Table Of ContentMyWritingLab™
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Used by mMorey tWhan 1r1 imtililinong stLudaenbts™ each year,
Pearson’s MyLab and Mastering programs deliver consistent,
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Pearson’s MyLab and Mastering programs deliver consistent,
measurable gaEinNs GinA sGtuIdNeGnt EleXarPnEinRgI EoNutCcoEmSes, retention,
MyWritingLab foar nCdo smubpsoesqituioenn ti sc oduerssigen seudc ctoe srse. ach students in a
personal way. Students are given the opportunities and instructor-led
assistancEeN thGeAy GneINedG t oE bXePcEoRmIEe NbeCtEteSr writers
MyWritingLab fion rt hCeo cmopnotesxittio onf itsh deiers oigwnend w troi trinega.ch students in a
personal way. Students are given the opportunities and instructor-led
assistancAe tThReUy nSeTeEdD t oP AbeRcToNmEeR bSeHttIePr writers
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use ISBN 0-13-414019-2.
www.mywritinglab.com
New!
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MLA
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-467873-3 Updates
ISBN-10: 0-13-467873-7
9 0 0 0 0
Available with MyWritingLab™
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CVR_AARO8733_06_SE_CVR.indd 1 28/10/16 10:30 AM
Contents in Brieƒ
Modifiers
1 The Writing Process
33 Adjectives and adverbs 254
1 The writing situation 2 34 Misplaced and dangling modifiers
2 Invention 10 265
3 Thesis and organization 16 Sentence Faults
4 Drafting 26
35 Sentence fragments 271
5 Revising 29
36 Comma splices and fused
6 Editing, formatting, and sentences 276
proofreading 36
37 Mixed sentences 282
7 Paragraphs 42
8 Presenting writing 61 5 Punctuation
2 Writing in and out of College 38 End punctuation 288
39 Comma 290
9 Academic writing 72
40 Semicolon 305
10 Critical reading and writing 83
41 Colon 308
11 Writing arguments 102
42 Apostrophe 311
12 Readixng and writing about
43 Quotation marks 316
literature 121
44 Other marks 320
13 Oral presentations 127
14 Public writing 131
6 Spelling and Mechanics
3 Clarity and Style
45 Spelling 328
46 Hyphen 333
15 Emphasis 142
47 Capital letters 335
16 Parallelism 151
48 Italics or underlining 339
17 Variety and details 154
49 Abbreviations 342
18 Appropriate and exact words 158
50 Numbers 345
19 Completeness 175
20 Conciseness 177
7 Research Writing
4 Sentence Parts and Patterns 51 Research strategy 350
52 Finding sources 358
Basic Grammar
53 Working with sources 377
21 Parts of speech 184
54 Avoiding plagiarism and
22 The sentence 191
documenting sources 405
23 Phrases and subordinate clauses 197
55 Writing the paper 415
24 Sentence types 204
56 MLA documentation and format 419
Verbs
57 APA documentation and format 477
25 Verb forms 206
26 Verb tenses 221 Commonly Misused Words 505
27 Verb mood 228 Index 521
28 Verb voice 230
Editing Symbols 561
29 Subject-verb agreement 233
CULTURE Guide 562
Pronouns LANGUAGE
Detailed Contents Inside the back cover
30 Pronoun case 240
31 Pronoun-antecedent agreement 246
32 Pronoun reference 250
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M00_MILL8959_P01_p001-002.indd 2 21/04/15 2:13 PM
T SIXTH
h
e EDITION
L
it
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le
,
B
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H
a
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d
b
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k
,
B
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JANE E. AARON
New!
2016
MLA
Updates
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco
Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich
Paris Montréal Toronto Delhi Mexico City São Paulo
Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo
A01_AARO3066_06_SE_FM.indd 3 01/12/16 10:22 AM
Vice President and Editor in Chief: Project Coordination, Text Design, and
Joseph Opiela Electronic Page Makeup: Cenveo
Senior Development Editor: Anne Brunell Publisher Services
Ehrenworth Program Design Lead and Cover Designer:
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Product Marketing Manager: Ali Arnold Pickering, Jr.
Executive Media Producer: Jaclyn Reynen Printer and Binder: R. R. Donnelley and
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For permission to use copyrighted material, grateful acknowledgment is made to the copy-
right holders on page 519, which is hereby made part of this copyright page.
