The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing: Brief Edition, MLA Update Edition

Solidly grounded in current theory and research, yet eminently practical and teachable, The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing has set the standard for first-year composition courses in writing, reading, critical thinking, and inquiry.

Table of Contents:
Writing Projects Thematic Contents Preface  Writing Projects Thematic Contents Preface   I: A RHETORIC FOR WRITERS   1.  Thinking Rhetorically About Good Writing     Concept 1: Good Writing Can Vary from Closed to Open Forms     David Rockwood, “A Letter to the Editor”     Thomas Merton,“A Festival of Rain”     Distinctions between Closed and Open Forms of Writing     Where to Place Your Writing Along the Continuum Concept 2: Good Writers Pose Questions about Their Subject Matter        Shared Problems Unite Writers and Readers     Posing Your Own Subject-Matter Questions     Brittany Tinker, “Can the World Sustain an American Standard of Living?” Concept 3: Good Writers Write for a Purpose to an Audience within a Genre     How Writers Think about Purpose     How Writers Think about Audience     How Writers Think about Genre     Chapter Summary     Brief Writing Project 1: Posing a Good Subject-Matter Problem Brief Writing Project 2: Understanding Rhetorical Context     2.  Thinking Rhetorically about Your Subject Matter     Concept 4: Professors Value “Wallowing in Complexity”         Learning to Wallow in Complexity     Seeing Each Academic Discipline as a Field of Inquiry and Argument Concept 5: Good Writers Use Exploratory Strategies to Think Critically about Subject Matter Problems     Freewriting     Focused Freewriting     Idea Mapping     Dialectic Talk     Playing the Believing and Doubting Game     "Believing and Doubting Paul Theroux’s Negative View of Sports” Concept 6: A Strong Thesis Surprises Readers with Something New or Challenging     Trying to Change Your Reader’s View of Your Subject     Giving Your Thesis Tension through “Surprising Reversal” Concept 7: Thesis Statements in Closed-Form Prose Are Supported Hierarchically with Points and Particulars     How Points Convert Information to Meaning     How Removing Particulars Creates a Summary     How to Use Points and Particulars When You Revise     Chapter Summary     Brief Writing Project: Playing the Believing and Doubting Game   3.  Thinking Rhetorically about How Messages Persuade     Concept 8: Messages Persuade through Their Angle of Vision      Recognizing the Angle of Vision in a Text     Analyzing Angle of Vision Concept 9: Messages Persuade through Appeals to Logos, Ethos, and Pathos Concept 10: Nonverbal Messages Persuade Through Visual Strategies That Can Be Analyzed Rhetorically     Visual Rhetoric     The Rhetoric of Clothing and Other Consumer Items     Chapter Summary         Brief Writing Project: Analyzing Angle of Vision in Two Passages about Nuclear Energy  4.  Thinking Rhetorically about Style and Document Design     Concept 11: Good Writers Make Purposeful Stylistic Choices     Factors That Affect Style     Abstract Versus Concrete Words: Moving Up or Down the Scale of Abstraction     Wordy Versus Streamlined Sentences: Cutting Deadwood to Highlight Your Ideas     Coordination Versus Subordination: Using Sentence Structure to Control Emphasis     Inflated Voice Versus a Natural Speaking Voice: Creating a Persona Concept 12: Good Writers Make Purposeful Document Design Choices     Using Type     Using Space and Laying Out Documents     Using Color     Using Graphics and Images     Examples of Different Document Designs     Chapter Summary     Brief Writing Project: Converting a Passage from Scientific to Popular Style   II: WRITING PROJECTS   Writing to Learn   5. Seeing Rhetorically: The Writer as Observer      Exploring Rhetorical Observation      Understanding Observational Writing          Why “Seeing” Isn’t a Simple Matter       How to Analyze a Text Rhetorically   Writing Project: Descriptions of the Same Place and a Self-Reflection          Exploring Rationales and Details for Your Two Descriptions       Generating Details       Shaping and Drafting for Your Two Descriptions       Using Show Words Rather than Tell Words       Revising Your Two Descriptions       Generating and Exploring Ideas for Your Self-Reflection       Questions for Peer Review   Readings          Clash on the Congo: Two Eyewitness Accounts       Tamlyn Rogers (student), “Two Descriptions of the Same Classroom and a Self-Reflection”       6. Reading Rhetorically: The Writer as Strong Reader      Exploring Rhetorical Reading          Andrés Martin, “On Teenagers and Tattoos”     Understanding Rhetorical Reading         What Makes College-Level Reading Difficult?     