Readings for Writers

by McCuen-Metherell, Jo Ray

• ISBN13: 9781413016291
• ISBN10: 1413016294
• Edition: 12th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-10
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

For more than three decades, READINGS FOR WRITERS has been the preeminent rhetorical reader for the freshman composition course. This best-seller continues its tradition of providing the most comprehensive coverage of writing, while offering the most selections of any other rhetorical reader- more than 100 selections from a broad range of topics and genres. Building on its extensive coverage of critical thinking and writing, the Twelfth Edition now features a new four-color "Image Gallery." The "Image Gallery" contains an extensive collection of captivating images related to the themes of the issues featured in the modes chapters. These engaging images prompt discussions and assignments-sparking students' imaginations, and encouraging them to write better essays. Now, more than ever, READINGS FOR WRITERS better prepares students to write successfully in college and the workplace than any other rhetorical reader.

Table of Contents

Thematic Table of Contents	xix
Preface	xxiii
PART ONE Reading and Writing: From Reading to Writing	1	(188)
1 Guidelines for Critical Reading	3	(14)
KINDS OF READING	3	(14)
Andy Rooney	7	(3)
Education of a Wandering Man
LOUIS L'AMOUR	10	(7)
2 What Is Rhetoric?	17	(38)
ROAD MAP TO RHETORIC	17	(16)
Grammar and Rhetoric	17	(2)
Audience and Purpose	19	(1)
The Internal Reader/Editor	19	(1)
Levels of English	20	(3)
Writing as a Process	23	(1)
Writing about Visual Images	24	(9)
Exercises	33	(4)
ADVICE	37	(3)
What—and How—to Write When You Have No Time to Write
DONALD MURRAY	37	(3)
EXAMPLES	40	(11)
I Have a Dream
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.	40	(5)
Letter to My Husband
CLEMENTINE CHURCHILL	45	(3)
Have a Cigar
JAMES HERRIOT	48	(3)
Chapter Writing Assignments	51	(1)
REAL-LIFE STUDENT WRITING	52	(3)
E-Mail from Samoa	52	(3)
3 What Is a Writer's Voice?	55	(36)
ROAD MAP TO WRITER'S VOICE	55	(5)
Voice: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?	57	(1)
Vocabulary	57	(1)
Syntax	58	(1)
Attitude	59	(1)
Exercises	60	(1)
ADVICE	61	(10)
How to Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words
PAUL ROBERTS	61	(10)
EXAMPLES	71	(17)
Tone: The Writer's Voice in the Reader's Mind
MORT CASTLE	71	(5)
Me
MARY MACLANE	76	(5)
Remarks on the Life of Sacco and on His Own Life and Execution
BARTOLOMEO VANZETTI	81	(2)
Salvation
LANGSTON HUGHES	83	(3)
Killing Ants in the Kitchen at 3 a.m.
