Writing: A Guide for College and Beyonduses written instruction and visual tools to teach  how to read, write, and research effectively for different purposes.

Table of Contents:
Preface   PART 1: THE WRITER AS EXPLORER 1. Making Discoveries Look with new eyes Make discoveries Find a territory Use guides 2. Reading to Explore Become a critical reader Look with a critical eye Read actively Recognize fallacies Respond as a reader 3. Planning a Journey Determine your direction Write a thesis Plan your route 4. Returning and Revising See again Evaluate your draft Respond to others Pay attention to details PART 2: THE WRITER AS GUIDE 5. Writing in College Understand the demands of writing in college Think about your aim Think about your genre 6. Writing Effectively Understand the rhetorical situation Think about your audience Think about your credibility Become a successful writer Angela Yamashita, Got Roddick? 7. Reflecting Writing reflections An effective reflection Sue Kunitomi Embrey, Some Lines for a Younger Brother . . . How to read reflections Editorial Bharati Mukherjee, Two Ways to Belong in America Short story Pam Houston, A Blizzard under Blue Sky Memoir Pablo Medina, Arrival: 1960 Essay David Sedaris, Let it Snow Blog Jason Christopher Hartley, Just Another Soldier Essay Rick Bass, Why I Hunt: A Predator’s Meditation Essay Amy Tan, Mother Tongue How to write a reflection Student example Janine Carter, The Miracle Quilt Projects 8. Observing Writing observations An effective observation Annie Dillard, Living Like Weasels How to read observations Travel account John Wesley Powell, The First Descent of the Grand Canyon Photo essay Ansel Adams, Photographs of Japanese-Americans at Manzanar Essay Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place Article Tom Meagher and Suzanne Travers, Low Wages, Strong Backs Travel account Salman Hameed, The Travelogue of an Astronomer How to write an observation Student example Megan Garza, Chemistry 105: An Analysis of Classroom Dynamics in a Large Lecture Course Projects 9. Informing Reporting information Effective informative writing Samuel Wilson, The Emperor’s Giraffe How to read informative writing Profile Harold Evans, Russell Simmons Essay Lori Gottlieb, How Do I Love Thee? Instruction Hugh McManners, Building a Shelter Executive summary The National Commission on Writing, A Ticket to Work . . . Or a Ticket Out Informational Web site Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Visitor Information: View Lava Safely How to write to inform Student example Lakshmi Kotra, The Life Cycle of Stars Projects 10. Analyzing Texts Writing to analyze Writing a rhetorical analysis Writing a visual analysis Writing a literary analysis An effective analysis Tim Collins, Straight from the Heart How to read analyses Article David T.Z.Mindich, The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless            Essay Gail Bederman, Race, Gender, and Civilization at the Columbian Exposition Building Frank Gehry, The Stata Center Corporate logo Landor Associates, Federal Express Logo Product design Volkswagen Beetle Short story Alice Walker, Everyday Use Short story analysis Shaunte Huff, “Make Something of Yourself”: Symbolism in Alice Walker's “Everyday Use” Short story Dagoberto Gilb, Love in LA How to write an analysis Student example Grace Bernhardt, Investigating “Independence”: An Analysis of Frederick Douglass’ Speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Projects 11. Analyzing Causes Writing to analyze causes An effective causal analysis Stentor Danielson, Pesticides, Parasite May Cause Frog Deformities How to read causal analyses Essay Ari Kelman, City of Nature: New Orleans' Blessing; New Orleans' Curse, Essay Jay Walljasper, If You Build It, They Will Come–on Foot Essay Emily Raine, Why Should I Be Nice To You? Coffee Shops and the Politics of Good Service Article Angela Cain, Barbie's Body May Be Perfect, but Critics Remind Us It's Plastic Article Thom Curtis, Television Violence and Aggression Leaflet Operation Iraqi Freedom Leaflets How to write a causal analysis Student example Sean Booker, Borrowing Bling: The Appeal of Hip-hop to Young White Men Projects 12. Evaluating Writing to evaluate An effective evaluation Lefteris Pavlides, The Aesthetics of Wind Power How to read evaluations Opinion David Byrne, Learning to Love PowerPoint Opinion Edward Tufte, PowerPoint Is Evil Review Dan Crane, McNasty: The New "Healthy" Fast Food Items Taste Bad (and aren't so healthy either) Essay Michael Eric Dyson, Gangsta Rap and American Culture Article Stephanie Rosenbloom, The Nitpicking Nation How to write an evaluation Student example Rashaun Giddens, Stop Loss or “Loss of Trust” Projects 13. Arguing for a Position Writing a position argument An effective position argument Ted Koppel, Take My Privacy, Please! How to read position arguments Speech Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Speech Chief