How To Use This Book

Using Your Harbrace Handbook for Canadians, Sixth Edition

Tables, Lists, & Indices

Tables, lists, and indices are among the "general reference tools" in the Harbrace designed to help you quickly and easily locate such information as the numbers and titles of parts, chapters, and chapter sections as well as the page numbers on which specific information is mentioned.

Each of these general reference tools is unique in its organization, scope of information, and use. So, below, we have provided a description of each reference tool and some tips on how to use it.

Scroll down this page to read about the general reference tools in the Harbrace, or jump to the reference tool you are most interested in by clicking on its title.

Reference tools located at the front of your handbook:

• Chart of Harbrace Contents (Inside front cover)
• Table of Contents (pp. xi-xxviii at the front of your handbook)

Reference tools located at the back of your handbook:

• Index (pp. I-1 to I-30)
• ESL Index (pp. I-31 to I-32)
• MLA & APA Documentation Style Indices (pp. I-33 to I-34 & p. I-35 respectively)
• List of Checklists (Last page of Harbrace, facing the back cover)
• Table of Revision Symbols (Inside back cover)

To learn more about strategies for furthering your search for specific material in the Harbrace, see our introduction to other special design features at Icons, Tabs, & Revision Symbols.

Once you are familiar with all of the features designed to help you navigate through your Harbrace, check out our Sample Search Strategies.

CHART OF HARBRACE CONTENTS
The Chart of Harbrace Contents, located on the inside front cover of your handbook, is a visual reference guide to the general organization of material in the Harbrace.

Using the Chart of Harbrace Contents, you can quickly find out which part, chapter, and chapter section of the Harbrace contains the material you are interested in. In addition, the Chart of Harbrace Contents indicates the chapter's corresponding symbol, which appears in the coloured tabs at the top right-hand side of the pages within the chapter.

The chart is organized in columns with Part headings displayed in blue bars. Under each of the six Part headings--Grammar, Effective Sentences, Diction, Punctuation, Mechanics, and Larger Elements--is a listing of the corresponding chapters, with chapter numbers and symbols in blue print and chapter titles in black. The chapter contents are then broken down into section numbers with abbreviated titles, printed in blue.

Chapter 1

Sentence Sense - ss

1a Recognizing verbs and predicates
1b Recognizing subjects, objects, and complements
1c Recognizing parts of speech
1d Recognizing phrases
1e Recognizing clauses

The Chart of Harbrace Contents is particularly helpful as

• a visual reference of the overall handbook structure and coverage (parts, chapters, and chapter sections);
• a quick reference guide to chapter numbers, titles, and symbols;
• a quick reference guide to the numbers and titles of chapter sections;
• a quick means of looking up the titles and symbols of the two glossaries.

Note: The Chart of Harbrace Contents is not designed to provide detailed information about chapter contents or page numbers. For an overview of chapter contents and the page numbers on which chapters or chapter sections begin, you will need to use the Table of Contents. For the page number on which a specific topic (such as "descriptive details for essay development"), you should consult the Index.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
On pages xi-xxviii of the Harbrace, you will find the Table of contents, titled "Contents." The Table of Contents is a more extensive outline of Harbrace material than is the Chart of Harbrace Contents. Along with listing of the chapter symbols and the numbers and titles of the handbook parts, chapters, and chapter sections, the Table of Contents breaks down each chapter section into its subheadings and offers the page number on which each of the chapters, sections, and subsections begin.

The excerpt from the outline of chapter 1, below, illustrates the organization and depth of the Table of Contents. This example also demonstrates the use of colour to indicate levels of organization; note, however, that this example does not take advantage of the handbook's use of smaller font sizes for designating subsections.

GRAMMAR

Chapter 1 Sentence Sense - ss 2

The parts of a sentence 2

1a Recognizing verbs and predicates 3
1b Recognizing subjects, objects, and complements 4

(1) Subjects of verbs 4

(2) Objects of verbs 6

(3) Subject and object complements 7

(4) Word order 8

The Table of Contents is particularly helpful for

• Finding the page number on which the following elements begin:
  --the Preface,
  --chapters 1-35,
  --each chapter section,
  --each chapter subsection,
  --the Glossary of Usage,
  --the Glossary of Terms,
  --the Copyrights and Acknowledgments,
  --the Index,
  --the ESL Index,
  --the MLA Index,
  --the APA Index;
  
• Looking up chapter number, titles, and symbols;
• Looking up the numbers and titles of chapter sections and subsections;
• Gaining an in-depth overview of the material discussed in each chapter.

Note: Of the two resources for finding information that is arranged according to the structure of the handbook, the Table of Contents is the most extensive. Nevertheless, it can be cumbersome to search through, especially if you are looking for such detailed information as "end-of-line acronyms." For such specific topics, you will need to use the Index.

