Successful College Writing with 2009 MLA and 2010 APA Updates

Click here to find out more about the 2009 MLA Updates and the 2010 APA Updates . Reading specialist Kathleen McWhorter understands that students are often lacking in the skills they need to succeed in the first-year writing course and need a text that doesn't assume they have mastered all the basics.Successful College Writingmeets students where they are, offering extensive instruction in careful and critical reading, practical advice on study and college survival skills, step-by-step strategies for writing and research, detailed coverage of the nine rhetorical patterns of development, and 64 professional and student readings that provide strong rhetorical models, as well as an easy-to-use handbook in the complete edition.McWhorter's unique visual approach to learning uses graphic organizers, revision flowcharts, and other visual tools to help students analyze texts and write their own essays. Her unique attention to varieties of learning styles also helps empower students, allowing them to identify their strengths and learning preferences.

Kathleen T. McWhorter is professor emerita of humanities and former director of the Learning Skills Center at Niagara County Community College. She has also been on the faculty of the State University College at Buffalo. She is the author of a number of books on reading and writing skills for developmental students, including The Writer’s Selections, Fifth Edition (2008), Academic Reading, Sixth Edition (2007), Efficient and Flexible Reading, Eighth Edition (2008), Active Reading Skills, Second Edition (2008), and Reading Across the Disciplines: College Reading And Beyond, Third Edition (2007), as well as a  composition reader, Seeing the Pattern: Readings for Successful Writing (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006).

    Preface       Thematic Contents     To the Student  PART ONE: ACADEMIC QUICK START   1. Succeeding in College         Chapter Quick Start     STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS         Focus on Success         Manage Your Time         Organize a Writing and Study Area         Study Smarter         Manage Stress     CLASSROOM SKILLS         Polish Your Academic Image         Demonstrate Academic Integrity         Communicate with Your Instructor         Listen Carefully and Critically         Ask and Answer Questions         Work with Classmates         Take Effective Notes in Class  2. Writing in College         Chapter Quick Start     ACADEMIC WRITING: WHAT TO EXPECT         Expect Your Writing to Move from More Personal to Less Personal         Expect Your Writing to Take Different Forms         Expect to Use the Language of the Discipline         Expect to Use Standard American English         Expect to Use and Document Scholarly Sources         Expect to Collaborate with Classmates    WHY STRIVE TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SKILLS?         Writing Skills Help in College and in Your Career         Writing Facilitates Learning and Recall         Writing Clarifies Your Thinking         Writing Helps You Solve Problems     DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR WRITING         Start with a Positive Attitude         Use your Course Syllabus         Use the Right Learning Tools         Use the College Writing Center         Keep a Writing Journal         Get the Most out of Writing Conferences         Assessing Your Learning Style         What Is Your Learning Style?     LEARNING STYLE INVENTORY         Interpreting Your Scores         A Word About Your Findings         How to Use Your Findings     APPLYING YOUR LEARNING STYLE TO YOUR WRITING  3. Reading and Writing about Text           Chapter Quick Start       READING IN COLLEGE     Changing Some Misconceptions about Reading       A Guide to Active Reading          Preview before Reading           Read with a Purpose           Reading: Purse Snatching, Donna Lopiano           Review after Reading      Understanding Difficult Text and Visuals           Draw a Graphic Organizer           Read Visuals       Responding to Text       A Guide to Responding to text          Summarize to Check Your Understanding           Link the Reading to Your Own Experiences           Analyze the Reading       Using Your Learning Style       HOW TO APPROACH THE STUDENT ESSAYS IN THIS BOOK           How to Focus on Writing Features       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: The Games We Play: Inequality in the Pro-Sports Workplace, Tracey Aquino (student essay)   PART TWO: STRATEGIES FOR WRITING ESSAYS 4. Prewriting: How to Find and Focus Ideas          Chapter Quick Start       Choosing and Narrowing a Topic           Choosing a Topic           Narrowing a Topic       Thinking about Your Purpose, Audience, and Point of View           Determining Your Purpose           Considering Your Audience          Choosing a Point of View       Discovering Ideas to Write About           Freewriting           Mapping           Brainstorming           Group Brainstorming           Questioning           Writing Assertions          Interviewing           Using the Patterns of Development           Visualizing or Sketching          Researching Your Topic      STUDENTS WRITE          Christine Lee’s Prewriting Strategies    5. Developing and Supporting a Thesis           Chapter Quick Start       What Is a Thesis Statement?       