Essential Guide-High School Sampler

Contents
Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

Grammar
Chapter 1 The Parts of Speech .......................................... 2
Nouns .............................................................................................................. 4
Pronouns ........................................................................................................ 6
Verbs ............................................................................................................... 11
Adjectives ...................................................................................................... 16
Adverbs .......................................................................................................... 21
Prepositions and Conjunctions ................................................................. 23
Interjections .................................................................................................. 27
Parts of Speech Review .............................................................................. 28
Chapter 2 The Sentence Base ............................................. 30

A Sentence .................................................................................................... 32
Subjects and Predicates ............................................................................. 33
Sentence Fragments .................................................................................... 40
Complements ................................................................................................. 42
Sentence Patterns ........................................................................................ 47
Chapter 3 Phrases .......................................................................... 48

Prepositional Phrases ................................................................................. 50
Appositives and Appositive Phrases ........................................................ 53
Verbals and Verbal Phrases ....................................................................... 55
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers .......................................................... 63
Phrase Fragments ......................................................................................... 64
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Chapter 4 Clauses ......................................................................... 66
Independent and Subordinate Clauses .................................................... 68
The Uses of Subordinate Clauses ............................................................. 70
Sentence Structure ...................................................................................... 78
Clause Fragments and Run-on Sentences ............................................... 81
Usage
Chapter 5 Using Verbs ............................................................... 84
Regular and Irregular Verbs ....................................................................... 86
Six Problem Verbs ........................................................................................ 93
Verb Tense ..................................................................................................... 96
Progressive and Emphatic Verb Forms .................................................... 101
Voice ............................................................................................................... 104
Mood ............................................................................................................... 106
Chapter 6 Using Pronouns ................................................. 108

The Cases of Personal Pronouns .............................................................. 110
Pronoun Problems ........................................................................................ 117
Pronouns and Their Antecedents .............................................................. 122
Chapter 7 Subject / Verb Agreement ........................... 128

Agreement of Subjects and Verbs ............................................................. 130
Common Agreement Problems .................................................................. 134
Other Agreement Problems ........................................................................ 139
Chapter 8 Using Adjectives and Adverbs ............... 144

Degrees of Comparison ............................................................................... 146
Problems with Comparisons and Modifiers ............................................ 150
A Writer’s Glossary of Usage ..............................................................

..................................................................... 156
vi
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Mechanics
Chapter 9 Capitalization ........................................................
......... 176
176
Capitalizing First Words and the Pronoun I .............................................
..... 1178
7
78
Capitalizing Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives ................................ 180
Capitalizing Titles ........................................................................................ 185
Chapter 10 End Marks and Commas .......................... 188

End Marks in Sentences ............................................................................. 190
Periods in Abbreviations and Outlines .................................................... 192
Commas That Separate ............................................................................... 194
Commas That Enclose ................................................................................. 200
Chapter 11 Italics and Quotation Marks ................. 204

Italics (Underlining) ..................................................................................... 206
Quotation Marks ........................................................................................... 209
Other Uses of Quotation Marks ................................................................. 214
Chapter 12 Other Punctuation ......................................... 216

Apostrophes .................................................................................................. 218
Semicolons and Colons .............................................................................. 223
Hyphens, Dashes, and Parentheses ......................................................... 227
Writing and the Six Traits
Chapter 13 Introduction to
the Process of Writing ............................................................. 232
Using the Writing Process .......................................................................... 234
Prewriting ...................................................................................................... 236
Drafting ........................................................................................................... 249
Revising .......................................................................................................... 252
Editing ............................................................................................................. 255
Publishing ...................................................................................................... 259
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Chapter 14 The
Th Six Traits of Good Writing ........... 262
Ideas ............................................................................................................... 264
Organization .................................................................................................. 267
Voice ............................................................................................................... 270
Word Choice .................................................................................................. 272
Sentence Fluency ......................................................................................... 274
Conventions ................................................................................................... 277
Chapter 15 Writing Strong Sentences ...................... 278

Prewriting ...................................................................................................... 280
Drafting ........................................................................................................... 282
Revising .......................................................................................................... 285
Editing and Publishing ................................................................................ 289
Chapter 16 Writing Powerful Paragraphs ............ 292

Paragraph Structure .................................................................................... 294
Writing Informative Paragraphs ................................................................ 298
Writing Other Types of Paragraphs ........................................................... 307
Chapter 17 Descriptive Writing ....................................... 316

Writing to Describe ...................................................................................... 318
Prewriting ...................................................................................................... 319
Drafting ........................................................................................................... 325
Revising .......................................................................................................... 327
Chapter 18 Personal Writing .............................................. 330

The Personal Narrative ............................................................................... 332
Prewriting ...................................................................................................... 333
Drafting ........................................................................................................... 338
Revising .......................................................................................................... 3341
41
343
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Chapter 19 Expository Writing ........................................ 344
The Power of Expository Writing .............................................................. 346
Prewriting ...................................................................................................... 347
Drafting ........................................................................................................... 356
Revising .......................................................................................................... 361
Chapter 20 Persuasive Writing ........................................ 364

Writing to Persuade ..................................................................................... 366
Prewriting ...................................................................................................... 367
Drafting ........................................................................................................... 375
Revising .......................................................................................................... 377
Chapter 21 Writing About Literature ........................ 380

The Literary Analysis ................................................................................... 382
Prewriting ...................................................................................................... 383
Drafting ........................................................................................................... 399
Revising .......................................................................................................... 402
Chapter 22 Creative Writing ............................................... 404

Writing Creatively ........................................................................................ 406
Writing a Story .............................................................................................. 407
Writing a Play ............................................................................................... 418
Writing a Poem ............................................................................................. 421
Revising .......................................................................................................... 426
Chapter 23 Writing the Research Paper ................. 430

The Research Paper .................................................................................... 432
PPrewriting ...................................................................................................... 443
OOrganizing
r anniz
rg izin
i g ..............
in ...................................................................................................... 453
UUsing
siingg S Sources
ourc
ou rces
rc ...............................................................................................
es ....... 458
DDrafting
raft
ra fttin
ingg an Revising
andd Re
R v si
vi s n .................................................................................. 472
EEditing
diti
di ting
ng aand Publishing
ndd P
Pub
u li
ub lish
shhi ................................................................................ 475
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Communication
Chapter 24 Communication for College ............... 476
The Application Process ............................................................................ 478
Admission Letters and Applications ........................................................ 479
Interviewing .................................................................................................. 484
Chapter 25 Communication for the

