Steps to Writing Well (7th)

by WYRICK

Edition:

7th

ISBN13:

9780155054530

ISBN10:

0155054538

Format:

Paperback

Pub. Date:

7/23/1998

Publisher(s):

Wadsworth Publishing

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Summary

Writing well is just a step away! Join the thousands of students who have learned to write well with Jean Wyrick's helpful instruction. STEPS TO WRITING WELL, Tenth Edition, is the ultimate step-by-step guide to writing effective essays. With Wyrick's clear, practical advice and student-friendly tone, you'll find it easy to begin, organize, and revise your writing-from choosing a topic to developing your essay to polishing your prose. Interesting readings in a variety of styles offer useful examples of the types of essays you'll most often be assigned in your composition and other college classes.

To the Teacher

vii

To the Student

xiii

PART ONE THE BASICS OF THE SHORT ESSAY

(190)

Prewriting

(30)

Getting Started (or Soup-Can Labels Can Be Fascinating)

(1)

Selecting a Subject

(2)

Finding Your Essay's Purpose and Focus

(1)

Pump-Primer Techniques

(12)

After You've Found Your Focus

(1)

Practicing What You've Learned

(1)

Discovering Your Audience

(1)

How to Identify Your Readers

(6)

Practicing What You've Learned

(2)

Keeping a Journal (Talking to Yourself Does Help)

(6)

Summary

(2)

The Thesis Statement

(18)

What Is a Thesis? What Does a ``Working Thesis'' Do?

(1)

Can a ``Working Thesis'' Change?

(1)

Guidelines for Writing a Good Thesis

(5)

Avoiding Common Errors in Thesis Statements

(4)

Practicing What You've Learned

(2)

Assignment

(1)

Using the Essay Map

(7)

Practicing What You've Learned

(1)

Assignment

(2)

Summary

(2)

The Body Paragraphs

(38)

Planning the Body of Your Essay

(3)

Composing the Body Paragraphs

(1)

The Topic Sentence

(9)

Practicing What You've Learned

(3)

Assignment

(1)

Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing

(1)

Paragraph Development

(5)

Paragraph Length

(2)

Practicing What You've Learned

(1)

Assignment

(1)

Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing

(1)

Paragraph Unity

(5)

Practicing What You've Learned

(2)

Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing

(1)

Paragraph Coherence

(10)

Practicing What You've Learned

(4)

Paragraph Sequence

(1)

Transitions between Paragraphs

(3)

Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing

(1)

Summary

(1)

Beginnings and Endings

(12)

How to Write a Good Lead-In

(4)

Avoiding Errors in Lead-Ins

(1)

Practicing What You've Learned

(1)

How to Write a Good Concluding Paragraph

(2)

Avoiding Errors in Conclusions

(1)

Practicing What You've Learned

(1)

How to Write a Good Title

(4)

Assignment

(1)

Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing

(1)

Summary

(2)

Drafting and Revising: Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking

101

(26)

What Is Revision?

102

(1)

When Does Revision Occur?

102

(1)

Myths about Revision

102

(2)

Can I Learn to Improve My Revision Skills?

104

(1)

Preparing to Draft and Revise

104

(2)

A Revision Process for Your Drafts

106

(3)

What Is Critical Thinking?

109

(1)

Thinking Critically as a Writer

109

(7)

A Final Checklist for Your Essay

116

(1)

Benefiting from Revision Workshops

117

(6)

Practicing What You've Learned

120

(3)

Assignment

123

(1)

Some Last Advice: How to Play with Your Mental Blocks

123

(4)

Summary

126

(1)

Effective Sentences

127

(30)

Developing a Clear Style

128

(7)

Developing a Concise Style

135

(7)

Practicing What You've Learned

140

(2)

Assignment

142

(1)

Developing a Lively Style

142

(6)

Practicing What You've Learned

146

(2)

Assignment

148

(1)

Developing an Emphatic Style

148

(9)

Practicing What You've Learned

152

(2)

Assignment

154

(1)

Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing

155

(1)

Summary

156

(1)

Word Logic

157

(24)

Selecting the Correct Words

158

(8)

Practicing What You've Learned

164

(2)

Selecting the Best Words

166

(15)

Practicing What You've Learned

176

(2)

Assignment

178

(2)

Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing

180

(1)

Summary

180

(1)

The Reading-Writing Connection

181

(10)

How Can Reading Well Help Me Become a Better Writer?