Seattle, Treaty Oration, 1854 Article Michel Marriott, The Color of Mayhem Letter Steven Johnson, Hillary vs, “Grand Theft Auto” Article Meredith Clark, Life without Health Insurance Advertisements Buff Daddy Food Cops Bust Cookie Monster How to write a position argument Student example Chris Nguyen, Speech Doesn’t Have to be Pretty to be Protected Projects 14. Arguing for Change Making an argument for change An effective argument for change Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence How to read arguments for change Essay Paul Saffo, A Trail of DNA and Data Article Thomas Homer-Dixon and S. Julio Friedmann, Coal in a Nice Shade of Green Speech Richard Nixon, Building the Interstate Highway System Grant proposal Monterey County Fire Chiefs Association, Breaking the Fire Department’s Language Barrier Web site United States Marine Corps, Recruitment Web Site Article Nancy Clark, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Are Muscular Men the Best of All? How to write an argument for change Student example Kim Lee, Let’s Make It a Real Melting Pot with Presidential Hopes for All Projects PART 3: THE WRITER AS RESEARCHER 15. Planning Research Analyze the research task Ask a question Determine what you need Draft a working thesis How to plan research Researcher at work 16. Exploring Libraries Determine the print sources you need Search using keywords Find books Find journal articles Evaluate print sources Start a working bibliography How to explore libraries Researcher at work 17. Exploring Online Libraries Find information in databases Construct effective searches Locate elements of a citation How to explore online libraries Researcher at work 18. Exploring the Web Find information on the Web Evaluate Web sources Find visual sources online How to explore the Web Researcher at work 19. Exploring in the Field Conduct interviews Administer surveys Make observations How to conduct field research Researcher at work 20. Writing the Research Paper Plan your organization Avoid plagiarism Quote sources without plagiarizing Summarize and paraphrase sources without plagiarizing Incorporate quotations Incorporate visuals How to write a research paper Researcher at work 21. MLA Documentation Elements of MLA documentation Entries in the list of works cited In-text citations in MLA style Books in MLA-style works cited Periodicals in MLA-style works cited Visual sources in MLA-style works cited Online sources in MLA-style works cited Other sources in MLA-style works cited Sample MLA paper  George Abukar, It’s Time to Shut Down the Identity Theft Racket 22. APA Documentation APA citations In-text citations in APA style Books in APA-style references list Periodicals in APA-style references list Online sources in APA-style references list Other sources in APA-style references list APA reports of research Sample APA paper   Don Sabo, Kathleen E. Miller, Merrill J. Melnick, and Leslie Heywood, Her Life Depends on It PART 4: THE WRITER AS DESIGNER 23. Thinking Visually Communicate with visuals and words Understand visual and verbal concepts 24. Creating Visuals   Know when to use images and graphics Take pictures that aren’t boring Compose images Edit images Create tables, charts, and graphs 25. Designing for Print Start with your readers Use headings and subheadings effectively Design pages Understand typography 26. Designing a Web Site Plan a Web site Make your site visually effective Make navigation easy 27. Delivering Presentations Plan a presentation Design effective visuals Give a memorable presentation 28. Working as a Team Organize a team Understand the team process Work as a team PART 5: THE WRITER AS EDITOR 29. Writing Effective Paragraphs Develop paragraphs Pay attention to paragraph length Link within and across paragraphs Start fast Conclude with strength Summary for editing paragraphs 30. Writing Effective Sentences Understand sentence basics Pay attention to verbs Stay active Find characters Write concise sentences Write ethical sentences Match structure with ideas Summary for editing sentences 31. Avoiding Errors Fix fragments Fix run-on sentences Fix comma spices Make verbs agree with subjects Make pronouns agree Fix shifts Use modifiers correctly Place modifiers carefully Summary for editing for errors 32. Understanding Punctuation and Conventions Identify where commas are needed Place commas correctly with modifiers Place commas correctly with clauses and phrases Use semicolons and colons correctly Use hyphens, dashes, and parentheses correctly Use quotation marks correctly Use other punctuation correctly Understand print conventions Summary for punctuation and conventions 33. Writing in a Second Language Understand how languages differ Understand nouns in English Understand articles in English Understand verbs and modifiers in English Understand English sentence structure Summary for second language writers Appendices Writing essay exams Creating portfolios