Developing Your Thesis Statement          Coming Up with a Working Thesis Statement           Writing an Effective Thesis Statement           Placing the Thesis Statement           Using an Implied Thesis      Supporting Your Thesis Statement with Evidence          Choosing Types of Evidence          Collecting Evidence to Support Your Thesis          Choosing the Best Evidence           Using Sources to Support Your Thesis       STUDENTS WRITE           Christine Lee’s Working Thesis       Working With Text           Reading: Pet Therapy for Heart and Soul, Kerry Pechter    6. Drafting An Essay           Chapter Quick Start       The Structure of an Essay       Organizing Your Supporting Details          Selecting a Method of Organization          Preparing an Outline or Graphic Organizer           Connecting Your Supporting Details with Transitions and Repetition       Writing Your Introduction, Conclusion, and Title          Writing a Strong Introduction          Writing an Effective Conclusion           Writing a Good Title       Drafting with a Computer       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: The Reality of Real TV, Christine Lee (student essay)       Working with Text           Reading: Black Men and Public Space, Brent Staples   7. Writing Effective Paragraphs         Chapter Quick Start     THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH     WRITING A TOPIC SENTENCE         A Topic Sentence Should Be Focused         A Topic Sentence May Preview the Organization of the Paragraph         A Topic Sentence Should Support Your Thesis         A Topic Sentence Should be Strategically Placed     INCLUDING SUPPORTING DETAILS         Effective Paragraphs Have Unity         Effective Paragraphs Are Well Developed         Effective Paragraphs Provide Specific Supporting Details         Details are Arranged Logically     USING TRANSITIONS AND REPETITION         Coherent Paragraphs Include Transitional Expressions         Coherent Paragraphs Include Repetition of Key Words     DICTION IN ACADEMIC WRITING     STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: The Reality of Real TV, Christine Lee (student essay): Paragraph Excerpt     WORKING WITH TEXT  8. Revising Content and Organization           Chapter Quick Start       Why Revise?     Useful Techniques for Revision          Using a Graphic Organizer for Revision       Key Questions for Revision          Analyzing Your Purpose and Audience          Analyzing Your Thesis, Topic Sentences, and Evidence           Analyzing Your Organization          Analyzing Your Paragraph Development      Working with Classmates to Revise Your Essay           How to Find a Good Reviewer           Suggestions for the Writer          Suggestions for the Reviewer       USING YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS           Revising an Essay Using Your Instructor’s Comments           Using Your Instructor’s Comments to Improve Future Essays       Considering Your Learning Style       STUDENTS WRITE          Reading: A Trend Taken Too Far: The Reality of Real TV, Christine Lee (student essay)    9. Editing Sentences and Words          Chapter Quick Start       Analyzing Your Sentences           Are Your Sentences Concise?           Are Your Sentences Varied?           Are Your Sentences Parallel in Structure?          Do Your Sentences Have Strong, Active Verbs?       Analyzing Your Word Choice           Are Your Tone and Level of Diction Appropriate?          Do You Use Words with Appropriate Connotations?           Do You Use Concrete Language?           Do You Use Fresh, Appropriate Figures of Speech?          Evaluating Your Word Choice       Suggestions for ProofReading           Keeping an Error Log       STUDENTS WRITE           Excerpt from Christine Lee’s Edited Second Draft    PART THREE: PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT 10. Narration: Recounting Events           Chapter Quick Start       Writing a Narrative       What Is Narration?           Reading: Right Place, Wrong Face, Alton Fitzgerald White          Characteristics of a Narrative           Visualizing a Narrative: A Graphic Organizer         Reading: Selling Civility, Peter Scott       Integrating a Narrative into an Essay       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT           The Assignment          Generating Ideas           Evaluating Your Ideas          Developing Your Thesis          Organizing and Drafting           Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: You Can Count on Miracles, Aphonetip Vasavong (student essay)       Reading a Narrative       Working with Text: Reading Narratives      Thinking Critically about Narration           Reading: Selling in Minnesota, Barbara Ehrenreich          Reading: Another Mother’s Child: A Letter to a Murdered Son, Norma Molen (patterns combined)       Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments   11. Description: Portraying People, Places, and Things           Chapter Quick Start       Writing a Description       What Is Description?           