Welcome to LaunchPad Solo for Hacker Handbooks

Welcome to LaunchPad Solo for Hacker Handbooks

Getting the most out of LaunchPad Solo

Using Bedford’s video tools

Guide to additional resources

Composing: Exploring, planning, and drafting

Exercises

Exercise: Purpose and audience (autoscored)

Exercise: Thesis statements 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Thesis statements 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Introductions (autoscored)

Writing practice

Exploring a subject

Revising your thesis

Drafting and revising your introduction

Revising your conclusion

Managing your files

Composing: Revising, editing, and reflecting

Exercises

Exercise: Conducting a peer review (autoscored)

Exercise: Choosing an appropriate point of view (autoscored)

Writing practice

Using reviewers' comments

Being a peer reviewer

Proofreading your work for grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Proofreading your work for correct citations

Learning about revision from other writers

Sample student writing

Literacy narrative, draft with peer comments (MLA): Nguyen, Rough Draft

Literacy narrative (MLA): Nguyen, “A Place to Begin”

Reflective letter for a portfolio: Bonilla

Composing: Building effective paragraphs

Exercises

Exercise: Topic sentences 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Topic sentences 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Transitions (autoscored)

Writing practice

Using transitions

Focusing on topic sentences

Revising paragraphs

Academic writing: Reading and writing critically

Writing practice

Reading written texts actively

Drafting and revising an analytical thesis for a written text

Summarizing a written text

Analyzing a written text

Developing an analysis of a written text

Balancing summary with analysis

Sample student writing

Analysis of an article (MLA): Sanchez, “Rethinking Big-Box Stores”

Academic writing: Reading and writing about multimodal texts

Writing practice

Reading multimodal texts actively

Analyzing a multimodal text

Drafting and revising an analytical thesis for a multimodal text

Learning about analytical writing from other writers

Sample student writing

Analysis of an advertisement (MLA): Yoshida, “Sometimes a Cup of Coffee Is Just a Cup of Coffee”

Sample website: D'Amato, “Loose Leaf Teas”

Video essay: Williamson, “To the Children of America”

Academic writing: Reading and writing arguments

Exercises

Evaluating arguments

Writing practice

Evaluating ads for logic and fairness

Identifying appeals

Evaluating an argument

Joining a conversation

Appealing to your readers

Drafting your central claim and supporting claims

Anticipating and countering objections

Sample student writing

Argument paper (MLA): Jacobs, “From Lecture to Conversation: Redefining What’s ‘Fit to Print’”

Academic writing: Reading and writing about literature

Exercises

Thesis statements in literature papers

Writing practice

Asking questions about literature

Sample student writing

Literary analysis (MLA): Dan Larson, “The Transformation of Mrs. Peters: An Analysis of 'A Jury of Her Peers'”

Literary analysis (MLA): Margaret Peel, “Opposing Voices in ‘Ballad of the Landlord’”

Academic writing: Speaking confidently

Writing practice

Preparing a presentation

Focusing on your delivery

Learning from another speaker (persuasive speech)

Learning from another speaker (informative speech)

Clarity/style: Active verbs

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying active and passive voice

Exercise: Using active voice

Exercise: Active vs. passive voice

Exercise: Active vs.beverbs

Exercise: Using active verbs

Clarity/style: Parallelism

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying parallel structure (autoscored)

Exercise: Parallelism 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Parallelism 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Parallelism 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Correcting faulty parallelism

Clarity/style: Needed words

Exercises

Exercise: Needed words 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Needed words 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Needed words 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Needed words 4

Clarity/style: Mixed constructions

Exercises

Exercise: Mixed constructions 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Mixed constructions 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Mixed constructions 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Mixed constructions 4

Clarity/style: Misplaced and dangling modifiers

Exercises

Exercise: Awkward and misplaced modifiers (autoscored)

Exercise: Misplaced modifiers 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Misplaced modifiers 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Misplaced modifiers 3