Using the Reading Strategies of Experts     Reading with the Grain and Against the Grain Understanding Summary Writing         Sean Barry (student), “Summary of Martin’s Article”     Understanding Strong Response Writing        Strong Response as Rhetorical Critique     Strong Response as Ideas Critique     Strong Response as Reflection     Strong Response as a Blend     Sean Barry (student), “Why Do Teenagers Get Tattoos? A Response to Andrés Martin”         Writing a Summary/Strong Response of a Visual-Verbal Text Writing Project: A Summary          Generating Ideas: Reading for Structure and Content     Drafting and Revising     Questions for Peer Review Writing Project: A Summary/Strong Response Essay          Exploring Ideas for Your Strong Response     Writing a Thesis for a Strong Response Essay     Shaping and Drafting     Revising     Questions for Peer Review  Readings         Thomas L. Friedman, “30 Little Turtles”         Stephanie Malinowski (student), “Questioning Thomas L. Friedman’s Optimism in ’30 Little Turtles’”     David Horsey, “Today’s Economic Indicator” (editorial cartoon)     Mike Lane, “Labor Day Blues” (editorial cartoon)     Froma Harrop, “New Threat to Skilled U.S. Workers”   Writing to Explore 7. Writing an Autobiographical Narrative     Exploring Autobiographical Narrative     Understanding Autobiographical Writing         Autobiographical Tension: The Opposition of Contraries     How Literary Elements Work in Autobiographical Narratives Writing Project: Autobiographical Narrative         Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping and Drafting Your Narrative     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Writing Project: Literacy Narrative           What Is a Literacy Narrative?     Typical Features of a Literacy Narrative     Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping and Drafting Your Literacy Narrative     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Readings         Kris Saknussemm, “Phantom Limb Pain”     Patrick Jose (student), “No Cats in America?”     Anonymous (student), “Masks”     Jennifer Ching (student), “Once Upon a Time”   8. Writing an Exploratory Essay or Annotated Bibliography      Exploring Exploratory Writing      Understanding Exploratory Writing      Writing Project: An Exploratory Essay          Generating and Exploring Ideas     Taking “Double Entry” Research Notes     Shaping and Drafting     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Writing Project: An Annotated Bibliography            What Is an Annotated Bibliography?     Features of Annotated Bibliography Entries     Examples of Annotation Entries     Writing a Critical Preface for Your Annotated Bibliography      Shaping, Drafting, and Revising     Questions for Peer Review  Readings         James Gardiner (student), “How Do Online Social Networks Affect Communication?”       James Gardiner (student), “The Effect of Online Social Networks on Communication Skills? An Annotated Bibliography”     Jane Tompkins, “’Indians’: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History”   Writing to Inform   9. Writing an Informative Essay or Report     Exploring Informative (and Surprising) Writing         EnchantedLearning.com, “Tarantulas”         Rod Crawford, “Myths about `Dangerous’ Spiders”     Understanding Informative Writing         Need-to-Know Informative Prose     Informative Reports     Informative Magazine Articles Writing Project: A Set of Instructions           Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping and Drafting     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Writing Project: Informative Workplace Report           Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping and Drafting     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Writing Project: Informative Magazine Article         Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping, Drafting, and Revising     Questions for Peer Review Readings         Kerry Norton, “Winery Yeast Preparation Instructions”     Pew Research Center, “Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream”     Kerri Ann Matsumoto (student), “How Much Does It Cost to Go Organic?”     Cheryl Carp (student), “Behind Stone Walls”     Shannon King (student), “How Clean and Green are Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars?”     Eugene Robinson, “You Have the Right to Remain a Target of Racial Profiling”   Writing to Analyze and Synthesize   10. Analyzing Field Research Data      Exploring the Analysis of Field Research Data      Understanding the Analysis of Field Research Data          The Structure of an Empirical Research Report     How Readers Typically Read a Research Report     Posing Your Research Question     Collecting Data Through Observation, Interviews, or Questionnaires     Reporting Your Results in Text, Tables, and Graphs     Analyzing Your Results     Following Ethical Standards Writing Project: An Empirical Research Report          Generating Ideas for Your Empirical Research Report     Designing Your Empirical Study and Drafting the Introduction and Method Sections     Doing the Research and Writing the Rest of the Report     Revising Your Report      Questions for Peer Review           Writing in Teams Writing Project: A Scientific Poster            What Is a Scientific Poster?     