The Brief Prose reader: Essays for the Thinking Book

Chapters end with Chapter Writing Assignments.

Preface.

Introduction: Thinking, Reading, and Writing.

Thinking Critically. Reading Critically.

Preparing to Read. Reading. Rereading. Reading Inventory.

Writing Critically.

Preparing to Write. Writing. Rewriting. Writing Inventory.

Conclusion.

1. Description: Exploring Through the Senses.

Defining Description. Thinking Critically by Using Description. Reading and Writing Descriptive Essays. Student Essay: Description at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Description. Description in Review.

Summer Rituals, Ray Bradbury. Notes from the Country Club, Kimberly Wozencraft. The Pines, John Mcphee. The View from 80, Malcolm Cowley.

2. Narration: Telling a Story.

Defining Narration. Thinking Critically by Using Narration. Reading and Writing Narrative Essays. Student Essay: Narration at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Narration. Narration in Review.

For My Indian Daughter, Lewis Sawaquat. New Directions, Maya Angelou. The Saturday Evening Post, Russell Baker. Only daughter, Sandra Cisneros.

3. Example: Illustrating Ideas.

Defining Examples. Thinking Critically by Using Example. Reading and Writing Essays That Use Examples. Student Essay: Examples at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Examples. Example in Review.

The Baffling Question, Bill Cosby. Darkness at Noon, Harold Krents. Mother Tongue, Amy Tan. A Brother's Murder, Brent Staples.

4. Process Analysis: Explaining Step by Step.

Defining Process Analysis. Thinking Critically by Using Process Analysis. Reading and Writing Process Analysis Essays. Student Essay: Process Analysis at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Process Analysis. Process Analysis in Review.

Managing Your Time, Edwin Bliss. Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain, Jessica Mitford. How to Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words, Paul Roberts. E-mail: What You Should—and Shouldn't—Say, Mark Hansen.

5. Division/Classification: Finding Categories.

Defining Division/Classification. Thinking Critically by Using Division/Classification. Reading and Writing Division/Classification Essays. Student Essay: Division/Classification at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Division/Classification. Division/Classification in Review.

Memory: Tips You'll Never Forget, Phyllis Schneider. Why I Want a Wife, Judy Brady. Second Chances for Children of Divorce, Judith Wallerstein and Sandra Blakeslee. The Truth About Lying, Judith Viorst.

6. Comparison/Contrast: Discovering Similarities and Differences.

Defining Comparison/Contrast. Thinking Critically by Using Comparison/Contrast. Reading and Writing Comparison/Contrast Essays. Student Essay: Comparison/Contrast at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Comparison/Contrast. Comparison/Contrast in Review.

Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts, Bruce Catton. A Child Is Born, Germaine Greer. Japanese and American Workers: Two Casts of Mind, William Ouchi. The Politics of Muscle, Gloria Steinem.

7. Definition: Limiting the Frame of Reference.

Defining Definition. Thinking Critically by Using Definition. Reading and Writing Definition Essays. Student Essay: Definition at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Definition. Definition in Review.

When Is It Rape?, Nancy Gibbs. The Barrio, Robert Ramirez. Beliefs About Families, Mary Pipher. How to Find True Love: Or Rather, How It Finds You, Lois Smith Brady.

8. Cause/Effect: Tracing Reasons and Results.

Defining Cause/Effect. Thinking Critically by Using Cause/Effect. Reading and Writing Cause/Effect Essays. Student Essay: Cause/Effect at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Cause/Effect. Cause/Effect in Review.

Why We Crave Horror Movies, Stephen King. The Fear of Losing a Culture, Richard Rodriguez. Meet the Bickersons, Mary Roach. Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self, Alice Walker.

9. Argument and Persuasion: Inciting People to Thought or Action.

Defining Argument and Persuasion. Thinking Critically by Using Argument and Persuasion. Reading and Writing Persuasive Essays. Student Essay: Argument and Persuasion at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Argument and Persuasion. Argument/Persuasion in Review.

Arming Myself with a Gun Is Not the Answer, Bronwyn Jones. Take a Ticket, Peter Salins.

Opposing Viewpoints: Computers and Books.

The Demise of Writing, Geoffrey Meredith. Will We Still Turn Pages?, Kevin Kelly.

10. Documented Essays: Reading and Writing from Sources.

Defining Documented Essays. Reading and Writing Documented Essays. Student Essay: Documentation at Work. Some Final Thoughts on Documented Essays. Documented Essays in Review.

The Ecstasy of War, Barbara Ehrenreich. Appearance and Delinquency: A Research Note, Jill Leslie Rosenbaum and Meda Chesney-Lind.

11. Essays on Thinking, Reading, and Writing.

I Am Writing Blindly, Roger Rosenblatt. To Read Fiction, Donald Hall. The Rules of Writing Practice, Natalie Goldberg. Instantly Growing Up, John Greenwald. Writing as a Moral Act, Rita Mae Brown.

Glossary of Useful Terms.

Credits.

Index of Authors and Titles.