The McGraw-Hill Guide: Writing for College, Writing for Life

Part One: Getting Started

1. Writing Goals and Objectives for College and for Life

• Writing in the four areas of your life
• Writing as a College Student
• Writing as a Professional
• Writing as a Citizen
• Writing as a Family Member or Friend
• Writing in the Four Areas of this Course
• Learning Goals in this Course
• Rhetorical Knowledge
• Rhetorical Analysis
• Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
• Writing Process
• Knowledge of Convention
• Composition in Electronic Environments
• Becoming a Self-Reflective Writer
• *Strategies for Success

2. Reading Critically for College and for Life

• Why Read Critically? Integrating Sources into Your Own Writing
• Using Prereading Strategies
• Reading Actively
• Annotating Effectively
• Reading Visuals
• Reading Web Sites
• Using Postreading Strategies
• Starting Your Writer’s/Research Journal
• Writing Effective Summaries
• Synthesizing Information in Readings
• Using Your Reading in Your Writing
• Constructing a Rhetorical Analysis

3. Writing to Understand and Synthesize Texts [New Chapter]

• Setting Your Goals
• Rhetorical Knowledge
• Writing to Understand and Synthesize Texts
• Writing Assignment Options
• Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
• Qualities of Effective Writing to Understand and Synthesize Texts
• Reading to Learn about Understanding and Synthesizing Texts
• *Danny Goldberg, Kill the Internet—and Other Anti-SOPA Myths (Editorial)
• *Jimmy Wales and Kat Walsh, We Are the Media, and So Are You (Editorial)
• *Margaret Munson, Critical Response to “We Are the Media, and So Are You” (Student Essay)
• Writing Processes
• Invention: Getting Started
• Organizing Your Ideas and Details
• Constructing a Complete Draft
• Revising
• Knowledge of Conventions
• Editing
• Genres, Documentation, and Format
• A Writer Achieves Her Goal: Margaret Munson’s Synthesis
• *Margaret Munson, Protecting Creativity in a Wired World: Two Perspectives (Student Essay)
• Self-Assessment: Reflecting on Your Goals

4. Writing to Discover and to Learn

• Using Invention Strategies to Discover Ideas
• Listing
• Freewriting
• Questioning
• Answering the Questions Who? What? When? Why? and How?
• Brainstorming
• Clustering
• Keeping Notebooks and Journals
• Double-entry Notebook
• Field Notebook
• Rewriting Your Class Notes
• Minute Paper
• Muddiest Point
• Preconception Check
• Paraphrasing
• Organizing and Synthesizing Information
• Invented Interview/Unsent Letter
• Using Charts and Visuals to Discover and to Learn
• Clustering and Concept Mapping
• Process Flowchart
• Studying for Exams
• Test Questions
• Mnemonic Play

5. Writing to Share Experiences

• Setting Your Goals
• Rhetorical Knowledge
• Writing to Share Experiences
• Scenarios for Writing: Assignment Options
• Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
• Qualities of Effective Writing about Experiences
• Reading to Learn about Writing That Shares Experiences
• Tanya Barrientos, Se Habla Español (Memoir)
• *Sherman Alexie, Superman and Me (Literacy Narrative) [print book only]
• *Brad Whetstine, Augustinian Influences (Literacy Narrative) [ebook only]
• Suki Kim, Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits (Memoir) [ebook only]
• Writing Processes
• Invention: Getting Started
• Organizing Your Ideas and Details
• Constructing a Complete Draft
• Revising
• Knowledge of Conventions
• Editing
• Genres, Documentation, and Format
• A Writer Achieves Her Goal: Jessica Hemauer’s Final Draft
• Jessica Hemauer, Farm Girl (Student Essay)
• Self-Assessment: Reflecting on Your Goals

6. Writing to Explore

• Setting Your Goals for Exploratory Writing
• Rhetorical Knowledge
• Writing to Explore in Your College Classes
• Writing to Explore for Life
• Scenarios for Writing: Assignment Options
• Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
• Learning the Qualities of Effective Exploratory Writing
• Reading, Inquiry, and Research: Learning from Texts That Explore
• *Andrew Sullivan, Excerpt from “Why I Blog” (Reflective Essay)
• *Owen Edwards, The Tuskegee Airmen Plane’s Last Flight (Profile of an Event)
• *Kiva Web site (Profile)
• *Jesse Kornbluth Excerpt from “World’s Best Blogger?” (Profile) [ebook only]
• Writing Processes
• Invention: Getting Started
• Exploring Your Ideas with Research
• Organizing Your Ideas and Details
• Constructing a Complete Draft
• Revising
• Knowledge of Conventions
• Editing
• Genres, Documentation, and Format
• A Writer Achieves His Goal: Rick Mohler’s Final Draft
• Rick Mohler, A Sporting Career? (Student Essay)
• Self-Assessment: Reflecting on Your Goals

