A minimum of 1,000 words (total essay assignments: 1, 2, and Journal entry) and three scholarly sources. Please note Water Woes outline and grammar sections do not count towards the 1000 word minimum.

1. List 5 topics you might consider writing about with a sentence or two about what your thesis statement might be for each topic. To generate topics, you may use journal writing, freewriting, listing, or clustering to generate topics. Review Chapter 3 in your textbook.

2. Take 2 of the topics from the list and write 2 paragraphs about what you already know about the topic and why you considered it as a research paper.

3. Using the SQ3R method, read the paper, “Water Woes in Walkerton,” from Chapter 2, pages 26-29 of your textbook. Make a formal outline of the paper and copy it into the space provided.

(You are going to rewrite the paragraph using correct pronouns. You must use pronouns)

Nora Johnson is a Habitat for Humanity volunteer. ___ helped in the building of three houses. ___ job consisted of nailing trim work and painting window frames. ___ suggested that Valerie and Marla join ___ on one of the projects. ___ both decided it was a good idea, and volunteered too. ___ all believe that Habitat for Humanity is making a difference in ___ community. Nora encouraged a friend of ___ to join as well. Now ___ all volunteer. ___ are one big happy Habitat for Humanity family!

JOURNAL ENTRY:

Start a Journal for your writing. For your first entry, summarize the process you used to come up with the 5 topics you might write about. Comment on which ones may be the best fit for you to write about and why. Must be a minimum of 2 paragraphs and 5 sentences per paragraph.

Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s

“ Literacy is not a luxury, it is a right and a

responsibility. If our world is to meet the challenge

of the twenty-first century, we must harness the
energy and creativity of all our citizens.”

—Bill Clinton

PART

WRITE

wavebreakmedia ltd, 2011 / Used under license from Shutterstock.com

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C h a P t e r 1 : U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e r e a d i n g – W r i t i n g C o n n e C t i o n

1
Understanding
the Reading-
Writing
Connection
When you write, you are sending a message into the
world. But here’s the thing: before you could write, you
needed to

read

. And your writing needs a reader, if it is to
be something more than static words on a page or a screen.
Whether it’s a poem or a novel, a tweet or an essay, a blog
or a lab report, reading and writing work symbiotically—in
a close relationship where one depends on the other.

In your college work (and even beyond), you’ll do plenty
of reading and writing, and COMP: Write aims to help you im-
prove both of these abilities in its attention to the writing process,
its presentation of student and professional essays, its instruction in
different forms of writing, its attention to research, and its focus on
grammar. However, this first chapter looks directly at the reading-
writing connection so that you can begin to strengthen those ties in
your own work.

Now more than ever, reading and writing involve not only words
but also visual images. For that reason, this chapter also asks you to
pull visuals into view as part of the reading-writing connection.

Learning Outcomes

1 Use the SQ3R reading strategy.
2 Read actively.
3 Respond to a text.
4 Summarize a text.
5 Effectively analyze images.
6 Think critically through writing.

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Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s

Use the SQ3R
reading strategy.
Obviously, reading a novel, a textbook, and a Web
page are all different activities. Nevertheless, all col-
lege reading assignments can be approached system-
atically, especially when your goal is to absorb and
engage the text. One strategy for critical reading,
especially of information-rich texts, is called SQ3R:
Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review. Here is
how SQ3R works.

Survey
The first step in SQ3R is to preview the material. Check
for clues to each part of the rhetorical situation:

Rhetorical Situation

1
■ Read any questions that accompany the

reading. Look at the end of the reading or in
a study guide.

■ Turn headings into questions. If a subhead
says, “The Study,” ask, “How was the study
conducted?”

■ Imagine test questions for major points. If
the reading draws conclusions about self-con-
trol, ask, “What conclusions does the author
draw about self-control?”

■ Ask the journalist’s questions: Ask who,
what, where, when, why, and how? Whose atti-
tudes are changing? What are their attitudes?
Where is the change strongest? When is it
occurring? Why is it happening? How?

Read about the author. Then read the title and the
opening and closing paragraphs to get a sense of the
main points. Glance at all other pages, noting head-
ings, topic sentences in paragraphs, boldface type, il-
lustrations, charts, maps, and other cues to the con-
tent and organization.

Benefits: Surveying helps you (1) focus on the writ-
er’s message, (2) identify its organization, and (3)
anticipate how the text will develop.

Benefits: Asking questions keeps you actively
thinking about what you are reading and helps you
absorb information.

Read
As you encounter facts and ideas, ask these questions:
What does this mean? How do the ideas relate to each
other and to what I know? What’s coming next?

Keep track of your answers by taking notes, anno-
tating the text, mapping, or outlining. (See pages 5–7
for more on these active-reading techniques.) Read
difficult parts slowly; reread them if necessary. Look
up unfamiliar words or ideas, and use your senses to
imagine the events, people, places, or things you are

Sender

(Creator)

Receiver

(Audience)

Message
(Subject + Purpose)

Medium
(Form)

Context

(Environment)

Question
As you survey, begin to ask questions that you hope to
answer as you read.