World of Work ................................................................................... 486
The Business Letter ..................................................................................... 488
Seeking Employment: Letters and Résumés ........................................... 491
Written Communication at Work ............................................................... 496
Chapter 26 Communication in
the Digital Age ..................................................................................504
Communicating on the Internet ................................................................. 505
Information Sources on the Internet ......................................................... 509
Chapter 27 Speeches and Presentations ............... 512

Preparing and Delivering a Speech or Presentation ............................ 513
Developing Your Critical Listening Skills ............................................... 518
Participating in Group Discussions .......................................................... 520
Skill Building
Chapter 28 Vocabulary Power ........................................... 522
The Varieties of English .............................................................................. 523
Determining Word Meanings ..................................................................... 527
Chapter 29 Critical Thinking .............................................. 532

Thinking Skills .............................................................................................. 534
Logical Fallacies .......................................................................................... 543
Propaganda ................................................................................................... 549
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Chapter 30 Spelling ...................................................................... 552
Spelling Patterns .......................................................................................... 554
Plurals ............................................................................................................ 556
Spelling Numbers ........................................................................................ 560
Chapter 31 Study Skills and Test-Taking ................. 562

Learning Study Skills .................................................................................. 563
Taking Standardized Tests .......................................................................... 568
Tests of Standard Written English ............................................................. 573
Taking Essay Tests ....................................................................................... 576
Literature
A Guide to Literature
Milestones in Literary History ................................................................... 582
Literary Masters ........................................................................................... 590
A Guide to Literary Genres ......................................................................... 608
A Glossary of Literary Terms ...................................................................... 616
The 100 Most Recommended Works ........................................................ 623
The 10 Most Recommended Authors ........................................................ 634
A Guide to Literary Analysis ...................................................................... 636
Glossary of Grammar, Composition,

and Thinking Skills ......................................................................... 642
Index ............................................................................................................... 648
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APTER
CH
Subject
and Verb
Agreement
Singular subjects take singular verbs. Plural subjects take
plural verbs. Subjects and verbs must agree in number.
QuickGuide
Agreement A verb must agree in number with its subject.
of Subjects • A singular subject takes a singular verb.
and Verbs
• A plural subject takes a plural verb.
page 130
• The first helping verb must agree in number with
the subject.
• The agreement of a verb with its subject is not changed
by any interrupting words.
• When a relative pronoun is the subject of a subordinate
clause, the antecedent determines the number of
the verb.
128 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
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Common Watch for these agreement issues as you write.
Agreement • When compound subjects are joined by or, nor, either/or,
Problems or neither/nor, the verb agrees with the closer subject.
page 134
• When compound subjects are joined by and or both/and,
the verb is plural.
• When compound subjects joined by and refer to only one
person or thing, the verb is singular.
• When the words every or each come before a compound
subject that is joined by and, the verb is singular.
• A verb must agree in number with an indefinite pronoun
used as a subject.
• The subject and the verb of an inverted sentence must
agree in number.
Other Watch for these less common agreement issues.

Agreement • Use a singular verb with a collective noun subject that is
Problems thought of as a unit.
page 139 • Use a plural verb with a collective noun subject that is
thought of as a group of separate individuals.
• A subject that expresses an amount, measurement,
weight, or time is usually singular and takes a
singular verb.
• Use a singular verb when an amount tells how much. Use
a plural verb when an amount tells how many.
• Use a singular verb with the number of and a plural verb
with a number of.
• Use a singular verb with subjects that are plural in form
but singular in meaning.
• The verb part of a contraction must agree in number with
the subject.
• A verb agrees with the subject of a sentence, not with
the predicate nominative.
• A title is singular and takes a singular verb.
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Agreement Agreement Issues
Number
Interrupting Words
of Subjects Relative Pronouns

as Subjects
and Verbs
A verb must agree with its subject in number.
When certain keys on a piano are played together, they create a pleasant,
harmonious sound. Other keys played together cause people to wrinkle their
foreheads and hold their ears. In this way language is similar to music. Some
subjects and verbs go together. Others do not. When a subject and a verb fit
together, they are in agreement. This chapter will show you how to make subjects
and verbs agree. Keep in mind this one basic rule as you go through the chapter.
Number
Number indicates whether a noun or pronoun is singular or plural. This term
also applies to verbs. Singular indicates one; plural indicates more than one.
Most nouns form their plurals by adding –s or –es to the singular form, but a few
nouns form their plurals irregularly. Pronouns form their plurals by changing
forms, except for you, which has the same form for both singular and plural.
Nouns
Singular cow, church, goose

Plural cows, churches, geese
Pronouns
Singular I, you, he, she, it

Plural we, you, they
Present tense verbs also have singular and plural forms. The third person singular
form ends in –s or –es. Most verb forms that do not end in –s or –es are plural.
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Verbs
Third Person (He, She, It) eats.
Singular
Others (I, You, We, They) eat.
The verbs be, have, and do have irregular singular and plural forms for the present
tense. Be also has irregular forms for the past tense.
Present Tense
Singular Plural
I am, have, do we are, have, do
you are, have, do you are, have, do
he, she, it is, has, does they are, have, do
Past Tense
Singular Plural
I was we were
you were you were
he, she, it was they were
Because a subject and verb both have number, they must agree. A singular subject
takes a singular verb. A plural subject takes a plural verb.
Singular Plural
The nightingale sings. The nightingales sing.
The appetizer was good. The appetizers were good.
The goose flies. The geese fly.
He is outside. They are outside.
She has a new teacher. They have a new teacher.
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When be, have, and do are used as helping verbs, they must agree in number
with the subject. The first helping verb must agree in number with the subject.
The subjects in the following examples are underlined once; the verbs are
underlined twice.
EXAMPLES
Kim is acting. Kim and Andrew are acting.

She does act. They do like to rehearse.
Interrupting Words
The agreement of a verb with its subject is not changed by any interrupting words.
A verb always agrees with its subject—whether the verb comes right next to the
subject or is separated from it by other words. If a phrase or a clause separates
a subject and verb, a mistake in agreement sometimes occurs. The verb may be
mistakenly made to agree with the object of a prepositional phrase or some other
word that is closer to the verb.
The subjects in the following examples are underlined once; the verbs are
underlined twice. Notice that they agree in number—despite the words that
separate them.
Prepositional The winds at the summit were howling.

