Writing with a Thesis A Rhetoric Reader

by Skwire, Sarah E.

• ISBN13: 9780155068551
• ISBN10: 0155068555
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-09
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

Brief and rhetorically organized, WRITING WITH A THESIS is based on the persuasive principle-the development and support of a thesis.

Table of Contents

The Persuasive Principle	1	(36)
General Subject	2	(1)
Limited Subject	2	(1)
Thesis	3	(2)
What a Thesis Isn't	5	(1)
A Thesis Is Not a Title	5	(1)
A Thesis Is Not an Announcement of the Subject	5	(1)
A Thesis Is Not a Statement of Absolute Fact	6	(1)
A Thesis Is Not the Whole Essay	6	(1)
What a Good Thesis Is	6	(4)
A Good Thesis Is Restricted	7	(1)
A Good Thesis Is Unified	7	(1)
A Good Thesis Is Specific	8	(1)
Exercises for Review	9	(1)
The Thesis at Work in the Paper	10	(15)
Two Ads on the Community Bulletin Board	15	(1)
Two ``Personals''	15	(1)
Two Sets of Directions	16	(1)
Two Thank-You Notes	17	(1)
Two Letters of Complaint	18	(3)
Two Replies to the Second Letter of Complaint	21	(2)
Two ``How I Spent My Summer Vacation'' Essay	23	(2)
Two Freshman English Essays on a Literary Subject	25	(12)
The Lottery, Shirley Jackson	25	(9)
Discussion and Questions	34	(3)
Narration	37	(28)
Stres the Story	38	(1)
Remember That a Good Story Has Conflict	38	(1)
Use Plenty of Convincing Realistic Details	39	(1)
Play Fair	39	(1)
Writing Suggestions for Narration Themes	39	(1)
Readings	40	(25)
Student Essay: ``Biking with Grandma Rose''	41	(1)
Audrey P. McManus
Computer Games Anonymous	42	(3)
Joanna Connors
What About Your Writing? (conversational tone)	45	(1)
My Greatest Day in Baseball	46	(3)
Dick Feagler
What About Your Writing? (grammatical errors)	49	(1)
A Cultural Divorce	50	(2)
Elizabeth Wong
What About Your Writing? (specific details)	52	(1)
Salvation	53	(3)
Langston Hughes
What About Your Writing? (nostalgia)	56	(1)
Foul Shots	56	(4)
Rogelio R. Gomez
What About Your Writing? (getting even, settling scores)	60	(1)
A Crime of Compassion	60	(3)
Barbara Huttmann
What About Your Writing? (personal involvement or bias, handling of)	63	(2)
Description	65	(34)
Emotional Appeal	65	(2)
Try a Deliberately Unconventional Thesis	66	(1)
Show Your Powers of Observation by Stressing Specific Details	66	(1)
Use Specific language	66	(1)
Stress the Psychological Impact of What You Describe	67	(1)
Organization	67	(1)
Persuasive Principle	67	(32)
Writing Suggestions for Description Themes	68	(1)
Student Essay: ``The Glorious Fourth,''	69	(1)
Allen Robertson
Winstead's Best Burgers	70	(3)
Sarah Bryan Miller
What About Your Writing? (allusion)	73	(1)
Say Now, That Was Milo	74	(4)
Cheryl Heckler-Feltz
What About Your Writing? (intensifiers)	78	(1)
A Good PCA Is Hard to Find	79	(3)
Lorenzo W. Milam
What About Your Writing? (paragraphs)	82	(1)
Hush Timmy---This Is Like a Church	83	(3)
Kurt Andersen
What About Your Writing? (citation of authority)	86	(1)
I Am a Catholic	87	(3)
Anna Quindlen
What About Your Writing? (``and'' at the start of a sentence)	90	(1)
Good Used Cars	91	(5)
John Steinbeck
What About Your Writing? (stream-of-consciousness writing)	96	(3)
Examples	99	(26)
Are There Enough Examples to Support Your Thesis?	100	(1)
Are the Examples Fairly Chosen?	100	(1)
Have You Stuck to Your Thesis?	101	(1)
