Writing with a Thesis A Rhetoric and Reader (with InfoTrac)

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ISBN: 9780838407806 | 0838407803
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 6/18/2004

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WRITING WITH A THESIS is based on the persuasive principle-the development and support of a thesis in order to persuade a reader, which is exactly the skill the beginning writer in freshman composition needs to develop. The book's 52 professional and 10 student essays are almost all short and easy to read so that class time can be devoted not to what the readings mean, but to what they mean for the student's writing.

Guide to ``What About Your Writing?''

xiii

To the Instructor

To the Student

xvii

Acknowledgments

xix

The Persuasive Principle

(36)

General Subject

(1)

Limited Subject

(1)

Thesis

(1)

What a Thesis Isn't

(2)

A Thesis Is Not a Title

(1)

A Thesis Is Not an Announcement of the Subject

(1)

A Thesis Is Not a Statement of Absolute Fact

(1)

A Thesis Is Not the Whole Essay

(1)

What a Good Thesis Is

(4)

A Good Thesis Is Restricted

(1)

A Good Thesis Is Unified

(1)

A Good Thesis Is Specific

(2)

Exercises for Review

(1)

The Thesis at Work in the Paper

(27)

Two Ads on the Community Bulletin Board

(1)

Two ``Personals''

(1)

Two Sets of Directions

(1)

Two Thank-You Notes

(1)

Two Letters of Complaint

(3)

Two Replies to the Second Letter of Complaint

(2)

Two ``How I Spent My Summer Vacation'' Essays

(1)

Two Freshman English Essays on a Literary Subject

(1)

The Lottery

(10)

Shirley Jackson

Chapter 1 1/2 Basic Tools for Writers

(3)

Narration

(28)

Stress the Story

(1)

Remember That a Good Story Has Conflict

(1)

Use Plenty of Convincing Realistic Details

(1)

Play Fair

(1)

Writing Suggestions for Narration Themes

(1)

Student Essay: ``Big Bully,''

(2)

Elizabeth Hiestand

Computer Games Anonymous

(4)

Joanna Connors

What About Your Writing? (paragraph length)

(1)

Foul Shots

(3)

Rogelio R. Gomez

What About Your Writing? (getting even, settling scores)

(1)

Salvation

(3)

Langston Hughes

What About Your Writing? (nostalgia)

(1)

My Greatest Day in Baseball

(4)

Dick Feagler

What About Your Writing? (pronoun agreement)

(1)

A Cultural Divorce

(3)

Elizabeth Wong

What About Your Writing? (specific details)

(1)

Dakota: A Christmas Memoir

(6)

J. Bottum

What About Your Writing? (repetition for emphasis)

(1)

Chapter 2 1/2 Reading Around

(2)

Description

(34)

Emotional Appeal

(2)

Try a Deliberately Unconventional Thesis

(1)

Show Your Powers of Observation by Stressing Specific Details

(1)

Use Specific Language

(1)

Stress the Psychological Impact of What You Describe

(1)

Organization

(1)

Persuasive Principle

(2)

Writing Suggestions for Description Themes

(1)

Student Essay: ``Lauren, Don't Dust My Piano,''

(2)

Lauren Cote

Winstead's Best Burgers

(3)

Sarah Bryan Miller

What About Your Writing? (allusion)

(1)

The Last Tree House

(5)

Rodrigo Ortiz Meoz

What About Your Writing? (personal involvement or bias, handling of)

(2)

Say Now, That Was Milo

(4)

Cheryl Heckler-Feltz

What About Your Writing? (intensifiers)

(1)

A Promise in a Lunch Pail

(3)

Connie Schultz

What About Your Writing? (finding a subject: family life)

(1)

I Am a Catholic

(4)

Anna Quindlen

What About Your Writing? (and at the start of a sentence)

(1)

Good Used Cars

(9)

John Steinbeck

What About Your Writing? (stream-of-consciousness writing)

(2)

Chapter 3 1/2 Notebooks: The Writer's Savings Account

(2)

Examples

(28)

Are There Enough Examples to Support Your Thesis?

100

(1)

Are the Examples Fairly Chosen?

100

(1)

Have You Stuck to Your Thesis?

101

(1)

Have You Arranged Your Examples to Produce the Greatest Impact?

