Handbook for College Writing and Documentation and Reference to College Writing and Academic Writing Notes
H1. Introduction to the Handbook
Purpose and Utility: This handbook serves as a brief yet comprehensive reference for college-level writing. It is designed to assist students in drafting paragraphs, polishing sentences for clarity, conciseness, and point of view, and identifying common sentence errors and confused words.
Editing and Refinement: The guide provides tools for fine-tuning verbs, pronouns, punctuation, and mechanics. It also offers specific instructions for integrating and citing source material using MLA or APA styles.
Organization and Navigation: The handbook is a reference tool rather than a book meant to be read linearly. Students can jump to specific sections based on instructor feedback or personal needs:
Sentence Errors: For issues such as comma splices.
Punctuation: For specific comma usage guidance.
Quotations: For determining the placement of punctuation relative to quotation marks.
H2. Paragraphs and Transitions
The Function of Paragraphs: Paragraphs organize prose into manageable chunks to guide readers. Each new paragraph indicates a new idea, further development of an existing concept, or a change in direction.
Qualities of Effective Paragraphs:
Structure: Includes a main point supported by evidence.
Length: Must be neither too short (lacking evidence) nor too long (causing readers to lose the main point).
Topic Sentence: Centers the paragraph on a main point, usually expressed at the start, though its position can vary.
Evidence and Analysis:
Support: Includes facts, statistics, expert opinions, and personal examples.
Analysis: The writer’s own words explaining the significance of the evidence and reinforcing the main point.
Example (Social Security): A topic sentence states millions of Americans rely on Social Security after they turn . Evidence follows: The Social Security Administration reports about retired workers receive benefits, representing of retirees. Experts suggest between and of retirees rely on it for all income. Financial vulnerability increases at age due to health costs and depleted savings (Eisenberg). The analysis concludes that Social Security keeps millions out of poverty.
Opening Paragraphs:
Function: Grabs attention and defines the subject and stance.
Thesis Statement: A declarative sentence at the end of the introduction stating the topic, angle, and aspects to be supported.
Strategies: Open with a conflict, a specific statistic, a quotation, or an anecdote.
Anecdote Example (Betty): Betty, aged , struggles to enter a salon in June because a sign requires a cell phone, which she does not own. This illustrates how digital dependence leaves seniors behind.
Closing Paragraphs: The final chance to reinforce information. Methods include summarizing points, restating the thesis, drawing a logical conclusion, speculating on issues, or recommending action.
Transitions and Flow:
Flow: Occurs when ideas are logically organized and sentences move smoothly.
Comparison/Similarity: Likewise, similarly, in like manner.
Contrast/Direction Change: But, yet, however, nevertheless, still, at the same time, on the other hand, conversely.
Addition: Also, and, furthermore, next, then, in addition.
Examples: For example, for instance, to illustrate, specifically, thus.
Agreement/Concession: Certainly, of course, to be sure, granted.
Summary/Conclusion: Finally, in conclusion, in short, in other words, thus, in summary.
Time: First, second, third, next, then, soon, meanwhile, later, currently, concurrently, at the same time, eventually, at last, finally.
Spatial Relationships: Here, there, in the background, in the foreground, in the distance, to the left, to the right, near, above, below.
H3. Clear and Effective Sentences
Emphasis: Achieving strength by placing the most important idea at the end of the sentence. Introductory or contextual info should come earlier.
Less Emphatic: Angel needs to start now if he wants to have an impact on his sister's life.
More Emphatic: If Angel wants to have an impact on his sister's life, he needs to start now!
Concrete Nouns: General nouns (man, dog) should be replaced with concrete ones (Michael, collie) to create vivid sensory images.
Active Voice: Subject performs the action. Passive voice (where the subject receives the action) often lacks vitality and is wordy.
Passive: The anti-harassment tutorial was rated highly informative by employees.
Active: Employees rated the anti-harassment tutorial highly informative.
Conciseness: Eliminating wasted words and filler without losing descriptive detail.
Action Verbs: Substitutes for wordy phrases (e.g., use "decide" instead of "come to a decision").
Fillers to Avoid: "A person by the name of," "for all intents and purposes," "due to the fact that" (use "because"), "at this point in time" (use "now").
Example Reformulation: A wordy sentence of words can be reduced to words: "Whenever possible, cut needless words and phrases from your college writing."
Avoiding "There is/are" and "It is": These often lead to wordy constructions. Instead of "There are some employees who don't [turn on cameras]," use "Some employees don't."
Parallelism: Repetition of grammatical construction for symmetry and balance. (e.g., "crunches, leg lifts, push-ups, and planks" vs mixed verbal forms).
