For Freshman-level writing courses, such as Freshman Composition, English Composition, First-Year Writing, Expository Writing, or any course where students need help with the writing.   Now in its fifth edition, Quick Access is written by trusted authors Lynn Troyka and Doug Hesse.  Quick Access is a brief, spiral-bound, tabbed (12 tabs) handbook, published in full color.  Quick Access is also accompanied by a valuable supplements and media package, including an interactive eBook, a personal writing plan, tutoring, and tools on the Web.   The Troyka/Hesse family of handbooks provides the most balanced coverage of writing process, grammar, research, and topics important to today’s students.  Both respected teachers and authors, Troyka and Hesse give practical advice to students about the writing they will do in composition courses, in other classes, and in the world beyond.  Offering instructors a full range of choices in handbooks, the Troyka/Hesse family of handbooks is available in a variety of formats, including web-based and customized options, so instructors can select the handbook that best fits their course needs.   There are many roads to good writing.  Choose the most balanced handbook in the most useful format for you and your students.   Part of the MyCompLab Series Student edition now availble with MyCompLab and e-book, at no additional cost. Providing more opportunities for practice, assessment and instruction than any similar site, MyCompLab is a dynamic online resource for the Composition course.  It offers market-leading tools for improving grammar, writing and research skills with comprehensive results tracking so students and instructors can gauge student progress.  Easy to use and easy to integrate into the classroom, MyCompLab engages students as it builds confidence and helps them to be better writers and researchers.  MyCompLab is an incredible value for your students – we'll provide them with pre-paid access when they purchase a new Prentice Hall English textbook. Visit MyCompLab at www.mycomplab.com  

Table of Contents:
THINKING, READING, AND WRITING CRITICALLY 1   Thinking Like a Writer 1a Why writing is important 1b Thinking like a writer 1c Situation, purpose, and audience 1d Critical thinking 1e Steps in critical thinking   2   Reading Critically 2a Critical reading 2b Steps in critical reading      Determining literal meaning      Making inferences      Making evaluations 2c Close and active reading 2d Systematic reading      Preview      Read      Review 2e Connecting critical reading to writing   3   Distinguishing Between Summary and Synthesis 3a Summarizing 3b Synthesizing     Synthesizing multiple sources      Synthesizing one source   4   Viewing Images Critically 4a Viewing images with a critical eye   5   Writing and Technology 5a Computers and writers      Creating documents           Finding sources      Managing your work      Communicating with others 5b Computers and forms of writing   WRITING PROCESS 6   Getting Started 6a The writing process 6b The purposes for writing      Informing a reader      Persuading a reader 6c The writer’s "audience"      Writing for a peer-response group      Writing for an instructor      Writing for a supervisor 6d The writer’s tone 6e The writing topic      Selecting your own topic      Narrowing or broadening an assigned topic 6f The "writing situation" 6g Finding ideas      Keeping a journal      Free writing      Chatting      Brainstorming      Asking and answering questions      Clustering 6h Thesis statements 6i Outlining   7   Drafting 7a Writing a first draft 7b Overcoming writer’s block   8   Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 8a Revising strategies 8b Using my thesis statement and essay title to revise 8c Editing strategies 8d Proofreading strategies   9   Composing Paragraphs 9a Understanding paragraphs 9b Introductory paragraphs 9c Topic sentences      Starting with a topic sentence      Ending with a topic sentence      Implying a topic sentence 9d Supporting details 9e Coherent paragraphs      Using transitional expressions      Using deliberate repetition and parallelism 9f Body paragraphs     Composing a narration     Composing a description     Describing a process     Composing an example or illustration     Composing a definition     Composing a comparison and contrast     Composing an analysis     Composing a classification     Composing an analogy     Explaining cause and effect 9g  Concluding paragraphs   10   Writing to Inform 10a Informative essays 10b Student’s informative essay   11   Writing To Argue 11a Understanding argument 11b Choosing a topic and developing a claim 11c Supporting an argument 11d Types of appeals 11e Considering my audience 11f  Structuring an argument 11g Logical fallacies 11h Revising argument essays 11i  Student’s argument essay WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM 12   An Overview of Writing Across the Curriculum 12a  Writing across the curriculum   13   Writing About The Humanities 13a What the humanities are 13b Types of sources 13c Types of papers       Summaries       Syntheses       Responses       Narratives       Interpretations       Critiques       