Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, MLA Update Edition

For courses in Writing across the Curriculum or Writing in the Disciplines.
This version of Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum has been updated to reflect the 8th Edition of the MLA Handbook (April 2016)*

 
Effective writing skills for students of all majors and interests
One of the best-selling interdisciplinary composition texts for over twenty-five years, Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum guides readers through the essential college-level writing skills of summary, critique, synthesis, analysis, and research.

The 13th Edition is divided into three parts. Part one, “Structures and Strategies,” takes readers step by step through the process of writing papers based on source material, explaining and demonstrating how summaries, critiques, syntheses, and analyses can be generated from the kinds of readings individuals will encounter later in the book–and throughout their academic careers. Part two, “Brief Takes,” bridges the gap between writing instruction and readings with a series of step-by-step exercises. The anthology in part three provides a wide range of carefully selected, cross-disciplinary readings, including two new chapters on rumor and advertising. Topics are engaging and students will appreciate how these topics correspond to their interests in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.

Laurence Behrens

Laurence Behrens has focused for more than thirty-five years on interdisciplinary approaches to the teaching of undergraduate writing.  His Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, co-authored with Leonard J. Rosen, originally published in 1982 and now in its 13^th edition, was the first widely-used cross-curricular textbook in freshman composition.

Dr. Behrens earned an A.B. in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University, an M.F.A. in Film, Radio, and Television from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in literature from UCLA.  He has taught at UCLA, the University of California at Irvine, The American University in Washington, D.C., and most recently, at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  He was one of the original members of the interdisciplinary Writing Program at UCSB, where he originated the lower division course in writing about classical music.  He has also taught lower-division courses in writing about sociology and psychology.  At the upper division level, he has taught business writing, legal writing, and writing about history and film studies, as well as graduate seminars in writing for teaching assistants.

His articles have appeared in College English, College Composition and Communication, The English Journal, The Maryland Composition Review, Freshman English News, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Notes and Queries, Literature/Film Quarterly, and The Journal of the University Film Association.  In addition to Sequence for Academic Writing and Writing Across the Curriculum, Dr. Behrens’ other books with Leonard J. Rosen include Writing Papers in College, Reading for College Writers, Theme and Variations: The Impact of Great Ideas, and The Allyn & Bacon Handbook.  He has also authored the historically-oriented The American Experience: A Writer’s Sourcebook and the legal casebook for undergraduate writers, Making the Case: An Argument Reader.

Part I: STRUCTURES AND STRATEGIES

1. Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation

What Is a Summary?

Can a Summary Be Objective?

BOX: Where Do We Find Written Summaries?

Using the Summary

The Reading Process

BOX: Critical Reading for Summary

How to Write Summaries

BOX: Guidelines for Writing Summaries

Demonstration: Summary

*The Baby in the Well: The Case Against Empathy–Paul Bloom

Read, Reread, Highlight

Divide into Stages of Thought

Write a Brief Summary of Each Stage of Thought

Write a Thesis: A Brief Summary of the Entire Passage

Write the First Draft of the Summary

Summary 1: Combine Thesis Sentence with Brief Section

Summaries

The Strategy of the Shorter Summary

Summary 2: Combine Thesis Sentence, Section Summaries,

and Carefully Chosen Details

The Strategy of the Longer Summary How Long Should a Summary Be?

