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College Writing Skills, Media Edition, 5/e
John Langan, Atlantic Community College


Glossary


A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

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abbreviations
shortened forms of words, often used for convenience in writing. Certain abbreviations (such as Mr., a.m., e.g., etc.) are acceptable in formal writing; in general, however, the complete form of words is preferred.

abstract
the reduction of material in an original work to its main points and key supporting details; also called a précis or summary

active verb
a verb that shows the subject of the sentence doing something(e.g. Hakim turned on the computer); active verbs are distinguished from passive verbs, which show something being done to the subject of the sentence (e.g. The computer was turned on by Hakim.).

active voice
mode of expression in which the subject performs the action expressed by the verb. Ex.:The boy threw the ball.

adequate details
details that provide enough support for a thesis: to support a claim about a friend’s habitual tardiness, for example, more than one example should be provided in order to provide adequate support

adjectives
words that describe nouns or pronouns. Ex.:Yoko is a wise woman.

adverbs
words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Ex.: I walked quickly to the store.

apostrophe
a punctuation mark generally used in order 1) to show the omission of one or more letters in a contraction, and 2) to show ownership or possession

argument
a position or an assertion usually controversial in nature and supported by reasoned evidence

argumentation
a pattern of essay development in which a writer attempts to support a controversial point or to defend a position on which there is difference of opinion

assertion
a claim; in writing, a point or thesis

audience
the group of readers for whom the writer writes; purpose and audience must always be kept in mind when writing (to write effectively), and when analyzing pieces of writing (to understand correctly)

auxiliary verbs
verbs that work with the main verb to make up the complete verb in a sentence; also called helping verbs. Ex.:The woman is working.

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bookmark
the saved address of a URL to which you wish to return

brainstorming
a prewriting technique: making a list of details and ideas related to your subject

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call number
a code indicating where a book or other item can be located in a library’s collection; the two primary systems of organization are the Library of Congress system and the Dewey decimal system

capital letters
upper-case letters that denote first words in sentences, proper nouns, etc.

cause and effect
a pattern of essay development in which the causes and/or effects of an event are analyzed; a form of exposition

cause and effect essay
an essay that seeks to explain something by examining its origins (causes) or its consequences

chronological order
one method of organizing an essay: details are listed as they occur in time. Also known as time order.

classification
the process or outcome of categorizing the constituent parts of a subject according to a single principle

clause
a word group that contains a subject and a verb. Ex.: The dog ran.

cliché
an expression that has been worn out through constant use. Ex.: "short but sweet"

clustering
a (visual) prewriting technique: using lines, boxes, arrows and circles to show relationships among ideas and details that occur to you; also called diagramming or mapping

cohere
stick together; all the details in an essay must cohere so that the reader can move smoothly from one bit of supporting information to the next

coherence
one of the four bases of good writing: the quality that results from organizing and connecting the specific evidence that supports your point

colon
punctuation mark used at the end of a complete statement to introduce a list, a long quotation, or an explanation

comma
punctuation mark used to separate items in a series; set off introductory material or words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence; join two complete thoughts (together with a conjunction); set off direct quotations, etc.

comma splice
incorrect use of a comma to connect ("splice" together) two complete thoughts. Ex.:I go to school, my brother stays home.

comparison and contrast
an essay that seeks to explain something by showing how it is different from something else

comparison essay
an essay that seeks to explain something by showing how it is similar to something else

compound subject
two subjects separated by a joining word such as 'and'. Compound subjects generally take a plural verb.

concise writing
simple and clear writing; the opposite of wordiness

conjunction
a word (e.g., and, but, for, or not, so, yet) used to join two complete thoughts; also called a joining word

consistency
an important feature of good writing: verb tense (past/present/future, etc.) and pronouns expressing point of view (I, you, he/she/it, etc.) should be kept consistent in order to avoid confusing the reader.

contraction
the combination of two words through omission of one or more letters and use of an apostrophe. Ex.:hasn’t (for has not)

contrast essay
an essay that seeks to explain something by showing how it is different from something else

controversial
generating argument or debate; characteristic of a position (for example) that some people will be inclined not to accept

controversy
debate; argument; matter that generates difference of opinion

count nouns
words that name people, places, things, or ideas that can be counted and made into plurals, such as teacher, restroom, and joke

