The Little, Brown Handbook [antikvár]

Preface The Little, Brown Handbook for English composition responds to what I and its editors see as important changes in how composition handbooks are used and in the students who use them. Instructors increasingly call on handbooks to fill roles once performed by two texts—a handbook and a rhetoric. Thus a modern handbook should be designed for use as both a reference guide and a classroom text. In addition, many of today's students are entering college with less famiharity or comfort with the fundamentals of writing than their predecessors possessed. Thus a handbook should take care to teach those fundamentals without assuming students' previous knowledge of them. This handbook was conceived from the outset as both a reference guide and a classroom text. The organization facilitates reference by, for instance, grouping all chapters on sentences together and placing the glossary of usage at the back of the book. At the same time, however, the book begins where most composition courses begin—with writing and revising essays and paragraphs. The editors and I have worked to devise a complete and clear system of reference that will be equally useful to instructors marking papers and to students seeking inforpiation on their own (see "Using This Book"). But we have also made the book readable and provided enough explanations, examples, and exercises to promote class discussion. The book responds to students' needs by providing clear definitions of terms, concise explanations of how to apply the conventions, and unambiguous examples of the conventions at work. We have assumed that students will rely on the basic grammar chapter (5) as much to teach them as to refresh their existing knowledge. We have also provided self-teaching chapters in areas such as the dictionary, vocabulary, and speUing where students' needs vary widely. Appendixes on avoiding plagiarism, preparing a manuscript, and improving study skills should be useful to students throughout college.