Improve your grammar and composition skills in no time!Proper grammar is a critical skill to master, both in the classroom and in life. This Must Know resource will give you the edge you need right now―from improving your grammar and writing skills for high school classes to scoring higher on ACT, SAT and other standardized exams―and in future college coursework, too. The user-friendly approach presents topics in a way that makes sense, and gives you plenty of exercises and practice to help you build grammar skills quickly and easily. It's like a lightning bolt to the brain!Inside, you'll find:Extensive help with sentences/grammar, punctuation, paragraphs, and the writing process250 real-life practice questions to help you master the topicsBTW (by the way) and IRL (in real life) sidebars explain what you should be careful about and help you see real-world applications of what you're learningGrammar and writing tips and strategies to help you in current classes, on standardized exams, and in future college courseworkBonus app includes 100 flashcards to reinforce what you've learned!

Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Flashcard App
1 Capitalization
Rule 1: Capitalizing the First Word of a Sentence, Salutation, and Closing
Rule 2: Capitalizing the Pronoun “I”
Rule 3: Capitalizing Proper Nouns/Adjectives
EXERCISE 1-1: Capitalization Rules 1–3
Rule 4: Capitalizing Abbreviations, Initialisms, and Acronyms
Rule 5: Capitalizing Titles of Written Works, Pieces of Art, and Pieces of Music
Rule 6: Capitalizing School Subjects and Courses
EXERCISE 1-2: Capitalization Rules 4–6
EXERCISE 1-3: Writing with Capitalization
2 The Comma
Rule 1: Items in a Series
Rule 2: To Keep Numbers Clear
Rule 3: In Dates and AddressesRule 4: To Set Apart an Explanatory Phrase from a Direct Quotation
Rule 5: To Set Apart Interruptions
Rule 6: Introductory Words
Rule 7: When Directly Addressing a Person, Animal, or Group
Rule 8: To Set Apart Appositives from the Sentence
Rule 9: To Connect Independent Clauses
EXERCISE 2-1: Comma Rules 1–9
Rule 10: When Prepositional Phrases Begin a Sentence
Rule 11: To Separate Adjectives That Modify Equally
EXERCISE 2-2: Comma Rules 10 and 11
Rule 12: To Set Apart Nonrestrictive Clauses from the Sentence
Rule 13: After Salutations (in Friendly Letters) and Closings (in All Letters)
Rule 14: To Avoid Confusion
Rule 15: To Set Apart Subordinate Clauses from the Sentence
EXERCISE 2-3: Comma Rules 12–15
EXERCISE 2-4: Writing with Commas
3 Colons and Semicolons
The Colon
Rule 1: Using a Colon to Introduce an Idea, Item, or List of Ideas/Items in Sentence Format
Rule 2: Using a Colon in Vertical Lists
Rule 3: Using a Colon for Emphasis After a Key Word That Precedes Something Important
Rule 4: Using a Colon with Direct QuotationsRule 5: Using a Colon with Salutations in a Business Letter
Rule 6: Using a Colon Within Titles
Rule 7: Using a Colon in Time, Ratios and Odds, Biblical References, Volume/Page Numbers
EXERCISE 3-1: Colon Rules
The Semicolon
Rule 1: Using a Semicolon to Join Two Related Independent Clauses
Rule 2: Using a Semicolon to Connect Two Independent Clauses Joined by Conjunctive Adverbs, Transitional Expressions, or Prepositional Phrases
Rule 3: Using a Semicolon to Avoid Confusion When Several Commas Are Present
EXERCISE 3-2: Semicolon Rules
EXERCISE 3-3: Colon or Semicolon?
