Writing: A Guide for College and Beyond

PART ONE: The Writer as Explorer 1. Thinking as a Writer Explore through writing Understand the process of writing Understand the rhetorical situation Analyze your assignment Think about your genre and medium Think about your topic Think about your audience Think about your credibility 2. Reading to Explore Become a critical reader Look with a critical eye Read actively Recognize fallacies Respond as a reader Move from reading to invention 3. Planning Move from a general topic to a writing plan Narrow your topic Write a thesis Make a plan 4. Drafting Draft with strategies in mind Write a zero draft Draft from a working outline Start fast with an engaging title and opening paragraph Develop paragraphs Conclude with strength Link within and across paragraphs 5. Revising Revising and editing Evaluate your draft Respond to others Pay attention to details last Revise using your instructor's comments PART TWO: The Writer as Guide Writing to Reflect 6. Reflections Writing reflections What makes a good reflection How to read reflections Sue Kunitomi Embrey, Some Lines for a Younger Brother ... David Sedaris, Let it Snow Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, My Hips, My Caceras Rebecca Solnit, Open Door Amy Tan, Mother Tongue How to write a reflection Student example Janine Carter, The Miracle Quilt Projects Writing to Inform 7. Observations Writing observations What makes a good observation How to read observations Mary Roach, Monster in a Ryokan Sandra Tsing Loh, Coming Home to Van Nuys Kellie Schmitt, The Old Man Isn't There Anymore Ansel Adams, Photographs of Japanese-Americans at Manzanar National Park Service, Yellowstone's Geothermal Resources How to write an observation Student example Sarah Cuellar, Playing in Traffic: How Parallel Play Helps Preschool Children Merge into Group Play Projects 8. Informative Essays Reporting information What makes good informative writing How to read informative writing Chip Walter, Affairs of the Lips: Why We Kiss Kheehong Song and Allison Cui, Understanding China's Middle Class Robin Dunbar, Gossip Is Good for You World Wildlife Fund, Measuring Human Demand Christopher McCandless, The Heart Disease Test Madeover How to write to inform Student example Lakshmi Kotra, The Life Cycle of Stars Projects Writing to Analyze 9. Rhetorical, Visual, and Literary Analyses Writing to analyze Analyzing text and context Writing a rhetorical analysis Writing a visual analysis Writing a literary analysis How to read analyses Tim Collins, Straight from the Heart David T. Z. Mindich, The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless Example for analysis: Volkswagen Beetle Example for analysis: Kate Chopin, The Storm Example for analysis: Dagoberto Gilb, in Student example Quandre Brown, Fender-bender Romance in Dagoberto Gilb's Love in LA How to write an analysis Student example Kelsey Turner, Biting the Hands That Feed America Projects Writing Arguments 10. Causal Arguments Writing a causal argument What makes a good causal argument How to read causal arguments Laura Fraser, The French Paradox Emily Raine, Why Should I Be Nice To You? Coffee Shops and the Politics of Good Service Kay S. Hymowitz, The New Girl Order Malcolm Gladwell, Small Change Clay Shirkey, Gin, Television, and Social Surplus Eduardo Porter, The Price of Crossing Borders How to write a causal argument Student example Armandi Tansel, Modern Warfare: Video Games' Link to Real-World Violence Projects 11. Evaluation Arguments Writing an evaluation argument What makes a good evaluation argument How to read evaluation arguments P. J. O'Rourke, The End of the Affair Editorial. The Worst Policy on Campus Bill McKibben, The Only Way to Have a Cow Jane McGonigal, The Four Secrets to Making Our Own Happiness Stephanie Rosenbloom, The Nitpicking Nation How to write an evaluation Student example Jenna Picchi, Organic Foods Should Come Clean Projects 12. Position Arguments Writing a position argument What makes a good position argument How to read position arguments Ted Koppel, Take My Privacy, Please! Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Mark Winne, When Handouts Keep Coming, the Food Line Never Ends Michael Pollan, Eat Food, Food Defined David Carr, Why Twitter Will Endure James Paul Gee, Games, Not Schools, Are Teaching Kids to Think Buff Daddy Food Cops Bust Cookie Monster How to write a position argument Student example Patrice Conley, Flagrant Foul: The NCAA's Definition of Student Athletes as Amateurs Projects 13. Proposal Arguments Writing a proposal argument What makes a good proposal argument How to read proposal arguments Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence Richard Nixon, Building the Interstate Highway System San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Connecting the City Glenn Loury, A Nation of Jailers Peter W. Huber, Bound to Burn Chris Packham and Mark Wright, Should Pandas Be Left to Face Extinction? How to write a proposal argument Student example Kim Lee, Let's Make It a Real Melting Pot with Presidential Hopes for All Projects PART THREE: The Multimodal Writer 14. Thinking Visually Communicate with visuals and words Know when to use images and graphics Take pictures that aren't boring Compose images Create tables, charts, and graphs 15. Designing Documents Start with your readers Use headings and subheadings effectively Design pages Understand typography Create tables, charts, and graphs 16. Delivering Presentations Plan a presentation Design effective visuals Deliver a successful presentation 17. Writing for Online Courses Keep track of online coursework Participate in online discussions Manage online writing 18. Working as a Team Organize a team Brainstorm as a team Work as a team PART FOUR: The Writer as Researcher Guide to Research 19. Planning Research Analyze the research task Ask a question Determine what you need Draft a working thesis 20. Finding Sources Identify the kinds of sources that you need Search using keywords Find sources in databases Find sources on the Web Find multimedia sources Find print sources Create a working bibliography 21. Evaluating Sources Determine the relevance and quality of sources Determine the kind of source Determine if a source is trustworthy Create an annotated bibliography 22. Exploring in the Field Conduct interviews Administer surveys Make observations 23. Writing the Research Project Write a draft Avoid plagiarism Quote sources without plagiarizing Summarize and paraphrase sources without plagiarizing Incorporate quotations Incorporate visuals Review your research project 24. MLA Documentation Elements of MLA documentation Entries in the works-cited list In-text citations in MLA style Books in MLA-style works cited Web sources in MLA-style works cited Other sources in MLA-style works cited Visual sources in MLA-style works cited Sample MLA paper Sarah Picchi, It's Time to Shut Down the Identity Theft Racket 25. APA Documentation APA citations In-text citations in APA style Books in APA-Style references list Periodicals in APA-Style references list Web sources in APA-Style references list Other sources in APA-Style references list Sample APA paper Blair Zacharias, Parking Design Recommendations for Publically Funded Commercial Redevelopment Projects Appendixes: A. Writing Essay Exams B. Creating Portfolios