Have You Arranged Your Examples to Produce the Greatest Impact?	101	(2)
Writing Suggestions for Example Essays	103	(1)
Student Essay: ``Dan's New Minivan,''	103	(2)
Britt Teller
Couple Lies	105	(2)
Adair Lara
What About Your Writing? (``Why Didn't I Say That?'')	107	(1)
How to Speak of Animals	108	(2)
Umberto Eco
What About Your Writing? (parallelism)	110	(2)
Darkness at Noon	112	(2)
Harold Krents
What About Your Writing? (good dialogue)	114	(1)
Fruitful Questions	115	(3)
James Sollisch
What About Your Writing? (effective repetition)	118	(1)
America: The Multinational Society	119	(104)
Ishmael Reed
What About Your Writing? (rhetorical question)	223
Process	125	(32)
Be Sure You are Writing About a Process	127	(1)
Follow Strict Chronological Order	128	(1)
Before Describing the First Step of the Process, Indicate Any Special Ingredients or Equipment That Will Be Needed	128	(1)
Be Sure the Process Is Complete	128	(1)
Try to Anticipate Difficulties	128	(1)
If You Need to Handle Many Separate Steps, Arrange Them into Groups When Possible	129	(1)
Define Unfamiliar Terms	129	(1)
Avoid Highly Technical Processes	129	(1)
Avoid Subjects for Which Pictures Work Better Than Words	129	(1)
Writing Suggestions for Process Essays	130	(1)
Student Essay: ``No Bows on the Butt: Choosing Your Wedding Gown,''	131	(2)
Jennifer Simms-Collins
How Can I Make My House Look Good in a Hurry?	133	(3)
Don Aslett
What About Your Writing? (humor)	136	(1)
Corn Bread With Character	136	(4)
Ronni Lundy
What About Your Writing? (How do I get my reader's attention?)	140	(1)
How to Take a Job Interview?	141	(4)
Kirby W. Stanat
What About Your Writing? (using ``You'')	145	(1)
Twelve Steps to Quit Smoking	146	(4)
Robert Bezilla
What About Your Writing? (hyperbole)	150	(1)
The Spider and the Wasp	151	(5)
Alexander Petrunkevitch
What About Your Writing? (specialties of author)	156	(1)
Comparison and Contrast	157	(36)
Patterns	158	(4)
Block Patterns	158	(3)
Alternating Pattern	161	(1)
Which Pattern?	162	(31)
Writing Suggestions for Comparison-and-Contrast Themes	163	(1)
Student Essay: ``Coming in Last,''	164	(2)
Annette P. Grossman
Student Essay: ``Chick Movies and Guy Movies,''	166	(1)
Edith Renaldo
Lassie Never Chases Rabbits	167	(3)
Kevin Cowherd
What About Your Writing? (concluding paragraph)	170	(2)
Speaking of Writing	172	(2)
William Zinsser
What About Your Writing? (thesis, at end of essay)	174	(1)
That Lean and Hungry Look	174	(3)
Suzanne Britt
What About Your Writing? (comparisons)	177	(2)
Conversational Ballgames	179	(3)
Nancy Masterson Sakamoto
What About Your Writing? (using the ``I'' approach)	182	(1)
The Prisoner's Dilemma	183	(7)
Stephen Chapman
What About Your Writing? (ending a sentence with a preposition)	190	(3)
Cause and Effect	193	(30)
Do Not Oversimplify Causes	194	(1)
Do Not Oversimplify Effects	195	(1)
Distinguish Between Direct and Indirect Causes and Efects	195	(1)
Distinguish Between Major and Minor Causes and Effects	195	(1)
Do Not Omit Links in a Chain of Causes and Effects	196	(1)
Play Fair	196	(1)
Writing Suggestions for Cause-and-Effect Papers	197	(1)
Student Essay: ``A Few Short Words,''	198	(1)
Matthew Monroe
Falling into Place	198	(3)
Jaime O'Neill
What About Your Writing? (puns)	201	(1)
Why We Crave Horror Movies	202	(3)
