Preface 1
Part One Sentence Skills 2
1 Sentence Fragments 2
Ineffective Sentence Fragments 2
Legitimate Sentence Fragments 8
2 Run-on Sentences 13
3 Misplaced and Dangling Modiffiers 22
Misplaced Modifiers 22
Dangling Modifiers 28
4 Pronoun Reference 38
Ambiguous Reference 38
Weak Reference 40
Broad Reference 42
5 Parallelism 47
Value of Parallelism 50
Techniques Used in Gaining Parallelism 53
Avoidance of Faulty Parallelism 58
6 Unnecessary Shifts 62
Unnecessary Shifts in Voice or Subject 62
Unnecessary Shifts in Tense 65
Unnecessary Shifts in Mood 67
Unnecessary Shifts in Person or Number 68
Unnecessary Shifts in Discourse 70
7 Sentence Emphasis 73
Considering the Order of Words as a Means of Achieving Emphasis 73
Using the Voice that Is Most Emphatic and Appropriate 77
Putting Statements in Positive Form 78
Repeating Words，Structures，or Ideas for Occasional Emphasis 80
Omitting Unimportant Words 81
Making Use of Special Emphatic Sentence Patterns 81
Using Mechanical Devices for Emphasis 82
8 Sentence Variety 86
Varying the Beginning of Sentences 86
Varying the Kinds of Sentences 89
Varying the Length of Sentences 95
9 Coordination 100
Coordinating Conjunctions 102
Patterns of Coordination 105
Conjunctions and the Accompanying Punctuation in Compound Sentences 109
Avoidance of Excessive Coordination 111
10 Subordination 116
Subordination to Show the Emphasis of the Main Statement 116
Subordination to Avoid Choppy Sentences and to Break up Lengthy Compound Sentences 118
Ways of Subordination 121
Avoidance of Inverted Subordination 124
Avoidance of Excessive Overlapping of Subordinate Constructions 125
Avoidance of Expressive Subordination 126
Part Two Writing Paragraphs 131
11 Internal Structure of a Paragraph 131
Unity 131
Coherence 171
Completeness 189
12 Developing the Paragraph 195
Logical Reasoning in the Paragraph 195
Sequences of Paragraph Development 208
Methods of Paragraph Development 219
Special Kinds of Paragraphs 242
13 Diction 258
Using Exact Words 260
Using Words Economically 278
Using Fresh Words 293
Overcoming Chinglish 301
Using Figurative Language 308
Using an Appropriate Level of Diction 315
Appendixes 322
Ⅰ Words Similar in Sound or Form 322
Ⅱ Punctuation 325
Ⅲ Answers to the Exercises 351
Bibliography 381