Main Description
Writing Matters unites research, reasoning, documentation, grammar and style in a cohesive whole, helping students see the conventions of writing as a network of
responsibilities writers have...
...to
other writers.
Writing Matters clarifies the responsibility writers have to one another--whether they are collaborating in an online peer review or drawing on digital and print sources in a research project--to treat information fairly and accurately and to craft writing that is fresh and original--their own!
...to the
audience.
Writing Matters stresses the importance of using conventions appropriate to the audience, to write clearly, and to provide readers with the information and interpretation they need to make sense of a topic.
...to the
topic.
Writing Matters emphasizes the writer's responsibility to explore a topic thoroughly and creatively, to assess sources carefully, and to provide reliable information at a depth that does the topic justice.
...to
themselves.
Writing Matters encourages writers to take their writing seriously and to approach writing tasks as an opportunity to learn about a topic and to expand their scope as writers. Students are more likely to learn about a topic and to expand their scope as writers. Students are more likely to write well when they think of themselves as writers rather than as error-makers. By explaining rules in the context of responsibility,
Writing Matters addresses composition students respectfully as mature and capable fellow participants in the research and writing process.
ContentsPART 1 Writing Matters: Planning, Drafting, Revising, Editing, Designing1 Writing Responsibly in the Information Age a. Writing Today b. The Writer’s Responsibilities WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Your College’s Plagiarism Policy WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Taking Yourself Seriously as a Writer 2 Planning Your Project a. Analyzing Your Writing SituationWRITING RESPONSIBLY: Your Audience and You b. Analyzing an Assignment c. Generating Ideas WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Note Taking and Plagiarism WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Keep Track as You Browse d. Narrowing or Broadening a Topic e. Working with Others: Planning a Collaborative Project 3 Organizing and Drafting Your Project a. Crafting an Effective Thesis b. Organizing Your Ideas c. Preparing to Draft d. Drafting: Explaining and Supporting Your IdeasWRITING RESPONSIBLY: Made-up “evidence” STUDENT PROJECT: FIRST DRAFT e. Writing with Others: Collaborative Projects 4 Crafting and Connecting Paragraphs a. Writing Relevant Paragraphs b. Writing Unified Paragraphs c. Writing Coherent Paragraphs WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Guiding the Reader d. Developing Paragraphs Using Patternse. Writing Introductory Paragraphs f. Writing Concluding Paragraphs g. Connecting Paragraphs 5 Drafting and Revising Visuals a. Deciding Whether to Illustrate College Writing Projects b. Using Visuals as Evidence WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Exploitative Images c. Deciding Whether to Copy Visuals or to Create Them d. Revising Visuals 6 Revising, Editing, Proofreading, and Formatting REVISING GLOBALLY: LEARNING TO RE-SEE a. Gaining Perspectiveb. Rereading Your DraftWRITING RESPONSIBLY: The Big Picture c. Reconsidering Your Title REVISING LOCALLY: EDITING WORDS AND SENTENCESd. Choosing Your Words with Caree. Editing Your SentencesWRITING RESPONSIBLY: Making an Essay Long Enough without WordinessREVISING WITH OTHERSf. Peer Revising g. Working with a Tutor or Instructor PROOFREADING AND FORMATTINGh. Proofreading WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Beware the Spell Checker! i. Formatting an Academic Text STUDENT PROJECT: FINAL DRAFTj. Creating and Submitting a PortfolioPERSONAL STATEMENT PART 2 Reasoning Matters: Reading, Thinking, and Arguing 7 Thinking and Reading Critically a. Comprehending READING RESPONSIBLY: Engaging with What You Readb. Reflectingc. Preparing to Write WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Drawing Inferences WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Understanding criticism STUDENT PROJECT: CRITIQUE 8 Analyzing and Crafting Arguments a. Persuading and Exploring WRITING RESPONSIBLY: The Well-Tempered Tone b. Reasoning Logically WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Considering Counterevidence c. Avoiding Logical Fallacies WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Visual Claims and Visual Fallaciesd. Making a Claim WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Choosing a Fresh Topic e. Appealing to Readers: Intellect, Authority, and Emotions ARGUING RESPONSIBLY: Making Oral Argumentsf. Unearthing Assumptions g. Considering Alternative Viewpoints h. Organizing Arguments: Classical, Rogerian, and Toulmin models STUDENT PROJECT: EXPLORATORY ARGUMENT PART 3 Media Matters9 Designing Printed and Electronic Documents a. Understanding the Four Principles of Designb. Planning Your Design Project c. Applying the Principles of Design WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Selecting Fonts with Readers in Mind WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Designing for Those with Impaired Color Vision10 Writing for Multiple Media a. Writing and Answering Email WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Maintain Confidentiality in Email WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Email and Privacy b. Creating a Website or Web Page c. Writing in Interactive MediaWRITING RESPONSIBLY: Flaming 11 Making a Multimedia Presentationa. Identifying your Purpose, Audience, Context, and Genre b. Devising a Topic and Thesis c. Organizing the Presentation d. Preparing and Rehearsing the Presentation e. Delivering the Presentation f. Speaking Responsibly LISTENING RESPONSIBLY: Active Listening PART 4 Research Matters12 Planning a Research Project a. Analyzing the Assignment's Purpose, Audience, and Method of Developmentb. Setting a Schedulec. Choosing and Narrowing a Research Topic d. Drafting Research Questions and Hypotheses WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Using Printed Sources e. Choosing Research Sources