From Idea to Essay: A Rhetoric, Reader, and Handbook, 2009 MLA Update Edition
FROM IDEA TO ESSAY is a rhetorically arranged rhetoric/reader/research paper guide/handbook that systematically leads students through the complex process of writing an essay. Part I covers the fundamentals of essay writing. The heart of the book, Part II, teaches the nine rhetorical modes in nine identically structured chapters. Part III addresses writing research papers and using documentation. Part IV presents a handbook of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. FROM IDEA TO ESSAY features...
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FROM IDEA TO ESSAY is a rhetorically arranged rhetoric/reader/research paper guide/handbook that systematically leads students through the complex process of writing an essay. Part I covers the fundamentals of essay writing. The heart of the book, Part II, teaches the nine rhetorical modes in nine identically structured chapters. Part III addresses writing research papers and using documentation. Part IV presents a handbook of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. FROM IDEA TO ESSAY features appealing readings with literary, professional, and student examples presented together with vocabulary words for study. The text includes a wealth of writing activities, including visually-based and internet-research assignments. The Twelfth Edition is more brief and concise than previous editions, giving it greater functionality and accessibility for students. This edition has been updated to reflect guidelines from the 2009 MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Seventh Edition.
Note: Each chapter in Part I concludes with Writing Assignments. Each chapter in Part II concludes with Writing Assignments, an Internet Research Assignment, Additional Writing Assignments, a Rewriting Assignment, and a Photo Writing Assignment. Part I. FUNDAMENTALS. 1. The Writing Process. Prewriting.Writing. Rewriting. Generating Ideas with Journal Writing. Assembling a Portfolio. 2. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Seeing. Critical Thinking. Critical Reading. Critical Seeing. Responding to a Work of Art. 3. Elements of the Essay. Purpose. Audience. Strategy. Comparison/Contrast. Blending Rhetorical Patterns. 4. The Paragraph. Uses of the Paragraph. The Shape of the Paragraph. Characteristics of the Paragraph. Journalistic Paragraphs. Transitions between Paragraphs. Paragraphs without Transitions. Using Varied Paragraph Transitions.Beginning and Ending Paragraphs. Rewriting Assignment. 5. Planning and Organizing the Essay Finding a Topic. Prewriting Activities. Writer's Block. Finding the Thesis. The Informal Outline. The Formal Outline. Use of the Outline. Rewriting Assignment. 6. Drafting, Revising, and Style. Pointers on Drafting. The First Draft. Revising the First Draft. Achieving Style. Editing the Second Draft. Rewriting Assignment. Part II. WRITING THE ESSAY. 7. Narration. Reading for Ideas. Story: The Code" by Richard T. Gill. Poem: "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson. How to Write a Narration. Professional Model: "A Gift of Laughter" by Allan Sherman. Student Model: "My Uncle Thom" Kindra Neuman. Alternate Readings: Excerpt from Night, by Elie Wiesel; "The Tell-tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. 8. Description. Reading for Ideas. Story: "The Lament" by Anton Chekhov. Poem: "Coats" by Jane Kenyon. How to Write a Description. Professional Model: "Mma Ramotswe Thinks about the Land" by Alexander McCall Smith. Student Model: "Children and Guns" by Shjena Erazo. Alternate Readings: "My Father" by Naomi Wolf; "Sister Flowers" by Maya Angelou. 9. Example. Reading for Ideas. Story: "We're Poor" by Floyd Dell. Poem: "Eleanor Rigby" by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. How to Write with Examples. Professional Model: "Are You All Right?" Wendell Berry. Student Model: "Poverty in Atlanta" by Tom Meade. Alternate Readings: "What I've Learned from Men" by Barbara Ehrenreich; "The Word as Person: Eponyms" by Don Farrant. 10. Definition. Reading for Ideas. Story: "Arrangement in Black and White" by Dorothy Parker. Poem: "Incident" by Countee Cullen. How to Write a Definition. Professional Model: "People Aren't Born Prejudiced" by Ian Stevenson. Student Model: "Prejudice: Child of Ignorance" by Cole Ollinger. Alternate Readings: "Will Someone Please Hiccup My Pat?" by William Spooner Donald; "Jim Crow Days" by Sarah I. and A. Elizabeth Delany. 11. Comparison/Contrast. Reading for Ideas. Story: "Dream House" by Anthony C. Winkler. Poem: "The Twins" by Charles Bukowski. How to Write a Comparison/Contrast Paper. Professional Model: "Diogenes and Alexander" by Gilbert Highet. Student Model: "Aben and James" by Randy Varney. Alternate Readings: "Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts" by Bruce Catton; "The Richer, The Poorer" by Dorothy West. 12. Process. Reading for Ideas. Story: "How Mr. Hogan Robbed a Bank" by John Steinbeck. Poem: "Tract" by William Carlos Williams. How to Write a Process Paper. Professional Model: "Coming into Language" by Jimmy Santiago Baca. Student Model: "Driving to Preserve Your Car" by Monica Esparza. Alternate Readings: "How My Grandmother Became a Concubine" by Jung Chang; "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words" by Paul Roberts. 13. Classification/Division. Reading for Ideas. Story: "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Poem: "All the World's a Stage" by William Shakespeare. How to Write a Classification/Division Paper. Professional Model: "The Plot against People" by Russell Baker. Student Essay: "Handicaps" by David Beckham. Alternate Readings: "Three Types of Resistance to Oppression" by Martin Luther King, Jr.; "College Pressures" by William Zinsser. 14. Causal Analysis. Reading for Ideas. Story: "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" by Irwin Shaw. Poem: "Money" by Victor Contoski. How to Write an Analysis of Cause. Professional Model: "The Catastrophe of Success" Tennessee Williams. Student Model: "The Coffee Virgin" by Ryyan Joye. Alternate Readings: "Why We Crave Horror Movies" by Stephen King; "Nearing Ninety" William Maxwell. 15. Argumentation. Reading for Ideas. Story: "War" by Luigi Pirandello. Poem: "Doolie is a Traitor" James Michie. How to Write an Argument. Professional Model: "The Case against Man" by Isaac Asimov. Student Model: "Online Role Playing: Waste of Time or Valuable Tool?" Meghan Boehmer. Alternate Readings: "I Want a Wife" by Judy Syfers; "Playing God on No Sleep" by Anna Quindlen. Part III. THE ESSAY EXAMINATION. 16. Preparing for the Essay examination. How to Do Well on Essay Examinations.Using Rhetorical Strategies in Essay Examinations. Part IV. THE RESEARCH PAPER 17. Doing the Research. Choosing a Topic. Doing the Research. Using the Internet to Research a Topic. Compile a Bibliography. Take Notes. Formulating the Thesis, Outlining the Paper, and Writing the Abstract. 18. Writing and Documenting the Paper. Plagiarism. Documenting the Humanities Paper (MLA). Documenting the Social Sciences Paper (APA).Preparing the Final Copy (MLA). Preparing the Final Copy (APA). Part V. HANDBOOK 19. Grammar Fundamentals. The Sentence. The Clause and Phrase. Sentence Types. Parts of Speech. 20. Correcting Common Errors. Errors with Sentences. Errors in Agreement. Errors in Point of View. Errors in Reference. Errors with Modifiers. Errors in Parallelism. Errors in Diction. Combining Sentences. Errors in Punctuation. Errors in Capitalization. Errors in Spelling. Appendix: Answers to Self-Grading Exercises. Credits. Index."
