Brief Contents Preface About the Authors PART I Starting Out Chapter 1 Ensuring Success in Writing Chapter 2 Generating Ideas through Prewriting Chapter 3 Composing: Creating a Draft Chapter 4 Refining and Polishing Your Draft PART 2 Using the Patterns of Paragraph Development Chapter 5 Narration Chapter 6 Description Chapter 7 Example Chapter 8 Process Chapter 9 Definition Chapter 10 Comparison and Contrast Chapter 11 Cause and Effect Chapter 12 Division and Classification Chapter 13 Argument PART 3 Moving On to the Essay Chapter 14 Developing an Essay Chapter 15 Examining Types of Essays Chapter 16 Adjusting Your Process: Timed Writing and Summaries PART 4 Developing Sentence Sense Chapter 17 The Sentence Chapter 18 Fragments Chapter 19 Subordination and Coordination Chapter 20 Comma Splices and Run-on Sentences PART 5 Understanding Subjects and Verbs Chapter 21 Subject--Verb Agreement Chapter 22 Basic Tenses for Regular Verbs Chapter 23 Irregular Verbs and Frequently Confused Verbs Chapter 24 Passive Voice, Additional Tenses, and Maintaining Consistency in Tense PART 6 Keeping Your Writing Correct Chapter 25 Nouns: Working Effectively with Words That Name Chapter 26 Pronouns: Understanding Case, Clear Pronoun--Antecedent Agreement, and Nonsexist Pronoun Usage Chapter 27 Adjectives, Adverbs, and Other Modifiers: Using Describing and Modifying Words Effectively Chapter 28 Parallelism: Presenting Related Items in a Similar Form Chapter 29 Spelling: Focusing on Correctness Chapter 30 Commas Chapter 31 Other Punctuation and Capitalization PART 7 Connecting: Responding to Reading Appendix Tips for ESL Writers Rhetorical Index Credits Index Detailed Contents Preface About the Authors PART I Starting Out Chapter 1 Ensuring Success in Writing Overview: Understanding the Importance of Good Writing Skills Recognizing the Stages of the Writing Process Understanding the Dynamics of Writing Focusing on the Reader Examining the Purpose behind Your Writing Understanding the Important Relationship between Writing and Reading Recap Ensuring Success in Writing Chapter 2 Generating Ideas through Prewriting Overview: Seeing Prewriting as a Way to Explore Ideas Understanding Prewriting Freewriting Brainstorming Clustering Branching Idea Mapping Maintaining a Journal Recap Generating Ideas through Prewriting Chapter 3 Composing: Creating a Draft Overview: Understanding Composing Recognizing the Structure of a Paragraph Identifying an Effective Topic Writing a Clear, Specific Topic Sentence Providing the Best Support for the Topic Sentence Deciding on the Most Effective Arrangement Making Your Material Reader Centered Using a Reader Evaluation Checklist Developing a Complete Draft Recap Composing: Creating a Draft Chapter 4 Refining and Polishing Your Draft Overview: Understanding the Revising Stage Reassessing: Re-seeing Your Work Maintaining Unity Providing Coherence Transition Organizing Sentences Effectively Choosing Effective Language Keeping Your Writing Specific Keeping Your Writing Concise Getting Feedback from an Objective Reader Redrafting Acknowledging Your Sources MLA Format APA Format Editing Developing a Personal Proofreading System Using Computer Tools to Your Advantage Examining a Revised Draft Recap Refining and Polishing Your Draft Portfolio 1 PART 2 Using the Patterns of Paragraph Development Chapter 5 Narration Overview: Understanding the Modes, Purposes, and Importance of Telling Your Story Writing a Clear Topic Sentence That Establishes a Context Relying on Chronological Order Choosing the Most Effective Point of View Providing a Thorough Presentation Providing Transition for Narrative Paragraphs Recap Narration Chapter 6 Description Overview: Creating a Picture in Words Previewing the Focus of Description through the Topic Sentence