181

(1)

How Can I Become an Analytical Reader?

182

(8)

Sample Annotated Essay

185

(4)

Practicing What You've Learned

189

(1)

Assignment

189

(1)

Summary

189

(1)

The Basics of the Short Essay: Part One Summary

190

(1)

PART TWO PURPOSES, MODES, AND STRATEGIES

191

(172)

Exposition

193

(90)

The Strategies of Exposition

193

(1)

Development by Example

194

(14)

Essay Topics

200

(2)

Sample Student Essay

202

(2)

Professional Essay: ``So What's so Bad about Being So-So?''

204

(3)

The drive for perfection is preventing too many people from enjoying sports and hobbies, says author Lisa Wilson Strick (who proudly plays the piano badly but with great pleasure)

A Revision Worksheet

207

(1)

Development by process Analysis

208

(18)

Essay Topics

212

(2)

Sample Student Essay

214

(5)

Professional Essay: ``To Bid the World Farewell''

219

(6)

By describing the embalming process in vivid, step-by-step detail, social critic and author Jessica Mitford questions the value-and necessity-of the entire procedure

A revision Worksheet

225

(1)

Development by Comparison and Contrast

226

(18)

Essay Topics

230

(2)

Sample Student Essay

232

(4)

Professional Essays: ``Two Ways of Viewing the River''

236

(2)

One of the United States' most beloved writers, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), contrasts his earlier, romantic view of the Mississippi River to his later, more practical view as an experienced riverboat pilot

``Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts''

238

(5)

Noted historian Bruce Catton compares and contrasts the two great generals of the Civil War, concluding that their roles at Appomattox made possible ``a peace of reconciliation.''

A Revision Worksheet

243

(1)

Development by Definition

244

(14)

Essay Topics

248

(2)

Sample Student Essay

250

(4)

Professional Essay: ``The Munchausen Mystery''

254

(3)

A Harvard professor of psychiatry explains a perplexing ``medical madness'' in which patients use extreme and sophisticated measures to take illnesses-in some cases, all the way to the operating room

A Revision Worksheet

257

(1)

Development by Division and Classification

258

(12)

Essay Topics

261

(2)

Sample Student Essay

263

(3)

Professional Essay: ``The Plot Against People''

266

(3)

According to well-known columnist Russell Baker, all inanimate objects may be classified into three categories: those that don't work, those that get lost, and those that break down

A Revision Worksheet

269

(1)

Development by Causal Analysis

270

(13)

Essay Topics

273

(2)

Sample Student Essay

275

(3)

Professional Essay: ``Mystery!''

278

(3)

Nothing that millions of readers love to ``curl up'' with murderers and corpses every night, novelist Nicholas Meyer explains why mysteries appeal to so many people, regardless of their social, educational, or economic background

A Revision Worksheet

281

(2)

Argumentation

283

(32)

Developing Your Essay

284

(10)

Common Logical Fallacies

294

(21)

Practicing What You've Learned

297

(1)

Assignment

298

(1)

Essay Topics

299

(2)

Sample Student Essay

301

(4)

Professional Essays: ``Free Pass Fails Kids'' vs. ``Retaining Kids No Answer''

305

(3)

Students who fail to demonstrate academic competence should not be passed on to the next grade level, argues the editorial board of USA today. But Monty Neill of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing maintains that retaining students does not improve learning and too often turns teaching into ``test coaching.''

Pro-and-Con Advertisements: Gun Control

308

(3)

Competing Advertisements: Energy

311

(1)

A Revision Worksheet

311

(4)

Description

315

(18)

How to Write Effective Description

315

(18)

Essay Topics

321

(1)

Sample Student Essay

322

(5)

Professional Essay: ``The Discuss Thrower''

327

(3)

Surgeon Richard Selzer describes the last hours of a terminally ill patient-a man who is vigorously following the poet Dylan Thomas's advice: ``Do not go gentle into that good night.''

