Techniques for College Writing

Contents. Preface. Part I: THINKING THROUGH THE THESIS STATEMENT. 1. Defining the Thesis Statement and the Academic Essay. Origins of the Academic Essay. Overview of the Academic Essay. The Importance of the Thesis Statement. The Academic Essay Format. Student Essay: "Homing Device for Humans". Organization and the Essay's Format. Thinking Through a Reading: "Blazed and Confused," C.J. Fotheringham, Jon E. Keeley, and Philip W. Rundel. The Audience and Effective Persuasion. An Overview of the Writing Process. Applications and Writing Exercises. Thinking Through a Reading: "Plagiarism: A Crime to be Prevented," Vicki Xiong. Thinking Through a Reading: "Mirror for Man," Clyde Kluckhohn. 2. Understanding the Thesis Statement Through its Three Parts (C-S-C). Identifying the Three Parts of a Thesis Statement. Three Ways to Visualize Your Thesis Statement. The Context. The Subject. 3 Potential Problems and How to Fix Them. Image: Frieda Kahlo, Self Portrait With Thorn And Hummingbird. The Claim. 3 Essentials for Effective Claims. 4 Potential Problems and How to Fix Them. Applications and Writing Exercises. Thinking Through a Reading: "The Beatles--Rubber Soul: The Fab Four's Transitional Near-Masterpiece," Spence D. 3. Using Critical Thinking to Develop a Thesis Statement. A Closer Look at Observation. Poem: "Daffodils" (1804). A Closer Look at Abstraction. Thinking Critically to Develop a Thesis Statement. Considering All the Evidence. Putting it all Together: Using Observation and Abstraction to Draft a Thesis Statement. Image: Kim Cattrall "Got Milk?" Ad. Applications and Writing Exercises. Image: Pablo Picasso, Guernica. Image: Flower Power Ad. Poem: "Black Rook in Rainy Weather," Sylvia Plath. Thinking Through a Reading: "A Cautious Approach to Spirituality" (Student Essay). Thinking Through a Reading: "Good Books Help Make a Civil Society," Dana Gioia. 4. Supporting the Thesis Statement: The Burdens of Proof. The Burdens of Proof: What to Write About. 4 Tasks to Manage Your Burdens of Proof. The Burden of Background Information. Burdens of Proof and Logical Fallacies. Burdens of Proof and the Scope of Your Thesis Statement. Using the Burdens of Proof to Create an Outline. Applications and Writing Exercises. Thinking Through a Reading: "Human Cloning? Don't Just Say No," Ruth Macklin. Thinking Through a Reading: "Stem Cell Research Without Limits Is a Bad Idea," Charles Krauthammer. 5. Drafting and Revising the Essay: Supporting the Thesis Statement. Revisiting the Academic Essay Format. Using an Outline to Draft an Essay. A Closer Look at Paragraphs: Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions. Putting It All Together. Thinking Through a Reading: "Life in the Lap of Luxury as Ecosystems Collapse," William E. Rees. Revising an Essay: The Basics. Applications and Writing Exercises. Thinking Through a Reading: "Good Books Help Make a Civil Society," Dana Gioia. Thinking Through a Reading: "Explaining Christian Persecution during the Roman Empire," Eric Stickland. Part I Writing Assignments. Image: Calvin Klein Ad. Part I Revision Tools. The Burdens of Proof Revision Worksheet. The Post-Draft Outline. Peer Review Workshop Worksheet. Part II: THINKING THROUGH YOUR WRITING ASSIGNMENT. 6. Developing a Thesis Statement from a Writing Assignment by Using 7 Steps. Types of Writing Assignments. 7 Steps to Develop a Thesis Statement from a Writing Assignment. The Assignment that Asks You to Respond to Another Writer's Ideas. The Assignment that Includes a Quotation. The Assignment that Includes an Essay. Thinking Through a Reading: "A World Not Neatly Divided," Amartya Sen. The Assignment that Includes an Ongoing Debate. Applications and Writing Exercises. Thinking Through a Reading: "Privacy? What Privacy?" Tina Lennox (Student Essay). 