The Prentice Hall Reader

by Miller, George E.

• ISBN13: 9780131955714
• ISBN10: 0131955713
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

This best-selling collection features ten chapters focusing on the classic methods of narration, description, argument, and persuasion. It contains classic and contemporary essays about popular culture, along with advice about how to read analytically, and how to write persuasively and effectively. Each chapter is organized clearly and effectively, enabling the reader to not only understand each essay and but also what the writer was trying to convey. An excellent reference work as well as an interesting and thoughtful collection of essays.

Table of Contents

Thematic Contents	xix
Preface	xxvii
How to Read an Essay	1	(12)
Linking Reading and Writing	1	(1)
How Does Reading Help You Write?	1	(1)
How Does Writing Help You Read?	2	(1)
Using the Active Reading Process	3	(1)
What Is the Difference Between an Active and a Passive Reader?	3	(1)
What Is the Active Reading Process?	3	(2)
Prereading	3	(1)
Reading	4	(1)
Rereading	5	(1)
Practicing Active Reading: An Annotated Sample	5	(7)
On Cloning a Human Being	6	(6)
Lewis Thomas
Some Things to Remember	12	(1)
How to Write an Essay	13	(19)
Writing: An Overview	13	(1)
Choosing a Subject	13	(1)
Having a Purpose	13	(1)
Defining an Audience	14	(1)
Prewriting	14	(10)
Writing on an Assigned Topic	15	(3)
Creating Your Own Topic	18	(1)
Gathering Information	18	(4)
Defining a Thesis Statement	22	(1)
Writing a Thesis Statement	23	(1)
Writing a Draft	24	(6)
Organizing Your Essay	24	(1)
Structuring the Body	24	(2)
Beginning and Ending	26	(2)
Checking Your Essay's Structure	28	(2)
Some Things to Remember	30	(2)
How to Revise an Essay	32	(12)
What Does Revising Involve?	32	(1)
Analyzing Your Own Writing	33	(4)
Rethinking the Larger Issues	33	(1)
Judging Length	34	(1)
Analyzing the Structure of Your Paper	34	(2)
Looking at Sentences and Word Choices	36	(1)
Keeping a Revision Log	36	(1)
Using Peer Readers	37	(2)
Peer Editing	37	(1)
Group Editing	38	(1)
Using Your School's Writing Center or a Writing Tutor	39	(1)
Using an OWL	39	(1)
Conferencing with Your Instructor	40	(1)
Proofreading Your Paper	41	(1)
Is an Error-Free Paper an ``A'' Paper?	42	(1)
Some Things to Remember	42	(2)
Writers At Work	44	(535)
A Student Writer	44	(7)
Finding a Topic and Prewriting	44	(2)
Drafting	46	(1)
Revising	47	(1)
The Watermelon Wooer	48	(3)
Tina Burton
A Professional Writer	51	(10)
Finding a Topic and Prewriting	51	(3)
Drafting	54	(1)
Revising	55	(1)
Caught in the Widow's Web	56	(5)
Gordon Grice
Gathering And Using Examples	61	(49)
Preparing to Write	61	(5)
What Role Do Examples Play in Writing?	61	(1)
Where Can You Find Details and Examples?	62	(1)
How Do You Gather Details and Examples from Your Experiences?	63	(1)
How Do You Gather Information from Outside Sources?	64	(1)
Prewriting Suggestions	65	(1)
Writing	66	(2)
How Many Examples Are Enough?	66	(1)
How Do You Fit Examples into the Structure of an Essay?	67	(1)
Drafting Suggestions	68	(1)
Revising	68	(2)
How Do You Revise When Using Examples?	68	(2)
Revising Suggestions	70	(1)
Sample Student Essay	70	(2)
Looking for Love	71	(1)
Frank Smite
Some Things to Remember	72	(1)
Example as a Literary Strategy	72	(2)
Night	73	(1)
Bret Lott
Reading for Examples	74	(1)
from The Language Instinct	74	(1)
