Combining detailed coverage of the writing process with a wealth of professional readings, Wyrick's STEPS TO WRITING WELL WITH ADDITIONAL READINGS has helped thousands of students learn to write effective academic essays. Extremely student-friendly, it presents rhetorical strategies for composing essays in an easy-to-follow progression of useful lessons and activities. With over 70 student and professional readings and a variety of hands-on activities, it gives you the models and practice you need to write well-constructed essays with confidence. The 11th edition features useful visual learning aids, student writing samples on timely topics, assignments that promote using sources and multiple rhetorical strategies, and updated discussions of multimodal texts and online databases. It also reflects guidelines from the APA's 2020 Publication Manual. Now available: MindTap digital learning solution.
Part I: THE BASICS OF THE SHORT ESSAY.
1. Prewriting.
Getting Started. Selecting a Subject. Finding Your Essays Purpose and
Focus. Pump-Primer Techniques. After Youve Found Your Focus. Practicing What
Youve Learned. Discovering Your Audience. How to Identify Your Readers.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Keeping a Journal (Talking to
Yourself Does Help).
Chapter 1 Summary.
2. The Thesis Statement.
What Is a Thesis? What Does a Working Thesis Do? Can a Working Thesis Change
Guidelines for Writing a Good Thesis. Avoiding Common Errors in Thesis
Statements. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Using the Essay
Map. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment.
Chapter 2 Summary.
3. The Body Paragraphs.
Planning the Body of Your Essay. Composing the Body Paragraphs. The Topic
Sentence. Focusing Your Topic Sentence. Placing Your Topic Sentence.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Applying What Youve Learned
to Your Writing. Paragraph Development. Paragraph Length. Practicing What
Youve Learned. Assignment. Applying What Youve Learned to Your Writing.
Paragraph Unity. Practicing What Youve Learned. Applying What Youve
Learned to Your Writing. Paragraph Coherence. Practicing What Youve
Learned. Paragraph Sequence. Transitions between Paragraphs. Applying What
Youve Learned to Your Writing.
Chapter 3 Summary.
4. Beginnings and Endings.
How to Write a Good Lead-In. Avoiding Errors in Lead-Ins. Practicing What
Youve Learned. Assignment. How to Write a Good Concluding Paragraph.
Avoiding Errors in Conclusions. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment.
How to Write a Good Title. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment.
Applying What Youve Learned to Your Writing.
Chapter 4 Summary.
5. Drafting and Revising: Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking.
What Is Revision? When Does Revision Occur? Myths about Revision. Can I Learn
to Improve My Revision Skills? Preparing to Draft. Some Basic Tips for
Drafting. Some Hints When Drafting on a Computer. Some Hints When Handwriting
a Draft. Writing Centers, Computer Classrooms, and Electronic Networks.
Procrastination: Enemy of Critical Thinking, Thief of Time. I. Revising for
Purpose, Thesis, and Audience. II. Revising for Ideas and Evidence. What Is
Critical Thinking? Thinking Critically as a Writer. Critical Thinking and
Visual Literacy. III. Revising for Organization. IV. Revising for Clarity and
Style. V. Editing for Errors. VI. Proofreading. A Final Checklist for Your
Essay. Sample Student Essay: The Fear No One Talks About. Practicing What
Youve Learned. Assignment. Applying What Youve Learned to Your Writing.
Collaborative Activities: Group Work, Peer Revision Workshops, and Team
Projects. Benefiting from Collaborative Activities. Guidelines for Peer
Revision Workshops. Guidelines for Small-Group Work. Practicing What Youve
Learned. Assignment. Some Last Advice: How to Play with Your Mental Blocks.
Chapter 5 Summary.
6. Effective Sentences.
Developing a Clear Style. Practicing What Youve Learned. Developing a
Concise Style. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Developing an
Engaging Style. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Developing an
Emphatic Style. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Applying What
Youve Learned to Your Writing.
Chapter 6 Summary.
