The Everyday Writer with 2016 MLA Update

✍ Scribed by Andrea A. Lunsford

• Publisher: Bedford
• Year: 2016
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 716
• Edition: 6
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This accessible handbook for novice writers advises on how to navigate rhetorical situations and make effective choices in every context, to engage with audiences and communicate ideas. Illustrations offer a high-interest approach to writing processes and encourage students to open and use their handbook. With new and expanded coverage of presentations and multimodal projects, integrated advice for writers from all language and educational backgrounds, and help learning the moves that make expert writers credible, this is the encouraging guide students need to take their writing to the next level. Updated to reflect the updates in The MLA Handbook, 8^th edition.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Cover
Inside Front Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
How to Use This Book
Preface
Acknowledgments
True Tales of the Evereyday Writer
Writing Processes
1: The Top Twenty: A Quick Guide to Troubleshooting Your Writing
2: Expectations for College Writing
a: Move between social and academic writing
b: Position yourself as an academic writer
c: Read and listen actively
d: Plan research
e. Use digital tools effectively
3: Rhetorical Situations
a: Make good choices for your rhetorical situation.
b: Plan your text’s topic and message.
c: Consider your purpose and stance as a communicator
d: Analyze your audience
e: Think about genres and media
f: Consider language and style
g: A sample rhetorical situation
4: Exploring Ideas
a: Try brainstorming
b: Try freewriting or looping
c: Try drawing or creating word pictures
d: Try clustering
e: Look at images and videos
f: Keep a reflective journal or private blog
g: Ask questions
h: Browse sources
i: Collaborate
5: Planning and Drafting
a: Narrow your topic
b: Craft a working thesis
c: Gather information
d: Organize information
e: Make a plan
f: Create a draft
6: Developing Paragraphs
a: Focus on a main idea
b: Provide details
c: Use effective methods of development
d: Consider paragraph length
e: Make paragraphs flow
f: Work on opening and closing paragraphs
7: Reviewing, Revising, and Editing
a: Reread
b: Get the most from peer review
c: Consult instructor comments
d: Revise
e: Edit
8: Reflecting
a: Reflect to present your work effectively
A Student’s Reflective Statement
b: Reflect to learn
A Student’s Reflective Blog Post
Critical Thinking and Argument
9: Critical Reading
a: Consider print and digital differences
b: Preview the text
c: Read and annotate
d: Summarize the main ideas
e: Analyze and reflect on the text
f: Think critically about visual texts
g: A student’s critical reading of a text
10: Analyzing Arguments
a: Think critically about argument
b: Recognize cultural contexts
c: Identify an argument’s basic appeals
d: Analyze the elements of argument
e: Think critically about fallacies
f: A student’s rhetorical analysis
11: Constructing Arguments
a: Understand purposes for argument
b: Determine whether a statement can be argued.
c: Make a claim and formulate a working thesis
d: Examine your assumptions
e: Shape your appeal to your audience
f: Establish credibility through ethical appeals
g: Use effective logical appeals
h: Use appropriate emotional appeals
i: Consult sources
j: Organize your argument
k: Consider design and delivery
l: A student’s argument essay
Research
12: Preparing for a Research Project
a: Analyze the research assignment
b: Formulate a research question and hypothesis.
c: Plan your research
d: Set up a research log
e: Move from hypothesis to working thesis
13: Doing Research
a: Understand different kinds of sources
b: Use the library to get started
c: Find library resources
d: Search the Internet effectively
e: Conduct field research appropriately
14: Evaluating Sources and Taking Notes
a: Understand the purpose of sources
b: Create a working bibliography
c: Evaluate a source’s usefulness and credibility.
d: Read critically, and interpret sources
e: Synthesize sources
f: Take notes and annotate sources
15: Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
a: Decide whether to quote, paraphrase, or summarize
b: Integrate quotations, paraphrases, and summaries effectively
c: Integrate visuals and media effectively
d: Check for excessive use of source material
e: Understand why acknowledging sources matters
f: Know which sources to acknowledge
g: Recognize patchwriting
h: Adapt structures and phrases from a genre without plagiarizing
i: Uphold your academic integrity, and avoid plagiarism.
