Steps to Writing Well with Additional Readings Book

PART I: THE BASICS OF THE SHORT ESSAY. 1. Prewriting. Getting Started (or Soup-Can Labels Can Be Fascinating). Selecting a Subject. Finding Your Essay's Purpose and Focus. Pump-Primer Techniques. After You've Found Your Focus. Practicing What You've Learned. Discovering Your Audience. How to Identify Your Readers. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Keeping a Journal (Talking to Yourself Does Help). Chapter 1 Summary. 2. The Thesis Statement. What Is a Thesis? What Does a "Working Thesis" Do? Can a "Working Thesis" Change? Guidelines for Writing a Good Thesis. Avoiding Common Errors in Thesis Statements. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Using the Essay Map. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Chapter 2 Summary. 3. The Body Paragraphs. Planning the Body of Your Essay. Composing the Body Paragraphs. The Topic Sentence. Focusing Your Topic Sentence. Placing Your Topic Sentence. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing. Paragraph Development. Paragraph Length. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing. Paragraph Unity. Practicing What You've Learned. Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing. Paragraph Coherence. Practicing What You've Learned. Paragraph Sequence. Transitions between Paragraphs. Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing. Chapter 3 Summary. 4. Beginnings and Endings. How to Write a Good Lead-In. Avoiding Errors in Lead-Ins. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. How to Write a Good Concluding Paragraph. Avoiding Errors in Conclusions. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. How to Write a Good Title. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing. Chapter 4 Summary 5. Drafting and Revising: Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking. What Is Revision? When Does Revision Occur? Myths about Revision. Can I Learn to Improve My Revision Skills? Preparing to Draft: Some Time-Saving Hints. Writing with Computers. Writing Centers, Computer Classrooms, and Electronic Networks. Procrastination: Enemy of Critical Thinking, Thief of Time. I. Revising for Purpose, Thesis, and Audience. II. Revising for Ideas and Evidence. What is Critical Thinking? Thinking Critically as a Writer. Critical Thinking and Visual Literacy. III. Revising for Organization. IV. Revising for Clarity and Style. V. Editing for Errors. VI. Proofreading. A Final Checklist for Your Essay. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing. Collaborative Activities: Group Work, Peer Revision Workshops, and Team Projects. Benefiting from Collaborative Activities. Guidelines for Peer Revision Workshops. Guidelines for Small-Group Work. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Some Last Advice: How to Play with Your Mental Blocks. Chapter 5 Summary. 6. Effective Sentences. Developing a Clear Style. Practicing What You've Learned. Developing a Concise Style. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Developing an Engaging Style. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Developing an Emphatic Style. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing. Chapter 6 Summary. 7. Word Logic. Selecting the Correct Words. Practicing What You've Learned. Selecting the Best Words. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Applying What You've Learned to Your Writing. Chapter 7 Summary. 8. The Reading-Writing Connection. How Can Reading Well Help Me Become a Better Writer? How Can I Become an Analytical Reader? Steps to Reading Well. Sample Annotated Essay: "Our Youth Should Serve." Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Writing a Summary. Practicing What You've Learned. Benefiting from Class Discussion. Practicing What You've Learned. Chapter 8 Summary. Part One Summary: The Basics of the Short Essay. PART II: PURPOSES, MODES, AND STRATEGIES. 9. Exposition. The Strategies of Exposition. STRATEGY ONE: DEVELOPMENT BY EXAMPLE. Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay: "River Rafting Teaches Worthwhile Lessons." Professional Essay: "So What's So Bad about Being So-So?" A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. STRATEGY TWO: DEVELOPMENT BY PROCESS ANALYSIS. Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay: "Catching Garage Sale Fever." I. The Informative Process Essay. Professional Essay (Informative Process): "To Bid the World Farewell." II. The Directional Process Essay Professional Essay (Directional Process): "Preparing for the Job Interview: Know Thyself." A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. STRATEGY THREE: DEVELOPMENT BY COMPARISON AND CONTRAST. Developing Your Essay. Which Pattern Should You Use? Problems to Avoid. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. I. The Point-by-Point Pattern. Sample Student Essay "Bringing Back the Joy of Market Day." II. The Block Pattern. Sample Student Essay: "Backyard: Old and New." I. The Point-by-Point Pattern. Professional Essay: "Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts."I I. The Block Pattern. Professional Essay: "Two Ways of Viewing the River." A Revision Worksheet. A Special Kind of Comparison: The Analogy. Reviewing Your Progress. STRATEGY FOUR: DEVELOPMENT BY DEFINITION. Why Do We Define? Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay: "Blind Paces.." Professional Essay: "The Munchausen Mystery." A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. STRATEGY FIVE: DEVELOPMENT BY DIVISION AND CLASSIFICATION. Division. Classification. Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay: "The Native American Era at Mesa Verde." Professional Essay (Classification): "The Plot against People." Professional Essay (Division): "What Is REALLY in a Hot Dog?" A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. STRATEGY SIX: DEVELOPMENT BY CAUSAL ANALYSIS. Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay: "It's Simply Not Worth It." Professional Essay: "Some Lessons from the Assembly Line." A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. 10. Argumentation. Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Common Logical Fallacies. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay: "Students, Take Note!" Professional Essays (Pro/Con): "Wild Animals are Not Pets" and "Let People Own Exotic Animals." Analyzing Advertisements. Conflicting Positions: Gun Control. Competing Products: Sources of Energy. Popular Appeals: Spending Our Money. Practicing What You've Learned. A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. 11. Description. How to Write Effective Description. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment: "Birthday" by Marc Chagall. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay: "Treeclimbing." Professional Essay: "Still Learning from My Mother." A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. 12. Narration. Writing the Effective Narrative Essay. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What You've Learned: "Tornado Over Kansas" by John Steuart Curry. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay: "Never Underestimate the Little Things." Professional Essay: "Salvation." A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. 13. Writing Essays Using Multiple Strategies. Choosing the Best Strategies. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What You've Learned. Sample Student Essay: "Pass the Broccoli—Please!" Professional Essay: "Courage in Greensboro." A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. PART III: SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS. 14. Writing a Paper Using Research. Focusing Your Topic. Beginning Your Library Research. General Reference Works. Online Catalogs. Databases. The Internet. Special Collections. Conducting Primary Research. The Personal Interview. The Questionnaire. Preparing a Working Bibliography. Choosing and Evaluating Your Sources. Preparing an Annotated Bibliography. Taking Notes. Distinguishing Paraphrase from Summary. Incorporating Your Source Material. Avoiding Plagiarism. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Choosing the Documentation Style for Your Essay. MLA Style. Compiling a Works Cited List: MLA Style. Sample Entries: MLA Style. Electronic Sources: MLA Style. APA Style. Compiling a Works Cited List: APA Style. Sample Entries: APA Style. Electronic Sources: APA Style. Footnote and Bibliography Form. Practicing What You've Learned. Using Supplementary Notes. Examples (MLA Style). Sample Student Essay Using MLA Style: "Frida Kahlo: A Life on Canvas."Sample Student Essay Using APA Style: "Frida Kahlo: A Life on Canvas. " 15. Classroom Writing Assignments: Exams, Timed Essays, and Presentations. Writing Well under Pressure. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Writing the Summary-and-Response Essay. Sample Student Essay: "Youth Service: An Idea Whose Time Has Come." Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Writing for Classroom Presentations. Steps to Effective Presentation. Guidelines for Effective Delivery. Practicing What You've Learned. 16. Writing about Literature. Using Literature in the Composition Classroom. Suggestions for Close Reading of Literature. Steps to Reading a Story. Annotated Story: "The Story of an Hour." Sample Student Essay: "A Breath of Fresh Air." Steps to Reading a Poem. Annotated Poem: "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." Sample Student Essay: "Two Ways of Knowing." Guidelines for Writing about Literature. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What You've Learned (Stories): "Geraldo No Last Name" by Sandra Cisneros. Practicing What You've Learned (Poems): "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden; "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Suggestions for Writing. 