ANTHONY C. WINKLER	86	(2)
Chapter Writing Assignments	88	(1)
REAL-LIFE STUDENT WRITING	89	(2)
A Thank-You Note to an Aunt	89	(2)
4 What Is a Thesis?	91	(38)
ROAD MAP TO A THESIS	91	(8)
Finding Your Thesis	91	(2)
Key Words in the Thesis	93	(1)
Characteristics of a Good Thesis	93	(3)
Nine Errors to Avoid in Composing a Thesis	96	(3)
The Explicit versus the Implicit Thesis	99	(1)
Exercises	99	(2)
ADVICE	101	(3)
The Thesis
SHERIDAN BAKER	101	(3)
EXAMPLES	104	(21)
The Grieving Never Ends
ROXANNE ROBERTS	104	(7)
A Good Man Is Hard to Find
FLANNERY O'CONNOR	111	(12)
Spring
EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY	123	(2)
Chapter Writing Assignments	125	(1)
REAL-LIFE STUDENT WRITING	126	(3)
A Eulogy to a Friend Killed in a Car Wreck	126	(3)
5 How Do I Organize?	129	(32)
ROAD MAP TO ORGANIZING	129	(8)
Organizing the Short Essay	129	(2)
Organizing the Long Essay	131	(1)
Planning by Listing Supporting Materials	132	(1)
Organizing with a Formal Outline	133	(4)
Exercises	137	(2)
ADVICE	139	(3)
How to Write Clearly
EDWARD T. THOMPSON	139	(3)
EXAMPLES	142	(16)
My Wood
E.M. FORSTER	142	(4)
Rules for Aging
ROGER ROSENBLATT	146	(2)
The Catbird Seat
JAMES THURBER	148	(8)
That Time of Year (Sonnet 73)
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE	156	(2)
Chapter Writing Assignments	158	(1)
REAL-LIFE STUDENT WRITING	158	(3)
Note from a Graduate Student to a Department Secretary	158	(3)
6 Developing Paragraphs	161	(28)
ROAD MAP TO DEVELOPING PARAGRAPHS	161	(10)
Parts of the Paragraph	162	(1)
Supporting Details	163	(2)
Topic Sentence Developed over More Than One Paragraph	165	(1)
Position of the Topic Sentence	165	(2)
Paragraph Patterns	167	(1)
Characteristics of a Well-Designed Paragraph	167	(3)
Writing Your Own Paragraphs	170	(1)
Exercises	171	(3)
ADVICE	174	(4)
Writing Successful Paragraphs
A.M. TIBBETTS AND CHARLENE TIBBETTS	174	(4)
EXAMPLES	178	(3)
Paragraphs with the Topic Sentence at the Beginning	178	(3)
From the Lessons of the Past
EDITH HAMILTON	178	(1)
Pain
WILLIAM SOMERSET MAUGHAM	179	(1)
I Am Tired of Fighting (Surrender Speech)
CHIEF JOSEPH OF THE NEZ EERCE	180	(1)
PARAGRAPHS WITH THE TOPIC SENTENCE AT THE END	181	(4)
Man against Darkness
W.T. STACE	181	(1)
What Is ct Poet?
MARK VAN DOREN	182	(1)
On Disease
LEWIS THOMAS, M.D.	183	(1)
The Flood
ROBERT FROST	184	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	185	(1)
REAL-LIFE STUDENT WRITING	186	(9)
Letter of Application to an Honors Program	186	(3)
PART TWO Patterns of Development: The Rhetorical Modes	189	(490)
7 Narration	195	(56)
ROAD MAP TO NARRATION	195	(4)
What Narration Does	195	(1)
When to Use Narration	195	(1)
How to Write a Narrative	195	(3)
Warming Up to Write a Narrative	198	(1)
EXAMPLES	199	(30)
Shooting an Elephant
GEORGE ORWELL	199	(7)
My Name Is Margaret
MAYA ANGELOU	206	(5)
Shame
DICK GREGORY	211	(4)
James Boswell's Scotland
TOM HUNTINGTON	215	(13)
Those Winter Sundays
ROBERT HAYDEN	228	(1)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE TERRORISM	229	(16)
What Does Islam Say about Terrorism?
ABDULLAH MOMIN	231	(5)
"Postscript" to Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia
CARMEN BIN LADEN	236	(8)
Punctuation Workshop: The Period	244	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	245	(3)
The Right Moves against Terrorism
SION ARAKELIAN, GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE	245	(2)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Paper • My Writing Tip	247	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	248	(3)
8 Description	251	(362)
ROAD MAP TO DESCRIPTION	251	(5)
What Description Does	251	(1)
When to Use Description	252	(1)
How to Write a Description	252	(3)
Warming Up to Write a Description	255	(1)
EXAMPLES	256	(18)
The Libido for the Ugly
H.L. MENCKEN	256	(4)
Hell
JAMES JOYCE	260	(4)
A Worn Path
EUDORA WELTY	264	(7)
Pigeon Woman
MAY SWENSON	271	(3)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: BODY IMAGE	274	(12)
Body Image
CINDY MAYNARD	275	(7)
Stretch Marks
ANNA QUINDLEN	282	(4)
Punctuation Workshop: The Comma	286	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	287	(6)
Body Modification—Think about It!
