Reflect, Inform, Persuade examines the purposes for writing while demonstrating the varying processes writers employ to reach an end.  The low price (~$25 net*) and practical three-part organization make Reflect, Inform, Persuade an option for a variety of interests or course objectives.  Author Elizabeth Kessler hones in on three important points: improving academic writing skills; writing for various purposes, gradually moving from self to a focus on the wider world; and using materials that can be used as models for good writing.

Table of Contents:
Part I • The Writing Process   Chapter 1 • The Writing Process Introduction The Writing Process—A Holistic View The Writing Process—A Deconstructed View What I Learned Applying What I Learned Working with What I Learned   Chapter 2 • Invention/Prewriting Strategies Introduction     Strategies             Free Writing/Power Writing                   Clustering               Brainstorming             Journalistic Questions             Research             Interviewing  Do We Write Now?             Free Writing/Power Writing             Clustering             Brainstorming             Journalistic             Research What I Learned Applying What I Learned Working with What I Learned   Chapter 3  • Pre-Drafting:  Elements to Consider Introduction Purpose, Modes, and Genre             To Entertain             To Reflect/Express—Genres                         Journals                         Personal Narrative                                     From “Mama Sarah” Fortuna Benudiz Ippoliti                                       To Inform—Modes                         Descriptive Writing                         Comparison and Contrast                         Cause and Effect                                     From “Find Yourself Packing It On? Blame Friends” Gina Kolata                         Exemplification                         Definition                         Division and Classification                         Process Analysis                                     Ghirardelli™ Individual Chocolate Lava Cakes (advertisement)                         Research, Exposition, Summary, Analysis             To Inform—Genres                                         Research                         Process Analysis                         Movie Review                                     From “Hogwarts Under Siege” A. O. Scott              Purpose—Persuade                         Op-Ed Piece                                     From “Find Yourself Packing It On? Blame Friends”  Gina Kolata                         Personal Narrative                                     From “The Heart of the City” Terrell F. Dixon                          Advertisements                                     Mr. Goodwrench                                     The Starfish Story                                     Teddy Grahams Audience             Geo. H. Lewis & Sons (advertisement) Tone                              What I Learned Applying What I Learned Working with What I Learned   Chapter 4  • Drafting the Academic Informative Essay Introduction Building the Essay             Step One—Invention             Step Two—The Thesis             Step Three—The Introduction             Step Four—The Body Paragraphs             Step Five—Transitions             Step Six—The Conclusion             Step Seven—The Sources             Step Eight—The Complete First Draft                         Allison’s Fury What I Learned  Applying What I Learned  Working with What I Learned   Chapter 5  • Peer Review and Revision Introduction The Reading-Writing Connection             Expectations             The Editing Process                         Editing for Purpose                         Editing for Audience                         Commentary                         The Rubric for Structure, Organization, and Development                         Commentary                         Revision             How to Use Your Review                         Editing for Audience             Commentary             Completing Your Revisions What I Learned                Applying What I Learned Working with What I Learned   Chapter 6  • Editing and Formatting Introduction Grammar Phobia             The Mechanics Profile Formatting MLA Style  What I Learned Applying What I Learned  Working with What I Learned   Part II  • Genre Construction   Chapter 7  • To Reflect and Express Introduction Journals             Personal Reflection Journals                         A Marine at War—Journal Entry—Persian Gulf                                     War Narrative     Jason Douglas             Pre-Reading and Reader Response Journals                         Student Reader Responses             Genre Construction Letters             The Personal Letter                         Making Peace with My Dad; Making Peace With Myself Mari Carmen Marin             The Formal Business Letter             The Letter of Application             Genre Construction Autobiographical Narratives             The Closed Form Narrative                         Waste, A County Fair Tale Leilani Hall              The Open Form Narrative                         The Cat Under the Bed:  Growing Up SurvivorPatricia Lee Yongue             Chronological Organization             Spatial Organization                         The Lost Bills Genre Construction             