Description
Book SynopsisCan a writing textbook inform and entertain? Can a very brief rhetoric also function as a stand-alone guide to college writing? Yes and yes.
Speaking of Writing is a concise yet comprehensive rhetoric with readings. Informed by scholarship in Writing Studies, this book follows four college students from diverse backgrounds as they face the challenges of reading, writing, and critical thinking in first-year writing and across the disciplines. Each chapter engages students in relatable, often humorous scenarios that focus on key challenges.
Through its story-based approach,
Speaking of Writing enacts student-centered and process-based pedagogy, showing students learning to address fundamental questions: How can I apply my own strategies for success to new assignments? How can I maintain my own voice when asked to compose in an academic style? What do college professors mean by a "thesis," and how is this different from what my high-school teachers meant? Why is this argument weak, and how can I make it stronger? The book's narrative vividly dramatizes a draft-and-revision process that includes instructor feedback, peer review, and careful research.
Trade Review“Speaking of Writing has everything a writing textbook should have—chapters on rhetoric, summary, analysis, argument and thesis, revision, documenting sources, voice and style—doing so using characters and often humorous narratives that my students found engaging, intuitive, and effective. Each chapter includes a variety of activities, from easy to more difficult, which are easy to combine with specific assignments. It is a book both students and instructors will cherish.” — James Pasto, Master Lecturer, Arts and Sciences Writing Program, Boston University
“Speaking of Writing is unique in its ability both to engage students in first-year composition and to provide truly practical advice for multidisciplinary critical reading and writing situations.” — Stacey Donohue, Professor of English, Central Oregon Community College
“I love this textbook! I thought Speaking of Writing was just going to be another boring old dull English book, but surprisingly this one is really interesting! The four students in the book provide personal experiences which I found helpful. I got to know what and how other people write, and the students’ strategy for developing a writing process was very interesting to read.” — Stephen Wu, Student, University of Ottawa
“In Speaking of Writing: A Brief Rhetoric, Allegra Goodman and Michael Prince provide an indispensable, engaging guide to basic rhetorical concepts and how to write well. Through a creative structure and engaging prose, they make dry and difficult-to-parse concepts come to life, allowing readers to discover what makes writing work and not work in chapters that mimic the process of learning when guided by cogent, thoughtful instructors. … readers looking for an introduction to or a primer on essential writing and rhetorical concepts will be hard-pressed to find another textbook as fun, educational, and interesting.” — Dylan Schrader, Technical Communication
Table of Contents
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Note to Students
1 What You Bring/What You Can Expect
-
Writing a Literacy Narrative.
- Attitudes
- What You Bring
- What You Can Expect
- Developing a Writing Process
- Writing a Literacy Narrative
- Prewriting
- Freewriting
- Drafting
- Sharing a Draft
- Revising the Narrative
- ACTIVITIES
2 Rhetoric and the Rhetorical Situation
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Writing a Persuasive Letter.
- What Is Rhetoric and Why Does It Matter?
- New Genres, Unfamiliar Situations
- Rhetorical Appeals
- Ethos
- Pathos
- Logos
- Kairos
- Using Rhetorical Appeals
- ACTIVITIES
3 From Reading to Writing about Texts
- Writing a Paraphrase and Summary.
-
Writing an Analysis of a Text.
- What Makes Reading Difficult?
- Previewing as a First Step
- Note-taking as a Second Step
- Note-taking as Active Learning
- Strategies for Note-taking
- Using a T Chart
- Annotation
- Identifying Verbal Signals
- Annotation Inspires Larger Questions
- Paraphrase
- Summary
- Distilling the Main Idea
- Brevity and Accuracy
- Using Paraphrase and Summary as Ends in Themselves
- Using Summary to Build an Argument
- From Reading to Writing: Analysis
- ACTIVITIES
4 From Reading to Writing about Images
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Writing an Analysis of an Image.
- Beyond a Quick Glance—Starting to Read Images
- What Makes Reading Images Difficult?
- Visual Signals
- Informational Images: Graphs and Charts
- Expressive Images: Drawings, Paintings, Photographs
- Rhetorical Appeals of Images
- Learning to Read Images
- Taking Notes on Images
- From Description to Analysis: An Everyday Object
- From Description to Analysis: A Photograph
- From Description to Analysis: A Graph
- Paraphrasing Visual Material
- From Description to Analysis: An Illustration
- ACTIVITIES
5 Building an Argument: Claims and Support
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Writing an Opinion Piece. Writing a Review.
- What Is an Arguable Claim?