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C h a P t e r 1 : U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e r e a d i n g – W r i t i n g C o n n e C t i o n

■ Pace yourself. Read in stretches of thirty to
forty-five minutes, followed by short breaks.

■ Anticipate. When you break, think about
what is coming next and why.

■ Read difficult parts aloud. Or take turns
reading aloud with a partner.

■ Take thoughtful notes. Find a note-tak-
ing system that works for you. (See pages
347–348). This is especially true for research
projects.

■ Annotate the text. Mark up the text (if you
own it) or a photocopy. Underline or highlight
key points. Write a “?” beside puzzling parts.
Write key words in the margin and add per-
sonal observations.

■ Visualize the concepts in concrete ways.
Example: If a text discusses a study about
self-control, imagine a television panel dis-
cussing the

topic.

■ Draw diagrams or develop clusters.
Example: See the cluster on page 7.

■ Put the material in your own words.
Example: See the summary on page 9.

■ Teach it to someone.
Example: For a study about self-control,
explain the main points to a friend or rela-
tive—in person, on the phone, or by e-mail.

■ Use acronyms or rhymes.
Example: “i before e except after c.”

reading about. Imagine talking with the writer. Ex-
press agreement, lodge complaints, ask for proof—and
imagine the writer’s response or look for it in the text.

Benefits: Engaging actively with the text in this way
will draw you deeper into the world of the writing.
You’ll trigger memories and make surprising con-
nections.

Recite
After finishing a page, section, or chapter, recite the
key points aloud. Answering Who? What? When?
Where? Why? and How? questions is a quick way of
testing yourself on how well you understood what you
read. You can also recite the key points by listing them
or writing a summary (see pages 8–9).

Benefits: Reciting tests your comprehension, drives
the material deeper into your long-term memory,
and helps you connect the content with what you
already know.

Review
As soon as you finish reading the material, double-
check the questions you posed in the “question” stage
of SQ3R. Can you answer them? Glance over any notes
you made as well. But don’t stop there if the reading is
especially important. You will remember the material
much better by spacing out your reviews; spend a few
minutes reviewing each text over the next few days.
Consider the following helpful memory techniques:

Benefits: Research shows that reviewing within 24
hours helps considerably to move information from
your short-term memory to your long-term memo-
ry. You will also improve your memory if you create
a network of associations with the information you
want to remember, if you link the memory to two
or more senses, or if you reorganize the material
while still retaining the substance with accuracy.

Read actively.
Truly active reading is a kind of mental dialogue with
the writer. Use these strategies to read actively:

Read, annotate, and respond to a text.
The following article first appeared in June 2, 2010, in a
monthly column in the Fast Company newsletter. The
author, Dan Heath, is also coauthor (with his brother)
of the best-selling business books Made to Stick and
Switch. He is currently a consultant to the Policy Pro-
grams at the Aspen Institute. Read the following ar-
ticle, using SQ3R and active-reading strategies.

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6 Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s

Why Change Is So Hard: Self-
Control Is Exhaustible

You hear something a lot about change: People
won’t change because they’re too lazy. Well, I’m here
to stick up for the lazy people. In fact, I want to argue
that what looks like laziness is actually exhaustion.
The proof comes from a psychology study that is ab-
solutely fascinating.

The Study

So picture this: Students come into a lab. It smells
amazing—someone has just baked chocolate-chip
cookies. On a table in front of them, there are two
bowls. One has the fresh-baked cookies. The other has
a bunch of radishes. Some of the students are asked to
eat some cookies but no radishes. Others are told to eat
radishes but no cookies, and while they sit there, nib-
bling on rabbit food, the researchers leave the room—
which is intended to tempt them and is frankly kind
of sadistic. But in the study none of the radish-eaters
slipped—they showed admirable self-control. And
meanwhile, it probably goes without saying that the
people gorging on cookies didn’t experience much
temptation.

Then, the two groups are asked to do a second,
seemingly unrelated task—basically a kind of logic
puzzle where they have to trace out a complicated
geometric pattern without raising their pencil. Unbe-
knownst to them, the puzzle can’t be solved. The sci-
entists are curious how long they’ll persist at a diffi-
cult task. So the cookie-eaters try again and again, for
an average of 19 minutes, before they give up. But the
radish-eaters—they only last an average of 8 minutes.
What gives?

The Results

The answer may surprise you: They ran out of
self-control. Psychologists have discovered that self-
control is an exhaustible resource. And I don’t mean
self-control only in the sense of turning down cook-
ies or alcohol; I mean a broader sense of self-supervi-
sion—any time you’re paying close attention to your
actions, like when you’re having a tough conversation
or trying to stay focused on a paper you’re writing.
This helps to explain why, after a long hard day at the
office, we’re more likely to snap at our spouses or have
one drink too many—we’ve depleted our self-control.

