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DETAILED CONTENTS
Writing Projects
Thematic Contents
Preface
PART 1: A RHETORIC FOR WRITERS
1 THINKING RHETORICALLY ABOUT GOOD WRITING
CONCEPT 1 Good writing can vary from closed to open forms.
David Rockwood, A Letter to the Editor
Thomas Merton, A Festival of Rain
Distinctions between Closed and Open Forms of Writing
Where to Place Your Writing along the Continuum
CONCEPT 2 Good writers address problems rather than topics.
Shared Problems Unite Writers and Readers
Where Do Problems Come From?
CONCEPT 3 Good writers think rhetorically about purpose, audience, and genre.
What Is Rhetoric?
How Writers Think about Purpose
How Writers Think about Audience
How Writers Think about Genre
Chapter Summary
BRIEF WRITING PROJECT 1 TWO MESSAGES FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES, AUDIENCES, AND GENRES
*BRIEF WRITING PROJECT 2 A LETTER TO YOUR PROFESSOR ABOUT WHAT WAS NEW IN CHAPTER 1
2 THINKING RHETORICALLY ABOUT YOUR SUBJECT MATTER
CONCEPT 4 To determine their thesis, writers must often “wallow in complexity.”
Learning to Wallow in Complexity
Seeing Each Academic Discipline as a Field of Inquiry and Argument
Using Exploratory Writing to Help You Wallow in Complexity
Believing and Doubting Paul Theroux’s Negative View of Sports
CONCEPT 5 A strong thesis statement surprises readers with something new or challenging.
Trying to Change Your Reader’s View of Your Subject
Giving Your Thesis Tension through “Surprising Reversal”
CONCEPT 6 In closed-form prose, a typical introduction starts with the problem, not the thesis.
A Protypical Introduction
Features of a Good Introduction
CONCEPT 7 Thesis statements in closed-form prose are supported hierarchically with points and particulars.
How Points Convert Information to Meaning
How Removing Particulars Creates a Summary
How to Use Points and Particulars When You Revise
Chapter Summary
BRIEF WRITING PROJECT PLAYING THE BELIEVING AND DOUBTING GAME
3 THINKING RHETORICALLY ABOUT HOW MESSAGES PERSUADE
CONCEPT 8 Messages persuade through their angle of vision.
Recognizing the Angle of Vision in a Text
Analyzing Angle of Vision
CONCEPT 9 Messages persuade through appeals to logos,
ethos, and pathos.
CONCEPT 10 Nonverbal messages persuade through visual strategies that
can be analyzed rhetorically.
Visual Rhetoric
The Rhetoric of Clothing and Other Consumer Items
Chapter Summary
BRIEF WRITING PROJECT ANALYZING ANGLE OF VISION IN TWO PASSAGES ABOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY
4 THINKING RHETORICALLY ABOUT STYLE AND DOCUMENT DESIGN
CONCEPT 11 Good writers make purposeful stylistic choices.
Factors That Affect Style
Four Powerful Strategies for Improving Your Style
CONCEPT 12 Good writers make purposeful document
design choices.
Document Design for Manuscripts and Papers
Document Design for Published Works
Chapter Summary
BRIEF WRITING PROJECT TWO CONTRASTING DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SAME SCENE
PART 2: WRITING PROJECTS
WRITING TO LEARN
5 READING RHETORICALLY: THE WRITER AS STRONG READER
Exploring Rhetorical Reading
*Michael Pollan, Why Bother?
Understanding Rhetorical Reading
What Makes College-Level Reading Difficult?
Using the Reading Strategies of Experts
Reading with the Grain and Against the Grain
Understanding Summary Writing
Usefulness of Summaries
The Demands that Summary Writing Makes on Writers
*Summary of “Why Bother?”
Understanding Strong Response Writing
Strong Response as Rhetorical Critique
Strong Response as Ideas Critique
Strong Response as Reflection
Strong Response as a Blend
*Kyle Madsen (student), Can a Green Thumb Save the Planet? A Response to Michael Pollan
WRITING PROJECT A SUMMARY
Generating Ideas: Reading for Structure and Content
Drafting and Revising
Questions for Peer Review
WRITING PROJECT A SUMMARY/STRONG RESPONSE ESSAY
Exploring Ideas for Your Strong Response
Writing a Thesis for a Strong Response Essay
Shaping and Drafting
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
Thomas L. Friedman, 30 Little Turtles
Stephanie Malinowski (student), Questioning Thomas L. Friedman’s Optimism in “30 Little Turtles”
David Horsey, Today’s Economic Indicator (editorial cartoon)
Mike Lane, Labor Day Blues (editorial cartoon)
Froma Harrop, New Threat to Skilled U.S. Workers
WRITING TO EXPLORE
6 WRITING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE
Exploring Autobiographical Narrative
Understanding Autobiographical Writing
Autobiographical Tension: The Opposition of Contraries
How Literary Elements Work in Autobiographical Narratives
WRITING PROJECT AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Shaping and Drafting Your Narrative
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
WRITING PROJECT LITERACY NARRATIVE
What Is a Literacy Narrative?
