About the Book
Written by noted composition scholar John Trimbur, The Call to Write is grounded in the reality of students' lives. It connects writing to the real worlds of everyday life, college, and work, giving students reasons to write and the skills to help them succeed. A strong emphasis on public writing promotes civic involvement through writing - to inform the public, to shape opinion, to advocate change, etc. - while relevant, provocative readings underscore when and why citizens are called to write. Demonstrating how individuals meet the "call to write," Part Two of the text presents specific strategies for writing in eight common genres in a progression that moves from expressive, to informative, to persuasive aims. Individual chapters on each genre show students how to address and master writing for different social situations. Two full chapters on collaborative writing and opportunities for group work throughout reinforce the idea of writing for, and sometimes with, others in the community. Exceptional coverage of argument, visual literacy, document design, and electronic technology is featured as are discussions of ethics in writing and research. The Call to Write is available in paperback or a hardcover version with grammar handbook.
Table of Contents:
I. WRITING AND READING.
Introduction: The Call to Write.
1. The Call to Write in Context.
Writing in Everyday Life.
Writing in the Workplace.
Writing in the Public Sphere.
Writing in School.
Literacy Narratives: Telling Writing Stories.
Passage from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
Passage from Linda Brodkey, "Writing on the Bias".
Russell Kim, "Petitioning the Powers" (student writing).
2. Reading and Writing: The Critical Connection.
Previewing.
Ian Tattersall, "Out of Africa Again . . . and Again?".
Organizing Information.
Stephen Jay Gould, "Alfred Binet and the Original Purpose of the Binet Scale".
Responding.
Analyzing.
Jonathan Kozol, "Distancing the Homeless".
Evaluating.
Evaluating the Writer's Language.
Logical Fallacies.
3. Argument, Persuasion and Responsibility.
What Is Argument? Dealing with Reasonable Differences.
Darcy Peters and Marcus Boldt, Exchange of Letters.
Entering a Controversy: Analyzing the Issues.
Taking a Position: Crafting a Rhetorical Stance.
Rhetorical Stance: Developing a Persuasive Position.
Malcolm X, Excerpt from "The Bullet or the Ballot".
"Another Hit Job on Ethnic Cuisine".
Constructing the Appropriate Rhetorical Stance.
Making an Argument: Looking at the Parts.
"The Price of Corporate Greed at Leslie Fay".
Negotiating Differences.
James Moffett, Excerpt from "Storm in the Mountains".
Anna Quindlen, "Abortion Is Too Complex to Feel All One Way About".
"Nobody in America Escaped the Vietnam War".
II. WRITING PROJECTS.
Introduction: Genres of Writing.
4. Letters: Establishing and Maintaining Relationships.
Looking at the Genre.
Letters Home.
Cathleen Cordova, "Dear Mom and Dad".
Richard Marks, "Dear Mom".
An E-mail Correspondence.
Anonymous letter and response.
Letters to the Editor.
Mark Patinkin, "Commit a Crime, Suffer the Consequences".
Kristin Tardiff, Letter to the Editor.
John N. Taylor, Letter to the Editor.
Open Letter.
James Baldwin, "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew".
Designing Documents.
Letter from Doctors Without Borders.
Assignments.
Working Together - Writing and Designing a Letter of Appeal.
The Call to Write Letters.
Invention.
Planning.
Working Draft.
Peer Commentary.
Revising.
Writers Workshop (student writing).
Michael Brody, Letter to the Editor.
Michael Brody's Commentary.
Writer's Inventory.
5. Memoirs: Recalling Personal Experience.
Looking at the Genre.
Gary Soto, "Black Hair".
Amy Tan, "Lost Lives of Women".
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., "In the Kitchen".
Designing Documents.
Visual Memories.
Assignments.
Working Together.
Creating a Time Capsule.
The Call to Write Memoirs.
Invention.
Planning.
Working Draft.
Peer Commentary.
Revising.
Writers Workshop (student writing).
Jennifer Plante's Commentary.
Jennifer Plante, Draft.
Writer's Inventory.
6. Public Documents: Codifying Beliefs and Practices.
Looking at the Genre.
Abraham Verghese, from "My Own Country".
"WPI Policy for Students with HIV Infection".
"Proposition 63," California State Ballot, 1986.
Conference on College Composition and Communication, "The National Language Policy".
Designing Documents.
The Preamble to the United Nations Charter.
Assignments.
The Call to Write Public Documents.
Option 1. Writing a Class Charter.
Option 2: Designing a Public Document.
Option 3: Writing an Essay.
Invention.
Planning.
Working Draft.
Peer Commentary.
Revising.
Writers Workshop (student writing).
Purdue University's Grand Prix Website.
Writer's Inventory.
7. Profiles: Creating a Dominant Impression.
Looking at the Genre.
Molly O'Neill, "A Surgeon's War on Breast Cancer".
Mike Rose, "I Just Wanna Be Average".
Jon Garelick, "Kurt Cobain 1967-94".
Designing Documents.
Advertising and Publicity That Use Profiles.
Pfizer Ad.
"Class Notables".
"Imar Hernandez and the Shame in Our Nation's Capital".
Assignments.
Working Together.
Analyzing Celebrity Profiles.
The Call to Write Profiles.
Invention.
Research.
Planning.
Working Draft.
Peer Commentary.
Revising.
Writers Workshop (student writing).
Richard Quitadamo, Working Draft of "A Lawyer's Crusade Against Tobacco".
Quitadamo's note on his working draft.
Writer's Inventory.
8. Reports: Informing and Explaining.
Looking at the Genre.
"Young Blacks See Selma Anniversary as ÒAncient History,' of Little Relevance".
