I. Getting Started
1. Exploring the Writing Process
Part A The Writing Process
Part B Subject, Audience, and Purpose
Exploring Online
2. Prewriting to Generate Ideas
Part A Freewriting
Part B Brainstorming
Part C Clustering
Part D Asking Questions
Part E Keeping a Journal
Exploring Online
Unit 1 Writers' Workshop: Using Just One of Your Five Senses, Describe a Place
II. Discovering the Paragraph
3. The Process of Writing Paragraphs
Part A Defining and Looking at the Paragraph
Part B Narrowing the Topic and Writing the Topic Sentence
Part C Generating Ideas for the Body
Part D Selecting and Dropping Ideas
Part E Arranging Ideas in a Plan or an Outline
Part F Writing and Revising the Paragraph
Exploring Online
4. Achieving Coherence
Part A Coherence Through Order
Part B Coherence Through Related Sentences
Exploring Online
Unit 2 Writers' Workshop: Discuss the Pressures to Grow Up Fast
III. Developing the Paragraph
5. Illustration
Thinking and Writing Together
Exploring Online
Checklist: The Process of Writing an Illustration Paragraph
Suggested Topic Sentences for Illustration Paragraphs
Exploring Online
6. Narration
Thinking and Writing Together
Exploring Online
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Narrative Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Narrative Paragraphs
Exploring Online
7. Description
Thinking and Writing Together
Exploring Online
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Descriptive Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Descriptive Paragraphs
Exploring Online
8. Process
Thinking and Writing Together
Exploring Online
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Process Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Process Paragraphs
Exploring Online
9. Definition
Part A Single-Sentence Definitions
Part B The Definition Paragraph
Thinking and Writing Together
Exploring Online
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Definition Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Definition Paragraphs
Exploring Online
10. Comparison and Contrast
Part A The Contrast and the Comparison Paragraphs
Thinking and Writing Together
Exploring Online
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Contrast or Comparison Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Contrast or Comparison Paragraphs
Part B The Comparison-Contrast Paragraph
Working Through the Comparison-Contrast Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Comparison-Contrast Paragraphs
Exploring Online
11. Classification
Thinking and Writing Together
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Classification Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Classification Paragraphs
Exploring Online
12. Cause and Effect
Thinking and Writing Together
Exploring Online
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Cause and Effect Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Cause and Effect Paragraphs
Exploring Online
13. Persuasion
Thinking and Writing Together
Exploring Online
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Persuasive Paragraph
Suggested Topics for Persuasive Paragraphs
Exploring Online
Unit 3 Writers' Workshop: Give Advice to College Writers
IV. Writing the Essay
14. The Process of Writing an Essay
Part A Looking at the Essay
Part B Writing the Thesis Statement
Part C Generating Ideas for the Body
Part D Organizing Ideas in an Outline
Part E Ordering and Linking Paragraphs in the Essay
Part F Writing and Revising Essays
Checklist: The Process of Writing an Essay
Suggested Topics for Essays
Exploring Online
15. Types of Essays
Part A The Illustration Essay
Part B The Narrative Essay
Part C The Descriptive Essay
Part D The Process Essay
Part E The Definition Essay
Part F The Comparison or Contrast Essay
Part G The Classification Essay
Part H The Cause and Effect Essay
Part I The Persuasive Essay
Exploring Online
16. The Introduction, the Conclusion, and the Title
Part A The Introduction
Part B The Conclusion
Part C The Title
Exploring Online
17. Summarizing, Quoting, and Avoiding Plagiarism
Part A Avoiding Plagiarism
Part B Writing a Summary
Checklist: The Process of Writing a Summary
Part C Using Direct and Indirect Quotation
Exploring Online
18. Strengthening an Essay with Research
Part A Improving an Essay with Research
Part B Finding and Evaluating Outside Sources: Library and Internet
Part C Adding Sources to Your Essay and Documenting Them Correctly
Exploring Online
19. Writing Under Pressure: The Essay Examination
Part A Budgeting Your Time
Part B Reading and Understanding the Essay Question
Part C Choosing the Correct Paragraph or Essay Pattern
Part D Writing the Topic Sentence or the Thesis Statement
Checklist: The Process of Answering an Essay Question
Exploring Online
Unit 4 Writers' Workshop: Analyze a Social Problem
V. Improving Your Writing
20. Revising for Consistency and Parallelism