7. Word Logic.
Selecting the Correct Words. Practicing What Youve Learned. Selecting the
Best Words. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Applying What
Youve Learned to Your Writing.
Chapter 7 Summary.
8. The Reading-Writing Connection.
How Can Reading Well Help Me Become a Better Writer? How Can I Become an
Analytical Reader? Steps to Reading Well. Sample Annotated Essay: College for
Grown-Ups.? Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. How Can I Read
Multimodal Texts Analytically? Steps to Reading Multimodal Texts Well. Sample
Annotated Advertisement. Writing a Summary. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Benefiting from Class Discussion. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Chapter 8
Summary.
Part One Summary: The Basics of the Short Essay.
Part II: PURPOSES, MODES, AND STRATEGIES.
9. Development by Example.
Why and How to Use Examples In Your Writing. Developing Your Essay. Problems
to Avoid. Practicing What Youve Learned. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal
for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay 1: If You Want to Get to Know a New
Place, Go For a Run. Sample Student Essay 2: A Small Guy with a Big Heart.
Professional Essay: So Whats So Bad about Being So-So?. A Revision
Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. Using Strategies and Sources.
10. Process Analysis.
Types of Process Analysis Essays. Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your
Essay. Sample Student Essay 1: An Experiment in Spending Less. Sample Student
Essay 2: From the Shower to the Stage. Professional Essay (Informative
Process): To Bid the World Farewell. Professional Essay (Directional
Process): Preparing for the Job Interview: Know Thyself. A Revision
Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. Using Strategies and Sources.
11. Comparison and Contrast.
Developing Your Essay. Which Pattern Should You Use? Problems to Avoid.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your
Essay. Sample Student Essay (Point-by-Point Pattern): When Its Time to
Study, Get Out of Your Pajamas. Sample Student Essay (Block Pattern):
More Than Just the Crust: New York and Chicago Style Pizza.
Professional Essay (Point-by-Point Pattern): Grant and Lee: A Study in
Contrasts. Professional Essay (Block Pattern): Two Ways of Viewing the
River. A Revision Worksheet. A Special Kind of Comparison: The Analogy.
Reviewing Your Progress. Using Strategies and Sources.
12. Definition.
Why Do We Define? Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What
Youve Learned. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample
Student Essay 1: Slang Rebels"
Sample Student Essay 2: "Oxford English Dictionary: Laureate" Professional
Essay: "What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage". A Revision
Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. Using Strategies and Sources.
13. Division and Classification.
Division. Classification. Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your
Essay. Sample Student Essay 1: The Native American Era at Mesa Verde.
Sample Student Essay 2: "Online Learning-Effects on Students" Professional
Essay (Classification): The Plot against People. Professional Essay
(Division): What Is REALLY in a Hot Dog? A Revision Worksheet.
Reviewing Your Progress. Using Strategies and Sources.
14. Causal Analysis.
Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay 1: "To
Fish and Be Fished: A Tinder-fied Game of Love".
Sample Student Essay 2: "Online Learning-Effects on Students" Professional
Essay: Why Are Young People Ditching Cars for Smartphones? A Revision
Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. Using Strategies and Sources.
15. Argumentation.
Developing Your Essay. Problems to Avoid. Common Logical Fallacies.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Essay Topics. A Topic Proposal
for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay 1: Better Information Equals
Healthier Eating. Sample Student Essay 2: "Is Our Ground Water Supply in
Danger?" Professional Essays (Paired): Mandatory Voting Wont Cure
Dismal Turnout and Required Voting Yields Benefits. Analyzing
Advertisements. Divergent Viewpoints: Gun Ownership in America. Competing
Products: Sources of Energy. Popular Appeals: Spending Our Money. Practicing
What Youve Learned. A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. Using
Strategies and Sources.
16. Description.
How to Write Effective Description. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What
Youve Learned. Assignment: Birthday by Marc Chagall. Essay Topics. A
Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay 1: Treeclimbing.