Analyses 13d   Documentation styles   14   Writing about Literature 14a What literature is 14b Writing about literature 14c Writing strategies 14d Types of papers        Writing a personal response        Writing an interpretation        Writing a formal analysis        Writing a cultural analysis 14e Rules for writing about literature        Using correct verb tenses        Using your own ideas and using secondary sources 14f Documentation styles 14g Student’s literature essay        Working on the assignment        Learning about the poet, Yusef Komunyakaa        Student’s essay about literature   15   Writing in the Social Sciences 15a What the social sciences are 15b Types of sources        Surveys and questionnaires        Observations        Interviews        Experiments 15c Purposes and practices 15d Types of papers        Case studies        Research reports        Research papers (or reviews of the literature) 15e Documentation styles   16   Writing for the Natural Sciences 16a What the natural sciences are 16b Purposes and practices 16c Types of papers        Science reports        Science reviews 16d  Documentation style   17   Writing Under Pressure 17a  Practicing under strict time limits 17b  Preparing for essay exams   18   Making Oral Presentations and Using Multimedia 18a  What oral presentations are 18b  Focusing on purpose 18c  Adapting for my listening audience 18d  Organizing a presentation         Introducing yourself and your topic         Following your road map         Wrapping up your presentation 18e  Appropriate language and tone 18f   Incorporating multimedia         Using traditional visual aids         Using electronic media         Planning for multimedia in your presentation 18g  Presentation styles         Memorizing your presentation         Reading your presentation         Mapping your presentation 18h  Effective voice 18i   Nonverbal communication 18j   Overcoming stage fright 18k  Collaborative presentations   WRITING TO CONNECT WITH THE WORLD 19   Writing for Work 19a Workplace writing purposes 19b Features of work-related correspondence 19c Work-related e-mail 19d Netiquette 19e Memos 19f  Business letters 19g Other business documents        Formatting and writing a proposal 19h Resumes 19i  Job application letters   20   Public Writing 20a  What public writing is 20b  Public reports 20c  Public letters 20d  Other public writing 20e  Blogs   21   Designing Documents 21a  About document design 21b  Basic design principles 21c  Designing with text         Highlighting text         Justifying         Indentation 21d  Headings 21e  Visuals         Charts, graphs, and tables         Images 21f   Page layout         Using white space   22   Writing for the Web 22a  Web sites and Web pages 22b  The Web writing process 22c  Web site content 22d  Web site structure 22e  Web page design 22f   Web writing software 22g  Images in Web pages 22h  Editing and testing usability 22i   Displaying Web pages         Finding space on the Web             Uploading image or sound files 22j   Maintaining Web sites   RESEARCH 23   Starting a Research Project 23a What research writing is 23b Choosing a research topic 23c What a research question is 23d Planning a research project 23e What a research log is   24   Developing a Search Strategy 24a Search strategies 24b Sources 24c Field research        Observing and surveying        Interviewing an expert 24d Documentation styles 24e Working bibliographies 24f  Annotated bibliographies 24g Content notes   25   Finding and Evaluating Library-Based Sources 25a Finding library-based resources 25b Using databases        Using keywords        Using guided searches        Using Boolean expressions 25c Finding books 25d Finding periodicals        Locating the articles themselves 25e Using reference works        General reference works        Specialized reference works 25f  Finding sources outside the library 25g Finding government documents 25h Evaluating sources   26   Researching the Web Wisely 26a Reasons to use the Web “wisely” 26b Searching the Web 26c Using keywords 26d Using subject directories 26e Evaluating Web sources 26f  Information from Web sources   27   Using Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism 27a What plagiarism is 27b Avoiding plagiarism 27c Avoid plagiarism with Internet sources 27d What not to document 27e Integrating sources 27f  Using quotations effectively        Making quotations fit smoothly with your sentences        Using brackets to add words        Using ellipsis to delete words        Integrating author names, source titles, and other information 27g Good paraphrases 27h Good summaries 27i  Verbs for weaving source material   28   Drafting and Revising a Research Paper 28a  Writing process and research papers 28b  Drafting a research paper 28c  Revising a research paper   MLA DOCUMENTATION  29   MLA In-Text Citations 29a What MLA documentation style is 29b What MLA parenthetical documentation is 29c MLA guidelines for in-text citations 29d MLA guidelines for commentary or bibliographic notes   30   MLA Works Cited List 30a MLA guidelines for a Works Cited list 30b MLA guidelines for sources in a Works Cited list   31   A