Content of a Poster         Features of an Effective Poster Designing, Creating, and Revising Your Poster Questions for Peer Review  Readings         Gina Escamilla, Angie L. Cradock, and Ichiro Kawachi, “Women and Smoking in Hollywood Movies: A Content Analysis”     Lauren Campbell, Charlie Bourain, and Tyler Nishida (students), “A Comparison of Gender Stereotypes in Spongebob Squarepants and a 1930’s Mickey Mouse     Cartoon” (APA-Style Research Paper)     Lauren Campbell, Charlie Bourain, and Tyler Nishida (students), “Spongebob Squarepants Has Fewer Gender Stereotypes than Mickey Mouse” (scientific poster)   11.  Analyzing Images      Exploring Image Analysis       Understanding Image Analysis         How Images Create a Rhetorical Effect     How to Analyze an Advertisement     How Advertisers Target Specific Audiences     Sample Analysis of an Advertisement     Cultural Perspectives on Advertisements Writing Project: Analysis of Two Visual Texts            Exploring and Generating Ideas for Your Analysis     Shaping and Drafting Your Analysis     Revising     Questions for Peer Review  Readings         Paul Messaris, Excerpt from Visual Persuasion     Stephen Bean (student), How Cigarette Advertisers Address the Stigma Against Smoking   12. Analyzing a Short Story     Exploring Literary Analysis          Evelyn Dahl Reed, “The Medicine Man”      Understanding Literary Analysis         The Truth of Literary Events     Writing (About) Literature Writing Project: An Analysis of a Short Story         Reading the Story and Using Reading Logs     Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping, Drafting, and Revising     Questions for Peer Review Readings         Alice Walker, “Everyday Use (For Your Grandmama)”     Sherman Alexie, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”     Betsy Weiler (student), “Who Do You Want to Be? Finding Heritage in Walker’s 'Everyday Use'"   13. Analyzing and Synthesizing Ideas     Exploring the Analysis and Synthesis of Ideas          Nikki Swartz, “Mobile Phone Tracking Scrutinized”           Terry J. Allen, “Reach Out and Track Someone”       Understanding Analysis and Synthesis         Posing a Synthesis Question     Synthesis Writing as an Extension of Summary/Strong Response     Student Example of a Synthesis Essay     Kate MacAuley (student), “Technology’s Peril and Potential”     Writing Project: A Synthesis Essay         Ideas for Synthesis Questions and Readings     Using Learning Logs     Exploring Your Texts Through Summary Writing     Exploring Your Texts’ Rhetorical Strategies     Exploring Main Themes and Similarities and Differences in Your Texts’ Ideas     Generating Ideas of Your Own     Taking Your Position in the Conversation: Your Synthesis     Shaping and Drafting     Writing a Thesis for a Synthesis Essay     Organizing a Synthesis Essay     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Readings         Dee, “Comprehensive Immigration Reform: PROs and ANTIs”     Shirah, “The Real—and Unspoken—Immigration Issue”     Byron Williams, “Immigration Frenzy Points Out Need for Policy Debate”     Victor Davis Hanson, “The Global Immigration Problem”     Mike Crapo, “Immigration Policy Must Help Economy While Preserving Ideals”     Trapper John, “The Progressive Case Against the Immigration Bill”   Writing to Persuade   14. Writing a Classical Argument     Exploring Classical Argument      Understanding Classical Argument         Stages of Development: Your Growth as an Arguer     Creating an Argument Frame: A Claim with Reasons     Articulating Reasons     Articulating Unstated Assumptions     Using Evidence Effectively     Evaluating Evidence: The STAR Criteria     Addressing Objections and Counterarguments     Responding to Objections, Counterarguments, and Alternative Views     Appealing to Ethos and Pathos         A Brief Primer on Informal Fallacies Writing Project: A Classical Argument         Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping and Drafting     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Readings         Ross Taylor (student), “Paintball: Promoter of Violence or Healthy Fun?”     