A Pocket Style Manual

Part 0: Becoming a College Writer: Using Academic Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence
Part 1: Clarity 1 Tighten wordy sentences. 1a Redundancies 1b Empty or inflated phrases 1c Needlessly complex structures 2 Prefer active verbs. 2a When to replace be verbs 2b When to replace passive verbs 3 Balance parallel ideas. 3a Items in a series 3b Paired ideas 4 Add needed words. 4a Words in compound structures 4b The word that 4c Words in comparisons 5 Eliminate distracting shifts. 5a Shifts in point of view 5b Shifts in tense 6 Untangle mixed constructions. 6a Mixed grammatical structure 6b Illogical connections 6c Is when, is where, and reason . . . is because constructions 7 Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers. 7a Misplaced words 7b Misplaced phrases and clauses 7c Dangling modifiers 7d Split infinitives 8 Provide sentence variety. 8a Combining choppy sentences 8b Varying sentence openings 9 Find an appropriate voice. 9a Jargon 9b Clichés 9c Slang 9d Sexist and noninclusive language
Part 2: Grammar 10 Make subjects and verbs agree. 10a Words between subject and verb 10b Subjects joined with and 10c Subjects joined with or or nor 10d Indefinite pronouns such as someone 10e Collective nouns such as jury 10f Subject after verb 10g Who, which, and that 10h Plural form, singular meaning 10i Titles, company names, and words mentioned as words 11 Be alert to other problems with verbs. 11a Irregular verbs 11b Tense 11c Mood 12 Use pronouns with care. 12a Pronoun-antecedent agreement 12b Pronoun reference 12c Case of personal pronouns (I vs. me etc.) 12d Who vs. whom 13 Use adjectives and adverbs appropriately. 13a Adjectives 13b Adverbs 13c Comparatives and superlatives 14 Repair sentence fragments. 14a Fragmented clauses 14b Fragmented phrases 15 Revise run-on sentences. 15a Revision with a comma and a coordinating conjunction 15b Revision with a semicolon (or a colon or a dash) 15c Revision by separating sentences 15d Revision by restructuring the sentence 16 Consider grammar topics for multilingual writers. 16a Verbs 16b Articles (a, an, the) 16c Sentence structure 16d Prepositions showing time and place
Part 3: Punctuation 17 The comma 17a Before a coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses 17b After an introductory clause or phrase 17c Between items in a series 17d Between coordinate adjectives 17e To set off a nonrestrictive element, but not a restrictive element 17f To set off transitional and parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, and word groups expressing contrast 17g To set off nouns of direct address, the words yes and no, interrogative tags, and mild interjections 17h To set off direct quotations introduced with expressions such as he said 17i With dates, addresses, and titles 17j Misuses of the comma 18 The semicolon and the colon 18a The semicolon 18b The colon 19 The apostrophe 19a To indicate possession 19b To mark contractions 19c Conventional uses 19d Misuses of the apostrophe 20 Quotation marks 20a To enclose direct quotations 20b Around titles of short works 20c To set off words used as words 20d Other punctuation with quotation marks 20e Misuses of quotation marks 21 Other punctuation marks 21a The period 21b The question mark 21c The exclamation point 21d The dash 21e Parentheses 21f Brackets 21g The ellipsis 21h The slash
Part 4: Mechanics 22 Capitalization 22a Proper vs. common nouns 22b Titles with proper names 22c Titles of works 22d First word of a sentence or quoted sentence 22e First word following a colon 23 Abbreviations, numbers, and italics 23a Abbreviations 23b Numbers 23c Italics 24 Hyphenation 24a Compound words 24b Words functioning together as an adjective 24c Conventional uses
Part 5: Research 25 Asking a research question 25a Choosing a focused question 25b Choosing a debatable question 25c Choosing a question grounded in evidence 26 Finding appropriate sources 26a Using the library 26b Using the web 26c Using bibliographies and citations 26d Conducting field research, if appropriate 27 Evaluating sources 27a Evaluating the reliability and usefulness of a source 27b Reading with an open mind and a critical eye 27d Constructing an annotated bibliography 28 Managing information; avoiding plagiarism during research 28a Maintaining a working bibliography 28b Keeping track of source materials 28c Taking notes responsibly: avoiding unintentional plagiarism 29 Supporting a thesis 29a Forming a thesis statement 29b Organizing your ideas 29c Using sources to inform and support your argument 30 Avoiding plagiarism 30a Citing quotations and borrowed ideas 30b Using the MLA, APA, and Chicago citation systems to lead readers to your sources 30c Using quotation marks around borrowed language 30d Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words 31 Integrating sources 31a Summarizing and paraphrasing effectively 31b Using quotations effectively 31c Using signal phrases to integrate sources 31d Synthesizing sources 32 Integrating literary quotations 32a Introducing quotations from literary works 32b Avoiding shifts in tense 32c Formatting and citing literary passages
Part 6: MLA Style 33 MLA documentation style 33a MLA in-text citations 33b MLA list of works cited 34 MLA format; sample research essay 34a MLA format 34b Sample MLA research essay
Part 7: APA Style 35 APA documentation style 35a APA in-text citations 35b APA list of references 36 APA format; sample research essay 36a APA format 36b Sample APA research essay
Part 8: Chicago Style 37 Chicago documentation style 37a First and later notes for a source 37b Chicago-style bibliography 37c Model notes and bibliography entries 38 Chicago format; sample pages 38a Chicago format 38b Sample pages from a Chicago research essay
Part 9: Glossaries Glossary of usage Glossary of grammatical terms