Stephen King
What About Your Writing? (sexism: ``he'')	205	(3)
The Best Years of My Life	208	(4)
Betty Rollin
What About Your Writing? (comma splice)	212	(2)
Only Daughter	214	(4)
Sandra Cisneros
What About Your Writing? (family life)	218	(1)
Thinking Like a Mountain	219	(2)
Aldo Leopold
What About Your Writing? (levels of usage)	221	(2)
Division and Classification	223	(32)
Division	223	(1)
Classification	224	(31)
Use Only One Principle of Classification	225	(1)
Be Consistent	226	(1)
Make the Classifications as Complete as Possible	226	(1)
Acknowledge Any Complications	227	(1)
Follow the Persuasive Principle	227	(1)
Writing Suggestions for Classification Themes	228	(1)
Student Essay: ``Give Them a Little Credit,''	228	(2)
Harry Pritchard
How Fit are You?	230	(3)
Kenneth H. Cooper
What About Your Writing? (fragmentary sentences)	233	(1)
Mother-In-Law	234	(5)
Charlotte Latvala
What About Your Writing? (Stuck for a subject?)	239	(1)
Take a Left Turn onto Nowhere Street	240	(4)
Anne Bernays
What About Your Writing? (titles)	244	(1)
The Quick Fix Society	244	(3)
Janet Mendell Goldstein
What About Your Writing? (ironic quotation marks)	247	(2)
Three Kinds of Discipline	249	(4)
John Holt
What About Your Writing? (alliteration)	253	(2)
Definition	255	(20)
A Definition Paper Can Compare and Contrast	256	(1)
A Definition Paper Can Classify	256	(1)
A Definition Paper Can Give Examples	257	(1)
A Definition Paper Can Trace a Process	257	(1)
A Definition Paper Can Study Cause-and-Effect Relationships	257	(1)
A Definition Paper Can Use Narration	257	(1)
Writing Suggestions for Definition Essays	257	(1)
Student Essay: ``Growing Up,''	258	(1)
Anonymous
The Real Thing	259	(2)
Frankie Germany
What About Your Writing? (comic book punctuation, exclamation points, etc.)	261	(1)
My Way!	262	(3)
Margo Kaufman
What About Your Writing? (interviews)	265	(1)
Spanglish	266	(2)
Janice Castro
Dan Cook
Cristina Garcia
What About Your Writing? (connotation)	268	(1)
Gross Domestic Nonsense	269	(2)
Wayne Muller
What About Your Writing? (topicality)	271	(1)
The Handicap of Definition	272	(2)
William Raspberry
What About Your Writing? (qualifying words and phrases)	274	(1)
Argumentation	275	(38)
Go Easy on Universals---Qualify When Appropriate	277	(1)
Give Consideration to Differing Opinions	277	(1)
Be Cautious with Abuse and Ridicule	278	(1)
Devote Most of Your Attention Toward Supporting Your View, Not Advocating It	278	(1)
Some Common Logical Fallacies	278	(35)
Writing Suggestions for Argumentation Essays	282	(1)
Student Essay: ``Sing It When It Counts,''	282	(2)
Ben Ruggiero
Thanksgiving's No Turkey	284	(2)
Robert W. Gardner
What About Your Writing? (taking sides for fun, mental exercise)	286	(1)
What's Wrong With Black English?	287	(3)
Rachel L. Jones
What About Your Writing? (turning tables, beating opponents to the punch)	290	(1)
The Smiley-Face Approach	290	(3)
Albert Shanker
What About Your Writing? (passive voice)	293	(1)
Old Folks at Home	294	(3)
Bernard Sloan
What About Your Writing? (sentence length)	297	(1)
The Case for Torture	297	(4)
Michael Levin
What About Your Writing? (getting started)	301	(1)
A Modest Proposal	301	(9)
Jonathan Swift
What About Your Writing? (irony)	310	(3)
101/2 What About the Rest of Your Writing?	313	(2)
Credits	315	(2)
Index	317