Part A Consistent Tense
Part B Consistent Number and Person
Part C Parallelism
Exploring Online
21. Revising for Sentence Variety
Part A Mix Long and Short Sentences
Part B Use a Question, a Command, or an Exclamation
Part C Vary the Beginnings of Sentences
Part D Vary Methods of Joining Ideas
Part E Avoid Misplaced and Confusing Modifiers
Part F Review and Practice
Exploring Online
22. Revising for Language Awareness
Part A Exact Language: Avoiding Vagueness
Part B Concise Language: Avoiding Wordiness
Part C Fresh Language: Avoiding Triteness
Part D Figurative Language: Similes and Metaphors
Exploring Online
23. Putting Your Revision Skills to Work
Exploring Online
Unit 5 Writers' Workshop: Examine Someone Who Isn't What He/She Appears to Be
VI. Reviewing the Basics
24. The Simple Sentence
Part A Defining and Spotting Subjects
Part B Spotting Prepositional Phrases
Part C Defining and Spotting Verbs
Exploring Online
25. Coordination and Subordination
Part A Coordination
Part B Subordination
Part C Semicolons
Part D Conjunctive Adverbs
Part E Review
Exploring Online
26. Avoiding Sentence Errors
Part A Avoiding Run-Ons and Comma Splices
Part B Avoiding Fragments
Exploring Online
27. Present Tense (Agreement)
Part A Defining Subject-Verb Agreement
Part B Three Troublesome Verbs in the Present Tense: To Be, To Have, To Do
Part C Special Singular Constructions
Part D Separation of Subject and Verb
Part E Sentences Beginning with There and Here
Part F Agreement in Questions
Part G Agreement in Relative Clauses
Exploring Online
28. Past Tense
Part A Regular Verbs in the Past Tense
Part B Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense
Part C A Troublesome Verb in the Past Tense: To Be
Part D Troublesome Pairs in the Past Tense: Can/Could, Will/Would
Exploring Online
29. The Past Participle
Part A Past Participles of Regular Verbs
Part B Past Participles of Irregular Verbs
Part C Using the Present Perfect Tense
Part D Using the Past Perfect Tense
Part E Using the Passive Voice (To Be and the Past Participle)
Part F Using the Past Participle as an Adjective
Exploring Online
30. Nouns
Part A Defining Singular and Plural
Part B Signal Words: Singular and Plural
Part C Signal Words with Of
Exploring Online
31. Pronouns
Part A Defining Pronouns and Antecedents
Part B Making Pronouns and Antecedents Agree
Part C Referring to Antecedents Clearly
Part D Special Problems of Case
Part E Using Pronouns with -Self and -Selves
Exploring Online
32. Prepositions
Part A Working with Prepositional Phrases
Part B Prepositions in Common Expressions
Exploring Online
33. Adjectives and Adverbs
Part A Defining and Using Adjectives and Adverbs
Part B The Comparative and the Superlative
Exploring Online
Part C A Troublesome Pair: Good/Well
Exploring Online
34. The Apostrophe
Part A The Apostrophe for Contractions
Part B The Apostrophe for Ownership
Part C Special Uses of the Apostrophe
Exploring Online
35. The Comma
Part A Commas for Items in a Series
Part B Commas with Introductory Phrases, Transitional Expressions, and Parentheticals
Part C Commas for Appositives
Part D Commas with Nonrestrictive and Restrictive Clauses
Part E Commas for Dates and Addresses
Part F Minor Uses of the Comma
Exploring Online
36. Mechanics
Part A Capitalization
Part B Titles
Part C Direct Quotations
Part D Minor Marks of Punctuation
Exploring Online
37. Putting Your Proofreading Skills to Work
Exploring Online
Unit 6 Writers' Workshop: Adopt a New Point of View
VII. Strengthening Your Spelling
38. Spelling
Part A Suggestions for Improving Your Spelling
Part B Computer Spell Checkers
Part C Spotting Vowels and Consonants
Part D Doubling the Final Consonant (in Words of One Syllable)
Part E Doubling the Final Consonant (in Words of More Than One Syllable)
Part F Dropping or Keeping the Final E
Part G Changing or Keeping the Final Y
Part H Adding -S or -ES
Part I Choosing IE or EI
Part J Spelling Lists
Exploring Online
39. Look-Alikes/Sound-Alikes
Exploring Online
Unit 7. Writers' Workshop: Discuss a Time When You Felt Blessed
VIII. Reading Selections
Reading Strategies for Writers
How Sunglasses Spanned the World
Rick Bragg 100 Miles per Hour, Upside Down and Sideways
Sandra Cisneros Only Daughter
Arthur Ashe My Outing
Ana Veciana-Suarez When Greed Gives Way to Giving
Dave Barry Build Yourself a Killer Bod with Killer Bees
Brent Staples A Brother's Murder
Christopher N. Bacorn Dear Dads: Save Your Sons
Bharati Mukherjee Two Ways to Belong in America
Firoozeh Dumas Forever Young
Ian Frazier On the Rez
Karen Castellucci Cox Four Types of Courage
Eric A. Taub Cell Yell: Thanks for (Not) Sharing
Janet Wu Homeward Bound
Anna Quindlen Freedom's Just Another Word
Michael Levin The Case for Torture
Alice Walker Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self
ESL Appendix
Quotation Bank
Acknowledgements
Index
Rhetorical Index