A Revision Worksheet

330

(3)

Narration

333

(16)

Writing the Effective Narrative Essay

334

(15)

Essay Topics

336

(3)

Sample Student Essay

339

(3)

Professional Essay: ``Sister Flowers''

342

(5)

Multi-talented writer and performer Maya Angelou recalls a special time in her life and shows how one person's kindness and respect can dramatically change a child's life for the better

A Revision Worksheet

347

(2)

Writing Essays Using Multiple Strategies

349

(14)

Sample Student Essay

352

(4)

Professional Essay: ``Don't Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgments''

356

(4)

Are Gloria and Richard better looking than Bertha or Cuthbert? Do you vote for the candidate who looks like a winner? Can you really identify the Italian (or Swede or Mexican or American) in the group picture? In this essay, Professor Robert L. Heilbroner addresses the complex issues of stereotyping, first by citing some fascinating experiments that illustrate the problem. He then analyzes the causes of type-casting, explains the harmful effects, and offers some steps for changing this negative behavior

A Revision Worksheet

360

(3)

PART THREE SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS

363

(78)

Writing a Paper Using Research

365

(42)

Focusing Your Topic

366

(1)

Beginning Your Library Research

366

(4)

Preparing a Working Bibliography

370

(2)

Choosing and Evaluating Your Sources

372

(3)

Preparing an Annotated Bibliography

375

(1)

Taking Notes

375

(3)

Incorporating Your Source Material

378

(3)

Avoiding Plagiarism

381

(4)

Practicing What You've Learned

383

(2)

Assignment

385

(1)

Choosing the Documentation Style for Your Essay

385

(13)

Using Supplementary Notes

398

(9)

Sample Student Paper Using MLA Style

398

(9)

Writing about Literature

407

(24)

Using Literature in the Composition Classroom

407

(2)

Suggestions for Close Reading of Literature

409

(1)

Steps to Reading Stories

409

(2)

Annotated Story: ``The Story of an Hour''

411

(7)

Sample Student Essay

414

(4)

Steps to Reading a Poem

418

(3)

Annotated Poem: ``When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer''

421

(5)

Sample Student Essay

422

(4)

Some Guidelines for Writing Your Essays

426

(5)

Practicing What You've Learned: ``Richard Cory''

428

(3)

Writing In-Class Assignments

431

(10)

Steps to Writing Well Under Pressure

431

(10)

Practicing What You've Learned

438

(1)

Assignment

438

(1)

Summary

439

(2)

PART FOUR A CONCISE HANDBOOK

441

(51)

Major Errors in Grammar

443

(20)

Errors with Verbs

443

(6)

Practicing What You've Learned

448

(1)

Errors with Nouns

449

(1)

Errors with Pronouns

450

(4)

Practicing What You've Learned

453

(1)

Errors with Adverbs and Adjectives

454

(1)

Errors in Modifying Phrases

455

(2)

Practicing What You've Learned

456

(1)

Errors in Sentences

457

(6)

Practicing What You've Learned

458

(1)

Practicing What You've Learned

459

(3)

Practicing What You've Learned

462

(1)

A Concise Guide to Punctuation

463

(22)

The Period

464

(1)

The question Mark

464

(1)

The Exclamation Point

464

(1)

The Comma

465

(6)

Practicing What You've Learned

469

(2)

The Semicolon

471

(1)

The Colon

471

(2)

Practicing What You've Learned

472

(1)

The Apostrophe

473

(1)

Quotation Marks

474

(3)

Practicing What You've Learned

476

(1)

Parentheses

477

(1)

Brackets

478

(1)

The Dash

479

(1)

The Hyphen

480

(1)

Underlining

481

(1)

The Ellipsis Mark

482

(3)

Practicing What You've Learned

483

(2)

A Concise Guide to Mechanics

485

(7)

Capitalization

485

(2)

Abbreviations

487

(1)

Numbers

487

(3)

Practicing What You've Learned

488

(2)

Spelling

490

(2)

492

(1)

Index

493

Steps to Writing Well (7th)

9780155054530

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