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Table of Contents

1 Composing Literacy 
Understanding the Rhetorical Situation 
Reflecting on Your Own Literacy 
Composing Your Own Literacy Narrative 
Apply the rhetorical framework: who? what? when? where? how? and why?
Devise a topic.
Readings
Katherine Kachnowski, Beyond the Microwave, or How I Learned to Cook with a French Accent 
David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day 

PART 1 WRITING ACTIVITIES 
2 Remembering an Event 
GUIDE TO READING 
Analyzing Remembered Event Essays 
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.  
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
Readings 
Jean Brandt, Calling Home 
Annie Dillard, The Chase [[aka From An American Childhood]]  
Ta-Nehisi Coates, My Lost Innocence 
Jenée Desmond-Harris, Tupac and My Non-thug Life 
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Remembering an Event 
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Choose an event to write about.  
Give your story a dramatic arc.  
Use tenses to clarify the sequence of actions.  
Describe key people and places vividly, and show their significance.  
Use dialogue to portray people and dramatize relationships.  
Clarify your story’s significance.  
Write the opening sentences.  
Draft your story.  
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review 
A Peer Review Guide 
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide 
Edit and proofread your draft.  
A WRITER AT WORK: Developing Significance in Jean Brandt’s Remembered Event Essay  
REFLECTING 

3 Writing Profiles
GUIDE TO READING 
Analyzing Profiles 
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.  
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
Readings 
Brian Cable, The Last Stop 
Victoria Moré, Dumpster Dinners: An Ethnography of Freeganism 
Amanda Coyne, The Long Good-Bye: Mother’s Day in Federal Prison 
Gabriel Thompson, A Gringo in the Lettuce Fields 
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Writing a Profile  
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Choose a subject to profile.  
Conduct your field research.  
Use quotations that provide information and reveal character.  
Consider adding visual or audio elements.  
Create an outline that will organize your profile effectively for your readers.  
Determine your role in the profile.  
Develop your perspective on the subject.  
Clarify the dominant impression.  
Write the opening sentences.  
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review 
A Peer Review Guide 
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide 
Edit and proofread your draft.  
A WRITER AT WORK: Brian Cable’s Interview Notes and Write-Up  
REFLECTION 

4 Explaining a Concept
GUIDE TO READING 
Analyzing Concept Explanations 
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.  
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
Readings 
Rosa Alexander, The Meme-ing of Trigger Warnings 
Anastasia Toufexis, Love: The Right Chemistry 
Lindsay Grace, Persuasive Play: Designing Games That Change Players 
Susan Cain, Shyness: Evolutionary Tactic?  
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Explaining a Concept  
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Choose a concept to write about.  
Conduct initial research on the concept.  
Focus your explanation of the concept.  
Conduct further research on your focused concept.  
Draft your working thesis.  
Create an outline that will organize your concept explanation effectively for your readers.  
Design your writing project.  
Consider the explanatory strategies you should use.  
Use summaries, paraphrases, and quotations from sources to support your points.  
Use visuals or multimedia illustrations.  
Use appositives to integrate sources.  
Use descriptive verbs in signal phrases to introduce information from sources.  
Write the opening sentences.  
Draft your explanation.  
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review 
A Peer Review Guide 
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide 
Edit and proofread the final draft.  
A WRITER AT WORK: Focusing Rosa Alexander’s Concept Explanation 
REFLECTION 

5 Analyzing and Synthesizing Opposing Arguments
GUIDE TO READING 
Analyzing Opposing Arguments  
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.  
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
Readings 
Max King, Freedom of or from Speech 
Maya Gomez, Should Kidney Donors Be Compensated? 
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Analyzing and Synthesizing Opposing Arguments 
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Choose a controversial issue to write about.  
Conduct research. 
Create an annotated bibliography. 
Analyze your audience. 
Choose opposing arguments to analyze. 
Analyze and synthesize the opposing arguments. 
Draft a working thesis. 
Create an outline to assess your organization. 
Develop your analysis. 
Draft the opening sentences. 
Draft your comparative analysis.  
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review 
A Peer Review Guide 
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide 
Edit and proofread the final draft. 
A WRITER AT WORK: Max King’s Analysis  
REFLECTION 

