Backpack Writinguses written instruction and visual tools to teach how to read, write, and research effectively for different purposes.
Table of Contents:
PART 1
The Writer as Explorer
1. Making Discoveries
Look with new eyes 3
Explore the world 4
Find a territory 6
Use guides 10
2. Reading to Explore
Become a critical reader 13
Look with a critical eye 14
Read actively 16
Recognize fallacies 18
Respond as a reader 20
3. Planning a Journey
Determine your direction 23
Write a thesis 24
Plan your route 26
4. Returning and Revising
See again 28
Evaluate your draft 29
Respond to others 31
Pay attention to details last 32
5. Thinking Visually
Communicate with visuals and
words 35
Understand visual and verbal
concepts 36
Know when to use images and
graphics 40
Take pictures that aren’t boring 41
Compose images 42
Create tables, charts, and graphs 43
6. Designing Documents
Start with your readers 45
Use headings and subheadings
effectively 46
Design pages 47
Understand typography 48
PART 2
The Writer as Guide
7. Writing Effectively in College
Understand the demands of writing in college 55
Think about your aim 56
Think about your genre 58
Think about your audience 60
Think about your credibility 62
Become an effective writer 64
Angela YamashitaGot Roddick? 65
8. Writing to Reflect
Writing reflections 70
An effective reflection
Sue Kunitomi Embrey
Some Lines for a Younger Brother... 72
How to read reflections 76
essay
Amy Tan
Mother Tongue 77
blog
Jason Christopher Hartley
Just Another Soldier 82
essay
David Sedaris
Let It Snow 86
How to write a reflection 90
Student essay
Janine Carter
The Miracle Quilt 102
Projects 106
9. Reporting Information
Reporting information 110
Effective informative writing
Samuel M. Wilson
The Emperor’s Giraffe 113
How to read informative writing 118
profile
Harold Evans
Russell Simmons 119
executive summary
The National Commission on
Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges
Writing: A Ticket to Work . . . Or a Ticket Out 127
How to write to inform 130
Student report
Lakshmi Kotra
The Life Cycle of Stars 148
Projects 156
10. Writing to Analyze
Writing to analyze 160
Writing a rhetorical analysis 162
Writing a visual analysis 164
An effective analysis
Tim Collins
Straight from the Heart 166
How to read analyses 171
article
David T. Z. Mindich
The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless 172
product design
Volkswagen Beetle 181
corporate logo
Landor Associates
Federal Express Logo 184
How to write a rhetorical analysis 186
Student rhetorical analysis
Grace Bernhardt
Investigating “Independence”: An Analysis of Frederick Douglass’s Speech, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” 198
Projects 204
11. Writing to Analyze Causes
Writing to analyze causes 208
An effective causal analysis
Stentor Danielson
Pesticides, Parasite May Cause Frog Deformities 212
How to read causal analyses 216
essay
Ari Kelman
New Orleans' Blessing; New Orleans' Curse 217
leaflet
Operation Iraqi Freedom Leaflets 222
How to write a causal analysis 224
Student causal analysis
Sean Booker
Borrowing Bling: The Appeal of Hip-hop to Young White Men 240
Projects 244
12. Writing to Evaluate
Writing to evaluate 248
An effective evaluation
Lefteris Pavlides
The Aesthetics of Wind Power 251
How to read evaluations 256
review
Dan Crane
McNasty: The New “Healthy” Fast Food Items Taste Bad (and Aren’t So Healthy Either) 257
article
Stephanie Rosenbloom
The Nitpicking Nation 263
How to write an evaluation 268
Student essay
Rashaun Giddens
Stop Loss or “Loss of Trust” 282
Projects 288
13. Arguing for a Position
Writing a position argument 292
An effective position argument
Ted Koppel
Take My Privacy, Please! 296
How to read position arguments 301
speech
Frederick Douglass
What to the Slave Is the Fourth of
July? 302
article
Meredith Clark
Life Without Health Insurance 310
advertisements
Buff Daddy 314
Food Cops Bust Cookie Monster 315
How to write a position argument 316
Student argument
Chris Nguyen
Speech Doesn’t Have to be Pretty to be Protected 332
Projects 338
14. Arguing for Change
Making an argument for change 342
An effective argument for change
Thomas Jefferson
The Declaration of Independence 346
How to read arguments for change 351
article
Thomas Homer-Dixon and S. Julio Friedmann
Coal in a Nice Shade of Green 352
essay
Paul Saffo
A Trail of DNA and Data 356
How to write an argument for
change 360
Student argument
Kim Lee
Let’s Make It a Real Melting Pot with Presidential Hopes for All 376
Projects 382
PART 3
The Writer as Researcher
15. Planning Research
Analyze the research task 387
Ask a question 388
Determine what you need 389
Draft a working thesis 391
16. Finding and Evaluating Sources
Search using keywords 393
Find books 394
Find journal articles 395
Evaluate print sources 396
Find information in databases 397
Construct effective searches 398
Locate elements of a citation 399
Find information on the Web 400
Evaluate Web sources
17. Writing the Research Paper
Plan your organization 403
Avoid plagiarism 404
Quote sources without plagiarizing 405
Summarize and paraphrase sources without plagiarizing 407
Incorporate quotations 409
Incorporate visuals 412
Review your research project 413
18. MLA Documentation
Elements of MLA documentation 416
Entries in the works-cited list 417
In-text citations in MLA style 419
Books in MLA-style works cited 422
Periodicals in MLA-style works cited 426
Online sources in MLA-style works cited 430
Other sources in MLA-style works cited 434
Visual sources in MLA-style
works cited 435
Sample MLA paper George Abukar It’s Time to Shut Down the Identity Theft Racket 436
Credits 444
Index 446
Review :
Here’s what teachers are saying:
“Lester Faigley's book is a winner for composition classes!”
—Bennis Blue, Virginia State University
“My favorite part of A Backpack Guide to Writing is the use of student writing. I love how the student texts are shown in Chapters 8-14, particularly how the student’s writing process is shown. I’ve never seen that done in any other text I’ve used in my ten years of working with college students, and I think it would be so helpful to my students.”
—Sara Webb-Sunderhaus,Indiana University Purdue University, Fort Wayne
“A Backpack Guide to Writing is distinctive because it situates writing in activities students understand and value: discovering, exploring, journeying.”
—Maureen Murphy, Dakota State University
“The readings in A Backpack Guide to Writing are a diverse and eclectic set of examples that show students how to write different essays different ways and also provide a lot of fodder for class discussion and short assignment writing, longer essays and journal writing.”
– Michael Dubson, Bunker Hill Community College
“The most distinctive and special aspect of A Backpack Guide to Writing is its use of visuals to communicate ideas. I have found that to a greater and greater degree, students understand visual representations of ideas to linguistic ones. I have worked hard over the last 3-4 years to find ways of communicating with my students in ways that are more visual in nature – charts, graphs, diagrams, etc. This text does this and does it very well. I think that many of the students I have will benefit from this greatly.”
– Michael Boyd, Illinois Central College
And here’s what students are saying:
“This is one of the most helpful, thorough, and resourceful texts I’ve seen thus far.”
– Lauren Olsen, Castleton State College
“This book is more eye catching to me, and more informational. I will actually read this book!”
– Abbey Kline,Ball State University
“I like the fact that with the visual pictures I could understand the readings better.”
– Jorge Arias, Grand Valley State University