And here’s why this matters for change: In almost
all change situations, you’re substituting new, unfa-
miliar behaviors for old, comfortable ones, and that
burns self-control. Let’s say I present a new morning
routine to you that specifies how you’ll shower and
brush your teeth. You’ll understand it and you might
even agree with my process. But to pull it off, you’ll
have to supervise yourself very carefully. Every fiber
of your being will want to go back to the old way of
doing things. Inevitably, you’ll slip. And if I were un-
charitable, I’d see you going back to the old way and
I’d say, You’re so lazy. Why can’t you just change?

This brings us back to the point I promised I’d
make: That what looks like laziness is often exhaus-
tion. Change wears people out—even well-intentioned
people will simply run out of fuel.

1
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C h a P t e r 1 : U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e r e a d i n g – W r i t i n g C o n n e C t i o n

Note: Reading actively also involves evaluating texts.
For help, see pages 344–345, where you’ll find instruc-
tion on evaluating resources for research projects.

Map the text.
If you are visually oriented, you may understand a
text best by mapping out its important parts. One
way to do so is by “clustering.” Start by naming the
main topic in an oval at the center of the page. Then
branch out using lines and “balloons,” where each bal-
loon contains a word or phrase for one major subtopic.
Branch out in further layers of balloons to show even
more subpoints. If you wish, add graphics, arrows,
drawings—anything that helps you visualize the rela-
tionships among ideas.

reading for Better Writing

Working by yourself or with a group, answer
these questions:
1. In a single sentence, state the thesis of the

essay.
2. In a few sentences, tell how the findings of

the study help explain why change is diffi-
cult.

3. Compare your notes and annotations with
a partner. Which parts of your notes and
annotations are the same? Which parts are
different? How does discussing the content
of the essay reinforce or otherwise alter your
understanding of the essay?

4. Think about your own life. What sorts of
activities require you to exert a great deal of
self-control? What sort of activities do you
find too tempting to resist when you have
“run out” of self-control? How could this
information help you avoid temptation?

lazy?

people who
won’t change

exhausted?

self-control

eat cookies—
no need for
self-control

stuck with tracing
for 19 mins

more self-control?

eat radishes (no
cookies) —need for
much self-control

stuck with
tracing 8 mins

mad about
cookies?

“ran out” of self-
control?

Outline the text.
Outlining is the traditional way of showing all the ma-
jor parts, points, and subpoints in a text. An outline
uses parallel structure to show main points and subor-
dinate points. See pages 46–48 for more on outlines.

Sample Outline for “Why Change Is So Hard: Self-
Control Is Exhaustible”

1. Introduction: Change is hard not because of
laziness but because of exhaustion.

2. A study tests self-control.
a. Some students must eat only cookies—

using little self-control.
b. Some students must eat only radishes—

using much self-control.
c. Both sets of students have to trace a

pattern without lifting the pencil—an
unsolvable puzzle.
■ Cookie-only students last an average of

19 minutes before quitting.
■ Radish-only students last an average of

8 minutes before quitting.
3. Results show that self-control is exhaustible.
a. Avoiding temptation and working in a

hard, focused way require self-control.
b. Change requires self-control.
c. Failure to change often results from ex-

haustion of self-control.

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Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s

Respond to a text.
In a sense, when you read a text, you enter into a dia-
logue with it. Your response expresses your turn in the
dialogue. Such a response can take varied forms, from a
journal entry to a blog to a discussion-group posting.

Follow these guidelines for response
writing.
On the surface, responding to a text seems perfectly
natural—just let it happen. But it can be a bit more
complicated. A written response typically is not the
same as a private diary entry but is instead shared
with other readers, whether your instructor or a class.
You develop your response keeping in mind your in-
structor’s requirements and the response’s role in the
course. Therefore, follow these guidelines:

1. Be honest. Although you want to remain
sensitive to the context in which you will
share your response, be bold enough to be
honest about your reaction to the text—what
it makes you think, feel, and question. To
that end, a response usually allows you to
express yourself directly using the pronoun
“I.”

2. Be fluid. Let the f low of your thoughts guide
you in what you write. Don’t stop to worry
about grammar, punctuation, mechanics,
and spelling. These can be quickly cleaned
up before you share or submit your response.

3. Be reflective. Generally, the goal of a
response is to offer thoughtful ref lection as
opposed to knee-jerk reaction. Show, then,
that you are engaging the text’s ideas, relat-
ing them to your own experience, looking
both inward and outward. Avoid a shallow
reaction that comes from skimming the text
or misreading it.

4. Be selective. By nature, a response must
limit its focus; it cannot exhaust all your
reactions to the text. So zero in on one or
two elements of your response, and run with
those to see where they take you in your
dialogue with the text.

1. Skim first; then read closely. First, get a
sense of the whole, including the main idea
and strategies for support. Then read care-
fully, taking notes as you do.

2. Capture the text’s argument. Review your
notes and annotations, looking for main
points and clear connections. State these

Sample Response
Here is part of a student’s response to Dan Heath’s
“Why Change Is So Hard” on page 6. Note the infor-
mality and explanatory tone.