EXERCISE 1.1: Individual and Collaborative Summary Practice

Summarizing Graphs, Charts, and Tables

Bar Graphs

EXERCISE 1.2: Summarizing Graphs

Line Graphs

EXERCISE 1.3: Summarizing Line Graphs

Pie Charts

EXERCISE 1.4: Summarizing Pie Charts

Other Charts: Bubble Maps, Pictograms, and Interactive Charts

Tables

EXERCISE 1.5: Summarizing Tables

Paraphrase

BOX: How to Write Paraphrases

EXERCISE 1.6: Paraphrasing

Quotations

Choosing Quotations

Quoting Memorable Language

BOX: When to Quote

Quoting Clear and Concise Language

Quoting Authoritative Language

Incorporating Quotations into Your Sentences

Quoting Only the Part of a Sentence or Paragraph That You Need

Incorporating the Quotation into the Flow of Your Own Sentence

Avoiding Freestanding Quotations

EXERCISE 1.7: Incorporating Quotations

Using Ellipses

Using Brackets to Add or Substitute Words

BOX: When to Summarize, Paraphrase, and Quote

BOX: Incorporating Quotations into Your Sentences

EXERCISE 1.8: Using Brackets

Avoiding Plagiarism

BOX: Rules for Avoiding Plagiarism

2. Critical Reading and Critique

Critical Reading

Question 1: To What Extent Does the Author Succeed in His or Her Purpose?

BOX: Where Do We Find Written Critiques?

Writing to Inform

Evaluating Informative Writing

Writing to Persuade

EXERCISE 2.1: Informative and Persuasive Thesis Statements

Evaluating Persuasive Writing

THE MOON WE LEFT BEHIND–Charles Krauthammer

EXERCISE 2.2: Critical Reading Practice

Persuasive Strategies

Logical Argumentation: Avoiding Logical Fallacies

BOX: Tone

EXERCISE 2.3: Understanding Logical Fallacies

Writing to Entertain

Question 2: To What Extent Do You Agree with the Author?

Identify Points of Agreement and Disagreement

EXERCISE 2.4: Exploring Your Viewpoints–in Three Paragraphs

Explore the Reasons for Agreement and Disagreement: Evaluate Assumptions

Inferring and Implying Assumptions

An Example of Hidden Assumptions from the World of Finance

Critique

How to Write Critiques

BOX: Guidelines for Writing Critiques

Demonstration: Critique

To What Extent Does the Author Succeed in His or Her Purpose?

To What Extent Do You Agree with the Author? Evaluate Assumptions

Model Critique: A Critique of Charles Krauthammer’s “The Moon We Left Behind”–Andrew Harlan

EXERCISE 2.5: Informal Critique of the Model Critique

BOX: Critical Reading for Critique

The Strategy of the Critique

3. Thesis, Introduction, Conclusion

Writing a Thesis

The Components of a Thesis

Making an Assertion

Starting with a Working Thesis

Using the Thesis to Plan a Structure

BOX: How Ambitious Should Your Thesis Be?

EXERCISE 3.1: Drafting Thesis Statements

Introductions

Quotation

Historical Review

Review of a Controversy

From the General to the Specific

Anecdote and Illustration: From the Specific to the General

Question

Statement of Thesis

EXERCISE 3.2: Drafting Introductions

Conclusions

Summary (Plus)

Statement of the Subject's Significance

Call for Further Research

Solution/Recommendation

Anecdote

Quotation

Question

Speculation

EXERCISE 3.3: Drafting Conclusions

4. Explanatory Synthesis

What Is a Synthesis?

Summary and Critique as a Basis for Synthesis

Inference as a Basis for Synthesis: Moving Beyond Summary and Critique

Purpose

Example: Same Sources, Different Uses

BOX: Where Do We Find Written Syntheses?

Using Your Sources

Types of Syntheses: Explanatory and Argument

What Are Genetically Modified (GM) Foods?

Genetically Modified Foods and Organisms–The United States Department of Energy

Why a GM Freeze?–The GM Freeze Campaign

How to Write Syntheses

BOX: Guidelines for Writing Syntheses

The Explanatory Synthesis

Demonstration: Explanatory Synthesis–Going Up? An Elevator Ride to Space

EXERCISE 4.1: Exploring the Topic

The History of the Space Elevator–P. K. Aravind

Applications of the Space Elevator–Bradley C. Edwards

Going Up–Brad Lemley

Consider Your Purpose

EXERCISE 4.2: Critical Reading for Synthesis

Formulate a Thesis

Decide How You Will Use Your Source Material

Develop an Organizational Plan

Summary Statements

Write the Topic Sentences

BOX: Organize a Synthesis by Idea, Not by Source

Write Your Synthesis

Explanatory Synthesis: First Draft

Revise Your Synthesis: Global, Local, and Surface Revisions

Revising the First Draft: Highlights

Global

Local

Surface

EXERCISE 4.3: Revising the Explanatory Synthesis

Model Explanatory Synthesis: Going Up? An Elevator Ride to Space–Sheldon Kearney

BOX: Critical Reading for Synthesis 120

5. Argument Synthesis

What Is an Argument Synthesis?

