Models for Writers, High School Edition Short Essays for Composition

Models for Writers, High School Edition teaches you how to make your own essays more effective through patterns, language, and other elements by practicing the professional and academic writing you'll do in college and beyond.

Paul Eschholz and Alfred Rosa are professors emeriti of English at the University of Vermont. They have directed statewide writing programs and conducted numerous workshops throughout the country on writing and the teaching of writing.  Eschholz and Rosa have collaborated on a number of best-selling texts for Bedford/St. Martin's, including Subject & Strategy, Eleventh Edition (2008); Outlooks and Insights: A Reader for College Writers, Fourth Edition (1995); with Virginia Clark, Language Awareness, Tenth Edition (2009); and, with Virginia Clark and Beth Simon, Language: Readings in Language and Culture, Seventh Edition (2007).

*　new to this edition

PART ONE   ON READING AND WRITING WELL

1 The Writing Process　　　　
Prewriting　
Writing the First Draft
Revising
Editing
Proofreading
Writing an Expository Essay: A Student Essay in Progress
Jeffrey Olesky, "Golf: A Character Builder" (student essay)

2 From Reading to Writing　　　
Reading Critically
Issac Asimov, "Intelligence"
Rachel Carson, "Fable for Tomorrow"
Using Your Reading in the Writing Process
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
Note: Readings in Chapters 3-22 follow the same structure as listed here for Helen Keller, "The Most Important Day." For brevity, the apparatus subheadings are not repeated.　

3 Thesis　　　 　　　　　　　　　
Helen Keller, "The Most Important Day"

Reflecting on What You Know
Thinking Critically about This Reading
Questions for Study and Discussion
Classroom Activity Using Thesis
Suggested Writing Assignments

*Julie Zhuo, "Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt"
James Lincoln Collier, "Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name"

4 Unity　　　　
Thomas L. Friedman, "My Favorite Teacher"
Verlyn Klinkenborg, "Our Vanishing Night"
Gloria Naylor, "The Meanings of a Word"

5 Organization　　　　
Cherokee Paul McDonald, "A View from the Bridge"　　
*Susan Orlean, "The American Man: Age Ten"
*Diane "Lady Hulk" Williams, "Revolution on Eight Wheels"

6 Beginnings and Endings　　　　　
Erin Murphy, "White Lies"
Richard Lederer, "The Case for Short Words"　　　
Dick Gregory, "Shame"

7 Paragraphs　　　　
William Zinsser, "Simplicity"
Suzanne Britt, "That Lean and Hungry Look"
*Jimmy Carter, "The Home Place"

8 Transitions　　　　
*Robert G. Lake-Thom (Medicine Grizzly Bear), "An Indian Father’s Plea"
Russell Baker, "Becoming a Writer"
Nancy Gibbs, "The Magic of the Family Meal"

9 Effective Sentences　　　　
Martin Gansberg, "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police"
Langston Hughes, "Salvation"
*Paul Goldberger, "Disconnected Urbanism"

10 Writing with Sources　
*Sean McElwee, "The Case for Censoring Hate Speech"
Jake Jamieson, "The English-Only Movement: Can America Proscribe Language with a Clear Conscience?"
Terry Tempest Williams, "The Clan of One-Breasted Women"

 

PART THREE  THE LANGUAGE OF THE ESSAY

11 Diction and Tone　　　
*Robert Krulwich, "How Do Plants Know Which Way Is Up and Which Way Is Down?"
David Sedaris, "Me Talk Pretty One Day"
Natalie Goldberg, "Be Specific"
*Farhad Manjoo, "No, I Do Not Want to Pet Your Dog"

12 Figurative Language　　　
Robert Ramirez, "The Barrio"
*N. Scott Momaday, "The Flight of the Eagles"
Anne Lamott, "Polaroids"　

Part Four: Types of Essays

13 Illustration　　　　
Barbara Huttmann, "A Crime of Compassion"
*Gregory Petsko, "The Blue Marble"
*Cornell W. Clayton, "Incivility Crisis of Politics is Just a Symptom of Division"
Steven Pinker, "In Defense of Dangerous Ideas"　

 *e-reading > Peace Corps, “What Are Some Ways Peace Corps Volunteers Grow During Service?” [video]

14 Narration　　　　
Henry Louis Gates Jr., "What’s in a Name?"
Maya Angelou, "Momma, the Dentist, and Me
*Michael Dirda, "Listening to My Father"
Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour"

