Rent 9780312412807 | The Bedford Handbook; With 2003 MLA Update

Table of Contents

Preface for Instructors

How to Use This Book and Its Web Site

xxi

PART I The Writing Process

(100)

... MORE

Generate ideas and sketch a plan

(28)

Assessing the writing situation

(14)

Exploring your subject

(8)

Settling on a tentative focus

(2)

Sketching a tentative plan

(4)

Rough out an initial draft

(11)

Drafting an introduction that includes a thesis

(7)

Filling out the body

(1)

Attempting a conclusion

(2)

Make global revisions; then revise sentences

(31)

Approaching global revision in cycles

(12)

Revising and editing sentences; proofreading

(15)

Student Essay

(10)

Build effective paragraphs

(29)

Focusing on a main point

(5)

Developing the main point

(1)

Choosing a suitable pattern of organization

(10)

Arranging information

(3)

Making paragraphs coherent

(8)

Adjusting paragraph length

(2)

PART II Document Design

101

(34)

Become familiar with the principles of document design

102

(10)

Format options

102

(2)

Headings

104

(3)

Displayed lists

107

(1)

Visuals

108

(4)

Use standard academic and business formats

112

(13)

Academic formats

112

(3)

MLA Essay Format

113

(2)

Business formats

115

(10)

Business Letter

115

(2)

Resumes

117

(6)

Memo

123

(2)

Create effective electronic documents

125

(10)

Following the conventions of e-mail

125

(3)

Sample E-Mail

126

(2)

Creating effective Web sites

128

(7)

Sample Web Page

129

(6)

PART III Clear Sentences

135

(68)

Prefer active verbs

136

(6)

Active versus passive verbs

137

(3)

Active versus be verbs

140

(1)

Subject that names the actor

140

(2)

Balance parallel ideas

142

(7)

Parallel ideas in a series

143

(1)

Parallel ideas presented as pairs

144

(2)

Repetition of function words

146

(3)

Add needed words

149

(6)

In compound structures

150

(1)

that

151

(1)

In comparisons

151

(2)

a, an, and the

153

(2)

Untangle mixed constructions

155

(6)

Mixed grammar

155

(2)

Illogical connections

157

(1)

is when, is where, and reason...is because

158

(3)

Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers

161

(11)

Limiting modifiers

161

(1)

Misplaced phrases and clauses

162

(1)

Awkwardly placed modifiers

163

(1)

Split infinitives

164

(2)

Dangling modifiers

166

(6)

Eliminate distracting shifts

172

(8)

Point of view (person, number)

172

(2)

Verb tense

174

(1)

Verb mood, voice

175

(1)

Indirect to direct questions or quotations

176

(4)

Emphasize key ideas

180

(17)

Coordination and subordination

181

(4)

Choppy sentences

185

(3)

Ineffective or excessive coordination

188

(3)

Subordination for emphasis

191

(1)

Excessive subordination

191

(2)

Other techniques

193

(4)

Provide some variety

197

(6)

Sentence openings

198

(1)

Sentence structures

199

(1)

Inverted order

200

(1)

Adding a question or quotation

200

(3)

PART IV Word Choice

203

(36)

Tighten wordy sentences

204

(7)

Redundancies

204

(1)

Unnecessary repetition

205

(1)

Empty or inflated phrases

205

(2)

Simplifying the structure

207

(1)

Reducing clauses to phrases, phrases to single words

208

(3)

Choose appropriate language

211

(16)

Jargon

211

(2)

Pretentious language, euphemisms, ``doublespeak''

213

(4)

Obsolete and invented words

217

(1)

Slang, regional expressions, nonstandard English

218

(2)

Levels of formality

220

(1)

Sexist language

221

(5)

Offensive language

226

(1)

Find the exact words

227

(12)

Connotations

228

(2)

Specific, concrete nouns

230

(1)

Misused words

231

(2)

Standard idioms

233

(2)

Cliches

235

(2)

Figures of speech

237

(2)

PART V Grammatical Sentences

239

(106)

Repair sentence fragments

240

(11)

Subordinate clauses

243

(1)

Phrases

244

(1)

Other fragmented word groups

245

(3)

Acceptable fragments

248

(3)

Revise run-on sentences

251

(12)

Correction with coordinating conjunction

255

(1)

Correction with semicolon, colon, or dash

255

(2)

Correction by separating sentences

257

(1)

Correction by restructuring

258

(5)

Make subjects and verbs agree

263

(15)

Standard subject-verb combinations

263

(3)

Words between subject and verb

266

(1)

Subjects joined with and

267

(1)

Subjects joined with or, nor, either. . .or, or neither. . .nor

268

(1)

Indefinite pronouns

269

(1)

Collective nouns

270

(1)

Subject following verb

271

(1)

Subject, not subject complement

272

(1)

who, which, and that

273

(2)

Words with plural form, singular meaning

275

(1)

Titles of works, company names, words mentioned as words, gerund phrases

275

(3)

Make pronouns and antecedents agree.

