More detailed than a pocket handbook yet briefer than a concise handbook, HARBRACE ESSENTIALS, 3rd Edition, provides all the authority of the Harbrace tradition in an ideal length and portable format. Clear and concise explanations outline the essentials students need to write their papers, including instruction on the rhetorical contexts that affect their choice of grammatical constructions, style, punctuation and mechanics, as well as strategies for writing paragraphs and essays, conducting research and documenting sources. This edition includes knowledge transfer exercises throughout that show students how to apply the skills they're learning to other courses and contexts.

Part I: WRITING.
1. Writing and Reading Rhetorically. 
Understanding the Rhetorical Situation. Applying Rhetorical Knowledge. Academic Writing. Genres and Formats of Academic Writing.
2. Planning and Drafting Essays. 
Stages of the Writing Process. Focusing a Topic into a Clearly Stated Thesis. Creating an Outline. 
3. Developing Paragraphs. 
Stating the Main Idea. Developing the Main Point. Employing Methods for Developing Paragraphs. Making Paragraphs Coherent.
4. Revising and Editing Essays. 
Revising for Unity and Coherence. Editing and Proofreading. Sample Final Draft. 
5. Critical Reading and Analysis. 
Critical Reading. Critical Analysis.
6. Writing Arguments. 
Determining the Purpose of Your Argument. Considering Differing Viewpoints. Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion. Taking a Position or Making a Claim. Providing Evidence for an Effective Argument. Using the Rhetorical Appeals to Ground Your Argument. Arranging an Effective Argument. Sample Argument. 
7. Designing Documents. 
Elements of Design. Using Graphics. Using Pictures. Using Maps. Using Cartoons.
Part II: RESEARCH.
8. Planning Research. 
Research as Inquiry. Finding Your Own Research Question. Testing Your Research Question. Creating a Research Plan.
9. Finding Sources in Print, Online, and in the Field. 
Deciding Which Sources to Use. Searching Electronically for Print and Online Sources. Keeping Track of Your Sources. Doing Field Research. 
10. Evaluating Print and Online Sources. 
Credibility of Authors. Credibility of Publishers. Online Sources. Reading Closely and Critically.
11. Using Sources Critically and Responsibly. 
Taking and Organizing Notes. Creating a Working Annotated Bibliography. Acknowledging Your Sources. Using Direct Quotations. Paraphrasing Another Person''s Ideas. Summarizing an Idea. Analyzing and Responding to Sources. Synthesizing Sources. Critical Thinking.
12. Avoiding Plagiarism.
Knowing Which Sources Require Acknowledgment. Citing Quotations and Ideas from Sources.
Part III: DOCUMENTATION.
13. MLA Documentation. 
MLA-Style In-Text Citations. MLA List of Works Cited. Sample MLA-Style Paper. 
14. APA Documentation. 
APA-Style In-Text Citations. APA-Style Reference List. Sample APA-Style Paper. 
15. CMS Documentation. 
CMS Note and Bibliographic Forms. Sample CMS-Style Paper. 
16. CSE Documentation. 
CSE Citation-Sequence, Name-Year, and Citation-Name Systems. Sample CSE-Style Paper. 
Part IV: GRAMMAR.
17. Sentence Essentials. 
Parts of Speech. Subjects and Predicates. Complements. Phrases. Clauses. 
18. Sentence Fragments. 
Recognizing Sentence Fragments. Phrases as Sentence Fragments. Dependent Clauses as Sentence Fragments. 
19. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences. 
Locating Comma Splices and Fused Sentences. Revising Comma Splices and Fused Sentences. Divided Quotations. 
20. Verbs. 
Verb Forms. Verb Tenses. Verb Tense Consistency. Voice. Mood. Subject-Verb Agreement. 
21. Pronouns. 
Recognizing Pronouns. Pronoun Case. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement. Clear Pronoun Reference. Pronoun Consistency. Use of First-Person and Second-Person Pronouns. 
22. Modifiers. 
Recognizing Modifiers. Comparatives and Superlatives. Double Negatives. Placement of Modifiers. Dangling Modifiers. 