Steven Pinker
Responding to a Visual	75	(1)
Reading and Writing about Images	76	(1)
Visiting the Web	76	(1)
Looking for Writing Suggestions	77	(33)
The Name Is Mine	79	(4)
Anna Quindlen
Cut	83	(7)
Bob Greene
Westbury Court	90	(6)
Edwidge Danticat
One of the Girls	96	(6)
Leslie Heywood
Shooting an Elephant	102	(8)
George Orwell
Narration	110	(51)
Preparing to Write	110	(3)
What Is Narration and What Are its Elements?	110	(1)
What Are the Common Forms of Narrative Writing?	111	(1)
What Do You Write About If Nothing Ever Happened to You?	111	(1)
What Do You Include in a Narrative?	112	(1)
Prewriting Suggestions	113	(1)
Writing	113	(4)
How Do You Structure a Narrative?	113	(2)
How Are Narratives Told?	115	(1)
How Do You Write Dialogue?	115	(2)
Drafting Suggestions	117	(1)
Revising	117	(2)
How Do You Revise a Narrative?	117	(1)
Revising Suggestions	118	(1)
Sample Student Essay	119	(3)
The Ruby Slippers	121	(1)
Hope Zucker
Some Things to Remember	122	(1)
Narration as a Literary Strategy	122	(2)
Waiting	123	(1)
Peggy Mcnally
Reading Narration	124	(1)
Blue Hen's Chicks	124	(1)
S. E. Schlosser
Responding to a Visual	125	(1)
Reading and Writing about Images	126	(1)
Visiting the Web	126	(1)
Looking for Writing Suggestions	126	(35)
Salvation	128	(5)
Langston Hughes
Sister Monroe	133	(5)
Maya Angelou
Facing Famine	138	(7)
Tom Hanies
Marina	145	(8)
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Lockdown	153	(8)
Evans D. Hopkins
Description	161	(50)
Preparing to Write	161	(4)
What Is Description?	161	(1)
If Recording Sense Impressions in Words Is Difficult, Why Bother?	162	(1)
What Is the Difference Between Objective and Subjective Description?	163	(1)
What Do You Include in and What Do You Exclude from a Description?	164	(1)
Prewriting Suggestions	165	(1)
Writing	165	(2)
How Do You Describe an Object or a Place?	165	(1)
How Do You Describe a Person?	165	(1)
How Do You Organize a Description?	166	(1)
Drafting Suggestions	167	(1)
Revising	167	(2)
How Do You Revise a Description?	167	(1)
Keeping Focused	168	(1)
Revising Suggestions	168	(1)
Sample Student Essay	169	(2)
Natalie	170	(1)
Nadine Resnick
Some Things to Remember	171	(1)
Example as a Literary Strategy	171	(2)
Traveling to Town	172	(1)
Duane BigEagle
Reading Description	173	(1)
from Bleak House	174	(1)
Charles Dickens
Responding to a Visual	174	(1)
Reading and Writing about Images	175	(1)
Visiting the Web	175	(1)
Looking for Writing Suggestions	176	(35)
A Pen by the Phone	177	(4)
Debra Anne Davis
The Way to Rainy Mountain	181	(7)
N. Scott Nowaday
Nameless, Tennessee	188	(7)
William Least Heat Moon
The Village Watchman	195	(8)
Terry Tempest Williams
The Inheritance of Tools	203	(8)
Scott Russell Sanders
Division And Classification	211	(56)
Preparing to Write	211	(4)
What Is Division?	211	(1)
What Is Classification?	212	(2)
How Do You Choose a Subject?	214	(1)
Prewriting Suggestions	214	(1)
Writing	215	(2)
How Do You Divide or Classify a Subject?	215	(1)
How Do You Structure a Division or Classification Essay?	216	(1)
Drafting Suggestions	217	(1)
Revising	217	(2)
How Do You Revise a Division or Classification?	217	(1)
Revising Suggestions	218	(1)
Sample Student Essay	219	(2)
Riding the Rails: The American Hobo	220	(1)
Evan James
Some Things to Remember	221	(1)
Division and Classification as a Literary Strategy	221	(2)