Typical Features of a Literacy Narrative
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Shaping and Drafting Your Literacy Narrative
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
Kris Saknussemm, Phantom Limb Pain
Patrick José (student), No Cats in America?
*Stephanie Whipple (student), One Great Book
7 WRITING AN EXPLORATORY ESSAY OR ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Exploring Exploratory Writing
Understanding Exploratory Writing
WRITING PROJECT AN EXPLORATORY ESSAY
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Taking “Double-Entry” Research Notes
Shaping and Drafting
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
WRITING PROJECT AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
What Is an Annotated Bibliography?
Features of Annotated Bibliography Entries
Examples of Annotation Entries
Writing a Critical Preface for Your Annotated Bibliography
Shaping, Drafting, and Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
James Gardiner (student), How Do Online Social Networks Affect Communication?
James Gardiner (student), What Is the Effect of Online Social Networks on Communication Skills? An Annotated Bibliography
WRITING TO INFORM
8 WRITING AN INFORMATIVE (AND SURPRISING) ESSAY OR REPORT
Exploring Informative (and Surprising) Writing
EnchantedLearning.com, Tarantulas
Rod Crawford, Myths about “Dangerous” Spiders
Understanding Informative Writing
Informative Reports
Informative Essay Using the Surprising-Reversal Strategy
WRITING PROJECT INFORMATIVE REPORT
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Shaping and Drafting
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
WRITING PROJECT INFORMATIVE ESSAY USING THE SURPRISING-REVERSAL STRATEGY
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Shaping, Drafting, and Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
Pew Research Center, Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream
Kerri Ann Matsumoto (student), How Much Does It Cost to Go Organic?
Shannon King (student), How Clean and Green Are Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars?
Eugene Robinson, You Have the Right to Remain a Target of Racial Profiling
WRITING TO ANALYZE AND SYNTHESIZE
9 ANALYZING FIELD RESEARCH DATA
Exploring the Analysis of Field Research Data
Understanding the Analysis of Field Research Data
The Structure of an Empirical Research Report
How Readers Typically Read a Research Report
Posing Your Research Question
Collecting Data through Observation, Interviews, or Questionnaires
Reporting Your Results in Both Words and Graphics
Analyzing Your Results
Following Ethical Standards
WRITING PROJECT AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH REPORT
Generating Ideas for Your Empirical Research Report
Designing Your Empirical Study and Drafting the Introduction and Method Sections
Doing the Research and Writing the Rest of the Report
Revising Your Report
Questions for Peer Review
Writing in Teams
WRITING PROJECT A SCIENTIFIC POSTER
What Is a Scientific Poster?
Content and Features of a Poster
Designing, Creating, and Revising Your Poster
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
Gina Escamilla, Angie L. Cradock, and Ichiro Kawachi,Women and Smoking in Hollywood Movies: A Content Analysis
Lauren Campbell, Charlie Bourain, and Tyler Nishida (students), A Comparison of Gender Stereotypes in SpongeBob SquarePants and a 1930s Mickey Mouse Cartoon (APA-Style Research Paper)
Lauren Campbell, Charlie Bourain, and Tyler Nishida (students), SpongeBob SquarePants Has Fewer Gender Stereotypes than Mickey Mouse (scientific poster)
10 ANALYZING IMAGES
Exploring Image Analysis
*Understanding Image Analysis: Documentary and News Photographs
Angle of Vision and Credibility of Photographs
How to Analyze a Documentary Photograph
Sample Analysis of a Documentary Photograph
*Understanding Image Analysis: Paintings
How to Analyze a Painting
Sample Analysis of a Painting
*Understanding Image Analysis:Advertisements
How Advertisers Think about Advertising
Mirrors and Windows:The Strategy of an Effective Advertisement
How to Analyze an Advertisement
Sample Analysis of an Advertisement
WRITING PROJECT ANALYSIS OF TWO VISUAL TEXTS
Exploring and Generating Ideas for Your Analysis
Shaping and Drafting Your Analysis
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
*Clark Hoyt, Face to Face with Tragedy
*Manoucheka Celeste, Disturbing Media Images of Haiti Earthquake Aftermath Tell Only Part of the Story
*Lydia Wheeler (student), Two Photographs Capture Women’s Economic Misery
11 ANALYZING A SHORT STORY
Exploring Literary Analysis
Evelyn Dahl Reed, The Medicine Man
Understanding Literary Analysis
The Truth of Literary Events
Writing (about) Literature
