Reading Critically, Writing Well 9e A Reader and Guide

by Axelrod, Rise B.; Cooper, Charles R.; Warriner, Alison M.

• ISBN13: 9780312607616
• ISBN10: 031260761X
• Edition: 9th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-01-04
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Adapting the immensely successful approach ofThe St. Martin's Guide to Writing, Axelrod and Cooper have bridged the gap between reader and rhetoric to create a book that provides both structure for students and flexibility for instructors. By learning and consistently practicing the strategies of Reading for Meaning and Reading Like a Writer, students realize the importance of critical thinking and reading in becoming a good writer in college and beyond. Eight chapters, each with four professional and two student essays, provide step-by-step guides to applying this knowledge in reading and writing specific genres ranging from autobiography to argument.

Author Biography

RISE B. AXELROD is McSweeney Professor of Rhetoric and Teaching Excellence and director of composition at the University of California, Riverside. She has previously been professor of English at California State University, San Bernardino; director of the College Expository Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder; and assistant director of the Third College Composition Program at the University of California, San Diego.

 

CHARLES R. COOPER is an emeritus professor in the department of literature at the University of California, San Diego, where he served as coordinator of the Third College Composition Program, Dimensions of Culture Program, and Campus Writing Programs. He has also been codirector of the San Diego Writing Project, one of the National Writing Project Centers. He is coeditor, with Lee Odell, of Evaluating Writing and coauthor, with Susan Peck MacDonald, of Writing the World (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000).

 

Together, Axelrod and Cooper have coauthored for Bedford/St. Martin's The St. Martin's Guide to Writing, Eighth Edition (2008) and Axelrod & Cooper's Concise Guide to Writing, Fourth Edition (2005).

 

ALISON M. WARRINER is an emerita professor of English at California State University, East Bay, where she served as Coordinator of Composition, Director of Writing Across the Curriculum, and Director of the Collaborative Academic Preparation Initiative and the Summer Writing Institutes. Previously she was Director of Communications at Sacred Heart University. She is a coauthor of Academic Literacy: A Statement of Competencies Expected of Students Entering California's Public Colleges and Universities (2002) and of the Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) that is used as the senior-year English course in California public high schools.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Academic Habits of Mind: Thinking, Reading, and Writing in College 
Thinking Critically

Understanding Academic Discourse

Reading Critically

Writing Well

Chapter 2 Autobiography 
The Writing Assignment 
Writing Situations for Autobiography 
Thinking about your Experience with Autobiography 
A Guide to Reading Autobiography
Annie Dillard, An American Childhood 
     Reading for Meaning 
     Reading like a Writer 
     A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings 
Readings 
     Saira Shah, Longing to Belong 
     Luis J. Rodriguez, Always Running 
A Special Reading Strategy: Contextualizing
     *Alexsandra Crapanzano, Lobster Lessons 
Analyzing Visuals 
     Brad Benioff, Rick (Student Essay) 
     Jean Brandt, Calling Home (Student Essay) 
Reviewing What Makes Autobiography Effective 
A Guide to Writing Autobiography
     Invention and Research 
     Drafting 
     Working with Sources 
     Reading a Draft Critically 
     Revising 
     Editing and Proofreading 
Reflecting on What You Have Learned 

Chapter 3 Observation 
Readings 
     The New Yorker, Soup 
     *Susan Orlean, Show Dog
     John T. Edge, I'm Not Leaving Until I Eat This Thing 
Analyzing Visuals 
A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings
     Peggy Orenstein, The Daily Grind: Lessons in the Hidden Curriculum 
A Special Reading Strategy: Looking for Patterns of Opposition 
     Brian Cable, The Last Stop (Student Essay) 
     *Juan Diego Arellano, A Trip to the Dentist (Student Essay)

Chapter 4 Reflection 
Readings
     Brent Staples, Black Men and Public Space 
     *Dana Jennings, Our Scars Tell the Stories of Our Lives
A Special Reading Strategy: Exploring the Significance of Figurative Language
Analyzing Visuals
     Steven Doloff, A Universe Lies on the Sidewalks of New York 
     *Firoozeh Dumas, The “F” Word
     Wendy Lee, Peeling Bananas (Student Essay) 
A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings
     Katherine Haines, Whose Body Is This? (Student Essay) 