William Sweet, “Why Uranium Is the New Green”     Stan Eales, “Welcome to Sellafield” (editorial cartoon)     Los AngelesTimes, “No to Nukes”     Leonard Pitts, Jr., “Spare the Rod, Spoil the Parenting”     A. J. Chavez, “The Case for (Gay) Marriage”   15. Making an Evaluation     Exploring Evaluative Writing       Understanding Evaluation Arguments         The Criteria-Match Process     The Role of Purpose and Context in Determining Criteria     Other Considerations in Establishing Criteria     Using a Planning Schema to Develop Evaluation Arguments     Conducting an Evaluation Argument: Evaluating a Museum Writing Project: An Evaluation Argument         Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping and Drafting     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Readings         Jackie Wyngaard (student), “EMP: Music History or Music Trivia?”     Diane Helman and Phyllis Bookspan, “Sesame Street: Brought to You by the Letters M-A-L-E”     Teresa Filice (student), “Parents, The Anti-Drug: A Useful Site”   16. Proposing a Solution     Exploring Proposal Writing     Understanding Proposal Writing         Special Demands of Proposal Arguments     Developing an Effective Justification Section     Proposals as Visual Arguments and PowerPoint Presentations Writing Project: A Proposal Argument         Generating and Exploring Ideas     Shaping and Drafting     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Writing Project: Advocacy Ad or Poster     Using Document Design Features     Exploring and Generating Ideas     Shaping and Drafting     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Writing Project: Proposal Speech with Visual Aids           Developing, Shaping, and Outlining Your Proposal Speech     Designing Your Visual Aids     Delivering Your Speech     Revising     Questions for Peer Review Readings         Jane Kester (student), “Visual Aids for a Proposal to Reduce High-Risk Drinking Through Student Awareness Workshops”     Rebekah Taylor (student), “A Proposal to Provide Cruelty-Free Products on Campus”     Jennifer Allen, “The Athlete on the Sidelines”      Dylan Fujitani (student), "'The Hardest of the Hardcore': Let’s Outlaw Hired Guns”   III: A GUIDE TO COMPOSING AND REVISING   17. Writing as a Problem-Solving Process     Skill 1: Understand Why Expert Writers Use Multiple Drafts         Why Expert Writers Revise So Extensively     An Expert’s Writing Processes Are Recursive Skill 2: Revise Globally as Well as Locally     Skill 3: Develop Ten Expert Habits to Improve Your Writing Processes     Skill 4: Use Peer Reviews to Help You Think Like an Expert         Become a Helpful Reader of Classmates’ Drafts     Use a Generic Peer Review Guide     Participate in Peer Review Workshops     Respond to Peer Reviews     Chapter Summary    18. Composing and Revising Closed-Form Prose     Skill 5: Understand Reader Expectations        Unity and Coherence     Old before New     Forecasting and Fulfillment Skill 6: Convert Loose Structures into Thesis/Support Structures         And Then Writing, or Chronological Structure     All About Writing, or Encyclopedic Structure     Engfish Writing, or Structure without Surprise Skill 7: Plan and Visualize Your Structure         Use Scratch Outlines Early in the Writing Process     Before Making a Detailed Outline, “Nutshell” Your Argument     Articulate a Working Thesis and Main Points     Sketch Your Structure Using an Outline, Tree Diagram, or Flowchart     Let the Structure Evolve Skill 8: Create Effective Titles    Skill 9: Create Effective Introductions         What Not to Do: The “Funnel” Introduction     From Old to New: The General Principle of Closed-Form Introductions     Typical Elements of a Closed-Form Introduction     Forecast the Whole with a Thesis Statement, Purpose Statement, or Blueprint Statement Skill 10: Create Effective Topic Sentences for Paragraphs        Place Topic Sentences at the Beginning of Paragraphs     Revise Paragraphs for Unity     Add Particulars to Support Points Skill 11: Guide Your Reader with Transitions and Other Signposts         Use Common Transition Words to Signal Relationships     Write Major Transitions between Parts     Signal Transitions with Headings and Subheadings Skill 12: Bind Sentences Together by Placing Old Information Before New Information              The Old/New Contract in Sentences     How to Make Links to the “Old”     Avoid Ambiguous Use of “This” to Fulfill the Old/New Contract     How the Old/New Contract Modifies the Rule “Avoid Weak Repetition”     How the Old/New Contract Modifies the Rule “Prefer Active over Passive Voice” Skill 13: Use Four Expert Moves for Organizing and Developing Ideas         The For Example Move     The Summary/However Move     The Division-into-Parallel Parts Move     The Comparison/Contrast Move        Skill 14: Write Effective Conclusions            19. Composing and Revising Open-Form Prose     Skill 15: Make Your Narrative a Story, not an And Then Chronology         Patrick Klein (student), “Berkeley Blues”     Depiction of Events Through Time     Connectedness     Tension or Conflict     Resolution, Recognition, or Retrospective Interpretation Skill 16: Write Low on the Ladder of Abstraction         Concrete Words Evoke Images and Sensations     Use Revelatory Words