101

(2)

Writing Suggestions for Example Essays

103

(1)

Student Essay: ``Commuter Rail,''

103

(2)

Sadie Van Buren

Couple Lies

105

(3)

Adair Lara

What About Your Writing? (``Why didn't I say that?'')

107

(1)

Darkness at Noon

108

(4)

Harold Krents

What About Your Writing? (dialogue)

110

(2)

Fruitful Questions

112

(3)

James Sollisch

What About Your Writing? (rhetorical questions)

114

(1)

How to Speak of Animals

115

(3)

Umberto Eco

What About Your Writing? (parallelism)

117

(1)

What I've Learned from Men

118

(9)

Barbara Ehrenreich

What About Your Writing? (preposition at end of sentence)

122

(2)

Chapter 4 1/2 Of Course They Count

124

(3)

Process

127

(34)

Be Sure You Are Writing About a Process

129

(1)

Follow Strict Chronological Order

130

(1)

Before Describing the First Step of the Process, Indicate Any Special Ingredients or Equipment That Will Be Needed

130

(1)

Be Sure the Process Is Complete

130

(1)

Try to Anticipate Difficulties

130

(1)

If You Need to Handle Many Separate Steps, Arrange Them into Groups When Possible

131

(1)

Define Unfamiliar Terms

131

(1)

Avoid Highly Technical Processes

131

(1)

Avoid Subjects for Which Pictures Work Better Than Words

131

(1)

Writing Suggestions for Process Essays

132

(1)

Student Essay: ``No Bows on the Butt: Choosing Your Wedding Gown,''

133

(2)

Jennifer Simms-Collins

How Can I Make My House Look Good in a Hurry?

135

(3)

Don Aslett

What About Your Writing? (humor)

137

(1)

Corn Bread with Character

138

(5)

Ronni Lundy

What About Your Writing? (introductions: how do I get my reader's attention?)

141

(2)

How to Write a Personal Letter

143

(4)

Garrison Keillor

What About Your Writing? (using you)

146

(1)

Twelve Steps to Quit Smoking

147

(4)

Robert Bezilla

What About Your Writing? (hyperbole)

150

(1)

The Spider and the Wasp

151

(10)

Alexander Petrunkevitch

What About Your Writing? (specialties of author)

156

(1)

Chapter 5 1/2 Uses and Abuses of the Computer

157

(4)

Comparison and Contrast

161

(32)

Patterns

162

(4)

Block Patterns

162

(3)

Alternating Pattern

165

(1)

Which Pattern?

166

(1)

Writing Suggestions for Comparison-and-Contrast Themes

167

(1)

Student Essay: ``Coming in Last,''

167

(3)

Annette P. Grossman

Student Essay: ``Chick Movies and Guy Movies,''

170

(1)

Edith Renaldo

Lassie Never Chases Rabbits

171

(4)

Kevin Cowherd

What About Your Writing? (conclusions)

173

(2)

My Real Car

175

(3)

Bailey White

What About Your Writing? (onomatopoeia)

178

(1)

That Lean and Hungry Look

178

(5)

Suzanne Britt

What About Your Writing? (comparisons)

181

(2)

Speaking of Writing

183

(2)

William Zinsser

What About Your Writing? (thesis at end of essay)

184

(1)

Conversational Ballgames

185

(8)

Nancy Masterson Sakamoto

What About Your Writing? (using I)

188

(2)

Chapter 6 1/2 Revision: An Overview

190

(3)

Cause and Effect

193

(30)

Do Not Oversimplify Causes

194

(1)

Do Not Oversimplify Effects

195

(1)

Distinguish Between Direct and Indirect Causes and Effects

195

(1)

Distinguish Between Major and Minor Causes and Effects

195

(1)

Do Not Omit Links in a Chain of Causes and Effects

196

(1)

Play Fair

196

(1)

Writing Suggestions for Cause-and-Effect Papers

196

(1)

Student Essay: ``A Few Short Words,''

197

(1)

Matthew Monroe

Falling into Place

198

(4)

Jaime O'Neill

What About Your Writing? (puns)

201

(1)

The Whoomper Factor

202

(3)

Nathan Cobb

What About Your Writing? (elegant variation)

204

(1)

Why We Crave Horror Movies

205

(5)

Stephen King

What About Your Writing? (sexism: he)

208

(2)