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dangling modifiers
descriptive words that open a sentence but do not describe what the writer intended them to describe. Ex.: While reading the newspaper, my dog sat with me on the steps. (The sentence literally states that the dog was reading the newspaper. The phrase should be altered so that the meaning is clear: While I was reading the newspaper, my dog sat with me on the steps.)

dash
punctuation mark used to signal a pause longer than that of a comma but not as long as that of a period

definite article
the; a "noun marker" — a signal that a noun will follow

definition
the meaning of a term; also, a pattern of essay development in which a term or concept is defined; a form of exposition

definition essay
an essay in which one makes clear one’s understanding of a term, and illustrates that meaning with a series of details

demonstrative pronouns
pronouns that point to or single out a person or thing: the four demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those.

dependent clause
a group of words having a subject and a verb that does not express a complete thought and is not able to stand alone; also called a subordinate clause. Ex.:Whenever I go to school.

dependent word
a word (such as when, because, if, etc.) that introduces a group of words having a subject and verb but not able to stand alone. Ex.:Whenever I go to school.

description
a pattern of essay development: a verbal picture of a person, place, or thing

diagramming
a (visual) prewriting technique: using lines, boxes, arrows and circles to show relationships among ideas and details that occur to you; also called clustering or mapping

direct quotation
a passage reproduced exactly as it appears in an original work

division
breaking a subject down into smaller parts according to a single principle

division and classification
a pattern of essay development; form of exposition

division-classification essay
an essay in which one explains a subject by dividing it or by classifying its parts according to a single principle

drafting
a stage of the writing process: roughing out a first version of a piece of writing

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editing
a stage of the writing process: carefully re-reading a near-finished draft, checking for errors of grammar, style, spelling, punctuation, and format.

ellipsis
three spaced periods that indicate an omission from a quoted passage

emphatic order
one method of organizing an essay in which details are listed in the order of importance; sometimes described as "saving the best until last." Placement last in the paragraph or essay places emphasis on that (most important) detail.

essay
a paper with a thesis; typical college essays consist of an introduction, paragraphs that offer support to the thesis, and a conclusion

essay exam
a test that includes one or more questions to which you must respond in detail, writing your answers in a clear, well-organized manner

examples
details, particulars, and specific instances; also, a pattern of essay development in which a writer provides examples that support his/her point; form of exposition

examples essay
an essay that uses a series of examples to support a thesis

explanatory examples
details, particulars, and specific instances used to illustrate the truth of a statement

exposition
an essay form in which the writer provides information about and explains a certain subject; examples, process, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, definition, and division and classification are forms of exposition

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first-person point of view
writing of one’s own experience and speaking in one’s own voice, using "I’ and "we"; often considered too informal for college writing, except in narration

format
the formal characteristics of a manuscript, comprising such things as paper size, margins, spacing, font, etc.

fragment
a word group that lacks a subject or a verb and/or one that does not express a complete thought. Ex.:Whenever I go to school. ("Whenever," a dependent word, cannot introduce a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone.)

freewriting
a prewriting technique: jotting down in rough sentences, words, or phrases everything that comes to mind about a possible topic

fused sentence
a run-on with no punctuation to mark the break between thoughts. Ex.:I go to school my brother stays home.

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general subject
a broad topic, such as "marriage"; in prewriting, writers often begin here, and then narrow their topic to a limited subject (such as "honeymoon"), and finally to a thesis (such as "A honeymoon is perhaps the worst way to begin a marriage").

generalities
ineffective support for a thesis (e.g., "People are often messy"): specific details (e.g., "Teenagers toss their gum wrappers to the floor, and young parents allow their toddlers to shower their seatmates with popcorn ") should be provided

gerund
a verbal; the —ing form of the verb used as a noun. Ex.:I love dancing.