Student’s MLA-STYLE Research Paper 31a MLA format guidelines for research papers        General instructions–MLA        Order of parts–MLA        Name-and-page number lines for all pages–MLA        First page–MLA        Set-off quotations–MLA        Notes–MLA        Works Cited list–MLA 31b A student's MLA-style research paper   MLA IN-TEXT CITATIONS DIRECTORY MLA WORKS CITED LIST DIRECTORY   APA, CM, AND CSE DOCUMENTATION  32   APA In-Text Citations 32a What APA documentation style is 32b What APA parenthetical in-text citations are        Formatting long quotations        Multiple citations in one paragraph 32c APA guidelines for in-text citations 32d APA guidelines for writing an abstract 32e APA guidelines for content notes   33   APA References List 33a APA guidelines for a References list 33b APA guidelines for sources in a References list   34   A Student’s APA-Style Paper   34a APA format guidelines for research papers        General instructions—APA        Order of parts—APA        Title-and-page number line for all pages—APA        Title page—APA        Abstract—APA        Set-off quotations—APA        References list—APA        Notes—APA 34b  A student’s APA-style research paper   35   CM-Style Documentation 35a  What CM style documentation is        The full bibliographic note system in CM style        The abbreviated bibliographic note system, plus bibliography, in CM style 35b CM guidelines for bibliographic notes   CM-Style Directory   36   CSE-Style Documentation 36a  What CSE style documentation is 36b  CSE guidelines for sources in a list of references   CSE-Style Directory    APA IN-TEXT CITATIONS DIRECTORY APA REFERENCES LIST DIRECTORY   GRAMMAR BASICS 37   Parts of Speech and Parts of Sentences Parts of Speech 37a  Nouns 37b  Pronouns 37c  Verbs 37d  Verbals 37e  Adjectives 37f   Adverbs 37g  Prepositions 37h  Conjunctions 37i   Interjections Parts of Sentences 37j   Subjects and predicates 37k  Direct and indirect objects 37l   Complements, modifiers, and appositives         Recognizing complements         Recognizing modifiers         Recognizing appositives 37m Phrases 37n  Clauses         Recognizing independent clauses         Recognizing dependent clauses 37o  Sentence types   38  Verbs 38a How verbs function 38b Forms of main verbs        Regular verbs        Irregular verbs        -s  form of verbs 38c Auxiliary verbs 38d Using lie or lay 38e Verb tenses      Simple present tense        Tense sequence 38f  Indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods        if, as if, as though, and unless clauses          that clauses 38g “Voice” in verbs   39   Subject—Verb Agreement 39a What subject—verb agreement is 39b Ignoring words between a subject and its verb        one of the 36c Verbs when and  connect subjects      each  and every 36d Verbs when or  connects subjects 36e Verbs with indefinite pronouns 36f  Verbs with who, which, and that 36g Verbs with one of the . . . who 36h Other complicated cases        Inverted word order        Expletive constructions        Subject complements        Collective nouns        “Amount” subjects        Singular subjects in plural form        Titles, terms, and plurals representing a single unit   40 Pronouns: Agreement, Reference, and Case  Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement 40a What pronoun-antecedent agreement is 40b Pronouns when and  connects antecedents 40c Pronouns when or  connects antecedents 40d Pronouns when antecedents are indefinite pronouns 40e Pronouns when antecedents are collective pronouns  Pronoun Reference 40f   Avoiding unclear pronoun reference 40g  Pronouns with it, that, this, and which 40h  Using you  for direct address 40i   Using who, which, and that  Pronoun Case 40j   Pronoun case 40k  Personal pronouns 40l   Selecting the correct case 40m Case when and  connects pronouns 40n Matching case in appositives 40o Subjective case after linking verbs 40p Using who, whoever, whom, and whomever 40q Case after than and as 40r Case with infinitives and -ing  words 40s Case for -self  pronouns   41   Adjectives and Adverbs 41a Differences between adjectives and adverbs 41b Using adverbs and not adjectives as modifiers 41c Double negatives 41d Adjectives or adverbs after linking verbs        bad and badly        good and well 41e Comparative and superlative forms       Regular forms       Irregular forms 41f Nouns as modifiers   TIPS FOR MULTILINGUAL WRITERS Message from Lynn Troyka and Doug Hesse to Multilingual Writers   42   Singulars and Plurals 42a Count and noncount nouns 42b Determiners with singular and plural nouns 42c Nouns used as adjectives   43   Articles 43a Singular count nouns 43b Count and noncount nouns        Plural count nouns        Noncount nouns        Plural and noncount nouns 43c Using the with proper nouns   44   Word Order 44a Standard and inverted word orders 44b Placing adjectives 44c Placing adverbs   45   Prepositions 45a Using In, at, and on with time and place 45b Phrasal verbs 45c Passive voice 45d Expressions   46   Gerunds and Infinitives 46a Gerund objects        After go        After be + complement + preposition 46b Infinitive objects        After be + some complements        