PEARSON, ALWAYS LEARNING, and MyWritingLab are exclusive trademarks owned by
Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, any third-party trademarks that may appear in this
work are the property of their respective owners and any references to third-party trade-
marks, logos, or other trade dress are for demonstrative or descriptive purposes only. Such
references are not intended to imply any sponsorship, endorsement, authorization, or pro-
motion of Pearson’s products by the owners of such marks, or any relationship between
the owner and Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates, authors, licensees, or distributors.
Cataloging in Publication data is on file at the Library of Congress
Copyright © 2018, 2017, and 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected
by copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited
reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise. For information regarding
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1 17
Student Edition
ISBN-10: 0-13-467943-1 (tabbed edition)
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-467943-3 (tabbed edition)
ISBN-10: 0-13-467873-7 (untabbed edition)
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-467873-3 (untabbed edition)
A la Carte Edition
ISBN-10: 0-13-470298-0 (untabbed edition)
www.pearsonhighered.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-470298-8 (untabbed edition)
A01_AARO3066_06_SE_FM.indd 4 01/12/16 10:22 AM
Preface for Students
LB Brief contains the basic information you’ll need for writing
in and out of school. Here you can find out how to get ideas, use
commas, search the Web, cite sources, write a résumé, and more—
all in a convenient, accessible package.
This book is mainly a reference for you to dip into as needs
arise. You probably won’t read the book all the way through, nor
will you use everything it contains: you already know much of the
content anyway, whether consciously or not. The trick is to figure
out what you don’t know—taking cues from your own writing expe-
riences and the comments of others—and then to find the answers
to your questions in these pages.
Before you begin using this book, you may need to clear your
mind of a very common misconception: that writing is only, or even
mainly, a matter of correctness. True, any written message will find
a more receptive audience if it is correct in grammar, punctuation,
and similar matters. But these concerns should come late in the
writing process, after you’ve allowed yourself to discover what you
have to say, freeing yourself to make mistakes along the way. As one
writer put it, you need to get the clay on the potter’s wheel before
you can shape it into a bowl, and you need to shape it into a bowl
before you can perfect it. So get your clay on the wheel and work
with it until it looks like a bowl. Then worry about correctness.
Finding what you need
You have many ways to find what you need in the handbook:
■ Use a directory. The brief contents inside the front cover dis-
plays all the book’s parts and chapters. The more detailed con-
tents inside the back cover provides each chapter’s subheadings
as well.
■ Use the glossary. “Commonly Misused Words” (pp. 505–17) clari-
fies more than 250 words that are often confused.
■ Use the index. The extensive index lists every topic, term, and
problem word or expression mentioned in the book.
■ Use a list. Two helpful aids fall on the last pages of the book:
“ CULTURE Guide” pulls together all the book’s material for stu-
LANGUAGE
dents using standard American English as a second language or
a second dialect. And “Editing Symbols” explains abbreviations
often used to mark papers.
■ Use the elements of the page. As shown on the next page, each
page of the handbook tells you what you can find there.
v
A01_AARO3066_06_SE_FM.indd 5 25/11/15 7:31 PM
vi Preface for students
The handbook’s page elements
“In Brief ” learning objec- 26 Verb Tenses
tives previewing the chap-
ter’s content
In Brieƒ
■ Observe the special uses of the present tense (sing) (below).
■ Observe the uses of the perfect tenses (have/had/will have sung)
(p. 223).
Link to MyWritingLab, with ■ Observe the uses of the progressive tenses (is/was/will be singing)
(p. 223).
the eText and other resources ■ Keep tenses consistent (p. 224).
■ Use the appropriate sequence of verb tenses (p. 225).
Boldfaced word: a term be- Visit MyWritingLab™ for more resources on verb tense.
ing introduced and defined Tense shows the time of a verb’s action. The box on the next page
illustrates the tense forms for a regular verb. (Irregular verbs have dif-
ferent past-tense and past-participle forms. See pp. 207–09.)