"A Changed Selma Recalls Historic March".
Richard B. Felson and George Gmelch, "Uncertainty and the Use of Magic".
Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, "The Seven-Sided Coin".
Michael Harrington Center, "Action Brief: Youth Violence".
Designing Documents.
Understanding Options in Visual Display of Information.
Assignments.
Working Together.
Constructing a Chronology.
The Call to Write Reports.
Invention.
Planning.
Working Draft.
Peer Commentary.
Revising.
Writers Workshop (student writing).
Luis Ramirez's Commentary.
Luis Ramirez, "Food Sources in South Providence".
Writer's Inventory.
9. Commentary: Identifying Patterns of Meaning.
Looking at the Genre.
"Sadness and Shame at the Citadel".
Susan Faludi, "Shannon Faulkner's Strength in Numbers".
Capt. Erin Dowd, "Ex-Cadet's Actions Didn't Match Her Words".
Lundy Braun, "How to Fight the New Epidemics".
James W. Carey, "Technology and Ideology: The Case of the Telegraph".
Designing Documents.
Cartoons, Comic Strips, and Posters.
Cartoon.
"Peanuts" Comic Strip.
"Guerrilla Girls" Agit-Prop Poster.
Assignments.
Working Together.
Assembling a Casebook.
The Call to Write Commentary.
Invention.
Planning.
The Working Draft.
Peer Commentary.
Revising.
Writers Workshop (student writing).
Rachel Smith, "Socially Accepted Discrimination?".
Interview with Rachel Smith.
Writer's Inventory.
10. Proposals: Formulating and Solving Problems.
Looking at the Genre.
Julie Gustafson, Excerpt from "And Everything Nice".
Christopher Dodd, "National Service: Yes or No?: Yes, for the Sake of Renewal".
Nicola Clark, "How to Draft a National Service Plan".
Iris Marion Young, "Making Single Motherhood Normal".
Designing Documents.
Literature from Advocacy Group Campaigns.
"The PIRGs Campaign to Ban Dioxin".
Federation for American Immigration Reform, "A Moratorium on Immigration".
Assignments.
Working Together.
Advocacy Group Proposals.
The Call to Write Proposals.
Invention.
Planning.
Working Draft.
Peer Commentary.
Revising.
Writers Workshop (student writing).
Proposal for a Campus Coffee House.
Writers' Commentary.
Writer's Inventory.
11. Reviews: Evaluating Works and Performances.
Looking at the Genre.
Peter Keough, "Goon Squad: Evita Bludgeons, But Seduces".
Anthony Lane, "Immaterial Girls".
Alan A. Stone, Excerpt from "Report and Recommendations Concerning the Handling of Incidents Such as the Branch Davidian Standoff in Waco, Texas".
Stephen King, "Blood and Thunder in Concord".
Designing Documents.
Rating Systems.
Consumer Reports car rating.
Boston Phoenix film strip.
"Conventional Wisdom Watch,"Newsweek.
Assignments.
Working Together.
Course Review.
The Call to Write Reviews.
Invention.
Planning.
Working Draft.
Peer Commentary.
Revising.
Writers Workshop (student writing).
Denise Sega, Working Draft of "More Than Just Burnouts".
Writer's Inventory.
III. WRITERS AT WORK.
Introduction: Managing Your Writing Projects.
12. Working Together: Individual Writing Projects.
Contexts for Working Together.
Working Together on Writing Assignments.
Responding to a Colleague's Draft.
Invention and Planning.
Drafting and Revising.
Final Touches.
A Note on Peer Commentary.
13. Working Together: Collaborative Writing Projects.
Collaborative Writing.
How to Work Together on Collaborative Writing Projects.
Identifying the Call to Write: Types of Projects.
Organizing the Group.
Organizing the Project: The Proposal.
Staying on Track.
Drafting, Revising, and Editing.
Giving Credit.
Final Presentation.
On-Line Collaboration.
14. The Writer's Tools: New Writing Technologies.
Word Processing.
Electronic Communication.
On-Line Collaboration.
IV. GUIDE TO RESEARCH.
Introduction: Doing Research.
15. Research Projects: Using Print and Electronic Sources.
Overview of the Research Process.
The Library Catalog.
Encyclopedias, Bibliographies, and Indexes.
Electronic Data Bases.
The Internet and the World Wide Web.
Starting Points for Exploring the Internet.
Internet Search Engines.
Conducting a Search.
Some Useful Internet Addresses.
Other Internet Sources.
BBS Sources.
16. Field Research.
Observations.
Interviews.
Surveys and Questionnaires.
Media and Public Performances.
V. PRESENTING YOUR WORK.
Introduction: Communicating with Your Readers.
17. Research Papers: MLA and APA.
Using Sources in Academic Writing.
Integrating Sources.
Sample Paraphrase and Summary.
Avoiding Plagiarism.
Working with Quotes.
In-Text Citations.
Works Cited (MLA) and References (APA).
ACW Guidelines for Internet Sources.
Sample MLA and APA Research Papers.
Brion Keagle, "Blues Songs and the Devil's Music".
Margaret Vanosdol, "Defining Disease: The Case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome".
18. Document Design.
Some Basic Guidelines for Document Design.
Some Standard Page Designs.
Using Headings.
Working with Type.
Enhancing Page Design.
Layout.
Document Design Projects.
From Sketch to Document: Some Examples.
19. Essay Exams.
20. Writing Portfolios.
What Should You Include in a Portfolio?
Some Options for a Writing Portfolio.
On-Line Portfolios.
VI. GUIDE TO EDITING.
Introduction: Why Writers Edit.
21. Working with Sentences.
Sentence Variations and Style.
Troublesome Editing Issues.
