Detailed Index of Key Concepts

for Successful Writing for the Real World

by DeWitt Scott and Michael Krigline, 2008 -- www.krigline.com.cn

 Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press 外语教学与研究出版社

ISBN: 978-7-5600-7264-7; Chinese title: 高级实用英语写作

This on-line index is far more detailed than the index in the book. Look here for an alphabetical index to vocabulary terms, key concepts, people/authors mentioned in the book, grammar points, issues explained in the “Better Writing Study Guide,” and more. To find a term, press "ctrl" and "f" to get a search box (with most web browsers). Italics has disappeared in the following list, and long lists of page numbers don't "wrap" properly, but this seems like "a reasonable price to pay" for this handy resource.

Another helpful resources is the on-line lesson-by-lesson vocabulary list (the glossary in the book is alphabetical). For even more help, the textbook also contains a “Detailed Table of Contents & Better Writing Index” and an answer key at the back.

2--------------

2-3-1 formula, 26, 27, 34, 99
 

A--------------

a lot (of), 88
a, an, and the. See articles (the, etc.)
abbreviations, 6, 41, 84, 89, 104, 110, 129, 131, 151, 253, 270, 335, 349, 397, 431
abbreviations for roads/places, 278
abbreviations of month names, 278
about, 260
About us—website info, 43
absolutely (overused adverb), 179
abstract, 134, 135, 266, 436
abstraction, 117, 163
academic essay, 34, 54, 106, 158, 309
academic paragraph, 3, 29, 34, 158, 309
academic terms, capitalization of, 136
academic writing, 33, 124
accommodate, 225, 287
accompany, 203
acquire, 339
activate, 161, 163, 382
active verbs, 16, 51, 62, 69, 98, 162, 164
address, 63, 110, 115
address, format, 276
addressee, 270, 276
adjectival collectives, 127
adjectival phrase, 188
adjectives, 61, 77, 110, 113, 127, 132, 137, 144, 170, 182, 186, 334
adjectives, compound, 144, 187
adjectives, order of, 185
adverb of extent—preverbal (AE), 184
adverb of frequency—preverbal (AF), 184
adverb placement, 182
adverbial phrase, 187
adverbs, 77, 179, 186
adverbs of frequency—special preverbal (SPAF), 184
adverse, averse, 291
advertising, 26, 52, 64, 106, 117, 167, 279
advice, 64, 109, 113, 167, 235, 237, 304, 343, 414
advice columnist, 143
affect, effect, 291
aggrieved, 98
agreement, 79, 286
air conditioning, A/C, 203
alcohol, 274
also, 78, 119, 179
alternative, alternate, 291
ambiguity, 194
American English. See language differences
Americans, 132
amplify, 144
amuse. See humor
analytical, 35
ancestors, 210, 296
and (can omit in headlines), 169
and (doesn’t replace a comma), 145
and so on, 4, 83, 84
And…, 77
anecdotes, 26, 27, 36, 39, 104, 112, 117
announcement, 111
annual, 337
answer key, 371
answer key, how to use, 356
anticipate, 109, 144, 158, 292
antique, 249
any, 85
AP, 103, 169, 266
apology, 272, 278
apostrophe, 144, 151, 287, 296
appealing, 61
apple, 66
apply, apply for, 206
appointment, 273
appositives, restrictive/non-restrictive, 148
approximately, 260
arguably (overused adverb), 179
argumentative, 215
argumentative, argumentation, 35
articles (news, etc.), 2, 23, 43, 99, 144, 167, 169, 215, 216, 235, 236, 241, 309, 364, 369, 416
articles (news, example), 175
articles (the, etc.), 126, 130, 131, 137, 169, 185, 187, 195, 326, 329
articles, (the, etc.) summary chart, 138
articulate, 226
as, 198
As (seen/shown) + preposition, 196
as doesn’t equal because, 195
As everyone knows, 4, 53, 59, 120
as for…, 196, 261
as in/with…, 196
as…, 193, 195
ASCAP, 104
Asians, 132
assignments, summary chart, 367
at a premium, 238
at last, 124
attribute, 20
Augustine (ancient writer), 341
Australians, 132
author, how to contact Mr. Krigline, 361
authoritarian, 230
authority, authorities, 202, 332, 406
authors (in documentation), 41
automatic, 14, 41, 197, 217, 253, 270, 337
aux shows verb tense (in questions), 319
auxiliary verbs (aux), 314
avoid, 3, 4, 5, 13, 18, 21, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 52, 53, 58, 59, 61, 64, 69, 70, 82, 84, 89, 90, 91, 94, 110, 111, 124, 144, 161, 168, 170, 179, 196, 226, 228, 245, 247, 251, 258, 272, 292, 303, 315, 332, 336
award, 58
awkward, 38

B--------------

Ba Jin (author), 341
backing into a sentence, 98
balance, goals vs limitations, 358
ban, 252
Banished Words list, 254
basically (overused adverb), 179
BE, to be/is, 162, 169, 182, 183, 186, 188, 258, 294, 305, 314, 326, 348
BE, to be/is—in questions, 314
because, 78, 98, 193, 198, 260
belittle, 143, 229
benefit, 211, 292
besides, beside, 98, 124, 148
betray, 172, 239
Better Writing Study Guide (main content area), ix, x
biased words, 170, 226, 230
bibliography, 40, 42, 482
bigoted, 70
bland, 61
Blank, GK (English Professor), 94
blare, 179
blasphemy, 1, 221
block quote, 41
blockbuster, 171, 239, 256
bluntness, 272
body, 3, 34, 39, 57, 110, 216, 271
boil down, 1, 104
bold type (shows vocabulary in this book), ix, 90
book titles. See titles
bored, boring, 208
borrow, lend, loan, 292
both, 257
box office, 171
boycott, 172
boys/girls vs men/women, 223, 292
brackets, iv, 42, 377
break (vacation), 305
break a sentence, 151
break a word, 144, 151
brevity, 104, 168, 269, 309
bring, take, 293
British English. See language differences
British, the, 132
buildings, names of, 128
bulletin-board, 182
bullets, 64
bus system, 326
bus, buss, buses, busses, 293
business appointment or lunch, 273
business card, 27
business correspondence, 309
business letters (format), 270
business names, 129
business partners, 272
business person, 321
business writing, 253
business, importance of English, 269
but, 119, 346, 347
But…, 78
byline, 215

