Compared to piaget vygotsky placed more emphasis on

Develop knowledge of linguistic structures, including grammar, punctuation, and

A dedicated Part Three focuses particularly on the Language of the Essay, drawing students’ attention to the rhetorical effectiveness of diction, tone, and figurative language.

Chapters in Part Two, The Elements of the Essay, emphasize the importance of linguistic structure at various levels of the essay, including Transitions (Ch. 8) and Effective Sentences (Ch. 9).

Chapter 24, Editing for Grammar, Punctuation, and Sentence

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spelling, through practice in composing and

revising

Style, covers common grammar and mechanical errors and presents clear examples of corrections to help students write with minimal errors. Coverage includes run-ons and comma splices, sentence fragments, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb tense shifts, misplaced and dangling modifiers, faulty parallelism, weak nouns and verbs, and academic diction and

tone.

In the LaunchPad, LearningCurve adaptive quizzing on common grammar, mechanics, and writing topics lead students to online self-guided practice that lets them learn at their own pace.

Understand why genre conventions for structure, paragraphing, tone, and mechanics vary

Chapter introductions for each rhetorical element in Parts Two and Three and for each rhetorical pattern in Part Four explain how each strategy serves a writer’s purpose.

Dedicated chapters on Paragraphs (Ch. 7), Tone (Ch. 11), and Mechanics (Ch. 24) further emphasize rhetorical importance and variation.

Gain experience negotiating variations in genre conventions

In addition to the support in chapter introductions mentioned above, the Classroom Activities and Suggested Writing Assignments following each reading selection encourage students to apply the rhetorical strategies to real-world genres and situations and to use them in their writing.

Learn common formats and/or design features for different kinds of texts

Model student essays in the book are presented in MLA formatting. Chapter 23 features fully formatted examples of MLA- and APA- style student research papers, with annotations highlighting the genre design conventions.

Explore the concepts of intellectual property (such as fair use and

Chapter 10, Writing with Sources, explains why outside sources are rhetorically useful and helps writers articulate positions in the conversation and extend their own ideas, and how doing so requires thoughtful documentation when integrating quotation, paraphrase, or summary.

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copyright) that motivate documentation

conventions

A dedicated section, Avoid Plagiarism (p. 238), further defines and explores these concepts.

Practice applying citation conventions systematically in their own work

Chapter 23, A Brief Guide to Writing a Research Paper, offers detailed guidance on taking notes to avoid plagiarism as well as model citations in both MLA and APA styles.

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Contents

Preface Thematic Clusters Introduction for Students

part one On Reading and Writing Well

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1 The Writing Process Prewriting

Understand Your Assignment Choose a Subject Area and Focus on a Topic Get Ideas and Collect Information Understand What a Thesis Is Develop Your Thesis Know Your Audience Determine Your Method of Development Map Your Organization

Writing the First Draft Create a Title Focus on Beginnings and Endings

Revising Editing Proofreading Writing an Expository Essay: A Student Essay in Progress Jeffrey Olesky, Golf: A Character Builder (student essay)

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2 From Reading to Writing Reading Critically

Step 1: Prepare Yourself to Read the Selection Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address

Step 2: Read the Selection Step 3: Reread the Selection Step 4: Annotate the Text with Marginal Notes Step 5: Analyze and Evaluate the Text with Questions An Example: Annotating Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”

Rachel Carson, Fable for Tomorrow Using Reading in the Writing Process

Reading as a Writer Writing from Reading: Three Sample Student Essays

A Narrative Essay: Trena Isley, On the Sidelines (student essay) A Response Essay: Zoe Ockenga, The Excuse “Not To” (student essay) An Argumentative Essay: James Duffy, One Dying Wish (student essay)

part two The Elements of the Essay

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3 Thesis Laura Lee, Lucy and Her Friends

A writer explores the surprising connections between weather and some of our most important archaeological discoveries.

David Pogue, The End of Passwords A technology critic and consumer advocate argues that passwords are ineffective and predicts the future of technology privacy methods.

