Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers, MLA Update Edition

Lynn Quitman Troyka, Adjunct Professor of English in the MA Program in Language and Literature at the City College (CCNY) of the City University of New York (CUNY), taught freshman English and basic writing for many years at Queensborough Community College. Dr. Troyka is a past chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC); the College Section of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE); and the Writing Division of the Modern Language Association (MLA). She has won many awards for teaching, scholarship, and service, and has conducted hundreds of faculty workshops about teaching writing and its relation to college-level reading.  “This information,” says Dr. Troyka, “tells what I’ve done, not who I am. I am a teacher. Teaching is my life’s work, and I love it.”  Doug Hesse is Professor of English and Executive Director of Writing at the University of Denver, one of only thirty writing programs to receive the CCCC Certificate of Excellence. Dr. Hesse is a past chair of the CCCC, the nation’s largest association of college writing instructors. A past president, as well, of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA), Dr. Hesse edited WPA: Writing Program Administration. He has served on the NCTE executive committee, chaired the MLA Division on Teaching as a Profession, and served on the MLA Committee on Contingent Labor.  Author of nearly sixty articles and book chapters, he has been named University Distinguished Scholar at the University of Denver. “Of various awards I’ve received,” says Dr. Hesse, “the one that matters most is Distinguished Humanities Teacher. That one came from my students and suggests that, in however small a way, I’ve mattered in their education and lives.”

• I. WRITING SITUATIONS AND PROCESSES1. Ten Top Tips for College Writers1.     Be specific: use RENNS.2.     Record writing ideas.3.     Check Part 2, “Frames for College Writing,” for ideas.4.     Focus on purpose and audience.5.     Use logical, ethical, and emotional appeals.6.     Engage your readers.7.     Play the “believing game” and “doubting game.”8.     Develop your ability as a critical reader and thinker.9.     Record source information.10.   Welcome feedback. 2. Ten Troublesome Mistakes Writers Make1.     Sentence fragments2.     Comma splices and run-ons3.     Mistakes in subject—verb agreement4.     Mistakes in pronoun—antecedent agreement5.     Unclear pronoun reference6.     Sentence shifts7.     Misplaced modifiers8.     Mistakes with homonyms9.     Comma errors10.   Apostrophe errors 3. Essential Processes for ReadingA     Importance of readingB     Purposes for college readingC     SQ3R reading processD     Reading comprehension strategies 4. Reading and Thinking CriticallyA     What “critical” meansB     Rhetorical appealsC     Levels of meaningD     Critical thinking and reading processesE     Close and active readingF     AnalyzingG     Synthesizing and evaluatingH     Inductive and deductive reasoningI     Reading images criticallyJ     How images persuadeK     Analyzing words with images 5. Understanding College and Other Writing SituationsA     Writing situationsB     PurposeC     AudienceD     RoleE     GenreF     Context and special requirements 6. Essential Processes for WritingA     Writing processesB     Thinking like a writerC     Starting to planD     Developing ideasE     Thesis statementF     OutliningG     First draftH     Writer’s blockI      RevisingJ     EditingK     ProofreadingL     Student’s draft essay 7. Writing Paragraphs, Shaping EssaysA     Shaping essaysB     How paragraphs workC     Introductory paragraphsD     Body paragraphsE     Topic sentencesF     Developing body paragraphsG     CoherenceH     Rhetorical patternsI     Transitional paragraphsJ     Concluding paragraphs 8. Designing DocumentsA     Document designB     Principles of designC     TextD     HeadingsE     PhotographsF     Other visualsG     Page layout 9. Creating a Writing PortfolioA     Writing portfolioB     What to includeC     Self-reflectionD     Format 10. Writing with OthersA     Writing with othersB     CollaborationC     Giving feedbackD     Benefiting from others’ helpE     Online discussions II. FRAMES FOR COLLEGE WRITING11. Personal EssaysA     Personal essaysB     Planning and revisingC     Frame for a personal essayD     Sentence and paragraph guidesE     Student essay example 12. Informative EssaysA     Informative essaysB     Planning and revisingC     Frame for an informative essayD     Sentence and paragraph guidesE     Student essay example 13. Process EssaysA     Process essaysB     Planning and revisingC     Frame for a process essayD     Sentence and paragraph guidesE     Student essay example 14. Essays Analyzing Cause or EffectA     Essays analyzing cause or effectB     Planning and revisingC     Frame for essays that analyze cause or effectD     Sentence and paragraph guidesE     Student essay example 15. Essays Analyzing a TextA     Textual analysisB     Generating ideasC     Frame for a textual analysisD     Sentence and paragraph guidesE     Student essay example 16. Argument EssaysA     ArgumentsB     Planning and revisingC     Logical fallaciesD     