Summarize a text.
Writing a summary disciplines you by making you
pull only essentials from a reading—the main points,
the thread of the argument. By doing so, you create
a brief record of the text’s contents and exercise your
ability to comprehend, analyze, and synthesize.

Use these guidelines for summary
writing.
Writing a summary requires sifting out the least im-
portant points, sorting the essential ones to show their
relationships, and stating those points in your own
words. Follow these guidelines:

Heath’s report of the psychological
experiment is very vivid, referring to the smell
of chocolate-chip cookies and hungry students
“gorging” on them. He uses the term “sadistic” to
refer to making the radish-eaters sit and watch
this go on. I wonder if this mild torment plays into
the student’s readiness to give up on the later test.
If I’d been rewarded with cookies, I’d feel indebted
to the testers and would stick with it longer. If
I’d been punished with radishes, I might give up
sooner just to spite the testers.

Now that I think of it, the digestion of all that
sugar and fat in the cookies, as opposed to the
digestion of roughage from the radishes, might
also affect concentration and performance. Maybe
the sugar “high” gives students the focus to keep
going?

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Sample

Summary

Below is a student’s summary of Dan Heath’s “Why
Change Is So Hard,” on page 6. Note how the summa-
ry writer includes only main points and phrases them
in her own words. She departs from the precise order
of details, but records them accurately.

In the article “Why Change Is So Hard,” Dan
Heath argues that people who have trouble
changing are not lazy, but have simply exhausted
their self-control. Heath refers to a study in which
one group of students was asked to eat cookies
and not radishes while another group in the same
room was asked to eat radishes and not cookies.
Afterward, both groups of students were asked
to trace an endless geometric design without
lifting their pencils. The cookie-only group traced
on average 19 minutes before giving up, but
the radish-only group traced on average only
8 minutes. They had already used up their self-
control. Heath says that any behavioral change
requires self-control, an exhaustible resource.
Reverting to old behavior is what happens due
not to laziness but to exhaustion.

Insight: Writing formal summaries—whether as part of
literature reviews or as abstracts—is an important skill,
especially in the social and natural sciences. For a sample
abstract, see page 390.

■ Survey the image. See it as a whole, but also
study the focal point, the background-fore-
ground relationship, left and right content,
and colors.

■ Inspect the image. Examine all the details
and the relationships between parts.

■ Question the image. Who created the image,
and why? What is the image’s subject and
message? Who is the intended viewer? In what
medium and context does the image appear
(e.g., magazine, academic report, Web page)?

■ Understand the purpose. What is this image
meant to do? Arouse curiosity? Entertain?
Inform? Illustrate a concept? Per

suade?

Actively interpret images.
Interpreting an image follows naturally from viewing
or “reading” the image. Interpreting means figuring
out what the image or design is meant to do, say, or
show. Interpreting requires you to think more deeply
about each element of the rhetorical situation, and
complications with each element.

brief ly and clearly, in your own words. In-
clude only what is essential, excluding most
examples and details. Don’t say simply that
the text talks about its subject; tell what it
says about that subject.

3. Test your summary. Aim to objectively
provide the heart of the text; avoid inter-
jecting your own opinions and presence as a
writer. Don’t confuse an objective summary
of a text with a response to it (shown on
the previous page). Check your summary
against the original text for accuracy and
consistency.

Effectively
analyze images.
Images communicate, just as words do. Most images
in everyday life are made to communicate quickly—
magazine covers, ads, signs, movie trailers, social-
media photos, and so on. Other images require con-
templation, such as the Mona Lisa. When you view an
image, analyze it effectively through careful viewing
and interpreting.

Actively view images.
When you look at an image, take it all in by doing the
following:

5
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Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s10

Insight: Like words, visuals can be cliches—trite, mis-
leading, or worn-out expressions of concepts or ideas.
For example, TV ads for weight-loss drugs commonly
picture scantily clad, fit young people, deceptively link-
ing use of the drug to beauty, youth, and sex.

Interpret an image.

■ Sender: Who created the image—a photog-
rapher, a painter, a Web designer? Why did
the person create it? What other people might
have been involved—editors, patrons?
Complications: The sender might be unknown
or a group.

■ Message: What is the subject of the image?
How is the subject portrayed? What is the
main purpose of the image—to entertain, to
inform, to persuade, to entice, to shock?
Complications: The message might be mixed,
implied, ironic, unwelcome, or distorted. The
subject might be vague, unfamiliar, complex,
or disturbing.

■ Medium: What is the image—a painting, a
cartoon panel, a photo? How might the image
have been modified over time? What visual
language has the sender used?
Complications: The medium might be unusu-
al, unfamiliar, or multiple. The visual languag-
es might be literal, stylized, numeric, symbolic,
and so on.