Sample Student Essay 2: "Thanksgiving Joys". Professional Essay: "The Story
of an Eyewitness".
A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. Using Strategies and Sources.
17. Narration.
Writing the Effective Narrative Essay. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What
Youve Learned: Tornado Over Kansas by John Steuart Curry. Essay
Topics. A Topic Proposal for Your Essay. Sample Student Essay 1: "Sole
Provider".
Sample Student Essay 2: "How I Got to Japan" Professional Reading: The
Most Important Day. A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your Progress. Using
Strategies and Sources.
18. Writing Essays Using Multiple Strategies.
Choosing the Best Strategies. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What Youve
Learned. Sample Student Essay: Pass the Broccoli--Please! Professional
Essay: Courage in Greensboro. A Revision Worksheet. Reviewing Your
Progress. Using Strategies and Sources.
Part III: SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS.
19. Conducting Research and Using Sources.
Focusing Your Topic. Beginning Your Library Research. General Reference
Works. Library Catalogs. Databases. Special Collections. Beginning Your
Online Research. Practicing What Youve Learned. Conducting Primary
Research. The Personal Interview. The Questionnaire. Practicing What Youve
Learned. Preparing a Working Bibliography. Choosing and Evaluating Your
Sources. Preparing an Annotated Bibliography. Taking Notes. Distinguishing
Paraphrase from Summary. Incorporating Your Source Material. Practicing What
Youve Learned. Avoiding Plagiarism. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Assignment.
20. Documenting Sources.
MLA Style. MLA Citations in Your Essay. Compiling a Works Cited List: MLA
Style. Sample Works Cited Entries: MLA Style. Electronic Sources: MLA Style.
Practicing What Youve Learned. APA Style. APA Citations in Your Essay.
Compiling a Reference List: APA Style. Sample Reference List Entries: APA
Style. Electronic Sources: APA Style. Footnote and Bibliography Form. Using
Supplementary Notes. Examples (MLA Style). Sample Student Essay Using MLA
Style: Pervasive Computing and Privacy Rights: Who Owns Your Emotions?
Sample Student Essay Using APA Style: Pervasive Computing and Privacy
Rights: Who Owns Your Emotions?
21. Classroom Writing Assignments: Exams, Timed Essays, and Presentations.
Writing Well under Pressure. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What Youve
Learned. Assignment. Writing the Summary-and-Response Essay. Sample Student
Essay 1: Summary and Response Essay on College for Grown-Ups. Sample
Student Essay 2: "The Moon is Down". Practicing What Youve Learned.
Assignment. Writing for Classroom Presentations. Steps to Effective
Presentation. Guidelines for Effective Delivery. Practicing What Youve
Learned.
22. Writing about Literature.
Using Literature in the Composition Classroom. Suggestions for Close Reading
of Literature. Steps to Reading a Story. Annotated Story: The Story of an
Hour. Sample Student Essay 1: A Breath of Fresh Air. Steps to
Reading a Poem. Annotated Poem: When I Heard the Learnd Astronomer.
Sample Student Essay 2: Two Ways of Knowing. Guidelines for Writing
about Literature. Problems to Avoid. Practicing What Youve Learned
(Story): Geraldo No Last Name by Sandra Cisneros. Practicing What
Youve Learned (Poems): Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden; The
Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Suggestions for Writing.
23. Writing in the World of Work.
Composing Business Letters. Traditional Business Letter Format. Practicing
What Youve Learned. Assignment. Sample Business Letter. Creating Memos.
Sending Professional E-Mail. Problems to Avoid. Writing Cover Letters and
Designing Rsums. Effective Cover Letters. Effective Rsums. Problems
to Avoid. Sample Rsums. Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment.
Preparing Interview Notes and Post-Interview Letters.
MindTap Online
Chapter. Writing about Film.
Using Film in the Composition Classroom. Guidelines for Writing about Film.
Problems to Avoid. Sample Student Essay: Catch the Blackbird.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Professional Essay: The Theory of
Everything. Suggestions for Writing. Glossary of Film Terms.