Invention                         Pre-Drafting                         Drafting                         Peer Editing                                     Editing for Purpose                                     Editing for Audience                         Commentary                          Revision                         Editing and Formatting                                     Rubric for Structure, Organization, and Development Memoir                       From Memory of Walking Antonio Jocson                                                                        Genre Construction   Chapter 8  • To Inform Introduction The Multi-Mode Essay             From “The Classroom and the Wider Culture:  Identity as Key to Learning English Composition “ Fan Shen             “Cultural Tyranny”  Gloria Anzaldúa Genre Construction             Editing for Purpose             Editing for Audience             The Rubric for Structure, Organization, and Development Advertisements                   “Is This Where Your Teen Goes to Get High?” Newspaper and Magazine Articles             Newspaper Articles                         “War on Words Heats Up in Immigration Debate” Lini Kadaba             Magazine Articles                         From “In the Hot Seat”  Chryso D’Angelo              The Movie Review                                        Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007):Hogwarts Under Siege A.O. Scott             Genre Construction   Chapter 9  • To Persuade and Convince Introduction                                      What Is Argument?             Purpose             A Debatable Topic and Its Thesis             Evidence                              Appeals             Strategies—Conceding Points             Strategies—Refuting Points             Changing Positions Reading Argument                        Suggestions for Reading Argument             Personal Argument                         I Am a Housewife Elisa Garza             The Traditional Formal Argument                         Time to Lower the Drinking Age Joseph McDade             A Second Reading              Preparing to Write about an Argument                         Some Things Can Wait Reading Other Argumentative Genres             The Op-Ed Piece                         The Potterparazzi     Lisa M. Virgoe             The Editorial and Political Cartoons                         Justice     Pat Oliphant                          Obesity     Doug N. Marlette                         Clemens and Steroids     Mike Luckovich              The Advertisement Evaluating Genres           Chapter 10  • Writing Argument Introduction The Argument                 The Topic—Invention              Pre-Drafting                         Appeals and Structure                                     Logos                                      Rogerian Argument                                     Pathos                                     Ethos                          Logical Fallacies                                     The Either/Or Fallacy, or the False Dilemma                                     The False Analogy                                     The Red Herring                                     The Bandwagon Fallacy                         Generalizations                                     Hasty                                     Sweeping                                     Stereotypes             Drafting             Peer Editing                          Editing for Purpose                         Editing for Audience                         The Rubric for Structure, Organization, and Development                         Commentary             Revision             Formatting and Editing             Revision Revisited The Traditionally Constructed Argumentative Essay             Structure             The Writing Process Deferred             The Prompt for a 90-Minute Argumentative Essay Assignment                         Stronger Standards for Admission             The Final Draft Evaluating Genres Genre Construction   Part III · Reading about Personal Issues   Chapter 11 • Identity:  How Do I Construct My Identity? Introduction Visual Literacy             Community College Street Festival (Photograph)     Linda Daigle              Paris Wedding (Photograph)     Linda Daigle             Traditions?     Elizabeth R. Kessler Pausing to Consider                            Reading about College and Young Adult Identity             “Who Shall I Be?”  The Allure of a Fresh Start     Jennifer Crichton             My Deep Dark Secret?  I Miss My Family     Hadley Moore             The Classroom and the Wider Culture:  Identity as a Key to Learning English Composition Fan Shen  Reading about Social/Ethnic Identity             “Blaxicans” and Other Reinvented Americans     Richard Rodriguez              A Conversion Unveiled     Yvonne Ridley              The Price of Being “Americanized”  Michael Novak Reading about Gender and Sexual Identity             Never Quite Male or Female, It’s Her Decision  Now  Sarah Viren             The Boy’s Desire     Richard Rodriguez  Reflections on Identity                                 Reflecting to Write                           Chapter 12  • Body Image and Health:  How Do I Construct My Physical Being? Introduction Visual Literacy              Lost Identity, I (Photograph)     Franka Bruns             Guerneville 1980 (Photograph)     Anja Leigh Russell              Asian Beauty (Photograph)     Linda Daigle                        Surviving Beautifully  (Photograph)     Elizabeth Kessler  Pausing to Consider Reading about the Male Body             Son of a Pretty Boy     Andrew Brininstool  Reading about Weight             The Radius of Beauty Leilani Hall              Fat and Happy:  In Defense Acceptance Mary Ray Worley                                             Why Don’t They Just Eat? Reading about Beauty             Miss America:  More than a Beauty Queen?  