Harbrace Essentials w/ Resources for Writing in the Disciplines,
4th Edition

Cheryl Glenn, Loretta Gray

ISBN-13: 9780357945667
Copyright 2025 | Published
608 pages | List Price: USD $32.95

Grab it and go! Glenn/Gray's HARBRACE ESSENTIALS HANDBOOK WITH RESOURCES FOR WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINE, 4e, answers all of your essential writing questions, regardless of discipline, in one easy-to-navigate, easy-to-carry handbook. Inside, you'll find brief yet thorough explanations of important grammar, style, mechanics and punctuation topics. You'll also find clear instructions on completing many different types of writing assignments, from résumés to research reports. Model student papers from a variety of disciplines are included to help you meet all your course needs.

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Part I: WRITING.
1. Reading, Writing, and the Rhetorical Situation.
Understanding the Rhetorical Situation. Applying Rhetorical Knowledge. Academic Reading and Writing. Genres and Formats of Academic Reading and Writing.
2. Planning and Drafting Essays.
Stages of the Writing Process. Developing a Thesis Statement. Creating an Outline.
3. Developing Paragraphs.
Stating the Main Idea. Developing the Main Point. Choosing Methods for Developing Paragraphs. Making Paragraphs Unified and Coherent.
4. Revising and Editing Essays.
Revising for Unity and Coherence. Revising and Editing Paragraphs. Getting Response. Editing and Proofreading.
5. Critical Reading and Textual Analysis.
Critical Reading.Textual Analysis. Basic Appeals in an Argument. Avoiding Rhetorical Fallacies.
6. Writing Arguments.
Considering Differing Viewpoints. Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion. Taking a Position or Making a Claim.Providing Evidence for an Effective Argument.Using Appeals to Ground Your Argument. Organizing an Effective Argument. Sample Argument.
7. Designing Documents.
Elements of Design. Use of Visuals. Effective Use of Pictures.
Part II: RESEARCH.
8. Planning Research.
Considering Your Assignment. Formulating Research Questions. Testing Research Questions. Creating a Research Plan.
9. Finding Appropriate Sources.
Considering Kinds of Sources. Searching Electronically. Locating Reference Works. Locating Articles. Locating Books. Locating Online Sources. Keeping Track of Your Sources. Doing Field Research.
10. Evaluating Print and Online Sources.
Credibility of Authors.Credibility of Publishers.Reliability of Online Sources.Recognizing Fake News. Reading Closely and Critically.
11. Using Sources Critically and Responsibly.
Taking and Organizing Notes. Creating a Working Bibliography. Creating an Annotated Bibliography. Acknowledging Your Sources. Using Direct Quotations. Paraphrasing. Summarizing. Analyzing and Responding to Sources. Synthesizing Sources. Critical Thinking.
12. Crediting Others and Avoiding Plagiarism.
Determining What to Acknowledge. Citing Quoted or Paraphrased Material. Understanding Citation and Documentation.
Part III: DOCUMENTATION.
13. MLA Documentation.
MLA-Style In-Text Citations.MLA Guidelines for Documenting Works Cited.Sample MLA Research Paper.
14. APA Documentation.
APA-Style In-Text Citations.APA-Style Reference List.Sample APA-Style Paper.
15. CMS Documentation.
CMS Note and Bibliographic Forms.Sample CMS-Style Paper.
16. CSE Documentation.
CSE-Style In-Text Citations. CSE-Style List of References.
Part IV: GRAMMAR.
17. Sentence Essentials.
Parts of Speech. Subjects and Predicates.Complements.Phrases.Clauses.
18. Sentence Fragments.
Recognizing Sentence Fragments.Phrases as Sentence Fragments.Dependent Clauses as Sentence Fragments.
19. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences.
Locating Comma Splices and Fused Sentences.Revising Comma Splices and Fused Sentences. Using Divided Quotations.
20. Verbs.
Verb Forms.Verb Tenses.Verb Tense Consistency.Voice.Mood. Subject-Verb Agreement.
21. Pronouns.
Recognizing Pronouns.Pronoun Case.Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement. Clear Pronoun Reference.Pronoun Consistency.Use of First-Person and Second-Person Pronouns.
22. Modifiers.
Recognizing Modifiers.Comparatives and Superlatives.Double Negatives.Placement of Modifiers.Dangling Modifiers.
Part V: EFFECTIVE SENTENCES.
23. Sentence Unity.
Choosing and Arranging Details.Revising Mixed Metaphors.Revising Mixed Constructions.Relating Sentence Parts.Avoiding Is When, Is Where, and Reason…Is Because Constructions. Including Necessary Words.Completing Comparisons. Completing Intensifiers.
24. Subordination and Coordination.
Using Subordination Effectively.Using Coordination Effectively.Avoiding Faulty or Excessive Subordination and Coordination.
25. Parallelism.
Using Coordinating Conjunctions. Repeating Words and Grammatical Forms for Paired Ideas. Creating Parallelism in Lists, Headings, and Outlines. Using Correlative Conjunctions.
26. Emphasis.
Placing Words and Using Punctuation. Ordering Ideas from Least to Most Important.Repeating Important Words.Inverting Word Order. Using an Occasional Short Sentence.
27. Variety.
Varying Sentence Length and Form.Varying Sentence Openings.Using Cumulative and Periodic Sentences. Using Questions, Exclamations, and Commands.
Part VI: EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE.
28. Good Usage.
Appropriate Word Choice. Inclusive Language.
29. Precise Word Choice.
Accurate and Precise Word Choice.Cliches and Euphemisms. Idioms and Collocations. Clear Definitions.
30. Conciseness.
Eliminating Wordiness and Other Redundancies.Using Elliptical Constructions.
Part VII: PUNCTUATION.
31. The Comma.
Joining Clauses with Coordinating Conjunctions.Setting Off Introductory Words, Phrases, or Clauses. Separating Elements in a Series.Separating Coordinate Adjectives. Setting Off Nonessential Elements. Setting Off Transitions, Parenthetical Expressions, and Contrasted Elements. Setting Off Dates, Place Names, and Elements in an Address. Setting Off Quotations. Unnecessary Commas.
32. The Semicolon and the Colon.
The Semicolon.The Colon.
33. The Apostrophe.
Indicating Ownership and Other Relationships.Marking Omissions in Contractions.Forming Certain Plurals.
34. Quotation Marks.
Direct Quotations.Titles of Short Works.With Other Punctuation Marks. Misused Quotation Marks.
35. The Period and Other Punctuation Marks.
The Period.The Question Mark.The Exclamation Point. The Dash.Parentheses.Square Brackets.Ellipsis Points.The Slash.
Part VIII: MECHANICS.
36. Spelling and the Hyphen.
Spelling and Pronunciation. Words That Sound Alike.Prefixes and Suffixes.Confusion of "ei" and "ie".Hyphens.
37. Capitals.
Proper Nouns.Titles and Subtitles.Beginning a Sentence.Computer Keys, Menu Items, and Icon Names.
38. Italics.
Titles of Works Published or Produced Separately.Other Uses of Italics. Words Not Italicized.
39. Abbreviations and Numbers.
Abbreviations of Names or Titles.Addresses in Correspondence.Acceptable Abbreviations in Academic and Professional Writing.Acronyms.Spelling Out Numbers.Common Uses of Numerals.
Part IX: WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINES.
40. Writing about Literature.
Literature and Its Genres. Rhetorical Reading and Literary Interpretation. Vocabulary for Discussing Literature. Approaches to Interpreting Literature. Conventions for Writing about Literature. Sample Literary Interpretation.
41. Writing in the Social Sciences.
Audience, Purpose, and the Research Question. Evidence, Sources, and Reasoning. Conventions of Language and Organization. Examples of Writing in the Social Sciences. Sample Laboratory Report.
42. Writing in the Humanities.
Audience, Purpose, and the Research Question. Evidence, Sources, and Reasoning. Conventions of Language and Organization. Examples of Writing in the Humanities. Sample Critical Review.
43. Writing in the Natural Sciences.
Audience, Purpose, and the Research Question. Evidence, Sources, and Reasoning. Conventions of Language and Organization. Examples of Writing in the Natural Sciences. Sample Field Report.
44. Writing in Business.
Conventions of Language and Organization. Business Letters. Business Memos and E-Mails. Résumés. Letters of Application. Oral Presentations with PowerPoint. Business Reports.