Sentence Variety:
Simple: One main clause with a subject and predicate.
Compound: Two or more main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), a semicolon, or a semicolon with a transitional phrase.
Complex: One main clause and one or more subordinate (dependent) clauses starting with words like "although" or "because."
Compound-Complex: Two or more main clauses plus one or more subordinate clauses.
H4. Sentence Errors
Sentence Fragments: Groups of words lacking a subject, verb, or both, or a subordinate clause punctuated as a sentence. Correct by attaching it to a complete sentence or adding the missing components.
Comma Splices: Joining two complete sentences with only a comma. Fix by adding a coordinating conjunction, a semicolon, or a period.
Run-on Sentences: Two complete sentences with no punctuation. Fix by adding a comma and coordinating conjunction, a period, or a semicolon.
Mixed Sentence Constructions: Parts that do not fit grammatically. (e.g., starting with a prepositional phrase like "By starting…" but following with a predicate that requires a noun subject).
"Just because… doesn't mean": Common in speech, but should be avoided in formal writing. Use "Simply wanting… doesn't guarantee" instead.
H5. Words and Language
Dialects: Versions of English used by regional or social groups (e.g., AAVE, Appalachian English). Standard American English is the dialect of newscasters.
Slang: Group-specific language (e.g., meme culture). Often too casual for academic writing.
Biased Language: Avoid words that demean based on sex, gender, age, or physical traits. Use gender-neutral terms like "humanity" (not "mankind") and "firefighter" (not "fireman"). Use people-first language (e.g., avoid "wheelchair-bound").
Commonly Confused Words:
Accept/Except: Receive willingly vs. excluding.
Advice/Advise: Noun (guidance) vs. verb (recommend).
Affect/Effect: Verb (to change) vs. noun (result).
All Ready/Already: Prepared vs. happened before.
All Right/Alright: "All right" is two words; "alright" is informal.
Allusion/Illusion: Indirect reference vs. false impression.
Apart/A part: Separation vs. segment.
Bare/Bear: Uncover vs. endure.
Complement/Compliment: Complete/add to vs. approving remark/free (complimentary).
Conscience/Conscious: Sense of right/wrong vs. awake.
Disinterested/Uninterested: Impartial vs. not interested.
Elicit/Illicit: Bring out vs. unlawful.
Emigrate/Immigrate: Leave a country vs. move to a country.
Everyday/Every day: Adjective (common) vs. noun phrase (daily).
Farther/Further: Physical distance vs. abstract extent (time/amount).
Fewer/Less: Countable vs. uncountable items.
Good/Well: Adjective vs. adverb/health state.
Imply/Infer: Suggest vs. conclude.
Its/It's: Possessive vs. contraction of "it is."
Lay/Lie: Put something down (takes object) vs. horizontal position (no object).
Lead/Led: Metal vs. past tense of "to lead."
Lose/Loose: Mislay vs. not tight.
Peak/Peek/Pique: Highest point vs. secretive look vs. spark interest/irritation.
Precede/Proceed: Go before vs. go forward.
Principal/Principle: Head of school/sum of money vs. rule of conduct.
Raise/Rise: Lift (takes object) vs. get up (no object).
Set/Sit: Place (takes object) vs. be seated (no object).
Than/Then: Comparison vs. time.
That/Which: Essential info vs. nonessential info.
Their/There/They're: Possessive vs. place vs. contraction of "they are."
To/Too/Two: Direction vs. also/excessively vs. number.
Unique/Unusual: One of a kind (cannot be compared) vs. uncommon.
Weather/Whether: Atmosphere vs. alternatives.
Who's/Whose: Contraction of "who is" vs. possessive.
Your/You're: Possessive vs. contraction of "you are."
H6. Point of View
First Person (I, we): Used in personal narratives, memoirs, and fiction. Narrator is present in the story.
Second Person (you): Used for instructions or addressing the audience directly. Often inappropriate in academia; avoid shifting from third to second person.
Third Person (he, she, it, they): Customary for research, reports, and argumentative essays. Emphasizes information over the writer.
H7. Verbs
Subject-Verb Agreement:
Compound Subjects: Usually plural (Yoga and meditation represent…). If it forms a single unit, it is singular (Macaroni and cheese is…).
Or/Nor: Verb agrees with the closest word.
Indefinite Pronouns: Singular (everyone, nobody) vs Plural (both, many, several). Some vary (all, most) based on the noun they refer to.
Collective Nouns: Singular if the group acts as a unit (The team wins). Plural if individuals act separately (The jury do not agree).
