Writer's Resources: From Paragraph to Essay Book

Rhetorical Contents Preface To the Student PART I: GETTING STARTED 1. The Power of Language Why Write? Spotlight on People. Make Yourself Heard. What Is Voice? Developing Your Voice. Meet the Peers. Writing Assignment. 2. The Challenge Ahead. Kathleen McGrory, Reaching for the Highest Star. Estanley Baptiste works hard to support himself and succeed in school while helping others. Succeeding in College. Develop the Right Attitude. Get Organized. Practice Your Writing Skills. Use Your Resources. Writing Assignment. PART II: WRITING PARAGRAPHS AND ESSAYS. College Writing. The Formats for College Writing: The Paragraph and the Essay. The Writing Process for Paragraphs and Essays. 3. Writing a Paragraph. The Structure of the Paragraph. The Writing Process. Step 1: Narrowing the Topic to a Tentative Topic Sentence. The Topic. The Topic Sentence. Step 2: Generating Ideas to Support the Topic Sentence. Free Writing. Brainstorming or Listing. Clustering. Dividing. Step 3 Developing and Organizing the Supporting Sentences. Supporting Sentences. Using a Map or Outline to Build Strong Supporting Sentences. Developing Supporting Sentences with Specific Detail. Organizing Sentences in the Paragraph. Step 4: Drafting the Paragraph. Using a Map or Outline to Write a Draft. Coherence. The Conclusion and the Title. Step 5 Revising the Content. Self Evaluation. Checking Supporting Sentences for Unity. Peer Feedback. Instructor Feedback. Step 6: Editing the Paragraph for Grammar and Punctuation. Getting the Paragraph Back. 4. Exploring the Paragraph. Four Student Models of the Writing Process with Activities. Paragraph 1: "Read All About It". Using Brainstorming and an Outline to Write a Paragraph. Paragraph 2: "A Luxury Ride". Using Dividing and a Map to Write a Paragraph. Paragraph 3: "O, The Boss". Using Clustering and an Outline to Write a Paragraph. Paragraph 4: "Save the Pond". Using Free Writing and a Map to Write a Paragraph. Six Student Paragraphs with Activities. Paragraph 5: "The City of Song". Using an Outline to Identify Specific Details and their Relation to the Topic Sentence. Paragraph 6: "My Sanctuary". Placing the Topic Sentence in the Middle of the Paragraph and Organizing the Supporting Sentences from Strongest to Weakest. Paragraph 7: "A Difficult Destination". Placing the Topic Sentence at the End of the Paragraph and Organizing the Supporting Sentences with the Strongest Last. Paragraph 8: "A Great Doctor". Using a Variety of Sentence Types. Paragraph 9: "Help for Veterans". Using Appropriate Vocabulary and Strong Verbs. Paragraph 10: "My Awesome Job at the Pharmacy". Choosing and Appropriate Conclusion and Title. 5. Exploring the Paragraph. Four Student Models of the Writing Process with Activities. Paragraph 1: "Read All About It". Using Brainstorming and an Outline to Write a Paragraph. Paragraph 2: "A Luxury Ride". Using Dividing and a Map to Write a Paragraph. Paragraph 3: "O, The Boss". Using Clustering and an Outline to Write a Paragraph. Paragraph 4: "Save the Pond". Using Free Writing and a Map to Write a Paragraph. Six Student Paragraphs with Activities. Paragraph 5: "The City of Song". Using an Outline to Identify Specific Details and their Relation to the Topic Sentence. Paragraph 6: "My Sanctuary". Placing the Topic Sentence in the Middle of the Paragraph and Organizing the Supporting Sentences from Strongest to Weakest. Paragraph 7: "A Difficult Destination". Placing the Topic Sentence at the End of the Paragraph and Organizing the Supporting Sentences with the Strongest Last. Paragraph 8: "A Great Doctor". Using a Variety of Sentence Types. Paragraph 9: "Help for Veterans". Using Appropriate Vocabulary and Strong Verbs. Paragraph 10: "My Awesome Job at the Pharmacy". Choosing and Appropriate Conclusion and Title. Writing an Essay. From Paragraph to Essay. The Parts of the Essay. Step 1: Narrowing the Topic to a Tentative Thesis Statement. Thesis or Thesis Statement Focus. Turning a Discussion Question into a Thesis. Step 2: Generating Ideas to Support the Thesis Statement. Standard Brainstorming Techniques. Step 3 Developing and Organizing Supporting Ideas Using an Outline. Using the Outline Form. Generating More Ideas. Essay Outline Template. Step 4: Drafting. Drafting the Introduction. Drafting the Supporting Paragraphs in the Body of the Essay. Drafting the Conclusion. Drafting the Title. Step 5 Revising. Peer Feedback. Instructor Feedback. Self-Evaluation. Step 6: Editing. Getting the Essay Back. Sample Student Essays. PART III: ESSAY 1: "OUR DAILY TUTOR" Essay 2: "My Awesome Job". Writing About a Text. Essay 3: "Emotional IQ". Review Exercises. Rhetorical Patterns. Introduction. 