7. Writing to Inform [Note: Chapters 7-12 follow the same basic structure as Chapter 6.]

• Carol Ezzell, Clocking Cultures (Informative Article)
• *Dan Fletcher, A Brief History of Wikipedia (Informative Article)
• *Tom Broadbent, Annotated Bibliography
• Craig Broadbent Watch for the Blue Barrels (Student Essay)

8. Writing to Analyze

• James M. Lang, Putting in the Hours (Opinion Piece)
• *Susan Cain, The Power of Introverts (Analysis)
• *Ashley TenBrink, A Rider Frozen in Motion (Visual Analysis)
• Sarah Washington, Campus Parking: Love it or Leave It (Student Essay)

Part Three: Using What You’ve Learned to Write Arguments

9. Writing to Convince

• *Marian Wright Edelman, Still Hungry in America (Opinion Piece)
• Maureen Dowd, Our Own Warrior Princess (Editorial)
• Allsup Organ Donation Poster (Advertisement)
• Anne Applebaum, When Women Go to War (Editorial) [ebook only]
• Santi DeRosa, The Objectification of Women: Whose Fault Is It? (Student Essay)

10. Writing to Evaluate

• *Jonathan Liu, “The 5 Best Toys of All Time” (Opinion Piece)
• *Roger Ebert, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Review)
• *Andrew O’Hehir, “’Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2’: An Action-Packed Curtain Call” (Review)
• Annlee Lawrence, Who Has the Better Burger? (Student Essay)

11. Writing to Explain Causes and Effects

• Juan Williams, The Ruling That Changed America (Cause-and-Effect Essay)
• Neal Gabler, How Urban Myths Reveal Society’s Fears (Cause-and-Effect Essay)
• Robert Reich The Real Reason Why Highway Deaths Are Down (Blog) [ebook only]
• *Aprilyus, Anti-Smoking Poster (Cause-and-Effect Poster)
• *Hanna Lake, Brothers, Brethren, and Kin: The Role of Family in the Lives of Harriet Jacobs and Black Hawk (Student Essay)

12. Writing to Solve Problems

• *Anya Kamenetz, The Case for Girls (Proposal Essay)
• *Virginia Heffernan, Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade (Opinion Piece)
• Amy Baskin and Heather Fawcett, Request for a Work Schedule Change (Memo)
• Michael Bérubé, How to End Grade Inflation (Op-Ed Article) [ebook only]
• *Susan DeMedeiros, Staying ahead of Skimming Scams (Student Essay)

Part Four: Strategies for Effective Communication

13. Using Strategies That Guide Readers

• Announcing a Thesis or Controlling Idea
• Writing Paragraphs
• Placement of Topic Sentences
• Moving to a New Paragraph
• Opening Paragraphs
• Concluding Paragraphs
• Using Cohesive Devices
• Using Connective Words or Phrases
• Using Word Repetition
• Using Pronoun Reference
• Using Transitional Sentences and Paragraphs
• Using Headings
• Writing Narratives
• Narrating Single Events or a Series of Events
• Narrating Processes
• Writing Descriptions
• Naming in Description
• A Sensory Approach to Description
• A Spatial Approach to Description
• Writing Definitions
• Kinds of Definitions
• Writing Classifications
• Writing about Comparisons and Contrasts
• Approaches to Comparison and Contrast
• Using Outlines and Maps to Organize Your Writing

14. Using Strategies for Argument

• Argument and Persuasion
• Rhetorical Appeals
• Logical Appeals
• Ethical Appeals
• Emotional Appeals
• The Rhetorical Triangle: Considering the Appeals Together
• Three Approaches to Argument
• Classical Strategies for Arguing
• Parts of a Classical Argument
• Example: The Classical Scheme in Action
• David Wolman, Time to Cash Out: Why Paper Money Hurts the Economy
• Toulmin Approach to Argument
• Example: The Toulmin Model in Action
• *Jordan Weissman, The Myth of Energy Independence: Why We Can’t Drill Our Way to Oil Autonomy
• Rogerian Strategies for Arguing
• Example: Rogerian Strategies in Action
• Rick Reilly, Nothing but Nets
• Some Common Flaws in Arguments

15. Using Strategies for Collaboration

• Working with Peers on Your Single-Authored Projects
• Strategies for Working with Peers on Your Projects
• Using Digital Tools for Peer Review
• Working with Peers on Multiple-Authored Projects
• Strategies for Working with Peers Effectively
• Using Digital Tools to Facilitate Multiple-Authored Projects