Exercise: Dangling modifiers 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Dangling modifiers 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Dangling modifiers 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Dangling modifiers 4

Clarity/style: Shifts

Exercises

Exercise: Shifts: person and number (autoscored)

Exercise: Shifts: tense (autoscored)

Exercise: Shifts: mood and voice, questions and quotations 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Shifts: mood and voice, questions and quotations 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: All shifts 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: All shifts 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Editing for shifts

Clarity/style: Sentence emphasis

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying coordination (autoscored)

Exercise: Identifying subordination (autoscored)

Exercise: Identifying sentence emphasis 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Identifying sentence emphasis 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Combining choppy sentences (autoscored)

Exercise: Using coordination and subordination 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Using coordination and subordination 2

Exercise: Using coordination and subordination 3

Clarity/style: Sentence variety

Exercises

Exercise: Sentence variety 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sentence variety 2

Word choice: Wordy sentences

Exercises

Exercise: Wordy sentences 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Wordy sentences 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Wordy sentences 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Wordy sentences 4

Exercise: Wordy sentences 5

Word choice: Appropriate language

Exercises

Exercise: Jargon, pretentious language, euphemisms, doublespeak 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Jargon, pretentious language, euphemisms, doublespeak 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sexist language 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sexist language 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sexist language 3 (autoscored)

Word choice: Exact words

Exercises

Exercise: Misused words 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Misused words 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Standard idioms 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Standard idioms 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Clichés and figures of speech 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Clichés and figures of speech 2 (autoscored)

Grammar: Sentence fragments

Exercises

Exercise: Sentence fragments 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sentence fragments 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sentence fragments 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sentence fragments 4

Exercise: Sentence fragments 5

Exercise: Sentence fragments 6

Grammar: Run-on sentences

Exercises

Exercise: Run-on sentences 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Run-on sentences 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Run-on sentences 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Run-on sentences 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: Run-on sentences 5

Exercise: Run-on sentences 6

Grammar: Subject-verb agreement

Exercises

Exercise: Subject-verb agreement 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subject-verb agreement 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subject-verb agreement 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subject-verb agreement 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subject-verb agreement 5

Grammar: Pronoun-antecedent agreement

Exercises

Exercise: Pronoun-antecedent agreement 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun-antecedent agreement 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun-antecedent agreement 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun-antecedent agreement 4

Exercise: Pronoun-antecedent agreement 5

Grammar: Pronoun reference

Exercises

Exercise: Pronoun reference 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun reference 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun reference 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun reference 4

Grammar: Pronoun case

Exercises

Exercise: Pronoun case (such asIvs.me) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun case (such asIvs.me) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun case (such asIvs.me) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun case (whoandwhom) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun case (whoandwhom) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun case: review 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Pronoun case: review 2 (autoscored)

Grammar: Adjectives and adverbs

Exercises

Exercise: Adjectives and adverbs 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Adjectives and adverbs 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Adjectives and adverbs 3 (autoscored)

Grammar: Standard English verb forms

Exercises

Exercise: Irregular verbs 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Irregular verbs 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Irregular verbs 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Standard English verb forms 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Standard English verb forms 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Standard English verb forms 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verb tense and mood 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verb tense and mood 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verb tense and mood 3 (autoscored)

Multilingual: Verbs

Exercises

Exercise: Verb forms and tenses 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verb forms and tenses 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verb forms with modals 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verb forms with modals 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verbs in negative and conditional sentences (autoscored)

Exercise: Verbs in conditional sentences (autoscored)

Exercise: Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Using verbs: review (autoscored)

Multilingual: Articles

Exercises

Exercise: Using articles 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Using articles 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Using articles 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Articles and types of nouns (autoscored)

Multilingual: Sentence structure

Exercises

Exercise: Omissions and repetitions 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Omissions and repetitions 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sentence structure 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sentence structure 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Present vs. past participles 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Present vs. past participles 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Using cumulative adjectives 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Using cumulative adjectives 2 (autoscored)