Part IV: A CONCISE HANDBOOK.
Parts of Speech. Sentence Components and Classifications.
24. Major Errors in Grammar.
Assessing Your Skills: Grammar (Self-scored Diagnostic Test). Errors with
Verbs. Practicing What Youve Learned. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Errors with Nouns. Errors with Pronouns. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Errors with Adverbs and Adjectives. Practicing What Youve Learned. Errors
in Modifying Phrases. Practicing What Youve Learned. Errors in Sentences.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Practicing What Youve
Learned. Practicing What Youve Learned. Answers to the Grammar Assessment.
25. A Concise Guide to Punctuation.
Assessing Your Skills: Punctuation (Self-scored Diagnostic Test). Punctuation
Guidelines. The Period. The Question Mark. The Exclamation Point. Practicing
What Youve Learned. The Comma. Practicing What Youve Learned. The
Semicolon. Practicing What Youve Learned. The Colon. Practicing What
Youve Learned. The Apostrophe. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Assignment. Quotation Marks. Practicing What Youve Learned. Parentheses.
Brackets. The Dash. Practicing What Youve Learned. The Hyphen. Practicing
What Youve Learned. Italics and Underlining. Practicing What Youve
Learned. Ellipsis Points. The Slash. Practicing What Youve Learned.
Answers to the Punctuation Assessment.
26. A Concise Guide to Mechanics.
Assessing Your Skills: Mechanics (Self-scored Diagnostic Test).
Capitalization. Practicing What Youve Learned. Abbreviations. Numbers.
Practicing What Youve Learned. Assignment. Spelling. Answers to the
Mechanics Assessment.
Part V: ADDITIONAL READINGS.
27. Development by Example.
Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples. "Six Myths About Choosing
a College Major" by Jeffrey J. Selingo.
28. Process Analysis.
College Students: Protect Yourself from Identity Theft by Luanne
Kadlub. "Some Friendly Advice" by Jesse McKinley.
29. Comparison and Contrast.
Us and Them by David Sedaris. The Myth Of The Latin Woman: I Just
Met A Girl Named Maria by Judith Ortiz Cofer. Once More to the Lake
(August 1941) by E. B. White.
30. Definition.
The Exam Dream by Eric Hoover. What Is Poverty? by Jo Goodwin
Parker. "The Virtual Wallet" by Audrey Wick.
31. Division/Classification.
The Colorful Plate by Dianne Moeller. Four Kinds of Chance by
James Austin. "How Facebook Figures Out Everyone You've Ever Met" by Kashmir
Hill
32. Causal Analysis.
Some Lessons from the Assembly Line by Andrew Braaksma. Mystery
by Nicholas Meyer. Mind Game by Joshua Bell.
33. Argumentation.
Putting Up with Hate by the Denver Post Editorial Board. Judging by
the Cover by Bonny Gainley.
34. Description.
Still Learning from My Mother by Cliff Schneider. A Day at the Theme
Park by W. Bruce Cameron. Battle of the Ants by Henry David
Thoreau.
35. Narration.
38 Who Saw Murder Didnt Call the Police by Martin Gansberg.
Salvation by Langston Hughes. Arrival at Manzanar?? by Jeanne
Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston.
36. Essays for Further Analysis: Multiple Strategies and Styles.
Why Parents Need to Let Their Children Fail by Jessica Lahey. A
Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift.
37. Literature.
Bilingual/Bilinge by Rhina Espaillet. Poem for an Inked
Daughter by Jane Wheeler. A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell."
Jean Wyrick is Professor Emerita of English at Colorado State University, where she was director of composition for 11 years. She has more than 25 years of experience teaching writing, training writing teachers, and designing writing/writing-across-the-curriculum programs. Her other textbooks include THE RINEHART READER and DISCOVERING IDEAS. She has presented over 100 workshops and papers on the teaching of writing, American literature, American studies, and women's studies.