17. Writing about Visual Arts. Using Visual Arts in the Composition Classroom. Suggestions for Analyzing Paintings. Additional Advice about Sculpture and Photography. Practicing What You've Learned. Guidelines for Writing about Artworks. Problems to Avoid. Annotated Painting: Nighthawks. Sample Student Essay: "Night in the City and Psyche." Suggestions for Writing 18. Writing about Film. Using Film in the Composition Classroom. Guidelines for Writing about Film. Problems to Avoid. Sample Student Essay: "Catch the Blackbird." Practicing What You've Learned. Professional Essay: "The King's Speech" by Film Critic Roger Ebert. Suggestions for Writing. Glossary of Film Terms. 19. Writing in the World of Work. Composing Business Letters. Traditional Business Letter Format. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Sample Business Letter. Creating Memos. Sending Professional E-Mail. Problems to Avoid. Writing Cover Letters and Designing Resumes. Effective Cover Letters. Effective Resumes. Critique Your Page Appeal. Problems to Avoid Sample Resumes. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Preparing Interview Notes and Post-Interview Letters. PART IV: A CONCISE HANDBOOK. Parts of Speech. Sentence Components and Classifications. 20. Major Errors in Grammar. Assessing Your Skills: Grammar (Self-scored Diagnostic Test). Errors with Verbs. Practicing What You've Learned. Practicing What You've Learned. Errors with Nouns. Errors with Pronouns. Practicing What You've Learned. Errors with Adverbs and Adjectives. Practicing What You've Learned. Errors in Modifying Phrases. Practicing What You've Learned Errors in Sentences. Practicing What You've Learned. Practicing What You've Learned. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Practicing What You've Learned. Practicing What You've Learned. Answers to the Diagnostic Test. 21. A Concise Guide to Punctuation. Assessing Your Skills: Punctuation (Self-scored Diagnostic Test). The Period. The Question Mark. The Exclamation Point. Practicing What You've Learned. The Comma. Practicing What You've Learned. The Semicolon. Practicing What You've Learned. The Colon. Practicing What You've Learned. The Apostrophe. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Quotation Marks. Practicing What You've Learned. Parentheses. Brackets. The Dash. Practicing What You've Learned. The Hyphen. Practicing What You've Learned. Italics and Underlining. Practicing What You've Learned. Ellipsis Points. The Slash. Practicing What You've Learned. Answers to the Diagnostic Test. 22. A Concise Guide to Mechanics. Assessing Your Skills: Mechanics (Self-scored Diagnostic Test). Capitalization. Practicing What You've Learned. Abbreviations. Numbers. Practicing What You've Learned. Assignment. Spelling. Answers to the Diagnostic Test. 23. Exposition: Development by Example. "Black Men andPublic Space" by Brent Staples. "Metaphors for Life" by David Brooks. "Word to Youth: Texting, Driving Don't Mix" by Larry Copeland. 24. Exposition: Process Analysis. "Family Feud: Resolving Holiday Conflict" by Stephen R. Covey. "College Students: Protect Yourself from Identity Theft" by Luanne Kadlub. "Bite-Size History" by Carlton Stowers. 25. Exposition: Comparison/Contrast. "My Real Car" by Bailey White. "The Myth Of The Latin Woman: I Just Met A Girl Named Maria" by Judith Ortiz Cofer. "Once More to the Lake (August 1941)" by E. B. White. 26. Exposition: Definition . "Celebrating Nerdiness" by Tom Rogers."The Exam Dream" by Eric Hoover. "What Is Poverty?" by Jo Goodwin Parker. 27. Exposition: Division/Classification. "Party Manners" by Richard L. Grossman. "The Colorful Plate" by Dianne Moeller."Four Kinds of Chance" by James Austin. 28. Exposition: Causal Analysis. "Mystery" by Nicholas Meyer. "Mind Game" by Joshua Bell. "Cell Phones and Social Graces" by Charles Fisher. 29. Argumentation. "Guns on Campus: More Harm than Help" by The Editorial Board of USA Today. "Putting Up with Hate" by the Denver Post Editorial Board. "Judging by the Cover" by Bonny Gainley. 30. Description. "Battle of the Ants" by Henry David Thoreau. "A Day at the Theme Park" by W. Bruce Cameron. "Walking On the Moon" by David R. Scott. 31. Narration. "38 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police" by Martin Gansberg. "Crossing the Great Divide" by Peter Fish. "Arrival at Manzanar" by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. 32. Essays for Further Analysis: Multiple Strategies and Styles. "I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr. "Take This Fish and Look at It" by Samual H. Scudder. "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift. 33. Literature. "La Migra" by Pat Mora."Poem for An Inked Daughter" by Jane Wheeler. "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell.