Longman / Prentice Hall

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Little, Brown Handbook, The (with MyCompLab NEW with E-Book Student Access Code Card), 10/E
H. Ramsey Fowler, St. Edwards University
Jane E. Aaron, New York University

ISBN-10: 0205662722
ISBN-13: 9780205662722

Publisher: Longman
Copyright: 2009
Format: Kit/Package/ShrinkWrap; 992 pp
Published: 06/24/2008

Suggested retail price: $74.67
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Authoritative, comprehensive, and always reliable, The Little, Brown Handbook meets the current and recurrent needs of composition students and instructors.

 

A bestseller since the first edition, The Little, Brown Handbook provides reliable and thorough coverage of such handbook basics as the writing process, grammar, research, and documentation, while also giving detailed discussions of critical reading and writing in academic situations, study skills, argument, using computers and the Internet (for both writing and research), writing in the disciplines, writing for public audiences, and oral presentations. Widely used by students at all levels, LBH works as a comprehensive classroom text as well as an accessible reference guide.

 

The tenth edition of this favorite builds on its best-selling features with three new emphases: (1) reading and writing in college, including new chapters on academic writing and study skills along with expanded coverage of critical thinking and argument; (2) visual literacy, including more on creating and using illustrations, more on viewing images critically, and new coverage of visual argument; (3) research writing, including more on using library subscription services and evaluating Web sites, new annotated sample pages from key source types, and new coverage of annotated bibliographies, Web logs, and finding images.


  • Authoritative and accessible coverage of the writing process, grammar, research, and documentation have made The Little, Brown Handbook one of the best-selling handbooks of all time.
  • An ideal reference, the handbook features helpful endpapers, over 150 summary and checklist boxes, and a clean, attractive page design.
  • Meticulous attention to research writing emphasizes managing information, using the library as Web gateway, evaluating and synthesizing sources, avoiding plagiarism, and documenting sourcesaccurately.
  • A broad range of student writing includes two annotated MLA research papers and sample essays in the chapters on the writing process (2 papers), critical reading and writing (2 papers), argument, writing about literature (3 papers), APA style, and CSE style.
  • Extensive presentation of critical thinking and argument includes techniques of critical reading texts and images, specific suggestions for writing arguments, and three sample student papers, including a new critique of an image. 
  • Extensive help for multilingual and multidialect students emphasizes both rhetorical and grammatical issues. It is thoroughly integrated into the text so that students aren’t stigmatized and can find what they need without knowing which problems they do and don’t share with native speakers.
  • Integrated coverage of computers and writing includes scores of tips throughout the text, ranging from advice on spelling checkers to help with Web searches.  Separate chapters offer rhetorically oriented help with document design and online writing.   
  • Clear, cross-disciplinary examples and exercises in connected discourse illustrate rhetorical and grammatical concepts with realistic college writing.
  • The Companion Website, integrated with the text, offers a powerful online resource: online versions of most of the handbook’s exercises; more than 1000 additional interactive exercises; more than 30 video tutorials; downloadable checklists from the handbook; hundreds of annotated links to other useful sites; ten documented student research papers from across the curriculum; and, for instructors, password-protected answers to the handbook’s exercises, teaching tips, PowerPointslides, transparency masters, and more.

  • Part 2, “Reading and Writing in College,” with three new chapters, extends thecoverage of thinking, reading, and writing in academic settings: 
    • “Writing in Academic Situations,” covering audience, purpose, language, and other concerns
    • “Studying Effectively and Taking Exams,” covering time management, reading for comprehension, note taking, and preparing and taking essay exams
    • “Reading and Using Visual Arguments,” introducing images’ claims, evidence, assumptions, appeals, and fallacies
  • Extensively revised chapters on research writing keep pace with the dramatic changes in research methods. New material includes:
    • Guidelines on preparing an annotated bibliography
    • More emphasis on library subscription services
    • Advice on using Web logs as research sources
    • Coverage of images as research sources, including URLs of image banks
    • More on evaluating Web sites
    • Sample pages from key source types, showing students how to find the bibliographic information needed to cite each type
    • Up-to-the-minute documentation coverage in MLA, Chicago, APA, and CSE styles
  • New material on visual literacy helps students process visual information and use it effectively in their writing.
    • Expanded coverage of using illustrations
    • Expanded discussion of viewing images critically, using diverse examples
    • New student paper illustrating a critique of an image
    • New chapter on reading and using visual arguments
    • Illustrations in most student papers, showing visual support of ideas
  • New student paper in the writing process shows techniques for achieving whole-essay unity and coherence.
  • New chapters on special writing situations address the rhetorical challenges of communicating with varied audiences:
    • “Writing Online,” coveringe-mail, online collaboration, and Web composition
    • “Public Writing,” includingbusiness documents, job applications, and writing for community work
    • “Oral Presentations,” including tips for using PowerPoint illustrations. 
  • “Culture-Language Guide” (back of the book) orients students with advice on mastering standard American English and indexes all of the book’s integrated material for multilingual and multidialect students.
  • New page design uses color and type to distinguish elements clearly, while annotations on visual and verbal examples connect principles and

