From Idea to Essay A Rhetoric, Reader, and Handbook (with 2009 MLA Update Card)

by McCuen-Metherell, Jo Ray; Winkler, Anthony

• ISBN13: 9780495900795
• ISBN10: 0495900796
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780495802112, 9780618981205
• Edition: 12th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-22
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

From Idea to Essay is a rhetorically arranged rhetoric/reader/research paper guide/handbook that systematically leads students through the complex process of writing an essay. Part I covers the fundamentals of essay writing. The heart of the book, Part II, teaches the nine rhetorical modes in nine identically structured chapters. Part III addresses writing research papers and using documentation. Part IV presents a handbook of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. From Idea to Essay features appealing readings with literary, professional, and student examples presented together with vocabulary words for study. The text includes a wealth of writing activities, including visual-based and internet-research assignments. The Twelfth Edition is briefer and more concise than previous editions, making it more functional and accessible for students.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals

The Writing Process

Prewriting

Writing

Rewriting

Generating Ideas with Journal Writing

Assembling a Portfolio

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Seeing

Critical Thinking

Critical Reading

Critical Seeing

Responding to a Work of Art

Elements of the Essay

Purpose

Audience

Strategy

Comparison/Contrast

Blending Rhetorical Patterns

The Paragraph

Uses of the Paragraph

The Shape of the Paragraph

Characteristics of the Paragraph

Journalistic Paragraphs

Transitions between Paragraphs

Paragraphs without Transitions

Using Varied Paragraph Transitions

Beginning and Ending Paragraphs

Rewriting Assignment

Planning and Organizing the Essay Finding a Topic

Prewriting Activities

Writer's Block

Finding the Thesis

The Informal Outline

The Formal Outline

Use of the Outline

Rewriting Assignment

Drafting, Revising, and Style

Pointers on Drafting

The First Draft

Revising the First Draft

Achieving Style

Editing the Second Draft

Rewriting Assignment

Writing the Essay

Narration

Reading for Ideas

Story: "The Code"

Poem: "Richard Cory"

How to Write a Narration

Professional Model: "A Gift of Laughter"

Student Model: "My Uncle Thom"

Alternate Readings: Excerpt from Night

"The Tell-tale Heart"

Description

Reading for Ideas

Story: "The Lament"

Poem: "Coats"

How to Write a Description

Professional Model: "Mma Ramotswe Thinks about the Land"

Student Model: "Children and Guns"

Alternate Readings: "My Father"

"Sister Flowers"

Example

Reading for Ideas

Story: "We're Poor"

Poem: "Eleanor Rigby"

How to Write with Examples

Professional Model: "Are You All Right?"

Student Model: "Poverty in Atlanta"

Alternate Readings: "What I've Learned from Men"

"The Word as Person: Eponyms"

Definition

Reading for Ideas

Story: "Arrangement in Black and White"

Poem: "Incident"

How to Write a Definition

Professional Model: "People Aren't Born Prejudiced"

Student Model: "Prejudice: Child of Ignorance"

Alternate Readings: "Will Someone Please Hiccup My Pat?"

"Jim Crow Days"

Comparison/Contrast

Reading for Ideas

Story: "Dream House"

Poem: "The Twins"

How to Write a Comparison/Contrast Paper

Professional Model: "Diogenes and Alexander"

Student Model: "Aben and James"

Alternate Readings: "Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts"

"The Richer, The Poorer"

Process

Reading for Ideas

Story: "How Mr. Hogan Robbed a Bank"

Poem: "Tract"

How to Write a Process Paper

Professional Model: "Coming into Language"

Student Model: "Driving to Preserve Your Car"

Alternate Readings: "How My Grandmother Became a Concubine"

"How to Say Nothing in 500 Words"

Classification/Division

Reading for Ideas

Story: "Harrison Bergeron"

Poem: "All the World's a Stage"

How to Write a Classification/Division Paper

Professional Model: "The Plot against People"

Student Essay: "Handicaps"

Alternate Readings: "Three Types of Resistance to Oppression"

"College Pressures"

Causal Analysis

Reading for Ideas

Story: "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses"

Poem: "Money"

How to Write an Analysis of Cause

Professional Model: "The Catastrophe of Success"

Student Model: "The Coffee Virgin"

Alternate Readings: "Why We Crave Horror Movies"

"Nearing Ninety"

Argumentation

Reading for Ideas

Story: "War"

Poem: "Doolie is a Traitor"

How to Write an Argument

Professional Model: "The Case against Man"

Student Model: "Online Role Playing: Waste of Time or Valuable Tool?"

Alternate Readings: "I Want a Wife"

"Playing God on No Sleep"

The Essay Examination

Preparing for the Essay examination

How to Do Well on Essay Examinations

Using Rhetorical Strategies in Essay Examinations

The Research Paper

Doing the Research

Choosing a Topic

Doing the Research

Using the Internet to Research a Topic

Compile a Bibliography

Take Notes

Formulating the Thesis, Outlining the Paper, and Writing the Abstract

Writing and Documenting the Paper

Plagiarism

Documenting the Humanities Paper (MLA)

Documenting the Social Sciences Paper (APA).Preparing the Final Copy (MLA)

Preparing the Final Copy (APA)

Handbook

Gammar Fundamentals

The Sentence

The Clause and Phrase

Sentence Types

Parts of Speech

Correcting Common Errors

Errors with Sentences

Errors in Agreement

Errors in Point of View

Errors in Reference

Errors with Modifiers

Errors in Parallelism

Errors in Diction

Combining Sentences

Errors in Punctuation

Errors in Capitalization

Errors in Spelling

Appendix: Answers to Self-Grading Exercises

Credits

Index

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