The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, Brief Edition, Books a la Carte Edition

by Ramage, John D.; Bean, John C.; Johnson, June

• ISBN13: 9780321914484
• ISBN10: 0321914481
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Loose-leaf
• Copyright: 2014-01-09
• Publisher: Pearson
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Grounded in current theory and research, yet practical and teachable.

 

Widely praised for its groundbreaking integration of composition research and a rhetorical perspective, The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing with MyWritingLab has set the standard for first-year composition courses in writing, reading, critical thinking, and inquiry.

 

Teachers and students value its clear and coherent explanations, engaging classroom activities, and flexible sequence of aims-based writing assignments that help writers produce effective, idea-rich essays in academic and civic genres. Numerous examples of student and professional writing accompany this thorough guide to the concepts and skills needed for writing, researching, and editing in college and beyond.

Table of Contents

Writing Projects

Thematic Contents

Preface

Part 1 A Rhetoric For Writers

1 Posing Problems: The Demands of College Writing

Why Take a Writing Course?

Concept 1.1 Subject matter problems are the heart of college writing.

        Shared Problems Unite Writers and Readers

        Where Do Problems Come From?

Concept 1.2 Writers’ decisions are shaped by purpose, audience, and genre.

        What Is Rhetoric?

        How Writers Think about Purpose

        How Writers Think about Audience

        How Writers Think about Genre

Concept 1.3 The rules for “good writing” vary depending on rhetorical context.

        A Thought Exercise: Two Pieces of Good Writing That Follow Different “Rules”

        David Rockwood, A Letter to the Editor

        Thomas Merton, A Festival of Rain

        Distinctions between Closed and Open Forms of Writing

        Flexibility of “Rules” along the Continuum

        Where to Place Your Writing along the Continuum

                Chapter Summary

BRIEF WRITING PROJECT: TWO MESSAGES FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES, AUDIENCES, AND GENRES

2 Exploring Problems, Making Claims

Concept 2.1 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 2.2 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 2.3 In closed-form prose, a typical introduction starts with the problem, not the thesis.

        A Typical Introduction

        Features of an Effective Introduction

                Chapter Summary

BRIEF WRITING PROJECT: PLAYING THE BELIEVING AND DOUBTING GAME

3 How Messages Persuade

Concept 3.1 Messages persuade through their angle of vision.

        Recognizing the Angle of Vision in a Text

        Analyzing Angle of Vision

Concept 3.2 Messages persuade through appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos.

Concept 3.3 Messages persuade through writers’ choices about style and document design.

        Understanding Factors that Affect Style

        Making Purposeful Choices about Document Design

Concept 3.4 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: TWO CONTRASTING DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SAME SCENE

4 Multimodal and Online Communication

Concept 4.1 Composers of multimodal texts use words, images, and sounds rhetorically to move an audience.

        Hooking Audiences with Images and “Nutshell” Text

        Holding Readers through Strong Content

        Designing Video Narratives that Move Viewers

Concept 4.2 Online environments are rhetorically interactive with shifting audiences, purposes, genres, and authorial roles.

        Shifting and Evolving Rhetorical Contexts Online

        Online Variations in Purposes, Genres, and Authorial Roles

        Maintaining Appropriate Online Privacy

Concept 4.3 Responsible participation in online discourse requires understanding intellectual property rights and an ethical persona.

        Understanding Issues of Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons Licenses

        Using Images and Sound Ethically in Your Multimodal Projects

        Creating an Ethical Online Persona

                Chapter Summary

BRIEF WRITING PROJECT 1: DESCRIPTION AND REFLECTION ON YOUR ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS

BRIEF WRITING PROJECT 2: DESCRIPTION AND REFLECTION ON YOUR CREATION OF A MULTIMODAL COMPOSITION

Part 2 Writing Projects

Writing To Learn

5 Reading Rhetorically: The Writer As Strong Reader

Engaging Rhetorical Reading

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

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTION: BOOK REVIEW

Readings

        Michael Pollan, Why Bother?

        Thomas L. Friedman, 30 Little Turtles

        Stephanie Malinowski (student), Questioning Thomas L. Friedman’s Optimism in “30 Little Turtles”

Writing To Express

6 Writing An Autobiographical Narrative

Engaging Autobiographical Narrative

Understanding Autobiographical Writing

        Autobiographical Tension: The Opposition of Contraries

        How Literary Elements Work in Autobiographical Narratives

        Special Features of Literacy Narratives

WRITING PROJECT: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL OR LITERACY NARRATIVE

        Generating and Exploring Ideas

        Shaping and Drafting Your Narrative

        Revising

        Questions for Peer Review

WRITING PROJECT MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTION: PHOTO ESSAY

Readings

        Kris Saknussemm, Phantom Limb Pain

        Patrick José (student), No Cats in America?

