Drawing on its authors' more than twenty years of research into writing in college, this economy handbook offers extensive technological support and an indispensable resource for learning, writing, researching, and editing. "The Brief McGraw-Hill Handbook" features practice exercises throughout, a focus on visual rhetoric, content tied to outcomes, grammar diagnostic quizzes, strong coverage of research and plagiarism, extensive support for multilingual writers, a fully integrated online component, and much more.

Table of Contents:
The Brief McGraw-Hill Handbook Preface for Students and Tutorials Preface for Instructors Introduction: Writing to Learn a. Studying a range of academic disciplines b. Using writing as a tool for learning c. Taking responsibility for reading, writing, and research d. Recognizing that writing improves with practice 1. Writing and Designing Papers 1. Reading, Thinking, Writing: The Critical Connection a. Reading critically b. Thinking critically c. Writing critically 2. Planning and Shaping a. Learning how to approach assignments b. Exploring your ideas c. Developing a working thesis d. Planning structure e. Considering visuals 3. Drafting a. Using online tools for drafting b. Developing ideas and using visuals c. Writing focused, clearly organized paragraphs *d. Integrating visuals effectively 4. Revising and Editing a. Getting comments from readers b. Using online tools for revising c. Focusing on the purpose of your writing d. Testing your thesis e. Reviewing structure f. Revising paragraphs g. Revising visuals h. Editing sentences i. Proofreading carefully j. Using campus, Internet, and community resources k. Learning from one student's revisions 5. Designing Academic Papers and Portfolios a. Considering audience and purpose b. Using computer toolbars c. Thinking intentionally about design d. Compiling a portfolio 2. Writing in College and beyond College 6. Informative Reports a. Understanding the assignment b. Approaching writing an informative report as a process c. Student paper: Informative report 7. Interpretive Analyses and Writing about Literature a. Understanding the assignment b. Approaching writing an interpretive analysis as a process c. Student paper: Interpretive analysis 8. Arguments a. Understanding the assignment b. Approaching writing an argument as a process c. Student paper: Argument 9. Other Kinds of Writing Assignments a. Personal essays b. Essay exams 10. Oral Presentations a. Planning b. Drafting c. Preparing 11. Multimedia Writing a. Tools for creating multimedia texts b. Interpreting images c. Hypertext essays d. Multimedia presentations e. Web sites f. Blogs 12. Writing beyond College a. Addressing the community b. Designing brochures, posters, and newsletters c. Internships d. Resumes e. Job application letters and interviews f. Writing on the job 3. Researching 13. Understanding Research a. Primary and secondary research b. Research and college writing c. Choosing a research question d. Understanding the research assignment e. Creating a research plan 14. Finding and Managing Print and Online Sources a. Using the library in person and online b. Kinds of sources c. Keyword searches d. Printed and online reference works e. Print indexes and online databases f. Search engines and subject directories g. Using the library's online or card catalog h. Government documents i. Online communication 15. Finding and Creating Effective Visuals a. Finding and displaying quantitative data b. Online and print sources 16. Evaluating Sources a. Print sources b. Internet sources c. Evaluating a source's arguments 17. Doing Research in the Archive, Field, and Lab a. Ethics b. Archival research c. Field research d. Lab research 18. Plagiarism, Copyright Infringement, and Intellectual Property a. Definitions b. Avoiding plagiarism c. Fair use 19. Working with Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism a. Maintaining a working bibliography b. Creating an annotated bibliography c. Taking notes d. Taking stock e. Integrating quotations, paraphrases, and summaries 20. Writing the Paper a. Planning and drafting b. Revising c. Documenting 4. MLA Documentation Style 21. MLA Style: In-Text Citations 22. MLA Style: List of Works Cited 23. MLA Style: Explanatory Notes 24. MLA Style: Paper Format 25. Student Paper in MLA Style 5. APA Documentation Style 26. APA Style: In-Text Citations 27. APA Style: References 28. APA Style: Paper Format 29. Student Paper in APA Style 6. Editing for Clarity 30. Avoiding Wordiness a. Redundancies and unnecessary modifiers b. Wordy phrases c. Roundabout sentences 31. Adding Missing Words a. Compound structures b. The word that c. Words in comparisons d. The articles a, an, the 32. Unscrambling Mixed Constructions a. Mixed-up sentences b. Illogical predicates 33. Fixing Confusing Shifts a. In point of view b. In tense c. In mood and voice d. Between direct and indirect quotations and questions 34. Using Parallel Constructions a. Items in a series b. Paired ideas c. Function words 35. Fixing Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers a. Misplaced modifiers b. Ambiguous modifiers c. Disruptive modifiers d. Split infinitives e. Dangling modifiers 36. Using Coordination and