Along These Lines : Writing Paragraphs and Essays

by Biays, John Sheridan; Wershoven, Carol

• ISBN13: 9780131112193
• ISBN10: 0131112198
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

For courses in Basic Writing, at the sentence to paragraph level or paragraph to essay level. Beginning writers need constant reinforcement of the stages of the writing process. Unlike other textswhich stop coverage of the writing process after a few chaptersthis book takes students through all the steps of the writing process from generating ideas, to planning, to drafting and revising, and editing in every chapter.

Table of Contents

Writing Paragraphs and Essays

PART I: WRITING IN STEPS: THE PROCESS APPROACH.

1. Writing a Paragraph.

Beginning the Thought Lines: Gathering Ideas. Focusing the Thought Lines. Outlines: Devising a Plan for a Paragraph. Coherence: Putting Your Details in Proper Order. Rough Lines: Drafting and Revising a Paragraph. Final Lines: Proofreading and Polishing a Paragraph. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Paragraph. Peer Review Form for a Paragraph. Writing From Reading: The Writing Process.

Sticky Stuff, Kendall Hamilton and Tessa Namuth.

2. Illustration.

What is Illustration? Writing the Illustration Paragraph in Steps. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Illustration Paragraph. Peer Review Form for an Illustration Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Illustration.

Spanglish, Janice Castro, with Dan Cook and Cristina Garcia.

3. Description.

What is Description? Writing the Description Paragraph in Steps. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Descriptive Paragraph. Peer Review Form for a Descriptive Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Description.

A Present for Popo, Elizabeth Wong.

4. Narration.

What is Narration? Writing the Narrative Paragraph in Steps. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Narrative Paragraph. Peer Review Form for a Narrative Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Narration.

Rocky Rowf, Edna Buchanan.

5. Process.

What is Process? Writing the Process Paragraph in Steps. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Process Paragraph. Peer Review Form for a Process Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Process.

How to Write a Personal Letter, by Garrison Keillor.

6. Comparison and Contrast.

What is Comparison? What is Contrast? Writing the Comparison or Contrast Paragraphs in Steps. Drafting and Revising. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Comparison or Contrast Paragraph. Peer Review Form for a Comparison or Contrast Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Comparison or Contrast.

Against All Odds, I'm Just Fine, by Brad Wackerlin.

7. Classification.

What is Classification? Writing the Classification Paragraph in Steps. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Classification Paragraph. Peer Review Form for Classification Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Classification.

Three Disciplines for Children, by John Holt.

8. Definition.

What is Definition? Writing the Definition Paragraph in Steps. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Definition Paragraph. Peer Review Form for a Definition Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Definition.

Breaking the Bonds of Hate, by Virak Khiev.

9. Cause and Effect.

What is Cause and Effect? Writing the Cause or Effect Paragraph in Steps. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Cause or Effect Paragraph. Peer Review Form for a Cause or Effect Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Cause or Effect.

Students in Shock, by John Kellmayer.

10. Argument.

What is Argument? Writing the Argument Paragraph in Steps. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Argument Paragraph. Peer Review Form for an Argument Paragraph. Writing From Reading: Argument.

Athletic Heroes, by James Beekman.

11. Writing an Essay.

What is an Essay? Writing the Introduction. Writing the Body of the Essay. Writing the Conclusion. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Essay. Peer Review Form for an Essay. Writing From Reading: The Essay.

Eleven, by Sandra Cisneros.

12. Different Essay Patterns.

Illustration. Writing the Illustration Essay in Steps. Writing an Illustration Essay. Description. Writing the Descriptive Essay in Steps. Writing a Descriptive Essay. Narration. Writing the Narrative Essay in Steps. A Narrative Essay. Process. Writing the Process Essay in Steps. Writing a Process Essay. Comparison and Contrast. Writing the Comparison or Contrast Essay in Steps. Classification. Writing the Classification Essay in Steps. Writing a Classification Essay. Definition. Writing the Definition Essay in Steps. Writing a Definition Essay. Cause and Effect. Writing a Cause or Effect Essay. Argument. Writing the Argument Essay in Steps. Writing an Argument Essay.

13. Writing From Reading.

What is Writing From Reading? An Approach to Writing From Reading. Writing a Summary of a Reading. Writing a Reaction to a Reading. Writing For an Essay Test. Lines of Detail: A Walk-Through Assignment. Writing Your Own Paragraph on "A Ridiculous Addiction." Peer Review Form For Writing From Reading. Writing From Reading.

My Daughter Smokes, by Alice Walker.
Parental Discussion, by Dennis Hevesi.

PART II: THE BOTTOM LINE: GRAMMAR FOR WRITERS.

14. The Simple Sentence.

Recognizing a Sentence. Recognizing Verbs. Recognizing Subjects. Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases. Word Order.

15. Beyond the Simple Sentence: Coordination.

Options for Combining Simple Sentences. Option 1: Using a Comma with a Coordinating Conjunction. Option 2: Using a Semicolon Between Two Simple Sentences. Option 3: Using a Semicolon and a Conjunctive Adverb.

16. Avoiding Run-On Sentences and Comma Splices.

Run-on Sentences. Steps For Correcting Run-On Sentences. Comma Splices. Correcting Comma Splices.

17. Beyond the Simple Sentence: Subordination.

More on Combing Simple Sentences. Option 4: Using a Dependent Clause to Begin a Sentence. Option 5: Using a Dependent Clause to End a Sentence.

18. Avoiding Sentence Fragments.

Recognizing Fragments: Step 1. Recognizing Fragments: Step 2. Correcting Fragments.