Multilingual: Prepositions and idiomatic expressions

Exercises

Exercise: Prepositions showing time and place 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Prepositions showing time and place 2 (autoscored)

Punctuation: The comma

Exercises

Exercise: Commas with independent clauses and introductory elements 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Commas with independent clauses and introductory elements 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Commas with series and coordinate adjectives 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Commas with series and coordinate adjectives 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Commas with nonrestrictive elements (autoscored)

Exercise: Major uses of the comma 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Major uses of the comma 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Major uses of the comma 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Major uses of the comma 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: All uses of the comma (autoscored)

Punctuation: Unnecessary comma

Exercises

Exercise: Unnecessary commas (autoscored)

Exercise: Misuses of the comma 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Misuses of the comma 2 (autoscored)

Punctuation: The semicolon and the colon

Exercises

Exercise: The semicolon and the comma 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: The semicolon and the comma 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: The semicolon and the comma 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: The semicolon and the comma 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: The colon, the semicolon, and the comma 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: The colon, the semicolon, and the comma 2 (autoscored)

Punctuation: The apostrophe

Exercises

Exercise: The apostrophe 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: The apostrophe 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: The apostrophe 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: The apostrophe 4

Punctuation: Quotation marks

Exercises

Exercise: Quotation marks 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Quotation marks 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Quotation marks 3 (autoscored)

Punctuation: Other punctuation marks

Exercises

Exercise: End punctuation (autoscored)

Exercise: Other punctuation marks 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Other punctuation marks 2 (autoscored)

Mechanics: Abbreviations and numbers

Exercises

Exercise: Abbreviations 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Abbreviations 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Numbers 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Numbers 2 (autoscored)

Mechanics: Italics

Exercises

Exercise: Italics 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Italics 2 (autoscored)

Mechanics: Spelling and hyphenation

Exercises

Exercise: Spelling (autoscored)

Exercise: The hyphen 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: The hyphen 2 (autoscored)

Mechanics: Capitalization

Exercises

Exercise: Capitalization 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Capitalization 2 (autoscored)

Basics: Nouns and pronouns

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying nouns (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: nouns 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: nouns 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Identifying pronouns (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: pronouns 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: pronouns 2 (autoscored)

Basics: Verbs

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying verbs (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: verbs 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: verbs 2 (autoscored)

Basics: Adjectives and adverbs

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying adjectives and adverbs (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: adjectives 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: adjectives 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: adverbs 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: adverbs 2 (autoscored)

Basics: Prepositions and conjunctions

Exercises

Exercise: Parts of speech: prepositions (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: identifying prepositions

Exercise: Parts of speech: coordinating and subordinating conjunctions (autoscored)

Exercise: Parts of speech: identifying conjunctions (autoscored)

Basics: All parts of speech

Exercises

Exercise: All parts of speech 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: All parts of speech 2 (autoscored)

Basics: Sentence patterns

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying complete subjects (autoscored)

Exercise: Subjects 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subjects 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subject complements and direct objects 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subject complements and direct objects 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Indirect objects and object complements 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Indirect objects and object complements 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: All objects and complements (autoscored)

Exercise: Linking, transitive, and intransitive verbs (autoscored)

Basics: Subordinate words groups: Phrases

Exercises

Exercise: Prepositional phrases 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Prepositional phrases 2

Exercise: Prepositional phrases 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Objects of prepositions (autoscored)

Exercise: Verbal phrases 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verbal phrases 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Verbal phrases 3 (autoscored)

Basics: Subordinate words groups: Clauses

Exercises

Exercise: Subordinate clauses 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subordinate clauses 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subordinate clauses 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Subjects of subordinate clauses

Exercise: Phrases and clauses (autoscored)

Basics: Sentence types

Exercises

Exercise: Sentence types 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Sentence types 2 (autoscored)

Research

Exercises

Exercise: Research questions (autoscored)