How Do I Love Thee?	222	(1)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Reading Division and Classification	223	(1)
from Grammar in the Classroom	223	(1)
Mark Lester
Responding to a Visual	224	(1)
Reading and Writing about Images	224	(1)
Visiting the Web	225	(1)
Looking for Writing Suggestions	226	(41)
What's in Your Toothpaste?	221	(11)
David Bodanis
In Defense of Talk Shows	232	(4)
Barbara Ehrenreich
How We Listen to Music	236	(7)
Aaron Cope Land
The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria	243	(7)
Judith Ortiz Cofer
The Value of Children: A Taxonomical Essay	250	(8)
Bernard R. Berelson
What Are You Afraid of?	258	(9)
Joseph Epstein
Comparison And Contrast	267	(52)
Preparing to Write	267	(4)
What Is Comparison and Contrast?	267	(3)
How Do You Choose a Subject?	270	(1)
Do You Always Find Both Similarities and Differences?	270	(1)
Prewriting Suggestions	271	(1)
Writing	271	(3)
How Do You Structure a Comparison and Contrast?	271	(2)
How Do You Use Analogy, Metaphor, and Simile?	273	(1)
Drafting Suggestions	274	(1)
Revising	274	(2)
How Do You Revise a Comparison and Contrast Essay?	274	(1)
Revising Suggestions	275	(1)
Sample Student Essay	276	(4)
Minimizing the Guesswork in a Library Search	278	(2)
Alicia Gray
Some Things to Remember	280	(1)
Comparison and Contrast as a Literary Strategy	280	(2)
Coca-Cola and Coco Frio	281	(1)
Martin Espada
Reading Comparison and Contrast	282	(1)
from Oranges	283	(1)
John Mcphee
Responding to a Visual	283	(1)
Reading and Writing about Images	283	(1)
Visiting the Web	284	(1)
Exploring on Your Own	284	(35)
Guavas	286	(4)
Esmeralda Santiago
The Transaction: Two Writing Processes	290	(4)
William Zinsser
Academic Selves	294	(5)
Mary Pipher
Neat People vs. Sloppy People	299	(4)
Suzanne Britt
The Color of Love	303	(6)
Danzy Senna
Virtual Love	309	(10)
Meghan Daum
Process	319	(56)
Preparing to Write	319	(3)
What Is Process?	319	(1)
How Do You Choose a Subject to Write About?	320	(1)
Prewriting Suggestions	321	(1)
Writing	322	(1)
How Do You Structure a Process Paper?	322	(1)
Drafting Suggestions	323	(1)
Revising	323	(2)
How Do You Revise a Process Essay?	323	(2)
Revising Suggestions	325	(1)
Sample Student Essay	325	(3)
How to Play Dreidel	326	(2)
Julie Anne HalbFish
Some Things to Remember	328	(1)
Process as a Literary Strategy	328	(2)
Recipe	329	(1)
Janice Mirikitani
Reading Process	330	(2)
Career Women.Com / Getting the Interview Edge ``Apprentice-Style''	330	(2)
Responding to a Visual	332	(1)
Reading and Writing about Images	332	(1)
Visiting the Web	333	(1)
Exploring on Your Own	333	(42)
My Daily Dives in the Dumpster	335	(6)
Lars Eighner
Revision and Life: Take It from the Top---Again	341	(5)
Nora Ephron
Don't Just Stand There	346	(7)
Diane Cole
The Culture of Martyrdom	353	(6)
Diane Brooks
Into the Loop: How to Get the Job You Want after Graduation	359	(9)
Charlie Drozdyk
Stripped for Parts	368	(7)
Jennifer Kahn
Cause And Effect	375	(52)
Preparing to Write	375	(4)
What Is Cause and Effect?	375	(2)
Why Do You Write a Cause-and-Effect Analysis?	377	(1)
How Do You Choose a Subject?	378	(1)
How Do You Isolate and Evaluate Causes and Effects?	378	(1)
Prewriting Suggestions	378	(1)
Writing	379	(2)
How Do You Structure a Cause-and-Effect Analysis?	379	(1)
Drafting Suggestions	380	(1)
Revising	381	(2)
How Do You Revise a Cause-and-Effect Essay?	381	(2)
Revising Suggestions	383	(1)
Sample Student Essay	383	(3)