Chapter 5 Explaining Concepts 
Readings
     *Chris Anderson, The Long Tail
Analyzing Visuals 
     Deborah Tannen, Marked Women 
     Beth L. Bailey, Dating 
     *Kathleen A. Bogle, “Hooking Up”: What Educators Need to Know
A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings 
     Linh Kieu Ngo, Cannibalism: It Still Exists (Student Essay)
A Special Reading Strategy: Summarizing 
     *Justin Ton, Hip-Hop You Don't Stop (Student Essay)

Chapter 6 Position Paper 
Readings
     *Brian Greene, Put a Little Science in Your Life
     Karen Stabiner, Boys Here, Girls There: Sure, If Equality's the Goal 
A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings
     *Christina Page, A Mom before the Prom 
Analyzing Visuals
A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings
     *David L. Kirp, Diversity Hypocrisy: The Myriad, and Often Perverse, Implications of Admissions Policies 
A Special Reading Strategy: Evaluating the Logic of an Argument
     *Tan-Li Hsu, High on Caffeine: Regulating Energy Drinks (Student Essay) 
A Special Reading Strategy: Using a Toulmin Analysis
     Jessica Statsky, Children Need to Play, Not Compete (Student Essay)

Chapter 7 Evaluation 
Readings
     Amitai Etzioni, Working at McDonald's
     *James Berardinelli, Avatar
Analyzing Visuals
     *Tom Maurstad, Avatar
A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings 
     *Christine Rosen, The Myth of Multitasking
     Christine Romano, Jessica Statsky's “Children Need to Play, Not Compete”: An Evaluation (Student Essay) 

A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings
     *Larry Ballestros, A Winning Formula? A Review of Slumdog Millionaire (Student Essay)

 

Chapter 8 Speculating about Causes or Effects 
Readings
     Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies 
     *Claudia Wallis, The Multitasking Generation
A Special Reading Strategy: Evaluating the Logic of an Argument
     *Cass Sunstein, To Become an Extremist, Hang Around with People You Agree With 
A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings
     *Nicholas Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Analyzing Visuals
     *Jeremy Khella, The Route to American Obesity (Student Essay) 
     Joshua Slick, Not Just for Nerds Anymore (Student Essay)

Chapter 9 Proposal to Solve a Problem 
Readings
     *Steven Hill, Instant Runoff Voting 
Analyzing Visuals 
     William F. Shughart II, Why Not a Football Degree?  
     Gary Beck, Not Your Everyday Homeless Proposal 
     Karen Kornbluh, Win-Win Flexibility 
A Special Reading Strategy: Recognizing Emotional Manipulation
     Patrick O'Malley, More Testing, More Learning (Student Essay)
A Special Reading Strategy: Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings
     Jeff Varley, High-School Starting Time (Student Essay)

 

Appendix 1 A Catalog of Critical Reading Strategies 
Annotating 
     Martin Luther King Jr., An Annotated Sample from “Letter from Birmingham Jail” 
Previewing 
Outlining 
Summarizing 
Paraphrasing 
Synthesizing 
Questioning to Understand and Remember 
Contextualizing
Reflecting on Challenges to Your Beliefs and Values 
Exploring the Significance of Figurative Language 
Looking for Patterns of Opposition 
Evaluating the Logic of an Argument 
Using a Toulmin Analysis 
Recognizing Logical Fallacies 
Recognizing Emotional Manipulation 
Judging the Writer's Credibility 
Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings 
     Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen 
     Lewis H. Van Dusen Jr., Legitimate Pressures and Illegitimate Results

 

Appendix 2 Strategies for Research and Documentation 
Conducting Research 
Evaluating Sources Critically 
Integrating Sources with Your Own Writing 
Acknowledging Sources 
 
*Appendix 3 Strategies for Analyzing Visuals

Criteria for Analyzing Visuals

A Sample Analysis
Paul Taylor's Analysis of Emerging Man
     Paul Taylor, The Rising (Student Essay)
Exercises

 

Acknowledgments 
Index to Methods of Development 
Index of Authors, Titles, and Terms