Get Writing: Paragraphs and Essays

Part I: GETTING STARTED. 1. Why Write? Analyzing Images. "Put It in Writing". Writing Activity. Goals of This Book. Using Get Writing. Working Together. What Is Good Writing? The Writing Context. Writing Activity. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 2. The Writing Process. Analyzing Images. The Writing Process. Step 1: Prewrite. Prewriting Techniques. Writing Activity. Step 2: Plan. Moving from Topic to Thesis. Working Together. Organizing Support. Developing an Outline. Writing Activity. Step 3: Write. Writing Activity. Step 4: Cool. Step 5: Revise. Using Peer Review. Revising Activity. Step 6: Edit. Editing Activity. Avoiding Plagiarism. Writing under Pressure: The Essay Exam. Critical Thinking. Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. Part II: DEVELOPING PARAGRAPHS. 3. Developing Topic Sentences and Controlling Ideas. Analyzing Images. What Is a Paragraph? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Topic Sentences and Controlling Ideas. Writing Topic Sentences. Paragraphs without Topic Sentences. Revising Paragraphs. Working Together. Using Paragraph Breaks in Dialogue. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 4. Supporting Topic Sentences with Details. Analyzing Images. What Are Supporting Details? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Steps to Building Effective Paragraphs. Start with a Clear Topic Sentence and Focused Controlling Idea. Distinguish between Supporting Detail and Restating Topic Sentences.Support Topic Sentences with Adequate and Relevant Details. Types of Support. Personal Observations and Experience. Examples. Facts and Opinions. Statistics. Testimony (Quotations). Blending Support. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 5. Developing Paragraphs Using Description. Analyzing Images. What Is Description? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Creating Dominant Impressions. Exam Skills. Improving Dominant Impressions and Supporting Detail. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 6. Developing Paragraphs Using Narration. Analyzing Images. What Is Narration? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Writing Narration: Making a Point. Exam Skills. Writing Narration: Using Transitions. Writing Narration: Using Dialogue. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics.Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Writing on the Web. Analyzing Images. Points to Remember. 7. Developing Paragraphs Using Example. Analyzing Images. What Is an Example? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Writing Example Paragraphs. Types of Examples. Using Hypothetical Examples. Writing Example: Using Transitions. Exam Skills. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics. Working Together Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 8. Developing Paragraphs Using Definition. Analyzing Images. What Is Definition? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Writing Definition: Establishing Meaning. The Purpose of Definition. Exam Skills. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 9. Developing Paragraphs Using Comparison and Contrast. Analyzing Images. What Are Comparison and Contrast? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? The Purposes of Comparison and Contrast. Writing to Explain. Writing to Convince. Organizing Comparison Paragraphs. Subject by Subject. Point by Point. Exam Skills. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 10. Developing Paragraphs Using Division and Classification. Analyzing Images. What Are Division and Classification? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Writing Division Paragraphs. Writing Classification Paragraphs. Exam Skills. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 11. Developing Paragraphs Using Process. Analyzing Images. What Is Process? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Writing Paragraphs That Explain. Writing Paragraphs That Give Directions. Exam Skills. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 12. Developing Paragraphs Using Cause and Effect. Analyzing Images. What Is Cause and Effect? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Critical Thinking for Writing Cause-and-Effect Paragraphs. Exam Skills. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 13. Developing Paragraphs Using Argument. Analyzing Images. What Is Argument? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Critical Thinking for Writing Argument Paragraphs. Understanding Your Audience. Appealing to Hostile Readers. Exam Skills. Writing at Work. Student Paragraphs. Putting Paragraphs Together. Selecting Topics. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images.Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. Part III: WRITING ESSAYS. 14. Planning Essays. Analyzing Images. What Is an Essay? The Thesis Statement. Organizing Essays. The Title and Introduction. The Body. The Conclusion. Putting It All Together: Developing an Outline. Topic Sentence Outlines. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 15. Developing Essays. Analyzing Images. How Do Writers Develop Essays? Description. