Detailed Contents
Rhetorical Contents
Preface
Part One Introduction
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The Circle of Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking
How Writing Improves Reading
How Reading Improves Writing
How Reading and Writing Improve Thinking
What Is Reading?
The Four Levels of Reading
The Purposes of Reading
Improving Your Reading
What Is Writing?
Differences Between Speaking and Writing
Importance of Audience
The Five Levels of Writing
The Importance of Purpose
The Purposes of Writing
Improving Your Writing
Reading, Writing, Thinking, and This Book
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Essential Tools for College Writers: The Skills for Success
The Essay: A Format Combining Reading, Writing,
and Critical Thinking
Research in Academic Writing
Avoiding Plagiarism
Documenting Your Sources
The Essay: Writing a Personal Essay
Cyber College: Writing, Reading, Thinking—
and Computers
The Computer Skills You’ll Need
Computer Tips
Evaluation: Essay Exams, the Writing Process, and Portfolios
English as a Second Language (ESL) and This Book
Reading and Vocabulary
Keeping Lists
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Steps in the Reading and Writing Process
Group Work
Using the Skills of College Reading, Writing, and Thinking
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Five Readings for Analysis
“Measuring Success” by Renee Loth
“My Father’s Tribal Rule” by Mark Mathabane
“Getting Off the Welfare Carousel” by Teresa McCrary
“A Hanging” by George Orwell
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
Part Two Using Essential Strategies for Writing Essays
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Reading in College: Surveying, Annotating,
Reviewing, Evaluating
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Step 1. Prepare to Read: Open Up the Topic
Step 2. Survey Before Reading: Get the Big Picture
Step 3. Read Actively
Step 4. Review
Check Vocabulary
Answer Your Own Questions
Restate the Main Idea in Your Own Words
Reread the Material
Step 5. Evaluate
Whose Ideas?
Recognizing the Author’s Tone
Recognizing Your Own Biases
Step 6. Use the Reading as a Model
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Analyzing the Assignment for an Essay:
Understanding the Question
What Are You Expected to Focus On?
What Actions Are You Expected to Take?
If the Prompt Contains Direct Commands
If the Prompt Contains Indirect Commands
If the Prompt Contains Questions
How Will You Bring the Focus and Actions Together?
Identifying the Focus
Identifying the Actions
Bringing the Focus and the Actions Together
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Analyzing More Difficult Prompts
Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis
Critique
Literary Prompts
Narrowing the Prompt
Refocusing the Prompt
Arguing Against the Assumption of the Prompt
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Prewriting: Freewriting, Listing, Mapping, Questioning
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What Is Prewriting?
How Much Prewriting Is Required?
Prewriting About a Reading
Focused Freewriting
Listing
Mapping and Clustering
Questioning
Prewriting About Your Own Ideas and Experiences
Focused Freewriting
Listing
Mapping and Clustering
Questioning
Prewriting Through Collaboration
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Organizing the Material: Planning, Outlining,
and Thinking About Audience
Reviewing the Prompt and Evaluating Your Prewriting
Evaluating Prewriting About a Reading
Eliminating Unrelated Material or Ideas
Finding Repeated Material
Matching Main Ideas to Examples and Details
Listing Your Main Ideas
Writing a Tentative Thesis
Evaluating Prewriting About Your Own
Reactions and Experience
Eliminating Unrelated Material or Ideas
Finding Repeated Material
Matching Main Ideas to Examples and Details
Grouping Related Items
Do the Groups Complete the Actions Required by the Prompt?
Listing Your Main Ideas
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Is All This Really Necessary?