  • Cheryl Glenn

    Dr. Cheryl Glenn, Distinguished Professor of English at Penn State University, is an international leader in the field of rhetoric and writing. She has served as chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) and has been named Rhetorician of the Year and the 2019 CCCC Exemplar. She has received numerous awards for her works on SILENCE AND LISTENING AS RHETORICAL ARTS and, most recently, RHETORICAL FEMINISM AND THIS THING CALLED HOPE. Across the arc of her career, she remains most proud of her teaching awards. Today, Dr. Glenn continues to speak and write extensively about the importance of everyone having a voice, of being listened to and, of course, of the power of the written word.

  • Loretta Gray

    Professor of English at Central Washington University, Loretta Gray has three degrees related to her interest in composition and applied linguistics: Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (School for International Training), Master of Arts in Spanish (Middlebury College), and Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics (Boston University). She has experience teaching English to non-native speakers in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. In addition, she taught Spanish at Clemson University and applied linguistics at the School for International Training. Dr. Gray has been teaching composition and applied linguistics courses at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, since 1992. She also is co-author of the textbook RHETORICAL GRAMMAR.

  • Guidance on the appropriate use of artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT is integrated throughout the book.

  • Both beneficial and nonproductive uses of artificial intelligence are presented in the research and discipline-specific chapters. An end-of-text listing, Guidance in the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), enables students to quickly find the topic they are looking for.

  • Several new authentic student papers are included across a variety of disciplines.

  • A list of Special Topics for Writing in the Disciplines helps the writer meet the expectations of a wide variety of assignments. This guides students with potential discipline-specific uses of grammar, punctuation or mechanics.

  • Knowledge Transfer Activities help students see how their writing knowledge and skills can be used in other courses, in community work and on the job.

  • Extensive coverage of MLA, APA, CMS and CSE documentation styles gives students ample guidance in citing research sources.

  • Coverage of all major aspects of writing and research is concise, clear, direct and easy for students to understand.

  • Each explanation of a key grammar, usage, style or punctuation topic also includes an illustrative example designed to demystify the concept in real-world writing situations.

  • CONSIDER boxes printed in yellow alert students to key trouble areas that can make writing less polished.

  • Multilingual Writers boxes outline problems common to speakers whose primary language is not English, and a list of Special Topics for Multilingual Writers in the back of the book helps students find relevant information.

  • Several authentic student papers on interesting and timely topics provide useful, realistic examples of assignments students are likely to encounter.

  • Several authentic student papers on interesting and timely topics provide useful, realistic examples of assignments students are likely to encounter.

  • Students are presented with both beneficial and nonproductive uses of artificial intelligence in the research and discipline-specific chapters.

Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.