Based on a "whole language approach," The Writer's Way is a dynamic, process-centered paperback rhetoric with readings. This text recognizes that students learn best by doing--and writers learn best when inspired by compelling reasons to write, aided by strong examples, and reinforced by immediate personal rewards. With frank advice offered in a supportive, encouraging tone, Rawlins and Metzger lead students step by step through the writing process, from pre-writing to polishing the final draft.

Preface
Prologue: How to Succeed in School
How to Get a Good Grade
How to (Re)Learn in School: a Guide to Studying
Introduction to Writing
Learning to Write
We All Write, All the Time
What Is an "Essay"?
What Is an Academic "Paper"?
Learning to Write Well
Learn Like a Child
The Four Basics
Exposure
Motivation
Practice
Feedback
The Purpose of a Composition Class
How Can I Write Well Right Now?
Believe in Yourself
Writer's Workshop: Students Talk about Learning to Write Exercises
What Makes Writing Effective?
The Sense of Audience
Having a Reader in Your Head
Giving the Readers What They Need
Seeing Writing as Performance
What Good Writing Isn't
Proof that it Works
Exercises
Writing in School: an Introduction
Not as Different as You Might Think
Purpose
Audience
A Word about level of formality
A Brief Review
You Need Exposure to Learn How to Write
You Need Motivation
You Need Time to Prewrite and Revise
Thesis in Academic Writing
Audience in Academic Writing
Purpose in Academic Writing
Academic Writing as Performance
How to Read Writing Assignments
Following the Advice of Woody Allen
Instructions You're Likely to See on an Assignment--Highlight Them
Asking Questions
In-Class and Timed Writing
in a Writing Course
in a Content Course
Planning and Drafting
Choosing Topics and Getting Started
Where Do Good Essays Come From?
Four Principles for Getting Good Ideas
Don't Begin with a Topic
Think All the Time
Reacting
Content prompts
Models
Responding to visuals
Go from Little, Concrete Things to Big, Abstract Ones
Connect
Writing from Rage
from First Thoughts to Drafts
Writer's Block: Myth or Reality?
Defeating Writer's Block
Call yourself a writer
Give yourself a lot of time
Write as yourself
Write to your favorite audience
Don't write; talk
Take your ego out of the loop
Don't demand that you know where you're going
Lower your standards
Quit when you're hot, persist when you're not
Sidestep the thing that blocks you
Write un-essays
Writer's Workshop: Finding Essays in Your Life
Exercises
Thesis, Purpose, and Audience
Purpose and Audience Tell You How to Write
Thesis
Audience
Style and Tone
Style
What Writing Style or Voice Should You Use?
Some Important Style Principles to Keep in Mind
How to Master a Style
Sentence length
Latinate diction
Concretion
Tone
Writer's Workshop: Thinking about Thesis, Audience, Purpose, Tone, and Style
Exercises
Organization: Mapping, Outlining, and Abstracting
The Organizing Attitude
Organizing Begins with Making a Model
Organize as You're Working on Your Draft
Experiment Freely
Take Time to Reflect
Learn to Organize by Reading for the Craft
Mapping
Outlining
Abstracting
Transition and Readers
Transition and Connectors
Writing Abstracts
Diagnosing Transition by the Numbers
Structural Templates
Paragraphing
Exercises
Revising and Editing
The Spirit of Revising
How to Feel about Rules
Revision Tools
Diagnostic Tools
Making Your Own Tools
Revision in Four Steps
Thesis, Purpose, Audience, Tone, and Style
Topic: a Brief Review
Thesis
Purpose
Audience
Style
Tone
Revising for Length: Making the Draft Longer or Shorter
Making it Shorter
Seeing the mode
Making it Longer
Making it longer by filling in
Expanding the canvas
Asking the Next Question
Writer's Workshop: Expanding Essays
Exercises
Beginning, Ending, and Titling
Introductions
Conclusions
Titles
Exercises
Peer Feedback
Rules for Readers
Rules for Writers
Peer Editing in Groups
The Writer's Role in Group Editing
Peer Editing for Mechanics and Grammar
A Final Piece of Advice
Writer's Workshop: Peer Editing a Peer-Editing Session
Editing
Getting the Editing Attitude
"Grammar." Conventions
Rules of Logic
Unparallel Lists
Rules of Clarity
Punctuation
The Comma
Things Commas Don't Do
The Semicolon
Things Semicolons Don't Do
The Colon
Things Colons Don't Do
Other Punctuation
The Dash
Parentheses
Question Marks
The Hyphen
The Apostrophe
Quotation Marks
Things Quotation Marks Don't Do
Spacing and Positioning
Spelling
Don't Sidestep Mechanics Problems
Remember the Tightening
Following Format
Proofreading
Exercises
Modes of Writing
Personal Writing
Personal Writing
What's Personal Writing?
Where Do We See Personal Writing?
Show, Don't Tell
Choosing an Effect
Thesis in Personal Writing
Seeing the Mode
Writer's Workshop: Concretizing Abstract Generalizations
Exercises
Writing to Inform
Where Do We See Informative Writing?
The Three Challenges
You Don't Feel Knowledgeable Enough
It's Boring
Coik Is a Constant Problem
Eight Teaching Tips
Seeing the Mode
Writer's Workshop: Informative Strategies--Action
Exercises
Writing an Argument
Thinking it Through
What's an Argument?
Where Do We See Argumentative Writing?
Finding an Argumentative Prompt
Thinking it Through Versus Selling the Case
Why Thinking Is Hard
Eliminating Language Problems
Making a Well-Formed Assertion
Eliminating Clouding Language
Examining Your Assumptions
Examining the Consequences of the Thesis
Seven Cleanup Tasks
Seeing the Mode
Writer's Workshop: Using the Tools
Exercises
Writing an Argument
Selling the Case
Define Your Objectives Realistically
The Promp
Identify Your Audience as Specifically as Possible
Establish a Positive Relationship with Your Audience
be Human
be Interesting
Empathize
Get Some Support
Four Diagnostic Questions
Find a Dramatic Structure
Seeing the Mode
Writer's Workshop: Using Models
Exercise
Academic Writing
Research
Online Research
Databases
Websites
Using the Library
The Texts
Library Search Tools
Evaluating the Credibility of Your Sources
The Craap Test
Using Sources
Summary and Paraphrase
Quotation
Why and When to Quote
How to Quote
Documentation
Why and When to Document
How to Document
Rules of Thumb and Helpful Hints for Using Online Sources
Making Sense of it All
Model Citations
Exercises
The Academic Research Paper
Setting Out
Getting Things Organized
Format
Graphics
Two Model Research Papers
A Collection of Good Writing
Personal Essays
Informative Essays
Argumentative Essays
Academic Essays
Five Essays on Food
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

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The Writer’s Way

9780495911449

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