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In Tandem: College Reading and Writing
by Deanne Spears and David Spears
Table of Contents
Introduction—To the Instructor
Introduction—To the Student
Making Connections—Linking Reading and Writing
Linking Reading and Writing—An Illustration
The Organization of the Text
Part One: An Overview of the Writing Process
The Dimensions of an Essay
Three Useful Maxims about Writing
Sample Student Essay
Wrestling with the Scope of the Paper and Finding a Focus
Writing the Thesis Statement
Tying the Elements Together—The Finished Essay
Steps to Writing a Good Essay
Miscellaneous Observations about the Writing Process
The Aftermath: Getting the Paper Back
A Checklist for Writing and Revising Essays Using Quotations
Correct Techniques of Documentation
Fourteen Rules for Using Quotations
How to Format Your Essay
How to Prepare a Works Cited Page
Part Two
Reading
Finding the Main Idea and Writer’s Purpose
The Difference Between Fiction and Nonfiction
The Difference Between Articles and Essays
Identifying the Main Idea in Paragraphs
Locating the Thesis Statement in Longer Readings
Practice Essay: Kristie Helms, Girls of Summer: Lazy Days from a Gen X Childhood
Reading Selections
Frank Huyler, Sugar
Rose Castillo Guilbault, The Conveyor-Belt Ladies
K. Oanh Ha, Refugee’s Journey
Val Plumwood, Surviving a Crocodile Attack
Writing
Writing about Personal Experience
Writing about a Personal Experience of Your Own
Developing the Essay with Details: Show, Don’t Tell
Analyzing Personal Experience in a Reading
Topics for Writing a Personal Experience Essay
Topics Related to the Readings
Part Three
Reading
Acquiring New Vocabulary
Six Techniques for Acquiring Words
Using Context Clues
Using the Dictionary Effectively
The Features of a Dictionary
Sample Dictionary Column
Choosing the Right Definition
Online Dictionaries
Practice Essay: Lori Hope, Did I Save Lives or Engage in Racial Profiling?
Reading Selections
Susan Orlean, The American Man, Age Ten
David Sedaris, Our Perfect Summer
Curtis Wilkie, The New Orleans That Was
Three Photographs for Analysis
Hurricane Katrina: Houston
Hurricane Katrina: Biloxi, Mississippi
Earthquake: Northern Pakistan
Writing
Writing a Profile: Examining Personal Attributes
The Profile—A Definition
How to Write a Profile
Topics for Writing a Profile of Your Own
Topics Related to the Readings
Part Four
Reading
Learning to Annotate
The Purpose of Annotating
Reading with a Pencil in Your Hand: How to Annotate
Comments on Sample Annotations
Practice Essay: Richard Wolkomir, Making Up for Lost time: The Rewards of Reading at Last
Reading Selections
Barbara Kingsolver, How Mr. Dewey Decimal Saved My Life
Mark Edmundson, The Teacher Who Opened My Mind
Bill Bryson, Cells
Jared Diamond, Easter’s End, from Collapse
Writing
Writing Paraphrases and Summaries
How to Paraphrase
Sample Paraphrases
How to Summarize
Sample Summaries
Comment on the Final Draft
Further Assignments for Annotating Further Assignments for Paraphrasing
Further Assignments for Writing Summaries
Topics Related to the Readings
Part Five
Reading
Making Inferences and Seeing Connections
Inferences—A Definition
Inferences in the Real World
Further Considerations about Inferences
Marking Inference Answers
Drawing Defensible Conclusions
Four Readings on Food and the Fast Food
Industry Practice Essay: Bobbie Ann Mason, The Burden of the Feast
Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation: Behind the Counter
Shannon Brownlee, Pricing French Fries: A Lesson in Economics
Four Readings on Work, Success, and Failure
William Ecenbarger, Facing Up to the Ultimate Taboo: Failure
Kirk O. Hanson, Culture Suggests Cheaters Do Prosper
C. W. Nevius, Slippery Slope
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America
Writing
Writing an Analysis and a Synthesis Essay
Definition of an Analytical Essay
A Case in Point: Analyzing “Sugar” by Frank Huyler
Brainstorming for an Analytical Essay—Sample Notes
Writing the Thesis Statement
Writing the Introductory Paragraph
Writing the Analysis—The Tell-Show-Share Method
Writing the Analysis: Two Sample Body Paragraphs
A Special Kind of Analysis—The Synthesis Essay
Writing a Synthesis Essay
Topics Related to the Readings
Topics for Writing a Synthesis Essay
Miscellaneous Topics
Part Six
Reading
Recognizing Common Patterns of Development
Patterns of Development and Patterns of Thinking
Listing Facts or Details
Listing Facts in Visual Material
Examples
Cause and Effect
Process
Using Process in Visual Material
Comparison and Contrast
Combining Patterns of Development
Practice Essay: Adam Goodheart, Passing Fancy: The Passeggiata
Reading Selections
Paco Underhill, Shop Like a Man
Gautam Naik, Speed Dating, Berber Style
Anjula Razdan, What’s Love Got to Do with It?
