William E. Messenger, Jan de Bruyn and Judy Brown
Important Topics for EAL Students
Preface
PART I: Essentials of Composition
1. The Writing Process: Planning, Writing, and Revising the Whole Essay
1a Finding and Limiting a Subject
1b Considering Audience and Purpose
1c Gathering and Organizing
Evidence
1d Crafting a Thesis Statement
1e Crafting an Outline
1f Writing a First Draft
1g Beginnings
1h Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
1i Preparing the Final Draft
2. Paragraphs
2a Unity
2b Organizational Coherence
2c Structural Coherence
2d
Emphasis and Variety
PART II: Essentials of Grammar and Style: Sentences
3. Sentence Elements and Patterns
3a Subject and Predicate, Noun and Verb
3b Modifiers
3c Structure Words
3d Phrases
3e Independent (Main) Clauses
3f Subordinate (Dependent)
Clauses
3g Kinds of Sentences: Grammatical Types
4. Working with Sentence Elements to Create Variety and Emphasis
4a Basic Sentence Elements and Their Modifiers
4b Variety in Sentence Lengths
4c Variety in Kinds of Sentences
4d Variety in Sentence Structures
4e
Emphasizing a Whole Sentence
4f Emphasis by Position and Word Order
4g Emphasis by Repetition
4h Emphasis by Contrast
4i Emphasis by Syntax
5. Common Sentence Problems
5a Sentence Fragments
5b Comma Splices
5c Run-on (Fused) Sentences
5d Misplaced
Modifiers
5e Dangling Modifiers
5f Mixed Constructions
5g Shifts in Perspective: Inconsistent Point of View
5h Faulty Parallelism
PART III: Essentials of Grammar and Style: Parts of Speech; Diction
6. Nouns
6a Inflection of Nouns: Number; Possessive
Case
6b Grammatical Functions of Nouns
6c Nouns and Articles: a, an, and the
6d Nouns and Inclusive Language
7. Pronouns
7a Pronoun Types
7b Case
7c Agreement of Pronouns with Their Antecedents
7d Pronoun Reference
7e Pronouns and Inclusive Language
7f
Sensitive Language
8. Verbs
8a Transitive, Intransitive, and Linking Verbs
8b Inflection of Verbs: Principal Parts
8c Irregular Verbs
8d Auxiliary Verbs
8e Verb Tenses and Their Functions
8f Tense Sequence
8g Mood
8h Voice
9. Agreement Between
Subject and Verb
9a Words Intervening Between Subject and Verb
9b Compound Subjects
9c Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
9d Subject Following Verb
9e Agreement with Relative Pronouns
10. Adjectives
10a Kinds of Adjectives
10b Comparison of Descriptive
Adjectives
10c Placement and Ordering of Adjectives
11. Adverbs
11a Kinds and Functions of Adverbs
11b Comparison of Adverbs
11c Placement of Adverbs
12. Verbals
12a Infinitives
12b Participles
12c Gerunds
13. Connecting Words;
Interjections
13a Prepositions
13b Conjunctions: Coordinate, Correlative, Subordinate
13c Interjections
14. Diction
14a Level
14b Concrete and Abstract Diction
14c Euphemisms
14d Wrong Words
14e Idiom
14f Wordiness, Clichés, Jargon, and Associated
Problems
14g Usage: A Checklist of Troublesome Words and Phrases
PART IV: Essentials of Punctuation
15. The Comma
15a The Comma with Coordinating Conjunctions
15b The Comma with Items in a Series
15c The Comma with an Introductory Word, Phrase, or Subordinate
Clause
15d The Comma with Nonrestrictive Elements
15e The Comma with Sentence Interrupters
16. The Semicolon
16a The Semicolon with Independent Clauses
16b The Semicolon with Conjunctive Adverbs and Transitions
16c The Semicolon with Items in a Series
17. The
Colon
17a The Colon with Items in a Series
17b The Colon Between a Title and a Subtitle
17c The Colon in the Salutation of a Business Letter
17d The Colon Introducing a Block Quotation
18. The Dash
18a The Dash with Items in a Series
18b The Dash with Sentence
Interrupters
19. Parentheses
20. Quotation Marks
20a Quotation Marks with Direct Speech
20b Quotation Marks with Direct Quotation from a Source
20c Single Quotation Marks for a Quotation Within a Quotation
20d Quotation Marks Around Words Used in a Special
Sense
20e Other Marks with Quotation Marks