6 Arguing a Position
GUIDE TO READING 
Analyzing Position Arguments  
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.  
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
Readings 
Jessica Statsky, Children Need to Play, Not Compete 
Amitai Etzioni, Working at McDonald’s 
Laura Beth Nielsen, The Case for Restricting Hate Speech  
Daniel J. Solove, Why Privacy Matters Even If You Have “Nothing to Hide” 
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Arguing a Position  
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Choose a controversial issue on which to take a position.  
Frame the issue for your readers.  
Formulate a working thesis stating your position.  
Develop the reasons supporting your position.  
Research your position.  
Use sources to reinforce your credibility.  
Identify and respond to your readers’ likely reasons and objections.  
Create an outline that will organize your argument effectively for your readers.  
Consider document design.  
Use visuals or multimedia illustrations.  
Write the opening sentences.  
Draft your position argument.  
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review 
A Peer Review Guide 
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide 
Edit and proofread the final draft.  
A WRITER AT WORK: Jessica Statsky’s Response to Opposing Positions  
REFLECTION 

7 Proposing a Solution
Analyzing Proposals  
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.  
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
A Clear, Logical Organization 
Readings 
Patrick O’Malley, More Testing, More Learning 
David Figlio, Starting High School Later 
David J. Smith, Getting to “E Pluribus Unum” 
Kelly D. Brownell and Thomas R. Frieden, Ounces of Prevention — The Public Policy Case for Taxes on Sugared Beverages 
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Proposing a Solution  
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Choose a problem for which you can propose a solution. 
Frame the problem for your readers. 
Assess how the problem has been framed, and reframe it for your readers. 
Develop a possible solution. 
Explain your solution. 
Research your proposal. 
Develop a response to objections or alternative solutions. 
Create an outline that will organize your proposal effectively for your readers. 
Write the opening sentences. 
Draft your proposal. 
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review 
A Peer Review Guide 
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide 
Edit and proofread the final draft.  
A WRITER AT WORK: Patrick O’Malley’s Revision Process  
REFLECTION 

8 Justifying an Evaluation
Analyzing Evaluations 
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.  
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
Readings 
William Akana, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: A Hell of a Ride 
Tasha Robinson, Moana: The Perfect Disney Movie 
Katherine Isbister, Why Pokémon Go Became an Instant Phenomenon 
Malcolm Gladwell, What College Rankings Really Tell Us 
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Proposing a Solution  
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Choose a subject to evaluate. 
Assess your subject and consider how to present it to your readers. 
Formulate a working thesis stating your overall judgment. 
Develop the reasons and evidence supporting your judgment. 
Research your evaluation. 
Respond to a likely objection or alternative judgment. 
Organize your evaluation to appeal to your readers. 
Consider document design. 
Write the opening sentences. 
Draft your proposal. 
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review 
A Peer Review Guide 
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide 
Edit and proofread the final draft.  
A WRITER AT WORK: William Akana’s Thesis and Response to Objections  
REFLECTION 

9 Arguing for Causes or Effects 
Analyzing Cause-Effect Arguments 
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.  
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
Readings 
Clayton Pangelinan, #socialnetworking: Why It’s Really So Popular 
Jean M. Twenge, Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?  
Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies 
Shankar Vedantam, The Telescope Effect 
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Arguing for Causes or Effects  
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Choose a subject to analyze. 
Present the subject to your readers.  
Analyze possible causes or effects.  
Conduct research.  
Cite a variety of sources to support your causal analysis.  
Formulate a working thesis stating your preferred cause(s) or effect(s).  
Draft a response to objections readers are likely to raise.  
Draft a response to the causes or effects your readers are likely to favor.  
Create an outline that will organize your causal argument.  
Write the opening sentences.  
Draft your causal argument.  
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review 
A Peer Review Guide 
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide 
Edit and proofread the final draft.  
A WRITER AT WORK: Clayton Pangelinan’s Analysis of Possible Causes  
REFLECTION 