Preface for Students: Using This Book

 

Preface for Instructors

 

I. THE WRITING PROCESS

1. Assessing the Writing Situation

a. Understanding how writing happens

b. Analyzing the writing situation

c. Discovering and limiting a subject

d. Considering the audience

e. Defining a purpose

2. Developing and Shaping Ideas

a. Discovering ideas

b. Developing a thesis

c. Organizing ideas

Sample essay 

3. Drafting and Revising

a. Writing the first draft

b. Revising the first draft

c. Examining a sample revision

d. Editing the revised draft

e. Preparing and proofreading the final draft

f. Examining a final draft

Sample essay 

g. Giving and receiving comments

h. Preparing a writing portfolio

4. Writing and Revising Paragraphs

a. Maintaining paragraph unity

b. Achieving paragraph coherence

c. Developing the paragraph

d. Writing special kinds of paragraphs

e. Linking paragraphs in the essay

5. Designing Documents

a. Designing academic papers and other documents

b. Considering principles of design

c. Using the elements of design

d. Using illustrations

e. Considering readers with disabilities

II. READING AND WRITING IN COLLEGE

6. Writing in Academic Situations

a. Becoming an academic writer

b. Analyzing audience

c. Determining purpose

d. Choosing structure and content

e. Using academic language

7. Studying Effectively and Taking Exams

a. Managing your time

b. Listening and taking notes in class

c. Reading for comprehension

d. Preparing for and taking exams

Sample essay exams

8. Forming a Critical Perspective

a. Thinking and reading critically

b. Viewing images critically

c. Writing critically

Sample critique of a text

Sample critique of an image

9. Reading Arguments Critically

a. Recognizing the elements of argument

b. Testing claims

c. Weighing evidence

d. Discovering assumptions

e. Watching language, hearing tone

f. Judging reasonableness

g. Recognizing fallacies

10. Writing an Argument

a. Finding a subject

b. Conceiving a thesis statement

c. Analyzing your purpose and your audience

d. Using reason

e. Using evidence

f. Reaching your readers

g. Organizing your argument

h. Revising your argument

i. Examining a sample argument

11. Reading and Using Visual Arguments

a. Reading visual arguments critically

b. Using visual arguments effectively

III. GRAMMATICAL SENTENCES

12. Understanding Sentence Grammar

a. Understanding the basic sentence

b. Expanding the basic sentence with single words

c. Expanding the basic sentence with word groups

d. Compounding words, phrases, and clauses

e. Changing the usual order of the sentence

f. Classifying sentences

13. Case of Nouns and Pronouns

a. Compound subjects and complements

b. Compound objects

c. We or us with a noun

d. Appositives

e. Pronoun after than or as in a comparison

f. Subjects and objects of infinitives

g. Who vs. whom

h. Case before a gerund

14. Verbs

Verb Forms

a. Regular and irregular verbs

b. Sit and set; lie and lay; rise and raise

c. Omitted –s and –ed endings

d. Helping verbs

e. Verb plus gerund or infinitive

f. Verb plus particle

Tense

g. Appropriate tense for meaning

h. Sequence of tenses

Mood

i. Subjunctive verb forms

Voice

j. Active vs. passive voice

15. Agreement

a. Agreement between subject and verb

b. Agreement between pronoun and antecedent

16. Adjectives and Adverbs

a. Adjectives only with nouns and pronouns

b. Adjectives with linking verbs

c. Adjectives with objects; adverbs with verbs

d. Comparative and superlative forms

e. Double negatives

f. Overuse of nouns as modifiers

g. Present and past participles as adjectives

h. A, an, the, and other determiners

IV. CLEAR SENTENCES

17. Sentence Fragments

a. Tests for sentence completeness; revision of fragments

b. Subordinate clause

c. Verbal or prepositional phrase

d. Other fragments

e. Acceptable uses of incomplete sentences

18. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

Comma Splices

a. Main clauses not joined by coordinating conjunction

b. Main clauses related by a conjunctive adverb or transitional expression

Fused Sentences

c. Main clauses with no conjunction or punctuation

19. Pronoun Reference

a. Clear reference to one antecedent

b. Clear placement of pronoun and antecedent

c. Reference to specific antecedent

d. Indefinite use of it and they

e. Indefinite use of you

f. Clear use of it

g. Appropriate use of relative pronouns

20. Shifts

a. Person and number

b. Tense and mood

c. Subject and voice

d. Indirect and direct quotations and questions

21. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Misplaced Modifiers

a. Clear placement of modifiers

b. Limiting modifiers

c. Squinting modifiers

d. Separation of subjects, verbs, and objects

e. Separation of parts of infinitives or verb phrases

f. Position of adverbs

g. Order of adjectives

Dangling modifiers

h. Dangling modifiers

22. Mixed and Incomplete Sentences

Mixed Sentences

a. Mixed grammar

b. Mixed meaning (faulty predication)

Incomplete Sentences

c. Compound constructions

d. Comparisons

e. Careless omissions

V. EFFECTIVE SENTENCES

23. Emphasizing Ideas

a. Using subjects and verbs effectively

b. Using sentence beginnings and endings

c. Arranging parallel elements effectively

d. Repeating ideas

e. Separating ideas

f. Being concise

24. Using Coordination and Subordination

a. Coordinaing to relate equal ideas

b. Subordinating to distinguish main ideas

c. Choosing clear connectors

25. Using Parallelism

a. Using parallelism for coordinate elements

b. Using parallelism to increase coherence

26. Achieving Variety

a. Varying sentence length and structure

b. Varying sentence beginnings

c. Inverting the normal word order

d. Mixing types of sentences

VI. PUNCTUATION

Chart

 