Ctiuonlt,u ar ep-olainntgeur afogre s ctuodnennetcs- LCAUNLGTUUARGEE Iann ds tsaenqduaerndc Ae mtherroicuagnh Eitnsg floisrhm, .a I vne srbom coen ovtehyesr tliamne-
using standard American ginudaigceast ea nthde E tnimgleis hof daia vleecrtbs., Fvaorri oinusst amnacrek, eirns bAefrsiicdaens vAemrbe rfiocramn mVeary-
English as a second language nacular English, I be attending class on Tuesday means that the
or a second dialect speaker attends class every Tuesday. But to someone who doesn’t
know the dialect, the sentence could mean last Tuesday, this Tuesday,
or every Tuesday. In standard American English, the intended mean-
Examples, always indented, ing is indicated by verb tense:
wanitnho ctaotlioorn usnderlining and II awtitlel nadtteedn dcl aclsass os no nTu Teusedsadya. y[.P [aFsut ttuernes tee innsdei cinatdeisc alatesst Tnueexts dTauye.s]day.] t
I attend class on Tuesday. [Present tense indicates habitual action, every 26a
Tuesday.]
Page tab containing the
code of the nearest section 26a Observe the special uses of the present tense
heading (26a) and its (sing).
editing symbol (t) The present tense has several distinctive uses.
Section heading, a main AShceti ounn doecrcsutarrnidnsg tnhoew problem.UN.46.04
convention or topic labeled We define the problem dFiffOereWntlLy..3505.058
with the section code 26a: HBaanbkitsu raelg ourl arrelyc uurnridnegr gaoc taioundits.
the chapter number (26) and The audits monitor the banks’ activities.
the section letter (a) A general truth
The mills of the gods grind slowly.
The earth is round.
222 Verb tenses 221
Tenses of a regular verb (active voice)
M04B_APARrOe3s0e6n6_t0 6A_cStEi_oCn2 1t-h37a_tp ips1 8o3c-2c8u6r.irnidndg 2n2o1w, occurs habitually, or is generally 20/11/15 7:05 PM
Summary or checklist box true
providin g key information in S eq ufSoeimrnmcpe l eo fp treensseenst Pla2in2 5form or -s Pprluess e-inntg p forormgressive Am, is, or are
accessible form I walk. I am walking.
The 1960 presidential race between Rich ardY Noiux/owne a/nthde Jyo whna lFk.. Ken- You/we/they are walking.
Exercise pnpreodloityi cvwalia edsx tpihener iefginrsc te o,t oNp ifxepoantuo preer rats putierel-esv hiseeadv idlye ba natdeH .l oeD/osekhssep h/iitate gw ghaaislrk dse .xa tnedn suivne- He/she/it is walking.
nity for preaascy tinic freont of the camera. By contrast, KenPnaesdt yA wctaios np trhoajet cotcincgu rcreodo lb efore now
popfoo ilPsl rere asatinidndeg npst r.s ohTvohidoeit n pugup bc rlimiicsp mr eaesndpsiowanteedrlyes ,dt hw pahoti slmeit iaNvdeiexl yo h ntiom’S(s- i dK mts aeeopknerel nm-e eea dpd fic )ayt o ’s fsrtor reimP staphasoegt- neoted.f nfiHincsigees form Ppalusst -pinrog gforermssive Was or were
drop. The popular vote was close, but Kenne dy wI/hoen/ sthhee/ eitl ewctailokne.d. I/he/she/it was walking.
You/we/they walked. You/we/they were walking.
Exercise 26.2 Revising: Consistent present tense
In the paragraph below, change the tenses Fouf ttuhree vAercbtiso nas t hnaete wdeildl otcoc ur in the future
maintain consistent simple present tense. Simple future Will plus plain Future progressive Will be plus
E. B. White’s famous children’s novel Charlfoottrem’s Web is a wonder- -ing form
ful story of friendship and loyalty. Charlotte, theI /wyoisue /ahned/s hmeo/itth/ewrely/ tshpeiy- I/you/he/she/it/we/they will be
der, decided to save her friend Wilbur, the youngw ainll dw cahlkil.d like pig, from walking.
being butchered by his owner. She made a plan to weave words into
her web that described Wilbur. She first weaPvreess e“nSto mpeer fPeigct” Aanctdio lna ttehra t began in the past and is linked to the
presented “Terrific,” “Radiant,” and “Humbplree.s”e nHter plan succeeded
buenaliuketi faunllyy .o Sthheer ,f oaonlds Wthielb huur mlivaen2ds. 6inatot believ in gPho arrt hes- esapedtl n )uW ts iplpbeaursfrte pwcata rstH icaai pvpelie go ( r- d PHforaremvsee bnete pne orrf ehcats p breoegnr peslusisv -ein g
FOWL.3505.058
26e Use the appropriate sequence o f vI/eyorub/ wtee/nthseeys h.ave walked. I/you/we/they have been walking.
