Good Writing

Description

Connie Snyder Mick's innovative textbook shows how good writing changes the world. Designed for first-year writing courses, Good Writing: An Argument Rhetoric provides a step-by-step approach to help students design scalable, supportable, and significant compositions. The book's rhetorical instruction and diverse readings advance the concept of writing for social change, providing a strong foundation for community-engaged writing.

Table of Contents

Front Matter
Preface

PART ONE: Foundations of Writing and Critical Reading
Chapter 1: Why Write?
WHY Write? Reasons for Writing
WHO Cares? Understanding Audience, Understanding Self
WHERE Are We? Rhetorical Domains: Scope and Limitations
HOW Should I Compose? Mode and Medium
WHEN Should I Speak Out? Kairos, Context, and Listening
WHAT Do I Think I Know? Message from Discernment

Chapter 2: Elements of Rhetoric
Rhetorical Situation
Audience and Stakeholders
Genres
Aims

Chapter 3: Reading and Listening for Writing
The Rhetorical Reading Process
The Rhetorical Listening Process

Chapter 4: Argument
Academic Arguments
Arguable Claims
Qualifying Claims
Evidence
Good Reasons: Aesthetic, Practical, and Ethical
The Rhetorical Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Logical Fallacies
Student Reading: Karmela Dalisay's Researched Proposal Argument, "Motivating the Homeless"

Chapter 5: Writing Ethics, Responsibility, and Accountability
Guidelines for Writing with Integrity
Questions to Guide Ethical Writing
Office Hours: Understanding Common Knowledge

PART TWO: The Writing Process
Chapter 6 Analyze the Assignment
Rhetorical Analysis of Writing Prompts
Three Elements for Rhetorical Analysis of a Writing Prompt
Office Hours: Clarifying Cross-Cultural Assumptions
Critical Questions

Chapter 7: Plan: Organizing the Process
Scheduling Tasks and Resources for Writing
Writer's Rituals: Knowing What Works for You
Confronting Writer's Block
Office Hours: Resetting Your Writing Rituals

Chapter 8: Question: Exploring Issues
Finding a Topic: Who Decides?
Moving from a Topic to an Issue
Strategies for Finding Issues
Gathering Initial Resources
Office Hours: Engaging Libraries and Librarians to Find Topics and Issues

Chapter 9: Read: Strategies for Reading in Research
Active Reading for Research: Methods and Tools
Office Hours: Surprises in Reading for Research

Chapter 10: Invent: Take Note and Create
Strategies for Invention
Invention After Doing Preliminary Research
Office Hours: Inventing at the Writing Center

Chapter 11: Arrange: Prioritize, Organize, Outline
Strategies for Prioritizing Ideas
Strategies for Organizing Ideas
Strategies for Selecting a Structure
Strategies for Outlining Arguments
Office Hours: Taking Time to Test the Thesis

Chapter 12: Draft: Introduction, Body, Conclusion
Strategies for Drafting
Laying the Foundation
Office Hours: Writer's Block, Writer's Bloat, and Writer's Bleh

Chapter 13: Revise: Strategies for Re-seeing
Articulating Questions for Revision
Creating New Perspectives in Revision: Three Approaches
Doing Revision
Reviser's Block
Office Hours: Converting Comments into Acts of Revision

Chapter 14: Review: By Peers and Experts
Why? The Purpose of Reviews
When? Timing and Frequency of Reviews
Who? People Who Can Help
Where? Face-to-Face and Digital Exchanges
How? Ways of Receiving Review
Resisting Review
Office Hours: Instructor Writing Conferences

Chapter 15: Proofread and Submit
Aims of Proofreading
Strategies for Proofreading
Submitting Work with Care and Confidence
Office Hours: Proofreading for Non-Native Speakers of English

PART THREE: Arguing With Purpose
Chapter 16: Rhetorical Analysis: Getting the Message
Strategies for Rhetorical Analysis
Elements of Rhetorical Analysis
In Process: Rhetorical Analysis of a Speech
Published Reading: Ta-Nehisi Coates, "How the Obama Administration Talks to Black America"
Student Reading: Dan J, "'We shall overcome': Passion, Freedom, and Triumph as Americans"
The Writing Process
What Happens Next?
Office Hours: Honor Codes