C--------------

campus, 135, 202
campus, collocation, 325
can/could, 336
can/could—in questions, 314
Canadian, 293
capital, capitol, 293
capitalization, 64, 136, 147, 151, 293, 349
cards, 26
Carter, Jimmy (US President), 265
cartoons, 370
case. See capitalization
case (in which case), 18, 38, 60, 124, 134
case (sentence, title), 169, 176, 242, 370
case (sentence, title) in journalistic writing, footnote, 169
case (upper/lower case letters), 7, 293
case, upper and lower, 435
casual, 59
catch a chance, 344
catchall, 247
catchy, 57, 110
cause and effect, 347
CD, 109
celebrate, 345
Center, 60
certainty, expressing degrees of, 336
Chan, Jackie (actor), 219
chance, 344
change, regarding language development, 249, 252
character(s), characteristics, 210
charismatic, 251
cheating, 14, 20, 219, 360
check, check minus, 356
Chicken Soup for the Soul, 112
China, 132
China’s economic development, 218
China’s vs of China, 334
Chinese. See language differences, Chinese vs English
Chinese (the language), 132
Chinese characters, 40
Chinese lunar months (阴历), 278
Chinese names, 40
Chinese, how to use this word, 293
Chinese, the Chinese people, 128, 132, 293
Chinglish, 11, 18, 203, 207, 272, 275, 313, 334, 374
choose, 109
Christmas, 129, 133, 172, 276, 426
church, 135, 160
church, collocation, 325
Churchill, Sir Winston (British Prime Minister), 143
claim, 228
clarify. See clear
Clark, Roy P (writing teacher), 248
class names, capitalization of, 136, 426
class time, how to use, x
clear, 1, 24, 35, 69, 70, 81, 98, 143, 158, 164, 179, 197, 228, 236, 251, 253, 257, 269, 310, 322, 374
clearly (overused adverb), 180
clench, 179
clichés, 117, 119, 179, 247, 249, 266, 288, 294, 300, 303, 304, 306
closing phrases, 38
closing phrases (not always needed), 124
clues, 194
cluster, 216, 217, 258, 284
clutter, 94, 97, 257
coed, 226
coin has two sides (cliché), 247
coined the term, 228
colleagues, xii, 63, 69, 111, 272, 281
collective nouns. See collectives
collectives, 126, 131, 133
collectives, common, 127
collectives, generic or adjectival, 127
collectives, proper, 128, 132
collide, 162
collocation, 135, 200, 305, 334, 344
colloquial, 4, 38, 44, 110, 393
colon, 83, 146, 149
columnist, 143, 215
comedy. See humor
comma, 79, 83, 84, 145, 147, 148, 169, 194, 195, 271, 278, 287, 347
comma (common problems with), 145
comma splice, 145, 149, 360
commas & quotation marks, 43
commas in a list, 146
commemorate, 345
common collectives, 127
common words, 60, 64
communicate, 2, 4, 13, 35, 310
communication goal & journalistic format, 167
communication, forms of, 136
communications交通, collocation, 326
company names, 129
comparative, 86, 305, 346
compare, comparison, 346
compared to vs with, 293
comparison, academic essays, 35
comparison, in reviews, 109, 113
comparison, using as, 195
comparison, using like, 197
comparison, using metaphors, 265
compel, 36
competitors, 59, 80, 255
complex sentence, 97
composed/consists of, 23, 63, 294
composition, 69, 181
compound adjective, 187
compound sentences, 76
comprise, be composed of, 294
concentrate, target, 303
concert, 109
concise, 4, 61, 261
concise (letters to the editor), 221
conclusion, 3, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 57, 59, 63, 110, 158, 170, 216, 217
concrete, 103
confused (& qualifiers), 258
confusion hinders communication, 60, 64, 80, 103, 118, 150, 229
confusion over related terms, 208, 291, 339, 343
conjugate, 79, 314, 325
conjunction. See connective
connectives, 76, 123, 124, 179
consensus, 291
consequence, 79
conservative, 228
constructive, 109
contact, 204
context, 18, 62, 81, 109, 111, 118, 134, 196, 204, 205, 247, 267, 300, 318, 337, 339, 342
continuing, ongoing, 294
continuous, 337
contractions, 51, 296, 316
contrast, 78, 134, 144, 346
contrived, 69, 392
controversial, controversy, 117, 162, 247
controversy & quotations, 117, 168
controversy & the news, 170, 217, 236, 402
conversational language, 4, 51, 53, 59, 70, 310
converted questions, 314
convince, 4, 36, 37, 215, 257
convince vs persuade, 300
coordinating conjunctions, 76
cope, 294
copyright, iv, 111, 218, 359
copywriters, 26, 52, 59, 117
correction tape, 272
correspondence, 269
correspondent, 143
count your chickens, 265
countable nouns, 80, 84, 135, 201, 210, 326
court (for sports), 301, 330, 380, 424
CPA, 287
creativity, 36, 71, 117, 333, 389
critics, 97
critique, 74
cross between, 240, 416
crutch, 148
cry wolf, 230
cultural associations, 60
culture, 134
culture & humor, 70
current event or trends, 339
currently (overused adverb), 180
customers, 109
cut and paste, 41