Frames for argumentsE     Sentence and paragraph guidesF     Student essay example 17. Proposal or Solution EssaysA     Proposal or solution essaysB     Planning and revisingC     Frame for a proposal or solution essayD     Sentence and paragraph guidesE     Student essay example 18. Evaluation EssaysA     Evaluation essaysB     Planning and revisingC     Frame for an evaluation essayD     Sentence and paragraph guidesE     Student essay example III. SOURCE-BASED WRITING19. Avoiding PlagiarismA     PlagiarismB     Avoiding plagiarismC     Avoiding patchwritingD     Intellectual propertyE     Documenting ideasF     Internet sourcesG     What not to document 20. Quoting, Paraphrasing, and SummarizingA     Integrating sourcesB     Quoting sourcesC     Paraphrasing sourcesD     Summarizing sourcesE     Signal words for integrating sourcesF     Synthesizing sourcesG     Relationships between sources 21. Writing About ReadingsA     Typical assignmentsB     Summary essayC     Response essayD     Analysis or interpretation essaysE     Essays that apply readings IV. RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION22. Starting and Planning Research ProjectsA     ResearchB     SourcesC     Research papersD     Planning a research projectE     Choosing a research topicF     Research questionG     Research logH     Writing situation and the research paperI      Types of research papersJ     Choosing a documentation styleK     Search strategyL     Field researchM     Working bibliographyN     Documentation softwareO     Annotated bibliographyP     Content notes  23. Finding Published SourcesA     Kinds of published sourcesB     LibrariesC     Search engines and databasesD     Using search engines and databasesE     Finding booksF     Finding periodicalsG     Using reference worksH     Finding imagesI     Finding government documents 24. Evaluating SourcesA     Location of a sourceB     Credibility of the publisherC     Credibility of the authorD     Use of evidenceE     Other critical thinking testsF     Combined evaluation strategies 25. Drafting and Revising a Research PaperA     Writing processB     Drafting a thesis statementC     OutliningD     DraftingE     Frames for research papersF     RevisingG     Editing and formatting 26. MLA Documentation with Case StudyMLA In-Text Citation DirectoryMLA Works Cited List DirectoryA     MLA documentation styleB     MLA in-text parenthetical documentationC     MLA examples for parenthetical citationsD     MLA Works Cited listE     MLA examples for sources in a Works Cited listF     MLA format guidelines for research papersG     MLA-style student research paper 27. APA Documentation with Case StudyAPA In-Text Citations Directory APA References List Directory A     APA documentation styleB     APA in-text parenthetical citationsC     APA examples for in-text citationsD     APA guidelines for a References listE     APA examples for sources in a References listF     APA guidelines for an abstractG     APA guidelines for content notesH     APA format guidelines for research papersI      APA-style student research paper 28. Chicago Manual (CM) and Council of Science Editors (CSE) DocumentationA     CM-style documentationB     CM examples for bibliographic notesC     CSE-style documentationD     CSE examples for sources in a list of references V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR AND WRITING CORRECT SENTENCES 29. Parts of Speech and Sentence Structures Parts of SpeechA     Parts of speech B     NounsC     PronounsD     VerbsE     VerbalsF     AdjectivesG     AdverbsH     PrepositionsI      ConjunctionsJ     InterjectionsSentence StructuresK     What a sentence isL     Subject and predicateM     Direct and indirect objectsN     Complements, modifiers, and appositivesO     PhrasesP     ClausesQ     Four sentence types 30. VerbsA     What verbs doVerb FormsB     Forms of main verbsC     The -s, or -es, formD     Regular and irregular verbsE     Auxiliary verbsF     Intransitive and transitive verbsVerb TenseG     Verb tenseH     Simple present tenseI     Perfect tensesJ     Progressive formsK     Tense sequencesMoodL     What “mood” isM     Subjunctive formsVoiceN     What “voice” isO     Active rather than passive voiceP     Proper uses of passive voice 31. Pronouns: Case and ReferencePronoun CaseA     What “case” meansB     Personal pronounsC     Pronouns and caseD     Case when and connects pronounsE     Case with appositivesF     Case after linking verbsG     Who, whoever, whom, and whomeverH     Case after than or asI      Pronouns before infinitivesJ     Pronouns with -ing wordsK     Case with -self pronounsPronoun ReferenceL     What pronoun reference isM     Clear pronoun referenceN     Unclear pronoun referenceO     Pronouns with it, that, this, and whichP     They and itQ     ItR     You for direct addressS     That, which, and who32. AgreementA     What agreement is   Subject-Verb AgreementB     What subject—verb agreement isC     Final -s or -es in a subject or verbD     Words between a subject and its verbE     Subjects connected by andF     Each and everyG     Subjects connected by orH     Inverted word orderI      Indefinite pronoun subjectsJ     Collective noun subjectsK     Linking verbs and subject complementsL     