The Elements of Argument: Claim, Support, and Assumption

Claim

Support

Assumption

EXERCISE 5.1: Practicing Claim, Support, and Assumption

The Three Appeals of Argument: Logos, Ethos, Pathos

Logos

EXERCISE 5.2: Using Deductive and Inductive Logic

Ethos

EXERCISE 5.3: Using Ethos

Pathos

EXERCISE 5.4: Using Pathos

The Limits of Argument

Fruitful Topics for Argument

Demonstration: Developing an Argument Synthesis–Responding to Bullies

*BULLYING STATISTICS–Pacer.org

*THE 2011 NATIONAL SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVERY: THE EXPERIENCES OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER YOUTH IN OUR NATION’S SCHOOLS–Joseph Kosciw, Emily Greytak, Mark Bartkiewicz et al.

*OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program: Scope and Sequence

*White House Report/Bullying–And the Power of Peers–Philip Rodkin

EXERCISE 5.5: Critical Reading for Synthesis

The Argument Synthesis

Consider Your Purpose

Making a Claim: Formulate a Thesis

Decide How You Will Use Your Source Material

Develop an Organizational Plan

Formulate an Argument Strategy

Draft and Revise Your Synthesis

Model Argument Synthesis: Responding to Bullies–Peter Simmons

The Strategy of the Argument Synthesis

Developing and Organizing the Support for Your Arguments

Summarize, Paraphrase, and Quote Supporting Evidence

Provide Various Types of Evidence and Motivational Appeals

Use Climactic Order

Use Logical or Conventional Order

Present and Respond to Counterarguments

Use Concession

BOX: Developing and Organizing Support for Your Arguments

Avoid Common Fallacies in Developing and Using Support

The Comparison-and-Contrast Synthesis

Organizing Comparison-and-Contrast Syntheses

Organizing by Source or Subject

Organizing by Criteria

EXERCISE 5.6: Comparing and Contrasting

A Case for Comparison-and-Contrast: World War I and World War II

Comparison-and-Contrast Organized by Criteria

Model Exam Response

The Strategy of the Exam Response

Summary of Synthesis Chapters

6. Analysis

What Is an Analysis?

BOX: Where Do We Find Written Analyses?

How to Write Analyses

THE PLUG-IN DRUG–Marie Winn

EXERCISE 6.1: Reading Critically: Winn

Locate and Apply an Analytic Tool

Locate an Analytic Tool

Apply the Analytic Tool

Analysis Across the Curriculum

BOX: Guidelines for Writing Analyses

Formulate a Thesis

Develop an Organizational Plan

Turning Key Elements of a Principle or a Definition into Questions

Developing the Paragraph-by-Paragraph Logic of Your Paper

Draft and Revise Your Analysis

Write an Analysis, Not a Summary

Make Your Analysis Systematic

Answer the “So What?” Question

Attribute Sources Appropriately

BOX: Critical Reading for Analysis

When Your Perspective Guides the Analysis

Demonstration: Analysis

Model Analysis: The Case of the Missing Kidney: An Analysis of Rumor–Linda Shanker

EXERCISE 6.2: Informal Analysis of the Model Analysis

The Strategy of the Analysis

7. Locating, Mining, and Citing Sources

Source-Based Papers

BOX: Where Do We Find Written Research?

