This appendix covers only those grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling problems that give people the biggest headaches.If you can't find answers to what you are looking for here, consult a standard reference handbook such as one of the following (try to get an edition published after 1990):
- Commas
- Colons
- Semicolons
- Apostrophes
- Hyphens
- Comma splices and run-ons
- Fragments
- Problem modifiers
- Parallelism
- Subject-verb agreement
- Pronoun reference
- Pronoun case (who, whom)
- Capitalization
- Numbers vs. words
- Symbols and abbreviations
Beene, Lynn and William Vande Kopple. The Riverside Handbook. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
Technical-writing professionals try to simplify grammar rules as much as possible, without hurting the language or putting themselves in straitjackets. Typically, they work in teams and frequently move in and out of projects--so that the same document may be worked on by different writers and editors during the space of just a few years. That's why any guidelines based on interpretation or personal style or judgment must be avoided.Corder, Jim W. and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Handbook of Current English. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Hefferman, James A. and John E. Lincoln. Writing: A College Handbook. New York: W. W. Norton.
Hodges, John C. and Mary E. Whitten. Hodges' Harbrace College Handbook. New York: Harcourt Brace and Janovich.
Leggett, Glen, et al. Handbook for Writers. Englewood-Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Strunk, William, and E. B. White. Elements of Style. New York: Macmillan, 1979.
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