James Fallows, Throwing Like a Girl
Alex Gregory, The New Yorker (Cartoon)
Mike Luckovich, “Al-Qaida Iraq Command Chart” (Cartoon)
Luis Sinco, An Iraqi Soldier (Photograph)
Two Public Service Advertisements for Analysis:
National Center for Family Literacy
“The Back Pat,” High School Dropout Prevention
Writing
Writing Comparison and Contrast Essays
Comparing and Contrasting—Some Definitions
Brainstorming and Taking Notes for a Comparison and Contrast Essay
An Interlude and Some Repeated Advice
Organizing the Essay—Two Approaches
Using the Tell-Show-Share Method Achieving Coherence
Using Comparison and Contrast to Write about a Selection
Topics for Comparison and Contrast Essays
Topics Related to the Readings
Miscellaneous Topics
Part Seven
Reading
Identifying Transitional Elements
Transitional Elements in Reading
Transitional Elements in Writing
The Placement of Transitional Elements in Sentences
An Excerpt Showing the Effect of Transitions
The Paragraph as a Transition
Practice Essay: Barry Glassner, Teen Suicide and the Culture of Fear
Reading Selections
Anwar Accawi, The Telephone
Judith Ortiz Cofer, More Room
Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Megan Stack, The Many Layers of the Veil Writing Writing
Writing
Writing Cause-and-Effect Essays
Cause and Effect—A Definition
Organizing and Developing a Cause-and-Effect Essay
The Cause-and-Effect “Chain”
Avoiding Generalizations in Ascribing Causes
Topics for Cause-Effect Essays
Topics Related to the Readings
Part Eight
Reading
Evaluating Argumentative Prose
The Principles of Argumentative Writing
How to Read Argumentative Writing
Types of Claims—Fact, Value, and Policy
The Structure of an Argument
Kinds of Evidence
Examining Two Short Editorials: The Great Cell Phone Debate
The Refutation
Bias
Practice Editorial: George Friedman, The Ethics of Torture, Jewish World Review
Editorials for Evaluation
Bob Herbert, Black, Dead and Invisible, New York Times
Nicholas Thompson, Hero Inflation, Boston Globe
THREE EDITORIALS: The Immigration Dilemma
Background Reading: Sonia Nazario, “Benefit and Burden,” from Enrique’s Journey
Eugene Robinson, “Can You Say ‘Bienvenidos’?” The Washington Post National Weekly Edition
Robert J. Samuelson, “Conspiracy Against Assimilation,” The Washington Post National Weekly Edition
Mike Keefe, The Denver Post (Cartoon)
Walt Handelsman, Newsday (Cartoon)
TWO EDITORIALS: How Serious Is the Problem of Global Warming?
Margaret Atwood, The Weather Where We Are: The Arctic, Granta
David Ignatius, “Is It Warm in Here?” The Washington Post
Tom Toles, The Washington Post (Cartoon)
Writing
Writing an Argumentative Essay
Argumentation and Persuasion in the Real World
Steps to Writing an Argumentative Essay
Practice Outline for an Argumentative Essay
Special Consideration: The Refutation
Topics for Writing an Argumentative Essay
Topics Related to the Selections
Part Nine: A Brief Guide to Grammar and Usage
Basic Grammar
Recognizing Subjects and Verbs
Parts of Speech
Sentence Patterns
Appositives
Dependent Clauses
Verbal Phrases
Usage
Pronoun Case
Pronoun Agreement
Subject-Verb Agreement
Punctuation
Misplaced, Dangling, and Squinting Modifiers
Parallel Structure
Comparison
Common ESL Issues
Proofreading Exercises
Using Microsoft Word Grammar Check