■ Receiver: Whom was the image made for?
Are you part of the intended audience? What
is your relationship with the sender? Do you
agree with the message? How comfortable are
you with the medium? What is your overall
response to the image?
Complications: You might be uninterested in,
unfamiliar with, or biased toward the mes-
sage.

Discussion
This color photograph shows a multireligious

commemoration of the 229,000 victims of the Indian
Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004.

The symbolism is clearly rooted in the points of
light created by the candle balloons, where light it-
self is a cross-cultural symbol of hope, endurance,
the human spirit, and God’s presence. The skyward
angle of the photograph, with the clusters of candle
balloons f loating up and the people in the lower right
of the frame, creates this sense of vertical longing and
release, emphasizing perhaps humanity’s longing to
solve life’s mysteries, including death and disaster.

Sender
Receiver

Message Medium

Context

■ Context: What was the context in which the
image was first presented? What context sur-
rounds the image now? Does the image fit its
context or fight it?
Complications: The context might be discon-
nected, ironic, changing, or multilayered.

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C h a P t e r 1 : U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e r e a d i n g – W r i t i n g C o n n e C t i o n 11

Sender: Photographer Bazuki Muhammad;
authors of COMP: Write

Message: Thais release candle balloons during a
mass prayer for victims of the Indian
Ocean tsunami. The message is to
remember those who died, but move
forward with hope.

Medium: Digital color photograph

Receiver: The intended viewer was anyone
reading a newspaper, magazine, or
Web article. The current viewer is
likely a student or an instructor in a
composition course.

Context: This photograph was part of a series
provided by Reuters for global
newspapers. It now is part of a
composition text.

Think critically
through writing.
Reading, viewing, and writing can all be means of
critical thinking. In college, you often need to show
your ability to think critically about topics and issues
by analyzing complex processes, synthesizing con-
cepts, weighing the value of opposing perspectives,
and applying principles. To think critically through
your writing, practice the strategies that follow.

■ “Rhetorical” questions aren’t meant to be an-
swered. They’re asked for effect.

Example: Who would want to be caught in
an earthquake?

■ Closed questions seek a limited response and
can be answered with “yes,” “no,” or a simple
fact.

Example: Would I feel an earthquake mea-
suring 3.0 on the Richter scale?

■ Open questions invite brainstorming and
discussion.

Example: How might a major earthquake
affect this urban area?

■ Theoretical questions call for organization
and explanation of an entire field of knowledge.

Example: What might cause a sudden frac-
turing of Earth’s crust along fault lines?

To improve the critical thinking in your writing,
ask better questions. The strategies on the next page
will help you think freely, respond to reading, study
for a test, or collect your thoughts for an essay.

Although the large, just-released candle balloons are
most prominent, the viewer’s eyes are also drawn up-
ward, where clusters of far-off candles become con-
stellations of starlike lights. The mourners in the right
of the frame, forming a loose circle, are all gazing
skyward, like the viewer. Ordinary people in ordinary
clothes, they appear to be clapping and, for some, the
clapping shows their hands virtually in a posture of
prayer. In this way, the image both mourns the dead
and celebrates life.

Ask probing questions.
Every field uses questions to trigger critical thinking.
For example, scientific questions generate hypotheses,
sociological questions lead to studies, mathematical
questions call for proofs, and literary criticism ques-
tions call for interpretations. A good question opens
up a problem and guides you all the way to its solu-
tion. But not all questions are created equal. Consider
the differences:

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Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s12

starts with specific details or observations (as shown
at the base) and then moves “up” to broader ideas and
eventually to a concluding generalization. In contrast,
deduction starts with general principles at the top and
works down, applying the principles to explain par-
ticular instances.

Generalization/
Conclusion

Main Ideas

Specific
Details

In
d

u
ct

io
n

D
ed

u
ct
io
n

Example: Read through the paragraphs below from a
student essay, “If We Are What We Wear, What Are
We?” by Allison Young. The first paragraph works de-
ductively, the second paragraph inductively. Note how
each approach affects the message.

The American excuse for owning multiples is that
clothing styles change so rapidly. At the end of the
’80s, trends in high fashion changed every two and
a half months (During 95). Even for those of us who
don’t keep up with high fashion, styles change often
enough that our clothing itself lasts much longer than
the current trend. Perhaps this is one of the reasons
the average American spent 7 on clothing in 1996
(U.S. Department of Commerce).

While Americans are spending a thousand dollars
on clothing a year, people in Ethiopia make an aver-
age of only $96 a year, those in Bangladesh $280, and
the average Filipino worker makes $1,052 (United Na-
tions Statistics Division). I, on the other hand, made
over $5,000 last year, and that job was only part-time.
When an American college student can earn more
money at her part-time job than three billion people
each make for a living, it’s time to question our culture
and ask, as Alan During did, “How much is enough?”

Ask open questions. Closed questions some-
times choke off thinking. Use open questions to
trigger a f low of ideas.

Ask “educated” questions. Compare these
questions: (A) What’s wrong with television? (B)
Does the 16.3 percent rise in televised acts of vio-
lence during the past three years signal a rising
tolerance for violence in the viewing audience?
You have a better chance of expanding the “edu-
cated” question—question B—into an essay be-
cause the question is clearer and suggests debat-
able issues.

