Writing Our Lives Book

I. PURPOSES OF WRITING.

1. Writing as a Process.
The Writing Process.
Purposes of Writing.
Patterns of Writing.
Writing Assignment: Descriptive Writing.

2. Reading — Writing Connections.
Writing Reading Responses.

Teresa Palommo Acosta, My Mother Pieced Quilts.

Andy Rooney, Advertising.
Taking Notes, Summarizing, and Paraphrasing.
Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address.
Writing Assignment: Paraphrasing and Summarizing.

II. WRITING ABOUT OURSELVES.

3. Childhood Memories.
Early Memories.

Richard Brautigan, Lint.
Point of View.

Mario Meisner, I Didn't Mean to Be Bad.
Using Senses to Recall Details.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Freedom to Breathe.
Description Pattern of Development.

Bailey White, Turkeys.
Writing Assignment: A Childhood Memory.

4. Creating Believable Stories.
Writing Narratives.

Tomás Rivera, The Portrait.

Garrison Keillor, Who Do You Think You Are?
Writing Memories as Fiction.
Narration Pattern of Development.

William Olien, The Christmas Sled.
Writing Assignment: Telling a Story.

III. FRIENDSHIPS.

5. What Does "Friend" Mean?
Characteristics of Friends.

Jan Kippenhan, I Have a Friend.
Variety of Friendships.

Judith Viorst, Friends, Good Friends, and Such Good Friends.
Classification Pattern of Development.

Brad Bucki, Student Paper: Friends.
WritingAssignment: Classification Paper.

6. Friends across Generations and Time.
Unwilling Friends.

Laura Cunningham, The Girls' Room.
Unlikely Friendships.

Charles Kuralt, Mr. Misenheimer's Garden.
Distance, Time, and Friends.

Rachel Killough, Student Paper: Friendships.

Edward Ziegler, It Was a Good Barn.
Stereotypes and Expectations.

Ruth Harriet Jacobs, Becoming Sixty.
Comparison-Contrast Pattern of Development.
Writing Assignment: Comparison-Contrast Paper.

7. Friendships and Gender.
Society's Expectations.

Paula Gunn Allen, They Make Their Climb.
Same-Sex Friendships.

Peter M. Nardi, Seamless Souls.
Friendships between Men and Women.

David R. Eyler, Ph.D. and Andrea P. Baridon, Far More Than Friendships.
Definition Pattern of Development.
Writing Assignment: Definition Paper.

IV. FAMILIES.

8. Parents and Children.
Growing Independence.

Phyllis McGinley, First Lesson.
Across Generations.

Susan S. Jacobson, Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Jessa Olien, I Used To…, But Now.
Changing Roles.

Leslie Norris, Shaving.
Process Analysis Pattern of Development.

Krista Hauenstein, Student Paper: Making Beef Stew.
Writing Assignment: Process Analysis Paper.

9. Relationships with Family Members.
Siblings.

Teryl Zarnow, Sibling Revelry.

Lucille Clifton, Sisters.

Jim Tolley, Climbing the Daymarker.

David Huddle, Icicle.
Argumentation-Persuasion Pattern Development.
Writing Assignment: Persuasive Letter.

10. Family Perspectives.
Birth Order.

Judy Dunn, Birth Order, Age Gap, Gender, and Large Families.

Stephen Harrigan, Places Everyone.
Cause-and-Effect Pattern of Development.
Writing Assignment: Collaborative Cause-and-Effect Paper.
Student Example, A Collaborative Essay, Birth Order.
Writing Assignment: Cause and Effect Collaborative Paper.

V. KNOWING ONESELF.

11. Values.
Identifying Values.
Society's Values.

Russell Baker, From Song to Sound: Bing and Elvis.
Values and Creeds.

Anonymous, Desiderata.
Values and Behaviors.

Ellen Goodman, The Company Man.
Values in Conflict.

Hugh Pentecost, A Kind of Murder.
Changing Values.

Amy Matlock, Student Paper: Values.
Writing Assignment: Values.

12. Defining Oneself.
Hopes, Dreams and Expectations.
How others See Us.

Dawn Rucker, Student Paper, Who Am I?

Alison Lurie, The Language of Clothes.
Our Dreams.

Langston Hughes, Dreams and Dream Deferred.

Naomi Shihab Nye, Making a Fist.
Defining Ourselves.

Nancy Mairs, On Being a Cripple.
Writing Assignment: Defining Ourselves.

13. Making Decisions.
Making Choices through Values and Interests.

Donna Brown Hogarty, How to Make the Right Decision.
Making Career Choices.

Don Marquis, The Lesson of the Moth.

Marge Piercy, To Be of Use.
Balance between Work and Play.

Dennis Crowe, Crows Play in the Updraft.
Guidelines for Decision Making.
Writing Assignment: A Significant Decision.

14. Writing Research Papers.
Developing Questions.
Gathering Information.
Authenticity of Sources.
Interviewing.
Integrating Sources and Your Own Thoughts.
Writing a Conclusion.
Documentation.
Writing Assignment: Research Paper.
Amy Turk, Student Research Paper: The Right Choice.
Credits.
Index.