27. End Punctuation

a. The period

b. The question mark

c. The exclamation point

28. The Comma

a. Main clauses linked by coordinating conjunction

b. Introductory elements

c. Nonessential elements

d. Absolute phrases

e. Phrases expressing contrast

f. Series and coordinate adjectives

g. Dates, addresses, place names, long numbers

h. With quotations

i. To prevent misreading

j. Misuse and overuse

29. The Semicolon

a. Main clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction

b. Main clauses related by a conjunctive adverb or transitional expression

c. Long or internally punctuated main clauses

d. Long or internally punctuated series items

e. Misuse and overuse

30. The Apostrophe

a. Posessive case

b. Misuse with noun plurals, verbs, and personal pronouns

c. Contractions

d. Plurals of abbreviations, dates, and words or characters named as words

31. Quotation Marks

Chart

a. Direct quotations

b. Quotation within a quotation

c. Dialog

d. Titles of songs, short stories, and so on

e. Words used in a special sense

f. Overuse

g. Placement with other quotation marks

32. Other Punctuation Marks

a. The colon

b. The dash

c. Parentheses

d. Brackets

e. The ellipsis mark

f. The slash

VII. MECHANICS

33. Capitals

a. First word of a sentence

b. Titles of works

c. Pronoun I and interjection O

d. Proper nouns and adjectives

e. Titles before proper names

f. Misuses of capitals

34. Underlining or Italics

a. Underlining vs. italics

b. Titles of books and periodicals

c. Names of ships, aircraft, spacecraft, trains

d. Foreign words and phrases

e. Words, letters, and numbers named as words

f. For emphasis

g. In online communication

35. Abbreviations

a. Titles before and after proper names

b. Familiar abbreviations and acronyms

c. BC, AD, AM, PM, no., and $

d. Latin abbreviations

e. Inc., Bros., Co., and &

f. Misuse with units of measurement, geographical names, and so on

36. Numbers

a. Numerals vs. words

b. For dates, addresses, and so on

c. Beginning sentences

VIII. EFFECTIVE WORDS

37. Using Appropriate Language

a. Revising nonstandard dialect

b. Using regionalisms only when appropriate

c. Using slang only when appropriate

d. Using colloquial language only when appropriate

e. Revising neologisms

f. Using technical words with care

g. Revising indirect or pretentious writing

h. Revising sexist and other biased language

38. Using Exact Language

a. Using the right word for your meaning

b. Balancing the abstract and concrete, the general and specific

c. Using idioms

d. Using figurative language

e. Using fresh expressions

39. Writing Concisely

a. Focusing on subject and verb

b. Cutting or shortening empty words and phrases

c. Cutting unnecessary repetition

d. Reducing clauses to phrases, phrases to single words

e. Eliminating there is and it is constructions

f. Combining sentences

g. Rewriting jargon

40. Using Dictionaries

a. Choosing a dictionary

b. Working with a dictionary’s contents

41. Spelling and the Hyphen

a. Recognizing typical spelling problems

b. Following spelling rules

c. Developing spelling skills

d. Using the hyphen to form or divide words

IX. RESEARCH WRITING

42. Planning a Research Project

a. Starting out

b. Finding a researchable subject and question

c. Developing a research strategy

d. Making a working, annotated bibliography

43. Finding Sources

a. Searching electronically

b. Finding reference works

c. Finding books

