Writing Now with 2009 MLA and 2010 APA Updates Shaping Words and Images

by Odell, Lee; Katz, Susan M.

• ISBN13: 9780312542627
• ISBN10: 0312542623
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-01
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Writing Nowhelps students connect the visually rich texts they read every day with strategies for college writing. Focusing on six real-world genres memoirs, profiles, reports, position papers, evaluations, and proposals students learn to read words, images, and design with a critical eye, decoding the writer's choices about audience and purpose. To highlight the visual elements, many of the 39 contemporary readings are laid out as they originally appeared when published. Within the writing guide for each genre-based assignment, friendly advice in an innovative visual format gives students practical strategies for tackling each task in the writing process. Extensive guidance on research and design, along with coverage of portfolios, oral presentations, and other writing situations make this the one textbook students need, when they need more than words. #xA0; Introducing Author Talk: Watch our video#xA0;interview with#xA0;Lee Odell.

Author Biography

LEE ODELL is professor of composition in the Department of Language, Literature, and Communication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In addition to teaching rhetoric and writing, writing for classroom and career, research in composition, and related courses, he has also directed the department's off-campus M.S. program in Technical Communication and a summer workshop, the Technical Writers' Institute. He is editor, with Charles Cooper, of Evaluating Writing, and with D. Goswami, of Writing in Non-Academic Settings. The author of over 50 published articles and book chapters, Odell has served as a consultant to numerous colleges, universities, and other organizations over the past thirty years. In 1986, he was the chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and in 1980 he received the NCTE's Braddock award for the article "Teachers of Composition and Needed Research in Discourse Theory."

SUSAN KATZ is associate professor of English at North Carolina State University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in composition, technical writing, and the rhetoric of science and technology. She is also coordinator for the undergraduate internship program for English majors. Katz spent twelve years in television and advertising before turning to the study of writing in public and private organizations. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetoric at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1996. Katz is the author of The Dynamics of Writing Review: Opportunities for Growth and Change in the Workplace, a chapter of which was reprinted in the anthology Professional Writing and Rhetoric: Readings from the Field. Katz is the recipient of the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools Achievement Award for New Scholars in the Humanities and the Arts (2003) and several other awards.

Table of Contents

1. Reading Words and Images

Becoming a Reflective Reader

Reading Critically

Reading Like a Writer

 

Part I Writing Assignments

Each chapter in Part I includes support for the

writing process (as in Ch. 2) omitted here for brevity.

2. Memoirs

Reading Memoirs

Reading to Write

Sarah Vowell, Shooting Dad

Jennifer Kahn, Stripped for Parts

Matthew Currier Burden, Ahmed, from The Blog of War

Bill Buford, Sweat Is Good

Annie Dillard, Total Eclipse

David Perry [student], Theatre Geek

Guide to Writing a Memoir

Getting Started

        Selecting a Topic

        Understanding Your Audience and Purpose

Creating a Draft

        Exploring Your Topic

        Engaging Your Audience: Writing an Introduction

        Creating an Appropriate Voice

        Organizing

        Concluding

Designing Your Memoir and Integrating Visual Information

        Creating a Review Draft

Reviewing and Revising

        Getting a Final Review

        Revising Your Work

Taking Stock of Where You Are

 

3. Profiles

Reading Profiles

Reading to Write

Ellen McGirt, Hacker. Dropout. CEO.

Timothy Egan, No Degree, and No Way Back to the Middle

Jim McLauchlin, My Cancer Year

Robert Mackey and Naomi Harris, E.R. Unscripted

Sam Quinones, Diez in the Desert

Stephanie Guzik [student], Behind a Plain White Lab Coat

Guide to Writing a Profile

Getting Started

Creating a Draft

Reviewing and Revising

Taking Stock of Where You Are

 

4. Reports

Reading Reports

Reading to Write

Steven Kotler, The Perils of Higher Education

Brian Hiatt and Evan Serpick, The Record Industry’s Slow Fade

Steve Casimiro, Seeing Is Not Believing

Carl Zimmer, Whose Life Would You Save?