- Different Kinds of Argument
- Understanding and Avoiding Fallacies
- Fallacies of Pathos
- Fallacies of Ethos
- Fallacies of Logos
- Defining Your Terms
- Argument and Audience
- Argument Assignments
- Writing an Opinion Piece
- Understanding the Genre
- Coming Up with a Claim
- Supporting a Claim
- Arguing Step by Step
- Anticipating Possible Objections
- Concluding the Argument
- Writing a Review
- Understanding the Genre
- Coming Up with a Claim
- Qualifying a Claim
- Arguing Step by Step
- Anticipating Possible Objections
- Concluding the Review
- ACTIVITIES
6 Academic Argument: Thesis and Organization
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Writing a Thesis and Introduction.
- What Is a Thesis?
- What Is the Difference between Topic and Thesis?
- Moving from Topic to Thesis
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What Is the Scope of Your Topic?
- Consider Purpose, Genre, and Audience
- Consider the Significance of Your Topic
- Assert Your Own View in Contrast to Others
- Ask a Thought-Provoking Question
- The Style of a Thesis: First or Third Person? Position? Format?
- What Signal Does Your Thesis Send?
- Developing a Thesis
- How a Thesis Sets the Parameters of Your Work
- Using a Thesis to Outline Your Paper
- ACTIVITIES
7 Draft and Revision
-
Writing a Comparison Paper.
- Draft: Where Do I Start?
- Examine Your Assignment
- Develop a Game Plan
- Gather and Take Notes on Your Material
- Build Your Draft from Notes
- Revision
- Revision Checklist
- Does My Writing Respond to My Assignment?
-
Do I Need a Thesis? If So, Do I Have One?
-
Do I Define My Terms Where Necessary?
- Does My Evidence Support My Thesis?
- Do I Show How My Evidence Supports My Thesis?
- Do I Address Possible Objections?
- Do I Develop My Ideas?
- Do I Guide the Reader with Step by Step Paragraphs and Smooth Transitions?
- Does My Conclusion Add Value?
- The Importance of Proofreading
- Draft and Revision throughout College
- Drafting a Comparison Essay
- Examine Your Assignment
- Narrowing Your Topic
- Developing a Thesis
- Devising a Game Plan
- Gathering Material and Taking Notes
-
Building a Draft from Notes
- Introduction
- Supporting Paragraphs
- Conclusion
- Peer Review
- Responding to Instructor’s Comments
- ACTIVITIES
8 Responding to Other Voices/Other Sources
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Practicing Quotation.
- Why Is It Important to Cite Sources?
- Citation and the Rhetorical Situation
- Forms of Documentation: Examples from MLA, APA, and Chicago
- A Good IDEA
- Avoiding Dropped Quotes, Missing Documentation, and Unexplained Evidence
- Using IDEA to Document a Text
- Using IDEA to Document a Video
- Using IDEA to Document an Image
- Using IDEA to Integrate Quotations
- Responding to Other Voices
- Working Collaboratively and Working Alone
- Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism
- ACTIVITIES
9 Writing and Research
- Writing a Research Paper.
-
Crafting a Multi-Modal Portfolio.
- What Is Research? Where Does It Begin?
- Starting with the Assignment
- Research Materials
- Identifying a Topic that Motivates You
- Initial Search: Relevant and Reliable Sources
- Refining a Question with Key Terms
- Seeking Expert Advice
- Sorting and Selecting Sources
- What Kind of Source Is This?
- What Is the Focus of This Source?
- Is This Material I Want to Study Further?
- Taking Notes on Selected Sources
- Synthesizing Material to Tighten Focus
- For Best Results, Re-Search
- Developing an Annotated Bibliography
- Drawing upon Research to Develop a Thesis Statement
- Building a Draft from Notes
- Peer Review for a Research Project
- Revising a Research Paper
- Controlling the Evidence So the Evidence Doesn’t Control You
- Responding to Other Researchers
- Multi-Modal Research
- Identifying a Topic
- Gathering and Sorting Sources
- Evaluating Each Source for Relevance and Reliability
- Using IDEA to Prepare an Online Portfolio
- Organizing the Portfolio
- Writing an Introduction to the Portfolio
- ACTIVITIES
10 Voice and Style
- What Is Voice?
- How Can I Maintain My Own Voice in College Writing?
- What If I’m Not Sure I Have a Voice?
- What Is Style?
- Writers Adopt a Style to Send a Message
- Where Does Style Come From?
- Diction
-
Guidelines for Diction
- Consider the Rhetorical Situation
- Avoid Wordiness and Repetition
- Syntax
-
Guidelines for Syntax
- Consider the Rhetorical Situation
- Aim for Clarity
- Adopt a Style, Maintain a Voice
- ACTIVITIES
Works Cited
- About the Authors
- About the Illustrator
- Permissions Acknowledgments
- Index