SHELLEY TAYLOR, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, OSWEGO	287	(5)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • My Writing Tip	292	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	293	(2)
9 Process Analysis	295	(1)
ROAD MAP TO PROCESS ANALYSIS	295	(4)
What Process Analysis Does	295	(1)
When to Use Process Analysis	296	(1)
How to Write a Process Analysis	296	(2)
Warming Up to Write a Process Analysis	298	(1)
EXAMPLES	299	(19)
This Is a Mortal Wound, Doctor
THOMAS FLEMING	299	(10)
Hunting Octopus in the Gilbert Islands
SIR ARTHUR GRIMBLE	309	(4)
Hitler's Workday
WILLIAM SHIRER	313	(3)
How to Be an Army
KENNETH PATCHEN	316	(2)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: AGEISM	318	(13)
Painting: My Parents
HENRY KOERNER	318	(1)
The View from Eighty
MALCOLM COWLEY	319	(7)
Stay Young
MARYA MANNES	326	(4)
Punctuation Workshop: The Semicolon	330	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	331	(3)
Aging
KIMBERLY CAITLIN WHEELER, YALE UNIVERSITY	331	(2)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • My Writing Tip	333	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	334	(3)
10 Illustration/Exemplification	337	(1)
ROAD MAP TO ILLUSTRATION/EXEMPLIFICATION	337	(5)
What Illustration/Exemplification Does	337	(1)
When to Use Illustration	338	(1)
How to Use Illustration	339	(2)
Warming Up to Write an Illustration	341	(1)
EXAMPLES	342	(17)
What Is Style?
F.L. LUCAS	342	(9)
The Buck Stops Where?
BARRY PARR	351	(5)
"Min-or, Mirror, on the Wall ..."
JOHN LEO	356	(3)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: DRUG ABUSE	359	(11)
Drugs
GORE VIDAL	361	(3)
Don't Legalize Drugs
MORTON KONDRACKE	364	(6)
Punctuation Workshop: The Dash	370	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	371	(2)
Drug Use: The Continuing Epidemic
LINDA KUNZE, GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE	371	(2)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • My Writing Tip	373	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	373	(2)
11 Definition	375	(1)
ROAD MAP TO DEFINITION	375	(5)
What Definition Does	375	(1)
When to Use Definition	376	(1)
How to Use Definition	376	(3)
Warming Up to Write a Definition	379	(1)
EXAMPLES	380	(24)
The Politics of Separation
WILLIAM A. HENRY III	380	(7)
The Company Man
ELLEN GOODMAN	387	(3)
In Praise of the Humble Comma
PICO IYER	390	(4)
Kitsch
GILBERT HIGHET	394	(8)
Ars Poetica
ARCHIBALD MACLEISH	402	(2)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: IMMIGRATION	404	(11)
Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security with Billions
EDUARDO PORTER	407	(3)
Wide Open Spaces
BILL BRYSON	410	(5)
Punctuation Workshop: The Apostrophe	415	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	416	(3)
Immigrants in America
DAVE HERMAN, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY	416	(2)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • My Writing Tip	418	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	419	(2)
12 Comparison/Contrast	421	(1)
ROAD MAP TO COMPARISON/CONTRAST	421	(7)
What Comparison/Contrast Does	421	(1)
When to Use Comparison/Contrast	422	(1)
How to Use Comparison/Contrast	422	(5)
Warming Up to Write a Comparison/Contrast	427	(1)
EXAMPLES	428	(21)
That Lean and Hungry Look
SUZANNE JORDAN	428	(3)
Diogenes and Alexander
GILBERT HIGHET	431	(6)
Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts
BRUCE CATTON	437	(4)
Baba and Me
KHALED HOSSEINI	441	(8)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD	449	(23)
Ten Reasons for Believing in Immortality
JOHN HAYNES HOLMES	451	(11)
Breaking the Last Taboo
JAMES A. HAUGHT	462	(9)
Children's Letters to God	471	(1)