d. Finding periodicals

e. Finding sources on the Web

f. Finding other online sources

g. Finding government publications

h. Finding images

i. Generating your own sources

44. Working with Sources

a. Evaluating sources

b. Synthesizing sources

c. Mining and interacting with sources

d. Using summary, paraphrase, and quotation

e. Integrating sources into your text

45. Avoiding Plagiarism and Documenting Sources

a. Committing and detecting plagiarism on the Internet

b. Knowing what you need not acknowledge

c. Knowing what you must acknowledge

d. Using and acknowledging online sources

e. Documenting sources

46. Writing the Paper

a. Developing a thesis statement

b. Creating a structure

c. Drafting the paper

d. Revising and editing the paper

e. Preparing and proofreading the final draft

47. Using MLA Documentation and Format

a. Using MLA in-text citations

b. Preparing the MLA list of works cited

c. Understanding abbreviations

d. Using MLA document format

48. Two Research Papers in MLA Style

“Closing the Digital Divide”

“Annie Dillard’s Healing Vision”

X. WRITING IN THE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES 

49. Working with the Goals and Requirements of the Disciplines

a. Using methods and evidence 

b. Understanding writing assignments 

c. Using tools and language 000

d. Following styles for source citations and document format 

50. Reading and Writing About Literature 

a. Using the methods and evidence of literary analysis 

b. Understanding writing assignments in literature 

c. Using the tools and language of literary analysis 

d. Citing sources and formatting documents in writing about literature 

e. Drafting and revising a literary analysis 

Sample analysis of a short story

f. Writing about fiction, poetry, and drama

Sample analaysis of a poem

Sample analysis of a play

51. Writing in Other Humanities 

a. Using the methods and evidence of the humanities 

b. Understanding writing assignments in the humanities 

c. Using the tools and language of the humanities 

d. Citing sources in Chicago style 

e. Formatting documents in Chicago style 

52. Writing in the Social Sciences 

a. Using the methods and evidence of the social sciences 

b. Understanding writing assignments in the social sciences 

c. Using the tools and language of the social sciences 

d. Citing sources in APA style 

e. Formatting documents in APA style 

f. Examining a sample social science paper 

53. Writing in the Natural and Applied Sciences 

a. Using the methods and evidence of the sciences 

b. Understanding writing assignments in the sciences 

c. Using the tools and language of the sciences 

d. Citing sources in CSE style 

e. Formatting documents in CSE style 

f. Examining a sample science paper 

XI. SPECIAL WRITING SITUATIONS 

54. Writing Online

a. Writing effective electronic mail

b. Collaborating online

c. Creating effective Web compositions

55. Public Writing

a. Writing business letters and memos

Sample letter and memo 

b. Writing a job application

Sample letter and résumés 

b. Writing reports and proposals

Sample report and proposal 

c. Writing for community work

Sample flyer, newsletter, and brochure 

56. Oral Presentations 

a. Writing and speaking 

b. Considering purpose and audience 

c. Organizing the presentation

d. Delivering the presentation 

Glossary of Usage

 

Glossary of Terms 

 

Index

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