BOX: Writing the Research Paper

The Research Question

BOX: Narrowing the Topic via Research

EXERCISE 7.1: Constructing Research Questions

LOCATING SOURCES         

BOX: Types of Research Data

Preliminary Research

Consulting Knowledgeable People

Familiarizing Yourself with Your Library’s Resources

Locating Preliminary Sources

Encyclopedias

BOX: Wikipedia: Let the Buyer Beware

EXERCISE 7.2: Exploring Specialized Encyclopedias

Biographical Sources

Almanacs and Yearbooks

Literature Guides and Handbooks

Overviews and Bibliographies

Subject-Heading Guides

Focused Research

Databases

Smartphones and Database Searching

Discovery Services

Web Searches

BOX: Constructing an Effective Database Search Query

Searching Databases Effectively

BOX: Using Keywords and Boolean Logic to Refine Online Searches

Evaluating Web Sources

Other Pitfalls of Web Sites

EXERCISE 7.3: Exploring Online Sources

EXERCISE 7.4: Practice Evaluating Web Sources

Periodicals: General

Magazines

Newspapers

Periodicals: Specialized

EXERCISE 7.5: Exploring Specialized Periodicals

Books

Book Reviews

Government Publications and Other Statistical Sources

Interviews and Surveys

BOX: Guidelines for Conducting Interviews

BOX: Guidelines for Conducting Surveys and Designing Questionnaires

MINING SOURCES

BOX: Critical Reading for Research

The Working Bibliography

Note-Taking

Getting the Most from Your Reading

BOX: Guidelines for Evaluating Sources

Arranging Your Notes: The Outline

Research and Plagiarism

Time Management and Plagiarism

Confidence and Plagiarism

Note-Taking and Plagiarism

Digital Life and Plagiarism

Determining Common Knowledge

A Guideline for Determining Common Knowledge

Plagiarism, the Internet, and Fair Use

Internet Paper Mills

BOX: Fair Use and Digital Media

CITING SOURCES

BOX: Types of Citations

APA Documentation Basics

APA In-Text Citations in Brief

APA References List in Brief

MLA Documentation Basics

MLA In-Text Citations in Brief

MLA Works Cited List in Brief

Part II: BRIEF TAKES

MUSIC

8. “Stormy Weather” and the Art of the Musical Cover 

Whose version of “Please Don’t Stop the Music” do you prefer?  Rihanna’s or Jamie Cullum’s?  Such questions are at the heart of this chapter on music–specifically, the art of the musical “cover,” in which a musician or band puts a unique spin on a previously recorded song. Because music isn’t a verbal art form, writing about it might seem challenging–but we offer a model example of how to go about it. We also provide a useful glossary of key musical terms, both in print and as a series of online videos.  A review of a Paul McCartney album of cover songs makes some provocative claims about what makes for a successful cover and why so many cover albums disappoint. We conclude with Rolling Stone’s list of “greatest covers” for you to explore and debate.

*A CLOUDFUL OF “STORMY WEATHER”– Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler   

*HOW TO TALK–AND WRITE–ABOUT POPULAR MUSIC–Gregory Blair   

*COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THREE COVERS OF “STORMY WEATHER”–GregBlair

*WHY DO SOME COVERS DISAPPOINT?–Jeff Turrentine

*A HEARTFUL OF “HALLELUJAH”–Leonard Cohen

”THE GREATEST COVERS OF ALL TIME–Rolling Stone magazine and other listings

Musical Cover Chapter Final Assignment

ETHICS

9. Ethical Dilemmas in Everyday Life 

Would you steal to save a life?  Sacrifice one life to save five?  In this chapter we provide a variety of sources on the ways that “thought experiments” in ethics–scenarios that ask you to decide on courses of right action (and to justify your decisions)–can serve as a guide for facing everyday ethical dilemmas. When there is no clear right and wrong choice, how do you decide? To what principles can you turn for guidance? Your task in the chapter will be to wrestle with ethical dilemmas and to argue for a clear course of action based on principles you make plain to your readers.

