Veterans Publications
Table of Contents
- Introduction 9
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Chapter 1 Learning to write
- Overcoming writing blocks 12
- Creating 14
- Ideas: tracking them down and putting them on paper
- Pre-association: you need questions, questions, questions
- Creating an effect: using details that make ideas worth reading
- Focusing 19
- Every idea that wants to become a story needs a focus
- Writing scenes
- Highlighting a story
- Visualizing 22
- Learning to see Contrast 25
- Every story that demands to be read has contrast
- Point-of-view 30
- Getting the reader to see it your way
- Creating a point-of-view and follow through
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Chapter 2 Researching and organizing
- The problem with topic sentences 36
- The four-step process
- Strategy 1 Learning to research a problem 38
- How research works
- Strategy 2Learning to use generalizations 39
- Using general statements for transitions
- Visualizing the whole
- Strategy 3 Learning to write a summary article 43
- Strategy 4 Learning to write an instructional article 46
- Strategy 5 Learning to make a point 48
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Chapter 3 Researching and documenting
- What is reliable information? 52
- What should be documented? 52
- Primary and secondary sources 54
- Research and note-taking 54
- Note-taking cardsBibliography cards
- Documentation in general publications 56
- Documentation in student writing 57
- Reference list 58
- Documenting sources from the web 58
- Plagiarism 59
- Documenting other sources 59
- Finding information on the Internet 61
- Open hearts and roadblocks 62
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Chapter 4 Eight one-hour strategies for mastering grammar
- Test yourself 66
- Introduction 67
- What grammar is all about 68
- Strategy 1 Mastering basic sentences 72
- Problem Writing fragments for sentences 73
- Tips for recognizing clauses
- Strategy 2 Writing correct verb tense 77
- Writing present participle and past participle
- Problem #1 Confusing past participle and simple past 78
- Problem #2 Using the singular with the subjunctive mood 80
- Problem #3 Using verbs in the wrong time frame 80
- Strategy 3 Maintaining agreement between subject and predicate 84
- Problem #1 Failing to add “s” to the third person singular of the verb 84
- Problem #2 Using singular instead of plural verbs with compound subjects 85
- Problem #3 Making predicates agree with collective nouns 86
- Hidden subject-predicate agreements 87
- Strategy 4 Mastering pronoun agreement 88
- Problem #1 Making a pronoun agree with its antecedent 88
- Problem #2 Using pronouns with unclear antecedents 89
- Problem #3 Using the plural with the indefinite pronoun 90
- Strategy 5 Identifying and using objective pronouns 92
- Problem #1 Using the subjective form of the pronoun after a verb of action 92
- Problem #2 Using subjective for objective form after a preposition 94
- Strategy 6 Eliminating run-on sentences 98
- Problem Incorrect punctuation between principal clauses 98
- Strategy 7 Using modifiers correctly 102
- Predicate look-alikes
- Problem #1 Misplacing the modifier 103
- Problem #2 Using adjectives for adverbs 105
- Strategy 8 Mastering parallel structure 108
- Review exercises 110
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Chapter 5 Punctuation
- Comma 114
- Essential and non-essential information 115
- Direct address 116
- Introductory expressions 117
- Listing 118
- Colon 119
- Listing and illustratingSemicolon 122
- Joining principal clauses 122
- Before explanatory expressions 122
- Separating items containing commas 123
- Separating qualifying information between principal clauses 123
- Dash 125
- Quotations 125
- Direct speech and paraphrasing 125
- A complete guide to using quotation marks 126
- Capitalization: 11 steps to the upper case 129
- The politics of capital letters 130
- Apostrophe 131
- Marking an omission (takes place of letters) 131
- Forms plural of letters, figures and words 132
- Shows possession 132
- Forming the possessive singular
- Forming the possessive plural
- Final punctuation exercises 135
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Chapter 6
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- 49 Word traps 140
- Reference list 151
- Index 152