Combining the Parts of Your Prewriting
Audience Awareness
Formulating Your Thesis
Thinking About Your Purpose
Thinking About Your Audience
Ordering Ideas and Information
Rogerian Argument
Combining Organization Strategies
Finding an Order
Reviewing the Assignment
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Writing Introductions
Creating Drafts
An Introduction That Responds to a Reading
Providing Lead-Ins
Author, Title, and Overview of the Reading
The Author’s Thesis or Main Point
Your Thesis Statement
Using the Prompt to Determine Your Thesis
Using Your Prewriting to Determine Your Thesis
Plan of Development
Putting the Introduction Together
An Alternative Structure
Introductions That Respond to Issues
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Writing Body Paragraphs
Body Paragraphs That Respond to a Reading
Topic Sentences
Transitions
Clarifying the Author’s Ideas
Responding to the Author
Concluding Your Body Paragraph
Putting the Body Paragraph Together
Additional Body Paragraphs
Body Paragraphs That Respond to Issues
Providing Your Own Argument
Narration
Description
Using Sources to Make Your Point
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Writing Conclusions
The Components of a Conclusion
Putting It All Together
Conclusions to Essays on Issues
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Revising: Improving Ideas, Organization, and Style
The Process of Revision
Step 1. Preparing to Revise
Letting the Paper Cool
Reading the Paper Again
Consulting a Reader
Step 2. Making Sure Your Thesis Answers the Question
Evaluating Your Thesis
Step 3. Checking Structure and Organization
Are All the Parts of the Essay Present?
Does the Main Idea of Each Body Paragraph
Correspond to Some Part of the Thesis?
Are the Paragraphs Arranged in the Best Order?
Step 4. Checking Development
Evaluating Your Introduction
Evaluating Your Body Paragraphs
Evaluating Your Conclusion
The Revised Essay
Using Checklists
Developing Your Ideas with Research
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Editing: Improving Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation Skills
Writing and Speaking Standard English
Taking Time to Edit
Locating Errors
Combining Tools to Locate Your Own Errors
Correcting Errors
Correcting Errors You Understand
Finding Help for Errors You Don’t Understand
Sample Entries in an Editing Log
When to Use Your Editing Log
Editing for Style
Pronouns
Verbs
Word Choice (Diction)
Sentence Variety
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Finishing the Essay: Formatting and Proofreading
Formatting Your Essay
Formatting on a Computer
Handwritten Papers
Headings and Page Numbers
Cover Page and Works Cited List
Proofreading Your Essay
Proofreading as a Reading Process
Looking for Typical Trouble Spots in the Final Draft
An Overview of Proofreading Techniques
Proofreading for Coherence: Does It All Fit Together?
Tools and Techniques for Locating Specific Errors
Combining Proofreading Tools to Locate
Your Own Errors
Examples of Errors Corrected in Proofreading
The Final Product
Part Three Essay Options
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Writing For Evaluation
Modifying the Process to Meet Your Needs
Modifying the Process to Match Your Task
Modifying the Process for Essay Exams
Prewriting for Essay Exams
Drafting the In-Class Essay
Revising, Editing, and Proofreading:
Readability vs. Neatness
Creating a Portfolio
What Do All Portfolios Have in Common?