Verbs with who, which, and thatM     Verbs with amounts, fields of study, and other special nounsN     Verbs with titles, company names, and words as wordsPronoun-Antecedent AgreementO     What pronoun—antecedent agreement isP     When and connects antecedentsQ     When or connects antecedentsR     When antecedents are indefinite pronounsS     Nonsexist pronounsT     When antecedents are collective nouns 33. Adjectives and AdverbsA     Adjectives versus adverbsB     When to use adverbs as modifiersC     Double negativesD     Adjectives or adverbs after linking verbsE     Comparative and superlative formsF     Avoiding a long string of nouns as modifiers 34. Sentence FragmentsA     What a sentence fragment isB     Recognizing a sentence fragmentC     Fragment that starts with a subordinating wordD     Fragment that lacks a verbE     Fragment that lacks a subjectF     Fragment that’s part of a compound predicateG     List that is a fragmentH     Intentional fragments 35. Comma Splices and Run-On SentencesA     What comma splices and run-ons areB     Recognizing comma splices and run-onsC     Period to correct comma splices and run-onsD     Semicolon to correct comma splices and run-onsE     Comma and coordinating conjunction to correct comma splices and run-onsF     Revising clauses to correct comma splices and run-onsG     Using adverbs and transitions to correct comma splices and run-ons 36. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Misplaced ModifiersA     What a misplaced modifier isB     Avoiding split infinitivesC     Avoiding other splits in sentences  Dangling ModifiersD     Avoiding dangling modifiersE     Proofreading for misplaced and dangling modifiers 37. Shifting and Mixed SentencesShifting SentencesA     What a shifting sentence isB     Shifts in person and numberC     Shifts in subject and voiceD     Shifts in tense and moodE     Shifts between indirect and direct discourseMixed SentencesF     What a mixed sentence isG     Mixed sentence due to faulty predicationH     Elliptical constructionsI      ComparisonsJ     Proofreading for omitted words VI. WRITING EFFECTIVELY WITH STYLE38. Effective Words, Tone, and SentencesA     What style and tone areWord ChoiceB     Standard edited EnglishC     Formality and toneD     Exact dictionE     Specific wordsF     Figurative languageG     Gender-neutral languageH     Language to avoidSentence VarietyI     Sentence lengthJ     Cumulative and periodic sentencesK     ModifiersL     Other ways to create variety and emphasis 39. Coordination and SubordinationA     What coordination and subordination areB     Coordination in sentencesC     Structure of a coordinate sentenceD     Coordinating conjunctionsE     Effective coordinationF     Subordination in sentencesG     Structure of a subordinate sentenceH     Subordinating conjunctionsI      Effective subordinationJ Coordination and subordination together 40. ParallelismA     What parallelism isB     Words, phrases, and clauses in parallel formC     Impact of parallelismD     Avoiding faulty parallelismE     Parallelism in outlines and lists 41. ConcisenessA     What conciseness isB     Common expressions that are not conciseC     Sentence structures that work against concisenessD     Revising for concisenessE     Verbs and conciseness VII. USING PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS42. Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation PointsPeriodsA     Periods ending a sentenceB     Periods with abbreviations  Question MarksC     When to use a question markD     Question marks in parentheses  Exclamation PointsE     When to use an exclamation pointF     Overuse of exclamation points 43. CommasA     The role of the commaB     Commas with coordinating conjunctionsC     Commas with introductory clauses, phrases, and wordsD     Commas with items in a seriesE     Commas with coordinate adjectivesF     Commas with nonrestrictive elementsG     Commas with parenthetical expressions, contrasts, words of direct address, and tag sentencesH     Commas with quoted wordsI      Commas in dates, names, addresses, correspondence, and numbersJ     How commas clarify meaningK     Misusing commasL     Avoiding comma errors 44. SemicolonsA     Uses of a semicolonB     Semicolon, not period, between independent clausesC     When else to use a semicolon between independent clausesD     Semicolons with coordinating conjunctionsE     Semicolons between items in a seriesF     Avoiding semicolon errors 45. ColonsA     Uses of a colonB     Colons introducing a list, appositive, or quotationC     Colons between two independent clausesD     Standard formats requiring a colonE     When a colon is wrong 46. ApostrophesA     Role of the apostropheB     Apostrophe to show a possessive nounC     Apostrophe with possessive pronounsD     Apostrophe with contractionsE     Apostrophe with possessive indefinite pronounsF     Plural of miscellaneous elementsG     When an apostrophe is wrong 47. Quotation MarksA     Role of quotation marksB     Quotation marks with short direct quotationsC     Quotation marks with long quotationsD     Quotation marks for quotations within quotationsE     Quotation marks for quotations of poetry and dialogueF     Quotation marks with titles of short