Title: Writing with a Thesis: A Rhetoric and Reader
Abstract: **DENOTES NEW ESSAY. 1. THE PERSUASIVE PRINCIPLE. General Subject. Limited Subject. Thesis. What a Thesis Isn't. Thesis Is Not a Title. Thesis Is Not an Announcement of the Subject. Thesis Is Not a Statement of Absolute Fact. Thesis Is Not the Whole Essay. What a Thesis Is. Thesis Is Restricted. Thesis Is Unified. Thesis Is Specific. Thesis at Work in the Paper. Two Ads on the Community Bulletin Board. Two Personals. Two Sets of Directions. Two Thank-You Notes. Two Letters of Complaint. Two Replies to the Second of Complaint. Two I Spent Summer Vacation Essays. Two Freshman English Essays on a Literary Subject. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Chapter 1-1/2: Office Hours: Basic Tools for Writers. 2. NARRATION. Stress the Story. Remember That a Story Has Conflict. Use Plenty of Convincing Realistic Details. Play Fair. Suggestions for Narration Themes. Student Essay: Big Bully by Elizabeth Hiestand. Computer Games Anonymous by Joanna Connors. What About Your Writing? (Paragraph Length). Foul Shots by Rogelio R. Gomez. What About Your Writing? (Getting Even, Settling Scores). **Perfect Picture by James Alexander Thom. What About Your Writing? (Overwriting). Salvation by Langston Hughes. What About Your Writing? (Nostalgia). A Cultural Divorce by Elizabeth Wong. What About Your Writing? (Specific Details). **Sitting Duck by Thomas Froncek. What About Your Writing? (Sentence Fragments). Chapter 2-1/2: Office Hours: Reading Around. 3. DESCRIPTION. Emotional Appeal. Try a Deliberately Unconventional Thesis. Show Your Powers of Observation by Stressing Specific. Details. Use Specific Language. Stress the Psychological Impact of What You Describe. Organization. Persuasive Principle. Suggestions for Description Themes. **Student Essay: Master of Bad Management by Robynn Patrick. Winstead's Best Burgers by Sarah Bryan Miller. What About Your Writing? (Allusion). **I Was a Member of the Kung Fu Crew by Henry Han Xi Lau. What About Your Writing? (Pronoun Agreement). A Promise in a Lunch Pail by Connie Schultz. What About Your Writing? (Finding a Subject: Family Life). **All by Myself by Tom Reynolds. What About Your Writing? (Comparisons). **The Loneliness of Rose by Jon Katz. What About Your Writing? (Unstated Thesis). Good Used Cars by John Steinbeck. What About Your Writing? (Stream-of-consciousness Writing). Chapter 3-1/2: Office Hours: Notebooks: Writer's Savings Account. 4. EXAMPLES. Are There Enough Examples to Support Your Thesis? Are the Examples Fairly Chosen? Have You Stuck to Your Thesis? Have You Arranged Your Examples to Produce the Greatest Impact? Suggestions for Example Essays. Student Essay: Commuter Rail by Sadie Van Buren. Couple Lies by Adair Lara. What About Your Writing? (Why didn't I say that?). Fruitful Questions by James Sollisch. What About Your Writing? (Rhetorical Questions). **Why Don't We Complain by William F. Buckley. What About Your Writing? (And at the Start of a Sentence). to Speak of Animals by Umberto Eco. What About Your Writing? (Parallelism). **As Google Goes, So Goes the Nation by Geoffrey Nunberg. What About Your Writing? (Preposition at End of Sentence). Chapter 4-1/2: Office Hours: Of Course They Count. 5. PROCESS. Be Sure You Are About a Process. Follow Strict Chronological Order. Before Describing the First Step of the Process, Indicate Any Special Ingredients or Equipment That Will Be Needed. Be Sure the Process Is Complete. Try to Anticipate Difficulties. If You Need to Handle Many Separate Steps, Arrange Them into Groups When Possible. Define Unfamiliar Terms. Avoid Highly Technical Processes. Avoid Subjects for Which Pictures Work Better Than Words. Suggestions for Process Essays. Student Essay: Bows on the Butt: Choosing Your Wedding Gown by Jennifer Simms-Collins. Corn Bread with Character by Ronni Lundy. What About Your Writing? (Introductions: How Do I Get Reader's Attention?). to Write a Personal Letter by Garrison Keillor. What About Your Writing? (Using You). **It by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. What About Your Writing? (Repetition). **My Crowd by Bill Wasik. What About Your Writing? (Elegant Variation). The Spider and the Wasp by Alexander Petrunkevitch. What About Your Writing? (Announcement of Subject). Chapter 5-1/2: Office Hours: Uses and Abuses of the Computer. 