Reading: Eating Chili Peppers, Jeremy MacClancy       Characteristics of Descriptive Writing       Visualizing a Description: A Graphic Organizer           Reading: Inferior Decorating, Amy Tan       Integrating Description into an Essay       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT           The Assignment           Generating Ideas and Details           Evaluating Your Details           Creating a Dominant Impression           Organizing and Drafting          Analyzing and Revising          Editing and Proofreading       STUDENTS WRITE           *Reading: Heatstroke with a Side of Burn Cream, Ted Sawchuck (student essay)       Reading a Description       Working with Text: Reading Descriptive Essays       Thinking Critically about Description           *Reading: Shipwreck, Cat Bohannon         *Reading: Bloggers Without Borders…, Riverbend (patterns combined)     Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments    12. Illustration: Explaining With Examples           Chapter Quick Start       Writing an Illustration Essay       What Is Illustration?           Reading: Rambos of the Road, Martin Gottfried           Characteristics of Illustration Essays           Visualizing an Illustration Essay: A Graphic Organizer           *Reading: Geeks in the Clubhouse, Tim Gideon and Jeff Pearlman     Integrating Illustration into an Essay       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT          The Assignment           Generating Ideas           Developing Your Thesis          Choosing and Evaluating Your Examples          Organizing and Drafting           Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading      STUDENTS WRITE           *Reading: Conforming to Stand Out: A Look at American Beauty, Nick Ruggia (student essay)           Reading an Illustration Essay       WORKING WITH TEXT: READING ILLUSTRATION ESSAYS           Thinking Critically about Illustration           Reading: Goin’ Gangsta, Choosin’ Cholita: Claiming Identity,Nell Bernstein           Reading: Words That Wound, Kathleen Vail (patterns combined)      Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments    13. Process Analysis: Explaining How Something Works or Is Done           Chapter Quick Start       Writing a Process Analysis      What Is Process Analysis?           *Reading: How to Use Online Dating Sites, Ed Grabianowski         *Reading: How Internet Search Engines Work, Curt Franklin     Characteristics of Process Analysis Essays          Visualizing a Process Analysis Essay: A Graphic Organizer       Integrating Process Analysis into an Essay       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT           The Assignment           Selecting a Process           Developing Your Thesis           Listing the Steps and Gathering Details           Evaluating Your Ideas and Thesis           Organizing and Drafting           Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading       STUDENTS WRITE           *Reading: Feed Your Friends . . . and Their Friends . . . and Their Friends: Chili for Fifty, Eric Michalski (student essay)      Reading a Process Analysis       Working with Text: Reading Process Analysis Essays       Thinking Critically about Process Analysis           Reading: Remote Control: How to Raise a Media Skeptic, Susan Douglas          *Reading: Panacea, Dorothy Allison (patterns combined)      Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments   14. Comparison and Contrast: Showing Similarities and Differences           Chapter Quick Start       Writing a Comparison or Contrast Essay       What Are Comparison and Contrast?           *Reading: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Is The Onion Our Most Intelligent Newspaper?, Greg Beato         Reading: Dearly Disconnected, Ian Frazier     Characteristics of Comparison or Contrast Essays           Visualizing a Comparison or Contrast Essay: Two Graphic Organizers           Reading: Who’s Eating What, and Why, in the United States and Europe? Thomas Kinnear, Kenneth Bernhardt, and Kathleen Krentler      Integrating Comparison and Contrast into an Essay       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT         The Assignment          Generating Ideas           Developing Your Thesis           Evaluating Your Ideas and Thesis           Organizing and Drafting          Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: Border Bites, Heather Gianakos (student essay)       Reading Comparison and Contrast       Working with Text: Reading Comparison or Contrast Essays     Thinking Critically about Comparison and Contrast           Reading: His Marriage and Hers: Childhood Roots, Daniel Goleman           Reading: Defining a Doctor, with a Tear, a Shrug, and a Schedule, Abigail Zuger (patterns combined)        Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments    15. Classification and Division: Explaining Categories and Parts          Chapter Quick Start       Writing a Classification or Division Essay      What Are Classification and Division?           *Reading: My Life on the McJob: Fast Food Managers, Jerry Newman         Characteristics of Classification and Division Essays           Visualizing a Classification or Division Essay: A Graphic Organizer           Reading: A Brush with Reality: Surprises in the Tube, David Bodanis       Integrating Classification or Division into an Essay       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT           The Assignment           Generating Ideas          Developing Your Thesis           Evaluating Your Ideas and Thesis           Organizing and Drafting           Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading      STUDENTS WRITE           *Reading: Immigration: Legal and Illegal, Sunny Desai (student essay)       Reading a Classification or Division Essay       Working with Text: Reading Classification or Division       Thinking Critically about Classification and Division           Reading: Territoriality, Joseph A. DeVito           *Reading: The Dog Ate My Disk, and Other Tales of Woe, Carolyn Foster Segal (patterns combined)     Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments    16. Definition: Explaining What You Mean          Chapter Quick Start       Writing a Definition      What Is a Definition?           *Reading: Freegans at Work, Sarah Dowdey         Characteristics of Extended Definitions          Visualizing an Extended Definition Essay: A Graphic Organizer          *Reading: Latin Lingo, Ilan Stavans     Integrating Definitions into an Essay       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT           The Assignment           Generating Ideas           Developing Your Thesis           Evaluating Your Ideas and Thesis          Organizing and Drafting          Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: Leveling the Playing Field: The NFL Salary Cap, David Harris (student essay)       Reading Definitions      Working with Text: Reading Definitions       Thinking Critically about Definition           Reading: Dude, Do You Know What You Just Said? Mike Crissey           *Reading: The Animal Kingdom Storms Reality TV and the Documentary Industry, Alicia Rebensdorf (patterns combined)       Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments    17. Cause and Effect: Using Reasons and Results to Explain           Chapter Quick Start       Writing a Cause-and-Effect Essay       What Are Causes and Effects?           *Reading: Can Diet Help Stop Depression and Violence?, Jurriaan Kamp     Characteristics of Cause-and-Effect Essays           Visualizing Cause-and-Effect Essays: Three Graphic Organizers           *Reading: Sprawl Is Harmful to Wildlife, Jutka Terris     Integrating Cause and Effect into an Essay       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT           The Assignment           Generating Ideas          Gathering Evidence           Developing Your Thesis           Evaluating Your Ideas and Thesis           Organizing and Drafting           Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: An Early Start, Harley Tong (student essay)       Reading Cause-and-Effect Essays       Working with Text: Reading Causal analyses       Thinking Critically about Cause and Effect           Reading: Part-Time Employment Undermines Students’ Commitment to School, Laurence Steinberg           Reading: Hitting the "Granite Wall," Gary M. Stern (patterns combined)       Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments    PART FOUR: READING AND WRITING ARGUMENTS    18. Reading Arguments           Chapter Quick Start       THE BASIC PARTS OF AN ARGUMENT         Reading: When Volunteerism Isn’t Noble, Lynn Steirer           The Issue           The Claim           The Support           The Refutation       GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR READING ARGUMENTS          Before You Read           Reading: Economic Affirmative Action, Ted Koerth           While You Read           Strategies for Following the Structure of an Argument           Using a Graphic Organizer           Writing a Summary           Strategies for Analyzing and Evaluating an Argument           Analyzing the Elements of and Reasoning in an Argument       THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT ARGUMENT       APPLYING YOUR SKILLS: ADDITIONAL READINGS         Reading: How Much Is That Kidney in the Window? Bruce Gottlieb           Reading: "Strip-Mining" the Dead: When Human Organs Are for Sale, Gilbert Meilaender       INTEGRATING THE READINGS  19. Writing Arguments           Chapter Quick Start       WRITING AN ARGUMENT         What Is an Argument?           Reading: Abolish the Penny, William Safire           Characteristics of Argument Essays           Visualizing an Argument Essay: A Graphic Organizer           Reading: Not White, Just Right, Rachel Jones       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT           The Assignment           Generating Ideas and Writing Your Thesis           Developing Your Thesis and Making a Claim           Evaluating Your Ideas, Evidence, and Claim           Considering Opposing Viewpoints           Organizing and Drafting           Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: AIDS and You: A World Crisis and Its Local Effects, Stanford DeWinter (student essay)       READING AN ARGUMENT     WORKING WITH TEXT: RESPONDING TO ARGUMENTS         Reading: Would You Buy a Car That Looked Like This? Andrew Simms           Reading: Why Consumers Have Been Choosing SUVs, John Merline       INTEGRATING THE READINGS     APPLYING YOUR SKILLS: ADDITIONAL ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS    PART FIVE: WRITING WITH SOURCES 20. Planning a Paper with Sources         Chapter Quick Start       WHEN SHOULD YOU USE SOURCES?         