Writing without Formulas / Edition 1

by William H. Thelin

Overview

Writing Without Formulas shows students how to write instead of telling them. A non-traditional rhetoric and reader intended for freshman-level composition courses, this book presents writing as an activity rather than a formula dictated by rules and learned by rote. This approach encourages students to make decisions about writing within a context of audience awareness and critical analysis. The pedagogy featured in the text lends itself to collaborative-based classrooms and demonstrates writing to be a process of discovery. The text contains diverse contemporary readings—both student and professional—that do not rigidly conform to rhetorical modes. A focus in many of the selections on popular culture and contemporary social and political issues helps maintain student interest and offers a refreshing change of pace from more traditional readers. Examples include a portrait of "crack babies" who have grown up to create their own literary magazine (challenging both political and social assumptions about the crack epidemic); educator Mike Rose on the class implications of standardized "intelligence" testing; former New York City police officer-turned-journalist Marcus Laffey on the strategy of drug busts; humorist David Sedaris on his tormented early relationship to music lessons; Joyce Carol Oates on the science of laughter; and Stephen L. Carter on ethics and honesty in American political discourse.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618382187
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	07/05/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

Note: Each Chapter concludes with a Summary. Each Chapter in Part III begins with an Overview, "Openings for Writers," and "Language" and includes Assignment Ideas and Group Work. I. Key Concepts of Writing 1. Reasons for Writing Reading: Malcolm X, "Learning to Read" Writing from Personal Inspiration Reading: "Letter to a Restaurant Manager" Writing as a Citizen Reading: TrueMajority, "'Computer Ate My Vote' Scores Coast to Coast Wins" (web page) Writing in College Writing in the Workplace Reading: Bill Thelin, "Norming Groups" (office memo/email) 2. Critical Analysis for Writing Student Writing: Sam Robinson, "The Car Accident" (draft) Student Writing: Sam Robinson, "The Car Accident" Interrogating the Obvious Reading: Lynne Luciano, "Male Body Image in America" Reading: Noreena Hertz, from The Silent Takeover Investigating Assumptions Reading: Michael Kinsley, "The False Controversy of Stem Cells" Seeing Patterns Reading: Alfred Lubrano, from Limbo Reading: Richard Meyer, "Curriculum Is a Political Statement" Avoiding Poor Reasoning 3. Awareness of Audience Student Writing: Anna Banks, "Sexuality Orientation" Targeting Potential Readers Reading: Mariah Blake, "Voices: The Damage Done: Crack Babies Talk Back" Anticipating Reader Needs Reading: Anna Quindlen, "Death Penalty's False Promise" Reading: Barbara Mellix, "From Outside, In" Responding to Possible Objections Student Writing, "Curse of the Ouija Board" Using Real Readers in Peer Groups Revision 4. Strategies for Organizing Your Ideas Student Writing: Steve Windhorst, "Humor in Society" Reading: Peter Singer, "Tools for Research" Reading: Peter Wise, "The Problem with Being a Thing" Introducing Your Subject Transitioning from Ideas Reading: Anastasia Toufexis, "The Right Chemistry" Placing Your Thesis Reading: Amy Wang, "The Same Difference" Finishing Your Thoughts Reading: Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery" Reading: Fred Kaplan, "The Worst-Laid Plans: Why Was Emergency Planning So Awful?" Reading: Gloria Naylor, "Mommy, What Does 'Nigger' Mean?" 5. Language Choices in Writing Student Writing: Ding Guang, "Negative Cliques in Schools" Mediating Experiences Reading: Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream" Describing and Shaping Reading: Mike Rose, from The Mind at Work Reading: Rick Bass, from The Lost Grizzlies Euphemisms Reading: David Cay Johnson, from Perfectly Legal Reading: William Lutz, "Life Under the Chief Doublespeak Officer" Finding Your Voice II. Confronting Writing Tasks 6. Discovering Your Writing Process Seeing Your Own Patterns Breaking Through Writer's Block Reading: Charlie Lau, Jr., from Lau's Laws on Hitting Discovering Strategies for Drafting and Revision Reading: Jane Tompkins, from 'Indians': Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History Editing and Proofreading 7. Uses of Collaboration Reading: Marcus Laffey, "Inside Dope" Beyond the In-Class Response Group Assigning Tasks in Group Projects Student Writing: "Jim's Progress Log" Synthesizing Ideas Reading: Terry McCarthy, "Nowhere to Roam" Reading: Richard Corliss and Michael D. Lemonick, "How to Live to Be 100" Taking Responsibility 8. Purposes and Strategies for Reading Reading: Jack Rasmus, "Executive Pay in the U.S." Knowledge, Safety, and Awareness as Consumers Social and Civic Engagement Reading: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, "Smearing Anti-War Activists?: NY Times Op-Ed Laments Anti-War Funeral Protests" Reading: Ohio Department of Public Safety, "Where to Ride on the Road" Information Retrieval Reading: Jan Harold Brunvand, from The Vanishing Hitchhiker Academic Achievement Developing Reading Strategies for College Student Writing: Mandy Badar, "An Analysis of the Dietary Habits of a Known Bookworm" Comprehension Student Writing: "Molly Egan's Freewrite" 9. Writing with Evidence Student Writing: Julie Springfield, "Sex and Religion" Student Writing: Brad Turner, "Instincts vs. Rules" (draft) Student Writing: Brad Turner, "Instincts vs. Rules" Examining Evidence Reading: P.J. O'Rourke, "To Hell with Lipitor" Establishing Criteria for a Claim Checking Information Integrating Sources Reading: Nancy Roberts, from Blackbeard and Other Pirates of the Atlantic Coast Student Writing: "Extract from Claudia's Essay" Reading: Paul Shepherd, from The Tender Carnivore Student Writing: "Extract from Sherry's Essay" 10. Writers and Research Locating Critical Knowledge Reading: Peter Phillips, Trish Boreta, and Project Censored, "The Top Censored News Stories of 2005-2006" Evaluating Online Sources Reading: Green Party website: "2006 Green Party Candidate Spotlight" When Sources Collide Reading: Rick Reilly, "Questioned Marks" Reading: Leonard Peltier, "Statement to Judge Paul Benson" Giving Credit Where It Is Due III. Topics for Writing 11. Holidays and Celebrations Reading: Gerina Dunwich, "The Symbols of Halloween" Reading: Leslie Pratt Bannatyne, "The Reformation of Guy Fawkes Day" Reading: Elizabeth Pleck, "Festivals, Rites, and Presents" Reading: Ellen Goodman, "Thanksgiving" Reading: Arden Ranger, "A History of Anglo-Saxon Wedding Customs" Reading: Brian Tokar, "The Twentieth Anniversary of Earth Day" 12. Hobbies Reading: Paul Roberts, "Risk" Reading: Susan Sheehan and Howard Means, "Leonard Lauder: The Beauty of Small Things" Reading: Michael Bamberger, "Con Games" Reading: Chris Ballard, "Fantasy World" Reading: David Sedaris, "Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities" Reading: Debbie L. Sklar, "Indiana's Potato Chip Lady: Myrtle Young of Seyfert Foods, Inc." 13. The Supernatural Reading: Robert Ellis Cahill, "Whitman's Haunted Bed" Reading: Susan McClelland and John Betts, "UFO's, Skepticism, and Belief" Reading: Jeff Parker, "Four Stops on a Bigfoot Hunt" Reading: Jeff Chu, Broward Liston, Maggie Sieger, and Daniel Williams, "Is God in Our Genes?" Reading: Associated Press, "Courthouse Camera Captures a Ghost" Reading: Associated Press, "Courthouse Ghost Identified as Insect" Reading: Matt Nisbet, "Talking to Heaven Through Television: How the Mass Media Package and Sell Medium John Edward" 14. Humor Reading: Joyce Carol Oates, "Is Laughter Contagious?" Reading: "The Darwin Awards" Reading: David Sedaris, "Me Talk Pretty One Day" Reading: Warren St. John, "Seriously, the Joke Is Dead" Reading: Marshall Brain, "How Laughter Works" Reading: Glenn Garvin, "All I Think Is That It's Stupid: Dave Barry on Laughing at Very Big Government" 15. Honesty and Deception Reading: Stephen L. Carter, "The Insufficiency of Honesty" Reading: Al Franken, "I'm a Bad Liar" Reading: Roger Henn, "The Lightning Struck Lost Mine" Reading: Jim Ladd, "The Big Lie" Reading: Steven Rendell, Jim Naurechas, and Jeff Cohen,"Censor or Victim of Censorship?" Reading: Eric Denzenhall, "We Like Our Bad Guys to Be Honest About It" 16. Pets, Pests, and Beasts Reading: David Quammen, "Face of a Spider" Reading: Jane Ganahl, "Women Like Men Who Like Cats" Reading: N. Scott Nomada, "The Indian Dog" Reading: Edward Abbey, "The Snake" Reading: Scott McMillion, "Treat It Right" Reading: Thomas McNamee, "Drainage Ditch"