10 Analyzing Stories 
Analyzing Essays That Analyze Stories 
Determine the writer’s purpose and audience. 
Assess the genre’s basic features.  
Readings
Iris Lee, Performing a Doctor’s Duty  
Isabella Wright, “For Heaven’s Sake!”  
GUIDE TO WRITING 
The Writing Assignment 
Starting Points: Analyzing Stories 
Writing a Draft: Invention, Research, Planning, and Composing 
Find a story to write about.  
Analyze the story.  
Generate ideas by moving from specific to general or the reverse.  
Formulate a working thesis.  
Provide support for your argument.  
To build on your support, consider doing outside research.  
Create an outline that will organize your argument effectively.  
Write the opening sentences.  
Draft your analysis.  
Evaluating the Draft: Using Peer Review  
A Peer Review Guide  
Improving the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading  
Revise your draft.  
A Troubleshooting Guide  
Edit and proofread the final draft.
WRITER AT WORK: Isabella Wright’s Invention Work  
Reflection  
AN ANTHOLOGY OF SHORT STORIES  
Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour  
James Joyce, Araby  
William Carlos Williams, The Use of Force  
Jamaica Kincaid, Girl  

PART 2 Critical Thinking Strategies
11 A Catalog of Invention and Inquiry Strategies 
Mapping 
Create a cluster diagram to reveal relationships among ideas.  
Make a list to generate a plan quickly.  
Create an outline to invent and organize.  
Writing 
Use cubing to explore a topic from six perspectives.  
Construct a dialogue to explore an experience or alternative view.  
Use dramatizing to analyze behavior.  
Freewrite to generate ideas freely and creatively.  
Use looping to explore aspects of a topic.  
Take notes in a journal.  
Ask questions to explore a subject systematically.  

12 A Catalog of Reading Strategies 
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 
Test for appropriateness.  
Test for believability.  
Test for consistency and completeness.  
Recognizing Emotional Manipulation 
Judging the Writer’s Credibility 
Test for knowledge.  
Test for common ground.  
Test for fairness.  

PART 3 Writing Strategies 
13 Cueing the Reader 
Orienting Statements 
Use thesis statements to announce the main idea.  
Use forecasting statements to preview topics.  
Paragraphing 
Paragraph indents signal related ideas.  
Topic sentences announce the paragraph’s focus.  
Cohesive Devices 
Pronouns connect phrases or sentences.  
Word repetition aids cohesion.  
Synonyms connect ideas.  
Repetition of sentence structure emphasizes connections.  
Collocation creates networks of meaning.  
Transitions 
Transitions emphasize logical relationships.  
Transitions can indicate a sequence in time.  
Transitions can indicate relationships in space.  
Headings and Subheadings 
Headings indicate sections and levels.  
Headings are not common in all genres.  
At least two headings are needed at each level.  

14 Narrating and Describing 
Narrating 
Use narrating strategies to sequence and dramatize events. 
Use narrating strategies to explain and instruct.  
Describing 
Use naming to give an overall impression.  
Use detailing to add specifics and convey thoughts, feelings, and judgments.  
Use comparisons to make a description vivid and convey emotion.  
Use sensory description to convey what you saw, heard, felt, and tasted.  
Use description to create a dominant impression.  

15 Defining, Classifying, and Comparing 
Defining
Use sentence definitions to explain terms and concepts briefly. 
Use extended definitions to convey the meaning of complex concepts. 
Use historical definitions to explain how a meaning has changed over time or across cultures. 
Use stipulative definitions to reach an agreement on the meaning of a term or concept. 
Classifying 
Use topics and subtopics to organize classifications.  
Use graphics to depict a classification scheme. 
Use cues to maintain clarity and coherence in a classification. 
Comparing and Contrasting 
Use chunking or sequencing to organize comparisons and contrasts. 
Use analogies to make comparisons clear and vivid. 