Chapter 17: Narration: Composing from Personal Experience
Strategies for Narrative Arguments
Elements of Narrative Argument
In Process: Autoethnography
Published Reading: Phil Garrity, "Measuring the Immeasurable"
For Reflection
Student Reading: Geraldine M., "The Elephant Ear Memory"
The Writing Process
What Happens Next?
Office Hours: Setting Boundaries for Narrative Arguments with Personal Experience

Chapter 18: Causation: Making Connections
Strategies for Causal Arguments
Elements of Causation
In Process: Arguing Why Something Happened or What Will Happen
Published Reading: Michelle Alexander, "The New Jim Crow: How the War on Drugs Gave Birth to a Permanent Undercaste"
Student Reading: Kevin B., "Substance Abuse and Homelessness: Addressing a Complicated Relationship"
The Writing Process
What Happens Next?
Office Hours: Getting Past Correlation: Calling a Cause a Cause

Chapter 19: Definition: Explaining the Nature of Something
Definitions that Differentiate and Exemplify
Strategies for Definition Arguments
Elements of Definition
In Process: Differentiation
Published Reading: Mariah Blake, "'Crack Babies' Talk Back"
Student Reading: Ishmael A., "Social Justice: More Than Meeting an Immediate Need"
The Writing Process
What Happens Next?
Office Hours: Handling Controversial Topics

Chapter 20: Evaluation: Considering Criteria
Strategies for Evaluation Arguments
Elements of Evaluation
In Process: Evaluate Policies, Programs, or People in Public Office
Published Reading: Tressie McMillan Cottom, "A Middle-Class Anti-Poverty Solution"
Student Reading: Rebecca V., "So Efficient - Too Efficient: Evaluating SNAP"
The Writing Process
What Happens Next?
Office Hours: High Stakes Evaluations: When Claims on the Common Good Collide

Chapter 21: Rebuttal: Negotiating Opposing Viewpoints
Strategies for Rebuttal Arguments
Elements of Rebuttal Argument
In Process: Academic Counterarguments
Published Reading: Kai Wright, "Young, Black, and Buried in Debt"
Student Reading: Avani A., "Revisiting Moral Authority"
The Writing Process
Office Hours: Toning Down, Yet Dialing Up: Balancing How You Rebut

Chapter 22: Proposal: Advocating for Change
Strategies for Proposal Arguments
Elements of Proposal
In Process: Advocating for an Issue
Published Reading: Karen Howard, "End the School-to-Prison Pipeline by Addressing Racial Bias"
Student Reading: Fauvé L., "Providing Higher Education within the Prison System is Beneficial for All"
The Writing Process
Office Hours: Going Public: Writing an Op-Ed

PART FOUR: Writing Strategies
Chapter 23: Multimodal Composition
A Definition of Classical Modes
Types of Classical Modes
A Definition of Modern Modes
Types of Modern Modes
Strategies for Multimodal Composing
Office Hours: Moving Modes: Working with Reviewers to Select, Order, and Balance Modes

Chapter 24: Style
Four Core Elements of Style
Office Hours: Breaking the Rules with Style

Chapter 25: Inclusive Writing
Principles for Inclusive Writing
Beyond Words: Visual Inclusivity
Published Reading: John Franklin Stephens, "I Am the Person You Hurt When You Say the R-Word"
Office Hours: Learning Inclusive Language

Chapter 26: Design and Delivery: Print, Digital, and Oral Presentations
Why Design Matters
Types of Visuals
Elements of Design
Principles of Design
Delivery of Visuals
Delivering Oral Presentations
MLA Style: Formatting Delivery
Office Hours: The Color of Culture: Researching Visual Norms Across Contexts

PART FIVE: Doing Research
Chapter 27: Working with Published Sources
Finding Sources
Evaluating Sources
Arguing from Sources
Office Hours: Who Thought That? Claiming Claims While Citing Sources

Chapter 28: Working with Human Sources
Human Subjects Research: A Definition
Common Types of Human Subjects Research
Office Hours: When What You Hear is Heavy