Chapter 1

The Digital World: Building on What You Already Know to Respond Critically

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Summary

Articulate the importance of inquiry, learning, critical thinking, and communicating in varying rhetorical and cultural contexts To read and write well means to read and write critically. In fact, a major goal of most college curricula is to train students to be critical readers, writers, and thinkers so that they carry those habits into the real and virtual worlds beyond campus borders. Being critical in reading means knowing how to analyze distinctions, interpretations, and conclusions.

Chapter 2

Language, Identity, and Culture: Exploring, Employing, Embracing

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Summary

Articulate how language use can promote social justice and equality Between 1870 and 1900, nearly 12 million immigrants arrived in the United States, many through Ellis Island. Many sought relief from religious and political persecution; others were skilled workers in search of jobs. Once in the United States, many immigrants faced difficulties adjusting to the demands of life in a new country, including the challenges of learning a new language and new customs.

Chapter 3

Literacy Narrative: Building Bridges, Bridging Gaps

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Summary

The language you use also signals the ways in which you are rooted in specific culture , or groups of people who share common beliefs and lived experiences. Discern the nature of identity in various rhetorical and cultural contexts You likely express your identity , or ideas about who you are, through language. Because the ways in which people speak and write are closely intertwined with their self-images and community affiliations, you can think, communicate, and interact most freely with others by using your personal…

Chapter 4

Memoir or Personal Narrative: Learning Lessons from the Personal

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Summary

Read in several genres to understand how genre conventions shape and are shaped by readers’ and writers’ practices and purposes Two genres of this type of writing are personal narratives and memoirs. A genre is a category of writing that features compositions with distinct characteristics, styles, content, and formats. These two genres belong to the larger family of creative nonfiction , a term that applies to the kind of nonfiction writing that shares many traits with fiction writing.

Key terms

genre

a category of writing that features compositions with distinct characteristics, styles, content, and formats

Chapter 5

Profile: Telling a Rich and Compelling Story

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Summary

Beginning with its first issue in 1925, The New Yorker magazine has run a regular feature called "Profiles." The earliest of this series of biographical sketches combined the elements still in use for profiles today… In the early 1950s, then senator John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) had an idea to develop a similar article about U.S. Senators who had shown moral courage in the face of opposition.

Chapter 6

Proposal: Writing About Problems and Solutions

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Summary

Ask critical-thinking questions about problems to explore an idea for a proposal As a proposal writer, you will offer factual evidence to show a problem exists and needs to be addressed. Then you will present and recommend one or more solutions, again providing evidence to show that your solution or solutions are viable. To accomplish this task, you’ll need to think critically about problems and potential solutions, know the difference between fact and opinion, and identify bias

Chapter 7

Evaluation or Review: Would You Recommend It?

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Summary

Articulate what differentiates the review genre from other genres Developing evaluation skills can help you in everyday life. Just about anything you buy or use will require you to evaluate a range of choices based on criteria that are important to you. For example, writing a good paper or making a good presentation necessitates locating and evaluating sources.

Chapter 8

Analytical Report: Writing from Facts

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Summary

Ask critical thinking questions to explore an idea for a report Knowledge in the social and natural sciences and technical fields is often focused on data and ideas that can be verified by observing, measuring, and testing. Accordingly, writers in these fields place high value on neutral and objective case analysis and inferences based on the careful examination of data. Put another way, writers describe and analyze results as they understand them.

Chapter 9

Rhetorical Analysis: Interpreting the Art of Rhetoric

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Summary

The emphasis is on the word how , because the how is what starts you on the path of analyzing the forms, intent, and effectiveness of communication. The point is that even facial expressions and tones of voice serve communicative functions and contain a rhetoric that one can observe, process, and analyze Communicative situations nearly always contain rhetoric , the craft of persuading through writing or speaking. Think of your earliest instances of communication with parents or caregivers.

Key terms

emphasis

on the word how , because the how is what starts you on the path of analyzing the forms, intent, and effectiveness of communication

point

that even facial expressions and tones of voice serve communicative functions and contain a rhetoric that one can observe, process, and analyze

Chapter 10

Position Argument: Practicing the Art of Rhetoric

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Summary

The genre for this chapter is a position arguments . In writing, a genre is a category of literary composition. In a position argument, your purpose is to present a perspective , or viewpoint, about a debatable issue and persuade readers that your perspective is correct or at least worthy of serious consideration. A debatable issue is one that is subject to uncertainty or to a difference of opinion; in college classes, a debatable issue is one that is complex and involves critical thinking.