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helping verbs
1. three common verbs that can either stand alone or be combined with ("help") other verbs: be, have, and do. Ex.:" I was angry" ("was" stands alone); "I was helping Sue" ("was" acts as helping verb). 2. nine verbs (also known as modals or modal auxiliaries) that are always used in combination with other verbs: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must

homonyms
words such as brake and break that have the same sounds but different meanings

hyphen
punctuation mark used with tow or more words that act as a single unit or to divide a word at the end of a line

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idiomatic
particular to a certain language

indefinite article
a or an; a "noun marker" — a signal that a noun will follow

indefinite pronoun
a word that refers to people and things that are not named or are not specific. Many indefinite pronouns (e.g., one, nobody, nothing, each, etc.) take a singular verb; others, such as both or few, take plural verbs.

independent clause
a group of words having a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought and is able to stand alone. Ex.:I go to school.

infinitive
a verbal; to plus the base form of the verb. Ex.:I love to dance.

Internet
a vast network that connects computers at tens of thousands of educational, scientific, government, and commercial agencies around the world

in-text citation
a method of documenting source material by including key information in parentheses following the material’s appearance in the text

irregular verb
a verb that has an irregular form in the past tense and past participle. Ex.:choose, chose, chosen

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joining word
a word (e.g., and, but, for, or not, so, yet) used to join two complete thoughts; also called a conjunction

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library catalog
a list of all the holdings (books, periodicals, and other documents) available in a library; traditionally a file of cards arranged in drawers, catalogs today are typically computerized

limited subject
a topic, such as "honeymoon" that is narrower than a general topic, but broader than a thesis (such as "A honeymoon is perhaps the worst way to begin a marriage").

linking sentences
sentences that are used between paragraphs to help tie together the supporting paragraphs in an essay. Also known as transitional sentences.

linking verbs
verbs that help describe a subject by connecting it to another word. Ex.:The man is handsome.

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manuscript
literally, a paper written by hand; in this text, any paper handed in for a grade

mapping
a (visual) prewriting technique: using lines, boxes, arrows and circles to show relationships among ideas and details that occur to you; also called clustering or diagramming

misplaced modifiers
words that, because of awkward placement, do not describe what the writer intended them to describe. Ex.: George couldn’t drive to work in his sports car with a broken leg. (The sentence attributes the broken leg to the car. The phrase should be moved so that it is closer to "George": With his broken leg, George couldn’t drive to work in his sports car.)

MLA style
a set of rules for documenting source material formulated by the Modern Language Association

modal auxiliaries
see modals

modals
nine verbs (also known as helping verbs) that are always used in combination with other verbs: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must

modem
a device that sends or receives electronic data over a telephone line. A personal computer needs a modem in order to connect to the Internet.

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narration
a pattern of essay development: a story told of a past event in which the teller makes a point clear by relating in detail something that has happened (usually) to him/her

narrative
(n.) a story; writing in which details are presented in the order in which they happened; (adj.) having the qualities of a story

noncount nouns
words that refer to things or ideas that cannot be counted, such as water, bravery, snow

nonspecific noun
words that refer to things or ideas whose specific identity the reader does not know; these nouns are introduced with the indefinite articles a or an. Ex.:Today our cat brought a baby bird into the house.

nonstandard forms
forms of verbs used in the dialect of a particular community; these are generally not acceptable in written English or in formal contexts. Ex.: Yesterday I fix the car.

nouns
words that name persons, places, or things

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object pronouns
pronouns that function as the objects of verbs or prepositions. Ex.:Tony helped me.

one-three-one essay
the traditional college essay, consisting of one introductory paragraph, three supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph

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paragraph
a short piece of writing of around 150 to 200 words

parallelism
balance; parallel structure, or balanced structure, is important in order to make your writing read smoothly. Ex.:

nonparallel (imbalanced)
My job includes checking the inventory, initialing the orders, and to call the suppliers.

parallel (balanced)
My job includes checking the inventory, initialing the orders, and calling the suppliers.

paraphrase
restatement of a passage in one’s own words; differs from summary in that paraphrase can be as long as the original

parentheses
punctuation marks used to set off extra or incidental information from the rest of a sentence

participle
a verbal; the —ing or —ed form of the verb used as an adjective. Ex.:I love dancing bears.

passive voice
mode of expression in which the subject receives the action instead of performing it. Ex.:The ball was thrown by the boy.

past participle
one of the principal parts of every verb: formed by adding —d or —ed to the present; used with the helping verbs have, has, or had, or with a form of be (with passive verbs).

peer review
evaluation of a student’s piece of writing by a classmate or other student

periodicals
magazines, journals, and newspapers (from the word periodic, which means "at regular periods")

periodicals index
a listing of the articles in periodicals. Some of the most widely used are the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, Magazine Index Plus, and Ebscohost.