7. Developing a Thesis Statement From an Advanced Writing Assignment by Using 7 Steps. The Comparison and Contrast Writing Assignment. The Open-Ended Writing Assignment. The Writing Assignment With Multiple Questions or Multiple Parts. The Timed Essay. Applications and Writing Exercises. Thinking Through a Reading: "2 Live Crew, Decoded," Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Poem: "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers," Adrienne Rich. Student Essay: "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers," Latoya Holness. Image: La Molendera (1924), Diego Rivera. Image: Five O'Clock Tea (1880), Mary Cassatt. Part II Writing Assignments. Part II Revision Tools. Peer Review Workshop Worksheet II. Part III: WRITING BEYOND THE COMPOSITION CLASSROOM. 8. Writing Across the Disciplines: Beyond Your Composition Class. Thesis Statement Counterparts. The Informative Essay. Using the Controlling Idea Statement in Place of the Thesis Statement. Thinking Through a Reading: "The American Star System," Louis Giannetti. Distinguishing Between Writing Assignments that Require an Informative Essay and those that Require an Academic Essay. The Scientific Essay. Using the Hypothesis. IHMRAD: The Scientific Essay Format. The Scientific Essay and Writing Assignments Across the Curriculum. Writing Formats for Building the Scientific Essay. The Laboratory Report. The Field Notebook. Applications and Writing Exercises. 9. Writing About Literature. Thesis Statements about Literature. Developing a Thesis Statement about Plot. Developing a Thesis Statement about a Character. Developing a Thesis Statement about a Theme. Developing a Thesis Statement Using a Personal Opinion. Developing a Thesis Statement Using Personal Opinion and the 7 Steps. Applications and Writing Exercises. Thinking Through a Reading: "A Rose for Emily (1931)," William Faulkner. Thinking Through the Reading: "The Open Boat (1897)," Stephen Crane. Student Essay: "Naturalism and 'The Open Boat'," Jason Nichols. 10. Writing a Research Paper. Including Research in the Three Essay Formats. Thinking Through a Reading: "Alleviating Traffic Congestion," Patrick Sweeney (Student Essay). The Informative Essay that Includes Research. The Scientific Essay that Includes Research. Methods for Doing and Using Research. Developing an Overarching Idea Using Research. Evaluating Sources. How to Include Research in Your Paper: Quoting. Using a Style Manual to Appropriately Document Research. Applications and Writing Exercises. Thinking Through a Reading: "A Dedicated System for Processing Faces," Doris Tsao. Part III Writing Assignments. Part III Revision Tools. Research Paper Checklist. Peer Review Worksheet for the Research Paper. Appendix A. Troubleshooting the Thesis Statement: Common Pitfalls. The Problem of "These Three Things". The Problem of "Because". The Problem of Stating Something in the Negative. The Problem of "I Will..." (Analyze, Discuss, Explain, Examine...). The Problem of Relative or Abstract Terms. The Problem of Passive Voice. The Problem of "To Be" Verbs. The Problem of "Did you Know...". The Problem of the Soft Thesis. Appendix B. Patterns of Argument in Your Thesis Statement: More on Burdens of Proof. Establishing a Cause and Effect Relationship. Taking a Position or Proposing a Solution. Giving an Interpretation. Qualifying a Commonly-Held Belief (The Contrarian's Argument). Proposing A Definition. Appendix C. Grammar, Style, and Rules for Citation. Editing your Paper. Ten Grammar Points. Eight Style Points. Using a Style Manual. Basic Guidelines for Formatting a Paper. Formatting the First Page of Your Paper in MLA Style. Formatting the First Pages of Your Paper in APA Style. Acknowledging Sources. Plagiarism and How to Avoid It. How to Include Others' Ideas in Your Paper. Formatting the Last Page of Your Paper Using MLA. Formatting the Last Page of Your Paper Using APA.