and Memory-Soaked Words Skill 17: Disrupt Your Reader’s Desire for Direction and Clarity         Disrupt Predictions and Make Odd Juxtapositions     Leave Gaps Skill 18: Tap the Power of Figurative Language     Skill 19: Expand Your Repertoire of Styles     Skill 20: Use Open-Form Elements to Create “Voice” in Closed-Form Prose     Introduce Some Humor         Use Techniques from Popular Magazines Reading         Annie Dillard, “Living Like Weasels”   IV: A RHETORICAL GUIDE TO RESEARCH   20. Asking Questions, Finding Sources       An Overview of Research Writing Skill 21: Argue Your Own Thesis in Response to a Research Question         Formulating a Research Question     Establishing Your Role as a Researcher     A Case Study: James Gardiner’s Research on Online Social Networks Skill 22: Understand Differences Among Kinds of Sources         Looking at Sources Rhetorically Skill 23: Use Purposeful Strategies for Searching Libraries, Databases, and Web Sites         Checking Your Library’s Homepage     Finding Books: Searching Your Library’s Online Catalog     Finding Print Articles: Searching a Licensed Database     Finding Cyberspace Sources: Searching the World Wide Web   21. Evaluating Sources      Skill 24: Read Sources Rhetorically and Take Purposeful Notes         Read with Your Own Goals in Mind     Read Your Sources Rhetorically     Take Purposeful Notes Skill 25: Evaluate Sources for Reliability, Credibility, Angle of Vision, and Degree of Advocacy         Reliability     Credibility     Angle of Vision and Political Stance     Degree of Advocacy Skill 26: Use Your Rhetorical Knowledge to Evaluate Web Sources         The Web as a Unique Rhetorical Environment     Criteria for Evaluating a Web Source     Analyzing Your Own Purposes for Using a Web Source   22. Incorporating Sources Into Your Own Writing          Roger D. McGrath, “The Myth of Violence in the Old West”     Skill 27: Keep Your Focus on Your Own Argument         Writer 1: An Analytical Paper on Causes of Violence in Contemporary Society     Writer 2: A Persuasive Paper Supporting Gun Control     Writer 3: An Informative Paper Showing Shifting Definitions of Crime Skill 28: Know When and How to Use Summary, Paraphrase, Quotation, and Attributive Tags         Effective Use of Summary, Paraphrase, or Quotation     Creating Rhetorically Effective Attributive Tags Skill 29: Understand the Mechanics of Quoting          Quoting a Complete Sentence Introduced by an Attributive Tag     Inserting Quoted Words and Phrases into Your Own Sentences     Using Brackets to Modify a Quotation     Using Ellipses to Indicate Omissions from a Quotation     Using Single and Double Quotation Marks for a Quotation Within a Quotation     Using Block Indentation for Quotations More Than Four Lines Long Skill 30:  Understand and Avoid Plagiarism       23. Citing and Documenting Sources      Skill 31: Understand How Parenthetical Citations Work         Connect the Body of the Paper to the Bibliography with Citations      Citation Problems with Database and Web Sources  Skill 32: Cite and Document Sources Using MLA Style         Cite from an Indirect Source      Cite Page Numbers for Downloaded Material      Document Sources in a “Works Cited” List       MLA Citation Models      James Gardiner (student), “Why Facebook Might Not Be Good For You” (MLA-Style Research Paper) Skill 33: Cite and Document Sources Using APA Style         APA Formatting for In-Text Citations      Cite from an Indirect Source           Document Sources in a “References” List      APA Citation Models      Student Example of an APA-Style Paper    V: WRITING FOR ASSESSMENT   24. Essay Examinations: Writing Well Under Pressure      How Essay Exams Differ from Other Essays Preparing for an Exam: Learning Subject Matter          Identifying and Learning Main Ideas     Applying Your Knowledge     Making a Study Plan Analyzing Exam Questions         Understanding the Use of Outside Quotations     Recognizing Organizational Cues     Interpreting Key Terms Dealing with the Limits of the Test Situation Producing an “A” Response      Chapter Summary    25. Assembling a Portfolio and Writing a Reflective Essay      Understanding Portfolios          Collecting Work for Paper and Electronic Portfolios     Selecting Work for Your Portfolio Understanding Reflective Writing         Why Is Reflective Writing Important? Reflective Writing Assignments         Single Reflection Assignments     Guidelines for Writing a Single Reflection     Comprehensive Reflection Assignments     Guidelines for Writing a Comprehensive Reflection     Guidelines for Writing a Comprehensive Reflective Letter Readings         Jaime Finger (student), “A Single Reflection on an Exploratory Essay”     Bruce Urbanik (student), “A Comprehensive Reflective Letter”   Appendix: A Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism Acknowledgments Index