Punctuation Workshop: The Question Mark	472	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	473	(2)
The Existence of God
ARA BABAIAN, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL OF LOS ANGELES	473	(1)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • My Writing Tip	474	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	475	(2)
13 Division/Classification	477	(1)
ROAD MAP TO DIVISION/CLASSIFICATION	477	(4)
What Division/Classification Does	477	(1)
When to Use Division/Classification	478	(1)
How to Use Division/Classification	478	(2)
Warming Up to Write a Division/Classification	480	(1)
EXAMPLES	481	(20)
Move Oyez; Teams
PAUL M. MUCHINSKY	481	(5)
Thinking as a Hobby
WILLIAM GOLDING	486	(7)
Kinds of Discipline
JOHN HOLT	493	(3)
The Idols
FRANCIS BACON	496	(3)
English 101
BART EDELMAN	499	(2)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: RACISM	501	(12)
Warriors Don't Cry
MELBA PATILLO BEALS	503	(5)
Incidents with White People
SARAH L. AND A. ELIZABETH DELANY	508	(5)
Punctuation Workshop: The Colon	513	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	514	(4)
Racial Justice: How Far Have We Come?
NANCEY PHILLIPS, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT LONG BEACH	514	(2)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • My Writing Tip	516	(2)
Chapter Writing Assignments	518	(1)
14 Causal Analysis	519	(1)
ROAD MAP TO CAUSAL ANALYSIS	519	(5)
What Causal Analysis Does	519	(1)
When to Use Causal Analysis	520	(1)
How to Use Causal Analysis	520	(3)
Warming Up to Write a Causal Analysis	523	(1)
EXAMPLES	524	(31)
A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun
LINDA M. HASSELSTROM	524	(5)
Coming into Language
JIMMY SANTIAGO BACA	529	(7)
Why Tigers Become Man-Eaters
JIM CORBETT	536	(5)
Why I Went to the Woods
HENRY DAVID THOREAU	541	(7)
The Storm
KATE CHOPIN	548	(5)
Design
ROBERT FROST	553	(2)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: THE STATUS OF WOMEN	555	(8)
The New Feminism
KATE GUBATA	556	(4)
The Farce of Feminism
REBECCA E. RUBINS	560	(3)
Punctuation Workshop: The Exclamation Point	563	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	564	(3)
"Woman" Is a Noun
PAULA REWA, EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY	564	(2)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • My Writing 'Tip	566	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	567	(2)
15 Argumentation and Persuasion	569	(1)
ROAD MAP TO ARGUMENTATION AND PERSUASION	569	(7)
What Argumentation and Persuasion Do	569	(1)
When to Use Argumentation and Persuasion	569	(1)
How to Use Argumentation and Persuasion	570	(5)
Warming Up to Write an Argument	575	(1)
EXAMPLES	576	(22)
In Defense of Gender
CYRA McFADDEN	576	(4)
A Modest Proposal
JONATHAN SWIFT	580	(7)
I Want a Wife
JUDY SYFERS-BRADY	587	(3)
Sex Predators Can't Be Saved
ANDREW VACHSS	590	(4)
Dooley Is a Traitor
JAMES MICHIE	594	(4)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: HOMELESSNESS	598	(8)
Painting: Migrant Mother, Nipomo Valley
Dorothea Lange	599	(1)
Homeless: Expose the Myths
JOSEPH PERKINS	600	(3)
The Homeless Lack a Political Voice, But Not American Ideals
MATT LYNCH	603	(3)
Punctuation Workshop: Quotation Marks	606	(1)
STUDENT CORNER	607	(4)
People Out on a Limb
ANTOINETTE POODT, FURMAN UNIVERSITY	607	(2)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • My Writing Tip	609	(2)
Chapter Writing Assignments	611	(2)
16 Combining the Modes	613	(66)
EDITORS' NOTE	613	(3)
What Combining the Modes Does	613	(1)
When to Combine the Modes	614	(1)
How to Use Combined Modes	614	(2)
EXAMPLES	616	(15)
Shrew—The Littlest Mammal
ALAN DEVOE	616	(4)
Will Spelling Count?
