Writing Keystones

Each chapter begins with “What's the Point?” and concludes with “Applications.”

1. How Do You Get from a First Draft to a Final Draft?


2. What Is an Essay?


Essay Structure.



How Modes of Discourse Work in Essays.



3. Prewriting and Drafting: Getting the Words Out.


Visual Prewriting.



Kinesthetic (Movement-Based) Prewriting.



Oral (Spoken) Prewriting.



Aural (Hearing-Based) Prewriting.



Writing-Based Prewriting.



First Drafts.



4. Revising.


Revising for Organization.



Revising for Content Development.



Essay Drafts During Revision.



Types of Content.



Using Other People's Ideas Correctly.



5. Is It Clear to Your Readers? Revising for Style.


Clarity.



Repetitiveness.



Wordiness.



6. Analysis: Looking Below the Surface.


Reading and Writing Analytically.



How Other Modes of Discourse Work with Analysis.



Types of Analysis.



How to Analyze a Text.



7. Persuasion: Connecting with Your Readers.


What Is Persuasion?



Types of Persuasive Documents.



Strategies Used to Persuade.



How Other Modes of Discourse Work with Persuasion.



Errors Made in Persuasion.



8. The Research Process: Answering Your Questions Effectively.


What Is Research?



How to Research.



Begin with a Question.



Collect Information.



Evaluating Resources.



9. Finding Your Resources.


Library Resources.



Online Resources.



Other Resources.



10. Documentation Styles: How to Set Up Your Essays and Use Your Sources.


Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation Style.



Setting Up Your MLA Papers to Look Professional.



American Psychological Association (APA) Documentation Style.



Setting Up Your APA Papers to Look Professional.



The APA References Page.



Sample APA Bibliographic Entries.



Other Documentation Styles.



11. Sentence Basics.


Clauses.



Types of Sentences.



Comma/Semicolon/Colon Usage.



Parallelism.



Pronouns.



Point of View.



Subject-Verb Agreement.



12. Common Sentence Errors: Don't Let This Happen to You.


Comma Splices.



Run-on Sentences.



Fragments.



Tone (Casual vs. Formal).



Overuse of Passive Voice.



Overuse of Jargon.



Weak Sentence Openers.



Pronoun Referencing Problems.



Overuse of “To Be.”



Choppy and Repetitive Sentences.



Appendix 1: FAQ's About Essays.


Appendix 2: Annotated Bibliography.


Glossary of Terms.