Table of Contents
The Process of Writing
Getting Started
3 A Basic Writing Guide
9 Understanding the Writing Process
13 One Writer’s Process
21 Qualities of Writing
Using the Writing Process
35 Selecting and Collecting
45 Focusing and Organizing
51 Writing and Revising
61 Editing
67 Publishing
Learning Writing Skills
75 Writing Basic Sentences
81 Combining Sentences
85 Writing Paragraphs
99 Understanding Writing
Terms and Techniques
109 Understanding Text Structures
The Forms of Writing
Personal Writing
115 Writing in Journals
121 Using Learning Logs
125 Writing Emails and Blogs
Narrative Writing
131 Writing Personal Narratives
137 Writing Fantasies
145 Writing Realistic Stories
151 Writing Stories from History
157 Responding to Narrative Prompts
Explanatory Writing
165 Writing Explanatory Essays
173 Writing Process Essays
181 Writing Comparison-Contrast Essays
189 Responding to Explanatory Prompts
Persuasive Writing (Argument Writing)
197 Writing Persuasive (Argument) Essays
203 Writing Persuasive Letters
209 Writing Problem-Solution Essays
215 Responding to Persuasive Prompts
Report Writing
245 Writing Reports
253 Writing Research Reports
269 Writing Summaries
Writing Plays and Poems
275 Writing Plays
281 Writing Poems
Writing About Literature
223 Writing Book Reviews
231 Writing About Literature
237 Responding to Literature Prompts
The Tools of Learning
Using Technology
295 Communicating Online
299 Researching Online
305 Staying Safe Online
Reading and Spelling Skills
309 Reading Strategies for Fiction
321 Reading Strategies for Nonfiction
331 Reading Graphics
341 Building Vocabulary Skills
359 Becoming a Better Speller
Speaking, Viewing, and Listening Skills
365 Giving Speeches
373 Improving Viewing Skills
379 Improving Listening Skills
Thinking Skills
383 Using Graphic Organizers
387 Thinking and Writing
395 Thinking Clearly
403 Thinking CreativelyLearning Skills
409 Completing Assignments
413 Working in Groups
419 Taking Tests
427 Taking Good Notes
Proofreader’s Guide
Marking Punctuation
431 Period
432 Ellipsis
433 Comma
435 Semicolon
436 Colon
437 Hyphen
438 Dash, Apostrophe
440 Quotation Marks
441 Question Mark
Exclamation Point
Parentheses
442 Italics and Underlining
Editing for Mechanics
443 Capitalization
447 Numbers
448 Plurals
450 Abbreviations
Checking Your Spelling
452 Commonly Misspelled Words
Using the Right Word
456 Commonly Misused Words
Understanding Sentences
466 Parts of a Sentence
467 Subject-Verb Agreement
469 Types of Sentences
470 Kinds of Sentences
Understanding Our Language
472 Nouns
475 Pronouns
479 Verbs
484 Adjectives
486 Adverbs
487 Interjections
488 Prepositions
489 Conjunctions