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This Concise abbreviation of The Curious Writer offers an inquiry-driven approach, a focus on the connections between personal and academic writing, and a personal voice that engages and motivates students.
The Curious Writer emphasizes inquiry as both a method of discovery and learning and a driving force behind the writing process. The book operates on the principle that writers who begin with questions, rather than answers, achieve better results in their work. It treats research, revision, and critical reading skills (of both texts and visuals) as organic components of every writing process. Each of the eight writing assignment chapters offers integrated coverage of these three key activities and also provides special attention digital tools for invention and research. Offering a unique, entertaining, and personal author voice, The Curious Writer is sure to grab students’ interest and motivate them to write.
In just ten chapters, the Concise Edition encourages students to use writing as a tool of discovery while composing and revising their own reviews, proposals, and critical, personal, argumentative and research essays.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Writing as Inquiry
Motives for Writing
Beliefs About Writing and Writing Development
Exercise 1.1 This I Believem(and This I Don’t) One Student’s Response
Bernice’s Journal
Inquiring into the Details Journals
Unlearning Unhelpful Beliefs
The Beliefs of This Book
Habits of Mind
Starting with Questions, Not Answers
Suspending Judgment
Being Willing to Write Badly
Searching for Surprise
Exercise 1.2 A Roomful of Details
One Student’s Response
Writing Situations and Rhetorical Choices
A First Reflection on Your Writing Process
A Case Study
Inquiring into the Details Organizing Your Computer Files
Thinking About Your Process
Inquiring into the Details Portfolios
Exercise 1.3 L iteracy Narrative Collage
Exercise 1.4 What Is Your Process?
Problem Solving in Your Writing Process
The Nature of the Writing Process
The Writing Process As Recursive and Flexible
A System for Using Writing to Think
Inquiring into the Details Invention Strategies
Exercise 1.5 T wo Kinds of Thinking
A Writing Process That Harnesses Two Currents of Thought
A Writing Process Driven by Questions
Questioning, Generating, and Judging: A Strategy for Inquiry
Exercise 1.6 A Mini Inquiry Project: Cell Phone Culture
Exercise 1.7 S cenes of Writing
Using What You Have Learned
Chapter 2 Reading as Inquiry
Purposes for Academic Reading
Exercise 2.1 Using the Four Purposes for Academic Reading
Beliefs About Reading
Exercise 2.2 A Reader’s Memoir
One Common Belief That Is an Obstacle
Reading Situations and Rhetorical Choices
Four Frames for Reading
Reading Scenarios
Inquiring into the Details Reading Perspectives
Exercise 2.3 R eading a Life
A Process for Reading to Write
Questions for the Process of Reading to Write
Having a Dialogue with What You Read
Inquiring into the Details Reading the Visual
Exercise 2.4 Double-Entry Journaling with a Visual Text
Techniques for Keeping a Double-Entry Journal
Exercise 2.5 R eading Creatively, Reading Critically
READING Bruce Ballenger, “The Importance of Writing Badly”
Briana’s Journal
Wrestling with Academic Discourse: Reading from the Outside In
Exercise 2.6 Reading Reality TV
Features of Academic Discourse
Chapter 3 Writing a Personal Essay
Writing About Experience and Observations
Motives for Writing a Personal Essay
The Personal Essay and Academic Writing
Features of the Form
Readings
Personal Essay 1 Laura Zazulak, “Every Morning for Five Years”
Inquiring into the Essay
Personal Essay 2 Judith Ortiz Cofer, “One More Lesson”
The Writing Process
Inquiry Project: Writing a Personal Essay
Writing Beyond the Classroom Essaying “This I Believe”
What Are You Going to Write About?
Opening Up
Narrowing Down
Trying Out
Writing the Sketch
Student Sketch Amanda Stewart, “Earning a Sense of Place”
Moving from Sketch to Draft
Developing
Drafting
Workshopping
Revising
*Student Essay Seth Marlin, “Smoke of Empire”
Evaluating the Essay
Chapter 4 Writing a Review
Writing That Evaluates
Motives for Writing a Review
The Review and Academic Writing
Seeing the Form Choosing the Best Picture
*Review 1 Roger Ebert, “A Christmas Story”
Review 2 Seth Schiesel, “Grand Theft Auto Takes on New York”
Inquiry Project: Writing a Review Essay
Thinking About Criteria
*Student Sketch Laura Burns, “Recipe for a Great Film: Unlikeable People, Poor Choices, and Little Redemption”
*Student Essay Laura Burns, “How to Not Feel Good and Feel Good About It”
Chapter 5 Writing a Proposal
Writing About Problems and Solutions
Problems of Consequence
Problems of Manageable Scale
Motives for Writing a Proposal
The Proposal and Academic Writing
Inquiring into the Details Writing a Research Proposal
*Proposal 1 Buzz Bissinger, “Why College Football Should Be Banned”
Proposal 2 “Green Dining”
Seeing the Form A Problem in Pictures
Inquiry Project: Writing a Proposal
*Student Sketch Jenna Appleman, “Loving and Hating Reality TV”
Inquiring into the Details Design Tips for Basic Web Pages
*Student Essay Jenna Appleman, “Avoidable Accidents: How to Make Reality TV Safer”
Chapter 6 Writing an Argument
Writing to Persuade People
What Is Argument?
