Acknowledgements

The Meaning of "Rule of Thumb"

How to Use Rules of Thumb

PART 1: THE BASICS: SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, AND GRAMMAR

A Word about Correctness
Commonly Confused Words
One Word or Two?
Spelling
Capitalization
Abbreviations and Numbers
Apostrophes
Consistent Pronouns
I vs. Me, She vs. Her, He vs. Him, Who vs. Whom
Vague Pronouns
Recognizing Complete Sentences
Period or Comma? Run-on Sentences and Sentence Fragments
Feature: Using but, however, although
Commas
Semicolons
Colons
Dashes and Parentheses
Quotation Marks
Titles: Underlines, Italics, or Quotation Marks
Shifting Verb Tenses
Verb Agreement
Word Endings: -s and -ed
Parallel Structure
Dangling COnstructions
Mixed Sentence Patterns

PART 2: PUTTING A PAPER TOGETHER

What to Do When You're Stuck
Addressing Your Audience
Writing with a Thesis
Finding an Organization for Your Essay
Introductions
Paragraphs--Long and Short
Transitions
Incorporating Quotations
Conclusions
How to Make a Paper Longer (and When to Make It Shorter)
How to Work on a Second Draft
Shortcuts for "Word"
Proofreading Tips
Format of College Papers
Special Case: Writing an Essay in Class
Special Case: Writing about Literature

PART 3: THE RESEARCH PAPER

Seven Steps to a Research Paper
How to Conduct Research
Feature: Sizing Up a Website
Getting Information Online and at the Library
Feature: When You Find Too Few or Too Many Sources
Writing the Research Paper
Feature: PowerPoint Presentations
Plagiarism (Cheating)
What Is Documentation?
Feature: Where to Find Specific Entries for Works Cited, References, and Bibliography
Documentation: The MLA Style
Documentation: The APA Style
Documentation: Endnotes and Bibliography

PART 4: STYLE

Finding Your Voice
Adding Details
Repetition: Bad, Not-So-Bad, and Good
Recognizing Cliches
Eliminating Offensive Language
Trimming Wordiness
Using Strong Verbs
Varying Your Sentences
Keeping a Journal
Postscript
A List of Valuable Sources
About the Authors
Index
Troubleshooting Guide, inside back cover