6. Description. Examples of Description. Organization of Description. Thesis Statements . Transitions. Writing Assignment. 7. Narration. Examples of Narration. Organization of Narration. Thesis Statements for Narration. Transitions. Writing Assignment. 8. Example or Illustration. Examples of Example or Illustration. Organization of Example or Illustration. Thesis Statements for Example or Illustration. Transitions . Writing Assignment. 9.Process Analysis. Examples of Process Analysis. Organization of Process Analysis. Thesis Statements for Process Analysis. Transitions. Writing Assignment. 10.Comparison and Contrast. Examples of Comparison/Contrast. Organization of Comparison/Contrast. Subject-by-Subject Pattern. Point-by-Point Pattern. Essay Outline. Thesis Statements for Comparison/Contrast. Contrast Thesis Examples. Comparison/Contrast Thesis Examples. Transitions. Writing Assignment. 11. Cause and Effect. Examples of Cause and Effect. Organization of Cause/Effect. Thesis Statements for Cause/Effect. Transitions. Writing Assignment. 12. Definition. Examples of Definition. Organization of Definition. Thesis Statements for Definition. Transitions. Writing Assignment. 13. Classification. Examples of Classification. Organization of Classification. Thesis Statements for Classification. Transitions. Writing Assignment. 14. Summary. Examples of Summary . Organization of Summary. Thesis Statements for Summary. Transitions. Writing Assignment. 15. Analysis and Division. Examples of Analysis and Division. Organization of Analysis and Division. Thesis Statements for Analysis and Division. Analysis Examples. Division Examples. Transitions. Writing Assignment. 16. Persuasion . Examples of Persuasion. Organization of Persuasion. Thesis Statements for Persuasion. Transitions. Writing Assignment. PART IV: WRITING ELEMENTS AND SKILLS. Introduction. 17. Parts of Speech. Nouns. Kinds of Nouns. Pronouns. Kinds of Pronouns. Verbs. Kinds of Verbs. Forms of the Verb. Prepositions. Adjectives. Adverbs. Adverb/Adjective Confusion. Conjunctions. Interjections. 18. Problem Words. List 1. List 2. 19. Capitalization. Sentence Beginnings. Proper Nouns. People. Places. Things. Quotes. 20. Word Choice. Clear Language. Abstract and Concrete Words. General and Specific Words. Vivid Adjectives. Comma Usage with Adjectives. Specific Verbs. Colorful Adverbs. Denotation. Connotation. Writing Style. Appeal to the Senses. Figurative Language. Appropriate Vocabulary. Pitfall 1: Unfamiliar Synonyms. Pitfall 2: Slang. Pitfall 3: Cliches. Pitfall 4: Wordiness. 21. Identifying Subjects and Verbs. Subjects. Finding the Subject. Problems with Identifying the Subject. Verbs. Finding the Verb. Classes of Verbs. Common Auxiliaries. Problems with Identifying the Verb. 22. Subject-Verb Agreement. Subject-Verb Agreement Rules. Problem Subjects. Indefinite Pronouns. Singular or Plural Subjects. Collective Nouns. Fields of Study. Compound Subjects. Subjects Joined by Or or Nor. Gerunds. Problem Verbs. Compound Verbs. Irregular Verbs. Problem Sentence Structures. Prepositions. Reversed Order. Dependent Clauses. 23. Verb Tenses. Forming the Past Tense and Past Participle. Regular Verbs. Irregular Verbs. Using the Past Participle. The Present Perfect Tense. The Past Perfect Tense. The Passive Voice. Using the Past Participle as an Adjective. Avoiding Shifts in Tense. 24. Sentence Types. Sentence Parts. Clauses. Phrases. Sentence Types. Simple. Compound. Complex. Compound-Complex. Sentence Purposes. Declarative. Interrogative. Imperative. Exclamatory. 