WRITING PROJECT AN ANALYSIS OF A SHORT STORY
Reading the Story and Using Reading Logs
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Shaping, Drafting, and Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
Alice Walker, Everyday Use (For Your Grandmama)
Betsy Weiler (student), Who Do You Want to Be?: Finding Heritage in Walker’s “Everyday Use”
12 ANALYZING AND SYNTHESIZING IDEAS
Exploring the Analysis and Synthesis of Ideas
Nikki Swartz, Mobile Phone Tracking Scrutinized
Terry J. Allen, Reach Out and Track Someone
Understanding Analysis and Synthesis
Posing a Synthesis Question
Synthesis Writing as an Extension of Summary/Strong Response Writing
Student Example of a Synthesis Essay
Kate MacAulay (student), Technology’s Peril and Potential
WRITING PROJECT A SYNTHESIS ESSAY
Ideas for Synthesis Questions and Readings
Using Learning Logs
Exploring Your Texts through Summary Writing
Exploring Your Texts’ Rhetorical Strategies
Exploring Main Themes and Similarities and Differences in Your Texts’ Ideas
Generating Ideas of Your Own
Taking Your Position in the Conversation: Your Synthesis
Shaping and Drafting
Writing a Thesis for a Synthesis Essay
Organizing a Synthesis Essay
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
Dee, Comprehensive Immigration Reform: PROs and ANTIs
Byron Williams, Immigration Frenzy Points Out Need for Policy Debate
Victor Davis Hanson, The Global Immigration Problem
Mike Crapo, Immigration Policy Must Help Economy While Preserving Ideals
Trapper John, The Progressive Case Against the Immigration Bill
WRITING TO PERSUADE
13 WRITING A CLASSICAL ARGUMENT
What Is Argument?
Exploring Classical Argument
Understanding Classical Argument
Stages of Development: Your Growth as an Arguer
Creating an Argument Frame: A Claim with Reasons
Articulating Reasons
Articulating Underlying Assumptions
Using Evidence Effectively
Evaluating Evidence: The STAR Criteria
Addressing Objections and Counterarguments
Responding to Objections, Counterarguments, and Alternative Views
Seeking Audience-Based Reasons
Appealing to Ethos and Pathos
A Brief Primer on Informal Fallacies
WRITING PROJECT A CLASSICAL ARGUMENT
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Shaping and Drafting
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
Ross Taylor (student), Paintball: Promoter of Violence or Healthy Fun?
William Sweet, Why Uranium Is the New Green
Stan Eales, Welcome to Sellafield (editorial cartoon)
Los Angeles Times, No to Nukes
Leonard Pitts, Jr., Spare the Rod, Spoil the Parenting
A. J. Chavez (student), The Case for (Gay) Marriage
14 MAKING AN EVALUATION
Exploring Evaluative Writing
Understanding Evaluation Arguments
The Criteria-Match Process
The Role of Purpose and Context in Determining Criteria
Special Problems in Establishing Criteria
Distingushing Necessary, Sufficient, and Accidental Criteria
Using a Planning Schema to Develop Evaluation Arguments
Conducting an Evaluation Argument:An Extended Example
WRITING PROJECT AN EVALUATION ARGUMENT
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Shaping and Drafting
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
Jackie Wyngaard (student), EMP: Music History or Music Trivia?
Diane Helman and Phyllis Bookspan, Sesame Street: Brought to You by the Letters M-A-L-E
Teresa Filice (student), Parents: The Anti-Drug: A Useful Site
15 PROPOSING A SOLUTION
Exploring Proposal Writing
Understanding Proposal Writing
Special Problems of Proposal Arguments
Developing an Effective Justification Section
Proposals as Visual Arguments and PowerPoint Presentations
WRITING PROJECT A PROPOSAL ARGUMENT
Generating and Exploring Ideas
Shaping and Drafting
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
WRITING PROJECT ADVOCACY AD OR POSTER
Using Document Design Features
Exploring and Generating Ideas
Shaping and Drafting
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
WRITING PROJECT PROPOSAL SPEECH WITH VISUAL AIDS
Developing, Shaping, and Outlining Your Proposal Speech
Designing Your Visual Aids
Slide Titles: Using Points, Not Topics
*Student Example of a Speech Outline and Slides
*Sam Rothchild (student), Reward Work Not Wealth (oral presentation with visual aids)
Delivering Your Speech
Revising
Questions for Peer Review
READINGS
*Lucy Morsen (student), A Proposal to Improve the Campus Learning Environment by Banning Laptops and Cell Phones from Class
Jennifer Allen, The Athlete on the Sidelines
Dylan Fujitani (student), “The Hardest of the Hardcore”: Let’s Outlaw Hired Guns in Contemporary American Warfare
PART 3: A GUIDE TO COMPOSING AND REVISING
16 WRITING AS A PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS
SKILL 16.1 Follow the experts’ practice of using multiple drafts.