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Narration. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Example. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Definition. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Comparison and Contrast. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Division and Classification. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Process. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Cause and Effect. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Argument. Understanding Meaning: What Is the Writer Trying to Say? Evaluating Strategy: How Does the Writer Say It? Appreciating Language: What Words Does the Writer Use? Working Together. Writing Activity. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 16. Revising Essays. Analyzing Images. What Is Revision? Revising Elements of an Essay. Look at the Big Picture. Revising an Essay. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. Part IV: IMPROVING ESSAYS. 17. Improving Style and Consistency. Analyzing Images. What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Using Consistent Tense. Using Past and Present. Using Consistent Person. Using Consistent Organization. Using Clear Transitions. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember 18. Improving Sentence Variety. Analyzing Images. What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Varying Sentence Length. Short Sentences. Long Sentences. Increasing Sentence Variety with Questions and Exclamations. Varying Sentence Openings. Opening Sentences with Adverbs. Opening Sentences with Prepositions. Varying Methods of Joining Ideas. Combining Sentences with Present Participles. Combining Sentences Using Compound Subjects and Verbs. Combining Sentences Using Appositives. Combining Sentences. Using Relative Clauses. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 19. Improving Word Choice. Analyzing Images. The Power of Words. What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Improving Word Choices. Using Correct Words. Using Effective Words. Using Specific Nouns. Using Strong Verbs. Avoiding Clichés. Deleting "Deadhead" Words. Using Appropriate Words. Using the Appropriate Level of Diction. Using Appropriate Idioms. Commonly Misused Idioms. Being Aware of Connotations. Working Together. Critical Thinking. Analyzing Images. What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. Part V: SPECIAL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS. 20. Using Sources and MLA Documentation. Analyzing Images. Why Use and Document Sources? Using Sources. Finding and Locating Sources. Library Sources. Internet Sources. Evaluating Online Sources. What Is MLA Documentation? Using Citations. Building a Works Cited List. Why Document Sources? What Not to Document. What You Must Document. Using and Documenting Sources. Using Direct Quotations. Using Paraphrases. MLA Guidelines for Listing Sources in Works Cited and Parenthetical Notes. Books. Periodicals. Other Print Sources. Nonprint Sources. Electronic Sources. Sources and Sample Documented Essay. Book Excerpt. Magazine Article. A Website. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 21. Writing at Work. Analyzing Images. Email. Strategies for Writing Email. Reports. Strategies for Writing Reports. Résumés and Cover Letters. Strategies for Writing Résumés. Strategies for Writing Cover Letters. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Analyzing Images. Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. Part VI: UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR. 22. Understanding the Sentence. Analyzing Images. What Is a Sentence? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? The Parts of Speech. Subjects and Verbs. What Are Nouns? What Are Pronouns? Locating Hidden Subjects. Inverted Sentences. Possessives Prepositional Phrases. Verbs. Building Sentences with Independent and Dependent Clauses. Sentence Length. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 23. Avoiding Fragments. Analyzing Images. What Are Sentence Fragments? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? What Are Fragments? Correcting Fragments. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 24. Building Sentences Using Coordination and Subordination. Analyzing Images. What Do You Know? What Are Coordination and Subordination? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Types of Sentences. Coordination. Coordinating Conjunctions. Adverbial Conjunctions. Common Adverbial Conjunctions. Subordination. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 25. Repairing Run-ons and Comma Splices. Analyzing Images. What Are Run-ons? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Run-ons: Fused Sentences and Comma Splices. Fused Sentences. Comma Splices. Identifying Run-ons. Run-ons Needing Minor Repairs. Run-ons Needing Major Repairs. Methods of Repairing Run-ons. Working Together. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember 26. Correcting Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers. Analyzing Images. What Are Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers? Dangling Modifiers. Misplaced Modifiers. What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Avoiding Dangling Modifiers. Misplaced Modifiers. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 27. Understanding Parallelism. Analyzing Images. What Is Parallelism? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Overcoming Parallelism Errors. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 28. Subject-Verb Agreement. Analyzing Images. What Is Subject-Verb Agreement? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Grammar Choices and Meaning. Special Nouns and Pronouns. Group Nouns. Hidden Subjects. "Either . . . or" Subjects. Indefinite Pronouns. Relative Pronouns: Who, Which, and That. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Working Together. What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 29. Verbs: Tense, Mood, and Voice. Analyzing Images. What Are Verb Tense, Mood, and Voice? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Helping Verbs. Regular and Irregular. Verbs. Problem Verbs: Lie/Lay, Rise/Raise, Set/Sit. Lie/Lay. Rise/Raise. Set/Sit. Shifts in Tense. Mood. Active and Passive Voice. Grammar Choices and Meaning. Passive Voice in Professional Writing. Other Verb Problems. Could Have, Must Have, Should Have, Would Have. Double Negatives. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 30. Pronoun Reference, Agreement, and Case. Analyzing Images. What Are Pronouns? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Types of Pronouns. Using Pronouns. Pronoun Reference. Pronoun Agreement. Singular and Plural Nouns and Pronouns. Avoiding Sexism. Methods to Avoid Sexism. Avoiding Illogical Shifts in Point of View. Using the Right Case. Plural Constructions. Between. Comparisons. The Verb to Be. Who and Whom. This and That, These and Those. They and Them. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? Writing on the Web. What Have You Learned? Points to Remember. 31. Adjectives and Adverbs. Analyzing Images. What Are Adjectives and Adverbs? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Understanding Adjectives. Understanding Adverbs. Grammar Choices and Meaning. Good and Well, Bad and Badly. Comparisons. Superlatives. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember Part VII: UNDERSTANDING PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS 32. Commas and Semicolons. Analyzing Images. What Are Commas and Semicolons? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? The Comma. Comma Uses. Avoiding Unnecessary Commas. Semicolons. What Are Semicolons? Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 33. Other Marks of Punctuation. Analyzing Images. What Are the Other Marks of Punctuation? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? The Apostrophe. Quotation. Marks. Colon. Parentheses. Brackets. Dash. Hyphen. Ellipsis. Slash. Question Mark. Exclamation Point. Period. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 34. Capitalization. Analyzing Images. What Is Capitalization? What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Rules for Capitalization. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. 35. Spelling Errors; Analyzing Images. What Do You Know? What Are You Trying to Say? What Have You Written? Commonly Misspelled Words. Commonly Confused Words. Forming Plurals. Adding Endings. Past-Tense Spellings. Regular Verbs. Irregular Verbs. Spelling Other Endings. Working Together. Critical Thinking. What Have You Written? What Have You Learned? Writing on the Web. Points to Remember. Part VIII: READINGS FOR WRITERS. Strategies for Reading. First Reading. Second Reading. Emily Prager, Our Barbies, Ourselves. Description: Luis Alberto Urrea, Border Story. Carl Rowan, Unforgettable Miss Bessie. Narration: James Dillard, A Doctor's Dilemma. Maya Angelou, Champion of the World. Example: Anna Quindlen, Homeless. Tony Brown, Death of a Dream. Definition: Janice Castro, Spanglish. Laura Schlessinger, What is Support? Comparison and Contrast: Rachel Carson, A Fable for Tomorrow. Azadeh Moaveni, Maman and America. Cornel West, Black Political Leadership. John Holt, Three Kinds of Discipline. Process: Marvin Harris, How Our Skins Got Their Color. Armond D. Budish, Fender Benders: Legal Do's and Don'ts. John Taylor Gatto, Why Schools Don't Educate. Steven Reiss and James Wiltz, Why America Loves Reality TV. Argument and Persuasion: Lance Morrow, Why I Changed My Mind on the Death Penalty. Mary Sherry, In Praise of the F Word. HANDBOOK. Basic Sentence Structure. Phrases and Clauses. Types of Sentences. Sentence Errors. Fragments. Run-ons. Modifiers. Dangling Modifiers. Misplaced Modifiers. Faulty Parallelism. Strategies for Detecting and Revising Faulty Parallelism. Verbs. Subject-Verb Agreement. Verb Tense. Problem Verbs: Lie/Lay, Rise/Raise, Set/Sit. Shifts in Tense. Pronouns. Reference. Agreement. Adjectives and Adverbs. Comma. Semicolon. Apostrophe. Quotation Marks. Colon. Parentheses. Brackets. Dash. Hyphen. Ellipsis. Slash. Question Mark. Exclamation Point. Period. Capitalization. Spelling. Commonly Confused Words. Commonly Misspelled Words. Two Hundred Topics for College Writing. ODD-NUMBERED ANSWERS.