16 Arguing 
Asserting a Thesis 
Make arguable assertions.  
Use clear and precise wording. 
Qualify the thesis appropriately. 
Giving Reasons and Support 
Use representative examples for support. 
Use up-to-date, relevant, and accurate statistics. 
Cite reputable authorities on relevant topics. 
Use vivid, relevant anecdotes. 
Use relevant textual evidence. 
Responding to Objections and Alternatives 
Acknowledge readers’ concerns. 
Concede readers’ concerns. 
Refute readers’ objections. 
Identifying and Correcting Logical Fallacies 

PART 4 RESEARCH STRATEGIES
17 Planning and Conducting Research 
Analyzing Your Rhetorical Situation and Setting a Schedule 
Choosing a Topic and Getting an Overview 
Focusing Your Topic and Drafting Research Questions 
Establishing a Research Log 
Develop a list of search terms.  
Create a working bibliography.  
Annotating Your Working Bibliography 
Taking Notes on Your Sources 
Finding Sources 
Search library catalogs and databases.  
Find books (and other sources).  
Find articles in periodicals.  
Find government documents and statistical information.  
Find Web sites and interactive sources.  
Conducting Field Research 
Conduct observational studies.  
Conduct interviews.  
Conduct surveys.  

18 Selecting and Evaluating Sources 
Selecting Relevant Sources 
Evaluating Sources 
Who wrote it?  
How recently was it published?  
Is the source scholarly, popular, or for a trade group?  
Who published it?  
How is the source written?  
What does the source say?  

19 Using Sources to Support Your Ideas 
Synthesizing Sources 
Acknowledging Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism 
What does and does not need to be acknowledged?  
Avoid plagiarism by acknowledging sources and quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing carefully.  
Using Information from Sources to Support Your Claims 
Deciding whether to quote, paraphrase, or summarize.  
Copy quotations exactly, or use italics, ellipses, and brackets to indicate changes.  
Use in-text or block quotations.  
Use punctuation to integrate quotations into your writing.  
Paraphrase sources carefully.  
Write summaries that present the source’s main ideas in a balanced and readable way.  

20 Citing and Documenting Sources in MLA Style 
Citing Sources in the Text 
Directory to In-Text Citation Models 
Creating a List of Works Cited 
To cite a source without a model, use a similar model or devise your own using the general principles.  
Format your list of works cited.  
Directory to Works-Cited-List Models 
Student Research Project in MLA Style 

21 Citing and Documenting Sources in APA Style 
Citing Sources in the Text 
Directory to In-Text Citation Models 
Creating a List of References 
Directory to Reference-List Models 
A Sample Reference List in APA Style 

PART 5 COMPOSING STRATEGIES FOR COLLEGE AND BEYOND 
22 Analyzing and Composing Multimodal Texts 
Understanding Multimodality 
Analyzing Multimodal Texts 
Criteria for Analyzing Multimodal Texts 
Composing Multimodal Texts 
Reimagine your writing in a new genre or medium.  
Design a multimodal text.  
Embed visuals and media in texts.  
Criteria for Analyzing Document Design 
Creating a Multimodal Presentation 
Assess your rhetorical situation.  
Determine how much information you can present in the allotted time.  
Use cues to orient audience members.  
Design your presentation effectively.  

23 Taking Essay Examinations 
Preparing for an Exam 
Read the exam carefully.  
Review typical essay exam questions.  
Write your answer.  

24 Creating a Portfolio 
Purposes of a Writing Portfolio 
Assembling a Portfolio for Your Composition Course 
Select your work.  
Reflect on your work and what you learned.  
Organize your portfolio.  

25 Writing in Business and Scientific Genres 
Business Letters 
E-mail 
Résumés and Online Professional Profiles 
Job-Application Letters 
Web Sites 
Lab Reports 

26 Writing for and about Your Community 
Writing about Your Service Experience 
Find a topic.  
Gather sources.  
Writing for Your Service Organization 

27 Writing Collaboratively 
Working with Others on Your Individual Writing Projects 
Collaborating on Joint Writing Projects

Authors

Rise B. Axelrod

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 textbooks The St. Martin's Guide to Writing and The Concise St. Martin's Guide to Writing, as well as Reading Critically, Writing Well.

Charles R. Cooper

Charles R. Cooper an emeritus professor at the University of California, San Diego 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 study and coordinated the development of California's first statewide writing assessment. He taught at the University of California, Riverside; the State University of New York at Buffalo; and the University of California, San Diego. Co-editor, with Lee Odell, of Evaluating Writing and Research on Composing: Points of Departure, and he was co-author, with Rise Axelrod, of the best-selling textbooks The St. Martin's Guide to Writing and The Concise St. Martin's Guide to Writing, as well as Reading Critically, Writing Well.

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