personal review
self-evaluation of writing, using (for example) the guidelines on the four bases of good writing (unity, support, coherence, sentence skills)

personal spelling list
a list of words you misspell written on the back page of a frequently used notebook or on a separate sheet of paper

plural subject
a word or words denoting more than one person or thing that performs the verb or receives the main action of the verb (in passive constructions)

point
the main idea of a piece of writing; an assertion; a thesis

point of view
the stance or approach a writer takes in writing. There are three different points of view in writing: first-person, second-person, and third-person

possessive pronouns
pronouns that show ownership or possession. Ex.:The keys are mine.

précis
the reduction of material in an original work to its main points and key supporting details; also called a summary or abstract

preposition
one of a group of words that precede a noun or pronoun and indicate direction, position, placement, duration, or another kind of connection to the other words in the sentence. Exs.: about, above, through, under, with.

prepositional phrase
a group of words that begins with a preposition. Ex.:in the house.

present participle
one of the principal parts of every verb: formed by adding —ing to the present

pretentious language
artificial or stilted expressions that more often obscure meaning than communicate it clearly. Ex.: It was a splendid opportunity to obtain some slumber; could be more simply expressed as: It was a good chance to get some sleep.

prewriting
first stage of the writing process: techniques that help writers think about and develop a topic, and get words on paper; also known as idea generation

principal parts of verbs
the four parts of every verb: present, past, past participle, and present participle

process
a series of steps carried out in a definite order; also, a pattern of essay development in which the procedure for doing or making something is detailed; form of exposition

process essay
an essay that explains clearly how to do or make something

pronoun
words (e.g., he, she, it, you, they) that take the place of nouns; pronouns (literally "for a noun") are shortcuts that keep you from unnecessarily repeating words in writing. Like transitions, pronouns can be used to connect specific evidence in a paper.

pronoun agreement
correspondence in number between the pronoun and the noun it replaces. Ex.: Students enrolled in the art class must prove that they can paint.

pronoun reference
the relationship between the pronoun and the noun in the sentence to which it refers. A sentence may be confusing if a pronoun appears to refer to more than one noun or does not appear to refer to any specific noun. Ex.:Miriam was annoyed when they failed her car for a faulty turn signal. ( In this case, "they" should be replaced by a specific noun, such as "the inspectors.")

proofreading
a stage of the writing process: carefully re-reading the near-finished draft, checking for errors of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and format.

proofreading symbols
shorthand notation intended to call attention to typographical and other errors

proper nouns
words that name particular people, places, things, or ideas and are always capitalized

purpose
a writer’s reason for writing; the three most common purposes in writing are to inform, to persuade, and to entertain

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qualifier
a word that expresses the quantity of a noncount noun. Ex.:"some water"

questioning
a prewriting technique: coming up with ideas and details by asking questions about your subject

quotation marks
punctuation marks that indicate exact words or the titles of short works

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regular verb
a verb that has a regular form in the past tense and past participle. Ex.:shout, shouted, have shouted

repeated words
like transitions, repeated words can be used connect specific evidence in a paper

report
a paper recording your response to a book or an article, typically consisting of a summary and a detailed reaction/evaluation

résumé
a summary of your personal background and your qualifications for a job

revising
a stage of the writing process: re-thinking and re-writing draft versions of a piece of writing in order to make it stronger

run-on
two complete thoughts that are run together with no adequate sign given to mark the break between them. In this text, the term "run-on" denotes both comma splices and fused sentences; some instructors prefer to use "run-on" as a synonym of fused sentence alone.

