For courses in English Composition.
By thinking, reading, and writing on three increasingly difficult levels - literally, interpretively, and critically - students can better learn the processes and skills necessary to be successful in their classes and beyond.
Based on the grounded assumption that lucid writing follows lucid thinking, Kim and Michael Flachmann have spent their years teaching and writing to help students think clearly and logically in their minds and on paper. Students become more successful in their classes and beyond by thinking, reading, and writing on three increasingly difficult levels - literally, interpretively, and critically. In demonstrating the vital interrelationship between reader and writer, this text provides students with prose models intended to inspire their own thinking and writing. These essays are intended to encourage students to improve their writing through a partnership with someone of the best examples of professional prose available today.
Table of Contents:
Rhetorical Table of Contents
Introduction: Thinking, Reading, and Writing
Chapter 1 - Description: Exploring through the Senses
Defining Description
Thinking Critically Through Description
Reading Descriptive Essays
Writing Descriptive Essays
Student Essay: Description at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Description
Ray Bradbury - Summer Rituals
Kimberly Wozencraft - Notes from the Country Club
John McPhee - The Pines
Malcolm Cowley - The View from 80
NEW! - Linda Hogan - Dwellings
Chapter 2 - Narration: Telling a Story
Defining Narration
Thinking Critically Through Narration
Reading Narrative Essays
Writing Narrative Essays
Student Essay: Narration at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Narration
Lewis Sawaquat - For My Indian Daughter
Maya Angelou - New Directions
Russell Baker - The Saturday Evening Post
Sandra Cisneros - Only daughter
Garrison Keillor - How the Crab Apple Grew
Chapter 3 - Example: Illustrating Ideas
Defining Examples
Thinking Critically Through Examples
Reading Example Essays
Writing Example Essays
Student Essay: Examples at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Examples
Bill Cosby - The Baffling Question
NEW! Richard Rodriguez - Public and Private Language
Harold Krents - Darkness at Noon
Amy Tan - Mother Tongue
Brent Staples - A Brother's Murder
Chapter 4 - Process Analysis: Explaining Step by Step
Defining Process Analysis
Thinking Critically Through Process Analysis
Reading Process Analysis Essays
Writing Process Analysis Essays
Student Essay: Process Analysis at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Process Analysis
Edwin Bliss - Managing Your Time
Jessica Mitford - Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain
Jay Weiner - Sports Centered
NEW! Malcolm X - Learning to Read
Julia Bourland - Getting Out of Debt (and Staying Out)
Chapter 5 - Division / Classification: Finding Categories
Defining Division / Classification
Thinking Critically Through Division / Classification
Reading Division / Classification Essays
Writing Division / Classification Essays
Student Essay: Division / Classification at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Division / Classification
Phyllis Schneider - Memory: Tips You'll Never Forget
K.C. Cole - Calculated Risks
Judith Wallerstein and Sandra Blakeslee - Second Chances for Children of Divorce
Franklin Zimring - Confessions of an Ex-Smoker
NEW! Stephanie Ericsson - The Ways We Lie
Chapter 6 Comparison / Contrast: Discovering Similarities
Defining Comparison / Contrast
Thinking Critically Through Comparison / Contrast
Reading Comparison / Contrast Essays
Writing Comparison / Contrast Essays
Student Essay: Comparison / Contrast at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Comparison / Contrast
Brice Catton - Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts
NEW! Scott Russell Sanders - Homeplace
William Ouchi - Japanese and American Workers: Two Casts of Mind
Gloria Steinem - The Politics of Muscle
Sucheng Chan - You're Short, Besides!
Chapter 7 - Definition: Limiting the Frame of Reference
Defining Definition
Thinking Critically Through Definition
Reading Definition Essays
Writing Definition Essays
Student Essay: Definition at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Definition
Erma Bombeck - Grandma
Robert Ramirez - The Barrio
Mary Pipher - Beliefs About Families
NEW! Stephen Jay Gould - Dorothy, It's Really Oz
NEW! Lyn Mikel Brown and Meda Chesney-Lind - Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do?
Chapter 8 - Cause / Effect: Tracing Reasons and Results
Defining Cause / Effect
Thinking Critically Through Cause / Effect
Reading Cause / Effect Essays
Writing Cause / Effect Essays
Student Essay: Cause / Effect at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Cause / Effect
Stephen King - Why We Crave Horror Movies
Michael Dorris - The Broken Cord
NEW! Sherman Alexie - The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me
Mary Roach - Meet the Bickersons
Alice Walker - Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self
Chapter 9 - Argument and Persuasion: Inciting People to Thought or Action
Defining Argument and Persuasion
Thinking Critically Through Argument and Persuasion
Reading Argument and Persuasion Essays
Writing Argument and Persuasion Essays
Student Essay: Argument and Persuasion at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Argument and Persuasion
bell hooks - Justice: Childhood Love Lessons
NEW! Barbara Kingsolver - Life is Precious, or It's Not
NEW! Barrett Seaman - How Bringing Became the New College Sport
Dave Grossman - We Are Training Our Kids to Kill
NEW! Kim Severson - I'm Not Willing to Settle for Crumbs
NEW! Photo Essays - Tag. You're It!
Opposing Viewpoints: Immigration
Michael Scott - America Must Take Stronger Measures to Halt Illegal Immigration
Richard Raynor - Illegal Immigration Does Not Threaten America
Opposing Viewpoints: Postconviction DNA Testing
NEW! Tim O'Brien - Postconviction DNA Testing Should Be Encouraged
NEW! James Dao - In Same Case, DNA Clears Convict and Finds Suspect
NEW! Peter Roff - Postconviction DNA Testing Should Not Be Encouraged
Opposing Viewpoints: Patriot Act
NEW! James X. Dempsey - Civil Liberties in a Time of Crisis
NEW! Ramesh Ponnuru - 1984 in 2003?
NEW! David Cole - The Patriot Act Unfairly Targets Immigrants to Enhance National Security
Chapter 10 - The Research Paper: Reading and Writing from Sources
Defining Research Papers
Reading Research Papers
Writing Research Papers
Student Essay: Documentation at Work
Some Final Thoughts on Research Papers
Barbara Ehrenreich - The Ecstasy of War
NEW! Nancy Nadolski - Getting a Good Night's Sleep: Diagnosing and Treating Insomnia
NEW! Edward Ayers - The American Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction on the World Stage
Chapter 11 - Further Thinking, Reading, and Writing: Combining Rhetorical Modes
Essays
Roger Rosenblatt - "I Am Writing Blindly"
Rita Mae Brown - Writing as a Moral Act
Fiction
Richard Wright - The Library Card
Jess Row - The Secrets of Bats
Poetry
Billy Collins - Books
Robert Francis - Catch and Glass
Drama
Neena Beber - Misreadings
Glossary of Useful Terms
Credits
Index of Authors and Titles
THEMATIC TABLE OF CONTENTS
African American Studies
Aging
Art and Media
Autobiography
Behavioral Science
Business
Chicano and Latin-American Studies
Economics
Education
History
Language
Other Ethnics Studies
Nature
Philosophy and Religious Studies
Physical Education
Political Science
Psychology
Reading
Science
Sociology
Violence and War
Women's Studies
Writing
