pt. 1. Basic principles of effective writing -- 1. An introduction to writing -- Understanding point and support -- Benefits 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 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 specific evidence -- Reinforcing point and support -- The importance of specific 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 specific evidence -- Practice in organizing and connecting specific 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 specific 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

pt. 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 -- Nine patterns of paragraph development -- 8. Exemplification -- 9. Process -- 10. Cause and effect -- 11. Comparison or contrast -- 12. Definition -- 13. Division-classification -- 14. Description -- 15. Narration -- 16. Argument -- 17. Additional paragraph assignments

pt. 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

pt. 4. Research skills -- 19. Using the library and 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 and make the purpose of your paper clear -- 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

pt. 5. Handbook of sentence skills -- Sentence-skills diagnostic test -- section 1. Grammar -- 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 -- Indefinite 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 modifiers -- What misplaced modifiers are and how to correct them -- What dangling modifiers 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 worksheets -- Vocabulary study books -- 42. Commonly confused words -- Homonyms -- Other words frequently confused -- 43. Effective word choice -- Slang -- Clich©♭s -- 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

pt. 6. Readings for writers -- Introduction to the readings -- The format of each selection -- How to read well : four general steps -- How to answer the comprehension questions : specific hints -- Goals and values -- All the good things / Sister Helen Mrosla -- Rowing the bus / Paul Logan -- The scholarship jacket / Marta Salinas -- Joe Davis : a cool man / Beth Johnson -- The fist, the clay, and the rock / Donald Holland -- What good families are doing right / Delores Curran -- Education and self-improvement -- Do it better! / Ben Carson, M.D. with Cecil Murphey -- Anxiety : challenge by another name / James Lincoln Collier -- Let's really reform our schools / Anita Garland -- How they get you to do that / Janny Scott -- Dealing with feelings / Rudolph F. Verderber -- "Extra large," please / Diane Urbina -- Human groups and society -- The most hateful words / Amy Tan -- The storyteller / adapted from H.H. Munro ("Saki") -- Rudeness at the movies / Bill Wine -- From father to son, last words to live by / Dana Canedy -- A drunken ride, a tragic aftermath / Theresa Conroy and Christine M. Johnson -- Appendixes -- A. Answers and charts -- Answers to sentence-skills diagnostic test and introductory activities -- Charts -- B.A writer's journal