Why Expert Writers Revise So Extensively
An Expert’s Writing Processes Are Recursive
SKILL 16.2 Revise globally as well as locally.
SKILL 16.3 Develop ten expert habits to improve your writing processes.
SKILL 16.4 Use peer reviews to help you think like an expert.
Becoming a Helpful Reader of Classmates’ Drafts
Using a Generic Peer Review Guide
Participating in Peer Review Workshops
Responding to Peer Reviews
17 COMPOSING AND REVISING CLOSED-FORM PROSE
SKILL 17.1 Understand reader expectations.
Unity and Coherence
Old before New
Forecasting and Fulfillment
SKILL 17.2 Convert loose structures into thesis/support structures.
Avoiding And Then Writing, or Chronological Structure
Avoiding All About Writing, or Encyclopedic Structure
Avoiding Engfish Writing, or Structure without Surprise
SKILL 17.3 Plan and visualize your structure.
Making Lists of “Chunks” and a Scratch Outline Early in the Writing Process
“Nutshelling” Your Argument as an Aid to Finding a Structure
Articulating a Working Thesis with Main Points
Using Complete Sentences in Outlines to Convey Meanings
Sketching Your Structure Using an Outline,Tree Diagram, or Flowchart
Letting the Structure Evolve
SKILL 17.4 Set up reader expectations through effective titles and introductions.
Avoiding the “Topic Title” and the “Funnel Introduction”
Hooking Your Reader with an Effective Title
From Old to New: The General Principle of Closed-Form Introductions
Typical Elements of a Closed-Form Introduction
Forecasting the Whole with a Thesis Statement, Purpose Statement, or Blueprint Statement
SKILL 17.5 Create effective topic sentences for paragraphs.
Placing Topic Sentences at the Beginning of Paragraphs
Revising Paragraphs for Unity
Adding Particulars to Support Points
SKILL 17.6 Guide your reader with transitions and other signposts.
Using Common Transition Words to Signal Relationships
Writing Major Transitions between Parts
Signaling Major Transitions with Headings
SKILL 17.7 Bind sentences together by placing old information
before new information.
The Old/New Contract in Sentences
How to Make Links to the “Old”
Avoiding Ambiguous Use of “This” to Fulfill the Old/New Contract
SKILL 17.8 Learn four expert moves for organizing
and developing ideas.
The For Example Move
The Summary/However Move
The Division-into-Parallel Parts Move
The Comparison/Contrast Move
*SKILL 17.9 Use effective tables, graphs, and charts
to present numeric data.
How Tables Tell Many Stories
Using a Graphic to Tell a Story
Incorporating a Graphic into Your Essay
SKILL 17.10 Write effective conclusions.
18 COMPOSING AND REVISING OPEN-FORM PROSE
Key Features of Open-Form Prose
SKILL 18.1 Make your narrative a story, not an and then chronology.
Depiction of Events through Time
Connectedness
Tension or Conflict
Resolution, Recognition, or Retrospective Interpretation
SKILL 18.2 Write low on the ladder of abstraction.
Concrete Words Evoke Images and Sensations
Use Revelatory Words and Memory-Soaked Words
SKILL 18.3 Disrupt your reader’s desire for direction and clarity.
Disrupting Predictions and Making Odd Juxtapositions
Leaving Gaps
SKILL 18.4 Tap the power of figurative language.
SKILL 18.5 Expand your repertoire of styles.
SKILL 18.6 Use open-form elements to create “voice” in closed-form prose.
Introduce Some Humor
Use Techniques from Popular Magazines
PART 4: A RHETORICAL GUIDE TO RESEARCH
19 ASKING QUESTIONS, FINDING SOURCES
An Overview of Research Writing
Characteristics of a Good Research Paper
An Effective Approach to Research
The Role of Documentation in College Research
SKILL 19.1 Argue your own thesis in response to a research question.
Topic Focus Versus Question Focus
Formulating a Research Question
Establishing Your Role as a Researcher
A Case Study: James Gardiner’s Research on Online Social Networks
SKILL 19.2 Understand differences among kinds of sources.