The Influence of Televised Violence on Children	385	(1)
Cathy Ferguson
Some Things to Remember	386	(1)
Cause and Effect as a Literary Strategy	386	(2)
Barbie Doll	387	(1)
Marge Piercy
Reading Cause and Effect	388	(1)
www.Emedicinehealth.com / What Causes Migraine Headaches?	388	(1)
Responding to a Visual	389	(1)
Reading and Writing about Images	390	(1)
Visiting the Web	390	(1)
Looking for Writing Suggestions	391	(36)
My Wood	392	(5)
E. M. Forster
The Origins of Anorexia Nervosa	397	(5)
Joan Jacobs Brumberg
On Teenagers and Tattoos	402	(5)
Andres Martin
Black Men and Public Space	407	(5)
Brent Staples
Dreadlocked	412	(5)
Veronica Chambers
The Trouble with Fries	417	(10)
Malcolm Gladwell
Definition	427	(46)
Preparing to Write	427	(3)
What Is Definition?	427	(1)
What is the Difference Between Denotation and Connotation?	428	(1)
How Much Do You Include in a Definition?	428	(2)
Prewriting Suggestions	430	(1)
Writing	430	(1)
How Do You Structure a Definition Essay?	430	(1)
Drafting Suggestions	431	(1)
Revising	431	(2)
How Do You Revise a Definition Essay?	431	(2)
Revising Suggestions	433	(1)
Some Things to Remember	433	(1)
Sample Student Essay	434	(2)
Infallible	435	(1)
Sherry Heck
Definition as a Literary Strategy	436	(2)
The Foot	437	(1)
Alice Jones
Reading Definition	438	(1)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder / Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia	439	(1)
Responding to a Visual	439	(1)
Reading and Writing about Images	440	(1)
Visiting the Web	440	(1)
Looking for Writing Suggestions	441	(32)
How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?	442	(5)
Ben Stein
I want a Wife	447	(4)
Judy Brady
The People in Me	451	(5)
Robin D. G. Kelley
Mother Tongue	456	(7)
Amy Tan
Mess	463	(5)
John Hollander
The Female Body	468	(5)
Margaret Atwood
Argument And Persuasion	473	(66)
Preparing to Write	473	(5)
What Is the Difference Between Argument and Persuasion?	473	(1)
What Do You Already Know about Arguing and Persuading?	474	(2)
How Do You Analyze Your Audience?	476	(1)
What Does It Take to Persuade Your Reader?	476	(2)
Prewriting Suggestions	478	(1)
Writing	478	(4)
How Do You Make Sure That Your Argument Is Logical?	478	(1)
How Do You Structure an Argument?	479	(2)
Drafting Suggestions	481	(1)
Revising	482	(2)
How Do You Revise an Argumentative or Persuasive Essay?	482	(1)
Revising Suggestions	483	(1)
Sample Student Essay	484	(2)
Lowering the Cost of a College Education	485	(1)
Beth Jaffe
Some Things to Remember	486	(1)
Argument and Persuasion as a Literary Strategy	486	(2)
Dulce Decorum Est	487	(1)
Wilfred Owen
Reading Argument and Persuasion	488	(1)
www.teenadvice.about.com / Top 5 Reasons Youth Should Vote	489	(1)
Responding to a Visual	489	(2)
Reading and Writing about Images	490	(1)
Visiting the Web	491	(1)
Looking for Writing Suggestions	491	(2)
Debate: Is A College Education Worth Its Cost?	493	(10)
The Value of a College Degree	494	(5)
Katherine Porter
The Case Against College	499	(4)
Linda Lee
Debate: Are College Grades Inflated?	503	(14)
When I Was Young an A Was an A	504	(4)
Ronna Vanderslice
The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation	508	(9)
Alfie Kohn
Debate: Should Murderers Be Executed?	517	(22)
Memoirs of a Dead Man Walking	518	(5)
Sister Helen Prejean
What Do Murderers Deserve?	523
David Gelernter
Have a Dream	521	(12)
Martin Luther King Jr.
