The Essentials of English: A W

Description

Features

Features and Benefits

• F: Emphasis on problems common to intermediate to high-intermediate ESL writers.
• B: Gives students what they need without exposing them to material less relevant to their concerns.

• F: Simple and clear explanations and examples written in everyday language.
• B: Makes material accessible to students.

• F: Eight tabbed sections: The Basics; Clear Sentences; Grammar; Punctuation; Mechanics; Writing and Revising Formats; Lists; Appendices.
• B: Makes it easy for students to find what they are looking for.

• F: Sections on business letters, resume writing, memos, etc.
• B: Meets non-academic needs of students.

• F: Lists geared to ESL students' needs, including irregular verbs, transition signals, two-word verbs, verb + gerund/infinitive, adjective + preposition.
• B: Provides quick and easy answers to common questions.

Table of Contents

a   Nouns

b   Pronouns

c   Verbs

d   Adjectives

e   Articles

f   Adverbs

g   Prepositions

h   Conjunctions

i   Interjections

        a   Noun phrases

        b   Infinitive phrases

        c   Gerund phrases

        d   Prepositional phrases

        e   -ing and -ed phrases

        f   Appositive phrases

a   Independent clauses

b   Dependent clauses

a   Sentence parts

b   Sentence patterns

c   Question patterns

d   Kinds of sentences

      a   Coordination

      b   Subordination

      c   Coordination or subordination?

      a   Making compound sentences

      b   Connecting words coordinating conjunctions

      c   Connecting words with correlative conjunctions

      d   Using parallel forms

      a   Making complex sentences

      b   Using appositives

      c   Using -ing and -ed phrases

      d   Using shortened adverb clauses

      a   Fragments

      b   Run-together sentences

      c   Choppy writing

      d   Overuse of and, but, and so

      a   Normal word order

      b   Inverted (verb-subject) word order

      c   Word order of direct and indirect objects

      d   Varying sentence openings

      a   Dictionaries and thesauruses

      b   Informal language and slang

      c   Gender-sensitive (sexist) language

      a   Verb forms

      b   Verb tenses

      c   Special tense combinations

      d   Modals

      e   Passive voice

      a   Gerunds

      b   Infinitives

      c   Gerunds vs. infinitives

      d   Phrasal verbs

      a   Singular subject

      b   Singular or plural subjects

      c   Plural subjects

      d   Confusing situations

      a   Count nouns

      b   Noncount nouns

      c   Count or noncount nouns

      d   Expressing quantity

      a   For generic nouns: a, an, or no article ( æ )

      b   For indefinite articles: a, an, or some

      c   For definite nouns: the

      d   Idiomatic uses of articles

      e   Choosing the right article

      a   Subject, object, and possessive forms

      b   Special situations

      c   Myself, ourselves

      d   Each other and one another

      a   With indefinite pronouns: someone, everybody

      b   With generic nouns: a student, an employee

      c   With collective nouns: team, class

      d   With either …or and neither ... nor

      a   Position of adjectives

      b   Position of adverbs

      a   Agreement of adjectives

      b   Order of adjectives

      c   Participial adjectives: boring or bored?

       a   Equal degree: as big as, the same size as

   b   Comparative and superlative degrees: bigger than, the biggest; more difficult than, the most difficult

   c   Parallel forms with comparisons

      a   No vs. not

      b   Double negatives

      a   Subject pronouns: who, which, that

      b   Object pronouns: whom, which, that, æ (no pronoun)

      c   Possessive pronoun: whose

      d   Relative adverbs: where and when

      e   Punctuation of adjective clauses

      a   Periods

      b   Question marks

      c   Exclamation points

      a   In compound sentences

      b   After introducers

      c   Around extra-information modifiers

      d   With transition signals

      e   With direct quotations

      f   With items in a series

      g   Other uses of commas

      a   In compound sentences

      b   In compound sentences with transition signals

      c   In a series containing commas

      a   In sentences

      b   Other uses of colons

      a   With possessives

      b   In contractions and in years

      c   With special plurals

      a   With direct quotations

      b   Other uses of quotation marks

      a   Pronoun I

      b   First word of a sentence

      c   Proper nouns and most proper adjectives

      d   Titles and subtitles of works

      e   Greetings and closings in letters

      f   Certain abbreviations

      a   In compound words

      b   Dividing words at the end of a line

      a   Titles of long works

      b   Foreign words

      c   Numbers, letters, and words used as words

      a   Titles of people

      b   Dates and times

      c   Familiar abbreviations

      d   Postal codes

      e   Latin abbreviations

      f   Words usually not abbreviated

      a   Numbers written as words

      b   Numbers written as numerals

      c   Forming plural numbers

      a   ei or ie rule

      b   Adding suffixes

      c   Forming plurals

      d   British and American spelling

      a   Creating

      b   Organizing

      c   Writing

      d   Polishing

      a   Topic sentence

      b   Supporting sentences

      c   Paragraph unity

      d   Paragraph coherence

      e   Concluding sentence

      f   Patterns of paragraph organization

      a   Introduction

      b   Body

      c   Conclusion

      d   Patterns of essay organization

      a   Academic papers (MLA style)

      b   Lab reports

      c   Business documents

      d   E-mail

45   Research Papers

      a   Making a schedule

      b   Taking a library tour

      c   Choosing a topic

      d   Collecting information

      e   Reading and taking notes

      f    Writing and revising the paper

      g   Citing your sources (MLA style)

      h   Sample research paper

PART 8 Reference Lists

46   Irregular Verbs

47   Verb + Prepositions Combinations

48   Phrasal Verbs

49   Adjective + Preposition Combinations

50   Pairs of -ing / -ed Adjectives

51   Proper Nouns with The

52   Connecting Words

53   Transition Signals

54   Troublesome Words

55   Editing Symbols

56   APA Style

Answer Key

Back Cover

From grammar and punctuation to the creation of essays and business letters, The Essentials of English: A Writer's Handbook is a must-have reference tool for today's writer. As easy to use as a dictionary, this handbook is designed specifically for non-native English speakers:

• Pays extra attention to articles, phrasal verbs, subordinate clauses, and other commonly troublesome items.
• Uses everyday language and simple sentence structure in both explanations and examples.
• Examples reflect topics of multicultural interest.
• Includes reference lists especially helpful to non-native speakers.

• The Basics
• Clear Sentences
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Mechanics
• Writing and Revising
• Formats
• Research Papers
• Reference Lists

Reader Review(s)