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| The Persuasive Principle | |
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| General Subject | |
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| Limited Subject | |
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| Thesis | |
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| What a Thesis Isn't | |
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| A Thesis Is Not a Title | |
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| A Thesis Is Not an Announcement of the Subject | |
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| A Thesis Is Not a Statement of Absolute Fact | |
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| A Thesis Is Not the Whole Essay | |
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| What a Good Thesis Is | |
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| A Good Thesis Is Restricted | |
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| A Good Thesis Is Unified | |
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| A Good Thesis Is Specific | |
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| Exercises for Review | |
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| The Thesis at Work in the Paper | |
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| Two Ads on the Community Bulletin Board | |
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| Two "Personals." Two Sets of Directions | |
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| Two Thank-You Notes | |
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| Two Letters of Complaint | |
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| Two Replies to the Second Letter of Complaint | |
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| Visual Prompt: Tying it Together | |
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| Two "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" Essays | |
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| Two Freshman English Essays on a Literary Subject | |
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| "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson | |
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| Office Hours: Basic Tools for Writers | |
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| Narration | |
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| Stress the Story | |
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| Remember that a Good Story Has Conflict | |
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| Use Plenty of Convincing Realistic Details | |
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| Play Fair | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Narration Themes | |
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| Readings | |
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| Visual Prompt: Stories | |
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| Student Essay: "Big Bully," | |
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| "Free Tibet, Man!," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (paragraph length) | |
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| "Foul Shots," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (getting even, settling scores) | |
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| "The Perfect Picture," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (overwriting) | |
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| "The Happiest Day of My Life," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (preposition at end of sentence) | |
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| "Salvation," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (nostalgia) | |
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| "A Cultural Divorce," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (specific details) | |
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| "Sitting Duck," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (sentence fragments) | |
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| Office Hours: Reading Around | |
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| Description | |
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| Emotional Appeal | |
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| Try a Deliberately Unconventional Thesis | |
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| Show Your Powers of Observation by Stressing Specific Details | |
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| Use Specific Language | |
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| Stress the Psychological Impact of What You Describe | |
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| Organization | |
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| The Persuasive Principle | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Description Themes | |
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| Visual Prompt: Detail | |
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| Student Essay: "Master of Bad Management," | |
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| "Winstead's Best Burgers," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (allusion) | |
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| "I Was a Member of the Kung Fu Crew," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (pronoun agreement) | |
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| "My Glove: a Biography," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (citation of authority) | |
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| "All by Myself," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (comparisons) | |
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| "Double Take," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (hyperbole) | |
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| "The Loneliness of Rose," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (unstated thesis) | |
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| Office Hours: Notebooks: the Writer's Savings Account | |
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| Examples | |
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| are There Enough Examples to Support Your Thesis? | |
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| are the Examples Fairly Chosen? | |
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| Have You Stuck to Your Thesis? | |
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| Have You Arranged Your Examples to Produce the Greatest Impact? | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Example Essays | |
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| Visual Prompt: Examples | |
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| Student Essay: "Broke and Bored: the Summer Job," | |
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| "Always Settle Scores at Noon," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (sentence length) | |
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| "Couple Lies," | |
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| What About Your Writing? ("Why didn't I say that?") | |
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| "Fruitful Questions," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (rhetorical questions) | |
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| "Chores," Debra Marquart | |
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| What About Your Writing? (intensifiers) | |
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| "How to Speak of Animals," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (parallelism) | |
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| Office Hours: Of Course They Count | |
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| Process | |
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| be Sure You are Writing About a Process | |
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| Follow Strict Chronological Order | |
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| Before Describing the First Step of the Process, Indicate Any Special Ingredients or Equipment that Will be Needed | |
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| be Sure the Process Is Complete | |
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| Try to Anticipate Difficulties | |
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| If You Need to Handle Many Separate Steps, Arrange Them into Groups When Possible | |
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| Define Unfamiliar Terms | |
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| Avoid Highly Technical Processes | |
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| Avoid Subjects for Which Pictures Work Better Than Words | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Process Essays | |
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| Visual Prompt: Process | |
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| Student Essay: "How Not to Work Out," | |
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| "Corn Bread with Character," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (introductions: how do I get my reader's attention?) | |
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| "IT," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (repetition) | |
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| "The Exploding Toilet and Other Embarrassments," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (levels of usage) | |
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| "Too Many Bananas," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (jargon) | |