The Best Years of My Life

210

(7)

Betty Rollin

What About Your Writing? (comma splice)

214

(3)

Thinking Like a Mountain

217

(6)

Aldo Leopold

What About Your Writing? (levels of usage)

219

(2)

Chapter 7 1/2 Revision: Help from the Audience

221

(2)

Division and Classification

223

(32)

Division

223

(1)

Classification

224

(4)

Use Only One Principle of Classification

225

(1)

Be Consistent

225

(1)

Make the Classifications as Complete as Possible

226

(1)

Acknowledge Any Complications

226

(1)

Follow the Persuasive Principle

226

(1)

Writing Suggestions for Classification Themes

227

(1)

Student Essay: ``Earthquakers,''

228

(2)

Lucy Johnson

How Fit Are You?

230

(3)

Kenneth H. Cooper

What About Your Writing? (fragmentary sentences)

232

(1)

It's Only a Paper World

233

(4)

Kathleen Fury

What About Your Writing? (sexism, stereotyping)

236

(1)

Mother-in-Law

237

(6)

Charlotte Latvala

What About Your Writing? (finding a subject: romantic highs and lows)

242

(1)

Take a Left Turn onto Nowhere Street

243

(4)

Anne Bernays

What About Your Writing? (titles)

246

(1)

Three Kinds of Discipline

247

(8)

John Holt

What About Your Writing? (alliteration)

251

(2)

Chapter 8 1/2 Revision: The Psychology of It All

253

(2)

Definition

255

(22)

A Definition Paper Can Compare and Contrast

256

(1)

A Definition Paper Can Classify

257

(1)

A Definition Paper Can Give Examples

257

(1)

A Definition Paper Can Trace a Process

257

(1)

A Definition Paper Can Study Cause-and-Effect Relationships

257

(1)

A Definition Paper Can Use Narration

257

(1)

Writing Suggestions for Definition Essays

257

(1)

Student Essay: ``Growing Up,''

258

(2)

Anonymous

The Real Thing

260

(2)

Frankie Germany

What About Your Writing? (comic book punctuation, exclamation points, etc.)

261

(1)

Feast for the Soul

262

(4)

Ronald E. Kotzsch

What About Your Writing? (citation of authority)

265

(1)

Spanglish

266

(3)

Janice Castro

Dan Cook

Cristina Garcia

What About Your Writing? (connotation)

268

(1)

Gross Domestic Nonsense

269

(2)

Wayne Muller

What About Your Writing? (topicality)

271

(1)

The Handicap of Definition

271

(6)

William Raspberry

What About Your Writing? (qualifying words and phrases)

274

(1)

Chapter 9 1/2 Deadlines

275

(2)

Argumentation

277

(42)

Go Easy on Universals---Qualify When Appropriate

279

(1)

Give Consideration to Differing Opinions

279

(1)

Be Cautious with Abuse and Ridicule

280

(1)

Devote Most of Your Attention Toward Supporting Your View, Not Advocating It

280

(1)

Some Common Logical Fallacies

280

(3)

Writing Suggestions for Argumentation Essays

283

(1)

Student Essay: ``Sing It When It Counts,''

284

(2)

Ben Ruggiero

Thanksgiving's No Turkey

286

(3)

Robert W. Gardner

What About Your Writing? (taking sides for fun, mental exercise)

288

(1)

What's Wrong with Black English?

289

(3)

Rachel L. Jones

What About Your Writing? (turning tables, beating opponents to the punch)

291

(1)

Dear Mom, Clear My Calendar

292

(4)

Cathy Rindner Tempelsman

What About Your Writing? (ironic quotation marks)

294

(2)

The Smiley-Face Approach

296

(3)

Albert Shanker

What About Your Writing? (passive voice)

298

(1)

Old Folks at Home

299

(4)

Bernard Sloan

What About Your Writing? (sentence length)

302

(1)

The Case for Torture

303

(3)

Michael Levin

What About Your Writing? (attack on an orthodox view)

306

(1)

A Modest Proposal

306

(13)

Jonathan Swift

What About Your Writing? (irony)

315

(2)

Chapter 10 1/2 What About the Rest of Your Writing?

317

(2)

Credits

319

(4)

Index

323

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Writing with a Thesis A Rhetoric and Reader (with InfoTrac)

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials