The Brief Bedford Reader

by Kennedy, X. J.; Kennedy, Dorothy M.; Aaron, Jane E.; Repetto, Ellen Kuhl

• ISBN13: 9781319195618
• ISBN10: 131919561X
• Additional ISBN(s): 9781319031183, 9781319332860
• Edition: 14th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2019-10-03
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's
• More Book Details

Summary

The first Bedford title ever published, The Brief Bedford Reader continues to make its mark. One of the most popular composition readers on the market, it combines timeless readings with the leading voices of our time. It takes a practical and flexible approach to the rhetorical methods, focusing on their uses in varied writing situations. The unique “Writers on Writing” feature connects reflections from professional writers with point-of-need advice for student writers, and the Kennedys' proven approach to instruction helps students connect critical reading to academic writing. The fourteenth edition has been thoroughly revised with engaging new readings by remarkable and diverse writers, a stronger foundation in reading and writing, and new graphic organizers to visually outline how to use each method.

Table of Contents

* indicates new to the 14e

PREFACE FOR INSTRUCTORS

CONTENTS BY THEME AND DISCIPLINE

HOW (AND WHY) TO USE THIS BOOK

THE SELECTIONS

THE METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT

THE PRACTICAL GUIDANCE

THE WRITERS ON WRITING

 

PART ONE

ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING

1  CRITICAL READING: Learning from Other Writers

READING ACTIVELY

NANCY MAIRS Disability (annotated essay)

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING

Checklist for critical reading

ANALYZING WRITTEN WORKS

Questions for analyzing a written work

EXAMINING VISUAL IMAGES

Questions for examining an image

Visual Image: Man Fishing by A Power Plant, photograph By Robin Nelson

2  THE WRITING PROCESS: Discovery and Drafting

ASSESSING THE WRITING SITUATION

DISCOVERING IDEAS

DRAFTING

A STUDENT ESSAY-IN-PROGRESS

3  THE WRITING PROCESS: Reviewing and Revising

*REVIEWING A DRAFT

REVISING IN STAGES

*Questions for peer review and revision

INTEGRATING EVIDENCE

A STUDENT ESSAY-IN-PROGRESS

4  THE WRITING PROCESS: Editing

USING EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE

Questions for editing

CRAFTING CLEAR AND ENGAGING SENTENCES

FIXING COMMON ERRORS

A STUDENT ESSAY-IN-PROGRESS

ROSIE ANAYA Mental Illness on Television (annotated student essay)

 

PART TWO

THE METHODS

5  NARRATION: Telling a Story

Visual Image: Proposal, drawing by Demetri Martin

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

Focus on verbs

*How to organize a narrative

Checklist for reviewing and revising a narrative

EMBARRASSMENT

AMY TAN Fish Cheeks

NAOMI SHIHAB NYE Museum

Naomi Shihab Nye on Writing

JONATHAN BETHARDS Code Three (student essay)

MAYA ANGELOU Champion of the World

Maya Angelou on Writing

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

6  DESCRIPTION: Writing with Your Senses

*Visual Image: Under the Passaic Falls, photograph by Todd R. Darling

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

*How to organize a description

Focus on specific and concrete language

Checklist for reviewing and revising a description

*FATHERS

BRAD MANNING Arm Wrestling with My Father (student essay)

Brad Manning on Writing

*SCAACHI KOUL Impatiently Waiting for the Horror of Death

*Scaachi Koul on Writing

*SHONDA RHIMES My Summer of Scooping Ice Cream

N. SCOTT MOMADAY The Way to Rainy Mountain

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

7  EXAMPLE: Pointing to Instances

*Visual Image: Costumes to Scare Millennials, cartoon by Sarah Andersen

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

Focus on sentence variety

*How to organize examples

Checklist for reviewing and revising an example essay

MISPERCEPTIONS

BRENT STAPLES Black Men and Public Space

Brent Staples on Writing

ISSA RAE The Struggle

ANNA QUINDLEN Homeless

Anna Quindlen on Writing

*ZANE RASSLER Looking Back (student essay)

*Zane Rassler on Writing

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

8  COMPARISON AND CONTRAST: Setting Things Side by Side

Visual Image: Excerpt from Fun Home, graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

*How to organize a comparison-and-contrast essay

Checklist for reviewing and revising a comparison-and-contrast essay

Focus on parallelism

*ENDANGERED SPECIES

*JOURDAN IMANI KEITH At Risk

*Jourdan Imani Keith on Writing

*TED CHIANG The Great Silence (short story)

*Visual Images: from The Great Silence, video installation by Allora & Calzadilla

*CAITLIN McDOUGALL So Enid and Dorothy from West Covina Can Hear You (student essay)