Keep a question journal. Divide a blank note-
book page or split a computer screen. On one side,
write down any questions that come to mind re-
garding the topic that you want to explore. On the
other side, write down answers and any thoughts
that f low from them.

Write Q & A drafts. To write a thoughtful first
draft, write quickly, then look it over. Turn the
main idea into a question and write again, an-
swering your question. For example, if your main
idea is that TV viewers watch far more violence
than they did ten years ago, ask Which viewers?
Why? and What’s the result? Go on that way until
you find a key idea to serve as the main point of
your next draft.

For more help with critical-thinking skills such
as making and supporting claims, recogniz-

ing logical fallacies, and dealing with opposition, see
“Strategies for Argumentation and Persuasion,” pages
176–187.

Practice inductive and deductive
logic.
Questions invite thinking; reasoning responds to that
challenge in an organized way. Will the organization
of your thoughts be inductive or deductive? Inductive
logic reasons from specific information toward gen-
eral conclusions. Deductive logic reasons from general
principles toward specific applications. Notice in the
diagram in the next column that inductive reasoning

(A) Deduction: generalization to specific details
(B) Induction: specific details to generalization

(A)

(B)

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C h a P t e r 1 : U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e r e a d i n g – W r i t i n g C o n n e C t i o n 13

Critical-Thinking and Writing Activities
As directed by your instructor, complete the following
critical-thinking and writing activities.
1. Northrop Frye has argued that “[n]obody is ca-

pable of free speech unless he [or she] knows how
to use language, and such knowledge is not a gift:
It has to be learned and worked at.” How does
Frye’s claim relate to the discussions of reading,
viewing, and writing in this chapter?

2. In a newspaper or magazine (print or online),
find a brief article that discusses a recent scien-
tific study (similar to Dan Heath’s article on page
6). Read your selected article by practicing the
SQ3R method. Then do the following: map the
text, write a response to it, and summarize it. If
the article has visual content, view and interpret
any images. Finally, generate a list of probing
questions and speculative answers related to the
article’s topic.

3. In a print or digital publication, find an image
that is striking. Using the instruction on effec-
tively analyzing images, draft an interpretation
of the image.

4. Read three or four articles on a current issue that
interests you. Using what you’ve learned, draft
two paragraphs on the issue—one patterned
deductively and the other inductively.

Checklist: Learning Outcomes
Use the checklist below to assess how well you are
practicing the reading-writing connection.

I effectively use the SQ3R method for reading
texts.
I read texts actively through annotation, map-
ping, outlining, and evaluating.
I can write a meaningful response to a text.
I can effectively summarize a text so as to get
at the core argument.
I effectively analyze images through active
viewing and interpreting strategies.
I practice effective critical thinking through
writing that asks probing questions and that
works logically through induction and/or de-
duction.

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Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s 26

Edit the writing
for correctness.
Angela reviewed her edited copy for punctuation,
agreement issues, and spelling. The first page of An-
gela’s proofread essay is shown below.

Water Woes in Walkerton

Warning: City tap water is polluted with animal waste. Using the water

for drinking, cooking, or bathing could

cause sickness or death.

According to the Seirra Club, run-off pollutants from farm cites

are steadily seeping into our streams, lakes, reservoirs, and wells.

Because much of our drinking water comes from these resources,

warnings like the one above are already posted in a number of

U.S. and Canadian communities, and many more postings might

be needed in the future (Sierra Club, 2005). As the Seirra Club

argues, the pollution and related warnings are serious, and failure

to take them seriously could be deadly. For example, a few years

ago the citizens of Walkerton Ontario learned that the water that

they believed to be clean was tragically poisoned.

The events in Walkerton began on May 12, 2000, when heavy

rains washed cattle manure into the town well. The manure

contained bacteria commonly called E coli. While E coli is harmless

to cattle, it can make people sick. Seven days after the heavy

rains, people began calling public health officials to complain of

nausea and diarrhea. It wasn’t until May 21 that the townspeople

were advised to boil their drinking water. The warning came too

late. Two people had already died, and more than 2,000 were ill

(Wickens, 2000).

Several factors contributed to the tragedy in Walkerton,

including human error. First, according to The Edmonton Journal,

flaw in the water treatment system allowed the infested water to

enter Walkerton’s well (Blackwell, 2001). Even after the manure

washed into the well, the chlorine should have .

. .

The writer corrects
errors that the spell
checker did not pick
up.

She adds a comma
between the city and
province.

She adds a word for
clarity.

She adds periods and
italicizes “E. coli” to
show that it is a scien-
tific term.

into Walkterton’s well

s
. .

, ,

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Check for documentation
and page-design problems.
After proofreading and formatting her essay, Angela added a heading and
page numbers. She also added more documentation and a references page at
the end. As assigned, she omitted the title page and abstract.

