
G6 Run-on sentences
- a. Recognize run-on sentences.
- b. Consider separating the clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
- c. Consider separating the clauses with a semicolon, a colon, or a dash.
- d. Consider making the clauses into separate sentences.
- e. Consider restructuring the sentence, perhaps by subordinating one of the clauses.
M | Multilingual Writers and ESL Topics
M1 Verbs
- a. Use an appropriate verb form and tense.
- b.For a verb in the passive voice, use a form of be with the past participle.
- c. Use the base form of the verb after a modal.
- d. To make negative verb forms, add not in the appropriate place.
- e. In a conditional sentence, choose verb tenses according to the type of condition.
- f. Become familiar with verbs that may be followed by gerunds or infinitives.
M2 Articles
- a. Be familiar with articles and other noun markers.
- b. Use the with most specific common nouns.
- c. Use a (or an) with common singular count nouns that refer to “one” or “any.”
- d. Use a quantifier such as some or more, not a or an, with a noncount noun to express an approximate amount.
- e. Do not use articles with nouns that refer to all of something or to something in general.
- f. Do not use articles with most singular proper nouns. Use the with most plural proper nouns.
M3 Sentence structure
- a. Use a linking verb between a subject and its complement.
- b. Include a subject in every sentence.
- c. Do not use both a noun and a pronoun to perform the same grammatical function in a sentence.
- d. Do not repeat a subject, an object, or an adverb in an adjective clause.
- e. Avoid mixed constructions beginning with although or because.
- f. Do not place an adverb between a verb and its direct object.
M4 Using adjectives
- a. Distinguish between present participles and past participles used as adjectives.
- b. Place cumulative adjectives in an appropriate order.
- a. Become familiar with prepositions that show time and place.
- b. Use nouns (including -ing forms) after prepositions.
- c. Become familiar with common adjective + preposition combinations.
- d. Become familiar with common verb + preposition combinations.
M6 Paraphrasing sources effectively
- a. Avoid replacing a source’s words with synonyms.
- b. Determine the meaning of the original source.
- c. Present the author’s meaning in your own words.
P | Punctuation and Mechanics
P1 The comma
- a. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses.
- b. Use a comma after an introductory clause or phrase.
- c. Use a comma between items in a series.
- d. Use a comma between coordinate adjectives not joined with and. Do not use a comma between cumulative adjectives.
- e. Use commas to set off nonrestrictive (nonessential) elements. Do not use commas to set off restrictive (essential) elements.
- f. Use commas to set off transitional and parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, and word groups expressing contrast.
- g. Use commas to set off nouns of direct address, yes/no, interrogative tags, and mild interjections.
- h. Use commas with expressions such as he said to set off direct quotations.
- i. Use commas with dates, addresses, titles, and numbers.
P2 Unnecessary commas
- a. Do not use a comma with a coordinating conjunction that joins only two words, phrases, or subordinate clauses.
- b. Do not use a comma to separate a verb from its subject or object.
- c. Do not use a comma before the first or after the last item in a series.
- d. Do not use a comma between cumulative adjectives, between an adjective and a noun, or between an adverb and an adjective.
- e. Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements.
- f. Do not use commas to set off a concluding adverb clause that is essential to the meaning.
- g. Do not use a comma after a phrase that begins an inverted sentence.
- h. Avoid other common misuses of the comma.
P3 The semicolon and the colon
- a. Use a semicolon between closely related independent clauses.
- b. Use a semicolon between items in a series containing internal punctuation.
- c. Avoid common misuses of the semicolon.
- d. Use a colon after an independent clause for a list, an appositive, a quotation, or a summary.
- e. Use a colon according to convention.
- f. Avoid common misuses of the colon.
P4 The apostrophe
- a. Use an apostrophe to indicate that a noun is possessive.
- b. Use an apostrophe to mark omissions in contractions and numbers.
- c. Do not use an apostrophe in certain situations.
- d. Avoid common misuses of the apostrophe.
P5 Quotation marks
- a. Use quotation marks to enclose direct quotations.
- b. Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within quotation.
- c. Use quotation marks around the titles of short works.
- d. Quotation marks may be used to set off words used as words.
- e. Use punctuation with quotation marks according to convention.
- f. Avoid common misuses of quotation marks.
P6 Other punctuation marks
- a. End punctuation.
- b. The dash, parentheses, and brackets.
- c. The ellipsis mark.
- d. The slash.
P7 Spelling and hyphenation
- a. Become familiar with the major spelling rules.
- b. Understand words that sound alike but have different meanings.
- c. Be alert to commonly misspelled words.
- d. Consult the dictionary to determine how to treat a compound word.
- e. Hyphenate two or more words used together as an adjective before a noun.
- f. Hyphenate fractions and certain numbers when they are spelled out.
- g. Use a hyphen with certain prefixes and suffixes.
- h. Use a hyphen in certain words to avoid ambiguity.
- i. Check for correct word breaks when words must be divided at the end of a line.
P8 Capitalization
- a. Capitalize proper nouns and words derived from them; do not capitalize common nouns.
- b. Capitalize titles of persons when used as part of a proper name but usually not when used alone.
- c. Capitalize titles according to convention.
- d. Capitalize the first word of sentence.
- e. Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence but not a quoted word or phrase.
- f. Know your options when the first word after a colon begins an independent clause.
P9 Abbreviations and numbers
- a. Use common abbreviations for titles immediately before and after proper names.
- b. Use abbreviations only when you are sure your readers will understand them.
- c. Avoid texting abbreviations in college writing.
- d. Use BCE, CE, a.m., p.m., No., and $ only with specific dates, times, numbers, and amounts.
- e. Understand units of measurement.
- f. Be sparing in your use of Latin abbreviations.
- g. Follow other conventions for abbreviations.
- h. Follow the conventions in your discipline for spelling out or using numerals to express numbers.
- i. Use numerals according to convention in dates, addresses, and so on.
P10 Italics
- a. Italicize the titles of works according to convention.
- b. Italicize other terms according to convention.
B | Basic Grammar
B1 Parts of speech
- a. Nouns.
- b. Pronouns.
- c. Verbs.
- d. Adjectives.
- e. Adverbs.
- f. Prepositions.
- g. Conjunctions.
- h. Interjections.
B2 Sentence patterns
- a. Subjects.
- b. Verbs, objects, and complements.
B3 Subordinate word groups
- a. Prepositional phrases.
- b. Verbal phrases.
- c. Appositive phrases.
- d. Absolute phrases.
- e. Subordinate clauses.
B4 Sentence types
- a. Sentence structures.
- b. Sentence purposes.
I | Index
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