Kate Shindle             Finding My Eye-dentity Olivia Chung Reflections on Body Image and Health Reflecting to Write   Chapter 13 • Education and Work:  How Do I Construct My Mind and My Career? Introduction         Visual Literacy             Professional Business Cards                         Real Estate Card     Patti Diller                             Veterinarian Card             Lipitor (Advertisement) Pausing to Consider Reading about Traditional Ways of Education              Forget the Fads—The Old Ways Work Best     Evan Keliher              I Didn’t Want to Work that Hard:  A Liberal Arts Education     Sherree Kessler Reading about Different Perspectives in Work and Education             “Truth Is, I’m the Same Guy I Always Was”     Paul McCartney              Help!  I’m a Mac Person in a PC World     Anne Perrin              Some Lessons from the Assembly Line     Andrew Braaksma              Letter to Friends     Sandra Cisneros   Reflections on Education and Work  Reflecting to Write    Chapter 14 • Trauma:  How Do I Construct Trust? Introduction Visual Literacy             Little Hearts, Big Hurts (Poster)             Maybe It’s Not Your Child Who Needs a Time-Out             You Won’t Know If You Don’t Ask              Sexual Assault             Strong & Silent or Ashamed & Alone? Pausing to Consider Reading about Authority Figures             Goodbye Rita Hayworth, Hello Margarita Cansino Linda Rader Overman                                                          Scouts Molested, Again Patrick Boyle andElizabeth Marchak  Reading about the Aftermath             I Want Constantine’s Murder to Die Olga Polites             How Would My Rape Shape My Kids’ Lives? Ellen Sussman Reflections on Trauma Reflecting to Write   Chapter 15 · Relationships:  How Do I Construct a Life with Others? Introduction Visual Literacy                                  Abuelita (Photograph)     Anja Leigh Russell              The Oscar Party (Photograph)     Linda Daigle             The Red Hat Ladies (Photograph)     Patti Diller  Pausing to Consider Reading Selection about Marriage and Other Relationships             Making Room for Dad’s New Girlfriend     Melissa Maynard  Reading about Alternative Parenting             Stop Setting Alarms on My Biological Clock     Carrie Friedman             If Our Son Is Happy, What Else Matters?     Scott Sherman  Reading about Getting Along with Others             Becoming “Real” Men at Last     Topher Sanders             That’s MS. to you, Bub  Abigail McCarthy  Reflections on Relationships Reflecting to Write   Chapter 16 · Closure:  How Will Others Construct Me? Introduction Visual Literacy Movies Pausing to Consider            Reading about the Media              When Harry Met Tony Malcolm Jones              No More Bikinis & Cowboys Scott Deveau  Reading about Our Family and Friends             You’re Going to End Up Like Your Mother Anyway, So Get Over It Sandy Jordan              A Father on a Poster Board Just Won’t Do Alison Buckholtz                          Reading about Health and Medicine             Find Yourself Packing It On?  Blame Friends Gina Kolata              Fat Comes in on Little Cat Feet Gail Collins   Reading about Education and Growing Up—At Any Age             Grades not Full Gauge of Talent     Cary Clack              The Teacher Who Changed My Life Nicholas Gage             Student Evaluations     David Holmberg              Bringing Up Adultolescents     Peg Tyre  Reading about Society’s Issues             My Name Is Margaret     Maya Angelou              Dropping the “One Drop” Rule     George Will  Reading about After I’ve Departed             The Champion Oak, Glennwood Cemetery (Photograph)   Linda Walsh             Daisies and Diaries:  Death and Defining Self  Stella Thompson              My Daddy Was My Hero Bindi Irwin              A Lady by Any Standard Michael Beschloss              The Paris Cemetery (Photograph) Linda Daigle  Reflections on Closure Reflecting to Write   Part IV ·Research              Chapter 17 · Writing the Research Paper Introduction What Is a Research Paper?              The Thesis             Evidence              Sources             Taking Notes             Academic Honesty             Writing the Paper             Using Quotations             Paraphrasing     Chapter 18 · MLA Documentation and Sample Paper Introduction         Use of MLA Format for Documentation The Works Cited Page             Joseph McDade’s work Cited Page Revised             General Rules Internal Documentation             General Rules Sample Student Research Paper             Stay At Home Moms: The New Choice Creating Controversy Lori Tiedt     Appendix 1 · Glossary of Composition Terms                                                             Appendix 2 · Permissions Appendix 3 · Index