Angela Franco

Professor Kim Van Es

English 101

October 18, 2011

Clean Water Is Everyone’s Business

Warning: City tap water is polluted with animal waste.

Using the water for drinking, cooking, or bathing could

cause sickness or death.

According to the Sierra Club, run-off pollutants from farm sites

are steadily seeping into our streams, lakes, reservoirs,

and wells. Because much of our drinking water comes from these

resources, warnings like the one above are already posted in

a number of U.S. and Canadian communities, and many more

postings might be needed in the future (Sierra Club, 2005). As the

Sierra Club argues, the pollution and related warnings are serious,

and failure to take them seriously could be deadly. For example, a

few years ago the citizens of Walkerton, Ontario, learned that the

water that they believed to be clean was tragically poisoned.

The events in Walkerton began on May 12, 2000, when heavy
rains washed cattle manure into the town well. The manure

contained the bacteria commonly called E. coli. While E. coli is

harmless to cattle, it can make people sick. Seven days after

the heavy rains, people began calling public health officials to

complain of nausea and diarrhea. It wasn’t until May 21 that

the townspeople were advised to boil their drinking water. The

warning came too late. Two people had already died, and more

than 2,000 were ill (Wickens, 2000).

The writer revises the
title.

The title is changed.
The warning is empha-
sized with red print.

An appropriate font
and type size are used.

Running Head: Clean Water Is Everyone’s Business 1

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Several factors contributed to the tragedy in Walkerton,

including human error. First, according to the Edmonton Journal, a

flaw in the water treatment system allowed the infested water to
enter Walkerton’s well (Blackwell, 2001). Even after the manure

washed into Walkerton’s well, the chlorine should have killed the

deadly bacteria. In Walkerton, the Public Utilities Commission

was responsible for overseeing the testing and treating of the

town’s water, but it failed to monitor the procedure properly

(“Walkerton’s water-safety,” 2000). Apparently, shortcuts were

taken when tracking the water’s chlorine level, and as a result,

some of the water samples were mislabeled. There was also a

significant delay between the time that the contamination was

identified and the time it was reported.

Once Walkerton’s problem was identified, the government acted

quickly to help the community. In its December 7, 2000, edition,

the Edmonton Journal reported that a $100,000 emergency

fund was set up to help families with expenses. Local businesses

donated bottled water for drinking and containers of bleach for

basic sanitizing and cleaning. In addition, the Provincial

Clean Water Agency restored the main water and sewage systems

by flushing out all of the town’s pipes and wells. Seven months

after the water became contaminated, the ban on drinking

Walkerton’s water was finally lifted.

As the Sierra Club warns and the citizens of Walkerton

learned, water purity is a life-and-death issue. Fortunately, both

the United States and Canada have been addressing the problem.

For example, since 2001, more states and provinces have been

tightening their clean-water standards, more communities have

been monitoring their water quality, and more individuals have

been using water-filtration systems, bottled water, or boiled tap

water. However, a tragedy like that in Walkerton could happen

again. To avoid such horror, all of us must get involved by

demanding clean tap water in our communities and by promoting

the policies and procedures needed to achieve that goal.

Title and page number
are used on each page.

Each claim or support-
ing point is backed up
with reasoning and
evidence.

The writer continues to
give credit throughout
the essay.

The writer restates
her thesis in the last
sentence.

Running Head: Clean Water Is Everyone’s Business 2

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References

Blackwell, T. (2001, January 9). Walkerton doctor defends

response. The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved September 22,

2010, from .

Sierra Club. (2005) Water sentinels: Keeping it clean around the

U.S.A. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from

org/watersentinels/>.

Walkerton’s water-safety tests falsified regularly, utility official

admits. (2000, December 7). The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved

April 2, 2005, from .

Wickens, B. (2000, June 5). Tragedy in Walkerton. Maclean’s,

113(23), 34–36.

Sources used are listed
correctly, in alphabeti-
cal order.

Each entry follows APA
rules for content, for-
mat, and punctuation.

Critical-Thinking and Writing Activities
Complete these activities by yourself or with class-
mates.
1. Scott Russell Sanders suggests that “essays are

experiments in making sense of things.” Does
Sanders’ statement ring true? What makes such
experiments f lop or succeed? What kinds of
“sense” do essays create?

2. Review Angela’s writing process. How does it
compare with your own writing process on a
recent assignment?

3. Review the peer-editing instructions in “Revis-
ing Collaboratively” (pages 77–78). Then reread
the reviewer’s comments in the margins of
Angela’s second revision (pages 23–24). Do the
comments ref lect the instructions? Explain.

Cross-Curricular Connections
Angela used APA style, which is standard for the so-
cial sciences: psychology, sociology, political science,
and education. MLA style is standard for English and
humanities. Make sure to find out what documenta-
tion style your instructor requires.

Checklist: Learning Outcomes
I can analyze an assignment, select a topic, and as-
sess my rhetorical

situation.

I can research my topic, plan my writing, and gath-
er/organize information.

