Grammar Moves: Shaping Who You Are  helps students understand how the grammatical moves they make reveal their personality traits and present their persona to their readers.    The text’s rhetorical approach emphasizes the transformative power that grammar choices can have on a writer and helps students develop the personality the wish to portray in their writing.  Writers can use the imperative mood to suggest control, colons to be assertive, parenthesis to keep the conversation real, and even commas to present an organized persona.  By showing students how seemingly small choices can help them manage the impression they make on readers, Grammar Moves: Shaping Who You Are helps students become more deliberate writers. 

Table of Contents:
Preface    Introduction   Part 1. You, the Doer   Ch. 1.    Grammar for Being Assertive: The Colon A Few Basics Colons... and who you want to be         Having Your Turn Try This   Ch. 2.    Grammar for Being Proactive: Active Voice A Few Basics Active Voice... and who you want to be       Living Pro-actively       Writing and Speaking Pro-actively       ...Even in the Third Person Try This   Ch. 3.    Grammar for Being Practical: Prepositions A Few Basics Prepositions... and who you want to be       Prepositions We Owe to Other People       Those We Owe Ourselves Try This   Ch. 4.    Grammar for Being In Charge: The Imperative A Few Basics Imperatives...and who you want to be       Emergencies       Building Up to It       Gentle Imperatives Try This   Ch. 5.    Grammar for Being Organized: Commas A Few Basics Commas... and who you want to be       Beyond Doing It By Feeling Try This   Ch. 6.    Grammar for Being Optimistic: “But” A Few Basics But... and who you want to be     End-Focus     Alternatives to “But” Try This   Part 2. You, the Friend   Ch. 7.    Grammar for Being Empathetic: Modifiers A Few Basics Modifiers... and who you want to be     The Failure to Put Oneself in the Reader’s Place     Examples–Funny and Unfunny Try This   Ch. 8.    Grammar for Being Respectful: Apostrophes A Few Basics Apostrophes... and who you want to be         What They’re Good For, Really Try This   Ch. 9.    Grammar for Being Trusting: Cutting Down on Exclamation Points and Intensifiers A Few Basics Exclamation Points, Intensifiers... and who you want to be       Earning a Listener’s Trust       Developing Trust in Yourself Try This   Ch. 10.   Grammar for Being “Real”: Contractions, Parentheses, Etc. A Few Basics Contradictions, Parentheses, etc.... and who you want to be       Five Ways to Create Voice       A Cautionary Note Try This   Ch. 11.   Grammar for Being Diplomatic: Semicolons A Few Basics Semicolons... and who you want to be       What We and the Semicolon Have in Common       A Punctuation Mark for This Age       Doing Without Thanks Try This   Ch. 12.   Grammar for Being Generous: Cumulative Sentences A Few Basics Periodic and Cumulative Sentences... and who you want to be       The Generous Writer       Front-Loading and Back-Loading Try This   Ch. 13.   Grammar for Being Intimate: Ellipses A Few Basics Ellipses... and who you want to be       Everyday Ellipses       The Secret to the Bonding Power of a Joke       Love Above All Try This   Ch. 14.   Grammar for Being Forgiving: Past Tense A Few Basics Past Tense... and who you want to be       The Problem with the Present Tense       The Past Tense Alternative Try This   Ch. 15.   Grammar for Being Expressive: Sentence Length, Etc. A Few Basics Sentence Length, Etc.... and who you want to be       The Musical Effect of Placement       The Musical Effect of Repetition       The Musical Effect of Sentence Length Try This   Part 3. You, the Thinker   Ch. 16.   Grammar for Being Open-Minded: Cross-Outs A Few Basics Cross-Outs... and who you want to be      Normal Everyday Inquiry      Close-Minded vs. Open-Minded      The Sound of Crossing Out Try This   Ch. 17.   Grammar for Being Adaptable: Adverbial Provisos A Few Basics Adverbial Provisos... and who you want to be     “Will” as Straitjacket     A Way Out Try This   Ch. 18.   Grammar for Being Capable of Dealing with Complexity: The Cues of Complication A Few Basics Cues of Complication... and who you want to be     Tips for Avoiding Simple-Mindedness Try This   Ch. 19.   Grammar for Being Well-Mentored: A Special Use of the Present Tense A Few Basics A Special Use of the Present Tense... and who you want to be       Grammatical Time Warp Try This   Ch. 20.   Grammar for Being Honorable: Quotation Marks A Few Basics Quotation Marks... and who you want to be       What They Call It At School Try This   Ch. 21.   Grammar for Being Modest: “I” A Few Basics Saying “I”... and who you want to be       “Me, Me, Me”       Striking a Humble Balance       The I in Storytelling       A Final Word on I Try This   Ch. 22.   Grammar for Being Rebellious: Breaking the Rules A Few Basics Breaking Rules... and who you want to be       Using Grammar to Climb Kohlberg’s Hierarchy       Caveat Try This   A Grammarian’s Wish   Appendix A: Uses of the Passive Voice    Appendix B: MLA Citation Style Common Types of MLA Citation on a Works Cited Page The Format of a Works Cited Page