Part V: EFFECTIVE SENTENCES.
23. Sentence Unity. 
Choosing and Arranging Details. Revising Mixed Metaphors. Revising Mixed Constructions. Relating Sentence Parts. Including Necessary Words. Completing Comparisons. Completing Intensifiers.  
24. Subordination and Coordination. 
Using Subordination Effectively. Using Coordination Effectively. Avoiding Faulty or Excessive Subordination and Coordination. 
25. Parallelism. 
Recognizing Parallel Elements. Repeating Words and Grammatical Forms. Linking Two or More Sentences. Using Correlative Conjunctions. 
26. Emphasis. 
Placing Words for Emphasis. Using Cumulative and Periodic Sentences. Ordering Ideas from Least to Most Important. Repeating Important Words. Inverting Word Order. Using an Occasional Short Sentence. 
27. Variety.
Revising Sentence Length and Form. Varying Sentence Openings. Using Questions, Exclamations, and Commands. 
Part VI: EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE.
28. Good Usage. 
Clear Style. Appropriate Word Choice. Inclusive Language. 
29. Precise Word Choice. 
Accurate and Precise Word Choice. Clichés and Euphemisms. Idioms and Collocations. Clear Definitions. 
30. Conciseness. 
Eliminating Wordiness and Other Redundancies. Using Elliptical Constructions. 
Part VII: PUNCTUATION.
31. The Comma.
Before a Coordinating Conjunction Linking Independent Clauses. After an Introductory Word or Word Group. Separating Elements in a Series. With Nonessential Elements. With Geographical Names and Items in Dates and Addresses. With Direct Quotations.  Unnecessary or Misplaced Commas. 
32. The Semicolon and the Colon.
The Semicolon. The Colon. 
33. The Apostrophe.
Indicating Ownership and Other Relationships. Marking Omissions of Letters or Numbers. Forming Certain Plurals. 
34. Quotation Marks.
Direct Quotations. Titles of Short Works. With Other Punctuation Marks. 
35. The Period and Other Punctuation Marks.
The Period. The Question Mark. The Exclamation Point. The Dash. Parentheses. Square Brackets. Ellipsis Points. The Slash. 
Part VIII: MECHANICS.
36. Spelling and the Hyphen. 
Spelling and Pronunciation. Words That Sound Alike. Prefixes and Suffixes. Confusion of "ei" and "ie". Hyphens. 
37. Capitals. 
Proper Names. Titles and Subtitles. Beginning a Sentence. Computer Keys, Menu Items, and Icon Names. 
38. Italics. 
Titles of Works Published or Produced Separately. Other Uses of Italics. Words Not Italicized. 
39. Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Numbers. 
Abbreviations with Names. Addresses in Correspondence. Acceptable Abbreviations in Academic and Professional Writing. Acronyms. General Uses of Numbers. Special Uses of Numbers.

More detailed than a pocket handbook yet briefer than a concise handbook, HARBRACE ESSENTIALS, 3rd Edition, provides all the authority of the Harbrace tradition in an ideal length and portable format. Clear and concise explanations outline the essentials students need to write their papers, including instruction on the rhetorical contexts that affect their choice of grammatical constructions, style, punctuation and mechanics, as well as strategies for writing paragraphs and essays, conducting research and documenting sources. This edition includes knowledge transfer exercises throughout that show students how to apply the skills they're learning to other courses and contexts. Extensive coverage of MLA, APA, CMS and CSE documentation styles gives students ample guidance in citing research sources. Coverage of all major features of writing and research is concise, clear and direct. Each explanation of a key grammar, usage, style or punctuation topic also includes an illustrative example designed to demystify the concept in real-world writing situations. The knowledge transfer exercises help students apply what they're learning to their other courses, their community work and the workplace. Caution boxes printed in yellow alert students to key trouble areas that can make writing less polished. Multilingual Writers boxes outline problems common to non-native speakers, and a list of Special Topics for Multilingual Writers in the back of the book helps students find relevant information. Student papers on interesting and timely topics provide useful, realistic examples of assignments students are likely to encounter.