Primary and Secondary Sources
Reading Secondary Sources Rhetorically
SKILL 19.3 Use purposeful strategies for searching libraries, databases, and web sites.
Checking Your Library’s Home Page 528
Finding Print Articles: Searching a Licensed Database 529
Illustration of a Database Search 531
Finding Cyberspace Sources: Searching the World Wide Web 533
20 EVALUATING SOURCES
SKILL 20.1 Read sources rhetorically and take purposeful notes.
Reading with Your Own Goals in Mind
Reading Your Sources Rhetorically
Taking Purposeful Notes
SKILL 20.2 Evaluate sources for reliability, credibility, angle of vision, and degree of advocacy.
Reliability
Credibility
Angle of Vision and Political Stance
Degree of Advocacy
SKILL 20.3 Use your rhetorical knowledge to evaluate web sources.
The Web as a Unique Rhetorical Environment
Criteria for Evaluating a Web Source
Analyzing Your Own Purposes for Using a Web Source
21 INCORPORATING SOURCES INTO YOUR OWN WRITING
Roger D. McGrath, The Myth of Violence in the Old West
SKILL 21.1 Let your own argument determine your use of sources.
Writer 1: An Analytical Paper on Causes of Violence in Contemporary Society
Writer 2: A Persuasive Paper Supporting Gun Control
Writer 3: An Informative Paper Showing Shifting Definitions of Crime
SKILL 21.2 Know when and how to use summary, paraphrase, and quotation.
Summarizing
Paraphrasing
Quoting
SKILL 21.3 Use attributive tags to distinguish your ideas from a source’s.
Attributive Tags Mark Where Source Material Starts and Ends
Attributive Tags Are Clearer than Parenthetical Citations
Attributive Tags Frame the Source Material Rhetorically
SKILL 21.4 Punctuate quotations correctly.
Quoting a Complete Sentence
Inserting Quoted Words and Phrases into Your Own Sentences
Modifying a Quotation
Omitting Something from a Quoted Passage
Quoting Something That Already Contains a Quotation
Using a Block Quotation for a Long Passage
*SKILL 21.5 Avoid plagiarism by following academic conventions for ethical use of sources.
Why Some Kinds of Plagiarism May Occur Unwittingly
Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism
22 CITING AND DOCUMENTING SOURCES
*SKILL 22.1 Know what needs to be cited and what doesn’t.
SKILL 22.2 Understand the connection between in-text citations and the end-of-paper list of cited works.
SKILL 22.3 Cite and document sources using MLA style.
In-Text Citations in MLA Style 576
Works Cited List in MLA Style 579
MLA Citation Models 579
James Gardiner (student), Why Facebook Might Not Be Good for You (MLA-Style Research Paper)
SKILL 22.4 Cite and document sources using APA style.
In-Text Citations in APA Style
References List in APA Style
APA Citation Models
Student Example of an APA-Style Research Paper
PART 5: WRITING FOR ASSESSMENT
23 ESSAY EXAMINATIONS
How Essay Exams Differ from Other Essays
Preparing for an Exam: Learning Subject Matter
Identifying and Learning Main Ideas
Applying Your Knowledge
Making a Study Plan
Analyzing Exam Questions
Understanding the Use of Outside Quotations
Recognizing Organizational Cues
Interpreting Key Terms
Dealing with the Limits of the Test Situation
Producing an “A” Response
Chapter Summary
24 ESSAY EXAMINATIONS: WRITING WELL UNDER PRESSURE
How Essay Exams Differ from Other Essays
Preparing for an Exam: Learning Subject Matter
Identifying and Learning Main Ideas
Applying Your Knowledge
Making a Study Plan
Analyzing Exam Questions
Understanding the Use of Outside Quotations
Recognizing Organizational Cues
Interpreting Key Terms
Dealing with the Limits of the Test Situation
Producing an “A” Response
Chapter Summary
25 ASSEMBLING A PORTFOLIO AND WRITING A REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Understanding Portfolios
Collecting Work for Paper and Electronic Portfolios
Selecting Work for Your Portfolio
Understanding Reflective Writing
Why Is Reflective Writing Important?
Reflective Writing Assignments
Single Reflection Assignments
Guidelines for Writing a Single Reflection
Comprehensive Reflection Assignments
Guidelines for Writing a Comprehensive Reflection
Guidelines for Writing a Comprehensive Reflective Letter
Readings
Jaime Finger (student), “A Single Reflection on an Exploratory Essay”
Bruce Urbanik (student), “A Comprehensive Reflective Letter”
Acknowledgments
Index
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