EasyWriter

EasyWriter gives your students friendly, reliable writing help in formats that are easy to use and easy to afford. What's more, this little book offers big ideas from Andrea Lunsford: that reading critically and writing well empower us and that engaging with others and in our own learning is transformative. The biggest idea of all? EasyWriter is for every writer. Those who want to follow the rules of academic writing and those who want to experiment; those who learn in typical ways and those who learn in divergent ways; those who choose to use AI and those who opt not to use it; those who come to college knowing critical reading strategies and those who come needing them - all will learn with EasyWriter. In the Ninth Edition, inspiring new guidance on AI literacy, critical reading, and language awareness is paired with powerful digital tools in Achieve.

Andrea A. Lunsford

PART 1 WRITING PROCESSES 1 Why Write? a Write to connect b Write to survive c Write to define and discover d Write to succeed 2 A Writer's Opportunities a Recognize opportunities b Be open to difference c Use social media wisely d Use AI tools wisely e Position yourself as an academic writer f Collaborate with others g Take advantage of low-stakes writing assignments 3 A Writer's Choices a Take responsibility b Consider assignment and purpose c Choose a topic d Identify your audience e Consider stance and tone f Consider language g Consider time, genre, medium, and format 4 Exploring, Planning, and Drafting a Explore a topic b Develop a working thesis c Do research and gather credible evidence d Plan and draft e Develop paragraphs f Draft strong introductions and conclusions 5 Making Design Decisions a Lay out text b Consider accessibility c Choose visuals and media d Use visuals and media ethically 6 Reviewing, Revising, Editing, and Reflecting a Review your writing b Revise your writing c Edit and proofread your writing d Reflect on your writing PART 2 READING, WRITING, AND SPEAKING 7 Building Confidence for College Reading a Identify your purpose for reading b Use tools and technologies to your advantage c Preview the text d Annotate the text 8 Reading Critically and Analytically a Ask critical questions as you preview a text b Annotate to begin an analysis c Read collaboratively d Summarize the text e Analyze the text f Student writing: Rhetorical analysis 9 Arguing Ethically and Persuasively a Read and listen openly b Identify basic appeals in an argument c Analyze the elements of an argument d Argue purposefully e Make an argument f Organize your argument g Student writing: Argument essay PART 3 RESEARCH 10 Writing in a Variety of Disciplines and Genres a Recognize expectations of academic disciplines b Understand genres c Adapt genre structures d Choose genres for public writing e Student writing: Samples in a variety of disciplines and genres 11 Creating Presentations a Consider task, purpose, and audience b Write a memorable introduction and conclusion c Use explicit structure and signpost language d Plan visuals e Practice f Deliver the presentation g Student writing: Excerpts from a presentation 12 Conducting Research a Understand the challenges to research today b Begin the research process c Choose among types of sources d Use web and library research e Use generative AI for research f Do field research 13 Evaluating Sources and Taking Notes a Check facts b Read vertically c Read laterally d Read and analyze sources e Synthesize sources f Keep track of sources g Work with quotations, paraphrases, and summaries h Create an annotated bibliography i Student writing: Annotated bibliography 14 Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism a Use sources ethically b Integrate quotations, paraphrases, and summaries c Integrate visuals and media d Know which sources to acknowledge e Avoid plagiarism 15 Writing a Research Project a Draft your text, including illustrations b Review and revise a research project c Prepare a list of sources d Edit and proofread e Student writing: Outline for a research project PART 4 DOCUMENTATION 16 MLA Style a Understand MLA citation style b Consider the context of your sources c Follow MLA format d Create MLA in-text citations e Create an MLA list of works cited f Student writing: Research essay, MLA style 17 APA Style a Understand APA citation style b Follow APA format c Create APA in-text citations d Create an APA list of references e Student writing: Research essay, APA style 18 Chicago Style a Understand Chicago citation style b Follow Chicago format c Create Chicago notes and bibliographic entries d Student writing: Research essay (excerpt), Chicago style PART 5 STYLE: EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE 19 Language and Identity a Recognize how the language of others can shape identity b Use language to shape your own identity 20 Writing