worksG     Quotation marks for words used as wordsH     Quotation marks with other punctuationI      When quotation marks are wrong 48. Other Punctuation MarksDashA     Dash  ParenthesesB     Parentheses  BracketsC     Brackets  Ellipsis PointsD     Ellipsis points  SlashE     Slash  HyphenF     HyphenG    Hyphen at the end of a lineH     Hyphen with prefixes and suffixesI     Hyphen with compound words 49. Capitals, Italics, Abbreviations, and NumbersCapitalsA     Capitals for a “first” wordB     Capitals with listed itemsC     Capitals with sentences in parenthesesD     Capitals with quotationsE     Capitals for nouns and adjectives  ItalicsF     What italics areG     Italics versus quotation marksH     Italics for special emphasis  AbbreviationsI      Standard practices for using abbreviationsJ     Abbreviations with months, time, eras, and symbolsK     Abbreviations for other elementsL     When to use etc.  NumbersM     When to use spelled-out numbersN     Standard practices for writing numbers50. SpellingA     What makes a good spellerB     Proofreading for spelling and hyphen useC     How plurals are spelledD     How suffixes are spelledE     The ie, ei ruleF     Why commonly confused words and homonyms are misspelledG     Compound words  VIII. WRITING WHEN ENGLISH IS NOT YOUR FIRST LANGUAGEOur Message to Multilingual Writers          51.       The Challenges of Writing in English          A       Expectations of U.S. writing instructors          B       Expectations for analysis of readings  C       Improving sentence structure            D       Improving word choice (vocabulary)   E       English errors from other languages  F       Correcting errors  52.       Singulars and Plurals           A       Count and noncount nouns    B       Determiners with singular and plural nouns    C       One of, nouns as adjectives, and states in names or titles      D       Nouns with irregular plurals      53.       Articles          A       A, an, or the with singular count nouns           B       Articles with plural nouns and noncount nouns          C      The with proper nouns and gerunds     54.       Word Order    A       Standard and inverted word order      B       Placement of adjectives          C       Placement of adverbs               55.       Prepositions  A       Recognizing prepositions        B       Prepositions with expressions of time and place        C       Prepositions in phrasal verbs  D       Prepositions with past participles        E       Prepositions in expressions      56.       Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles          A       Gerunds and infinitives as subjects    B       Using a gerund, not an infinitive, as an objectC       Using an infinitive, not a gerund, as an objectD       How meaning changes when certain verbs are followed by a gerund or an infinitive  E       How meaning is unchanged when a gerund or an infinitive follows sense verbs        F       -ing and -ed forms for adjectives          57.       Modal Auxiliary Verbs           A       Conveying ability, necessity, advisability, possibility, and probability with modals      B       Conveying preferences, plans, and past habits with modals   C       Modals in the passive voice      IX. SPECIFIC WRITING SITUATIONS     58.       An Overview of Writing Across the Curriculum     A       Writing across the curriculum B       Audience and purpose across the curriculum   59.       Writing About the Humanities        A       What the humanities are        B       Types of papers in the humanities      C       Documentation in the humanities      D       Writing about literature           E       Different types of papers about literature         F       Special rules for writing about literature         G       Documentation in writing about literature        H       A student’s essay about literature        60.       Writing in the Social and Natural SciencesA       What the social sciences are  B       Types of papers in the social sciencesC       Documentation in the social sciencesD       What the natural sciences areE       Types of papers in the natural sciences          F       Documentation in the natural sciences            61.       Writing Under Pressure       A       Writing under pressure           B       Preparing for essay exams        62.       Making Presentations          A       What presentations are          B       Using situation to focus a presentation          C       Adapt the message to the audience   D       Organize a presentation          E       Using multimedia in presentations     F       Presentation styles     G      Collaborative presentations      63.       Writing for Digital Environments    A       What digital environments areB       Blogs   C       Wikis   D       Photographs   E       Video and sound recordings   F       Web sites        G       Netiquette      H       Social networking          64.       Writing for Work       A       Who writes in the workplace, and whyB       Features of work correspondence      C       Work e-mail    D       MemosE       Business letters          F       Business proposals     G       Résumés        H       Job application letters Usage Glossary    Terms Glossary    Credits                 Index