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scratch outline
a prewriting technique: a plan or a blueprint of your writing, which puts the main point and supporting details in a logical order

search directory
an online listing of websites organized by categories (e.g., Yahoo)

search engine
an online tool for finding websites that uses keywords to comb through the vast amount of information on the Web for sites or articles on particular topics (e.g., AltaVista)

second-person point of view
writing directly to the reader, using "you"

semicolon
punctuation mark used to mark a break between two complete thoughts or to mark off items in a series when the items themselves contain internal punctuation (such as commas). Sometimes called a strong comma, a semi-colon signals more of a pause than a comma alone, but not the full stop of a period.

sense impressions
the effect on a reader’s sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch provided by description; specific details should be as rich in sense impressions as possible

sensory details
descriptive evidence that appeals to a reader’s sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch

sentence skills
one of the four bases of good writing: the ability to write clear, error-free sentences

singular subject
a word or words denoting one person or thing that performs the verb or receives the main action of the verb (in passive constructions)

slang
nonstandard language particular to a time and often to a specific locale; acceptable in everyday speech, slang should be avoided in formal contexts and, with few exceptions, in writing. Ex.:Someone ripped off Ken’s new Adidas.

specific details
concrete, specific evidence (e.g., "Teenagers toss their gum wrappers to the floor, and young parents allow their toddlers to shower their seatmates with popcorn ") that provides support for a thesis

specific nouns
words that refer to things or ideas whose specific identity the reader does know; these nouns are introduced with the definite article the. Ex.:Today our cat brought a baby bird into the house.

subject
who or what a sentence speaks about; usually a noun or pronoun that acts, is acted upon, or is described. Ex: The boy cries.

subject pronouns
pronouns that function as the subjects of verbs. Ex.:He is wearing an artificial arm.

subject-verb agreement
the correspondence in number between the subject and the verb of a sentence: plural subjects take plural verbs, and singular subjects take singular verbs. Ex.: The crinkly lines (plural) around Joan’s mouth give (plural) her a friendly look.

subordinate clause
a group of words having a subject and a verb that does not express a complete thought and is not able to stand alone; also called a dependent clause. Ex.:Whenever I go to school.

subordination
a method of joining to complete thoughts that shows that one thought is not as important than the other thought; subordinate clauses begin with a dependent word (e.g., because, when, if, etc.)

summary
condensed restatement of a passage in one’s own words, including its main points and key supporting details; also called a précis or abstract

support
one of the four bases of good writing: supporting your point with specific evidence

synonyms
two words that mean approximately the same thing; like transitions, synonyms can be used connect specific evidence in a paper

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thesis
the main idea of an essay; the point of a piece of writing; an assertion

thesis, common errors in writing:
too broad
a statement too broad to be supported adequately in a student essay. Ex.:"My parents have been very influential in my life."

too narrow
a statement so narrow that no support is necessary. Often a statement of fact (not acceptable as a thesis). Ex.:"My parents had only one child."

more than one idea
too many ideas to be adequately developed in a single essay; often two theses in one (e.g. "My parents helped me grow in important ways, although in other respects I was limited").

announcement
stating the topic ("The subject of this paper will be my parents"), rather than a claim or assertion about the topic ("Parents who spank their children are guilty of a serious error in childrearing").

third-person point of view
writing without making direct reference either to oneself or to the reader, using "he," "she," "it," "they," etc.; the most common

time order
one method of organizing an essay: details are listed as they occur in time. Also known as chronological order

topic sentence
the main point or assertion of a paragraph

transitional sentences
sentences that are used between paragraphs to help tie together the supporting paragraphs in an essay. Also known as linking sentences.

transitions
words such as first of all, finally, however, for example, and therefore, that signal the direction of a writer’s thought

transitive verbs
verbs that need direct objects to complete their meaning. Ex.:The boy threw the ball.

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unity
one of the four bases of good writing: advancing a single point and sticking to that point

URL
Universal Resource Locator; the electronic "address" of a website (e.g., auth.mhhe.com)

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verb
what the sentence says about the subject; a word that show what a subject does or that helps describe the subject by linking it to an

verb tense
the times shown by verbs (present, past, future, etc.)

Present
I work.

Past
I worked.

Future
I will work.

Present perfect
I have worked.

Present perfect progressive
I have been working.

Present progressive
I am working.

Past perfect
I had worked.

Past perfect progressive
I had been working.

Past progressive:
I was working.

Future perfect
I will have worked.

Future perfect progressive:
I will have been working.

Future progressive:
I will be working.

verbals
words formed from verbs that often express action: these include infinitives, gerunds, and participles

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wordiness
using more words than necessary to express a meaning

Works Cited
a list of works (books, articles, websites, and other sources) actually quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise borrowed from in a paper

World Wide Web
a part of the Internet: a global information system that drew its name from the many links among sites that form a kind of "web"