Malcolm Gladwell, The Art of Failure: Why Some People Choke and Others Panic

Margaret Tomeo [student], ACL: The Curse of Women Athletes

Guide to Writing a Report

Getting Started

Creating a Draft

Reviewing and Revising

Taking Stock of Where You Are

 

5. Position Papers

Reading Position Papers

Reading to Write

Ellen Goodman, SUVs Belong in Car Ads Only

Steve Sack, SUVs

Eric Schlosser, Cheap Food Nation

Karrie Jacobs, Drop in the Bucket

Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Where Have All the Criminals Gone?

John R. Lott Jr., What Decreased Crime?

Charles Fishman, Message in a Bottle

Ashley B. Roberts [student], Considered Living Car-Free?

Guide to Writing a Position Paper

Getting Started

Creating a Draft

Reviewing and Revising

Taking Stock of Where You Are

 

6. Evaluations

Reading Evaluations

Reading to Write

Jim Giles, Internet Encyclopedias Go Head to Head

Consumer Reports, Popcorn: Which Kernels Are King?

Seth Shostak, You Call This Progress?

Patrick Vitarius, Breakfast at Manory’s

A. O. Scott, We’ll Always Have Springfield: The Simpsons Movie

McKenzie Funk, Is America Ready to Get Smart?

Zane Van Dusen [student], Ground Zero at RPI: A Great New Venue in the Northeast

Guide to Writing an Evaluation

Getting Started

Creating a Draft

Reviewing and Revising

Taking Stock of Where You Are

 

7. Proposals

Reading Proposals

Reading to Write

Lawrence Epstein and Steven Mardon, Homeroom Zombies

Richard Louv, Leave No Child Inside

Al Gore, from An Inconvenient Truth

Leon Botstein, Let Teenagers Try Adulthood

Richard D. Emery, Cameras in the Station House

Melanie Markham and Jonathan Quimby [students], Ticket to the Top

Guide to Writing a Proposal

Getting Started

Creating a Draft

Reviewing and Revising

Taking Stock of Where You Are

Part II Strategies for Design and Research

 

8. Reading and Writing About Visual Images

Strategies for Reading Visual Images

Examples of Student Visual Analyses

Jenna Gatsch [student], The Emotion of Nighthawks

Kyle Okaly [student], The Two Sides of Spider-Man: A Visual Analysis of Movie Posters

Michelle Pelersi [student], "Brandon": A Prospective Alcoholic

Visual Images for Analysis and Reflection

 

9. Designing Pages and Screens

Understanding Design Principles

Establishing Layout

Integrating Images

Creating Tables, Charts, and Graphs

Adding Color

Choosing Typefaces and Fonts

 

10. Starting Research and Finding Sources

Starting Your Research

Searching for Information Using Your Library’s Resources

Searching for Information on the Internet

Sorting through Your Sources

 

11. Conducting Field Research

Conducting Interviews

Making Observations

Conducting Surveys

 

12. Evaluating Sources and Taking Notes

Evaluating the Appropriateness of Sources

Evaluating the Trustworthiness of Sources

Taking Notes

Synthesizing Your Research

Avoiding Plagiarism

 

13. Documenting Sources: MLA and APA Style

Using MLA Style

Using APA Style

 

Part III Strategies for Special Writing Situations

 

14. Writing for Essay Exams

Responding to Essay Questions in Class

Responding to Essay Questions at Home

Analyzing the Question

Organizing Your Essay

Drafting Your Essay

Reviewing Your Work

Sample Student Essay Exams

 

15. Writing Portfolios

Portfolios in Context

Creating Your Portfolio

 

16. Writing for the Community

Writing Successfully for the Community

Sample Writing for the Community

Frequently Asked Questions about Writing for the Community

 

17. Writing in Online Environments

Using E-Mail

Participating in Online Discussions

 

18. Making Oral Presentations

Creating a Compelling Introduction

Forecasting Your Main Points

Using Visual Aids

Talking to Your Listeners

Finishing Strong

Frequently Asked Questions about Delivery

Group Presentations

 

Glossary of Visual and Rhetorical Terms