25. Sentence Fragments. Missing-Subject Fragments. Missing-Verb Fragments. Missing-Subject-and Verb-Fragments. Dependent-Clause Fragments. Steps to Identifying Fragments. 26. Run-Ons. Types of Run-Ons: The Fused Sentence and the Comma Splice. Identifying Run-Ons. Steps to Identifying Run-Ons. Five Ways to Correct Run-Ons. 27. Sentence Combining Using Coordination and Subordination. Steps to Combining Sentences. Coordination. Coordinating Conjunctions. Compound Predicates. Conjunctive Adverbs and Transitional Expressions. Subordination. Subordinating Conjunctions. Relative Pronouns. Appositives. Verbal Phrases. Using Coordination or Subordination. 28. Sentence Variety. Steps to Creating Sentence Variety. Vary Sentence Beginnings. Use a Synonym. Use a Transition. Rearrange the Sentence. Use a Pronoun. Combine Two Sentences. Vary Sentence Length. Vary the Placement of Important Information. Vary the Sentence Structure. 29. Commas. Dates and Addresses. Misuses. Series. Misuses. Compound Sentences. Misuses. Introductory Elements. Verbal Phrases. Prepositional Phrases. Subordinating Conjunctions. Misuses. Interrupters. Small Word Interrupters. Misuse. Direct Address. Misuse. Transitions. Misuses. Appositives. Misuse. Nonrestrictive Elements. Restrictive Elements. Misuses. 30. Apostrophes. Contractions. Possession. Determining Possession. Word Order in Possessive Phrases. Placement of the Apostrophe in Possessive Phrases. Possessive Pronouns. Letters and Numerals. 31. Pronoun Agreement. Antecedents. Agreement Errors. Problem Antecedents. Compound Antecedents. Indefinite Pronouns as Antecedents. Collective Nouns as Antecedents. Avoiding Shifts in Number. Avoiding Shifts in Person. Limiting Use of the Second Person. Related Agreement Errors . 32. Pronoun Reference and Case. Pronoun Reference. Ambiguous Pronoun Reference. Vague Reference. Implied Reference. Pronoun Case. Subjective Case. Objective Case. After Prepositions. Comparisons and Pronoun Case. Pronouns within an Appositive. Who/Whoever and Whom/Whomever. 33. Semicolons and Colons. Semicolons. With Independent Clauses. With Conjunctive Adverbs or Transitional Expressions. With Items in a Series. Colons. To Introduce a List. After Following/As Follows. 34. Modifiers. Misplaced Modifiers. Limiting Modifiers. Squinting Modifiers. Split Infinitives. Dangling Modifiers. With Verbal Phrases. With Imperatives. 35. Parallelism. Parallel Words. Pairs. Items in a Series. Comparisons. Phrases and Clauses. Editing for English Errors. 36. The Art of Editing. Editing Plan. Basic Editing Practice. Intermediate Editing Practice. Advanced Editing Practice. Editing for Commas, Apostrophes, and Pronouns. Readings. PART V: SUCCESSFUL READING STRATEGIES. Active Reading. SQ3R. Reader's Journal. Edwin Dobb, Not in Our Town! Thomas L. Friedman, Excerpt from "It's a Flat World, After All. Malcolm Gladwell, The 10,000 Hour Rule. Daniel Goleman, What's Your Emotional I.Q.? Pete Hamill, Crack and the Box. Steve Jobs, Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pilgrimage to Nonviolence. Barack Obama, The Spirit of Service. Rita Rooney, Helping Children through Divorce. Brent Staples, A Brother's Murder. APPENDIX. Using Journals. Writer's Journal. Peer Journal Example. Suggested Journal Topics. Reader's Journal. Peer Reader's Journal Example. Questions to Ask When You Read. MLA Documentation Guide . Citations within a Paper. Guidelines for In-text Citations. Citations at the End of a Paper (Works Cited Page). Guidelines for Works Cited Page. Sample MLA Works Cited Entries. Online Sources. Format for Research Papers. Title Pages. Text of Research Papers. Example MLA Research Paper Format. Guidelines for MLA Works Cited. Spelling Common Rules for Spelling. Frequently Misspelled Words. Some Other Easy Ways to Improve Your Spelling. Rules and Tools. Skill Rules. Writing Process Prompts and Checklists for Paragraphs. Checklists for Paragraphs. Writing Process Prompts and Checklists for Essays. Essay Revision Checklist. Peer Review Questionnaire: Essay. Editing Checklist. Error List. Answer Key for Odd-Numbered Student Exercises. Credits.