Synopses & Reviews
The Confident Writer has taught countless students the fundamentals of writing--how to turn a good idea into a full, polished essay--with an eye to audience and strong supporting detail. It builds writing confidence by strengthening writing skills and encourages students to try out strategies to develop a writing process that works best for them. The four parts of The Confident Writer focus on writing and developing an essay or research paper, selecting a thesis and patterns of organization, analyzing and synthesizing diverse readings, honing new writing skills, and improving and proof reading for grammatical accuracy. The Students' Web Site offers students additional activities and information.
Review
"The organization of the chapters is effective; the inclusion of multiple exercises in each chapter is helpful; and the unit on grammar and sentence structure is a definite asset."
Review
"Kanar is a handy, one-volume text which does a bit of everything. The readings are short and easily understood by most students in a beginning writing class, and the questions before and after the essays are clear."
Review
"I love The Confident Writer. I have used it many times over many editions and found it useful for our ENG 090 students."
About the Author
Carol Kanar is the author of several Houghton Mifflin writing, reading, and student success texts: Reading and Writing with Confidence, The Reader's Corner, Becoming a Confident Reader, The Confident Reader, and The Confident Student. She also developed Houghton Mifflin's ReadingSpace, a web-based reading assessment program. Kanar is a graduate of the University of Florida, where she earned the Master of Arts in English, and of Rollins College where she earned the Master of Education in reading. She has 27 years of teaching experience, 20 of which she spent at Valencia Community College teaching reading, writing, and study skills. A frequent conference presenter and speaker, Kanar has served on the Executive Board of the Florida Development Education Association and is an active member of the National Association of Developmental Educators.
Table of Contents
Note: Each chapter in Units I and II include an Awareness Check, Vocabulary Check, The Critical Reader, Topics for Writing, The Critical Thinker, and Your Discovery Journal. I. The Writing Process 1. Understanding the Essay: An Overview What Is an Essay? How to Read an Essay "Should My Tribal Past Shape Delia's Future?" Dympna Ugwu-Oju How an Essay Develops Your Choices as a Writer Writing an Essay: The Process Thinking Critically and Creatively 2. Using Prewriting Strategies "Start with One Brick" Robert M. Pirsig The Self You Bring to Writing Choosing and Limiting Topics Choosing a Prewriting Strategy 3. Improving Your Paragraph Skills "The Different Ways of Being Smart" Sara D. Gilbert Main Idea: The First Key Support: The Second Key Organization: The Third Key 4. Stating Your Thesis "Ever Et Raw Meat?" Stephen King Recognizing Thesis Statements Writing Thesis Statements Checking Thesis Statements for Completeness Introducing the Thesis 5. Supporting Your Thesis "Stress is the Dirty Secret of Success" Gregg Easterbrook Selecting Supporting Evidence Arranging Supporting Evidence Achieving Coherence Between Paragraphs Concluding Your Essay 6. Revising Your Essays "A Night to Remember" (student essay) Steve Hackney Revising Means Rewriting 7. Editing Your Essays "Clutter" William Zinsser Eliminating Surface Errors Analyzing Your Errors Trimming and Tightening Your Essays Proofreading as a Final Check 8. Researching for Writing "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Plagiarism Buster!" Gillian Silverman Using Your Library Planning Your Research Paper Gathering Evidence Taking Effective Notes Documenting Your Sources II. Patterns as Options 9. Using Narration "Salvation" Langston Hughes Choosing Narration Planning Your Narrative Essay 10. Using Description "Seared into Oblivion: Images That Flicker and Fade" Bob Garfield Choosing Descriptive Details 11. Explaining a Process "When the Big Clouds Gather" David H. Levy Process with a Purpose Process in Context "Samples from the Nut Jar" Laura Tomashek Identifying, Organizing, and Explaining Steps Writing Your Thesis Statement 12. Using Classification or Division "Dish Demeanor" Tom Bodett What Is Classification? What Is Division? Stating Your Thesis Supporting Your Thesis 13. Comparing and Contrasting "Sexism" Sharon S. Brehm, Saul M. Kassin, Steven Fein Understanding the Pattern Organizing Your Essay: Questions to Ask 14. Explaining Causes and Effects "Students Are Dying: Colleges Can Do More" Rob Waldron Signaling Cause and Effect Planning Your Cause-and-Effect Essay 15. Using Definition "The Perfect Family" Alice Hoffman Writing Extended Definitions Planning and Writing Your Essay 16. Arguing Persuasively "Minority Student" Richard Rodriguez Understand the Elements of Argument Plan Your Argument Develop Your Argument Logically III. More Choices: A Collection of Readings 1. "My Name Is Margaret" Maya Angelou 2. "Open the Door Wide for Leaders of Tomorrow" David Porter 3. "Speech Wars Among Women" Nat Hentoff 4. "Being a Jr." Ralph A. Suarez, Jr. 5. "Brown v. Board of Education: What it Means to Every American" David Halberstam 6. "Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts" Bruce Catton 7. "A Short History of the Nuclear Family" Barbara Dafoe Whitehead 8. "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha" Anna Quindlen 9. "A Present for Popo" Elizabeth Wong 10. "Once More to the Lake" E.B. White IV. The Selective Writer A. Basic Choices: The Parts of Speech B. Sentence Effectiveness Choices C. Punctuation Choices D. Choices for Special Problems E. Word Choice