D--------------

dangle, 286
dangling modifier, 177, 198, 286
dash, 83, 147, 150, 151
dates, 43, 270, 274, 345
dates (format), 89, 146, 278
de Tocqueville, Alexis (Sociologist), 160
Dear Sir/Madam:, 270
defaults, 41
defendant, 162
definite article, 131
dejected, 179
demolish, destroy, 294
Deng Xiao Ping (Chinese leader), 147
dependent clause, 78, 83, 119, 146, 194, 195, 272
dependent clause, explanatory, 198
derived, 127
derogatory, 227
description, 57, 61, 110, 226
descriptive sentence, 22
descriptive, description, 35
destroy, demolish, 294
detail, spell out, 303
details, 58, 103
detective, 103
determiner, 304
detour, 182
development (of China’s economy), 339
dictionary, 71
dictionary, adding new words, 252
differences. See language differences, Chinese vs English
different, 257
digital, 238
dignified, 162
digress, 111
dilapidated, 162
dilemma, 259
Ding Yan-ren (Journalism Instructor, 169
dinner, 5, 202, 206, 322, 326
direct object, 297, 302, 333
direct quotations. See quotes
directions (north, east, etc.), 348
direct-mail, 26
discussion questions, how to use, 354
disguise, 172
disinterested, uninterested, 294
dissuade, 238
dive, dived, dove, 294
diverse, various, variety, 304
DIY, do-it-yourself, 118
Do you think so?, 316
doctors & passive writing, 162
document, 18
documentation, 13, 15, 40, 41, 44
do—in questions, 314
doodad, 97
door, doorway, 204
double standard, 51
double-space, 10
doubletalk, 259
doubt, 336
dove, dive, dived, 294
downtown, 135
downtown, collocation, 325
draft, 21, 23
drive sth home, 99
dub, 256
due date, 11, 21, 30
DVD, 109, 218, 255, 337
dynasty, 128, 134, 386

E--------------

east, west, south, north, 348
Easter, 259
echo, 27
ecology, environment, 295
economy, economics, economic, economical, 208
editor, 1, 169, 170, 215, 236, 369
editorial, 39, 167, 215, 223, 309, 409, 416
editorial, example, 232
effect, affect, 291
effective, 104
efficient, 104
Einstein, Albert (scientist), 181
elitism, elitist, 228, 252
ellipsis, 15, 147
e-mail, 167, 270, 329
e-mail link letter, 281
emergency, 258, 340
emigrate, immigrate, migrate, 295
emotional ideas, how to express, 200
emphasis, how to show, 78, 86, 90, 99, 136, 150, 168, 195, 271, 314, 334, 356
emphasize (Also see emphasis), 15
emphatic, 134, 137, 147
encouragement, 357, 359
end-all, 104
endnotes, 40, 42
engineers, 118
English. See language differences, Chinese vs English
English Department, 128, 306, 335
Englishbase.net, 101, 114, 388
enhance, 228
entertainment, 202
entity, 109, 133
entrance, 204, 333, 363
environment, ecology, 163, 205, 295, 371
essay length, 358
esthetic, 226
et al, 41
etc., 4, 84
evaluation, 110
evasive, 163
ever since, 194
every coin has two sides (cliché), 38, 247
evident, 180
exaggerations, 53, 288, 379
example. See for example
exclamation mark, exclamations, 4, 44, 59, 110, 148
exhaustive, 128, 183, 211, 242
expatriate, 283
expect, anticipate, 292
expert, specialist, 303
explain, 78
explanations, 83, 147, 198
explanations & punctuation, 148
explicit, 110, 114
expulsion, 13
extracurricular, 305

F--------------

fabric, 236
face with or to, 344
facets, 196
fair, 103
fake, 219, 256
family name, 41
fantasy, 171, 239
farther, further, 295
fault, 163
favorite, 295
feature article, 167, 235, 309, 416
feature article, example, 237, 239, 255
feature, interview process, 245
features, news vs advice oriented, 237
Fei-Yi Cyber Café, 113, 115, 154, 391
finally, 124, 260
fireworks, 236, 237
flaunt, 295
flawed, 10, 115, 371
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, 23, 30
flout, 295
fluent, 60, 341
fluff, 90, 94, 162, 165, 170, 181, 188, 189, 252, 258, 260, 272, 273
flush, 271
focus, 25, 27, 37, 76, 97, 110
food, 202
footnotes, 15, 40, 41, 42
footnotes, purpose of, 361
for example, 83
for instance, 83
For one thing… for another, 347
forbear, forebear, 296
Forbes, Malcolm (US Publisher), 147
forced, 228
forego. See forgo
foreigners (negative implied meaning), 177
forget it, 70, 179, 251
forgo, 110, 113
forgo, forego, 296
formal, 87, 111, 162, 195, 203, 207, 269, 294, 332
formal (Also see informal), 61
format. See outline
format for references, 40
format of bibliographic entries, 43
format of footnotes (or endnotes), 42
free, 52, 228
free-writing, 25
freshmen, 299
friends (wrong preposition), 334
full stop. See period
fundamentals, 179
further, farther, 295
furthermore, 123
future, 337
fuzzy, 24, 257