Read; Prepare to Write

BOX: Group Assignment #1: Make a Topic List

BOX: Group Assignment #2: Create a Topic Web

BOX: Group Assignment #3: Decide for Yourself

The Readings and Videos

*WHAT IF . . . –Daniel Sokol

*BOX: Video Link: The Trolley Car

*THE CASE OF THE COLLAPSED MINE–Richard T. De George

*A FRAMEWORK FOR THINKING ETHICALLY–Manual Velasquez, et al.

*MORAL INQUIRY–Ronald F. White

*BOX: Video Link: Grey’s Anatomy (a medical dilemma)

*HEINZ’S DILEMMA: KOHLBERG’S SIX STATES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT–William Crain

*BOX: Video Link: The Heinz Dilemma

A Casebook of Ethical Dilemmas

*THE LIFEFBOAT–Rosetta Lee

*LIFEBOAT ETHICS: THE CASE AGAINST HELPING THE POOR–Garrett Hardin

*SHOULD I PROTECT A PATIENT AT THE EXPENSE OF AN INNOCENT STRANGER?–Chuck Klosterman

*NO EDIT–Randy Cohen

*THE TORTURED CHILD–Kelley L. Ross

*THE ONES WHO WALK AWAY FROM OMELAS–Ursula Le Guin

*BOX: Video Link: The Drowning Child by Peter Singer

*A CALLOUS PASSERBY

The Assignments

Summary   Ï  Alternate Summary Assignment   Ï   Critique

Ï   Explanatory Synthesis     Ï   Analysis

Ï   Alternate Analysis Assignment   Ï   Argument

Ï   Alternate Argument Assignment #1

Ï   Alternate Argument Assignment #2

SOCIOLOGY

10. The Roar of the Tiger Mom  

“Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do,” announces Yale law school professor Amy Chua in "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” Among her list of prohibitions: having a playdate, watching TV, playing computer games, and getting any grade less than A. Chua’s writing provoked a deluge of responses from readers and professional commentators, some outraged, some cheering her on. Here is a sampling of some of those responses, part of what became a national debate over the best way to raise children to be-come successful adults.

Read; Prepare to Write   

BOX: Group Assignment #1: Make a Topic List   

BOX: Group Assignment #2: Create a Topic Web   

THE READINGS

*Adapted from 'BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER"–Amy Chua   

MOTHER INFERIOR?–Hanna Rosin

AMY CHUA IS A WIMP–David Brooks   

*TIGER MOTHER STIRS REFLECTIONS ON PARENTHOOD–Tina Griego

TIGER MOM VS. TIGER MAILROOM–Patrick Goldstein 

AMERICA’S TOP PARENT–Elizabeth Kolbert   

*TIGER MOMS DON’T RAISE SUPERIOR KIDS, SAYS NEW STUDY–Susan Adams

THE ASSIGNMENTS

Summary    Ï   Critique Ï    Explanatory Synthesis   

Ï      Analysis         Ï    Argument   

Part III: AN ANTHOLOGY OF READINGS  

LITERATURE AND FILM

11. First Impressions: The Art and Craft of Storytelling

The Art and Craft of Starting Your Story  

*THE HOOK–K.M. Weiland   

“Readers are like smart fish,” suggests novelist K.M. Weiland, “They aren’t about to surrender themselves to the lure of your story unless you’ve presented them with an irresistible hook.”

*STARTING YOUR STORY– Michael Kardos   

Novelist and short story writer Michael Kardos discusses the five narrative tasks the beginning of a story must accomplish.  Among the most crucial: “Give us a reason to keep reading.”

*THE MAGIC SHOW–Tim O’Brien  

The author of the classic Vietnam novel The Things They Carried  explains how a storyteller is like a magician and how mystery is central to both plot and character.

Chapter Ones: The Novels

*EMMA–Jane Austen

Austin’s fourth published novel chronicles the intrusive matchmaking of a privileged young woman, Emma Woodhouse, in 19th-century England.

*WUTHERING HEIGHTS–Emily Brontë

Set on the English moors, this novel explores love and revenge and madness through the love story of Catherine Earnshaw and Mr. Heathcliff.