Portfolio Evaluation
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Writing in the Expository Modes
Narration
Purpose
Development
Organization
Description
Purpose
Development
Organization
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Definition
Purpose
Development
Organization
Classification
Purpose
Development
Organization
Comparison and Contrast
Purpose
Development
Organization
Illustration
Purpose
Development
Organization
Process
Purpose
Development
Organization
Cause and Effect
Purpose
Development
Organization
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Writing in the Argument and Persuasive Modes
Persuasive Mode
Purpose
Development
Organization
Argumentative Mode
Purpose
Development
Organization
Being Logical
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Writing About Literature
Analyzing Literature
Reading Literature
Prepare to Read and Survey
Read Actively and Form Interpretations
Develop an Interpretation
Review and Evaluate
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Developing a Writing Topic
Prewriting and Planning
Drafting
Revising
Editing and Proofreading
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Conducting Research
Conducting Secondary Research
Types of Sources
Evaluating Your Sources
Conducting Searches
Making Notes
Collecting Information During Research
MLA Style Guidelines
Quoting Sources
Works Cited Page
APA Style Guidelines
Quoting Sources
References Page
Conducting Primary Research
Advantages to Primary Research
Disadvantages to Primary Research
Interviews and Surveys
Observations
Completing the Research
Selecting Material to Use in Your Writing
Sample MLA Style Paper
Sample APA Style Paper
Documentation Punctuation Exercises
Part Four Working on Sentences
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A Handbook for Writing Correct Sentences
How to Use the Handbook
1. Sentence Basics
1.1 Recognizing Verbs
1.2 Recognizing Subjects
1.3 More Complicated Verbs and Subjects
1.4 Recognizing Prepositional Phrases
2. Sentence Boundaries
2.1 Fragments
2.2 Run-on Sentences, Comma Splices, and Fused Sentences
2.3 Distinguishing Fragments and Run-ons
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3. Word Endings
3.1 Noun Endings: Plurals and Apostrophes
3.2 Verb Endings
4. Agreement
4.1 Subject-Verb Agreement
4.2 Pronoun Agreement
5. Clarity
5.1 Choosing the Right Word
5.2 Writing Clear Sentences
5.3 Indirect Questions
5.4 Direct and Indirect Quotes and Paraphrasing
5.5 Parallelism
6. Frequently Used Punctuation and Styling Marks
6.1 Commas
6.2 Question Marks
6.3 Titles
6.4 Capitalization
6.5 Quotation Marks
7. English as a Second Language (ESL)
7.1 Articles
7.2 Prepositions
7.3 Verb Tense
Part Five Essays and Readings
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Essays by Student Writers
“Rituals . . . for the Love of a Parent” by Keenan Johnson
“Rituals: A Way of Life” by J. P. Myers
“The Woman Chain: A Reflection of Women’s Roles”
by Meg Christmas
“Single Parents’ Adversities” by Larry Evans
“Give the Needy a Break” by Rodell S. Johnson
“The Single Female Families” by Benjamin W. Munden, Sr.
“Capital Punishment” by Lois Johnson
“Exposure of Public Executions” by Jane Smith
“A Cry of Grief, or a Cry of Relief?” by Marilyn Mallory
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Readings by Professional Writers
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Family
“Daddy Tucked the Blanket” by Randall Williams
“Punished for the Sins of the Children” by John Leo
“I, Too, Am a Good Parent” by Dorsett Bennett
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“Fingers” by Margaret Visser
“Where Have All the Parents Gone?” by Barbara
Dafoe Whitehead
“The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl”
by Elizabeth Wong
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Education
“A Prison Education” by Malcolm X
“The Sanctuary of School” by Lynda Barry
“Lives on the Boundary” by Mike Rose
“Thinking in Pictures” by Temple Grandin
“How Good Are Your Opinions?” by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero
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Choices
“Pride” by Ian Frazier
“Every Choice Has Its Consequences—Or at Least It Should”
by Cindi Ross Scoppe
“Is a Tree Worth a Life?” by Sally Thane Christensen
“Beat on the Brat: The Economics of Spanking”
by Steven E. Landsburg
“Missed Time” by Ha Jin
“Survivor” by James Scott, as told to Paige Williams
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Haves and Have-Nots
“Experiencing Poverty Might Do Us All Good”
by Ernest L. Wiggins
“Chopsticks” by Guanlong Cao
“Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou
“The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” by Bessie Head
“Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100” by Martín Espada
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Media
“The Media’s Image of Arabs” by Jack G. Shaheen
“The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures” by Neil Postman
and Steve Powers
“The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria”
by Judith Ortiz Cofer
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Morality
“Money for Morality” by Mary Arguelles
“On Restoring the Moral Voice: Virtue and Community Pressure”
by Amatai Etzioni
“Why Nothing Is ‘Wrong’ Anymore” by Meg Greenfield
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D E TA I L E D C O N T E N T S
Answers for Chapter 19
Glossary
Credits
Index
A brief overview of contents appears on the inside front cover.
A list of proofreading symbols appears on the inside back cover.
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