Phrase
(The plural verb were agrees with the plural subject
winds, even though summit is closer to the verb.)
Participial The backpack filled with ropes was put on the table.
Phrase
(Was agrees with the subject backpack—not with
EXAMPLES
ropes.)
Negative David, not one of his brothers, is going to climb.
Statements
(Is agrees with the subject David—not with brothers.)
Adjective Hikers who are climbing the mountain prepare for every
Clauses emergency.
(Prepare agrees with the subject hikers—not with
mountain.)
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Compound prepositions, such as in addition to, as well as, along with, and together
with, often begin interrupting phrases. Make sure the verb always agrees with the
subject, not with the object of the compound preposition.
EXAMPLES
Shauna, in addition to her two cousins, is coming with us.

(Is agrees with the subject Shauna—not with cousins, the object of the
compound preposition in addition to.)
Relative Pronouns as Subjects

When a relative pronoun is the subject of a subordinate clause, the antecedent
determines the number of the verb.
Dr. Francis is the only surgeon in the country who knows how to perform this
operation. (Who refers to only surgeon, which is singular, so the verb knows
EXAMPLES
is singular.)
Dr. Klein is one of a dozen doctors who make this hospital famous. (Who refers
to a dozen doctors, which is plural, so the verb make is plural.)
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Common Common Problems
Compound Subjects
Indefinite Pronouns
Agreement Subjects in Inverted Order
Problems
Watch for these common agreement issues.
In addition to interrupted subjects and verbs and relative pronouns, there are
other agreement problems you should watch for.
Compound Subjects
There are two rules to remember when a verb must agree with a compound subject.
When subjects are joined by or, nor, either/or, or neither/nor, the verb agrees with the
closer subject.
This rule applies to any combination of compound subjects: two or more singular
subjects, two or more plural subjects, or one singular and one plural subject. The
verb always agrees with the subject closer to it.
Susanna or Dell is going to teach the computer class.
(Is agrees with Dell, the subject closer to the verb.)

Either the roads or the sidewalks have been slated for repaving.
(Have agrees with sidewalks, the subject closer to the verb.)

EXAMPLES
Neither Art nor his brothers have ever owned a car.
(Have agrees with brothers, the subject closer to the verb—even though Art
is singular.)
Neither the Lings nor their son plans to purchase an MP3 player.
(In this case, plans agrees with the singular subject son because that subject is
closer to the verb.)
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Different conjunctions are the basis of the second rule.
When subjects are joined by and or both/and, the verb is plural.
The conjunctions and and both/and always suggest more than one. As a result, the
verb is always plural—regardless of whether the individual subjects are singular,
plural, or a combination of singular and plural.
Ted’s shovel and rake were missing from the shed.

(Two things—the shovel and the rake—were missing. The verb must be plural
EXAMPLES
to agree.)
A rose and two irises were chosen best in the garden show.
(Even though rose is singular, the verb is still plural because the rose and the
two irises—together—were chosen best in the garden show.)
There are two exceptions to the second rule. On a few rare occasions, subjects
joined by and refer to only one person or one thing. When this is the case, the
verb must be singular.
The artist and gardener was given a standing ovation.

EXAMPLES
(The artist and gardener is the same person.)

Cheese and crackers is my favorite snack when I have friends over.
(Cheese and crackers is considered one item.)
The other exception to the second rule involves the words every and each when
they come before a compound subject that is joined by and. In this situation, each
subject is considered separately. As a result, a singular verb is needed.
EXAMPLES
Every man and woman is encouraged to register to vote.

Each tree and bush was infested with insects.
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Indefinite Pronouns as Subjects
In the previous chapter, you learned that some indefinite pronouns are singular,
some are plural, and some can be either singular or plural. Remember this rule
when using indefinite pronouns as subjects.
A verb must agree in number with an indefinite pronoun used as a subject.
Common Indefinite Pronouns
Singular anybody, anyone, each, either, everybody, everyone, neither,
no one, one, somebody, someone
Plural both, few, many, several
Singular or all, any, most, none, some
Plural
Singular One of the students was asked to be a member of the

archaeology club.
Plural Few of my friends are going to the paleontology lecture
EXAMPLES
tomorrow night.
Singular or Some of the water was spilled.
Plural
Some of the pyramids were looted.
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Subjects in Inverted Order
Most sentences are in natural order, with the subject coming before the verb.
Some sentences, though, are in inverted order, with the subject following the
verb or part of the verb phrase. Regardless of where a subject is located in a
sentence, the verb must agree with it.
The subject and the verb of an inverted sentence must agree in number.
There are several types of inverted sentences. To find the subject in an inverted
sentence, turn the sentence around to its natural order. In the following examples,
each subject is underlined once, and each verb is underlined twice.
Inverted Order Hidden for centuries in Cambodia’s tropical jungle

was the mysterious city known as Angkor Thom.
(The mysterious city was hidden in the jungle.)
Questions Was the algebra equation solved before class ended?
(The equation was solved.)

EXAMPLES
Are the chemicals stored safely in the cabinet?
(The chemicals are stored safely in the cabinet.)
Sentences Here is your world history textbook.

Beginning with
Here or There (Your textbook is here.)
There were too many people crowded into the gallery.
(Occasionally you must drop here or there before

putting the sentence into its natural order. Too many
people were crowded into the gallery.)
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Be careful when using contractions in a sentence that begins
PUNCTUATION with there.
Incorrect: There’s 400 apples in that box.
When the sentence is put in natural order, “Four hundred apples

is in that box,” the correct usage becomes clear.
Correct: There are 400 apples in that box.
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Other Common Problems
Collective Nouns
Quantity and Time Words
Agreement Singular Nouns

with Plural Forms
Contractions
Problems Subjects with Linking Verbs

Titles
Watch for these agreement issues.
Although less common, a few other special situations may cause agreement
problems. Look for these as you edit your written work.
Collective Nouns
A collective noun, as you know, names a group of people or things. How a
collective noun is used will determine its agreement with the verb.
Common Collective Nouns
audience congregation flock league
band crew gang orchestra
class crowd group swarm
committee faculty herd team
colony family jury tribe
Use a singular verb with a collective noun subject that is thought of as a unit.
Use a plural verb with a collective noun subject that is thought of as a group of
separate individuals.
The class has been out for ten hours.

(The class is acting together as a whole unit. Therefore, the verb is singular.)
EXAMPLES
The class have not been able to come to an agreement.

(Members of the class are acting as individuals—each with a separate opinion.
Therefore, the verb is plural.)
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Quantity and Time Words
Subjects that express quantities or times are usually considered singular, but they
often have plural forms.
A subject that expresses an amount, measurement, weight, or time is usually singular
and takes a singular verb.
Agreement with Words for Quantity and Time

Quantity Twenty-six miles is the distance of a marathon race.
(This is one unit of distance.)
Fifteen million dollars was the price of the Louisiana Purchase.
(This is one sum of money.)