Unmarked infinitive objects 46c Using stop, remember, or forget 46d Sense verbs 46e Choosing between -ing and -ed adjectives   47   Modal Auxiliary Verbs 47a How modals differ from be, do, and have 47b Expressing ability, necessity, advisability, or probability        Ability        Necessity        Advisability        Probability 46c Expressing preference, plan, or past habit        Preferences        Plan or obligation        Past habit   SENTENCES AND WORDS 48   Sentence Fragments 48a What a sentence fragment is 48b Recognizing fragments 48c Correcting fragments that start with a subordinating word 48d Correcting phrase fragments 48e Correcting fragments in a compound predicate 48f  Intentional fragments   49  Comma Splices and Run-on Sentences 49a What comma splices and run-ons are 49b Correcting comma splices and run-ons        Using punctuation        Using a coordinating conjunction        Revising an independent clause into a dependent clause   50   Problems with Sentence Shifts 50a Consistent person and number 50b Consistent subject, voice, and mood 50c Consistent verb tense 50d Consistent direct and indirect discourse 50e Sentences with mixed parts        Avoiding mixed clauses        Avoiding mixed constructions        Avoiding faulty predication 50f  Ellipticals and comparisons   51  Misplaced Modifiers 51a Misplaced modifiers 51b Squinting modifiers 51c Split infinitives 51d Modifiers that disrupt a sentence 51e Dangling modifiers   52  Conciseness 52a Writing concisely 52b Avoiding redundancies 52c Avoiding wordy sentence structures        Avoiding expletive constructions        Using the passive voice 52d Combining sentence elements 52e Verbs and conciseness   53  Coordination and Subordination 53a Coordination: Expressing equivalent ideas 53b Coordination: Avoiding problems 53c Subordination: Expressing nonequivalent ideas 53d Subordination: Avoiding problems   54   Sentence Style 54a Understanding parallelism 54b Avoiding faulty parallelism 54c Parallelism with conjunctions 54d Strengthening a message with parallelism 54e Understanding sentence variety        Revising strings of short sentences        Revising for a mix of sentence lengths 54f  Emphatic sentence subjects 54g Adding modifiers 54h Inverting standard word order   55   Usage Glossary 56   Word Meanings and Word Impact 56a Words and meanings 56b Exact words        Denotation and connotation        Specific and concrete language 56c Increasing vocabulary 56d Suitable language        Appropriate language        Levels of formality        Edited American English      Slang, colloquialisms, and regionalisms 56e Figurative language 56f  Clichés 56g The effect of tone in writing        Slanted language        Pretentious language        Jargon        Euphemisms   57   Using Inclusive Language 57a Gender in English 57b Gender-neutral language   58   Spelling 58a Plurals 58b Suffixes 58c The ie, ei  rule 58d Homonyms and other frequently confused words 58e Other spelling errors   PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS 59   Commas 59a When to use commas 59b With introductory words 59c Before coordinating conjunctions 59d With a series 59e Between adjectives 59f  With nonrestrictive and restrictive elements        Nonrestrictive and restrictive clauses        Nonrestrictive and restrictive phrases        Nonrestrictive and restrictive appositives 59g With quoted words 59h Other word groups to set off 59i  In dates, names, addresses, letter format, and numbers 59j   Preventing misreadings 59k  Avoiding comma errors   60   Semicolons 60a Instead of periods 60b Instead of commas   61   Colons 61a Lists, appositives, or quotations 61b Between sentences 61c Conventional formats   62   Apostrophes 62a Possessive nouns 62b Possessive indefinite pronouns 62c Possessive pronouns: hers, his, its, ours, yours, and theirs 62d Verbs that end in -s 62e Contractions 62f  Letters, numerals, symbols, and terms   63   Quotation Marks 63a Short direct quotations        Double quotation marks (“ ”)        Single quotation marks (` ’) 63b Long direct quotations 63c Spoken words 63d Titles 63e Terms, translations, and irony 63f  When quotation marks are wrong 63g With other punctuation   64   Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points 64a Periods 64b Question marks 64c Exclamation points   65   Other Punctuation Marks 65a Dashes 65b Parentheses        To add information        With numbers or letters        With other punctuation 65c Brackets 65d Ellipsis points        In prose quotations        In quotations from poetry 65e Slashes   66   Hyphens 66a End of a line 66b Prefixes and suffixes 66c Compound words 66d Spelled-out numbers   67   Capitals 67a “First” words 67b Quotations 67c Nouns and adjectives   68   Italics (Underlining) 68a Italics versus quotation marks 68b For emphasis   69   Abbreviations 69a Times and amounts 69b People’s names 69c Jr., Sr., II, III, 2nd, and  3rd      69d Names of countries, organizations, and government agencies 69e Addresses 69f  Using etc. and other Latin abbreviations   70   Numbers 70a Spelled-out numbers 70b Dates, addresses, times, and other numbers   GLOSSARY QUICK BOX INDEX ESL INDEX GENERAL INDEX