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| "The Spider and the Wasp," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (announcement of subject) | |
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| Office Hours: Uses and Abuses of the Computer | |
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| Comparison and Contrast. Patterns | |
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| Block Pattern | |
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| Alternating Pattern | |
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| Which Pattern? | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Comparison-and-Contrast Themes | |
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| Block Pattern | |
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| Visual Prompt: Compare/Contrast Student Essay: "Coming in Last," | |
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| Alternating Pattern | |
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| Student Essay: "Dads and Dads," | |
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| "Lassie Never Chases Rabbits," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (conclusions) | |
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| "My Real Car," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (onomatopoeia) | |
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| "Dearly Disconnected," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (topicality) | |
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| "Speaking of Writing," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (thesis at end of essay) | |
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| "Love Thy Playstation, Love Thyself," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (humor) | |
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| Office Hours: Revision: An Overview | |
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| Cause and Effect | |
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| Do Not Oversimplify Causes | |
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| Do Not Oversimplify Effects | |
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| Distinguish Between Direct and Indirect Causes and Effects | |
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| Distinguish Between Major and Minor Causes and Effects | |
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| Do Not Omit Links in a Chain of Causes and Effects | |
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| Play Fair | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Cause-and-Effect Papers | |
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| Visual Prompt: Cause/Effect | |
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| Student Essay: "A Few Short Words," | |
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| "Why We Crave Horror Movies," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (sexism: he) | |
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| "Beyond Chagrin," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (elegant variation) | |
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| "Cold Autumn," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (finding a subject: work) | |
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| "Why I Quit the Company," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (qualifiers, rational tone) | |
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| "The Best Years of My Life," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (comma splice) | |
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| Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience | |
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| Division and Classification | |
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| Division | |
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| Classification | |
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| Use Only One Principle of Classification | |
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| be Consistent | |
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| Make the Classifications as Complete as Possible | |
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| Acknowledge Any Complications | |
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| Follow the Persuasive Principle | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Classification Themes | |
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| Visual Prompt: Classification | |
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| Student Essay: "Bookworm," | |
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| "Mother-in-Law," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (finding a subject: romantic highs and lows) | |
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| "Take a Left Turn onto Nowhere Street," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (titles) | |
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| "The Seven Lesson Schoolteacher," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (ironic quotation marks) | |
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| "A Brush with Reality: Surprises in the Tube," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (specialties of the author) | |
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| "Three Kinds of Discipline," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (alliteration) | |
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| Office Hours: Revision: the Psychology of it All | |
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| Definition | |
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| A Definition Paper Can Compare and Contrast a Definition Paper Can Classify | |
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| A Definition Paper Can Give Examples | |
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| A Definition Paper Can Trace a Process | |
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| A Definition Paper Can Study Cause-and-Effect Relationships | |
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| A Definition Paper Can Use Narration | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Definition Essays | |
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| Visual Prompt: Defining Terms | |
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| Student Essay: "Growing Up," Anonymous | |
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| "The Real Thing," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (comic-book punctuation, exclamation points, etc.) | |
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| "What Is Intelligence, Anyway?" | |
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| What About Your Writing? (simple thesis) | |
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| "Cheap Thrills," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (dialogue) | |
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| "Sick in the Head," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (puns) | |
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| "Catachresis," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (having a gimmick) | |
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| Office Hours: Deadlines | |
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| Argumentation | |
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| Go Easy on Universals--Qualify When Appropriate | |
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| Give Consideration to Differing Opinions | |
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| be Cautious with Abuse and Ridicule | |
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| Devote Most of Your Attention to Supporting Your View, Not Advocating It | |
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| Some Common Logical Fallacies | |
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| Writing Suggestions for Argumentation Essays | |
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| Visual Prompt: Argumentation | |
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| Student Essay: "Sing it When it Counts," | |
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| "Thanksgiving's No Turkey," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (taking sides for fun, mental exercise) | |
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| "Distracting Miss Daisy," | |
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| What About Your Writing? ("And" at the start of a sentence) | |
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| "The Smiley-Face Approach," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (passive voice) | |
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| "Working at McDonalds," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (attack on an orthodox view) | |
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| "Appeasing the Gods, with Insurance," | |
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| What About Your Writing? ("You") | |
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| "Black Athletes on Parade," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (turning tables, beating opponents to the punch) | |
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| "A Modest Proposal," | |
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| What About Your Writing? (irony) | |
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| Office Hours: What About the Rest of Your Writing? | |
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| Credits | |
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| Index | |