Using Sources to Add Detail to an Essay           Using Sources to Write a Research Paper       PLANNING YOUR PAPER           Defining the Assignment           Choosing an Interesting and Workable Topic           Narrowing and Discovering Ideas about Your Topic           Writing a Working Thesis and Listing Research Questions       CHOOSING AND EVALUATING USEFUL SOURCES           Choosing between Print and Electronic Sources           Choosing Relevant Sources           Choosing Reliable Sources           Evaluating Internet Sources       ANALYZING AND THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT SOURCES           Separating Facts from Opinions           Identifying Bias or Viewpoint           Recognizing Generalizations           Identifying Assumptions       WORKING WITH TEXT: READING SOURCES           Scanning a Source           Skimming a Source           Reading a Source Closely           Improving Your Reading of Electronic Sources    21. Finding Sources and Taking Notes         Chapter Quick Start       AN OVERVIEW OF LIBRARY SOURCES         Learning Your Way around the Library           Locating Useful Library Sources       RESEARCH AND THE INTERNET         The World Wide Web           Listservs and Newsgroups           Email Addresses       EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM SOURCES         Gathering Necessary Citation Information           Constructing an Annotated Bibliography       SYSTEMS OF NOTE-TAKING         Writing Summary Notes           Writing Paraphrases           Recording Quotations       AVOIDING PLAGIARISM         What Counts as Plagiarism           Cyberplagiarism       CONDUCTING FIELD RESEARCH         Interviewing           Using a Survey           Conducting Observations       FINDING SOURCES FOR YOUR OWN TOPIC    22. Writing a Paper Using Sources         Chapter Quick Start       ORGANIZING AND WRITING YOUR FIRST DRAFT           Evaluating Your Research and Synthesizing Information           Planning Your Organization           Drafting Your Research Paper       INTEGRATING INFORMATION FROM SOURCES           Deciding What to Document           Writing In-Text Citations           Using Quotations Appropriately       REVISING YOUR RESEARCH PAPER         Analyzing and Revising Your Paper as a Whole           Analyzing and Revising Paragraphs and Sentences       PREPARING YOUR FINAL DRAFT         Formatting Your Paper           Editing and ProofReading Your Paper       Documenting your Sources: MLA Style           MLA Style for In-Text Citations           MLA Style for the List of Works Cited       Documenting your Sources: APA Style           APA Style for In-Text Citations           APA Style for the List of References       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: Do Animals Have Emotions? Nicholas Destino (student essay)    PART SIX: ACADEMIC APPLICATIONS  23. Reading and Writing about Literature           Chapter Quick Start           Reading: The Bean Eaters, Gwendolyn Brooks       A GENERAL APPROACH TO READING LITERATURE     THE LANGUAGE OF LITERATURE         Similes, Metaphors, and Personification           Symbols           Irony       ANALYZING SHORT STORIES         Reading: The Secret Lion, Alberto Ríos           Setting           Characters           Point of View           Plot           Theme           Reading: The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin   ANALYZING POETRY         Reading: Two Look at Two, Robert Frost           Reading: Filling Station, Elizabeth Bishop       WHAT IS LITERARY ANALYSIS?         Characteristics of Literary Analysis       A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT           The Assignment           Generating Ideas           Evaluating Your Ideas           Developing Your Thesis           Organizing and Drafting           Analyzing and Revising           Editing and Proofreading       STUDENTS WRITE           Reading: The Keeping of "The Secret Lion," Andrew Decker (student essay)  24. Essay Examinations, Portfolios, and Oral Presentations          Chapter Quick Start       ESSAY EXAMINATIONS       PREPARING FOR ESSAY EXAMS           Write Study Sheets That Synthesize Information           Predict Essay Exam Questions           Draft Answers in Outline Form           Reduce Informal Outlines to Key-Word Outlines       TAKING ESSAY EXAMS         Some General Guidelines           Analyzing Essay Exam Questions           Writing Essay Answers       STUDENTS WRITE           Essay Exam Response           Thinking Critically about Essay Exams       PORTFOLIOS       CREATING A WRITING PORTFOLIO           Purposes of a Writing Portfolio           Deciding What to Include           Using Your Course Syllabus as a Guide           Organizing Your Portfolio           Choosing Pieces to Include           Writing the Introductory Letter or Essay       STUDENTS WRITE           The Portfolio Assignment           Sample Reflective Essay       GIVING ORAL PRESENTATIONS           Planning Your Presentation           Organizing and Drafting Your Presentation           Rehearsing Your Presentation           Overcoming Apprehension           Delivering an Effective Presentation        INDEX    * new to this edition