What It Takes: Academic Writing in College prepares the reader  for the most common college writing assignments: the summary, the critique, the synthesis, and the analysis.

Table of Contents:
Preface  A Note to the Student   CHAPTER 1 Summary   What Is a Summary?   Can a Summary Be Objective?   Using the Summary   Box: Where Do We Find Written Summaries?   The Reading Process   Box: Critical Reading for Summary   How to Write Summaries   Box: Guidelines for Writing Summaries   Demonstration: Summary   ”Will Your Job Be Exported?”   Alan S. Blinder 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?   Avoiding Plagiarism   Box: Rules for Avoiding Plagiarism   Chapter 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   Evaluating Persuasive Writing   “The Moon We Left Behind” Charles Krauthammer Persuasive Strategies   Logical Argumentation: Avoiding Logical Fallacies   Box: Tone  49 Writing to Entertain  53 Question 2: To What Extent Do You Agree with the Author?   Identify Points of Agreement and Disagreement   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” Box: Critical Reading for Critique   The Strategy of the Critique   Chapter 3 Explanatory Synthesis   What Is a Synthesis?         Summary and Critique as a Basis for Synthesis       Inference: Moving Beyond Summary and Critique Purpose         Example: Same Sources, Different Uses Box: Where Do We Find Written Syntheses?   Using Your Sources   Types of Syntheses: Argument   Explanation: News Article from the New York Times   “While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales” — Michael Moss Argument: Editorial from the Boston Globe   “Got Too Much Cheese?” — Derrick Z. Jackson 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 Argument Synthesis   The Elements of Argument: Claim, Support, and Assumption        Ethos      Pathos Demonstration: Developing an Argument Synthesis–Balancing Privacy and Safety in the Wake of Virginia Tech   ”Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007: Report of the Review Panel” “Virgina Tech Massacre Has Altered Campus Mental Health Systems”   Associated Press The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act   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 Synthesis: Balancing Privacy and Safety in the Wake of Virginia Tech — David Harrison   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 The Comparison-and-Contrast Synthesis   Organizing Comparison-and-Contrast Syntheses   Organizing by Source or Subject   Organizing by Criteria   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     Chapter 4 Analysis   What Is an Analysis?   Box: Where Do We Find Written Analyses?   How to Write Analyses   “The Plug-In Drug”   Marie Winn       Locate and Apply an Analytic Tool             Locate an Analytics Tool             Apply the Analytic Tool             Analysis Across the Curriculum Box: Guidelines for Writing Analysis   Formulate a Thesis Develop an Organizational Plan   Turning Key Elements of a Principle or 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       The Strategy of the Analysis Credits   Index   APA Documentation: Basic Formats   MLA Documentation: Basic Formats   Checklist Survey