        Stephanie Whipple (student), One Great Book

Writing To Explore

7 Writing An Exploratory Essay or Annotated

Bibliography

Engaging 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

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTION: SPEECH WITH VISUAL AIDS

Readings

        Kent Ansen (student), Should the United States Establish Mandatory Public Service for Young Adults?

        Kent Ansen (student), Should the United States Establish Mandatory Public Service for Young Adults? An Annotated Bibliography

Writing To Inform

8 Writing An Informative (and Surprising) Essay or Report

Engaging Informative (and Surprising) Writing

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

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTIONS: POSTER, VIDEO, AND PECHAKUCHA PRESENTATION

Readings

        Theresa Bilbao (student), Spinning Spider Webs from Goat’s Milk–The Magic of Genetic Science

        Kerri Ann Matsumoto (student), How Much Does It Cost to Go Organic?

        Shannon King (student), How Clean and Green Are Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars?

        NAACP, NAACP Report Reveals Disparate Impact of Coal-Fired Power Plants

Writing To Analyze and Synthesize

9 Analyzing Field Research Data

Engaging 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: 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 PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTION: SCIENTIFIC POSTER 

Readings

        LeAnne M. Forquer et al., Sleep Patterns of College Students at a Public University   \

        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 

Engaging 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

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTIONS: PODCAST AND LECTURE SLIDES

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 Short Fiction

Engaging Literary Analysis

Alison Townsend, The Barbie Birthday

Understanding Literary Analysis

        Critical Elements of a Literary Text

        Historical and Cultural Contexts

        A Process for Analyzing a Short Story

        Sample Analysis of “The Barbie Birthday”

WRITING PROJECT: AN ANALYTICAL ESSAY ABOUT A SHORT STORY

        Generating and Exploring Ideas

        Shaping, Drafting, and Revising

        Questions for Peer Review

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTION: PODCAST READING

Readings

        Jacquelyn Kolosov, Forsythia

        Michelle Eastman (student), Unconditional Love and the Function of the Rocking Chair in Kolosov’s “Forsythia”

        Bill Konigsberg, After

12 Analyzing and Synthesizing Ideas

Engaging Analysis and Synthesis

John Miley, Ground Rules for Boomerang Kids

Publishers Weekly, Review of The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the Private Toll of Global Competition

Understanding Analysis and Synthesis

        Posing a Significant Synthesis Question

        Synthesis Writing as an Extension of Summary/Strong Response Writing

WRITING PROJECT: A SYNTHESIS ESSAY

        Summarizing Your Texts to Explore Their Ideas

        Rosie Evans (student), Summary of Robin Marantz Henig’s Article

        Rosie Evans (student), Summary of Scammed Hard!’s Blog Post

        Analyzing Your Texts

        Rosie Evans (student), Rhetorical Analysis of Henig’s Article

        Rosie Evans (student), Rhetorical Analysis of Scammed Hard!’s Blog Post

        Analyzing the Main Themes and Similarities and Differences in Your Texts’ Ideas

        Synthesizing Ideas from Your Texts

        Rosie Evans (student) Exploration of Her Personal Connections to Her Texts and the Synthesis Question

        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

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTION: DISCUSSION POST

Reading

        Rosie Evans (student), Boomerang Kids: What Are the Causes of Generation Y’s Growing Pains?

Writing To Persuade

13 Writing A Classical Argument

Engaging Classical Argument

Understanding Classical Argument

        What Is 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

        Questions for Peer Review

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTIONS: VIDEO, ADVOCACY AD, AND BUMPER STICKER

Readings

        Ross Taylor (student), Paintball

        Megan H. MacKenzie, Let Women Fight

        Mackubin Thomas Owens, Coed Combat Units

        Gary Varvel, Combat Barbie (editorial cartoon)

        Claire Giordano (student), Virtual Promise: Why Online Courses Will Not Adequately Prepare Us for the Future

14 Making An Evaluation

Engaging 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

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTIONS: REVIEW POST AND SPEECH WITH VISUAL AIDS

Readings

        Jackie Wyngaard (student), EMP: Music History or Music Trivia?

        Gary Gutting, Learning History at the Movies

        Teresa Filice, Parents: The Anti-Drug

15 Proposing A Solution

Engaging Proposal Writing

Understanding Proposal Writing

        Special Challenges of Proposal Arguments

        Developing an Effective Justification Section

Multimodal Proposal Arguments

WRITING PROJECT: A PROPOSAL ARGUMENT

        Generating and Exploring Ideas

        Shaping and Drafting

        Revising

Questions for Peer Review

WRITING PROJECT: MULTIMODAL OR ONLINE OPTIONS: ADVOCACY AD OR POSTER AND SPEECH WITH VISUAL AIDS

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

        Sam Rothchild (student), Reward Work Not Wealth (oral presentation

with visual aids)

        Kent Ansen (student), Engaging Young Adults to Meet America’s Challenges: A Proposal for Mandatory National Service (MLA format research paper)

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 Strategies For Writing Closed-Form Prose

SKILL 17.1 Satisfy reader expectations by linking new material to old material.

