This concise, affordable text offers complete coverage of the writing process, strategies using the rhetorical models, and a reader--all in one text. Step-by-step instruction in the writing process is accessible to the reader, with opportunities to practice using these successful strategies.

Table of Contents

Preface To The Student Rhetoric Chapter 1 Writing: A First Look The Purposes of Writing The Audience for Your Writing The Qualities of Good Writing Writing and Ethics 1 Chapter 2 Strategies for Successful Reading Orienting Your Reading A First Reading Additional Readings Mastering Reading Problems Reading to Critique Reading Assignments Carefully Reading as a Writer "The Appeal of the Androgynous Man" by Amy Gross Writing About What You Read Chapter 3 Planning and Drafting Your Paper Understanding the Assignment Zeroing In on a Topic Gathering Information Organizing the Information Creating an Outline Developing a Thesis Statement Writing the First Draft Planning and Drafting with a Computer Chapter 4 Revising and Editing Your Paper Preparing to Revise Considering the Whole Essay Strengthening Paragraph Structure and Development Sharpening Sentences and Words Writing the Introduction and Conclusion Selecting a Title Peer Evaluation of Drafts Proofreading Your Draft Revising with a computer Collaborative Writing Maintaining and Reviewing a Portfolio Chapter 5 Paragraphs Characteristics of Effective Paragraphs Paragraphs with Special Functions Chapter6 Effective Sentences Sentence Strategies Chapter 7 Diction, Tone, Style Toward Clear Diction Toward Rhetorical Effect Special Stylistic Techniques Eliminating Flawed Diction Chapter 8 Narration: Relating Events Purpose Action Conflict Point of View Key Events Dialogue Ethical Issues Writing a Narrative *SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF NARRATION: "Joy through the Tears" by Brittany Coggin Critical Edge Chapter 9 Description: Presenting Impressions Purpose Sensory Impressions Dominant Impression Vantage Point Selection of Details Arrangement of Details Ethical Issues Writing a Description *SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF DESCRIPTION: "My Serenity" by Rachel Harvey Critical Edge Chapter 10 Process Analysis: Explaining How Kinds of Process Analysis Papers Ethical Issues Writing a Process Analysis *SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF PROCESS ANALYSIS: "Basic Song Writing Technique" by Hannah Hill Critical Edge Chapter 11 Illustration: Making Yourself Clear Selecting Appropriate Examples Number of Examples Organizing the Examples Ethical Issues Writing an Illustration SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF ILLUSTRATION: "If It Is Worth Doing" by Janice Carlton Critical Edge Chapter 12 Classification: Grouping into Categories Selecting Categories Number of Categories Developing Categories Ethical Issues Writing a Classification SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF CLASSIFICATION: "Types of Video Games for Children" by Kyra Glass Critical Edge Chapter 13 Comparison: Showing Relationships Selecting Items for Comparison Developing a Comparison Organizing a Comparison Using Analogy Ethical Issues Writing a Comparison *SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF COMPARISON: "Differences between Korean and English" by Sunho Lee Critical Edge Chapter 14 Cause and Effect: Explaining Why Patterns in Causal Analysis Reasoning Errors in Causal Analysis Ethical Issues Writing a Causal Analysis SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF CAUSE AND EFFECT: "Why Students Drop Out of College" by Diann Fisher Critical Edge Chapter 15 Definition: Establishing Boundaries Types of Definitions Ethical Issues Writing an Extended Definition SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF DEFINITION: "Rediscovering Patriotism" by Peter Wing Critical Edge Chapter 16 Argument: Convincing Others The Rational Appeal Reasoning Strategies The Emotional Appeal The Ethical Appeal Ferreting Out Fallacies Ethical Issues Writing an Argument *SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY OF ARGUMENT: "Bottled Troubled Water" by Scott Lemanski Critical Edge Chapter 17 Mixing the Writing Strategies Why and How to Mix Strategies Ethical Issues Problem/Solution Report Evaluation Report *SAMPLE ESSAY USING SEVERAL WRITING STRATEGIES: "Eating Alone in Restaurants" by Bruce Jay Friedman Critical Edge Chapter 18 The Essay Examination Studying for the Examination Types of Test Questions Preparing to Write Writing the Examination Answer Chapter 19 Writing About Literature The Elements of Literature Ethical Issues Writing a Paper on Literature SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY ON LITERATURE: "Scratchy Wilson: No Cardboard Character" by Wendell Stone Reader Rhetorical Table of Contents Narration "The Perfect Picture" by James Alexander Thom "Sound and Fury" by Dan Greenburg "Momma,s Encounter" by Maya Angelou "The Scholarship Jacket" by Marta Salinas Description "When the Full Moon Shines Its Magic over Monument Valley" by John V. Young "Assembly Line Adventure" by Lesley Hazleton "Once More to the Lake" by E. B. White Process Analysis "Fast Track to Perfection" by Ian Dunbar *"Taking Carbon Down" by Caroline Golman "Let,s Get Vertical!" by Beth Wald "Can Generation Xers Be Trained? by Shari Caudron Illustration "Binge Drinking: A Campus Killer" by Sabrina Rubin Erdely "Rambos of the Road" by Martin Gottfried "Going for Broke" by Matea Gold and David Ferrell "The Company Man" by Ellen Goodman Classification "What Are Friends for?" by Marion Winik "The Men We Carry in Our Minds" by Scott Russell Sanders "A Tale of Four Learners" by Bernice McCarthy "Which Stooge Are You?" by Ron Geraci Comparison "Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts" by Bruce Catton "Conversational Ballgames" by Nancy Masterson Sakamoto "Barbie Doesn,t Live Here Anymore" by Mariflo Stephens "Private Language, Public Language" by Richard Rodriguez "Art Form for the Digital Age" by Henry Jenkins Cause and Effect "Old Father Time Becomes a Terror" by Richard Tomkins "Why We Keep Stuff" by Caroline Knapp "Why Marriages Fail" by Anne Roiphe *"Why We Flirt" by Belinda Luscombe and Kate Stinchfield Definition "The Sweet Smell of Success Isn,t All That Sweet" by Laurence Shames "The Blended Economy" by Marc Zwelling *"Krumping" by Marc Zwelling Argument *"The Problem with Single-Payer Plans" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel *"Has Canada Got the Cure?" by Holly Dressel "The Misguided Zeal of the Privacy Lobby" by Alan Ehrenhalt "Halt and Show Your Papers!" by Barbara Dority "I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr. "A Journalist,s View of Black Economics" by William Rasberry *"The Case for Amnesty" by Nathan Thornburgh *"Not Amnesty but Attrition" by Mark Krikorian Mixing the Writing Strategies *"Supermarket Pastoral" by Michael Pollan From "Social Bodies: Tightening the Bonds of Beauty" by Deborah A. Sullivan "Gender Gap in Cyberspace" by Deborah Tannen * new to this edition