Subordination Effectively a. Coordination for equal ideas b. Major ideas in subordinate clauses c. Excessive subordination 37. Varying Your Sentences a. Sentence openings b. Length and structure c. Cumulative and periodic sentences d. Inversions, rhetorical questions, and exclamations 38. Choosing Active Verbs a. Alternatives to "be" verbs b. Active voice 39. Using Appropriate Language a. Slang, regional expressions, and nonstandard English b. Levels of formality c. Jargon d. Euphemisms and doublespeak e. Biased or sexist language 40. Using Exact Language a. Connotations b. Specific and concrete words c. Standard idioms d. Cliches e. Figures of speech f. Misusing words g. Using the dictionary 41. Glossary of Usage 7. Editing for Grammar Conventions 42. Fixing Sentence Fragments a. Dependent-clause fragments b. Phrase fragments c. Other types of fragments 43. Repairing Comma Splices and Run-on Sentences a. Adding a coordinating conjunction b. Using a semicolon c. Separating into two sentences d. Making one clause dependent e. Transforming two clauses into one independent clause 44. Maintaining Subject-Verb Agreement a. Subject separated by a word group from the verb b. Compound subjects c. Collective subjects d. Indefinite subjects e. When the subject comes after the verb f. Subject complement g. Relative pronouns h. --ing phrases i. Titles, company names, or words representing themselves 45. Recognizing Problems with Verbs a. Regular and irregular verbs b. "Lay" and "lie," "sit" and "set," "rise" and "raise" c. "--s" or "--es" endings d. "--d" or "--ed" endings e. Tenses f. Past perfect tense g. Present tense h. Complete verbs i. Mood 46. Fixing Problems with Pronouns a. Pronoun agreement b. Pronoun reference c. Pronoun case d. Who and whom 47. Recognizing Problems with Adjectives and Adverbs a. Adverbs b. Adjectives c. Positives, comparatives ("-er"), and superlatives ("-est") d. Double negatives 48. Special Editing Topics for Multilingual Writers a. Learning in English as a Second Language b. Articles ("a," "an," "the") c. Helping verbs d. Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives e. Complete subjects and verbs f. Using only one subject or object g. Adjectives h. Adverb placement i. Prepositions j. Direct objects with two-word verbs k. Coordination and subordination l. Word order m. "If" clauses 8. Editing for Correctness: Punctuation, Mechanics, and Spelling 49. Commas a. After an introductory word group b. Between items in a series c. Before coordinating conjunctions d. Between coordinate adjectives e. To set off nonessential elements f. With transitional and parenthetical expressions, contrasting comments, and absolute phra ses g. To set off words of direct address, "yes" and "no," mild interjections, and tag questions h. With direct quotations i. With dates, addresses, titles, and numbers j. In place of an omitted word or phrase k. Common errors 50. Semicolons a. To join independent clauses b. With transitional expressions c. In a series with commas d. Common errors 51. Colons a. With lists, appositives, or quotations b. With independent clauses c. Other conventional uses d. Common errors 52. Apostrophes a. To indicate possession b. With indefinite pronouns c. To mark contractions d. Forming plural letters, words used as words and numbers, and abbreviations e. Common errors 53. Quotation Marks a. To indicate direct quotations b. To enclose titles of short works c. With words used in special ways d. With other punctuation e. To integrate quotations f. Common errors 54. Other Punctuation Marks a. The period b. The question mark c. The exclamation point d. Dashes e. Parentheses f. Brackets g. Ellipses h. Slashes 55. Capitalization a. Proper nouns b. Personal titles c. Titles of creative works d. Names of areas or regions e. Names of races, ethnic groups, and sacred things f. First word of a sentence g. First word after a colon 56. Abbreviations and Symbols a. Titles like "Dr." or "M.D." b. familiar abbreviations c. Latin abbreviations d. Inappropriate abbreviations and symbols 57. Numbers a. Numerals versus words b. Numbers that begin sentences c. Conventional uses 58. Italics (Underlining) a. Titles of works or separate publications b. Names of vehicles c. Foreign terms d. Scientific names e. Words, letters, and numbers as themselves f. For emphasis 59. Hyphens a. Compound words b. Compound adjectives or nouns c. Fractions and compound numbers d. To attach some prefixes and suffixes e. To divide words at the ends of lines 60. Spelling a. Basic spelling rules b. Words pronounced alike but spelled differently COMMONLY MISSPELLED WORDS 9. Basic Grammar 61. Parts of Speech a. Verbs b. Nouns c. Pronouns d. Adjectives e. Adverbs f. Prepositions g. Conjunctions h. Interjections 62. Parts of Sentences a. Subjects b. Verbs and their objects or complements 63. Phrases and Dependent Clauses a. Noun phrases b. Verb phrases and verbals c. Appositive phrases d. Absolute phrases e. Dependent clauses 64. Types of Sentences a. Sentence structures b. Sentence purposes Timeline Quick Reference for Multilingual Writers World Map Answers to Tutorials and Selected Exercises Index Index for Multilingual Writers Abbreviations and Symbols for Editing and Proofreading