5. Writing in College
Understand the demands of writing in college
Think about your aim
Think about your genre
6. Writing Effectively
Understand the rhetorical situation
Think about your audience
Think about your credibility
Become a successful writer
Angela Yamashita, Got Roddick?
7. Reflecting
Writing reflections
An effective reflection
Sue Kunitomi Embrey, Some Lines for a Younger Brother . . .
How to read reflections
Editorial
Bharati Mukherjee, Two Ways to Belong in America
Short story
Pam Houston, A Blizzard under Blue Sky
Memoir
Pablo Medina, Arrival: 1960
Essay
David Sedaris, Let it Snow
Blog
Jason Christopher Hartley, Just Another Soldier
Essay
Rick Bass, Why I Hunt: A Predator’s Meditation
Essay
Amy Tan, Mother Tongue
How to write a reflection
Student example
Janine Carter, The Miracle Quilt
Projects
8. Observing
Writing observations
An effective observation
Annie Dillard, Living Like Weasels
How to read observations
Travel account
John Wesley Powell, The First Descent of the Grand Canyon
Photo essay
Ansel Adams, Photographs of Japanese-Americans at Manzanar
Essay
Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place
Article
Tom Meagher and Suzanne Travers, Low Wages, Strong Backs
Travel account
Salman Hameed, The Travelogue of an Astronomer
How to write an observation
Student example
Megan Garza, Chemistry 105: An Analysis of Classroom Dynamics in a Large Lecture Course
Projects
9. Informing
Reporting information
Effective informative writing
Samuel Wilson, The Emperor’s Giraffe
How to read informative writing
Profile
Harold Evans, Russell Simmons
Essay
Lori Gottlieb, How Do I Love Thee?
Instruction
Hugh McManners, Building a Shelter
Executive summary
The National Commission on Writing, A Ticket to Work . . . Or a Ticket Out
Informational Web site
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Visitor Information: View Lava Safely
How to write to inform
Student example
Lakshmi Kotra, The Life Cycle of Stars
Projects
10. Analyzing Texts
Writing to analyze
Writing a rhetorical analysis
Writing a visual analysis
Writing a literary analysis
An effective analysis
Tim Collins, Straight from the Heart
How to read analyses
Article
David T.Z.Mindich, The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless
Essay
Gail Bederman, Race, Gender, and Civilization at the Columbian Exposition
Building
Frank Gehry, The Stata Center
Corporate logo
Landor Associates, Federal Express Logo
Product design
Volkswagen Beetle
Short story
Alice Walker, Everyday Use
Short story analysis
Shaunte Huff, “Make Something of Yourself”: Symbolism in Alice Walker's “Everyday Use”
Short story
Dagoberto Gilb, Love in LA
How to write an analysis
Student example
Grace Bernhardt, Investigating “Independence”: An Analysis of Frederick Douglass’ Speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Projects
11. Analyzing Causes
Writing to analyze causes
An effective causal analysis
Stentor Danielson, Pesticides, Parasite May Cause Frog Deformities
How to read causal analyses
Essay
Ari Kelman, City of Nature: New Orleans' Blessing; New Orleans' Curse,
Essay
Jay Walljasper, If You Build It, They Will Come–on Foot
Essay
Emily Raine, Why Should I Be Nice To You? Coffee Shops and the Politics of Good Service
Article
Angela Cain, Barbie's Body May Be Perfect, but Critics Remind Us It's Plastic
Article
Thom Curtis, Television Violence and Aggression
Leaflet
Operation Iraqi Freedom Leaflets
How to write a causal analysis
Student example
Sean Booker, Borrowing Bling: The Appeal of Hip-hop to Young White Men
Projects
12. Evaluating
Writing to evaluate
An effective evaluation
Lefteris Pavlides, The Aesthetics of Wind Power
How to read evaluations
Opinion
David Byrne, Learning to Love PowerPoint
Opinion
Edward Tufte, PowerPoint Is Evil
Review
Dan Crane, McNasty: The New "Healthy" Fast Food Items Taste Bad (and aren't so healthy either)
Essay
Michael Eric Dyson, Gangsta Rap and American Culture
Article
Stephanie Rosenbloom, The Nitpicking Nation
How to write an evaluation
Student example
Rashaun Giddens, Stop Loss or “Loss of Trust”
Projects
13. Arguing for a Position
Writing a position argument
An effective position argument
Ted Koppel, Take My Privacy, Please!