16: Writing a Research Project
a: Refine your writing plans
b: Organize and draft
c: Incorporate source materials
d: Review and get responses to your draft
e: Revise and edit your draft
f: Prepare a list of sources
g: Prepare and proofread your final copy
Academic, Professional, and Public Writing
17: Academic Work in Any Discipline
a: Read and write for every discipline
b: Consider expectations for academic assignments
c: Learn specialized vocabularies
d: Study disciplinary style
e: Use evidence effectively
f: Use conventional patterns and formats
g: Pay attention to ethical issues
h: Collaborate effectively
18: Writing for the Humanities
a: Read texts in the humanities
b: Write texts in the humanities
c: A student’s close reading of poetry
19: Writing for the Social Sciences
a: Read texts in the social sciences
b: Write texts in the social sciences
c: An excerpt from a student’s psychology literature review
20: Writing for the Natural and Applied Sciences
a: Read texts in the natural and applied sciences
b: Write texts in the natural and applied sciences
c: An excerpt from a student’s chemistry lab report
21: Writing for Business
a: Read texts for business
Memo
b: Write texts for business
Traditional Résumé
Creative Résumé
22: Making Design Decisions
a: Choose a type of text
b: Plan a visual structure
c: Format print and digital texts appropriately
d: Consider visuals and media
23: Creating Presentations
a: Consider assignment, purpose, and audience for presentations
b: Write to be heard and remembered
c: Create slides or other visuals
d: Practice the presentation
e: Deliver the presentation
f: A student’s presentation
g: Consider other kinds of presentations
24: Communicating in Other Media
a: Consider your rhetorical context
b: Consider types of multimodal texts
c: Plan features of texts
25: Writing to Make Something Happen in the World
a: Decide what should happen
b: Connect with your audience
c: Sample writing to make something happen in the world
Language
26: Writing to the World
a: Think about what seems “normal.”
b: Clarify meaning
c: Meet audience expectations
27: Language That Builds Common Ground
a: Examine assumptions and avoid stereotypes
b: Examine assumptions about gender
c: Examine assumptions about race and ethnicity
d: Consider other kinds of difference
28: Language Variety
a: Use “standard” varieties of English appropriately
b: Use varieties of English to evoke a place or community
c: Build credibility within a community with language variety
d: Bring in other languages appropriately
29: Word Choice and Spelling
a: Choose appropriate words for the context
b: Consider denotations and connotations
c: Use general and specific language effectively
d: Use figurative language effectively
e: Check usage with search engines and online databases
f: Make spell checkers work for you
g: Master spelling rules
Style
30: Coordination, Subordination, and Emphasis
a: Use coordination to relate equal ideas
b: Use subordination to distinguish main ideas
c: Use closing and opening positions for emphasis
31: Consistency and Completeness
a: Revise faulty sentence structure
b: Match up subjects and predicates
c: Use elliptical structures carefully
d: Check for missing words
e: Make comparisons complete, consistent, and clear
32: Parallelism
a: Make items in a series parallel
b: Make paired ideas parallel
c: Include all necessary words
33: Shifts
a: Revise unnecessary shifts in verb tense
b: Revise unnecessary shifts in mood
c: Revise unnecessary shifts in voice
d: Revise unnecessary shifts in person and number
e: Revise shifts between direct and indirect discourse
f: Revise shifts in tone and word choice
34: Conciseness
a: Eliminate unnecessary words
b: Simplify sentence structure
35: Sentence Variety
a: Vary sentence length
b: Vary sentence openings
Sentence Grammar
36: Parts of Speech
a: Verbs
b: Nouns
c: Pronouns
d: Adjectives
e: Adverbs
f: Prepositions
g: Conjunctions
h: Interjections
37: Parts of Sentences
a: The basic grammar of sentences
b: Subjects
c: Predicates
d: Phrases
e: Clauses
f: Types of sentences
38: Verbs and Verb Phrases
a: Understand the five forms of verbs
b: Form verb phrases appropriately
c: Use appropriate forms of irregular verbs
d: Choose between lie and lay, sit and set, rise and raise
e: Use verb tenses appropriately
f: Sequence verb tenses effectively
g: Use active and passive voice effectively
h: Understand mood and conditional sentences
39: Nouns and Noun Phrases
a: Use count and noncount nouns appropriately
b: Use determiners appropriately
c: Use articles conventionally
40: Subject-Verb Agreement
a: Understand subject-verb agreement
b: Make separated subjects and verbs agree
c: Make verbs agree with compound subjects
d: Make verbs agree with collective nouns
e: Make verbs agree with indefinite pronouns
f: Make verbs agree with who, which, and that
g: Make linking verbs agree with subjects
h: Make verbs agree with subjects ending in -s
i: Make verbs agree with subjects that follow
j: Make verbs agree with titles and words used as words
41: Pronouns
a: Consider a pronoun’s role in the sentence
b: Use who, whoever, whom, and whomever appropriately
c: Consider case in compound structures
d: Consider case in elliptical constructions
e: Use we and us appropriately before a noun
f: Make pronouns agree with antecedents
g: Make pronouns refer to clear antecedents
42: Adjectives and Adverbs
a: Understand adjectives and adverbs
b: Use adjectives after linking verbs
c: Use adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs
d: Choose appropriate comparative and superlative forms
e: Consider nouns as modifiers
f: Understand adjectives ending in -ed and -ing
g: Put adjectives in order
h: Avoid overuse of adverbs and adjectives
43: Modifier Placement
a: Revise misplaced modifiers
b: Revise disruptive modifiers
c: Revise dangling modifiers
44: Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases
a: Use prepositions idiomatically
b: Use two-word verbs idiomatically
45: Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
a: Identify comma splices and fused sentences
b: Separate the clauses into two sentences
c: Link the clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction
d: Link the clauses with a semicolon
e: Rewrite the clauses as one independent clause.