G--------------

gadget, 237
Galbraith, John K (economist), 252
gate, gateway, 204
gender, 292
gender-related terminology, 227
generic, 126, 131
generic collectives, 127
gentlemen, ladies, 292
Germans, 132
gerund, 119, 199, 201
gibberish, 25, 259
gimmicks, 59
girls, gals, guys, boys, 226, 292
gist, thrust, 303
given name, 270
glasses, 135
glossary, 355
glove illustration, 364
goal, 4, 13, 16, 26, 35
golden rule, the, 92
gonna, 379
good. See very good
good old boys, 292
gossip, 228
grade level, how to determine, 30
grade, score, marks, points, 298, 426
grade, year in school, 299
graders, 4, 34, 36, 37, 376
graduate, 334
Graduate Admission score, 37
graduation, 337
grammar, 71, 150, 169, 245, 270, 285, 360
grasp, 344
greeting cards, 275
group vehicles, 326
guarantees, 59
guidelines, 98, 111, 118, 161, 182, 198, 216, 227, 309
guidelines for successful writing (1-16), 310
guidelines for successful writing (1-8), 157
gush, 148

H--------------

Haier, 47
hair, 202
hallmark, 47, 168, 181
hand in, 10
happen, transpire, 304
hard vs hardly, 187
have a try, 59, 304
have—in questions, 314
he/she problem, 226
headlines, 27, 145, 169, See sub-headlines
heal, health, healthy, healable, 186
heaters, 203
helm, 267
helping verb. See auxiliary verb
Hemingway, Ernest (writer), 25
here, there, 204
hibernation, 249
high time, it’s (cliché), 38, 247
high vs highly, 187
hit list, 252
hobbies, 124, 150, 195, 200, 201
hold-back words, 52, 118
holiday, on holiday (vacation), 305
holidays, 129
Hollywood, 228
Holmes, Sherlock (fictional detective), 361, 438
home, 135
home (not to home), 325
home page, 43
home, collocation, 325
homework (adjective), 206
homework (advice for teachers), 356
homework (uncountable), 202
homogenization, 221
honesty, 1, 13, 53, 69, 164, 210, 211, 221, 257, 298, 336, 343, 360
honor, 202, 274, 307, 345
hook, 217, 237
hope vs wish, 276
hopefully, 179
hot topics (cliché), 38, 247
hotel vs restaurant, 277
how to grade essays, 359
How to say?, 313
however, 119, 346, 347
human interest, 118, 235, 237
human, people, person, 209, 300
humor, 27, 36, 110, 210, 247, 383
humor & culture, 70
Hurry up and buy it, 59
hyphen, 90, 144, 151
hyphen & adjectives, 186, 187
hyphen in phone numbers, 274

I--------------

I, me, my, 4, 6, 52, 64, 118, 215, 217, 237, 242
I, using I, 52
ibid., 41
icon, 254
idiomatic, 348
idiom--format, 18
idioms, 18, 159, 316
IELTS, 33
illuminate, 69
illustrations, 39, 215, 216, 236, 266
imagination, 240
immediately (overused adverb), 180
immigrate, emigrate, migrate, 295
immune system, 291
impact, 292
implication, 3, 5, 6, 34, 37
implicit, 110, 114, 237
imply, 103, 197, 203, 216, 226, 230, 265, 296, 297, 304, 340, 346
in a word, 38, 124
in addition, 78, 123, 346
in conclusion, 38, 124
in short, 124
in the end, 124
in which case. See case (in which case)
inadvertent, 13
incentive, 218
incompetent, 180
indefinite article, 131, 195
indent, 271, 349
independent clause, 83, 145, 147, 149
Indians, 132
indirect quotes, 16, 40, 41
industry, 97, 172, 256, 417
infer, imply, 296
infinitive, 79, 87, 199, 228, 300, 320, 333, 349
infinitive substitution in polite questions, 320
informal, 38, 88, 97, 124, 194, 196
informal (Also see formal), 38
information, 23, 109, 113, 270, 346, 425
information gathering (note taking), 15
information questions, 315
-ing ending, 187
ingredients, 58, 62
inmate, 162
innovation, 219, 310
inoculate, 287
Institute, 60
instructions, 58
insult, 63, 148
intellectual property (IP), 14, 218
interchangeable, 83, 124, 193
interested, disinterested, uninterested, 294
interested, interesting, 208
international phone numbers, 274
Internet, 14, 111, 128, 219, 235, 309, 334, 349, 360
Internet address, 42, 63
internship, 6
interview feature, example, 243, 255
interview process, 245
interviews, 235
into cars, movies, etc., 207
intransitive. See verbs, intransitive
intriguing, 36
introduction, 3, 34, 36, 39, 57, 64, 216, 217, 237
introductions & colon, 147
inverted, 7, 195, 197, 198, 199, 331, 433
inverted commas, 43, 449
inverted pyramid, 169
invigorate, 161
invitation, 274
Irish, the, 132
ISBN (book publication number), 113
It is… (weak sentence starter), 4, 5, 82, 119, 170
it’s, its, 296
italics, 64, 90

J--------------

jargon, 53, 111, 247, 252, 266, 303
journalistic group project, 369
journalistic writing, 71, 125, 145, 235
Journalistic writing comparison chart, 241
judgement, 288
juniors, 299
junk, 260

K--------------

keep it simple, 52, 58, 60
Key—to marking, 323
Kilpatrick, James (columnist), 285
knead, 103
know, 342
knowledge, 339
Koreans, 132
Krigline, how to contact the author, 361

