The better you know Universal Keys for Writers, the more easily you will find the answers that will improve your own writing. The following exercises let you practice using the handbook in situations when you are writing or revising and come up against a problem and in situations when you are responding to the comments of your instructor or a peer.


PRACTICE RUN 1
Imagine you are writing a paper on women in the armed forces. You write:

The army has it's unwritten rules.

Then you wonder whether or not you need an apostrophe in it's. Try getting an answer by using the Key to the Book, the Index, and the Glossary of Usage. Which search is fastest and easiest? What is the answer?


PRACTICE RUN 2
You have just written this sentence:

After interviewing many women, Rogan comes to the conclusion that "the more integrated the Army became, the more trouble there was."

You have quoted from p. 159 of a book called Mixed Company by Helen Rogan. It was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in New York. The copyright date is 1981. Next, figure out the following:

1. How do you need to change your sentence to include the correct source information, using MLA documentation style?
2. How do you cite the work in your list of works cited, using MLA style?
3. Which is the best route for finding the information you need?

PRACTICE RUN 3
You get a paper back from your instructor with the following comments:

"You need to focus your topic more and not just write generally about women in the armed forces. What do you want to tell us about the army? What is your thesis in this paper? You begin to get close to one in your last two paragraphs."

Question: Which route would you take to follow up on these comments and find more information in the handbook?


PRACTICE RUN 4
You write:

In World War II, women demanded to be sent overseas. Which led to the formation of the Women's Army Corps.

Your instructor writes frag in the margin. How do you find out what frag means? How do you fix the problem?



Tutorial Answers:


PRACTICE RUN 1
Fastest Route to correct answer:
Go to the Glossary of Usage (at end of book: Section 57: Page 914): entry on it's/its

Other Routes to correct answer:
From the Key to the Book: Find Part V, Punctuation, Mechanics and Spelling, then scan down to find Section 28, called "Apostrophes." Scan down that section to find subsection 28f: It's versus its.

From the Index: it's, its Page I-27.

Correct usage:
Use its



PRACTICE RUN 2

1. Possible Routes:
   Start from the Key to the Book or the Index.
   Fastest Route:
   Key to the Book, Part IX (MLA Style), Section 52b (MLA Author/Page In-Text Citations…)
   
   
2. Correct citation within your sentence:
   After interviewing many women, Rogan comes to the conclusion that "the more integrated the Army became, the more trouble there was" (159).
   
   
3. Correct entry in your list of Works Cited:
   Rogan, Helen. Mixed Company. New York: Putnam, 1981.

PRACTICE RUN 3
Two routes to find what you need:

1. From Key to the Book, Part I (Writing an Essay), Section 3 (Generating, Shaping and Focusing Ideas)
   
   
2. From the Index: Look up the terms essays or topics or theses
   
   

PRACTICE RUN 4
Best route: Go to the Correction Guide found on the inside back cover of the book and you'll see:

Frag: sentence fragment, 18.

Answer (follow the Correction Guide's advice and go to Section 18 (Fragments, Run-Ons, and Comma Splices) to learn how to correct your answer like this):
In World War II, women demanded to be sent overseas. This led to the formation of the Women's Army Corps.