He/she/it has walked. He/UshNe/i.t4 h6as. 0be4en walking.
The sequence of tenses is the relation between the verb tense in a
main clause and the verb tense in a subordiPnaastte p celrafeucste . ATchtioen t ethnaste ws as completed before another past action
oftenR admifofenr’ st ofa rtheeflre acrtr idviefdfe irne tnhcee Us ninit erde lSattaitvees ttihm ir tey:Pp yaaersattir cpsi pealrgefoe (,c- dta fotHerar - deh dep ) lh uasd p ast t seq Pbeaesnt ppelurfse -cint gp froorgmressive Had
married, and now Ramon has decided that h e wI/ilyl oreut/uhren/ sthoe h/iits/ wfaeth/tehre’sy had2 6eI/you/he/she/it/we/they had been
homeland. walked. walking.
English tense sequence can be tricky forF nuatutirvee p seprefeackte rAsc atinodn tehsa-t will be completed before another future
pecially challenging for nonnative speakers. Tahcteio mnain difficulties are
discussed on the following pages. Future perfect Will have plus Future perfect progressive Will
past participle (-d or -ed ) have been plus -ing form
1 ■ Past or past perfect tense in main claus e I/you/he/she/it/we/they will I/you/he/she/it/we/they will have
When the verb in the main clause is in the pasht aovre p wasatlk peedr.f ect tense, been walking.
the verb in the subordinate clause must also be past or past perfect.
main clause: subordinate clause:
past past
The researchers discovered that people varied widely in their knowledge
of public events.
main clause: subordinate clause:
past past perfect
The variation occurred because respondents had been born in different
decades.
main clause: subordinate clause:
A01_AARO3066_06_SE_FM.iN nodned o f t6hem hapda sbt epeenrf ebcotr n wMh0e4Bn_ AEAisReOn3h0o66w_0e6r_ SwpEaa_sCst 2P1r-3e7s_ipdpe1n83t-.286.indd 222 20/11/15 7:05 PM 25/11/15 7:31 PM
M04B_AARO3066_06_SE_C21-37_pp183-286.indd 225 20/11/15 7:05 PM
Preface for Instructors
LB Brief provides writers with a reliable, accessible, and afford-
able reference. Merging the authority of its parent, The Little, Brown
Handbook, and a concise format, this handbook answers questions
about the writing process, critical thinking, grammar and style, re-
search writing, documentation, and more. With its cross-curricular
outlook, easy-to-use format, and assumption of little or no experi-
ence with writing or handbooks, LB Brief helps students of varying
interests and skills.
This new edition improves on the handbook’s strengths while
keeping pace with the rapid changes in writing and its teaching.
In the context of the handbook’s many reference functions, the fol-
lowing pages highlight as New the most significant additions and
changes.
An introduction to academic writing
The handbook introduces students to the goals and require-
ments of college writing.
■ New Chapter 9 on academic writing, now at the start of Part 2,
greatly expands on common academic genres, such as responses,
critical analyses, arguments, informative and personal writing,
and research papers and reports. The discussion highlights key
features of each genre and points students to examples in the
handbook.
■ New Chapter 11, “Writing Arguments,” emphasizes the features
and organization of a successful argument essay. A new check-
list on revision helps students read their work critically.
■ New Chapter 12, “Reading and Writing about Literature,” em-
phasizes composing a literary analysis, with new discussions of
interpretation, evidence, and revision.
■ New Throughout the handbook, eight examples of academic
writing and seven examples of public writing illustrate varied
genres, including a new social-science research report documented
in APA style and a sample social-media post for a nonprofit
organization.
■ New Emphasizing critical analysis and writing, the expanded
Chapter 10 on critical reading and writing includes a student’s
analysis of a Web advertisement and a revised discussion of
writing critically about texts and visuals.