L--------------

M--------------

Madison Avenue, 52
main content areas. See Writing Skills, Types of Writing, or Better Writing
main idea, 27
major (in college), 77, 136, 208, 337
majority, 260
majors, capitalization of, 136
make, using make, 297
mantel, mantle, 299
many, 84
map, 25, 70
margin, 349
market—to put sth on the, 60
Marking Key, 323
marks, points, grade, score, 298
marshal, Marshall, 299
mastery, 340
may, using may, 273, 336
meaningfully (overused adverb), 180
meanwhile, 119
measure of, 23
media companies, 131
meet, 344
meet their needs, 59
mega-, 221
Mega-mart, 221
memo, 271, 278
memorial, 345
memorialized, 345
memorize, 345, 354
metaphor, 107, 112, 265
metro, 326
migrate, immigrate, emigrate, 295
military, 126, 334
Mill, John S (philosopher-economist), 17
misplaced modifier, 286
mistake list, personalized, 357
modals, 206, 273, 304, 336
modifiers, 69, 77, 285, See dangling or misplaced
monologues, 51, 251
monotony, 97
month names & abbreviations, 278
monument, 345
mope, 179
more and more, 38
most, 260
motivation, 357, 358, 360
move-forward words, 52, 118
movie characters, 210
movie titles. See titles
movies, 109, 115, 171, 217, 238, 361
movies & changes in language, 249
much, 85
much of, 87
muscle of writing, 161
musical-group names, 129
must, using must, 273

N--------------

name recognition, 63
name, given, 270
names, 41, 61, 90, 129, 205, 296
names--natural order, 42
Narnia, 171, 218, 239, 363
narrative, narration, 35
nature, 135, 199
NBA, the, 104, 128
near vs nearly, 187
neatness, 269, 272
nebulous, 51
need, special usage, 349
negative questions (when you expect agreement), 316
negative vs positive, 84, 87, 163
negative, making a verb negative, 349
new, 52
New Oriental, 73, 384
new product, 109
news articles. See articles
news organizations, 128
news release, 167
news vs gossip, 228
news, example, 171, 262
newsletters, 109, 369
no matter…, 348
normal, regular, standard, 61
north, south, east west, 348
not only…but also, 347
notes, 16
Nowadays, 38
NPU, 334, 431, 446
nuance, 117
nudges, 144
nuisance, 261
numbers, 89
numbers, ordinal (5th, 3rd, etc.), 89
nursing homes, 226

O--------------

object noun, 183
objective vs subjective, the news, 170
obscenity, 1, 221
obvious, 26, 37, 250, 270, 379
obviously (dangerous transition), 392
Olympic(s), 125, 128, 132, 444
omit, 180
on line, ix
on one hand, 346
on the contrary, 346, 347
one hand/ one thing or the other, 346, 347
ongoing, continuing, 294
only, using only, 180, 184, 288
onomatopoeia, 267
op-ed page, 215
openers, 27, 36, 49, 58, 179, 271, 387
opinions don’t belong, 4, 35, 37, 91, 170, 228
opinions in editorials, 215, 220
opinions in features, 237
opinions in reviews, 109
opposite, 347
optional, 40, 126, 133, 146, 317
oral vs written English. See language differences
oral, verbal, 300
ordinal numbers (1st, 4th), 89
ordinal numbers (5th, 3rd, etc.), 89
organization (of news, reviews, etc.). See outline
organizations, 129, See collectives
organize, 26, 158
organized (letters to the editor), 221
oriented, 300
Orwell, George (author), 261
ostentatiously, 295
our, 4, 74, 118
our (often misused), 205
outline, 6, 26, 27, 44, 119, 120, 174, 220, 221, 222, 238, 241, 245
outline, 2-3-1 style, 27
outline, for academic essay, 39
outline, for editorials, 217
outline, for features, 237
outline, for news, 170
outline, for reviews, 113
outline, product description, 64
outline/format, for business letters, 270
outlines, importance of, 357
outlines, peer effort in, 357
outskirts, 265
overgeneralizations, 91, 226, 379
overly (overused adverb), 181
overstatement, 53, 91, 288, 379
owing to, 344
owl, 60