Three-fourths of the class is going on the museum trip.
(This is one part of a group.)
Fifty pounds is a heavy weight for many people to carry.
(This is one unit of weight.)

Time Five minutes was too long to wait for him.
(This is one period of time.)
Two weeks is considered a standard vacation.
(This is one block of time.)
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Use a singular verb when an amount tells how much. Use a plural verb when an
amount tells how many.
Words Telling How Much or How Many
How Much Half of the meeting was devoted to questions.
(How much of the meeting?)
Fifty percent of the meeting was devoted to speeches.
How Many Half of the students were not present.
(How many students?)

Twenty percent of the students were ill that day.
The Number of, A Number of These two expressions present different problems in
agreement. Use a singular verb with the number of and a plural verb with a number of.
EXAMPLES
The number of girls taking drafting class has doubled this year.
A number of girls are taking drafting class this year.
Singular Nouns with Plural Forms

Words like molasses, measles, economics, and physics look plural because they end in
–s. They name single things, however, such as one type of food, one disease, or one
area of knowledge.
Use a singular verb with subjects that are plural in form but singular in meaning.
Mumps is a dangerous disease for adults to contract.

EXAMPLES
Physics is his major in college.

Molasses moves very slowly when it is poured.
The country’s economics has never been completely understood.
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Contractions
When you write a contraction, always say the two words that make up the
contraction. Then check for agreement with the subject.
The verb part of the contraction must agree in number with the subject.
Singular doesn’t, isn’t, wasn’t, hasn’t

Plural don’t, aren’t, weren’t, haven’t
Singular The concert doesn’t start until seven o’clock.

The train wasn’t going to arrive on time.
EXAMPLES
Isn’t he a brilliant director?
Plural They haven’t seen the movie yet.

The planes weren’t able to take off in the stormy weather.
Don’t you like this composer?
Subjects with Linking Verbs

A verb always agrees with its subject—regardless of any other word in the sentence.
A verb agrees with the subject of a sentence, not with the predicate nominative.
Historical novels are a good way to learn history.
(The plural verb are agrees with the plural subject novels—even though the
EXAMPLES
predicate nominative way is singular.)

The major reading problem is motivation and time. (Is agrees with the subject
problem—not with the compound predicate nominative, motivation and time.)
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Titles
Although a title may contain plural words, it is considered singular because it is
the name of one book or one organization. Most multiword names of businesses
and organizations are also considered singular.
A title is singular and takes a singular verb.
Seven Gothic Tales was written by Isak Dinesen.

EXAMPLES
The Home Owners Association is holding a mortgage seminar.

The Girl Scouts was founded in Savannah, Georgia, by Juliette Gordon Low.
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APTER
CH
Personal
Writing
In personal writing you are free to reflect upon events,
people, and objects that hold particular meaning to you.
QuickGuide
The Personal writing can lead to a deeper understanding of events
Personal and greater knowledge of yourself.
Narrative You are free to use your own personal voice and an informal
page 332
structure in personal writing.
Note: In the table below, the Six Traits of Good Writing are indicated
in blue.
Prewriting A piece of personal writing begins and ends with the writer’s
own experience.
page 333
• Find a subject by sifting through your memories and choosing
a meaningful one. Ideas
• Use the Interpretation Checklist to go deep into the meaning
that a particular subject has for you. Ideas / Voice
• Determine your audience. Ideas / Voice / Word Choice
• Choose the most suitable form: narration, description,
character sketch, or perhaps a combination of all three.
Ideas / Organization / Fluency
• List the details that will best develop your main idea and
share the meaning of the experience. Ideas / Organization /
Voice / Fluency
• Choose the appropriate organizational model. Organization
330 Writing and the Six Traits
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Drafting Find the voice and the tone that is right for your subject.
page 338 • Introduce your subject in a way that catches the reader’s
interest and establishes your voice and tone. Ideas / Voice
• Build the body of your piece from the details you have
chosen so that you make the point you wish to share.
Loop back to prewriting if necessary. Organization
• Add a conclusion that leaves your reader with the idea or
feeling you wish to convey. Organization / Voice / Word Choice
• Choose a title that is true to your voice. Voice / Word Choice
Revising Find the right balance between vivid details and the overall
impression you wish to make.
page 341
• Revise your personal writing for adequate development and
appropriate organization. Ideas / Organization
• Revise your writing with an eye to make sure ideas flow
smoothly from one to the other. Ideas / Organization / Word
Choice / Fluency
• Use the Six Traits of Writing Checklist. Ideas / Organization /
Voice / Word Choice / Sentence Fluency
Editing and Prepare your personal writing for an audience or reader.

Publishing • Use the Editing for Conventions Checklist to polish your
page 343 grammar, spelling, usage, and mechanics. Conventions
• Refer to Ways to Publish Your Work for ideas on how to
share your personal writing. Voice / Conventions
Chapter 18 | Personal Writing 331
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The Personal Narrative
Personal writing is a part of your day-to-day life. Friends and family may write
letters or e-mails recounting to you what has happened to them. You may keep a
journal or read biographies about others’ personal experiences.
Writing a personal narrative about an event that had an impact on you or about
a person you admire can be a very meaningful experience. Carefully choosing just
the right details and words may lead to a deeper understanding of the event or
person—and of yourself.
Personal Voice
With personal writing, you are free to write from the first-person point of view,
using the pronoun I. To express your own voice through your work, write in a
natural, personal voice and adopt a less formal organizational structure than you
do for academic or professional writing.
Examples of Personal Writing

The following examples show that personal writing plays a regular part in our
everyday lives.
• You write to friends how you broke your leg on a skiing trip.
• You describe your room to a pen pal.
• A newcomer to your school writes an essay on how war and political unrest forced
her to leave her homeland.
• You write an e-mail message to your cousin in another state recounting an
amusing anecdote you overheard.
• You read in your baby book how at age three you gave yourself a haircut and
ended up half bald.
• You keep a journal during your first week as an intern at the local newspaper.
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Prewriting Topics
Finding a Subject
Considering Your Audience
Determining the Form
Personal writing begins and ends with the writer’s Selecting and
own experience. Developing Details
Choosing an
Organizational Model
The starting point of a piece of personal writing is your own experience. In the
following excerpt from a personal narrative, writer Annie Dillard shares a child-
hood experience that had personal significance for her.
Professional Model: Personal Narrative