How to read position arguments
Speech
Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?
Speech
Chief Seattle, Treaty Oration, 1854
Article
Michel Marriott, The Color of Mayhem
Letter
Steven Johnson, Hillary vs, “Grand Theft Auto”
Article
Meredith Clark, Life without Health Insurance
Advertisements
Buff Daddy
Food Cops Bust Cookie Monster
How to write a position argument
Student example
Chris Nguyen, Speech Doesn’t Have to be Pretty to be Protected
Projects
14. Arguing for Change
Making an argument for change
An effective argument for change
Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
How to read arguments for change
Essay
Paul Saffo, A Trail of DNA and Data
Article
Thomas Homer-Dixon and S. Julio Friedmann, Coal in a Nice Shade of Green
Speech
Richard Nixon, Building the Interstate Highway System
Grant proposal
Monterey County Fire Chiefs Association, Breaking the Fire Department’s Language Barrier
Web site
United States Marine Corps, Recruitment Web Site
Article
Nancy Clark, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Are Muscular Men the Best of All?
How to write an argument for change
Student example
Kim Lee, Let’s Make It a Real Melting Pot with Presidential Hopes for All
Projects
15. Planning Research
Analyze the research task
Ask a question
Determine what you need
Draft a working thesis
How to plan research
Researcher at work
16. Exploring Libraries
Determine the print sources you need
Search using keywords
Find books
Find journal articles
Evaluate print sources
Start a working bibliography
How to explore libraries
Researcher at work
17. Exploring Online Libraries
Find information in databases
Construct effective searches
Locate elements of a citation
How to explore online libraries
Researcher at work
18. Exploring the Web
Find information on the Web
Evaluate Web sources
Find visual sources online
How to explore the Web
Researcher at work
19. Exploring in the Field
Conduct interviews
Administer surveys
Make observations
How to conduct field research
Researcher at work
20. Writing the Research Paper
Plan your organization
Avoid plagiarism
Quote sources without plagiarizing
Summarize and paraphrase sources without plagiarizing
Incorporate quotations
Incorporate visuals
How to write a research paper
Researcher at work
21. MLA Documentation
Elements of MLA documentation
Entries in the list of works cited
In-text citations in MLA style
Books in MLA-style works cited
Periodicals in MLA-style works cited
Visual sources in MLA-style works cited
Online sources in MLA-style works cited
Other sources in MLA-style works cited
Sample MLA paper
George Abukar, It’s Time to Shut Down the Identity Theft Racket
22. APA Documentation
APA citations
In-text citations in APA style
Books in APA-style references list
Periodicals in APA-style references list
Online sources in APA-style references list
Other sources in APA-style references list
APA reports of research
Sample APA paper
Don Sabo, Kathleen E. Miller, Merrill J. Melnick, and Leslie Heywood, Her Life Depends on It
29. Writing Effective Paragraphs
Develop paragraphs
Pay attention to paragraph length
Link within and across paragraphs
Start fast
Conclude with strength
Summary for editing paragraphs
30. Writing Effective Sentences
Understand sentence basics
Pay attention to verbs
Stay active
Find characters
Write concise sentences
Write ethical sentences
Match structure with ideas
Summary for editing sentences
31. Avoiding Errors
Fix fragments
Fix run-on sentences
Fix comma spices
Make verbs agree with subjects
Make pronouns agree
Fix shifts
Use modifiers correctly
Place modifiers carefully
Summary for editing for errors
32. Understanding Punctuation and Conventions
Identify where commas are needed
Place commas correctly with modifiers
Place commas correctly with clauses and phrases
Use semicolons and colons correctly
Use hyphens, dashes, and parentheses correctly
Use quotation marks correctly
Use other punctuation correctly
Understand print conventions
Summary for punctuation and conventions
33. Writing in a Second Language
Understand how languages differ
Understand nouns in English
Understand articles in English
Understand verbs and modifiers in English
Understand English sentence structure
Summary for second language writers
Appendices
Writing essay exams
Creating portfolios