About the Book
Essentials of the Essay, Second Edition, teaches the writing of short essays through analytical reading, controlled writing, and model essays.
The text integrates writing, reading, and grammar throughout, reinforcing the fact that essay writing requires competence in all three areas. Chapters feature short essays by professional writers, instructional essays by the author, and paragraphs and essays of student-level writing — all of which serve as model essays for students. Short essays (between 200 and 700 words) by professional writers deal with thought-provoking topics and serve as an impetus to writing. Instructional essays deal with aspects of how to write (e.g., writing introductions, making transitions) and with grammar (e.g., words often confused, using apostrophes). Exercises for both essay writing and grammar generally consist of paragraphs and essays in which students must first learn to recognize a concept, then alter an example, and finally generate their own samples of the concept. By the end of the text, students will have had practice with over 100 essays from a variety of sources and styles.
Table of Contents:
* Denotes selections new to this edition. All chapters include “Writing and Reading” and “Grammar.”
Preface to the Instructor.
Preface to the Student.
Acknowledgments.
1.Warming Up.
Before Reading Saved.
Saved, Malcolm X.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Before Starting to Write.
Getting Started.
Organizing an Essay.
Learning about Words Often Confused.
2.The Body of the Essay.
Before Reading Personalize Your Personal Ad.
Personalize Your Personal Ad, Advice Column.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Topic Sentences.
Writing Body Paragraphs.
Nouns.
Pronouns.
3.The Beginning and the Ending.
Before Reading The Coast with the Most.
*The Coast with the Most, Robert C. Ritchie.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Writing Introductions.
Writing Conclusions.
Verb Tenses I.
Verb Tenses II.
4.Describing.
Before Reading The Story of an Hour.
The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Writing Descriptions.
Using Transitional Phrases.
Adjectives and Adverbs.
Conjunctions and Prepositions.
5.Voice and Point of View.
Before Reading Steinbeck, a Shunned Word, and a Scarlet Letter.
*Steinbeck, a Shunned Word, and a Scarlet Letter, Burt Prelutsky.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Using a Consistent Voice.
Having a Point of View.
Sentences (Clauses).
Types of Sentences.
6.Variety.
Before Reading Jill Freedman, Photographer.
Jill Freedman, Photographer, Studs Terkel.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Sentence Variety I: Altering Subject-Verb-Object.
Sentence Variety II: Length, Type, It Is/There Is.
Fragments.
Run-Together Sentences.
Parallelism.
7.Getting Down to Details.
Before Reading The Mixed Metamessages of Help.
*The Mixed Metamessages of Help, Deborah Tannen.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Using Specific Words.
Writing Specific Paragraphs.
Sentence Problems I: Subject-Verb Agreement.
Sentence Problems II: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement.
Sentence Problems III: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers.
Sentence Problems IV: Is When, Is Where, Is Because.
8.Teaching and Explaining.
Before Reading Improving Reading Efficiency.
Improving Reading Efficiency, Helen Heightsman Gordon.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Writing to Teach Clearly.
Giving Logical Explanations.
Using Commas I: Independent and Dependent Clauses.
Using Commas II: Phrases and Words.
Using Commas III: Series, Titles, Addresses, Dates, Misunderstandings.
9.Argumentation.
Before Reading The Case against Bilingualism.
The Case against Bilingualism, Trudy J. Sundberg.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Using Argumentation.
Avoiding False Arguments.
Using Apostrophes.
Using Semicolons and Colons.
Using Hyphens.
10.Writing to Entertain.
Before Reading Untied Shoelaces.
*Untied Shoelaces, Seth B. Goldsmith.
Suggestions for Essay Topics.
Writing to Entertain.
Avoiding Stereotyping, Racism, and Sexism.
Using Quotation Marks and Direct and Indirect Discourse.
Other Punctuation: —, ( ), …, underlining, /, [ ], *, &, %, #, @.
*Reading Actively and Efficiently.
Fifteen Essays for Reading and Analyzing.
Eggplant, Alice Skelsey.
Recently Arrived, Joann Faung, Jean Lee.
Young Women, Keep Your Own Names, Joan Davis.
*Puff the Magic Camel, Richard Epro.
*She's Fab, Fun — and Fake, J.D. Considine.
*Tokyo, Nicholas D. Kristof.
*Mothering, Stanlie M. James.
A Conspiracy against Silence, Andy Rooney.
*Take Me Out to the Fall Game, Geoff Drake.
*Mother Complex, Lisa Schwarzbaum.
Saving the Elephants, The New York Times.
The Discovery and Use of the Fake Ink Blot, Woody Allen.
*Cairo, Amelia B. Edwards.
*Images of Poor Redrawn, Associated Press
*Corporal Punishment, Mahatma Gandhi.
Five Short Stories for Reading and Analyzing.
Alice's Snazzy Pajamas, S.G. Tyler.
*Starving Student Chicken, John and Kyoko Enright.
*What Sally Said, Sandra Cisneros.
*Noel, Michael Plemmons.
*Reading the Paper, Ron Carlson.
Index.