When I was six or seven years old, growing up in Pittsburgh, I used to take a
precious penny of my own and hide it for someone else to find. It was a curious
compulsion; sadly, I’ve never been seized by it since. For some reason I always
“hid” the penny along the same stretch of sidewalk up the street. I would cradle
it at the roots of a sycamore, say, or in a hole left by a chipped-off piece of side-
walk. Then I would take a piece of chalk, and, starting at the other end of the
block, draw huge arrows leading up to the penny from both directions. After I
learned to write I labeled the arrows: SURPRISE AHEAD or MONEY THIS
WAY. I was greatly excited, during all this arrow-drawing, at the thought of the
first lucky passerby who would receive in this way, regardless of merit, a free gift
from the universe. But I never lurked about. I would go straight home and not
give the matter another thought, until, some months later, I would be gripped
again by the impulse to hide another penny.
—Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Finding a Subject
To think of a subject for a piece of personal writing, look through your journal
entries or recall experiences, people, places, and objects that have personal
significance for you. For instance, you might recall a teacher who had a strong
influence on you. You might visualize a special place or a simple object, such as a
pair of sneakers, as the starting point for personal writing. The following chart will
help you find appropriate subjects.
CH17-19_RLS.indd 333 7/11/06 5:16:10 PM

Sources of Subjects for Personal Writing
clothing or jewelry newspapers and magazines
diaries old toys or games
family stories photograph albums
favorite places school yearbooks
items in your desk scrapbooks
letters from friends souvenirs from vacations
To be meaningful, personal writing should include thoughtful interpretations

of events. A checklist like the one below can provide useful avenues for thinking
more deeply about possible topics for your personal writing.
Interpretation Checklist
✓ Meaningful Subject
(Choose one of the above or a subject of your own.)
✓ I will always remember this event / person / object because—

(Jot down words that describe what this subject means to you. Use sensory details
and vivid adjectives.)
✓ This event / person / object is worth writing about because—

(Explain why you feel this subject is an important and interesting one to write
about.)
✓ This event / person / object is important to me now because—

(Write how this subject makes you feel, and why. Use strong language. Dig deep to
find your own personal responses to this subject.)
Considering Your Audience

Personal writing requires a unique consideration of audience and voice. In
addition to determining your level of formality, you must determine what to do
to draw your reader’s attention to your subject. You may need to provide precise,
vivid details or surprising facts in order to help your audience imagine unfamiliar
circumstances or understand the significance of events.
CH17-19_RLS.indd 334 7/11/06 5:16:11 PM

Determining the Form
One of the most common forms of personal writing is the personal narrative, in
which the writer brings to life a significant event. There are, however, other forms
you can use, such as a description or a character sketch. The chart below describes
some of forms of writing you can use for personal writing.
Forms of Personal Writing
Narrative Use a personal narrative to tell a true story. Think of a short story in
which all the characters are real instead of fictional.
Anecdote Use an anecdote to tell a short humorous story.
Description Use description to describe an object or a location.
Character Use a character sketch to describe a person who is important
Sketch to you.
Selecting and Developing Details

After determining your audience and the form, select and develop details that will
bring your subject to life. If you are writing about a person, include details about
facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice. If you are writing about a place,
include sensory and spatial details.
Kind of Detail Function

factual details provide background information
sensory details bring life to the writing
CH17-19_RLS.indd 335 7/11/06 5:16:12 PM

In the following excerpt, the writer E. B. White describes his return to a favorite
childhood haunt—a camp at a lake in Maine. Notice how he has selected details
that develop the main idea—that the week at the camp was memorable.
Professional Model: Sensory Details in a Personal Narrative

We had a good week at the camp. The bass were biting well and the sun shone
endlessly, day after day. We would be tired at night and lie down in the accu-
mulated heat of the little bedrooms after the long hot day and the breeze would
stir almost imperceptibly outside and the smell of the swamp drift in through
rusty screens.
—E. B. White, “Once More to the Lake”
Now look at how another writer, Eudora Welty, introduces her selection
“Listening“ with details that you can almost hear. The details develop the main
idea, which is that listening was important in her family when she was young.
Professional Model: Auditory Details in a Personal Narrative

When I was young enough to still spend a long time buttoning my shoes in
the morning, I’d listen toward the hall: Daddy upstairs was shaving in the
bathroom and Mother downstairs was frying the bacon. They would begin
whistling back and forth to each other up and down the stairwell. My father
would whistle his phrase, my mother would try to whistle, then hum hers back.
It was their duet.
—Eudora Welty, One Writer’s Beginnings
Be aware of Welty’s strong voice in the excerpt above. The love she feels for her
parents is almost tangible in this description.
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Choosing an Organizational Model
Most pieces of personal writing use developmental order. That is, ideas will be
arranged in a progression so that one idea grows out of the previous idea and leads
to the next idea.
Within this overall pattern of organization, however, you will usually use indi-
vidual paragraphs that have narrative, descriptive, or informative elements. Within
each paragraph, you should use an appropriate method for organizing your details,
as the following chart shows.
Types of Order
Kind of Writing Kind of Details Type of Order

Narrative events in a story chronological
Descriptive top-bottom / bottom-top spatial order
right-left / left-right
Informative background details importance
CH17-19_RLS.indd 337 7/11/06 5:16:13 PM

Drafting Topics
Drafting the Introduction
Drafting the Body
Drafting the Conclusion
Find the voice and the tone that is right for your subject. Choosing a Title
Even though personal writing is less formal than other types of writing, it
should still include an interesting introduction, an effective body, and a
memorable conclusion. Finding a title that creates interest in the reader is
also important.
Drafting the Introduction

Introduce your piece in a way that highlights the personal importance of the
experience you are writing about. Include both information and emotional
content in order to gain your readers’ interest and set the tone of the narrative.
Functions of the Introduction in a Personal Narrative
• It sets the tone of the narrative.
• It captures the reader’s interest.
• It presents the subject and purpose of the narrative.
• It explains the main idea.
• It reveals the writer’s point of view.
Set a Tone To choose an appropriate tone for your narrative, think about the
effect that you want to have on your readers. Do you want them to identify with
you—laugh, cry, or share your reactions? Do you want them to see you or your
subject through someone else’s eyes? Once you have answered these questions,
choose your words accordingly.
Notice ways in which the writer’s voice determines the tone in each of the
paragraphs on the next page.
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Student Model: Humorous Tone
Who knew what lurked in those pale waters? All around me happy snorkelers
surfaced, crowing with glee about the rainbow of fish that had nibbled at their
fingertips. I looked at my own fingers with a sense of doom, absolutely certain
that a razor-toothed barracuda was preparing to greet me when I went below.
Grimly I locked my bloodless lips over the mouthpiece, ducked my head,
breathed in water, and came up choking. Why in the world was I doing this?
Student Model: Angry Tone