Two Sides to Every Argument?
The Machinery of Argument: Claims, Reasons, and Evidence
Claims: What You Want People to Believe
Reasons: The “Because. . .” Behind the Claim
Evidence: Proof of the Point
Seeing the Form The “Imagetext” as Argument
Credibility, Emotion, and Logic
Analyzing Argument
Exercise 6.1 A rgument as Therapy
One Student’s Response Rebecca’s Journal
Inquiring into the Details Common Logical Fallacies
Motives for Writing an Argument
Writing Beyond the Classroom Public Argument in a Digital Age
The Argument and Academic Writing
*Argument 1 Edward Tufte, “PowerPoint Is Evil”
Argument 2 Loye Young, “Is Humiliation an Ethically Appropriate Response to Plagiarism?”
Inquiry Project: Writing an Argument
*Student Sketch Rebecca Thompson, “Twitter a Profound Thought?”
Inquiring into the Details What Evidence Can Do
Inquiring into the Details Toulmin: A Method for Analyzing an Argument
*Student Essay Rebecca Thompson, “Social Networking Social Good?”
Chapter 7 Writing a Critical Essay
Writing About Literature
Motives for Writing a Critical Essay
The Critical Essay and Academic Writing
Short Story Leslie Marmon Silko, “Lullaby”
Inquiring into the Story
One Student’s Response Noel’s Journal
Inquiring into the Details Why Literary Theory Is Not a Sleep Aid
*Film Criticism James Parker, “Our Zombies, Ourselves”
Seeing the Form Young Ladies on the Banks of the Seine by Gustave Coubet
Inquiry Project: Writing a Critical Essay
Inquiring into the Details Common Literary Devices
Student Sketch Julie Bird, “What Is the Role of Nature in ‘Lullaby’?”
Polishing
Student Essay Julie Bird, “Nature as Being: Landscape in Silko’s ‘Lullaby’ ”
Chapter 8 Research Techniques
Methods of Collecting
Research in the Electronic Age
Research Routines
Power Searching Using
Google
Power Searching in the Library
Developing Working Knowledge
A Strategy for Developing Working Knowledge
Developing Focused Knowledge
A Strategy for Developing Focused Knowledge
Evaluating Library Sources
Inquiring into the Details The Working Bibliography
Advanced Internet Research Techniques
Go Beyond Google
Evaluating Web Sources
An Evaluation Process for Web Sources
Research with Living Sources: Interviews, Surveys, and Fieldwork
Interviews
Surveys
Inquiring into the Details Types of Survey Questions
Conducting a Survey
Using Survey Results in Your Writing
Fieldwork: Research on What You See and Hear
Writing in the Middle: Note-Taking Techniques
Double-Entry Journal
Research Log
Claude’s Research Log
Chapter 9 Using and Citing Sources
Controlling Information
Using Sources
Summarizing
Paraphrasing
Quoting
Citing Sources
Avoiding Plagiarism
Exercise 9.1 The Accidental Plagiarist
MLA Documentation Guidelines
Inquiring into the Details The Common Knowledge Exception
Inquiring into the Details Citations That Go with the Flow
Format
Preparing the Works Cited Page
APA Documentation Guidelines How the Essay Should Look
Citing Sources in Your Essay
Preparing the References List
Chapter 10 Revision Strategies
Why Revise?
Divorcing the Draft
Strategies for Divorcing the Draft
Five Categories of Revision
Problems with Purpose
Revision Strategy 10.1: The Motive Statement
Revision Strategy 10.2: What Do
You Want to Know About What You Learned?
Julia’s Draft
Revision Strategy 10.3: Finding the Focusing Question
Revision Strategy 10.4: What’s the Relationship?
Problems with Meaning
Where Does Meaning Come From?
Methods for Discovering Your Thesis
Revision Strategy 10.5: Find the “Instructive Line”
Revision Strategy 10.6: Looping Toward a Thesis
Revision Strategy 10.7: Reclaiming Your Topic
Revision Strategy 10.8: Believing and Doubting
Methods for Refining Your Thesis
Revision Strategy 10.9: Questions as Knives
Revision Strategy 10.10: Qualifying Your Claim
Problems with Information
Revision Strategy 10.11: Explode a Moment
Revision Strategy 10.12: Beyond Examples
Revision Strategy 10.13: Research
Revision Strategy 10.14: Backing Up Your Assumptions
Problems with Structure
Formal Academic Structures
Revision Strategy 10.15: Beginnings, Middles, Ends, and the Work They Do
Revision Strategy 10.16: Reorganizing Around Thesis and Support
Revision Strategy 10.17: Multiple Leads
Revision Strategy 10.18: The Frankenstein Draft
Problems with Clarity and Style
Solving Problems of Clarity
Revision Strategy 10.19: The Three Most Important Sentences
Revision Strategy 10.20: Untangling Paragraphs
Revision Strategy 10.21: Cutting Clutter
Inquiring into the Details Transition Flags Revision Strategy 10.22: The Actor and the Action Next Door Improving Style Revision Strategy 10.23: Actors and Actions Revision Strategy 10.24: Smoothing the Choppiness Revision Strategy 10.25: Fresh Ways to Say Things Using What You Have Learned
Credits Index
*new selections
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