JACK CONNOR	620	(5)
Once More to the Lake
E.B. WHITE	625	(6)
ISSUE FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE	631	(11)
The Case against Homosexual Marriage
R. ALBERT MOHLER	633	(5)
Same-Sex Marriage: Just Say No to Prohibition
SUSAN BLOCK	638	(4)
Punctuation Workshop: Using Other Punctuation with Quotation Marks	642
STUDENT CORNER	463	(183)
Will Same-Sex Marriages Change the Constitution?
ADAM WINKLER, GEORGIA COLLEGE AND STATE UNIVERSITY	463	(182)
How I Write • How I Wrote This Essay • Tips For Writing	645	(1)
Chapter Writing Assignments	646	(1)
Image Gallery	647	(35)
Terrorism	647	(3)
Body Image	650	(3)
Ageism	653	(3)
Drug Abuse	656	(3)
Immigration	659	(3)
The Existence of God	662	(3)
Racism	665	(4)
Status of Women	669	(4)
Homelessness	673	(3)
Same-Sex Marriage	676	(3)
PART THREE Rewriting Your Writing	679	(1)
The Editing Booth	681	(24)
REVISING	682	(3)
EDITING	685	(20)
Rule 1: Make Your Title Descriptive	685	(1)
Rule 2: Begin with a Simple Sentence	686	(1)
Rule 3: Prune Deadwood	686	(3)
Rule 4: Do Not Overexplain	689	(1)
Rule 5: Be Specific	690	(1)
Rule 6: Avoid Trite Expressions	691	(1)
Rule 7: Use the Active Voice	691	(1)
Rule 8: Make Your Statements Positive	692	(1)
Rule 9: Keep to One Tense	693	(1)
Rule 10: Place Key Words at the Beginning or End of a Sentence	693	(1)
Rule 11: Prune Multiple Oft	693	(1)
Rule 12: Break Up Noun Clusters	693	(1)
Rule 13: Use Exclamation Points Sparingly	694	(1)
Rule 14: Vary Your Sentences	694	(1)
Rule 15: Keep Your Point of View Consistent	695	(1)
Rule 16: Use Standard Words	695	(1)
Rule 17: End with Impact	696	(1)
EDITING AN ACTUAL ESSAY	696	(9)
PART FOUR Special Writing Projects	705	(1)
ASSIGNMENT 1: THE RESEARCH PAPER	705	(90)
Why English Instructors Assign Research Papers	705	(1)
How to Choose Your Topic	705	(1)
How to Narrow Your Subject	706	(1)
The Process of Writing the Paper	707	(5)
Preparing "Works Cited" or "References"	712	(1)
Writing the Final Copy	712	(3)
ANNOTATED STUDENT RESEARCH PAPER: MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) STYLE	715	(2)
Choosing Single Motherhood: A Sign of Modern Times?
STEPHANIE HOLLINGSWORTH	717	(28)
ANNOTATED STUDENT RESEARCH PAPER: AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) STYLE	745	(2)
Development of a Scale to Detect Sexual Harassers: The Potential Harasser Scale (PHS)
LEANNE M. MASDEN AND REBECCA B. WINKLER, DEPAUL UNIVERSITY	747	(33)
ASSIGNMENT 2: THE LITERARY PAPER	780	(5)
How to Write a Paper about Literature	780	(1)
The In-Class Essay on Literature	781	(2)
ANNOTATED LITERARY PAPER	783	(2)
A Worn but Lightly Traveled Path
DOUGLAS B. INMAN	785	(10)
Glossary	795	(8)
Credits	803	(6)
Index	809