278

(8)

Singular with singular, plural with plural (indefinite pronouns, generic nouns)

279

(3)

Collective nouns

282

(1)

Antecedents joined with and

283

(1)

Antecedents joined with or, nor, either. . .or, or neither. . .nor

283

(3)

Make pronoun references clear

286

(6)

Ambiguous or remote reference

286

(1)

Broad reference of this, that, which, and it

287

(1)

Implied antecedents

288

(1)

Indefinite use of they, it, and you

289

(1)

who for persons, which or that for things

290

(2)

Distinguish between pronouns such as I and me

292

(11)

Subjective case for subjects and subject complements

293

(1)

Objective case for objects

294

(1)

Appositives

295

(1)

Pronoun following than or as

296

(1)

we or us before a noun

297

(1)

Subjects and objects of infinitives

297

(3)

Pronoun modifying a gerund

300

(3)

Distinguish between who and whom

303

(6)

In subordinate clauses

304

(2)

In questions

306

(2)

As subjects or objects of infinitives

308

(1)

Choose adjectives and adverbs with care

309

(9)

Adverbs as modifiers

310

(2)

Adjectives as complements

312

(2)

Comparatives and superlatives

314

(2)

Double negatives

316

(2)

Choose standard English verb forms

318

(17)

Irregular verbs

319

(3)

lie and lay

322

(3)

-s (or -es) endings

325

(5)

-ed endings

330

(2)

Omitted verbs

332

(3)

Use verbs in the appropriate tense and mood

335

(10)

Verb tense

335

(6)

Subjunctive mood

341

(4)

PART VI ESL Trouble Spots

345

(36)

Be alert to special problems with verbs

346

(14)

Helping verbs and main verbs

346

(6)

Verbs in conditional sentences

352

(3)

Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives

355

(4)

Two-word verbs

359

(1)

Omitted verbs

360

(1)

Use the articles a, an, and the appropriately

360

(8)

When to use a (or an)

362

(1)

When not to use a (or an)

362

(3)

When to use the

365

(1)

When not to use the

366

(2)

Be aware of other potential trouble spots

368

(13)

Omitted subjects, omitted there, it

368

(2)

Repeated subjects

370

(1)

Repeated objects, adverbs in adjective clauses

370

(2)

Placement of adjectives and adverbs

372

(4)

Confusion of present and past participles

376

(2)

Prepositions showing time and place

378

(3)

PART VII Punctuation

381

(62)

The comma

382

(18)

Independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction

382

(1)

Introductory clauses or phrases

383

(2)

Items in a series

385

(1)

Coordinate adjectives

386

(2)

Nonrestrictive elements

388

(5)

Transitional and parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, contrasted elements

393

(2)

Nouns of direct address, the words yes and no, interrogative tags, mild interjections

395

(1)

Expressions such as he said

396

(1)

Dates, addresses, titles, numbers

396

(1)

To prevent confusion

397

(3)

Unnecessary commas

400

(8)

Between compound elements that are not independent clauses

401

(1)

After a phrase beginning an inverted sentence

401

(1)

Before the first or after the last item in a series

402

(1)

Between cumulative adjectives, an adjective and a noun, or an adverb and an adjective

402

(1)

Before and after restrictive or mildly parenthetical elements

403

(1)

Before essential adverbial concluding elements

404

(1)

Between a verb and its subject or object

404

(1)

Other misuses

405

(3)

The semicolon

408

(6)

Independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction

409

(1)

Independent clauses linked with a transitional expression

409

(2)

Series containing internal punctuation

411

(1)

Misuses

411

(3)

The colon

414

(4)

Before a list, an appositive, or a quotation introduced by an independent clause

415

(1)

Between independent clauses

415

(1)

Salutations, hours and minutes, proportions, titles and subtitles, bibliographic entries

416

(1)

Misuses

416

(2)

The apostrophe

418

(5)

Possessive nouns

418

(2)

Possessive indefinite pronouns

420

(1)

Contractions

420

(1)

Plural numbers, letters, abbreviations, and words mentioned as words

420

(2)

Misuses

422

(1)

Quotation marks

423

(9)

Direct quotations

424

(1)

Long quotations

424

(2)

Quotation within a quotation

426

(1)

Titles of works

426

(1)

Words as words

427

(1)

With other punctuation marks

427

(3)

Misuses

430

(2)

End punctuation

432

(4)