19. Using Parallelism in Sentences.

Achieving Parallelism.

20. Using Adjectives and Adverbs.

What are Adjectives? Adjectives: Comparative and Superlative Forms. What are Adverbs? Hints About Adjectives and Adverbs.

21. Correcting Problems with Modifiers.

Correcting Modifier Problems. Reviewing the Steps and the Solutions.

22. Using Verbs Correctly.

Using Standard Verb Forms. The Present Tense. The Past Tense. The Four Main Forms of a Verb: Present, Past, Present Participle, and Past Participle. Irregular Verbs.

23. More on Verbs: Consistency and Voice.

Consistent Verbs Tenses. The Present Perfect Tense. The Past Perfect Tense. Passive and Active Voice.

24. Making Subjects and Verbs Agree.

Pronouns as Subjects. Special Problems With Agreement. Compound Subjects. Indefinite Pronouns. Collective Nouns. Making Subjects and Verbs Agree: The Bottom Line.

25. Using Pronouns Correctly: Agreement and Reference.

Nouns and Pronouns. Agreement of a Pronoun and its Antecedent. Indefinite Pronouns. Collective Nouns. Pronouns and Their Antecedents: Being Clear.

26. Using Pronouns Correctly: Consistency and Case.

Choosing the Case of Pronouns. Common Errors With Case of Pronouns.

27. Punctuation: The Period and the Question Mark.

The Period. The Question Mark.

28. The Comma.

Use a Comma as a Lister. Use a Comma as a Linker. Use a Comma as an Introducer. Use a Comma as an Inserter.

29. Punctuation: The Semicolon and the Colon.

The Semicolon. The Colon.

30. Punctuation: The Apostrophe.

The Apostrophe.

31. Other Punctuation and Mechanics.

The Exclamation Mark. The Dash. Parenthesis. The Hyphen. Quotation Marks. Capital Letters. Numbers. Abbreviations.

32. Spelling.

Vowels and Consonants. Spelling Rule 1: Doubling a Final Consonant. Spelling Rule 2: Dropping the Final E. Spelling Rule 3: Changing the final y to i. Spelling Rule 4: Adding -s or -es. Spelling Rule 5: Using ie or ei. How Do You Spell It? One Word or Two? Commonly Misspelled Words.

33. Words That Sound Alike/Look Alike.

Words That Sound Alike/Look Alike. More Words That Sound Alike/Look Alike.

34. Word Choice.

Precise Language. Wordiness. Cliches.

35. Sentence Variety.

Balancing Long and Short Sentences. Using Different Ways to Begin Sentences. Using Different Ways to Join Ideas.

Appendix: Grammar for ESL Students.
Nouns and Articles.
Nouns or Pronouns Used as Subjects.
Verbs.
Contractions and Verbs.
Prepositions.
Credits.
Index.

Writing Paragraphs and Essays

Excerpts

We have been very encouraged by the positive feedback generated by previous editions of this text, and we trust that the third edition of Along These Lines: Writing Paragraphs and Essayswill offer instructors and students even more opportunities for stimulating interaction. To enable students to write for a specific audience and make connections between process and product, we have increased the amount of collaborative and independent activities. Today's writing classrooms reflect an ever-widening diversity of teaching strategies, learning styles, and student populations; Along These Linesrespects and accepts the challenges of this unique tapestry. THE WRITING CHAPTERS We have retained what you liked most: the meticulous and intensive coverage of the writing process. This step-by-step coverage continues to trace the stages of writing, from generating ideas, to planning and focusing, to drafting and revising, to the final proofreading. The linesof the title refer to these stages, which are called Thought Lines, Outlines, Rough Lines,and Final Lines,to serve as convenient prompts for each stage. Every writing chapter covering a rhetorical pattern takes the student through all the stages of writing, in detail. These chapters remain filled with exercises and activities, both individual and collaborative, because we believe that basic writers axe more motivated and learn more easily when they are activelyinvolved with individual or collaborative tasks. In keeping with these beliefs and with the emphasis on process, this edition of Along These Linesoffers instructors more choices than ever. New Features In response to the suggestions of our colleagues and reviewers, this edition contains these significant changes and refinements: A new chapter, "Writing a Paragraph," for instructors who want to introduce students to a basic paragraph before beginning specific patterns A new chapter, "Different Essay Patterns," providing examples of each essay pattern, in each step of composition, from generating ideas to proofreading. This chapter is designed for instructors who want to spend more time familiarizing their students with the essay form. Double the number of proofreading exercises in each writing chapter New sentence-combining exercises in each writing chapter Transition exercises in each writing chapter More exercises on writing thesis statements More photographs used as writing prompts for visual learners Additional Features Along These Linescontinues to include these distinctive features: A lively, conversational tone, including question-and-answer formats and dialogues Not much "talk" about writing; instead, no more than two pages of print are without a chart, a box, a list, an example, or an exercise. Small, simple clusters of information surrounded by white space rather than intimidating expanses of small print Boxed examples of the outline, draft, and final version of the writing assignment in each chapter Exercises throughout each chapter, not merely at the end, so each concept is reinforced as soon as it is introduced Exercises that are not merely fill-in-the-blanks, but collaborative ones that have students writing with peers, interviewing classmates, reacting to others' suggestions, and building on others' ideas Numerous writing topics and activities in each chapter, providing more flexibility for the instructor A Peer Review Form in each chapter so students can benefit from a classmate's reaction to their drafts THE READING SECTIONS New Features We have made these changes and additions to the reading sections: New readings on invention, technology, writing a personal letter, and adolescents who smoke