It was a raw, windy day, and I was furious. I hate swimming! Since I’m too
skinny to look good in a bathing suit, I never go to the beach if I can help it.
Here I was, though, all signed up for a free lesson in snorkeling—a sport I’d
never wanted to try. Ow! Was that a sea urchin I just stepped on?
Student Model: Reflective Tone

This little bay is my favorite spot in the world. When I go out very early in the
morning before the crowds, it is like paradise. I never grow tired of the magic in
that clear and silent world where I am surrounded by bright blue
and yellow fish. In their world I cannot help feeling at peace.
Drafting the Body

The body of your piece should develop the overall impression you are working
toward through sensory details and your own personal style.
Guidelines for Drafting the Body
• Follow a logical order of ideas and details.
• Make sure that each supporting paragraph adds to your overall impression.
• Use transitions between sentences and paragraphs to give your piece fluency.
• Choose words that bring your subject to life.
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Looping Back to Prewriting As you draft your personal narrative, you may find
you need to include more or richer details. To gather those details, it may be help-
ful to talk with family members or friends who are familiar with your subject or
experienced it with you. Include these additional descriptive details in your draft.
Drafting the Conclusion

The conclusion of a personal narrative should give readers a sense of completion
and a lasting impression of the personal experience or insight that you have writ-
ten about. Following are several appropriate ways to end a personal narrative.
Ways to End a Personal Narrative
• Summarize the body or restate the main idea in new words.
• Add an insight that shows a new or deeper understanding of the experience.
• Add a striking new detail or memorable image.
• Refer to ideas in the introduction to bring your narrative full circle.
• Appeal to your reader’s emotions.
The following paragraph concludes the narrative that was introduced in the third
model paragraph on page 339. This conclusion both summarizes the experience of
swimming in the morning and restates the main idea.
Student Model: Conclusion

After an early morning swim like this, I come out of the water and spread out
on the sand to dry off. The sound of the waves soothes me, and I continue to
picture the fish I have seen and the reef that I have explored. Days and even
weeks later, I’m able to reflect back on that time and feel a moment of peace in
the middle of a hectic day.
Choosing a Title
When you have finished writing your draft, think creatively about the title. Not
only should the title pique audience interest, it should reflect the voice and tone
you have used in the piece.
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Revising Topics
Checking for Development
Using the Six Traits of
Writing Checklist
Find the right balance between vivid details and the
overall impression intended in your personal writing.
In a piece of personal writing, revising involves the important task of adding

details for adequate development and checking for organization and fluency.
Checking for Adequate Development

An effective piece of personal writing should touch the reader in some way. For
instance, if you have narrated a personal experience, your writing should make the
reader feel the way you did during that experience. The reader should be able to
hear and see and touch everything as you did.
Check your writing for vivid and interesting details. The following strategies will
help you think of additional details as you revise.
Strategies for Conjuring Details
Events Close your eyes and slowly visualize the experience that you are
writing about. Write details as you “see” them in your mind’s eye.
Places Visualize the place you are describing. Start at the left side and
visualize slowly to the right. Then visualize the place from top to
bottom or vice versa.
People Visualize each person that you are writing about. Start by visualizing the
head and face. How does the individual stand? What does his or her
voice sound like to you? Write details as you “see” or “hear” them.
Feelings Imagine yourself once again undergoing the experience that you
are writing about. This time, focus on your feelings, thoughts, and
impressions as you move through the experience.
Reflect on Events Make sure your writing is organized so that your reflections
about events are clear. Copy the reflection chart that follows for use with all
of your personal writing. In the left column, note the main topics as you have
addressed them in your draft. In the right column, note your personal reflections
on the topic. Revise your writing to incorporate any new ideas.
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Reflection Chart
Event Reflection
The time that I . . . makes me think of—
When I recall the object . . . it makes me think of—
When I recall that person . . . he / she makes me think of—
Using the Six Traits of Writing

As you revise your personal writing, refer to the five elements in the checklist
below. Think about these five elements not only as you revise your writing, but
during the drafting stage also.
Six Traits of Writing Checklist

Ideas
✓ Are your ideas clear and interesting?
✓ Do your ideas show a fresh perspective?
✓ Do your details capture the reader’s interest?
Organization
✓ Does your introduction pull in the reader and give solid clues as to what is coming?
✓ Does your writing have vivid and interesting details?
✓ Are your concluding statements memorable?
Voice
✓ Does this paper sound as though you wrote it?
✓ Does your writing make the audience care about your subject?
✓ Will your audience find your writing distinctive?
Word Choice
✓ Do your words create pictures for the reader?
✓ Do your words convey clear, precise thoughts?
✓ Have you used strong verbs and exact adjectives?
✓ Does your title entice the reader?
Sentence Fluency
✓ Are your sentences easy to read aloud?
✓ Are your sentences well constructed?
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Editing and Publishing
Prepare your personal writing for an audience or reader.
After you have put it aside for a short time, reread your revised draft for the con-
ventions of language—grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. Remember, it
is still not too late to go back and reorganize your written paper.
Editing
Refer to your Personalized Editing Checklist to make sure you are not repeating
errors you have made in the past. The following checklist also will help you edit
your work.
Editing for Conventions Checklist
✓ Does your grammar conform to conventions?
✓ Do your transitions feel natural and unforced?
✓ Have you avoided run-on sentences and unintentional sentence fragments?
✓ Are all words spelled correctly?
Publishing
You may decide to complete the writing process by sharing your writing with
someone who was part of the experience you wrote about or with someone who
may have an interest in it.
Ways to Publish Your Work
• Print your narrative for others to read.
• Read your narrative aloud.
• Perform your narrative in a staged reading.
• Submit your narrative to a newspaper or magazine.
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A Guide to Literature
Milestones in
Literary History
Year Country Author Work
2000 B.C. to 1 A.D.
c. 2000 B.C. Babylonia anonymous The Epic of Gilgamesh
c. 1750 B.C. Babylonia Hammurabi Code of Laws
c. 1240 B.C. Egypt anonymous Book of the Dead
2000–800 B.C. India anonymous Vedas
c. 725 B.C. Greece Homer Iliad, Odyssey
c. 600 B.C. India anonymous Upanishads
c. 560 B.C. Greece Aesop Fables
458 B.C. Greece Aeschylus Agamemnon
431 B.C. Greece Euripides Medea
c. 430 B.C. Greece Sophocles Oedipus the King
c. 430–424 B.C. Greece Herodotus Histories
411 B.C. Greece Aristophanes Lysistrata
c. 399–390 B.C. Greece Plato Apology
c. 350 B.C. China Lao Tsu Tao Te Ching
335 B.C. Greece Aristotle Poetics
500–300 B.C. India anonymous Mahabharata, Ramayana
23 B.C. Italy Horace Odes
c. 19 B.C. Italy Virgil Aeneid
582 Literature
Literature_RLS.indd 582 7/12/06 11:19:04 AM