16. Making Effective Oral Presentations

• Developing Your Presentation
• Establishing a Clear Structure
• Considering Your Audience
• Eliminating the Fear of Speaking in Public
• Other Tips for Making Effective Oral Presentations
• *Online Presentations

Part Five: Technologies for Effective Communication

17. Choosing a Medium, Genre, and Technology for Your Communication

• Communication Technologies
• Publishing Your Work
• Selecting a Genre and Medium
• Deciding on a Genre for Your Work
• Deciding Whether to Use Print, Electronic, or Oral Media
• Considering Design
• Technologies for Computer-Mediated Communication
• E-mail
• Threaded Discussions
• Synchronous Chat
• Blogs
• Wikis
• Word-Processing Software
• Peer-Review Applications
• Graphics Software
• Desktop Publishing Software
• Presentation Software
• Technologies for Constructing Web Pages

18. Communicating with Design and Visuals

• Principles of Document Design
• Proximity
• Contrast
• Alignment
• Repetition (or Consistency)
• Designing New Media
• Common Kinds of Visual Texts
• Tables
• Bar and Line Graphs
• Charts
• Photographs
• Drawings
• Diagrams
• Maps
• Cartoons
• Using Visuals Rhetorically
• Considering Your Audience
• Considering Your Purpose
• Using Visuals Responsibly
• Permissions
• Distortions

Part Six: Using Research for Informed Communication

19. Finding and Evaluating Information

• Conducting Effective Library and Web-Based Research: An Example
• Library Research
• Research on the Web
• Selecting Sources
• Books
• Academic Journals
• Newspapers
• Popular Magazines
• Trade or Commercial Magazines
• Public Affairs Magazines
• Specialty Magazines
• The Internet
• Evaluating Your Sources: Asking the Reporter’s Questions
• Who Is the Author?
• What Is the Text About? What Is the Quality of the Information?
• When Was the Text Published or the Web Site Last Updated?
• Why Was This Information Published?
• Where Was the Item Published?
• How Accurate Is the Information in This Source
• Field Research
• Working with Human Participants
• Informed Consent
• Observations
• Interviews
• Surveys

20. Synthesizing and Documenting Sources

• An Overview of Documentation
• Plagiarism
• Inadequate or Incorrect Citations
• Patchwriting
• Anti-plagiarism Software
• Quotations
• Paraphrases
• Summaries
• Syntheses
• MLA Documentation Style
• MLA Style: In-Text Citation
• MLA Style: Constructing a List of Works Cited
• MLA Style: Sample Student Paper
• APA Documentation Style
• APA Style: In-Text Citation
• APA Style: Constructing a References List
• APA Style: Sample Student Paper
• Appendix A Constructing a Writing Portfolio
• Appendix B Writing Effective Essay Examinations
• Appendix C Standard Document Forms
• eBook Chapters (Also available in Create)

21. Writing about Visual Texts [New Chapter]

• Setting Your Goals
• Rhetorical Knowledge
• Writing about Visual Texts
• Writing Assignment Options
• Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
• Qualities of Effective Writing to Analyze Visuals
• Reading to Learn about Analyzing Visual Texts
• *Will Storey, Revisiting the Daisy Ad Revolution (Visual Analysis)
• *Sebastian Smee, From Chaos, a Suspended Beauty (Visual Analysis)
• Writing Processes
• Invention: Getting Started
• Organizing Your Ideas and Details
• Constructing a Complete Draft
• Revising
• Knowledge of Conventions
• Editing
• Genres, Documentation, and Format
• A Writer Achieves His Goal: Jayson Bailey’s Visual Analysis
• *Jayson Bailey, Riding a Harley Is an American Freedom (Student Essay)
• Self-Assessment: Reflecting on Your Goals

22. Writing about Creative Works

• Setting Your Goals
• Rhetorical Knowledge
• Writing about Creative Works
• Writing to Learn about Literary Works
• *Jamaica Kincaid, Girl
• Amy Tan, Alien Relative
• Writing Processes
• Selecting a Creative Work to Write About
• Recording Your Initial Responses
• Finding a Feature to Analyze
• Integrating Visuals When Writing about Creative Works
• Organizing Your Ideas
• Constructing a Full Draft
• Revising
• Knowledge of Conventions
• Editing
• Genres, Documentation, and Format
• A Writer Achieves Her Goal: Katrina Montgomery’s Final Draft
• *Katrina Montgomery, Indirect Characterization in Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” (Student Essay)
• Self-Assessment: Reflecting on Your Goals

Appendix A Constructing a Writing Portfolio

Appendix B Writing Effective Essay Examinations

Appendix C Standard Document Forms