P--------------

padding, 257
painted themselves into a corner, 266
paper-clip, 258
paragraph, 3, 81, 99, 167, 170, 216, 236, 349
parallelism, 63, 77, 286
parameter, 251
paraphrase, 14, 16, 18, 41, 118, 160
paraphrase, passage paraphrasing, 15
parenthesis, parentheses, 40, 149, 150, 151
parenthetical, 84, 151
partiality, 230
partner, 2, 21, 30, 50, 73, 102, 166, 171, 190, 217, 221, 237, 238, 357
partner, how to assign, 358
Pascal, Blaise (scientist), 104
Passion, the, 240
passionate (letters to the editor), 221
passive verbs, 51, 70, 162, 274, 379
patch together, 119
patents, 219
patriot, 256
patronize, 226
PD. See product descriptions
pedestrians, 221, 363
peer readers. See partner
peer writing partners. See partner
peers as resources, 360
penalty for cheating, 14
people groups, 128, 131, 132, 293
people writing, 117, 163, 226
people, person, human, 300
Peoples’ Republic of China, the, 128
period, 99, 143, 144
permission, 336
person, people, human, 300
personal, 257
personal experiences, 4
personal paragraph, 6
personal references, 4, 34, 111, 118
Personal Statement, 6
personal vehicles, 326
personalize, 51
personally (overused adverb), 181
persuade, 1, 59, 110
persuade vs convince, 300
persuasive words, 52
petty, 144
phone numbers, 274
pinyin, 5, 40, 90, 277
Pirates of the Caribbean, 218, 255
pirates, pirated, piracy, 218, 255
placement test, 358
plagiarism, 13, 18, 168, 216, 360
plagiarize, 22, See plagiarism
plaintiff, 162
plan, scheme, 300
play it by feel, 225, 273
play, playground, 300
please, 4, 59, 273
plot, 105
plural, 79, 80, 126, 135, 226, 319
plural (use for general sense), 201
points, grade, score, marks, 298
policy of reform and openness, 339
polite, 4, 59, 109, 181, 269, 272, 336
polite (letters to the editor), 221
polite questions, 319
pollution, 135
Popcorn, sample academic essay, 44
positive vs negative, 87, 163
possessive pronouns. See possessives
possessives, 77, 78, 80, 131, 137, 140, 296, 326, 334, 351
possibility, 336
post office requirements, 277
posterity, 265
postgraduate entrance exam, 296, 333
postpone, 98
potent, 52
precedent, 304
precise, 103
premier, premiere, 301
premium, 238
prepare, prepare for, 206, 296
preposition collocation chart, 334
prepositional phrases, 16, 170, 188, 258, 297, 300, 331, 333
prepositional phrases & adverbs, 183
prepositions, 83, 124, 135, 163, 258, 325, 333
prepositions and appointments, 274
prepositions--position in the sentence, 331
prepositions--use an adjective or possessive instead, 334
presently (overused adverb), 180
press, the, 167
preverbal adverbs, 184
price tag, 219
principal, principle, 301
pro, 52
Pro=professional, 335
probably, 181
problem before solution, 25
problems, 63, 75, 250, 260, 266, 344
problems, how to respond in a letter, 278
product, 109, 111
product descriptions, 39, 53, 57, 59, 63, 64, 66, 73, 100, 102, 109, 111, 124, 158, 228, 229, 280, 309
Prof=Professor, 335
professional, 269, 272, 303
professor (when to capitalize), 335
profit, prophecy, prophesy, prophet, 301
proliferate, 266
prone, 36, 265
pronouns, 51, 60, 81, 118, 222, 226, 347
pronouns, when they are optional, 348
propaganda, 172
propel, 99
proper collectives, 128, 132
proper nouns, 132, See names
prophecy, prophesy, prophet, profit, 301
proposition, 252
proprietor, 109
prose, 25, 69
protesters, 172
prove, proved, proven, 301
Province, 90, 349
provocative, 36, 309
prune, 258
pulpit, 160
pulverize, 180
pun, 27
punctuation, 41, 43, 64, 143, 150, 277
punctuation & explanations, 148
punctuation marks, 150
purists, 181
purpose, 109, See goal
pursue, 344
putting it on the market, 60

Q--------------

qualified, 229
qualifiers, 257
quality, 229
query, 36
question, 4, 58
question form, 36
question marks, 148, 275
questions, 69, 84, 109, 110, 111, 130, 167, 344
questions in PDs, 59
questions, polite & what not to ask, 321
questions, polite form, 319
questions, types and how to create, 313
question-words, 315
quiet, quite, 301
quotation mark, 151
quotation marks, 15, 43, 90, 247, 287
quotations, 359
quotations--DeWitt Scott’s sources, 26
quote, partial, 15
quotes, 13, 14, 18, 26, 27, 40, 42, 51, 117, 145, 146, 168, 170, 216, 236, 287, See also block quotes, See indirect quotes
quotes (! ? can replace comma), 148
quotes (& punctuation), 145

R--------------

RE=Regarding, 270
readability scores or statistics, 23, 30
reader’s point of view, 70, 111
reading level, 111
reading level, 6th-8th grade is sufficient., 23
real world, ix, 14, 16, 33, 52, 64, 117, 244, 310, 369
rebut, refute, 302
recent survey, 42
recent, recently, 338
recommendation, 110
recreation, 258
recycled, 307
red flags, 159, 186
redundant, 60, 62, 179, 181, 259
reference books, 71
referent, 81, 177
reflexive verbs, 302
reform, 229
reform and openness/opening up, 339
refute, rebut, 302
regardless, 348
regards, 271
relax (and other reflexive verbs), 302
released, 239
religious (RE spirit), 210
render, 277, 426
reported speech. See quotes
reporters, 42, 170, 202, 237, 258
reputable, 43, 211
reputation, 14, 20, 74, 168, 219, 269
research, 14, 37, 40, 216, 342
respectful, 61, 109
rest rooms, W.C., etc., 390
restaurant, 109
restaurant vs hotel, 277
return address, 277
review (type of writing), 2, 109, 113, 115, 124, 158, 309
review (verb), 3, 90, 159, 345
review, negative (example), 113
review, signed, 111
reviews & PDs, differences, 111
revise & review, 345
revise, rewrite, 69, 345, 357
revision assignments--instructions, 30
revisions, value of, 358
Rewriting practice (01), academic paragraph, 10
Rewriting practice (02), academic paragraph, 20
Rewriting practice (03), academic paragraph, 29
Rewriting practice (04), academic essay, 47
Rewriting practice (05), academic essay, 54
Rewriting practice (06), product description, 67
Rewriting practice (07, optional), product description, 73
Rewriting practice (08), fluff, 93
Rewriting practice (09), product description, 100
Rewriting practice (10), academic essay, 106
Rewriting practice (11), review, 115
Rewriting practice (14, optional), review, 154
Rewriting practice (16), fluff, 165
Rewriting practice (17), news, campus event, 175
Rewriting practice (18), adverbs & adjectives, 190
Rewriting practice (20), editorial, 223
Rewriting practice (21), editorial, 232
Rewriting practice (22), feature article, interview, 243
Rewriting practice (23), interview feature outline, 255
Rewriting practice (24), news, campus lecture, 262
Rewriting practice (26), business correspondence, 282
Rewriting practice (27), little slips, 289
Rewriting practice (28), many problems—exam preparation, 307
Rewriting practice, instructions, 10
Rewriting practice, note for teachers, 357
rhetorical questions, 39, 167, 316
rhymes, 301
rhythm, 99
Rockets, the, 129
romance, romantic, 206
royalties, 104
run-on sentence, 149
rut, 110
ruthlessly, 70