f: Rewrite one independent clause as a dependent clause
g: Link the two clauses with a dash
46: Sentence Fragments
a: Identify sentence fragments
b: Revise phrase fragments
c: Revise compound-predicate fragments
d: Revise dependent-clause fragments
Punctuation and Mechanics
47: Commas
a: Use commas to set off introductory words, phrases, and clauses
b: Use commas with conjunctions that join clauses in compound sentences
c: Use commas to set off nonrestrictive elements
d: Use commas with items in a series
e: Use commas to set off parenthetical and transitional expressions
f: Use commas to set off contrasting elements, interjections, direct address, and tag questions
g: Use commas with dates, addresses, titles, and numbers
h: Use commas to set off most quotations
i: Use commas to prevent confusion
j: Eliminate unnecessary commas
48: Semicolons
a: Use semicolons to link independent clauses
b: Use semicolons to separate items in a series containing other punctuation
c: Revise misused semicolons
49: End Punctuation
a: Use periods appropriately
b: Use question marks appropriately
c: Use exclamation points appropriately
d: Consider end punctuation in informal writing
50: Apostrophes
a: Use apostrophes appropriately to show possession
b: Use apostrophes in contractions
c: Avoid apostrophes in most plural forms
51: Quotation Marks
a: Use quotation marks to identify direct quotations
b: Punctuate block quotations and poetry appropriately
c: Use quotation marks for titles of shortworks
d: Use quotation marks appropriately for definitions
e: Use quotation marks to identify irony and invented terms
f: Follow conventions for other punctuation with quotation marks
g: Revise misused quotation marks
52: Other Punctuation Marks
a: Use parentheses appropriately
b: Use brackets appropriately
c: Use dashes appropriately
d: Use colons appropriately
e: Use slashes appropriately
f: Use ellipses appropriately
53: Capital Letters
a: Capitalize the first word of a sentence or line of poetry
b: Capitalize proper nouns and proper adjectives
c: Capitalize titles of works
d: Revise unnecessary capitalization
54: Abbreviations and Numbers
a: Abbreviate some titles before and all titles after proper names
b: Abbreviate years and hours appropriately
c: Abbreviate some business, government, and science terms
d: Use abbreviations in official company names
e: Use Latin abbreviations appropriately
f: Use symbols and unit abbreviations appropriately
g: Use other abbreviations according to convention
h: Spell out numbers expressed in one or two words
i: Spell out numbers that begin sentences
j: Use figures according to convention
55: Italics
a: Italicize titles of long works
b: Italicize words, letters, and numbers used as terms
c: Italicize non-English words and phrases
56: Hyphens
a: Use hyphens with compound words
b: Use hyphens with prefixes and suffixes
c: Avoid unnecessary hyphens
MLA Documentation
57: The Basics of MLA Style
a: Think about what readers need from you
b: Consider the context of your sources
c: Plan and connect your citations
d: Include notes as needed
e: Format MLA manuscripts appropriately
58: MLA Style for In-Text Citations
Directory: Works-cited entries
59: MLA Style for a List of Works Cited
Directory: Works-cited entries
60: A Student Research Essay, MLA Style
APA Documentation
61: The Basics of APA Style
a: Think about what readers need from you
b: Identify the type of source you are using
c: Plan and connect your citations
d: Include notes as needed
e: Format APA manuscripts appropriately
62: APA Style for In-Text Citations
Directory: In-text citations
63: APA Style for a List of References
Directory: References
64: A Student Research Essay, APA Style
Chicago: Documentation
65: The Basics of Chicago Style
a: Consider what readers need from you
b: Connect parts of citations
c: Format Chicago manuscripts appropriately
66: Chicago Style for Notes and Bibliographic Entries
Directory: Notes and bibliographic entries
67: An Excerpt from a Student Research Essay, Chicago Style
Glossaries and Index
Index with Glossary of Terms
Directories
Revision Symbols
Contents
Inside Back Cover
Back Cover