James Lincoln Collier, Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name A writer asserts that we can “accomplish wonders” if we “accept anxiety as another name for challenge.”

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4 Unity Thomas L. Friedman, My Favorite Teacher

A Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist describes the high school teacher who had the most influence on his career as a journalist.

Helen Keller, The Most Important Day The celebrated blind and deaf writer recalls her discovery of language.

Jonathan Safran Foer, Against Meat The award-winning novelist presents a case for vegetarianism, at the expense of cultural memory and tradition.

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5 Organization Cherokee Paul McDonald, A View from the Bridge

An encounter with a young fisherman teaches the author a lesson in what it means to see.

Bruce Catton, Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts A Pulitzer Prize–winning historian compares two war generals who met to negotiate the terms for the surrender of the Confederate Army.

Julie Zhuo, Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt A writer defines the term trolling, explains why it is problematic, and offers a solution to the problem.

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6 Beginnings and Endings Dick Gregory, Shame

A civil rights advocate recalls a painful childhood incident. Sean McElwee, The Case for Censoring Hate Speech

A writer responds to the objections of free-speech advocates, arguing that websites that allow hate speech “don’t make speech more free, but rather, more constrained.”

Omar Akram, Can Music Bridge Cultures and Promote Peace? A Grammy-winning recording artist considers the power of music to bring people of different backgrounds together.

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7 Paragraphs Jamie Mackay, The Art of Communal Bathing

A writer on global society and politics proposes reinstating the community baths in modern society.

Judith Ortiz Cofer, My Rosetta A celebrated author remembers a woman who played a small but significant role in her life.

Jimmy Carter, The Home Place The thirty-ninth president of the United States describes the workings of his father’s peanut farm during Carter’s boyhood.

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8 Transitions Maya Wei-Haas, How Chuck Taylor Taught America How to Play Basketball

A science and an innovation writer relays the history of one of the most popular sneakers in shoe history.

Roland Merullo, The Phantom Toll Collector A memoirist and novelist reminisces about his summer as a highway toll collector and contemplates the loss of such jobs to automation.

Dan Shaughnessy, Teammates Forever Have a Special Connection A celebrated baseball writer recalls an old teammate and describes the unique bond they shared.

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9 Effective Sentences Erin Murphy, White Lies

A writer recalls a painful childhood memory of bullying and questions the reliability of memory.

Langston Hughes, Salvation A famous poet remembers a church revival meeting at which he pretended to be “saved from sin.”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists The best-selling author and speaker confronts gender roles and the harmful role they play in society.

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10 Writing with Sources Tara Haelle, How to Teach Children That Failure Is the Secret to Success

A health and science writer investigates the ways parents can positively or negatively influence how their children respond to failure.

Jake Jamieson, The English-Only Movement: Can America Proscribe Language with a Clear Conscience? A student writer evaluates the merits of a movement in the United States that would require immigrants to learn English.

Terry Tempest Williams, The Clan of One-Breasted Women A prolific writer and naturalist explores the connection between nuclear testing in the Nevada desert and the high incidence of breast cancer in her family.

part three The Language of the Essay

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11 Diction and Tone Robert Krulwich, How Do Plants Know Which Way Is Up and Which Way Is

Down? An Emmy Award–winning reporter uses writing and illustrations to answer a seemingly simple question.

David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day A popular American essayist recounts his experience trying to learn French in Paris.

Maya Angelou, Momma, the Dentist, and Me A celebrated African American writer recounts how a toothache led to a confrontation with racism.

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12 Figurative Language N. Scott Momaday, The Flight of the Eagles

A Pulitzer Prize–winning writer uses detailed description to paint a precise picture of two birds in flight.

Robert Ramirez, The Barrio A Hispanic writer paints a vivid and sensuous picture of the district called the barrio.

Anne Lamott, Polaroids A popular author equates writing to watching the development of a Polaroid picture.

part four Types of Essays