Strategicallyf. Establishing a Research Log WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Avoiding Plagiarism at the Startg. Building a Working Bibliography 13 Finding Informationa. Finding Information on the Web b. Finding Other Electronic Sources: Interactive Mediac. Finding Articles in Journals and Other Periodicals Using Databases and Indexes d. Finding Reference Works WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Using Wikipedia e. Finding Books Using Library Catalogs f. Finding Government Publications g. Finding Multimedia Sources h. Conducting Field Research WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Conducting Interviews FairlyWRITING RESPONSIBLY: Avoiding Manipulation and Bias in Observations 14 Evaluating Information a. Evaluating for Relevance and Reliability WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Keeping an Open Mind WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Online Plagiarism b. Evaluating Online Texts: Websites, Blogs, Wikis and Online Discussion Forums c. Evaluating visual sources15 Using Information and Avoiding Plagiarism a. Valuing Research b. Using Information Ethically: What You Do and Do Not Have to AcknowledgeWRITING RESPONSIBLY: Using Illustrations and Acoiding Plagiarismc. Making Notes That Help You Avoid Plagiarizing d. Making Research Notes That Help You Write WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Annotating versus Making Notese. Summarizing f. Paraphrasing without Patchwriting g. Quoting WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Using Quotations Fairlyh. Using Analysis, Interpretation, Synthesis, and Critique in Your Notes 16 Writing the Research Project a. Drafting a Thesis Statement b. Organizing Your Ideas WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Acknowledging Counterevidence c. Drafting Your Research Project d. Revising, Proofreading, Formatting, and Publishing Your Project PART 5 Documentation Matters17 Documenting Sources: MLA Style WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Citing and Documenting Sources a. Creating MLA-Style In-Text Citations b. Preparing an MLA-Style List of Works Cited Books--Printed and ElectronicPeriodicals--Printed and ElectronicOther Electornic SourcesAudio and Visual SourcesMiscellaneous Sourcesc. Using MLA Style for Content and Bibliographic Notes d. Formatting a Paper in MLA Style WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Of Deadlines and Paperclips STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT: MLA STYLE 18 Documenting Sources: APA Style WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Citing and Documenting Sources a. Creating APA Style In-Text Citations b. Preparing an APA-Style Reference ListBooks--Printed and ElectronicPeriodicals--Printed and ElectronicOther Electornic SourcesAudio and Visual SourcesMiscellaneous Sourcesc. Formatting a Paper in APA Style WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Of Deadlines and Paperclips STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT: APA STYLE 19 Documenting Sources: Chicago Style WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Citing and Documenting Sources a. Creating Chicago-Style Notes and Bibliographic Entries Books--Printed and ElectronicPeriodicals--Printed and ElectronicOther Electornic SourcesAudio and Visual SourcesMiscellaneous Sourcesb. Using Chicago Style for Tables and Figuresc. Using Chicago Style for Content Notesc. Formatting a Chicago-Style PaperWRITING RESPONSIBLY: Of Deadlines and Paperclips STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT: CHICAGO STYLE 20 Documenting Sources: CSE Style WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Citing Sources a. Creating CSE-Style In-Text Citations b. Preparing a CSE-Style Reference ListBooks--Printed and ElectronicPeriodicals--Printed and ElectronicOther Electornic and Miscellaneous Sourcesc. Formatting a CSE-Style Paper and Reference List WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Of Deadlines and Paperclips STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT: CSE STYLE PART 6 Genre Matters: Writing in and beyond College21 Writing in Literature and the Other Humanities a. Adopting the Approach of Literature and the Other Humanities WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Reading with Study Guides b. Using the Resources of Literature and the Other Humanities c. Citing and Documenting sources--MLA and Chicago Style d. Using the Language of Literature and the Other Humanitiese. Understanding Writing Projects in Literature and the Other Humanities STUDENT PROJECT: WRITIGN ABOUT FICTION f. Writing about Poetry STUDENT PROJECT: WRITING ABOUT POETRY g. Writing about drama PROFESSIONAL PROJECT: REVIEW OF A PLAY22 Writing in the Sciences and Social Sciences a. Adopting the Approach of the Sciences and Social Sciences b. Using the Research Methods of the Sciences and Social Sciences WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Presenting Data Accuratelyc. Citing and Documenting Sources--APA and CSE Styled. Using the Language of the Sciences and Social Sciences e. Writing Assignments in the Sciences and Social Sciences STUDENT PROJECT: RESEARCH REPORT23 Preparing for and Taking an Essay Exama. Preparing for an Essay Examb. Previewing the ExamWRITING RESPONSIBLY: Using Your Computer during and Essay Exam c. Writing an Effective Answer: Respond to the Question, Provide Support, and Organize Logicallyd. Doing a Final Check TWO SAMPLE ANSWERS: EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE 24 Writing in Business and as a Citizen (by Amy Taggart) a. Using Business Letter Formatsb. Writing Business Letters WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Letters to the Editor c. Writing Business Memos WRITING RESPONSIBLY: Personal Emails and IM at Work d. Writing Job Application Letters e. Writing Résumés f. Writing Reports and Proposals g. Writing Press ReleasesPART 7 Style Matters25 Writing ConciselyWRITING RESPONSIBLY: "Concise" versus "Brief" a. Eliminating Wordy Expressions b. Eliminating Ineffective or Unnecessary Repetition c. Avoiding Roundabout Constructions d. Consolidating Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences 26 Using Coordination and Subordination
