English Skills

Title
Contents
PART 1: Basic Principles of Effective Writing
	1 An Introduction to Writing
		Understanding Point and Support
		Benefi ts of Paragraph Writing
		Writing as a Skill
		Writing as a Process of Discovery
		Keeping a Journal
		Using This Text
	2 The Writing Process
		Prewriting
		Writing a Topic Sentence and Preparing a Scratch Outline
		Writing a First Draft
		Revising
		Editing
		Review Activities
	3 The First and Second Steps in Writing
		Step 1: Begin with a Point
		Step 2: Support the Point with Specifi c Evidence
		Reinforcing Point and Support
		The Importance of Specifi c Details
		The Importance of Adequate Details
		Practice in Making and Supporting a Point
	4 The Third Step in Writing
		Step 3: Organize and Connect the Specifi c Evidence
		Practice in Organizing and Connecting Specifi c Evidence
	5 The Fourth Step in Writing
		Step 4: Write Clear, Error-Free Sentences
		Revising Sentences
		Editing Sentences
		Practice in Revising Sentences
		Using Parallelism
		Using a Consistent Point of View
		Using Specifi c Words
		Using Concise Wording
		Varying Your Sentences
	6 Four Bases for Revising Writing
		Base 1: Unity
		Base 2: Support
		Base 3: Coherence
		Base 4: Sentence Skills
		Practice in Using the Four Bases
PART 2: Paragraph Development
	7 Introduction to Paragraph Development
		Important Considerations in Paragraph Development
		Tips on Using a Computer
		Using Peer Review
		Doing a Personal Review
		Patterns of Paragraph Development
	8 Exemplifi cation
	9 Process
	10 Cause and Effect
	11 Comparison or Contrast
	12 Defi nition
		13 Division-Classifi cation
	14 Description
	15 Narration
	16 Argument
	17 Additional Paragraph Assignments
PART 3: Essay Development
	18 Writing the Essay
		What Is an Essay?
		Important Points about the Essay
		Essays to Consider
		Planning the Essay
		Practice in Writing the Essay
		Essay Assignments
PART 4: Research Skills
	19 Using the Library and the Internet
		Using the Library
		Using the Internet
	20 Writing a Research Paper
		Step 1: Select a Topic That You Can Readily Research
		Step 2: Limit Your Topic, Make the Purpose of Your Paper Clear, and Assess Your Audience
		Step 3: Gather Information on Your Limited Topic
		Step 4: Plan Your Paper and Take Notes on Your Limited Topic
		Step 5: Write the Paper
		Step 6: Use an Acceptable Format and Method of Documentation
		Model Paper
PART 5: Handbook of Sentence Skills
	21 Subjects and Verbs
		A Simple Way to Find a Subject
		A Simple Way to Find a Verb
		More about Subjects and Verbs
	22 Sentence Sense
		What Is Sentence Sense?
		Turning On Your Sentence Sense
		Summary: Using Sentence Sense
	23 Fragments
		What Are Fragments?
		Dependent-Word Fragments
		-ing and to Fragments
		Added-Detail Fragments
		Missing-Subject Fragments
	24 Run-Ons
		What Are Run-Ons?
		Correcting Run-Ons
	25 Standard English Verbs
		Regular Verbs: Dialect and Standard Forms
		Three Common Irregular Verbs: Dialect and Standard Forms
	26 Irregular Verbs
		A Brief Review of Regular Verbs
		List of Irregular Verbs
	27 Subject-Verb Agreement
		Words between Subject and Verb
		Verb before Subject
		Compound Subjects
		Indefi nite Pronouns
	28 Pronoun Agreement and Reference
		Pronoun Agreement
		Pronoun Reference
	29 Pronoun Types
		Subject and Object Pronouns
		Possessive Pronouns
		Demonstrative Pronouns
	30 Adjectives and Adverbs
		Adjectives
		Adverbs
	31 Misplaced and Dangling Modifi ers
		What Misplaced Modifi ers Are and How to Correct Them
		What Dangling Modifi ers Are and How to Correct Them
	SECTION 2: Mechanics
	32 Paper Format
	33 Capital Letters
		Main Uses of Capital Letters
		Other Uses of Capital Letters
		Unnecessary Use of Capitals
	34 Numbers and Abbreviations
		Numbers
			Abbreviations
	SECTION 3: Punctuation
	35 Apostrophes
		Apostrophe in Contractions
		Apostrophe to Show Ownership or Possession
	36 Quotation Marks
		Quotation Marks to Set Off Exact Words of a Speaker or Writer
		Quotation Marks to Set Off Titles of Short Works
		Other Uses of Quotation Marks
	37 Commas
		Six Main Uses of the Comma
	38 Other Punctuation Marks
		Colon (:)
		Semicolon (;)
		Dash (—)
		Hyphen (-)
		Parentheses ( )
		SECTION 4: Word Use
	39 Using the Dictionary
		Owning Your Own Dictionaries
		Dictionaries on Your Computer
		Understanding a Dictionary Entry
	40 Improving Spelling
		Step 1: Use the Dictionary
		Step 2: Keep a Personal Spelling List
		Step 3: Master Commonly Confused Words
		Step 4: Understand Basic Spelling Rules
		Step 5: Study a Basic Word List
	41 Vocabulary Development
		Regular Reading
		Vocabulary Wordsheets
		Vocabulary Study Books
	42 Commonly Confused Words
		Homonyms
		Other Words Frequently Confused
	43 Effective Word Choice
		Slang
		Clichés
		Pretentious Words
	44 ESL Pointers
		Articles
		Subjects and Verbs
		Adjectives
		Prepositions Used for Time and Place
	SECTION 5: Practice
	45 Combined Mastery Tests
	46 Editing Tests
		Sentence-Skills Achievement Test
	Sentence-Skills Diagnostic Test
		SECTION 1: Grammar
APPENDIX Answer Key
	Answers to Sentence-Skills Diagnostic Test and Introductory Activities
CREDITS
INDEX