■ New Pulling together key material on academic integrity, Chap-
ter 9 on academic writing and Chapter 54 on plagiarism and doc-
umenting sources discuss developing one’s own perspective on
a topic, using and managing sources, and avoiding plagiarism.
vii
A01_AARO3066_06_SE_FM.indd 7 25/11/15 7:31 PM
viii Preface for instructors
Other chapters throughout the handbook reinforce these impor-
tant topics.
■ Synthesis receives special emphasis wherever students might
need help balancing their own and others’ views, such as in
responding to texts.
■ Part 7 gives students a solid foundation in research writing. Ex-
tensive chapters cover documentation and format in MLA and
APA styles.
A guide to research writing
With detailed advice and annotated sample MLA and APA
papers, the handbook always attends closely to research writing
and source citation. The discussion stresses using the library as
Web gateway, managing information, evaluating and synthesizing
sources, integrating source material, and avoiding plagiarism. The
extensive coverage of MLA and APA documentation styles reflects
each style’s latest version.
■ New Coverage of the working bibliography groups sources by
books, articles, and other types, reflecting a streamlined ap-
proach to source material throughout the handbook.
■ New Reflecting the varied ways that students may seek sources,
the discussion of libraries’ Web portals covers research guides
and centralized search engines and also updates the material on
databases.
■ New A revised discussion of keywords and subject headings
helps students develop and refine their search terms.
■ New A streamlined discussion of gathering information from
sources stresses keeping accurate records of source material,
marking borrowed words and ideas clearly, and using synthesis.
■ New The discussion of documenting sources explains key fea-
tures of source documentation, defines the relationship between
in-text citations and a bibliography, and presents pros and cons
of using bibliography software.
■ The discussion of evaluating sources—library, Web, and social
media—helps students discern purposes and distinguish be-
tween reliable and unreliable sources. Case studies show the ap-
plication of critical criteria to sample articles, Web documents,
and a blog.
■ The extensive chapter on avoiding plagiarism discusses deliber-
ate and careless plagiarism, shows examples of plagiarized and
revised sentences, and gives updated advice about avoiding pla-
giarism when using online sources.
■ A research paper-in-progress on green consumerism follows a
student through the research process and culminates in an an-
notated paper documented in MLA style.
A01_AARO3066_06_SE_FM.indd 8 25/11/15 7:31 PM
Preface for instructors ix
An updated reference for documenting sources
The extensive coverage of MLA and APA documentation styles
reflects each style’s latest version.
■ New Reorganized chapters for both styles group sources by
books, articles, and other types, thus simplifying the search for
appropriate models and clarifying differences among print, da-
tabase, Web, and other media for each type.
■ New Updated, annotated samples of key source types illustrate
MLA and APA documentation, showing students how to find
the bibliographical information needed to cite each type and
highlighting the similarities and differences between print and
database sources.
■ New The chapter on MLA documentation reflects the new eighth
edition of the MLA Handbook. In addition, the sample papers
and other examples that show MLA have been updated to reflect
the latest MLA guidelines.
■ New A complete APA research report shows the style in the con-
text of student writing.
■ Highlighting on all documentation models makes authors, ti-
tles, dates, and other citation elements easy to grasp.
A guide to the writing process
The handbook takes a concise, practical approach to assessing
the writing situation, generating ideas, developing the thesis state-
ment, revising, and other elements of the writing process.
■ New An expanded discussion of the thesis covers using the the-
sis statement to preview organization.
■ New Chapter 7 on paragraphs offers new, relevant examples
illustrating paragraph development.
A guide to usage, grammar, and punctuation
The handbook’s core reference material reliably and concisely
explains basic concepts and common errors, provides hundreds of
annotated examples, and offers frequent exercises in connected dis-
course.
■ New Revised explanations of grammar concepts and rules de-
fine essential terms in context, simplify the presentation, and
emphasize key material.
■ New Dozens of new and revised checklist boxes, examples, and
exercises clarify and reinforce important concepts.
■ New Added examples in Chapter 18 on appropriate language
show how to revise common shortcuts of texting and other elec-
tronic communication for academic writing.
A01_AARO3066_06_SE_FM.indd 9 08/11/16 9:57 AM
