The Concise St. Martin's Guide to Writing

The new Concise St. Martin’s Guide provides streamlined coverage of the six most commonly assigned genres in first-year composition—remembering events, writing profiles, explaining concepts, arguing a position, proposing a solution, and justifying an evaluation. The Concise Guide leads students through the writing process: "Guides to Reading" equip students to analyze a genre’s basic features, and Axelrod and Cooper’s distinctive "Guides to Writing" help students apply their analysis of reading to the development of their own writing projects. With more hands-on activities for critical reading and working with sources, greater emphasis on the rhetorical situation, and a fresh new design to show students the strategies they need at a glance, the Concise Guide helps students accomplish their writing goals from start to finish.

Our newest set of online materials, LaunchPad Solo, provides all the key tools and course-specific content that you need to teach your class. Get all our great course-specific materials in one fully customizable space online; then assign and mix our resources with yours. To package LaunchPad Solo free with The Concise St. Martin's Guide to Writing, use ISBN 978-1-319-00686-0.

Rise B. Axelrod is McSweeney Professor of Rhetoric and Teaching Excellence, Emeritus, at the University of California, Riverside, where she was also director of English Composition. She has previously been professor of English at California State University, San Bernardino; director of the College Expository Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder; and assistant director of the Third College (now Thurgood Marshall College) Composition Program at the University of California, San Diego. She is the co-author, with Charles R. Cooper, of the best-selling textbook The St. Martin's Guide to Writing as well as The Concise Guide to Writing and Reading Critically, Writing Well. Charles R. Cooper is an emeritus professor at the University of California, San Diego. He served as coordinator of the Third College (now Thurgood Marshall College) Composition Program at the University of California, San Diego, and co-director of the San Diego Writing Project, one of the National Writing Project Centers. He advised the National Assessment of Educational Progress—Writing (1973-1981) and coordinated the development of California's first statewide writing assessment (1986-1991). He taught at the University of California, Riverside; the State University of New York at Buffalo; and the University of California, San Diego. He is co-editor, with Lee Odell, of Evaluating Writing and Research on Composing: Points of Departure, and he is co-author, with Rise Axelrod, of the best-selling textbook The St. Martin's Guide to Writing as well as The Concise Guide to Writing and Reading Critically, Writing Well.

Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction: Thinking about Writing
Why Write?
How the Concise Guide Helps You Learn to Write
Thinking Critically
 PART 1 WRITING ACTIVITIES
Chapter 2 Remembering an Event
GUIDE TO READING
Analyzing Remembered Event Essays
Readings:
Jean Brandt, Calling Home (STUDENT ESSAY)
[e-reading] Shannon Lewis, We Were Here (STUDENT ESSAY)
Annie Dillard, An American Childhood
*Jenée Desmond-Harris, Tupac and My Non-Thug Life
[e-reading] Kelsey C. Roy, The Daily Grind (COMIC)
GUIDE TO WRITING
The Writing Assignment
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing
Evaluating the Draft: Getting a Critical Reading
A Critical Reading Guide
Improving the Draft: Revising, Formatting, Editing, and Proofreading
A Troubleshooting Guide
Edit and proofread your draft.
THINKING CRITICALLY
Reflecting on What You Have Learned
Reflecting on the Genre Chapter 3 Writing Profiles
GUIDE TO READING
Analyzing Profiles
Readings:
Brian Cable, The Last Stop (STUDENT ESSAY)
[e-reading] Brianne O’Leary, Fatty’s Custom Tattooz and Body Piercing (STUDENT ESSAY)
Amanda Coyne, The Long Good-Bye: Mother’s Day in Federal Prison
*Gabriel Thompson, A Gringo in the Lettuce Fields
[e-reading] Sarah Kate Kramer/WNYC, Niche Market: Fountain Pen Hospital (ARTICLE AND SLIDESHOW)
GUIDE TO WRITING
The Writing Assignment
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing
Evaluating the Draft: Getting a Critical Reading
A Critical Reading Guide
Improving the Draft: Revising, Formatting, Editing, and Proofreading
A Troubleshooting Guide
Edit and proofread your draft.
THINKING CRITICALLY
Reflecting on What You Have Learned
Reflecting on the Genre Chapter 4 Explaining a Concept
GUIDE TO READING
Analyzing Concept Explanations
Readings:
*Patricia Lyu, Attachment: Someone to Watch over You (STUDENT ESSAY)
[e-reading] Ammar Rana, Jihad: The Struggle in the Way of God (STUDENT ESSAY)
Anastasia Toufexis, Love: The Right Chemistry
*Susan Cain, Shyness: Evolutionary Tactic?
[e-reading] National Geographic Online, Mapping Memory (INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC)
GUIDE TO WRITING
The Writing Assignment
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing
Evaluating the Draft: Getting a Critical Reading
A Critical Reading Guide
Improving the Draft: Revising, Formatting, Editing, and Proofreading
A Troubleshooting Guide
Edit and proofread your draft.
THINKING CRITICALLY
Reflecting on What You Have Learned
Reflecting on the Genre Chapter 5 Arguing a Position
GUIDE TO READING
Analyzing Position Arguments
Readings:
Jessica Statsky, Children Need to Play, Not Compete (STUDENT ESSAY)
[e-reading] Michael Niechayev, It’s Time to Ban Head First Tackles and Blocks (STUDENT ESSAY)
Amitai Etzioni, Working at McDonald’s
*Daniel J. Solove, Why Privacy Matters Even If You Have "Nothing to Hide"
[e-reading] U.S. Department of Transportation / The Ad Council, The “It’s Only Another Beer” Black and Tan (ADVERTISEMENT)
GUIDE TO WRITING
The Writing Assignment
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing
Evaluating the Draft: Getting a Critical Reading
A Critical Reading Guide
Improving the Draft: Revising, Formatting, Editing, and Proofreading
A Troubleshooting Guide
Edit and proofread your draft.
THINKING CRITICALLY
Reflecting on What You Have Learned
Reflecting on the Genre Chapter 6 Proposing a Solution
GUIDE TO READING
Analyzing Proposals
Readings:
Patrick O’Malley, More Testing, More Learning (STUDENT ESSAY)
[e-reading] e-readings Molly Coleman, Missing the Fun (STUDENT ESSAY)
*David Bornstein, Fighting Bullying with Babies
Karen Kornbluh, Win-Win Flexibility
[e-reading] Phoebe Sweet and Zach Wise, The Problem with Lawns: The Transforming Landscape of Las Vegas (VIDEO)
GUIDE TO WRITING
The Writing Assignment
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing
Evaluating the Draft: Getting a Critical Reading
A Critical Reading Guide
Improving the Draft: Revising, Formatting, Editing, and Proofreading
A Troubleshooting Guide
Edit and proofread your draft.
THINKING CRITICALLY
Reflecting on What You Have Learned
Reflecting on the Genre Chapter 7 Justifying an Evaluation
GUIDE TO READING
Analyzing Evaluations
Readings:
*William Akana, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: A Hell of a Ride (STUDENT ESSAY)
[e-reading] Brittany Lemus, Requiem for a Dream: Fantasy versus Reality (STUDENT ESSAY)
*Malcolm Gladwell, What College Rankings Really Tell Us
*Christine Rosen, The Myth of Multitasking
[e-reading] Yelp, Kuma’s Corner (WEB PAGE)
GUIDE TO WRITING
The Writing Assignment
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing
Evaluating the Draft: Getting a Critical Reading
A Critical Reading Guide
Improving the Draft: Revising, Formatting, Editing, and Proofreading
A Troubleshooting Guide
Edit and proofread your draft.
THINKING CRITICALLY
Reflecting on What You Have Learned
Reflecting on the Genre PART 2   STRATEGIES FOR CRITICAL THINKING, READING, AND WRITING
Chapter 8 Strategies for Invention and Inquiry
Mapping
Writing Chapter 9 Strategies for Reading Critically
Annotating
Martin Luther King Jr., An Annotated Sample from “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Taking Inventory
Outlining
Paraphrasing
Summarizing
Synthesizing
Contextualizing
Exploring the Significance of Figurative Language
Looking for Patterns of Opposition
Reflecting on Challenges to Your Beliefs and Values
Evaluating the Logic of an Argument
Recognizing Emotional Manipulation
Judging the Writer’s Credibility Chapter 10 Cueing the Reader
Orienting Statements
Paragraphing
Cohesive Devices
Transitions
Headings and Subheadings Chapter 11 Analyzing and Synthesizing Arguments
Analyzing Arguments
Sentence Strategies for Analysis
A Sample Analysis:
Mirko Bagaric and Julie Clarke, A Case for Torture
From Analysis to Synthesis
A Sample Synthesis Chapter 12 Analyzing Visuals
Criteria for Analyzing Visuals
A Sample Analysis Chapter 13 Arguing
Asserting a Thesis
Giving Reasons and Support
 Responding to Objections and Alternatives
Recognizing Logical Fallacies
Sentence Strategies for Argument Chapter 14 Designing Documents
 The Impact of Document Design
 Considering Context, Audience, and Purpose
 Elements of Document Design
 Adding Visuals
 
PART 3   STRATEGIES FOR RESEARCH
*Chapter 15 Planning a Research Project
Analyzing Your Rhetorical Situation and Setting a Schedule
Choosing a Topic and Getting an Overview
Narrowing Your Topic and Drafting Research Questions
Establishing a Research Log
Creating a Working Bibliography
Annotating Your Working Bibliography
Taking Notes on Your Sources Chapter 16 Finding Sources and Conducting Field Research
Searching Library Catalogs and Databases
Conducting Field Research *Chapter 17 Evaluating Sources
Choosing Relevant Sources
Choosing Reliable SourcesChapter 18 Using Sources to Support Your Ideas
Synthesizing Sources
Acknowledging Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
Using Information from Sources to Support Your Claims *Chapter 19 Citing and Documenting Sources in MLA Style
Citing Sources in the Text
Creating a List of Works Cited
Student Research Project in MLA Style *Chapter 20 Citing and Documenting Sources in APA Style
Citing Sources in the Text
Creating a List of References
A Sample References List