*Caitlin McDougall on Writing

DAVID SEDARIS Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

9  PROCESS ANALYSIS: Explaining Step by Step

Visual Image: Workers Making Dolls, photograph by Wally McNamee

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

*How to organize a process analysis

Checklist for reviewing and revising a process analysis

Focus on consistency

WRITING

ANNE LAMOTT Shitty First Drafts

KOJI FRAHM How to Write an A Paper (student essay)

Koji Frahm on Writing

FIROOZEH DUMAS Sweet, Sour, and Resentful

Firoozeh Dumas on Writing

JESSICA MITFORD Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

10  DIVISION OR ANALYSIS: Slicing into Parts

Visual Image: Deconstructing Lunch, cartoon by Roz Chast

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

*How to organize a division or analysis essay

Focus on paragraph coherence

Checklist for reviewing and revising a division or analysis essay

*SPORTS AND LEISURE

*PAUL THEROUX Football Matters

*Paul Theroux on Writing

*ZADIE SMITH Find Your Beach

*Visual Image: Find Your Beach, advertisement by Corona

*Zadie Smith on Writing

Laila Ayad The Capricious Camera (documented student essay)

Visual Image: Mounted Nazi Troops on the Lookout for Likely Polish Children, photograph

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

11  CLASSIFICATION: Sorting into Kinds

Visual Image: How the Poor, the Middle Class, and the Rich Spend Their Money, table by National Public Radio

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

Focus on paragraph development

*How to organize a classification

Checklist for reviewing and revising a classification

*LEO BRAUDY Where Our Monsters Come From

FAILURES TO COMMUNICATE

DEBORAH TANNEN But What Do You Mean?

Deborah Tannen on Writing

WILLIAM LUTZ The World of Doublespeak

William Lutz on Writing

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

12  CAUSE AND EFFECT: Asking Why

Visual Image: Wild Weather, bar graph by National Geographic

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

*How to organize a cause-and-effect analysis

Focus on clarity and conciseness

Checklist for reviewing and revising a cause-and-effect essay

*BEN HEALY Gossip Is Good

*DEREK THOMPSON What Makes Things Cool

*Visual Image: Raymond Loewy, illustration by Mark Weaver, with photographs by Bernard Hoffman, Jack Garofalo, and Sherman Oaks Antique Mall

GLOBALIZATION

CHITRA DIVAKARUNI Live Free and Starve

Chitra Divakaruni on Writing

MARIE JAVDANI Plata o Plomo: Silver or Lead (documented student essay)

Marie Javdani on Writing

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

13  DEFINITION: Tracing Boundaries

*Visual Image: This Expedition Called Life, advertisement by Outward Bound

THE METHOD

THE PROCESS

*How to organize a definition

Focus on unity

Checklist for reviewing and revising a definition

PRIVILEGE

TAL FORTGANG Checking My Privilege (student essay)

Tal Fortgang on Writing

ROXANE GAY Peculiar Benefits

Roxane Gay on Writing

AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS How to Identify Love by Knowing What It’s Not

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

14  ARGUMENT AND PERSUASION: Stating Opinions and Proposals

Visual Image: Corporate America Flag, image from Adbusters Media Foundation

THE METHOD

Focus on tone

THE PROCESS

*How to organize an argument

Checklist for reviewing and revising argument and persuasion

LINDA CHAVEZ Supporting Family Values (annotated essay)

Linda Chavez on Writing

*IS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT MORALLY DEFENSIBLE?

*DAVID B. MUHLHAUSEN How the Death Penalty Saves Lives

*SEMON FRANK THOMPSON What I Learned from Executing Two Men

*SHOULD COLLEGES OFFER SAFE SPACES FOR STUDENTS?

*DAWN LUNDY MARTIN Weary Oracle

*Dawn Lundy Martin on Writing

*THOMAS CHATTERTON WILLIAMS Blanket Security

*Thomas Chatterton Williams on Writing

*SARAH HEMPHILL What Happened to Free Speech on College Campuses? (documented student essay)

*Sarah Hemphill on Writing

ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

 

PART THREE

MIXING THE METHODS

JOAN DIDION Earthquakes (annotated essay)

Joan Didion on Writing

*REBECCA SOLNIT Division Street

*Visual Images: from Division Street, photographs by Robert Gumpert

TRANSCENDENTALISM

HENRY DAVID THOREAU What I Lived For

*Henry David Thoreau on Writing

LUIS ALBERTO URREA Barrio Walden

Luis Alberto Urrea on Writing

E. B. WHITE Once More to the Lake

APPENDIX: RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION

CONDUCTING RESEARCH

Questions for evaluating sources

WRITING WITH SOURCES

SOURCE CITATION USING MLA STYLE

MARGARET LUNDBERG Eating Green (annotated student essay)

SOURCE CITATION USING APA STYLE

ERIC KIM The Brain that Changes (annotated student essay)

GLOSSARY OF USEFUL TERMS

DIRECTORY TO THE WRITERS ON WRITING

INDEX