Key terms

debatable issue

one that is subject to uncertainty or to a difference of opinion; in college classes, a debatable issue is one that is complex and involves critical thinking

genre

a category of literary composition

Chapter 11

Reasoning Strategies: Improving Critical Thinking

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Summary

For the purposes of this course, logic means “reasoning based on thought and evidence.” In practical terms, logic is the ability to analyze and evaluate persuasive or argument writing for effectiveness. By extension, it also means that you can learn to use logic in your own argumentative writing. Like any other new skill, you are likely to learn best when you have a starting point. Here are some suggestions for how to begin thinking and writing logically

Chapter 12

Argumentative Research: Enhancing the Art of Rhetoric with Evidence

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Summary

The writing tasks for this chapter and the next two chapters are based on argumentative research. Although the genre may vary, you usually will be required to present a perspective , or viewpoint, about a debatable issue and persuade readers to support the “validity of your viewpoint,” as discussed in Position… Remember, too, that a debatable issue is one that has more than a single perspective and is subject to disagreement Articulate how research evidence and sources are key rhetorical concepts in presenting a position or an argument

Key terms

debatable issue

one that has more than a single perspective and is subject to disagreement

next two chapters

based on argumentative research

Chapter 13

Research Process: Accessing and Recording Information

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Summary

Access to information is generally not a problem; the problem is knowing where to find the information you need and how to distinguish among types and qualities of sources. Locate and evaluate primary and secondary research materials, including journal articles and essays, books, scholarly and professionally established and maintained databases or archives, and informal electronic… Once you have chosen your argumentative research topic, developed a workable research question, and devised a plan for your research as described in Argumentative Research: Enhancing the Art of Rhetoric with Evidence … One key point to remember at this stage is intentionality; that is, begin with a research plan rather than a collection of everything you find related to your topic.

Key terms

problem; the problem

knowing where to find the information you need and how to distinguish among types and qualities of sources

Chapter 14

Annotated Bibliography: Gathering, Evaluating, and Documenting Sources

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Summary

Each set of source information, or each individual entry, listed in the bibliography or noted within the body of the composition is called a citation A bibliography is a list of the sources you use when doing research for a project or composition. A bibliography alone, at the end of a research work, also may be labeled “References” or “Works Cited,” depending on the citation style you are using. The bibliography lists information about each source, including author, title, publisher, and publication date.

Key terms

bibliography

a list of the sources you use when doing research for a project or composition

Chapter 15

Case Study Profile: What One Person Says About All

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Summary

To gain more knowledge of or insights into human behavior, thoughts, or emotions, researchers conduct observations of participants. Case studies are the written results of these observations. Because authors of case studies interpret results within the context of a limited setting and sample size, these authors often theorize about their findings and aim to discover opportunities for further research rather… Case studies depend on qualitative research and analysis.

Chapter 16

Print or Textual Analysis: What You Read

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Summary

Demonstrate critical thinking and communicating in various rhetorical contexts You may already be familiar with what is called textual analysis in academia. In fact, you do it frequently when you read or interact in other ways with language. It is important, though, to distinguish between what textual analysis is and what it is not .

Chapter 17

Image Analysis: What You See

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Summary

Both stories and pictures contain information presented by a creator who has a particular point of view and arranges the work in two-dimensional space. The information is likely to be open to multiple interpret , which may or may not be justified by the text. Although the sharing of personal opinions and beliefs has value, the focus here is on interpreting or analyzing texts in combination with your personal experiences Both words and pictures convey information, but each does so in different ways that require interpretation.

Key terms

information

likely to be open to multiple interpret , which may or may not be justified by the text

focus here

on interpreting or analyzing texts in combination with your personal experiences

Chapter 18

Multimodal and Online Writing: Creative Interaction between Text and Image

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Summary

The writing genre for this chapter incorporates a variety of modalities. A genre is a type of composition that encompasses defined features, follows a style or format, and reflects your purpose as a writer. When considering the multimodal genres, you will discover that genres create conventions (standard ways of doing things) for categorizing media according to the expectations of the audience and the way the media will… Consider film media, for example; it encompasses genres including drama, documentaries, and animated shorts, to name a few.

Key terms

genre

a type of composition that encompasses defined features, follows a style or format, and reflects your purpose as a writer

Chapter 19

Scripting for the Public Forum: Writing to Speak

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Summary

Articulate how genre conventions shape and are shaped by readers’ and writers’ practices and purposes The genre of this chapter is script writing. A genre is a type of composition that uses specific features, follows a particular style or format, and is shaped by the author’s purpose , or what the author wants to accomplish. In a script, the purpose is what the author wants to communicate to the audience and wants the audience to think about or do after the speech.

Key terms

genre

a type of composition that uses specific features, follows a particular style or format, and is shaped by the author’s purpose , or what the author wants to accomplish

purpose

what the author wants to communicate to the audience and wants the audience to think about or do after the speech

Chapter 20

Portfolio Reflection: Your Growth as a Writer

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Summary

You have written your way through a long semester, and the journey is nearly complete. Because the subject of this reflection is you and your work, no further research is required. The information you need is in the work you have done in this course and in your head. Reflect on and write about the development of composing processes and how those processes affect your work

Key terms

subject of this reflection

you and your work, no further research is required

information you need

in the work you have done in this course and in your head