Diverse Issues, Diverse Answers: Reading, Writing, and Thinking about Social Issues is a social issues reader accompanied by a brief rhetoric. In Part One, the first ten chapters of rhetorical instruction introduce students to the basics of each mode presented and move students from paragraph to essay writing, while teaching key reading skills that students will apply in later chapters.  In Part Two, Reading About Social Issues, students are introduced to thought provoking and in many cases, humorous, essays on social issues that vary in length, difficulty, and mode.   

Table of Contents:
Preface.   Acknowledgements.   I. THE READING-WRITING CONNECTION. 1. Reading and Writing Successfully. 2. Reading and Writing Description. 3. Reading and Writing Exemplification. 4. Reading and Writing Narrative. 5. Reading and Writing Definition. 6. Reading and Writing Division and Classification. 7. Reading and Writing Comparison and Contrast. 8. Reading and Writing Process Analysis. 9. Reading and Writing Causal Analysis. 10. Reading and Writing Persuasion and Argument. II. READING ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES. 11. Courtesy and Customs:  How We Present Ourselves in Society. Manners in Austria: A Cross-Cultural View, Margaret H. McFadden. Is the Customer Always Right?, Roberta Orona-Cordova. A Matter of Manners, Editors, U.S. News and World Report . From Honor and Shame, Lila Abu-Lughod. What’s in a Name?, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Mama Sarah, Fortuna Ippoliti. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Courtesy. Reflecting to Write. 12. Language: How We Speak to Each Other. Mutts (cartoon). Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation: Language and Culture, Linda Chavez. Spanglish Is Here to Stay, Isis Artze. If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?, James Baldwin. Look. Listen. Over There., Editors, Los Angeles Times. For Collegiate Writers, It’s a Doggie-Dog World, Mike Bower. Silence, Maxine Hong Kingston. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Language. Reflecting to Write. 13. Fashion: How We Look to Each Other. Stunning!  Holiday Hair & Makeup: Look So Good You’ll Kiss the Mirror, Allison Schwartz. The Beefcaking of America, Jill Neimark. State of Grace, Amy MacLin. “I Feel Silly”, David Plotz. High Heels Scare Me, Anne Perrin. Why Pretty Isn’t Pretty Enough Anymore, Susan Dominus. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Fashion. Reflecting to Write. 14. The Media: How We Are Influenced. Why We Tuned Out, Karen Springen. The Money Shot, Ken Gordon. The Limits of Media Power, Robert J. Samuelson. Signs of Intelligent Life on TV, Susan Douglas. Operating on Accuracy, Claudia Kalb. Resisting the False Security of TV, Tom Shales. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on the Media. Reflecting to Write. 15. Health: How We Care for Ourselves. You Can Lead a Man to Tofu, But Can You Make Him Eat It?, Carolyn Lamborn O’Neill. Is Stress Making You Fat?, Meryl Davids Landau. The Last Time I Wore a Dress, Daphne Scholinski. Sweet, Elusive Sleep, Karen Springen and Pat Wingert. The Keys to Caregiving, Julie Scelfo. Where Living Is Lethal, Geoffrey Cowley and Karen Springen. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Health. Reflecting to Write. Human Clone (political cartoon), Michael Ramirez. 16. Recreation: How We Play. Toys (photograph), Linda Daigle. Why Boys Don’t Play with Dolls, Katha Pollitt. Macho in Miniature: History of the G.I. Joe Dolls, Ed Liebowitz. Our Barbies, Ourselves, Emily Prager. Barbie, G.I, Joe, and Play in the 1960s, Gary Cross. Baby, bell hooks. Just Play? Who Knew?, Editors, Los Angeles Times. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Recreation. Reflecting to Write. 17. Sports: How We Compete. A Train Wreck Called Title IX: Effect of Title IX on Men’s College Sports, George F. Will. The Myths of Title IX, Maria González. Pete Rose: America’s Antihero, John Harty III. No Bloom on This Rose, Fay Vincent. Double Standards, Deroy Murdock. Tee Time for Equality, Deborah Rhode. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Sports. Reflecting to Write. 18. Safety and Security: How We Protect Ourselves. The Beach, Stella Thompson. Threading the Invisible Line, Elline Lipkin. Warning Signs: Does Your Date Have Violent Tendencies?, Doug McPherson. Not So Safe Back Home, Anna Quindlen. Open Season on Koreans?, Elaine H. Kim. Evil Redux, or the Return of Meaningful Mystery, Dorothy G. Clark. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Security. Reflecting to Write. Duct Tape Success (political cartoon). 19. Juvenile Offenders: How We Punish. Should Juvenile Offenders Be Tried as Adults?, Laurence Steinberg. Youth Crime Has Changed–And So Must The Juvenile Justice System, Tom Reilly. A Killing Tradition, Joan Jacobs Brumberg. Sentencing of Teen Girl Fuels Debates over Youths in Prison, Ashley Broughton. Justice for Kids, Editors, Rutland Herald and Times Argus. The Lionel Tate Case, Editors, St. Petersburg Times. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Juvenile Offenders. Reflecting to Write. 20. Environment: How We Treat Our Natural World. Columbia River Wilderness (photograph), Elizabeth Kessler. Walking at Lake Louise (photograph), Anne Perrin. Earth Ethics and the Web of Life, Katherine Hall. Paralysis on Clean Air, Editors, The New York Times. Hotspots: Preserving Pieces of a Fragile Biosphere, E. O. Wilson. The Problem in Our Own Backyards, Sean Clancy. Eco-Pragmatists, Monte Burke. The Heart of the City, Terrell Dixon. Rhetorical Analysis. Reflections on Environment. Reflecting to Write. III. GLOSSARY. IV. INDEX.