1 A.D. to 1100 A.D. (Includes Old English Period 428–1100)
7 Italy Ovid Metamorphoses
c. 100 Italy Plutarch Lives
367 Egypt St. Athanasius New Testament codified
c. 613 Arabia Mohammed Koran
c. 725 England anonymous Beowulf
731 England Bede Ecclesiastical History of the
English People
c. 1000 Persia anonymous The Thousand and One Nights
c. 1000 Japan Lady Murasaki The Tale of Genji
1300 to 1500 (Middle English Period in England)

1321 Italy Dante Alighieri The Divine Comedy
1353 Italy Giovanni Boccacio The Decameron
c. 1380–1400 England anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight
1400 England Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales
1453 Germany Johann Gutenberg invented printing press
with movable type, printed
Gutenberg Bible
1470 England Sir Thomas Malory Morte D’arthur
1485 to 1660 (The Renaissance, includes Elizabethan Age)

c. 1485 England anonymous Everyman
1513 Italy Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince
1516 England Sir Thomas More Utopia
1590 England Edmund Spencer The Faerie Queene
c. 1593 England Christopher Marlowe Doctor Faustus
c. 1602 England William Shakespeare Hamlet
1605, 1616 Spain Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote
1606 England Ben Jonson Volpone
1611 England anonymous King James Bible
(English translation)
c. 1614 England John Webster The Duchess of Malfi
1636 France Pierre Corneille El Cid
A Guide to Literature | Milestones in Literary History 583

1660 to 1800 (Neo-Classical Period)
1660–1669 England Samuel Pepys Diary
1666 France Moliere The Misanthrope
1667 England John Milton Paradise Lost
1668 France Jean de La Fontaine Fables
1675 England John Bunyan Pilgrim’s Progress
1677 England John Dryden All for Love
1677 France Jean Racine Phaedra
1700 England William Congreve The Way of the World
1712 England Alexander Pope The Rape of the Lock
1719 England Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe
1726 Ireland Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s Travels
1728 England John Gay The Beggars’ Opera
1732–1757 America Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard’s Almanack
1749 England Henry Fielding Tom Jones
1751–1780 France Denis Diderot et al. Encyclopedie
1755 England Samuel Johnson Dictionary of the English
Language
1759 France Voltaire Candide
1762 France Jean Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract
1773 Ireland Oliver Goldsmith She Stoops to Conquer
1776 America Thomas Paine Common Sense
1776 America Thomas Jefferson The Declaration of
Independence
1777 England Richard Brinsley Sheridan The School for Scandal
1783–1793 England William Blake Songs of Innocence and
Experience
1786 Scotland Robert Burns Poems
1791 Scotland James Boswell The Life of Samuel Johnson,
LL.D.
1792 England Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights
of Woman
584 Literature

1798 to 1865 (Romantic Period)
1798 England William Wordsworth & Lyrical Ballads
Samuel Coleridge
1808, 1831 Germany Wolfgang von Goethe Faust
1812–1815 Germany Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Grimm’s Fairy Tales
1813 England Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice
1817 England Mary Shelley Frankenstein
1818 England Percy Bysshe Shelley Ozymandias
1819 Scotland Sir Walter Scott Ivanhoe
1819–1824 England George Gordon, Lord Byron Don Juan
1819–20 America Washington Irving The Sketch Book
1821 England Thomas DeQuincey Confessions of an English
Opium Eater
1825–31 Russia Alexander Pushkin Eugene Onegin
1835 Denmark Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
1836 Russia Nickolai Gogol The Inspector General
1840 America Edgar Allan Poe Tales of the Grotesque and
Arabesque
1841–44 America Ralph Waldo Emerson Essays
1847 England Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre
1848 England Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights
1849–1850 England Charles Dickens David Copperfield
1850 England Alfred, Lord Tennyson In Memoriam
1850 America Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter
1851 America Herman Melville Moby Dick
1852 America Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom’s Cabin
1854 America Henry David Thoreau Walden
1855 England Robert Browning Men and Women
1855 America Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass
1855 America Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Song of Hiawatha
1857 France Gustave Flaubert Madame Bovary
1859 England Edward Fitzgerald The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
1860 France Victor Hugo Les Miserables
1863 America Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg Address
1863 France Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty
Days

1865 to 1914 (Realistic Period)
1865 England Lewis Carroll Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland
1866 America John Greenleaf Whittier Snow-Bound
1866 Russia Fyodor Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment
1868 America Louisa May Alcott Little Women
1868 Russia Leo Tolstoy War and Peace
1870 America Bret Harte The Luck of Roaring Camp
and Other Sketches
1871 England George Eliot Middlemarch
1879 Norway Henrik Ibsen A Doll’s House
1881 France Guy de Maupassant La Maison Tellier
1883 Scotland Robert Louis Stevenson Treasure Island
1884 America Mark Twain The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
1887 England Sir Arthur Conan Doyle A Study in Scarlet
1890 America Emily Dickinson Poems (posthumous)
1894–95 England Rudyard Kipling The Jungle Books
1895 England Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being
Earnest
1897 France Edmond Rostand Cyrano de Bergerac
1898 England H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds
1900 England Joseph Conrad Lord Jim
1900 Russia Anton Chekhov The Cherry Orchard
1901 Sweden Nobel Prize established
1902 Ireland William Butler Yeats Cathleen Ni Houlihan
1902 France Andre Gide The Immoralist
1903 America Henry James The Ambassadors
1903 America Jack London The Call of the Wild
1907 Ireland John Millington Synge The Playboy of the Western
World
1912 Ireland George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion
1912 India Rabindranath Tagore Gitanjali (Song Offerings)
1912 France Anatole France The Gods Are Athirst
1913 England D. H. Lawrence Sons and Lovers
1913–1927 France Marcel Proust Remembrance of Things
Past
586 Literature