*JANE EYRE–Charlotte Brontë

This coming-of-age novel chronicles the life of its title character from childhood to marriage.

*GREAT EXPECTATIONS–Charles Dickens

Often considered Dickens’s finest novel, this is the coming-of-age story of an English orphan named Pip.

*THE SIGN OF THE FOUR–Arthur Conan Doyle

This is Doyle’s second novel starring Sherlock Holmes, the world’s greatest–and only–“consulting detec-tive.”

*THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE–Stephen Crane

Set in Virginia in 1863, Crane’s second novel depicts a young man, Henry Fleming, who is fighting for the Un-ion army during the American Civil War.

*DRACULA–Bram Stoker

This is the classic vampire novel to which all subsequent vampire novels (and shows, and movies) are indebted.

Scene Ones: The Films

*JANE EYRE–directed by Robert Stevenson 

This is only one–but an influential one–of numerous film versions of Bronte’s romantic novel.

*GREAT EXPECTATIONS--directed by David Lean 

Lean’s version of the terrifying encounter on an English marsh between Dickens’s young Pip and the escaped convict has never been surpassed.

*EMMA–directed by Robert McGrath, and CLUELESS–directed by Amy Heckerling 

Here are two versions of Austen’s classic novel–the first a period piece, like Austen’s novel, set in county Sur-rey, England, the second set in Beverly Hills.

*DRACULA–directed by Tod Browning and BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA--directed by Francis Ford Coppola 

Here are two film versions of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire story, created more than sixty years apart by di-rectors with very different artistic visions.

*THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE–directed by John Huston 

Crane’s novel of a Civil War soldier wondering how he will act in battle is faithfully filmed–and then heavily edited by the studio bosses.

*CITIZEN KANE–directed by Orson Welles 

This is the work most frequently cited as the greatest film of all time. Whether or not you agree, the opening scene of a newspaper magnate’s final moments make for compelling viewing.

*BRIEF ENCOUNTER–directed by David Lean 

This is one of the greatest romantic dramas ever filmed–in a typically restrained British fashion.

*SHANE–directed by George Stevens

In many ways, this is the archetypal western: set against magnificent Wyoming scenery, the film depicts an epic battle between a reluctant gunfighter and a rancher trying to drive homesteaders off their land.

*THE GODFATHER, PART ONE–directed by Francis Ford Coppola

The greatest gangster film ever made is also a family drama–which begins at a wedding celebration.

*SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE–directed by Nora Ephron

In the tradition of classic romantic dramas, Ephron focuses on two people thousands of miles apart gravitating (haltingly) toward each other.

*DO THE RIGHT THING–directed by Spike Lee. 

A simmering racial conflict on the hottest day of the year in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn is the focus of Spike Lee’s controversial film.

*THE DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS–directed by Carl Franklin 

The classic private detective formula is re-imagined along racial lines in Carl Franklin’s story of an unemployed African-American World War II veteran tasked to find the missing fiancé of a Los Angeles mayoral candidate.

*CHICAGO–directed by Rob Marshall

Kander and Ebb’s scintillating musical about two female murderers begins with two knockout songs set partial-ly in the characters’ heads.

*THE HURT LOCKER–directed by Kathryn Bigelow 

This tense film chronicles the daily life-and-death struggles of a bomb disposal unit during the Iraq War.

*GRAVITY–directed by Alfonse Cuarón

This visually stunning film about an astronaut trying to return to earth after a catastrophic accident kept audiences on the edge of their seats.

*12 YEARS A SLAVE–directed by Steve McQueen 

A brutally intense drama about a free black man sold into slavery is unforgettably depicted in McQueen’s film, which won the Academy Award for Best picture of 2013. 

·       Synthesis Activities

ECONOMICS

12. The Changing Landscape of Work in the Twenty-First Century  

The Puzzling U.S. Labor Market

A POST-COLLEGE FLOW CHART OF MISERY AND PAIN–Jenna Brager

A graphic artist offers a sardonic view of the job prospects for those holding a humanities degree.

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