20f Ellipses for Omissions
21. Brackets
22. The Period
23. The Question Mark
24. The Exclamation Point
25. Checklist for Avoiding Common Errors in Punctuation
PART V: Essentials of
Mechanics and Spelling
26. Abbreviations
26a Titles Before Proper Names
26b Titles and Degrees After Proper Names
26c Standard Words Used with Dates and Numerals
26d Agencies and Organizations Known by Their Initials
26e Scientific and Technical Terms Known by
Their Initials
26f Latin Expressions Commonly Used in English
26g Terms in Official Titles
27. Capitalization
27a Names and Nicknames
27b Professional and Honorific Titles
27c Place Names
27d Months, Days, and Holidays
27e Religious Names
27f Names of
Nationalities and Organizations
27g Names of Institutions and Sections of Government, Historical Events, and Buildings
27h Academic Courses and Languages
27i Derivatives of Proper Nouns
27j Abbreviations of Proper Nouns
27k Titles of Written and Other Works
27-l First
Words
27m Personification or Emphasis
28. Titles
28a Quotation Marks for Short Works and Parts of Longer Works
28b Italics for Whole or Major Works
28c Titles Within Titles
29. Italics
29a Names of Ships and Planes
29b Non-English Words and
Phrases
29c Words Referred to as Words
29d For Emphasis
30. Numerals
30a Time of Day
30b Dates
30c Addresses
30d Technical and Mathematical Numbers
30e Parts of a Written Work
30f Fractions
30g Numbers of More Than Two Words
30h Commas with
Numerals
31. Spelling Rules and Common Causes of Error
31a ie or ei
31b Final e Before a Suffix
31c Final y After a Consonant and Before a Suffix
31d Doubling of a Final Consonant Before a Suffix
31e The Suffix ly
31f Troublesome Word Endings
31g Changes in
Spelling of Roots
31h Faulty Pronunciation
31i Confusion with Other Words
31j Homophones and Other Words Sometimes Confused
31k Hyphenation
31-l Plurals
31m Apostrophes to Indicate Omission
31n Possessives
PART VI: Essentials of Research: Planning, Writing, and
Documenting Sources
32. The Research Plan
32a Formulating Research Questions
32b Designing a Timeline
32c Identifying and Evaluating Sources
32d Producing a Preliminary Bibliography
32e Notetaking
33. Writing the Essay
34. Acknowledging
Sources
35. Quotation, Paraphrase, Summary, and Academic Integrity
35a Legitimate Paraphrase
35b Illegitimate Paraphrase
35c Paraphrase and Quotation Mixed
35d Summary
35e Maintaining Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism
35f Integrating and
Contextualizing Quotations
36. Documentation
36a The Name-Page Method (MLA Style)
36b The Name-Date Method (APA Style)
36c The Note Method (Chicago Style)
36d CSE Number Method
36e IEEE Method
Index
Student Resources:
· 10 Self-Grading Grammar Quizzes
Instructor Resources:
· Diagnostic Writing and Grammar Test Bank
o For instructors to use for diagnostic purposes at the start of the term to identify the areas for which students require more instruction and practice.
o Divided into 10 topic categories: Writing Process; Unity and Coherence; Writing Effective Sentences; Parts of Speech; Diction; Word Choice; the Comma; Punctuation; Spelling Rules; and Academic Integrity.
o Each topic category has 15-20 multiple-choice questions.
· Teaching Materials
(10 documents, including additional assignments, to support teaching and use of the handbook)
William E. Messenger and Jan de Bruyn (both now deceased), both professors emeriti of the University of British Columbia, produced the first edition of The Canadian Writer's Handbook (main volume) in 1980. Judy Brown (now deceased) joined the project as an editorial consultant on the third
edition; she was senior instructor and associate head in the English department at UBC.
The Concise Canadian Writer's Handbook - William E. Messenger, Jan de Bruyn, Judy Brown and Ramona Montagnes
The Canadian Writer's Handbook - William E. Messenger, Jan de Bruyn, Judy Brown and Ramona Montagnes
