For the seventh edition, The Broadview Guide to Writing has been reorganized into three broad sections (writing processes, writing mechanics, and writing contexts). The material on argument has been expanded and revised; two new sample essays in MLA style have been added; and the material on researching and writing academic essays has been fully rewritten. Coverage of informal and personal writing is included for the first time.
Features
Features of The Broadview Guide to Writing
- • Extensive treatment of research methods and argument
- • Wide-ranging treatment of writing styles in different academic disciplines
- • A full chapter on inclusive language, including issues relating to gender, race, class, religion, sexual orientation, disability, etc.
- • Companion website featuring a wide range of interactive exercises
Features New to the Seventh Edition
- • Fully updated coverage of MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE styles
- • Expanded treatment of inclusive language
- • All-new interdisciplinary and English literature sample essays
- • All-new material on personal and informal writing
- • New instructor’s website providing sample syllabi and lesson plans, as well as additional grammar exercises
This edition is intended primarily for Canadian readers. Please see this page for our American edition.
A concise “Pocket” edition of the Guide to Writing is also available.
Comments
Comments on the sixth edition
“The Broadview Guide remains the most readable writing guide available—at any price. It’s the only writing guide I’ve ever read for fun. Moreover, it’s sensible, and it’s complete. The authors assume nothing, but they don’t condescend…. The chapter on visual literacy [provides] an interesting group of paintings and photographs along with a set of clear, concrete ways to ‘read’ them.” — Jacky Bolding, University of the Fraser Valley
“The chapter on ‘How to Be Good with Words’ braves every thorny patch of ethical usage imaginable with clear-eyed candor, a serious and generous sensibility, and refreshing wit…. [Overall,] The Broadview Guide to Writing is not only informative and impressive; it is smart—smartly written and smartly designed.” — Dennis Paoli, Co-coordinator, Writing Across the Curriculum, Hunter College, CUNY
“… an excellent choice—a comprehensive writing guide, but also a valuable introduction to communication and critical thinking in today’s academic world. I will be recommending this text to students at all levels.” — Maria DiCenzo, Wilfrid Laurier University
“Even the most useful reference guides are not always, well, shall we say, riveting. A refreshing exception is The Broadview Guide to Writing, which is smart, helpful, and even fun to read.” — Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, authors of They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing
“In a market replete with writing guides, this practical book stands out.… The Broadview Guide re-energizes this pedagogical field by providing clear and concise explanations supported by examples.” — Anne Quéma, Acadia University
How to Use This Book and Its Companion Website
Preface to the Seventh Canadian Edition
Introduction
Writing Processes
- P 1 Getting Started
- P 1.1 Attitude and Voice
- P 1.2 Academic Style
- P 1.3 Audience
- P 1.4 Purpose
- P 1.5 Focus
- P 1.6 Discovery
- P 1.7 Writer’s Block
- P 1.8 Research
- P 1.9 Finding Sources
- P 1.10 Evaluating Sources
- P 2 Making Sense
- P 2.1 Argument
- P 2.2 Logic
- P 2.3 Fallacies
- P 2.4 Thesis
- P 2.5 Organization
- P 2.6 Modes of Thought/Patterns of Writing
- Narration
- Description
- Definition
- Classification / Taxonomy
- Analogy
- Generalization and Abstraction
- Cause and Effect
- P 2.7 Logical Fluency
- P 2.8 Your Arguments, Others’ Arguments
- P 2.9 Incorporating Sources through Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation
- P 2.10 Plagiarism
- P 3 Improving Style
- P 3.1 Stylistic Fluency
- P 3.2 Diction
- P 3.3 Syntax
- P 3.4 Rhythm
- P 3.5 Figures of Speech
- P 3.6 Voice
- P 3.7 Tone
- P 3.8 Revision and Proofreading
- P 3.9 Feedback and Criticism
- P 3.10 Online, On the Screen, On the Page
Special Topic: How to Be Good with Words
- Some General Principles
- Gender
- Race
- Class
- Religion
- Sexual Orientation
- Ability, Disability, and Neurodivergence
- Humans and Other Animals
- Other Issues
- Seriousness and Humour, Euphemism and Plain Speaking
- Bias-free Vocabulary: A Short List
Writing Mechanics
- M 1 Grammar
- M 1.1 Introduction: Right and Wrong in Writing
- M 1.2 Parts of Speech
- M 1.3 Parts of Sentences
- M 1.3.1 Complete and Incomplete Sentences
- Run-on Sentences
- Sentence Fragments (incomplete sentences)
- Complete Sentences and Sentence Style
- Acceptable Sentence Fragments
- M 1.4 Verb Forms
- The Infinitive
- The Simple Present
- Subject-verb Agreement
- Historical Present
- The Simple Past
- The Simple Future
- The Progressive (or Continuous) Aspect
- The Perfect Aspect
- Conditional
- The Past Conditional
- Other Verb Forms
- M 1.5 Mood and Voice
- M 1.6 Sentence Combining: How to Build Sentences
- M 2 Usage
- M 2.1 Verb Issues
- Dangling Constructions
- Sequence of Tenses
- Irregular or Difficult Verbs
- Infinitives, Gerunds, Objects: “To Be or Not To Be?”