6. COMPARISON AND CONTRAST. Patterns. Block Patterns. Alternating Pattern. Which Pattern? Suggestions for Comparison-and-Contrast Themes. **Student Essay: Coming in Last by Annette P. Grossman. Student Essay: Chick and Guy Movies by Edith Renaldo. Lassie Never Chases Rabbits by Kevin Cowherd. What About Your Writing? (Conclusions). My Real Car by Bailey White. What About Your Writing? (Onomatopoeia). **A Scythe by Wendell Berry. What About Your Writing? (Intensifiers: Really, Very). Speaking of Writing by William Zinsser. What About Your Writing? (Thesis at End of Essay). **Love thy PlayStation, Love Thyself by Reihan Salam and Will Wilkinson. What About Your Writing? (Humor). Chapter 6-1/2: Office Hours: Revision: An Overview. 7. CAUSE AND EFFECT. Do Not Oversimplify Causes. Do Not Oversimplify Effects. Distinguish Between Direct and Indirect Causes and Effects. Distinguish Between Major and Minor Causes and Effects. Do Not Omit Links in a Chain of Causes and Effects. Play Fair. Suggestions for Cause-and-Effect Papers. Student Essay: A Few Short Words by Matthew Monroe. Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King. What About Your Writing? (Sexism: He). **Why I Quit the Company by Tomoyuki Iwashita. What About Your Writing? (Qualifiers, Rational Tone). **Bring Back Stinks and Bangs by Robin McKie. What About Your Writing? (Hyperbole). The Best Years of Life by Betty Rollin. What About Your Writing? (Comma Splice). Thinking Like a Mountain by Aldo Leopold. What About Your Writing? (Levels of Usage). Chapter 7-1/2: Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience. 8. DIVISION AND CLASSIFICATION. Division. Classification. Use Only One Principle of Classification. Be Consistent. Make the Classifications as Complete as Possible. Acknowledge Any Complications. Follow the Persuasive Principle. Suggestions for Classification Themes. **Student Essay: Earthquakers by Lucy Johnson. Mother-in-Law by Charlotte Latvala. What About Your Writing? (Finding a Subject: Romantic Highs and Lows). Take a Left Turn onto Nowhere Street by Anne Bernays. What About Your Writing? (Titles). **What, Me? Showing Off? by Judith Viorst. What About Your Writing? (Puns). **A Brush with Reality: Surprises in the Tube by David Bodanis. What About Your Writing? (Specialities of the Author). Three Kinds of Discipline by John Holt. What About Your Writing? (Alliteration). Chapter 8-1/2: Office Hours: Revision: Psychology of It All. 9. DEFINITION. Definition Paper Can Compare and Contrast. Definition Paper Can Classify. Definition Paper Can Give Examples. Definition Paper Can Trace a Process. Definition Paper Can Study Cause-and-Effect Relationships. Definition Paper Can Use Narration. Suggestions for Definition Essays. Student Essay: Growing Up by Anonymous. The Real Thing by Frankie Germany. What About Your Writing? (Comic Book Punctuation, Exclamation Points, etc.). **What Is Intelligence, Anyway? by Isaac Asimov. What About Your Writing? (Simple Thesis). Feast for the Soul by Ronald E. Kotzsch. What About Your Writing? (Citation of Authority). **Cheap Thrills by Patricia Volk. What About Your Writing? (Dialogue). Gross Domestic Nonsense by Wayne Muller. What About Your Writing? (Topicality). Chapter 9-1/2: Office Hours: Deadlines. 10. ARGUMENTATION. Go Easy on Universals--Qualify When Appropriate. Give Consideration to Differing Opinions. Be Cautious with Abuse and Ridicule. Devote Most of Your Attention Toward Supporting Your View, Not Advocating It. Some Common Logical Fallacies. Suggestions for Argumentation Essays. Student Essay: Sing It When It Counts by Ben Ruggiero. Thanksgiving's No Turkey by Robert W. Gardner. What About Your Writing? (Taking Sides for Fun, Mental Exercise). Dear Mom, Clear Calendar by Cathy Rindner Tempelsman. What About Your Writing? (Ironic Quotation Marks). The Smiley-Face Approach by Albert Shanker. What About Your Writing? (Passive Voice). Old Folks at Home by Bernard Sloan. What About Your Writing? (Sentence Length). **Working at McDonalds by Amitai Etzioni. What About Your Writing? (Attack on an Orthodox View). **Black Athletes on Parade by Adolph Reed Jr. What About Your Writing? (Turning Tables, Beating Opponents to the Punch). A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. What About Your Writing? (Irony). Chapter 10-1/2: Office Hours: What About the Rest of Your Writing?
Publication Year: 1976
Publication Date: 1976-01-01
Language: en
Type: book
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Cited By Count: 7
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