across Cultures, Communities, and Identities a Communicate respectfully and inclusively b Clarify meaning c Meet audience expectations 21 Language That Builds Connections a Examine assumptions and avoid stereotypes b Examine assumptions about gender c Examine assumptions about race and ethnicity d Consider abilities and disabilities 22 Language Varieties a Practice language awareness b Experiment with language varieties c Bring in other languages 23 Word Choice a Choose among levels of formality b Consider denotation and connotation c Use general and specific language effectively d Use figurative language effectively PART 6 STYLE: EFFECTIVE SENTENCES 24 Varying Sentences a Vary sentence length b Vary sentence openings 25 Consistency and Completeness a Revise confusing sentence structure b Match subjects and predicates c Make complete comparisons 26 Coordination and Subordination a Relate equal ideas b Distinguish main ideas 27 Conciseness a Eliminate redundant words b Eliminate empty words c Replace wordy phrases d Simplify sentence structure 28 Parallelism a Make items in a series or list parallel b Make paired ideas parallel c Use words necessary for clarity 29 Shifts a Revise shifts in tense b Revise shifts in voice c Revise shifts in point of view d Revise shifts between direct and indirect discourse PART 7 GRAMMAR 30 What Is "Standardized" English? a Understand how languages are shaped-and reshaped b Ask: What does standardized language have to do with me? 31 Top Twenty Tips for Editing Your Writing 32 Verbs and Verb Phrases a Understand regular and irregular verb forms b Build verb phrases c Choose between infinitives and gerunds d Understand lie and lay, sit and set, rise and raise e Choose verb tenses to fit your meaning f Choose active or passive voice g Use mood appropriately 33 Nouns and Noun Phrases a Understand count and noncount nouns b Choose determiners c Choose the best article 34 Subject-Verb Agreement a Check for words between subject and verb b Check agreement with compound subjects c Make verbs agree with collective nouns d Make verbs agree with indefinite pronouns e Make verbs agree with who, which, and that f Make linking verbs agree with subjects g Make verbs agree with subjects that end in -s h Check for subjects that follow the verb i Make verbs agree with titles and words used as words j Consider forms of be in varieties of English 35 Adjectives and Adverbs a Use adjectives after linking verbs b Understand comparatives and superlatives 36 Modifier Placement a Revise misplaced modifiers b Revise disruptive modifiers c Revise dangling modifiers 37 Pronouns a Consider a pronoun's role in the sentence b Make pronouns agree with antecedents c Make pronouns refer to clear antecedents 38 Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases a Choose the right preposition b Use two-word verbs idiomatically 39 Comma Splices and Fused Sentences a Separate the clauses into two sentences b Link the clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction c Link the clauses with a semicolon d Rewrite the two clauses as one independent clause e Rewrite one independent clause as a dependent clause f Link the two clauses with a dash 40 Sentence Fragments a Identify sentence fragments b Revise phrase fragments c Revise compound-predicate fragments d Revise clause fragments PART 8 PUNCTUATION/MECHANICS 41 Commas a Set off introductory elements b Separate clauses in compound sentences c Set off nonrestrictive elements d Separate items in a series e Set off parenthetical and transitional expressions f Set off contrasting elements, interjections, direct address, and tag questions g Set off parts of dates and addresses h Set off quotations i Avoid unnecessary commas 42 Semicolons a Link independent clauses b Separate items in a series containing other punctuation c Avoid misusing semicolons 43 End Punctuation a Periods b Question marks c Exclamation points d Understand end punctuation in informal writing 44 Apostrophes a Signal possessive case b Signal contractions c Understand apostrophes and plural forms 45 Quotation Marks a Signal a direct quotation b Identify titles of short works c Use quotation marks with other punctuation d Avoid misusing quotation marks 46 Other Punctuation a Parentheses b Brackets c Dashes d Colons e Slashes f Ellipses g Emoticons, emojis, and tone indicators 47 Capital Letters a Capitalize the first word of a sentence b Capitalize proper nouns and proper adjectives c Capitalize titles before proper names d Capitalize titles of works e Revise unnecessary capitalization 48 Abbreviations and Numbers a Use abbreviations b Use numbers 49 Italics and Hyphens a Italicize titles b Italicize words, letters, and numbers used as terms c Italicize non-English words d Use italics for emphasis-occasionally e Use hyphens with compound words f Avoid unnecessary hyphens