Writing Practice

Mapping out a search strategy

Managing the research project

Posing research questions worth exploring

Planning with sources

Evaluating sources you find on the web

Writing a research proposal

MLA: Supporting a thesis

Exercises

Exercise: Thesis statements (MLA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Thesis statements (MLA) 2 (autoscored)

Writing practice

Writing a working thesis for a research paper

MLA: Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

Exercises

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (MLA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (MLA) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (MLA) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (MLA) 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (MLA) 5 (autoscored)

Exercise: Paraphrasing (MLA)

Exercise: Recognizing common knowledge (MLA) (autoscored)

MLA: Integrating sources

Exercises

Exercise: Integrating sources (MLA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (MLA) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (MLA) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (MLA) 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (MLA) 5 (autoscored)

MLA: Documenting sources: In-text citations

Exercises

Exercise: In-text citations (MLA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: In-text citations (MLA) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: In-text citations (MLA) 3 (autoscored)

MLA: Documenting sources: Works cited list

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying elements of sources (MLA) (autoscored)

Exercise: Works cited list (MLA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Works cited list (MLA) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Works cited list (MLA) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: MLA documentation (autoscored)

Sample student writing

Research paper (MLA): Harba, “What’s for Dinner? Personal Choices vs. Public Health”

APA: Supporting a thesis

Exercises

Exercise: Thesis statements (APA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Thesis statements (APA) 2 (autoscored)

APA: Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

Exercises

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (APA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (APA) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (APA) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (APA) 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (APA) 5 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (APA) 6 (autoscored)

Exercise: Paraphrasing (APA)

Exercise: Recognizing common knowledge (APA) (autoscored)

APA: Integrating sources

Exercises

Exercise: Integrating sources (APA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (APA) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (APA) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (APA) 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (APA) 5 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (APA) 6 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (APA) 7 (autoscored)

APA: Documenting sources: In-text citations

Exercises

Exercise: In-text citations (APA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: In-text citations (APA) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: In-text citations (APA) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: In-text citations (APA) 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: In-text citations (APA) 5 (autoscored)

Exercise: In-text citations (APA) 6 (autoscored)

APA: Documenting sources: Reference list

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying elements of sources (APA) (autoscored)

Exercise: Reference list (APA) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Reference list (APA) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Reference list (APA) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Reference list (APA) 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: APA documentation (autoscored)

Sample student writing

Review of the literature (APA; psychology): Mirano, “Can Medication Cure Obesity in Children?”

Chicago: Supporting a thesis

Exercises

Exercise: Thesis statements (Chicago) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Thesis statements (Chicago) 2 (autoscored)

CChicago: Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

Exercises

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (Chicago) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (Chicago) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (Chicago) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (Chicago) 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (Chicago) 5 (autoscored)

Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (Chicago) 6 (autoscored)

Exercise: Recognizing common knowledge (Chicago) (autoscored)

Chicago: Integrating sources

Exercises

Exercise: Integrating sources (Chicago) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (Chicago) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (Chicago) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (Chicago) 4 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (Chicago) 5 (autoscored)

Exercise: Integrating sources (Chicago) 6 (autoscored)

Chicago: Documenting sources: Notes

Exercises

Exercise: Notes (Chicago) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Notes (Chicago) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Notes (Chicago) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Notes (Chicago) 4 (autoscored)

Chicago: Documenting sources: Bibliography

Exercises

Exercise: Identifying elements of sources (Chicago) (autoscored)

Exercise: Bibliography (Chicago) 1 (autoscored)

Exercise: Bibliography (Chicago) 2 (autoscored)

Exercise: Bibliography (Chicago) 3 (autoscored)

Exercise: Chicago documentation (autoscored)

Sample student writing

Research paper (Chicago; history): Bishop, “The Massacre at Fort Pillow: Nathan Bedford Forrest”

Writing in the disciplines

Writing practice

Examining the writing in a particular field

Examining a writing assignment from one of your courses