INDEX
Located on pages I-1 to I-35 at the back of your handbook is the Index. The Index lists, alphabetically, all of the specific terms and subjects discussed in the Harbrace, providing the numbers of each section and page mentioning these particular terms and subjects.

Unlike the Chart of Harbrace Contents and Table of Contents, which present information according to the structure of handbook, the Index organizes information associatively, or according to topic. These general topics, or entries, are then listed in alphabetical order. Because the Index is organized associatively, a listed topic may be further divided into subcategories, or secondary entries, that narrow the context in which the general subject or term is discussed. These secondary entries are indented three spaces and appear just below the general topic entry, in alphabetical order as well. Each entry and secondary entry provides relevant section numbers and page numbers: the section number appears in blue type, the corresponding page number appears in black. Cross-references to related entries are provided when appropriate.

The following excerpt from the Index illustrates how entries are organized and cross-referenced.

a, an, the, G-1. See also articles.

as adjectives, 1c: 15, 4: 45
capitalized in titles, 23c: 259
before common nouns, 1c: 13

The Index is best suited for

• Locating very specific information about a topic;
• Finding the specific section and page numbers where particular topics are discussed;
• Searching for information, using the following items:
  --subjects and terms, such as auxiliaries, paragraphs, and bandwagon fallacy;
  --titles of works mentioned in the handbook, including Books in Print and Literary Marketplace;
  --abbreviations, such as Mr., Ms., and Dr.;
  --words that are often misused or present particular grammatical issues, such as who's, whom and will, shall.
  

Note: The Index is not designed for searches using only the numbers and titles of parts, chapters, or sections. To quickly find the part, chapter, or section numbers and titles, you should consult the Chart of Harbrace Content. However, if you are looking for detailed information about chapter contents (such as chapter subheadings) or for the page number on which a chapter or one of its sections begins, you will need to consult the Table of Contents.

ESL INDEX (pp. I-31 to I-32)
The ESL Index, or English as a Second Language Index, reflects the organizational pattern and use of colour and cross-referencing seen in the general Index. However, the ESL Index is unique because it highlights only topics that address basic ESL usage.

The ESL Index is best suited for

• Locating information addressing basic ESL usage;
• Finding the specific section and page numbers where ESL usage is addressed;
• Looking up the range of page numbers for the Glossary of Terms and the Glossary of Usage.

Note: The ESL Index is designed to highlight specific information; therefore, if you do not find a particular topic indexed here, you should consult the general Index.

MLA DOCUMENTATION STYLE INDEX (pp. I-33 to I-34)
and
APA DOCUMENTATION STYLE INDEX (p. I-35)
The MLA and APA Documentation Style indices highlight topics that address the documentation and citation of research resources using MLA and APA styles. These indices reflect the typical alphabetical organization of topic entries; however, unlike the ESL and general Index, these documentation indices reference topics discussed and illustrated in chapters 34 and 35; thus, they provide only the page numbers on which the topics appear. (Page numbers referring to the illustration of an indexed form in a student paper are italicized.)

The MLA Documentation Style Index is useful for finding information relating to

• the MLA style parenthetical citations;
• the MLA works cited list;
• the student papers illustrating MLA style in chapters 34 and 35.

The APA Documentation Style Index is useful for items relating to

• the APA style parenthetical citations;
• the APA reference list;
• the student paper illustrating APA style in chapter 34.

LIST OF CHECKLISTS

The List of Checklists is a quick reference to the checklists dispersed throughout the Harbrace handbook and consists of references to checklist topics and their corresponding page numbers. This list is easy to locate because it is printed on the reverse side of the handbook's final page. To find it, just open the back cover and look for a facing page with a blue background and the title "Checklists."

Use the List of Checklists

• to look up the topics discussed in checklists;
• to find the page numbers of these checklists.

TABLE OF REVISION SYMBOLS

Located on the inside of the back cover is the Table of Revision Symbols. The information in this table is organized into three columns, read from left to right.

In other words, an entry in this table consists of three parts:

(1) an illustration, in blue, of the revision symbols that an instructor or peer reviewer might write in the margin of your paper to indicate where revision is needed;

(2) the number of the corresponding Harbrace chapter or section, offering information for revising;

(3) the meaning of the revision symbol.

The revision symbols assigned to the 35 chapters of the Harbrace can be found in this table.

Thus, the Table of Revision Symbols can be used

• to discover the meaning of a revision symbol written in the margin of an essay;
• to look up the number of the Harbrace chapter or section that addresses the particular revision symbol;
• to find the appropriate revision symbol to use when peer editing.

Note: Once you have memorized the revision symbols related to the Harbrace chapters, you can locate a particular chapter by finding its revision symbol, which is printed on the top right-hand corner of the pages (to the left of the colour tab).