        The Principle of Old before New

        How the Principle of Old Before New Creates Unified and Coherent Paragraphs

        The Explanatory Power of the Principle of Old before New

SKILL 17.2 Convert loose structures into problem-thesis-support structures.

        Avoiding And Then Writing, or Chronological Structure

        Avoiding All About Writing, or Encyclopedic Structure

        Avoiding Engfish Writing, or Structure that Doesn’t Address a Real Problem

SKILL 17.3 Nutshell your argument and visualize its structure.

        Make a List of “Chunks” and a Scratch Outline Early in the Writing Process

        To Achieve Focus, “Nutshell” Your Argument and Create a Working Thesis Statement

        Visualizing Your Structure

SKILL 17.4 Start and end with the “big picture” through effective titles, introductions, and conclusions.

        What Not to Do: “Topic Title” and the “Funnel Introduction”

        Creating Effective Titles

        Writing Good Closed-Form Introductions

        Writing Effective Conclusions

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 Strategies for Writing Open-Form Prose

SKILL 18.1 Make your narrative a story, not an and then chronology.

        Four Criteria for a Story

SKILL 18.2 Evoke Images and sensations by writing low on the ladder of abstraction.

        Concrete Words Evoke Images and Sensations

        Using 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 metaphor and other tropes.

SKILL 18.5 Expand your repertoire of styles.

19 Strategies For Composing Multimodal Texts

SKILL 19.1 Consider a range of multimodal options for accomplishing your purpose.

SKILL 19.2 Design multimodal texts so that each mode contributes its own strengths to the message.

        This Design Principle at Work In Successful Multimodal Texts

        Using This Design Principle to Revise a Jumbled Multimodal Text

SKILL 19.3 Design multimodal genres including posters, speeches with visual aids, podcasts, and videos.

        Informational or Advocacy Posters, Brochures, Flyers, and Ads

        Scientific Posters

        Speeches with Visual Aids (PowerPoint, Prezi, Pechakucha)

        Scripted Speech (Podcasts, Video Voiceovers)

        Videos

Part 4 A Rhetorical Guide To Research

20 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 20.1 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: Kent Ansen’s Research on Mandatory Public Service

SKILL 20.2 Understand differences among kinds of sources.

        Primary and Secondary Sources

        Reading Secondary Sources Rhetorically

SKILL 20.3 Use purposeful strategies for searching libraries, databases, and Web sites.

        Checking Your Library’s Home Page

        Finding Print Articles: Searching a Licensed Database

        Illustration of a Database Search

        Finding Cyberspace Sources: Searching the World Wide Web

21 Evaluating Sources

SKILL 21.1 R ead sources rhetorically and take purposeful notes.

        Reading with Your Own Goals in Mind

        Reading Your Sources Rhetorically

        Taking Purposeful Notes

SKILL 21.2 E valuate sources for reliability, credibility, angle of vision, and degree of advocacy.

        Reliability

        Credibility

        Angle of Vision and Political Stance

        Degree of Advocacy

SKILL 21.3 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

22 Incorporating Sources Into Your Own Writing

SKILL 22.1 Let your own argument determine your use of sources.

        Writer 1: An Analysis of Alternative Approaches to Reducing Alcoholism

        Writer 2: A Proposal Advocating Vegetarianism

        Writer 3: An Evaluation Looking Skeptically at Vegetarianism

SKILL 22.2 Know when and how to use summary, paraphrase, and quotation.

        Summarizing

        Paraphrasing

        Quoting

SKILL 22.3 Use attributive tags to distinguish your ideas from a source’s.

        Attributive Tags Mark Where Source Material Starts and Ends

        Attributive Tags Avoid Ambiguities that Can Arise with Parenthetical Citations

        Attributive Tags Frame the Source Material Rhetorically

SKILL 22.4 Avoid plagiarism by following academic conventions for ethical use of sources.

        Why Some Kinds of Plagiarism May Occur Unwittingly

        Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

23 Citing and Documenting Sources                          

SKILL 23.1 Know what needs to be cited and what doesn’t.

SKILL 23.2 Understand the connection between in-text citations and the end-of-paper list of cited works.

SKILL 23.3 Cite and document sources using MLA style.

        In-Text Citations in MLA Style

        Works Cited List in MLA Style

        MLA Citation Models

        MLA Format Research Paper

SKILL 23.4 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

24 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

        Producing an “A” Response

25 Portfolios and Reflective Essays

Understanding Portfolios

        Collecting Work

        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