- M 2.2 Preposition Issues
- M 2.3 Noun and Pronoun Issues
- M 2.4 Word Order
- M 2.5 Word Meanings
- M 2.6 Part-of-Speech Conversions
- M 2.7 Slang
- M 2.8 Word Conventions
- M 2.9 Joining Words
- M 2.10 Wordiness
- M 2.11 National Variants (online)
- M 3 Punctuation and Other Conventions
- M 3.1 Punctuation Marks
- The Period .
- The Ellipsis …
- The Comma ,
- The Question Mark ?
- The Exclamation Mark !
- The Semicolon ;
- The Colon :
- The Hyphen –
- The Dash —
- Parentheses ( )
- Square Brackets [ ]
- The Apostrophe ,
- Quotation Marks “ ”
- M 3.2 Quotations
- Direct Speech
- Indirect Speech
- Formatting Quotations
- Integrating Quotations
- M 3.3 Capitalization
- M 3.4 Abbreviations
- M 3.5 Spelling
- M 4 EAL: For Those Whose Native Language Is Not English
Special Topic: Seeing and Meaning
Writing Contexts
- C 1 Writing Across the Disciplines
- C 1.1 Different Subjects, Different Styles
- C 1.2 English Studies
- C 1.3 Humanities
- History
- Philosophy
- Art History
- C 1.4 Natural and Applied Sciences
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Engineering
- Medicine and Health Sciences
- C 1.5 Social Sciences
- Anthropology
- Economics
- Politics
- Psychology
- Sociology
- C 1.6 Business and Commerce
- C 2 Forms and Conventions
- C 2.1 The Meanings of Texts
- C 2.2 Meaning and Form in Literature
- C 2.3 The Text in the Present Tense
- C 2.4 Authors and Speakers
- C 2.5 The Scientific Research Paper
- C 2.6 Scientific Tone
- C 2.7 First Person and Active Voice
- C 2.8 Writing in the Workplace
- Courtesy and Consideration
- Memos
- Email
- Letters
- Résumés and Application Letters
- Business Reports, Plans, and Proposals
- C 2.9 Informal and Personal Writing
- C 2.9.1 Purpose and Inquiry: Finding a Topic and Getting Started
- C 2.9.2 Informal and Personal Writing in a Digital World
- C 2.9.3 Openings
- C 2.9.4 Descriptive Elements
- C 2.9.5 Narrative Elements
- C 2.9.6 Persuasive Elements
- C 2.9.7 Reflective Elements
- C 2.9.8 Closings
- C 2.9.9 Informal and Personal Writing: Samples for Discussion
- C 2.10 Examinations and In-Class Essays (online)
- C 3 Style Guides
- C 3.1 MLA Style
- C 3.1.1 About In-text Citations
- C 3.1.2 About Works Cited; MLA Core Elements
- MLA Style Sample Essays
- C 3.2 APA Style
- C 3.2.1 Incorporating Sources in APA Style
- C 3.2.2 About In-text Citations
- C 3.2.3 About References
- APA Style Sample Essay
- C 3.3 Chicago Style
- C 3.3.1 About Chicago Style
- Chicago Style Sample
- C 3.4 CSE Style (online)
Appendix 1: Essay Checklist
Appendix 2: Correction Key
Permissions Acknowledgements
Images Reproduced on the Dividers
Index
Doug Babington, an Emeritus Professor in the English Department at Queen’s University, was for many years Director of the Writing Centre there. Corey Frost, formerly Coordinator of the Writing Across the Curriculum Program at Brooklyn College, is now a professor in the English Department at New Jersey City University. Don LePan’s other books include The Broadview Pocket Glossary of Literary Terms, How to Be Good With Words, and two novels, Animals and Rising Stories. Maureen Okun is a professor in both the English and the Liberal Studies Departments at Vancouver Island University; her books include Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte Darthur: Selections and The Broadview Pocket Guide to Citation and Documentation. Nora Ruddock is a Developmental Editor at Broadview Press and co-author of The Broadview Pocket Guide to Citation and Documentation 2e. Karen Weingarten is a professor in the Department of English at Queens College, City University of New York; a former co-Coordinator of the Introductory English program, she is also the author of Abortion in the American Imagination.
Features of The Broadview Guide to Writing
- • Extensive treatment of research methods and argument
- • Wide-ranging treatment of writing styles in different academic disciplines
- • A full chapter on inclusive language, including issues relating to gender, race, class, religion, sexual orientation, disability, etc.
- • Printed in two colours, yet reasonably priced, with fewer bells and whistles than any leading competitor—and more of what students need to know
- • Companion website featuring a wide range of interactive exercises
Features New to the Seventh Edition
- • Fully updated coverage of MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE styles
- • Focused coverage of issues specific to those whose native language is not English
- • Expanded treatment of “How to Be Good with Words”—issues of gender, race, class, religion, sexual orientation, disability, etc.
- • All-new interdisciplinary and English literature sample essays
- • Revised and expanded section on email etiquette and related topics
- • All-new material on personal and informal writing
- • New instructor’s website providing sample syllabi and lesson plans, as well as additional grammar exercises
Student Site
Included in the purchase price of this book is free access to a passcode-protected website. Here you will find a wide range of exercises on English grammar and usage—many of them interactive, so that you can see immediately if you have answered correctly (and, if you haven’t, discover where you have gone wrong). The site also makes available a variety of essays (including sample essays in MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE formats).
Instructor Site
The instructor site provides sample syllabi and lesson plans, as well as additional exercises and materials.