EXERCISE 3-4: Writing with Colons and Semicolons
4 Quotation Marks, Dialogue, and Formatting Titles
Rule 1: Using Quotation Marks with Direct Quotations
EXERCISE 4-1: Direct Quotations
Rule 2: Formatting Run-in and Block Quotations
Rule 3: Formatting a Play or TV/Film Script
EXERCISE 4-2: Identifying Terms Related to Dialogue
Rule 4: Using Nested Quotations
Rule 5: Using Quotation Marks for Clarity
Rule 6: Using Quotation Marks to Depict Sarcasm or Irony
Rule 7: Formatting Titles
EXERCISE 4-3: Formatting TitlesRule 8: Depicting Thoughts in Writing
EXERCISE 4-4: Culminating Review of Quotation Marks and Formatting
EXERCISE 4-5: Writing with Dialogue
5 Apostrophes
Rule 1: Using Apostrophes for Single Possession
Rule 2: Using Apostrophes for Plural Noun Possession
EXERCISE 5-1: Punctuating Singular and Plural Possessive Nouns
Rule 3: Using Apostrophes for Personal Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Indefinite Pronouns
Rule 4: Using Apostrophes for Compound Possession
EXERCISE 5-2: Correct or Incorrect Apostrophes to Indicate Possession
Rule 5: Using Apostrophes to Represent Value, Distance, or Time
Rule 6: Using Apostrophes with Lowercase Plural Letters
Rule 7: Using Apostrophes in Contractions
Rule 8: Using Apostrophes in Omissions
When Is an Apostrophe Not an Apostrophe?
EXERCISE 5-3: Culminating Apostrophe Review
EXERCISE 5-4: Writing with Apostrophes
6 Hyphens and Dashes
Hyphens
Rule 1: Using Hyphens to Form Compound Adjectives
Rule 2: Using Hyphens in Numbers and Units of Measure
Rule 3: Using Hyphens with Prefixes and SuffixesRule 4: Using Hyphens for Word Breaks
EXERCISE 6-1: Practicing Hyphen Usage
Dashes
Rule 5: Using En Dashes for Time and Number Ranges
Rule 6: Using Em Dashes for Interruptions
Rule 7: Using Em Dashes to Signify Digression of Thought
Rule 8: Using Em Dashes for Emphasis
Rule 9: Using Em Dashes to Explain Something Further or Illustrate Something
Rule 10: Using Em Dashes to Summarize or Condense Information
Rule 11: Using Em Dashes to Set Off Appositives That Contain Commas
Rule 12: Using Em Dashes for Quote Attribution
EXERCISE 6-2: En Dash or Em Dash?
EXERCISE 6-3: Culminating Review of Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes
EXERCISE 6-4: Writing with Hyphens and Dashes
7 Usage
Topic 1: Subject/Verb Agreement
EXERCISE 7-1: Linking Verb or Action Verb?
EXERCISE 7-2: Subject/Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
Topic 2: Predicate Adjectives vs. Adverbs
EXERCISE 7-3: Predicate Adjective or Adverb?
Topic 3: Agreement Between Subjects, Linking Verbs, and Predicate Nouns
Topic 4: Parallel Structure in Sentences
Topic 5: Pronouns and AntecedentsTopic 6: Additional Abbreviations
EXERCISE 7-4: Abbreviations
Topic 7: Double Negatives
Topic 8: Who and Whom
Topic 9: Homophones
Topic 10: Verbs That Are Confusing
Topic 11: Words Often Confused with Each Other
Topic 12: Common Spelling Errors
Topic 13: Informal language
EXERCISE 7-5: Have You GOT a Better Word?
Topic 14: Awkward Sentence Structure
Topic 15: Other Common Errors
EXERCISE 7-6: Writing Practice—Correcting Common Errors
8 Sentence Structure and Variety
Topic 1: Fragments
EXERCISE 8-1: Fragment or Sentence?
Topic 2: Run-Ons
EXERCISE 8-2: Run-on or Not?
Topic 3: Sentence Variety
EXERCISE 8-3: Identify the Type of Sentence Starter
Topic 4: Varied Word Choice: Synonyms, Imagery, and Figurative Language
Topic 5: Additional Writing Techniques
EXERCISE 8-4: Identify the Literary ElementEXERCISE 8-5: Writing Practice with Sentence Variety
9 The Writing Process
Topic 1: Gathering Information
EXERCISE 9-1: Gathering Information
Topic 2: Graphic Organizers
EXERCISE 9-2: Completing a Web Based on Skills Necessary to Be Successful in Your Career
EXERCISE 9-3: T-Chart Based on Career Essay Tasks
Topic 3: Outlines
EXERCISE 9-4: Creating a Harvard Outline
Topic 4: Organization of an Essay
Topic 5: First Draft
EXERCISE 9-5: Writing a First Draft
Topic 6: Editing
EXERCISE 9-6: Editing a First Draft
Topic 7: Proofreading
EXERCISE 9-7: Utilizing Proofreaders’ Marks
EXERCISE 9-8: Writing the Final Essay
Answer Key