Special Cases: Economics, News, Statistics usually take singular verbs. Titles take singular verbs (Da Bloods centers around…).
Verb Tense:
Narrative Writing: Can use past or literary present.
Academic Guidelines: MLA often uses the present tense for signal phrases (Dargis claims…). APA often uses the past tense (The study found…).
Consistency: Do not shift tense arbitrarily (e.g., shifting from "clutched" to "kiss" in the same scene).
Mood:
Indicative: Facts, opinions, questions.
Imperative: Commands or instructions (subject "you" is implied).
Subjunctive: Wishes, suggestions, requirements, or hypothetical conditions (e.g., "If I were you," "The rules state that every member be present").
H8. Pronouns
Pronoun Reference: Antecedents must be clear. Avoid vague use of "this," "that," "which," or "it" to refer to broad situations.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement:
Gender-Neutral "They": Replacing "he/him/his" with "they/them/their" is increasingly accepted for unknown gender or preferences.
Collective Nouns: Use "its" for units, "their" for individual members.
Pronoun Case:
Subjective: I, we, you, he, she, it, they, who.
Objective: me, us, you, him, her, it, them, whom.
Possessive: my, our, your, his, her, its, their, whose.
Tricky Situations: Use subjective for subjects (Antonio and I), objective for objects (between Antonio and me). Use possessive before gerunds (their partying).
H9. Punctuation
Commas: Alert readers to brief pauses. Used for joining main clauses with FANBOYS, introductory elements, and nonessential information. Nonessential info is set off by commas; essential info is not.
Apostrophes: Indicates possession (singular noun: Jack's; plural ending in -s: households'; plural not in -s: children's) and forms contractions. Never use in plural nouns or possessive personal pronouns (yours, its).
Semicolons: Join closely related main clauses or items in a series that already contain internal commas.
Colons: Introduce lists, summaries, quotations, or separate subtitles from titles.
Dashes and Parentheses: Enclose nonessential info. Dashes indicate contrast or a change in direction; parentheses provide asides or examples.
H10. Mechanics
Capitalization: Use for the first word of a sentence, proper nouns/adjectives, and titles preceding a name.
Titles of Works (MLA Style):
Italics: Long works like books, movies, journals, websites, and TV series.
Quotation Marks: Shorter works like articles, short stories, poems, songs, and TV episodes.
H11. Quotations
Signal Phrases: Introduce quotes with the author's name and purpose. Parenthetical citations come after the quote, with the period after the parentheses.
Long Quotations: For MLA, quotes longer than lines are indented inches in a block with no quotation marks. The period comes before the parenthetical citation.
Poetry: Use a slash [/] to separate lines. For lines, use block format.
Altering Quotes: Use an ellipsis […] for omissions and brackets [ ] for additions or changes.
Punctuation Placement: Periods and commas go inside quotation marks. Semicolons and colons go outside. Question marks go inside if they belong to the quote, otherwise outside.
H12. Documentation Overview
Core Principle: Writers must indicate borrowed material via in-text citations and a bibliographic list.
Documentation Styles by Discipline:
MLA (Modern Language Association): Languages, Literature, Philosophy.
APA (American Psychological Association): Social Sciences, Education.
CMS (Chicago Manual of Style): History, Business, Fine Arts.
CSE: Life Sciences.
ACS: Chemistry.
AP: Journalism.
Bluebook: Law.
H13. MLA Documentation and Format
In-Text Citations: Author's last name and page number. (e.g., Becker ). For unknown authors, use a shortened title. For three or more authors, use "et al."
Works Cited Page:
Format: Alphabetical by author, double-spaced, with hanging indents ( inch).
Core Elements: Author, Title of source, Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location (DOI or URL).
Paper Layout: inch margins, double-spaced, header with last name and page number in upper-right. Name info on top-left of first page.
H14. APA Documentation and Format
In-Text Citations: Author's last name, year, and page number with p. or pp. (e.g., Thomas, , p. ). Use an ampersand [&] in parenthetical citations for two authors.
References List:
Format: Alphabetical, double-spaced, hanging indent.
Core Elements: Author (Last name, initials), Date, Title of work, Source/Publication info.
Paper Layout: Title page is required (centered title, name, department, university, course, date). Headings (Method, Results, Discussion) should be bold and centered.
H15 & H16. Further Reading and Works Cited
Sources: Jane Addams' Twenty Years at Hull-House, Aphra Behn's "The Character," Spike Lee's Da Bloods, and Henry David Thoreau's Walden are fundamental references used to demonstrate style and grammar applications throughout the handbook.