1914 to 1965 (Modern Period)
1914 First World War (1914–1918)
1916 America Carl Sandburg Chicago Poems
1917 America Pulitzer Prize established
1918 America Willa Cather My Antonia
1919 America Sherwood Anderson Winesburg, Ohio
1920 America Edith Wharton The Age of Innocence
1921 Ireland James Joyce Ulysses
1921 Italy Luigi Pirandello Six Characters in Search of
an Author
1922 England T. S. Eliot The Waste Land
1922 Scotland Sir James Frazer The Golden Bough
1922 England John Galsworthy The Forsythe Saga
1922 America Sinclair Lewis Babbit
1924 England E. M. Forster A Passage to India
1924 Chile Pablo Neruda Twenty Love Poems and
One Ode of Desperation
1925 America F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby
1925 America Theodore Drieser An American Tragedy
1925 Austria Franz Kafka The Trial
1926 America Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises
1927 England Virginia Woolf To the Lighthouse
1927 Germany Hermann Hesse Steppenwolf
1929 America William Faulkner The Sound and the Fury
1929 Germany Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western
Front
1930–1936 America John Dos Passos U. S. A.
1931 America Pearl Buck The Good Earth
1932 England Aldous Huxley Brave New World
1934 France Jean Cocteau The Infernal Machine
1937 England J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit
1938 America Thornton Wilder Our Town

1939 Second World War (1939–1945)
1939 America Lillian Hellman The Little Foxes
1939 America John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath
1940 America Richard Wright Native Son
1942 France Albert Camus The Stranger
1943 France Jean-Paul Sartre Being and Nothingness
1944 America Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie
1945 England George Orwell Animal Farm
1945 France Jean Giradoux The Madwoman of Chaillot
1946 America Robert Penn Warren All the King’s Men
1947 Israel anonymous Dead Sea Scrolls discovered
1949 America Arthur Miller The Death of a Salesman
1950 Mexico Otavio Paz The Labyrinth of Solitude
1950 France Eugene Ionesco The Bald Soprano
1950–1956 Ireland C. S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia
1952 Ireland Samuel Beckett Waiting for Godot
1952 Wales Dylan Thomas “Do Not Go Gentle into
That Good Night”
1953 America Saul Bellow The Adventures of Augie
March
1954 England William Golding The Lord of the Flies
1956 England John Osborne Look Back in Anger
1956 America Eugene O’Neill Long Day’s Journey into
Night
1956 Romania Elie Wiesel Night
1957 England Harold Pinter The Birthday Party
1957 America James Agee A Death in the Family
1957 Russia Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago
1957–1960 France Lawrence Durrell The Alexandria Quartet
1959 America Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun
1959 Germany Gunter Grass The Tin Drum
1960 America Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird
1960 America John Updike Rabbit, Run
1961 America Edward Albee Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?
1962 America Robert Frost In the Clearing
588 Literature

1965 to Present (Post-Modern Period)
1965 America Truman Capote In Cold Blood
1967 England Tom Stoppard Rosencrantz and Guilden-
stern Are Dead
1967 Colombia Gabriel García Márquez One Hundred Years of
Solitude
1969 Ireland Booker Prize established
1969 America Philip Roth Portnoy’s Complaint
1970 South Nadine Gordimer A Guest of Honor
Africa
1972 Poland Isaac Bashevis Singer Enemies: A Love Story
1973 Russia Alexander Solzhenitsyn The Gulag Archipelago
1974 South Nadine Gordimer The Conservationist
Africa
1975 Argentina Jorge Luis Borges The Book of Sand
1976 Nigeria Wole Soyinka Death and the King’s
Horseman
1980 Ireland Seamus Heaney Selected Poems
1980 Italy Umberto Eco The Name of the Rose
1982 America Alice Walker The Color Purple
1983 South J.M. Coetzee Life & Times of Michael K
Africa
1987 America August Wilson Fences
1987 America Toni Morrison Beloved
1990 St. Lucia Derek Walcott Omeros
2000 Canada Margaret Atwood The Blind Assassin

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Contents

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

Chapter 2 The Sentence Base ............................................. 30

Chapter 3 Phrases .......................................................................... 48

74451FM_TOC_RLS.indd v 6/23/08 4:10:41 PM

Chapter 6 Using Pronouns ................................................. 108

Chapter 7 Subject / Verb Agreement ........................... 128

Chapter 8 Using Adjectives and Adverbs ............... 144

A Writer’s Glossary of Usage ..............................................................

74451FM_TOC_RLS.indd vi 6/23/08 4:10:51 PM

Chapter 10 End Marks and Commas .......................... 188

Chapter 11 Italics and Quotation Marks ................. 204

Chapter 12 Other Punctuation ......................................... 216

Writing and the Six Traits

74451FM_TOC_RLS.indd vii 6/23/08 4:10:54 PM

Chapter 15 Writing Strong Sentences ...................... 278

Chapter 16 Writing Powerful Paragraphs ............ 292

Chapter 17 Descriptive Writing ....................................... 316

Chapter 18 Personal Writing .............................................. 330

74451FM_TOC_RLS.indd viii 6/23/08 4:10:56 PM

Chapter 20 Persuasive Writing ........................................ 364

Chapter 21 Writing About Literature ........................ 380

Chapter 22 Creative Writing ............................................... 404

Chapter 23 Writing the Research Paper ................. 430

74451FM_TOC_RLS.indd ix 6/23/08 4:10:59 PM

Chapter 25 Communication for the

Chapter 27 Speeches and Presentations ............... 512

Chapter 29 Critical Thinking .............................................. 532

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Chapter 31 Study Skills and Test-Taking ................. 562

Glossary of Grammar, Composition,

Index ............................................................................................................... 648

74451FM_TOC_RLS.indd xi 6/23/08 4:11:04 PM

128 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

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Other Watch for these less common agreement issues.

Chapter 7 | Subject and Verb Agreement 129

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of Subjects Relative Pronouns

Singular cow, church, goose

Singular I, you, he, she, it

130 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

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Chapter 7 | Subject and Verb Agreement 131

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Kim is acting. Kim and Andrew are acting.

Prepositional The winds at the summit were howling.

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Shauna, in addition to her two cousins, is coming with us.

Relative Pronouns as Subjects

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Agreement Subjects in Inverted Order

Susanna or Dell is going to teach the computer class.

(Is agrees with Dell, the subject closer to the verb.)

(Have agrees with sidewalks, the subject closer to the verb.)

Neither Art nor his brothers have ever owned a car.

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Ted’s shovel and rake were missing from the shed.

The artist and gardener was given a standing ovation.

(The artist and gardener is the same person.)