None of This Is Fair	533	(6)
Richard Rodriguez
Combinations At Work	539	(40)
A Modest Proposal	540	(10)
Jonathan Swift
The Death of the Moth	550	(5)
Virginia Woolf
Once More to the Lake	555	(8)
E. B. White
On Keeping a Notebook	563	(8)
Joan Didion
The Singer Solution to World Poverty	571	(8)
Peter Singer
Appendix: Finding, Using, And Documenting Sources	579	(35)
Finding Sources	579	(12)
Using Reference Books as a Starting Point; Encyclopedias and Dictionaries	580	(1)
Finding Books: Your Library's Catalog	581	(1)
Choosing the Right Subject Heading	582	(2)
Finding Sources on the Web	584	(1)
Choosing a Search Engine	585	(1)
Web Searching Tips	585	(1)
Using Your Search for Subject Headings and Keywords to Revise Your Topic	586	(1)
Finding Magazines, Journals, and Newspapers	586	(3)
Finding Government Documents	589	(1)
Interviewing	590	(1)
Using Sources	591	(2)
Evaluating Sources	591	(1)
Knowing How Much Quotation to Use	592	(1)
Working Quotations into Your Text	593	(1)
Documenting Your Sources	593	(9)
Plagiarism, Academic Dishonesty, and the Misuse of Sources	594	(2)
Acknowledging Sources in Your Text	596	(2)
The ``List of Works Cited'' or ``References''	598	(4)
Electronic Sources	602	(1)
Annotated Sample Student Research Paper (MLA Documentation Style)	603	(11)
The Cell Phone and Its Hold on Today's Youth	604	(10)
Eric Miller
Glossary And Ready Reference	614	(16)
Credits	630	(4)
Index	634

Excerpts

Preface The Prentice Hall Reader is predicated on two premises: that reading plays a vital role in learning how to write and that writing and reading can best be organized around the traditional division of discourse into a number of structural patterns. Such a division is not the only way that the forms of writing can be classified, but it does have several advantages. First, practice in these structural patterns encourages students to organize knowledge and to see the ways in which information can be conveyed. How else does the mind know except by classifying, comparing, defining, or seeking cause and effect relationships? Second, the most common use of these patterns occurs in writing done in academic courses. There students are asked to narrate a chain of events, to describe an artistic style, to classify plant forms, to compare two political systems, to tell how a laboratory experiment was performed, to analyze why famine occurs in Africa, to define a philosophical concept, or to argue for or against building a space station. Learning how to structure papers using these patterns is an exercise that has immediate application in students' other academic work. Finally, because the readings use these patterns as structural devices, they offer an excellent way in which to integrate reading into a writing course. Students can see the patterns at work and learn how to use them to become more effective writers and better, more efficient readers. What Is New in the Eighth Edition? The eighth edition of The Prentice Hall Reader features 60 essays, 17 of which are new, 11 papers written by student writers, and 9 poems or short, short stories that show the organizational strategies at work. New to this edition are 9 selections which allow the students to see how writing and reading complement each other. As in the previous editions, the readings are chosen on the basis of several criteria: how well they demonstrate a particular pattern of organization, appeal to a freshman audience, and promote interesting and appropriate discussion and writing activities. The eighth edition of The Prentice Hall Reader includes a number of new features: + Detailed treatment of the writing process in three opening chapters How to Read an Essay How to Write an Essay How to Revise an Essay + New Writers at Work” which includes two examples of writing–one student and one professional--from the pre-writing stage through drafting and then revision. + New introductions to each of the nine chapters treating the organizational modes subdivided now into prewriting, writing, and revising. Each offers clear and succinct advice on how to write that particular type of paragraph or essay. The introductions anticipate questions, provide answers, include checklists of the major concerns students should have when writing. + New quick-reference checklists for writers in each chapter + New section For Further Study” after each reading that includes activities focusing on grammar and writing, on working together, on seeing other modes at work, on finding connections, and on exploring the Web + New Reading for”–an example of how learning to write in each of the modes or strategies helps you in reading a section that uses that mode or strategy. + New ”Responding to a Visual” and Reading and Writing about Images” in each chapter that invites analysis of and writing about a visual image. + New Visiting the Web” in each chapter that invites students to pursue a Web-based problem and to write about it. + New additional Writing Suggestions” in each chapter. The text includes hundreds of possible writing topics + New Chapter 10 on Combinations at Work,” a mini-anthology of classic essays that show a mixture of strategies at work. + New student research paper on cell phone use + New section explaining and illustrating plagiarism + New Ready Reference” section keyed to instructor's proofreading a