S--------------

sabotage, 310
sacrifice, 239
saddle sth with, 163
said, 103, 228, 230
salary, 321
sales e-mail, 280
sardines, 265
sayings. See idioms
schedule, sample course schedule, 365
scheme, plan, 300
school, 135
school subjects, capitalization of, 136
school, collocation, 325
score, marks, points, grade, 298
scorn, 60
search engine, 14
self, 229
self-study, ix, 357
semi-colon, 144, 149
senile, 226
seniors, 299
sentence case. See case (sentence, title)
sentence, keep it simple, 51, 97
sentence, read in one breath, 76, 99
sequence, 26
serve, service, 302
set off, trigger, 304
setting, 134
sexism, 226
sexist language, 21, 230
shelf life, 58
Shenzhen, 372
shift gears, 119
short messages & punctuation, 152
shortcuts, 104
shorthand, 247
showing comparison or contrast, 346
show-offs, 249, 251, 258
sic, 42
signature, 271
significantly (overused adverb), 181
signs in English, 363
similar, 346, 347, 348
similes, 265
simple, 1, 35, 69, 70, 98, 143, 158, 161, 164, 179, 197, 225, 251, 253, 258, 310, 322, 374, See keep it simple
simple sentences, 51
simple words, 52
simplicity and clarity. See simple and clear
simplify, 15, 16, 23, 70
simply (overused adverb), 181
since, 193, 198
Sincerely, 271
singular, 79, 123, 126, 129, 135, 181, 319
skills, 187
slang, 225
slant, 167
sleep on your writing, 69
slip, 159, 172, 252, 257, 285
slogan, 63
sloppy, 24
smother, 161
smudges, 272
sneer, 228, 229, 230
snob, 228
so + adj, 79
so + adj. + THAT, 79
So what?, 26
So…, 79
so-called, 229
social entity, 133
social practice, 209
social, sociable, socialist, socialism, 208
socialism, 209
socialist society, 209
society, 209
software, 41, 150, 253
solo, 162, 258
some, 91
something, 91
sometimes, 184
song titles. See titles
sophomores, 299
sound, 35, 110, 221, 230, 257
source, 13, 16, 41
spaces (& typing), 150
sparingly, 150, 228, 251
special preverbal adverbs of frequency (SPAF), 184
specialist, expert, 303
species, 133
specific, 4, 103, 127, 130, 133, 134, 135, 229, 325
speech. See quotes
speech vs writing. See language differences
spell, 303
spell checker, 288, 301, 305, 352
spell out, detail, 303
spelling, 72
spelt, 288
spew, 35
spirit, spirits, 81, 210
spoken vs written English. See language differences
sports, 4, 78, 134, 167, 187, 253, 339, 364, 392, See court
sports teams, 129, 136, 292
sports writing, 263, 265
sports, sports ground/centre, 301
sprawl, 221
Spring Festival, 129, 276
sprinters, 266
sprout, 257
squall, 267
squash, 162
standard vs normal, 61
statement of purpose, 271
statesman, 181
stationary, stationery, 303
statistics, 23, 168
steadfast, 230
Steinbeck, John (author), 51
stereotypes, 226, 230
Stovall, James G (writing professor), 249
straightforward, 230
strategic, 309
strict expectations, 354
string out, 99, 163
strong-minded, 230
structure, 25, 39
strung-out. See string out
Strunk, William (Prof.), 104, 261
student, 335
student essays (footnote), 5
studies, academic studies (plural), 341
study, 341
sub-close (in letters), 271
sub-headlines, 218, 408
subtitle, 169
subtle, 36
subway, 326
success, 159, 344
successfully (overused adverb), 181
such as, 83
sufficient, 23
suffix, 306
suffrage, 294
summarize, 36, 37, 110
superlative, 134, 305
superscript, 41
superstitious, 280, 382
support, 3, 110, 347
support paragraphs, 34
support points, 150
surname, 270
surveys, 42, 168
suspect, 53, 288
syllables, 77
syllabus, sample course schedule, 365
symbols, 60, 66, 294
synonymous, 295, 304
synonyms, 62, 119, 129, 259

T--------------

tabloid, 143
tag questions, 314
Take it easy, 207
take, bring, 293
taking notes, 16, 40
tangents, 98
target, concentrate, 303
tarnish, tarnished, 14, 269
teacher’s questions (FAQ/Q&A), 353
teachers, help for, x, 353
teaching schedule, sample course schedule, 365
teaching suggestions. See teachers, help for
team, 81, 127, 128, 129, 136, 149, 176
teamwork. See partner
tech language, 53
technically, 83, 215
technology, 237
test of time, the, 111
testimonial, 58, 112, 168
Thank you, 207
thank you letter, 279
that clause, 300
that, which, 303
the + noun + preposition + noun, 134
the...industry. See industry
thee, thou, 249
There are… (weak sentence starter), 5, 119, 163
there, here, 204
thesaurus, 71
thesis, 35, 143
thesis statement, 34, 36, 216
think, I think, 181
this is to that, 348
three dots (...). See ellipsis
thrust, gist, 303
time phrase, 144, 326, 328, 342
tinker, 97
-tion ending, 161
title case. See case (sentence, title)
title, professional, 15, 41, 263, 270
titles, 4, 34, 57, 110, 129, 144, 169
titles—proper format, 350
to be suspect, 53, 288
To sum up, 38, 99
to the contrary, 347
To whom it may concern:, 270
TOEFL, 33, 37
told and taught, 343
Tolstoy, 103
tools, 30, 71, 161, 251, 269, 291, 310, 400
topic, 3, 4
topic sentence, 3, 34, 35, 110, 170, 236
totalitarian, 230
transitions, 78, 119, 123, 124, 170, 216, 236
transitive. See verbs, transitive
translation & documentation, 40
translation of quotes, 41
translation, problems with, 18, 60, 204, 209, 275, 277
transpire, happen, 304
transportation交通, collocation, 326
travelling, 288, 325
trend, 35, 172, 338, 339
trendy, 247
trigger, set off, 304
trouble, 88, 202
try, try to, 304
tumbler, 103
Turabian, 483
Twain, Mark (author), 52, 182, 361
two-three-one. See 2-3-1 at the front of this index
Types of Writing (main content area), ix, x
typical person, 23
typing (& punctuation), 150
typo, 301, 305, 455
typographical, 99