*e-reading > Imam Khalid Latif, "Shattered Silence" [video]

15 Description　　　　 　
Eudora Welty, "The Corner Store"
Carl T. Rowan, "Unforgettable Miss Bessie"
*Judith Ortiz Cofer, "My Rosetta"
*Bill Heavey, "Hunting Your Own Dinner"

*e-reading > Peter Aguero, "Me & Her & It" [audio]

16 Process Analysis　　　　
Paul Merrill, "How to Write Poorly"
*Marion Winik, "Guacamole Is a Cruel Mistress"
Diane Ackerman, "Why Leaves Change Color in the Fall"

*e-reading > Sustainable America, "How to Compost in Your Apartment" [infographic]

17 Definition　　　　　
Lawrence M. Friedman, "What Is Crime?"
Ellen Goodman, "The Company Man"
Eduardo Porter, "What Happiness Is"

*e-reading > National Science Foundation, "The Tragedy of the Commons" [animation]

18 Division and Classification　　　　
Martin Luther King Jr., "The Ways of Meeting Oppression"
William Lutz, "Doubts about Doublespeak"
*Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue"
*e-reading > WIRED, "What’s Inside Coffee" [animation]

19 Comparison and Contrast　　　　　
Mark Twain, "Two Ways of Seeing a River"
*Christina Baker Kline, "Taking My Son to College: Where Technology Has Replaced Serendipity"
Bharati Mukherjee, "Two Ways to Belong in America"　
*Bruce Catton, "Grant and Lee"

*e-reading > CDC, "Screen Time vs. Lean Time" [infographic]

20 Cause and Effect　　　　
Stephen King, "Why We Crave Horror Movies"
Myriam Marquez, "Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public"
*Adam Grant, "Does Trying to Be Happy Make Us Unhappy?"　　
*Brent Staples, "Black Men in Public Space"　　　　

21 Argument　　　　 　　
*Nicholas D. Kristof, "A Farm Boy Reflects"
Mary Sherry, "In Praise of the F Word"
*Stanley McChrystal, Lincoln’s Call to Service—and Ours
Thomas Jefferson, "The Declaration of Independence"

*e-reading > Intelligence Squared, “Should College Football Be Banned?” [video]

Crime: Finding an Effective Punishment
June Tangney, "Condemn the Crime, Not the Person"
Dan M. Kahan, "Shame Is Worth a Try"
*Cole Stryker, "The Problem with Public Shaming"

*Slacktivism: Social Media Meets Activism
*Heidi Schlumpf, " ‘Slacktivism’ Makes the World a Better Place from the Couch"
*Gabriella Corvese, "Putting ‘Action’ Back in Activism"
*Mark Pfeifle, "Changing the Face(book) of Social Activism"

*Body Image: How We See Ourselves [online]
*e-readings > Lily Myers, "Shrinking Women" [video]; Rader Programs, "Women Are Dying to be Thin" [infographic]
Carrie Arnold, "What’s Photoshop Got to Do With It?" [blog]
Kelly Flanagan, "Words from a Father to His Daughter (From the Makeup Aisle)" [audio]
NEDA, "A Silent Epidemic?" [infographic]

22 A Brief Guide to Writing a Research Paper　　　　　
Establishing a Realistic Schedule

Finding and Using Sources
*Tutorials > Digital Writing > Online Research
Conducting Keyword Searches
Evaluating Your Print and Online Sources
Analyzing Your Sources for Position and Bias
Developing a Working Bibliography for Your Sources
Taking Notes
Documenting Sources

*Tutorials
> Documentation and Working with Sources
>Do I Need to Cite That?
>How to Cite an Article in MLA Style
>How to Cite a Book in MLA Style
>How to Cite a Database in MLA Style
>How to Cite a Database in APA Style
>How to Cite a Web Site in MLA Style
>How to Cite a Web Site in APA Style
*LearningCurve > Working with Sources (MLA)
*LearningCurve > Working with Sources (APA)
MLA-Style Documentation
*An Annotated Student MLA-Style Research Paper: Lesley Timmerman, "An Argument for Corporate Responsibility"
*APA-Style Documentation
*e-reading > An Annotated Student APA-Style Research Paper: Laura DeVeau, "The Role of Spirituality and Religion in Mental Health"

Glossary of Useful Terms

Index