Period

432

(2)

Question mark

434

(1)

Exclamation point

434

(2)

Other punctuation marks: the dash, parentheses, brackets, the ellipsis mark, the slash

436

(7)

The dash

436

(1)

Parentheses

437

(1)

Brackets

438

(1)

The ellipsis mark

439

(1)

The slash

440

(3)

PART VIII Mechanics

443

(34)

Abbreviations

444

(4)

Titles with proper names

444

(1)

Familiar abbreviations

445

(1)

Conventional abbreviations

445

(1)

Latin abbreviations

446

(1)

Misuses

446

(2)

Numbers

448

(3)

Spelling out

448

(1)

Using figures

449

(2)

Italics (underlining)

451

(5)

Titles of works

452

(1)

Names of spacecraft, aircraft, ships, and trains

453

(1)

Foreign words

453

(1)

Words mentioned as words, letters mentioned as letters, and numbers mentioned as numbers

454

(1)

Misuses

454

(2)

Spelling

456

(10)

The dictionary

456

(4)

Words that sound alike

460

(1)

Spelling rules

460

(3)

Commonly misspelled words

463

(3)

The hyphen

466

(5)

Compound words

467

(1)

Hyphenated adjectives

467

(1)

Fractions and compound numbers

468

(1)

With certain prefixes and suffixes

468

(1)

To avoid ambiguity or to separate awkward double or triple letters

468

(1)

Word division

469

(2)

Capital letters

471

(6)

Proper versus common nouns

471

(2)

Titles with proper names

473

(1)

Titles and subtitles of works

473

(1)

First word of a sentence

474

(1)

First word of a quoted sentence

474

(1)

First word after a colon

475

(1)

Abbreviations

475

(2)

PART IX Critical Thinking

477

(42)

Writing about texts

478

(14)

Reading actively: annotating the text

479

(4)

Sample Annotated Reading

479

(4)

Sketching an outline of the text

483

(1)

Summarizing

484

(1)

Sample Summary

484

(1)

Analyzing

485

(7)

Sample Analysis

487

(5)

Constructing reasonable arguments

492

(14)

Examining your issue's social and intellectual contexts

492

(1)

Viewing your audience as a panel of jurors

493

(1)

Establishing credibility and stating your position

494

(1)

Backing up your thesis with persuasive lines of argument

495

(1)

Supporting your claims with specific evidence

496

(2)

Anticipating objections; countering opposing arguments

498

(1)

Building common ground

499

(7)

Sample Argument Paper

500

(6)

Evaluating arguments

506

(13)

Distinguishing between reasonable and fallacious argumentative tactics

506

(7)

Distinguishing between legitimate and unfair emotional appeals

513

(2)

Judging how fairly a writer handles opposing views

515

(4)

PART X Researched Writing

519

(117)

Conducting research

521

(25)

Posing questions worth exploring

521

(3)

Mapping out a search strategy

524

(3)

Searching a database or consulting a print index to locate articles

527

(5)

Consulting the library's catalog to locate books

532

(2)

Using the Web to find a variety of sources

534

(7)

Considering other search tools

541

(2)

Doing field research

543

(3)

Evaluating sources

546

(11)

Selecting sources worth your time and attention

546

(5)

Reading with an open mind and a critical eye

551

(3)

Assessing Web sources with special care

554

(3)

Managing information; avoiding plagiarism

557

(6)

Maintaining a working bibliography

557

(2)

Keeping track of source materials

559

(1)

Avoiding unintentional plagiarism

560

(3)

Choosing a documentation style

563

(6)

Selecting a style appropriate for your discipline

563

(3)

Consulting a style manual

566

(3)

Writing MLA Papers

Supporting a thesis

569

(6)

Forming a thesis and sketching an outline

570

(2)

Including your thesis in the introduction

572

(1)

Providing organizational cues

573

(1)

Drafting the paper in an appropriate voice

574

(1)

Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

575

(5)

Using the MLA system for citing sources

575

(1)

Avoiding plagiarism

576

(4)

Integrating sources

580

(11)

Using signal phrases to introduce quotations; limiting your use of quotations

581

(5)

Using signal phrases to introduce most summaries and paraphrases

586

(2)

Omitting a signal phrase, if you wish, with statistics and other facts

588

(3)

Chart Reviewing an MLA paper: Global revisions

589

(1)

Chart Reviewing an MLA paper: Use of sources

590

(1)

MLA documentation style

591

(41)

MLA in-text citations

593

(11)

MLA list of works cited

604

(27)

MLA information notes

631

(1)

MLA manuscript format; sample MLA paper

632

(4)

MLA manuscript format

632

(4)

Sample research paper: MLA style

636

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