U--------------

unanimous, 162
uncertain, 273, 336
uncountable nouns, 80, 84, 87, 88, 126, 129, 134, 135, 201, 210
uncountable nouns, examples, 126
under construction, 309
understand, 341
uninterested, disinterested, 294
unique, 304
United States, the (+ is), 128
universities and their initials, 131, 431
universities, writing the name of, 61, 126, 127, 132, 278, 349
university is/are, 126
university, collocation, 334
university, famous or not, 263
unprecedented, unusual, 304
unpretentious, 256
unspecified, 133
unusual, unprecedented, 304
upper case, 435, See case
usage, use, utilize, 304
user friendliness, user friendly, 110, 111
usually, 257, 260
usually (important pronunciation footnote), 250
utilize, usage, use, 304

V--------------

vacation, vocation, 305
vague, 4, 5, 59, 110, 181
values, valuables, 210
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 98, 272
variety, 98
various, variety, diverse, 304
verb agreement, 126, 129
verb tenses, 168, 222
verbal, oral, 300
verbs, 161
verbs, intransitive, 183, 206, 333
verbs, tired, 162
verbs, transitive, 183, 206, 297, 321, 328
very, 79, 87, 181
very good vs very well, 187
vigilance, 79, 253
vigilant, 159, 168
virtual, 182
virtually (overused adverb), 182
vocabulary building, 354
vocabulary definitions, 431
vocabulary quizes, 355
vocabulary shown in bold, ix, 90
vocation, vacation, 305
vogue, 251
void, 259
volunteer, 209
vowel sound, 133

W--------------

W.C., rest rooms, etc., 390
wardrobe, 171, 239
warn, 230
we, avoid we, 52, 64
website, ix, xii, 42, 43, 63, 101, 102, 109, 111, 167
weeds, 257
welcome, 75, 209, 402
welcome, You’re welcome, 207
well, 186, Also see very good vs very well
wh? question-words, 315
what’s more, 124
what’s worse, 124
whether, 260, 348
which, that, 303
White, EB (author), 104
who, 207
Who cares?, 97, 110, 113, 245
who, whom, whose, who’s, 305
wield, 261
will, using will, 337
will—in questions, 315
wish vs hope, 275
word play, 25
wordiness. See wordy
word-processing software, 150
wordsmith, 266
wordy, 4, 11, 21, 34, 62, 88, 91, 103, 119, 179, 181, 224, 245, 249, 260, 270, 334
wordy (chart), 94
work, 135
work, collocation, 325
write it off, 179
write, writing, written, 306
writers, 1, 4, 5, 27, 41, 43, 69, 72, 74, 78, 99, 103, 110, 143, 168, 170, 247, 261, 269, 309
writers (English learners), 253
Writing assignment A (1), 11
Writing assignment B (2), 21
Writing assignment C (4), 50
Writing assignment D (6), 67
Writing assignment E (8), 94
Writing assignment F (9), 102
Writing assignment G (11), 116
Writing assignment H (13), 141
Writing assignment I (18), 190
Writing assignment J (17), 177
Writing assignment K (20), 224
Writing assignment L (22), 244
Writing assignment M (24), 263
Writing assignment N—Newsletter project (25), 268
Writing assignment O (26), 284
Writing assignment—revision of A (3), 30
Writing assignment—revision of B (5), 55
Writing assignment—revision of C (7), 74
Writing assignment—revision of D (midterm), 365
Writing assignment—revision of E (10), 107
Writing assignment—revision of F (12), 121
Writing assignment—revision of G (14), 155
Writing assignment—revision of H (16), 166
Writing assignment—revision of I (21), 233
Writing assignment—revision of J (19), 213
Writing assignment—revision of K (23), 256
Writing assignment—revision of L (25), 268
Writing assignment—revision of N (27), 290
writing assignments, instructions, 21
writing partners. See partner
Writing Skills (main content area), ix, x
written vs spoken English. See language differences
www can’t start a sentence, 63

Y--------------

Yale University, 13
Yao Ming (basketball star), 54, 79, 104
years (& commas), 146, 278
yes&no questions, 315
you, a move forward word, 52
you, add it to people your writing, 118
you, using you, 118
You’re welcome, 207

Z--------------

See our Website Standards and Use Policy regarding the sources of definitions used on this website.

This resource was created for teachers and students using the textbook Successful Writing for the Real World

As far as I am concerned, definitions fall under the concept of "fair use" for educational resources.  

© 2008 Michael Krigline, all rights reserved. People are allowed to print/copy this resource for personal or classroom use.

 (see Website Standards and Use Policy)

HOME

Current Update