Synopses & Reviews
One of the most successful, all-inclusive rhetorics on the market, this classic text covers nine rhetorical modes and includes a complete unit on the research paper and a comprehensive handbook. By providing numerous sample readings--imaginative literature as well as essays--and specific guidelines for understanding and using each rhetorical mode, From Idea to Essay leads students through the complex process of essay writing. This rhetoric distinguishes itself from others of its kind with a comprehensive apparatus, including story, poem, and photo writing assignments for each mode of development introduced. The Eleventh Edition features a new chapter--"Critical Thinking, Reading, and Seeing"--that teaches students how to evaluate ideas and images they encounter in everyday life.
About the Author
Born in Belgium, the daughter of an American minister, Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell had moved from Brussels to Paris to Bern, Switzerland, by the time she was seven years old. In Bern, she attended the Freies Gymnasium and spoke not only fluent French and German but also English, which was the language spoken to her by her American parents. The snow-covered Alps and the Swiss penchant for sports were the natural incentive for Jo Ray's love of ice skating, skiing, swimming, and tennis. After enduring World War II, with its ignominious Holocaust and heroic feats by the Allies, Jo Ray's parents sent her and her brother to Pacific Union College (in the Napa Valley), where Jo Ray received a B. A. in English. After teaching English and French in high school for several years, Jo Ray started to take night classes at the University of Southern California in order to earn an M.A. and Ph.D., which would allow her to teach in college. While working on her doctorate, she was first hired to teach English at Glendale Community College and later to serve as Dean of the Evening College. A chance meeting in 1973 with Anthony C. Winkler, a successful novelist whose stories are usually set in Jamaica, led to a literary partnership that has produced 15 coauthored textbooks used at colleges and universities across the United States. Born February 25, 1942, in Kingston, Jamaica West Indies. Educated in Jamaica at Excelsior College, Mount Alvernia Academy and Cornwall College, the last two being in Montego Bay. Educated in the United States at Citrus Community College, Glendora California (AA degree 1965). Taught briefly at Pasadena City College and for a year Moneague Teachers College in Saint Anne, Jamaica, an experience chronicled in Going Home to Teach (1995.) From 1968 to 1975 Winkler had a sales territory as a bookman, covering Southern California, Las Vegas and Utah for Appleton Century Crofts textbook publishers, and later Southern California and Arizona for Scots Foresman. In 1969 he decided he could write textbooks as well as anyone and through a chance meeting with the sales representative of another company, he submitted the manuscript POETRY AS SYSTEM and was offered a contract for its publication. Eventually, he met Jo Ray McCuen and the two became textbook writers and collaborators. Over the years they have produced more than a dozen textbooks, most on rhetoric and writing, which have survived through multiple editions. In 1975, Winkler quit his job as a bookman and became a full-time freelance writer. In addition to his textbooks, his body of work include the following: "The Painted Canoe" (novel 1983), "The Lunatic" (novel 1987), "The Great Yacht Race" (novel 1992), "Going Home to Teach" (autobiography 1995), "The Duppy" (novel 1997), "The Annihilation of Fish and other stories" (short story collection 2004), "Dog War" (novel 2006), "Trust the Darkness: My Life As a Writer" (autobiography 2008); Plays: "The Hippopotamus Card" (produced by WDR German radio network), "The Burglary" (premiered in Toronto July 7, 2005); Movies: "The Lunatic" (1991), "The Annihilation of Fish" (1999), "Biography Bob Marley, an Intimate Portrait by His Mother" (1996, with Cedella Booker, Marley's mother)
Table of Contents
I. Fundamentals 1. The Writing Process Prewriting Writing Rewriting Personal versus Objective Writing Generating Ideas with Journal Writing Assembling a Portfolio Writing Assignments 2. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Seeing Critical Thinking Critical Reading Critical Seeing Responding to a Work of Art Responding to a Photo Responding to an Advertisement Responding to a Cartoon Writing Assignments 3. Elements of the Essay Purpose Audience Strategy Blending Rhetorical Patterns Practical Applications of the Rhetorical Strategies Essay Examinations and the Rhetorical Strategies The Controlling Idea Writing Assignments 4. The Sentence: Combining, Generating, and Judging Sentence Combining Sentence Generating Judging the Sentence 5. The Paragraph Uses of the Paragraph The Shape of the Paragraph Characteristics of the Paragraph Journalistic Paragraphs Transitions between Paragraphs Paragraphs without Transitions Using Varied Paragraph Transitions Beginning and Ending Paragraphs Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment 6. Planning and Organizing the Essay Finding a Topic Prewriting Activities Writer's Block Finding the Thesis The Informal Outline The Formal Outline Use of the Outline Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment 7. Drafting, Revising, and Style Pointers on Drafting The First Draft Revising the First Draft Achieving Style Editing the Second Draft Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment II. Writing the Essay 8. Narration Reading for Ideas. Story: "The Code," by Richard T. Gill Reading for Ideas. Poem: "Richard Cory," by Edwin Arlington Robinson How to Write a Narration Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "A Gift of Laughter," by Allan Sherman; Student Essay: "Preserving the Species," by Gabrielle Scheidig Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: Excerpt from Night, by Elie Wiesel Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "In Another Country," by Ernest Hemingway Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "The Tell-Tale Heart," by Edgar Allan Poe Writing Assignments Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment 9. Description Reading for Ideas. Story: "The Lament," by Anton Chekhov Reading for Ideas. Poem: "Coats," by Jane Kenyon How to Write a Description Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "Mma Ramotswe Thinks about the Land," by Alexander McCall Smith; Student Essay: "Parting," by Chip McClendan Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "The Monster," by Deems Taylor Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Sister Flowers," by Maya Angelou Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Laundromat," by Susan Sheehan Writing Assignments Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment 10. Example Reading for Ideas. Story: "We're Poor," by Floyd Dell Reading for Ideas. Poem: "Eleanor Rigby," by John Lennon and Paul McCartney How to Write with Examples Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "How Near Death Is a Near Death Experience?" by Catherine Houck; Student Essay: "Poverty in Atlanta," by Tom Meade Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "What I've Learned from Men," by Barbara Ehrenreich Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Suing for Fun and Profit," by Andy Rooney Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "The Word as Person: Eponyms," by Don Farrant Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment 11. Definition Reading for Ideas. Story: "Arrangement in Black and White," by Dorothy Parker Reading for Ideas. Poem: "Incident," by Countee Cullen How to Write a Definition Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "We Aren't Born Prejudiced," by Ian Stevenson; Student Essay: "Prejudice: Child of Ignorance," by Cole Ollinger Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Will Someone Please Hiccup My Pat?" by William Spooner Donald Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Jim Crow Days," by Sarah L. and A. Elizabeth Delany Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Black English Has Its Place," by Ron Emmons Writing Assignments Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment 12. Comparison/Contrast Reading for Ideas. Story: "Dream House," by Anthony C. Winkler Reading for Ideas. Poem: "The Twins," by Charles Bukowski How to Write a Comparison/Contrast paper Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "Diogenes and Alexander," by Gilbert Highet; Student Essay: "Aben and James," by Randy Varney Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Grant and Lee: A study in Contrasts," by Bruce Catton Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Priest and Pagan," by Arthur Grimble Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder, along with Everything Else," by Lee Dembart Writing Assignments Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment 13. Process Reading for Ideas. Story: "How Mr. Hogan Robbed a Bank," by John Steinbeck Reading for Ideas. Poem: "Tract," by William Carlos Williams How to Write a Process Paper Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "In the Garden of Childish Delights," by Emily Fox Gordon. Student Essay: "Driving to Preserve Your Car," by Monica Esparza Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "In the Valley of the Shadow," by Carl Sagan Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Coming into Language," by Jimmy Santiago Baca Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words," by Paul Roberts Writing Assignments Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment 14. Classification/Division Reading for Ideas. Story: "Harrison Bergeron," by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Reading for Ideas. Poem: "All the World's a Stage," by William Shakespeare How to Write a Classification/Division Paper Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "The Plot against People," by Russell Baker; Student Essay: "Handicaps," by David Beckham Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Three Types of Resistance to Oppression," by Martin Luther King, Jr. Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "College Pressures," by William Zinsser Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Mother Tongue," by Amy Tan Writing Assignments Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment 15. Causal Analysis Reading for Ideas. Story: "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses," by Irwin Shaw Reading for Ideas. Poem: "Money," by Victor Contoski How to Write an Analysis of Cause Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "Mary Todd Lincoln: Second Thoughts on Our Most Vilified First Lady," by Irving Stone; Student Essay: "Crooks, Fools, and Congressmen," by Letitia Sanchez Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Why We Crave Horror Movies," by Stephen King Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Grow Up? Not So Fast," by Lev Grossman Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "Black Men and Public Space," by Brent Staples Writing Assignments Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment 16. Argumentation Reading for Ideas. Story: "War," by Luigi Pirandello Reading for Ideas. Poem: "Dooley Is a Traitor," by James Michie How to Write an Argument Reading for Ideas. Professional Model: "The Case against Man," by Isaac Asimov; Student Essay: "Against Fraternities," by Francis Shriver Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "I Want a Wife," by Judy Syfers Writing Assignments Reading for Ideas. Alternate Reading: "The 'Don't Impose Your Values' Argument Is Bigotry in Disguise," by John Leo Writing Assignments Cluster Argument: Three Positions on Same-Sex Marriage Reading for Ideas. Pro: "What Would Happen If We Legalized Gay Marriage," Michael Alvear Reading for Ideas. Con: "The Marriage Buffet," by David Frum Reading for Ideas. Neutral: "A More Perfect Union: How the Founding Fathers Would Have Handled Gay Marriage," by Jonathan Rauch Writing Assignments Internet Research Assignment Additional Writing Assignments Rewriting Assignment Photo Writing Assignment III. The Essay Examination 17. Preparing for the Essay Examination How to Do Well on Essay Examinations Using Rhetorical Strategies in Essay Examinations Sample Essay Exams IV. The Research Paper 18. Doing the Research Choosing a Topic Doing the Research Using the Internet to Research a Topic Compile a Bibliography Take Notes Formulating the Thesis, Outlining the Paper, and Writing the Abstract 19. Writing and Documenting the Paper Plagiarism Documenting the Humanities Paper (MLA) Documenting the Social Sciences Paper (APA) Preparing the Final Copy (MLA) Preparing the Final Copy (APA) V. Handbook 20. Grammar Fundamentals The Sentence The Clause and Phrase Sentence Types Parts of Speech 21. Correcting Common Errors Errors with Sentences Errors in Agreement Errors in Point of View Errors in Reference Errors with Modifiers Errors in Parallelism Errors in Diction Combining Sentences Errors in Punctuation Errors in Capitalization Errors in Spelling Appendix: Answers to Self-Grading Exercises