I can write a first draft with an engaging opening,
an informative middle, and a unifying closing.

I can revise my writing for strong ideas, logical or-
ganization, and an informed voice.

I can use a peer response to complete a second re-
vision.

I can edit for style (e.g., precise words and smooth
sentences).

I can proofread for correct spelling, mechanics, us-
age, and grammar.

Running Head: Clean Water Is Everyone’s Business 3

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Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./CorbisPa r t 1 : P r o C e s s 30

“ I think I did pretty well, considering I started out
with nothing but a bunch of blank paper.”

—Steve Martin

PART 1
WRITE

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C h a P t e r 3 : s ta r t i n g 31

3
Starting
The blank page or screen can be daunting for any writer. That’s
because writing doesn’t go from nothing to a masterpiece in
one step. Writing is a process, much like painting.

This chapter focuses on beginning that process. It pro-
vides numerous concrete strategies for understanding
writing assignments, deciding on a topic, and exploring
it. The very act of writing generates ideas and creates new
connections that will make it easy to fill the blank page.

Learning Outcomes
1 Discover your process.
2 Understand the rhetorical

situation.

3 Understand the assignment.
4 Select, limit, and explore your

topic.

5 Collect information and track your
sources.

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Discover your process.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by a writing project—es-
pecially if the form of writing is new to you, the topic
is complex, or the paper must be long. However, using
the writing process will relieve some of that pressure
by breaking down the task into manageable steps. An
overview of those steps is shown below, and key prin-
ciples are addressed in the right column and on the
next page.

Consider the writing process.
The following f lowchart maps out the basic steps in
the writing process. As you work on your writing proj-
ect, periodically review this diagram to keep yourself
on task.

Getting Started
■ Understanding the assignment
■ Selecting a subject
■ Collecting information

Planning

■ Forming a thesis
■ Using methods of development
■ Developing a plan or an outline

Drafting

■ Opening your draft
■ Developing the middle
■ Ending your draft

Revising

■ Improving ideas, organization,

and voice
■ Revising collaboratively

Editing and Proofreading
■ Editing for style
■ Proofreading for correctness

Submitting

■ Preparing a paper for submis-

sion
■ Checking for page design and

documentation

Adapt the process to your project.
The writing process shown in the previous column is
f lexible, not rigid. As a writer, you need to adapt the
process to your situation and assignment. To do so,
consider these essential principles.

Writing tends not to follow a straight path. While
writing begins with an assignment or a need and ends
with a reader, the journey in between is often indirect.
The steps in the writing process are recursive, mean-
ing you will sometimes move back and forth between
them. For example, during the revision phase, you
may discover that you need to draft a new paragraph
or do more research.

Each assignment presents distinct challenges. A
personal essay may develop best through clustering
or freewriting; a literary analysis through close read-
ing of a story; a lab report through the experimen-
tal method; and a position paper through reading of
books and journal articles, as well as through careful
and balanced reasoning.

Writing can involve collaboration. From using your
roommate as a sounding board for your topic choice
to working with a group to produce a major report,
college writing is not solitary writing. In fact, many
colleges have a writing center to help you refine your
writing assignments. (See page 79 for more.)

Each writer works differently. Some writers do ex-
tensive prewriting before drafting, while others do
not. You might develop a detailed outline, whereas
someone else might draft a brief list of topics. Experi-
ment with the strategies introduced in chapters 2–7,
adopting those that help you.

Good writing can’t be rushed. Although some
students regard pulling an all-nighter as a badge of
honor, good writing takes time. A steady, disciplined
approach will generally produce the best results. For
example, by brainstorming or reading early in a proj-
ect, you stimulate your subconscious mind to mull
over issues, identify problems, and project solutions—
even while your conscious mind is working on other
things. Similarly, completing a first draft early enough
gives you time to revise objectively.

Getting
Started

Planning
Drafting
Revising

Editing

Submitting
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C h a P t e r 3 : s ta r t i n g 33

Different steps call for attention to different writ-
ing issues. As you use the writing process, at each
stage keep your focus where it belongs:
1. While getting started, planning, and drafting,

focus on global issues: ideas, structure, voice,
format, and design.

2. During revising, fix big content problems by cut-
ting, adding, and thoroughly reworking material.
(Our experience is that students benefit the most
from revising—but spend the least time doing it!)

3. While editing and proofreading, pay attention
to small, local issues—word choice, sentence
smoothness, and grammatical correctness. Wor-
rying about these issues early in the writing pro-
cess interrupts the f low of drafting and wastes
time on material that later is deleted.

Understand the
rhetorical situation.
Rhetoric is the art of using language effectively. As
Aristotle, Quintilian, and others have explained, your
language is effective when all aspects of your message
fit the rhetorical situation:

Rhetorical Situation
2

Sender
(Creator)

Receiver
(Audience)

Message
(Subject + Purpose)
Medium
(Form)

Context
(Environment)

Think of your role as the writer.
Are you writing as a concerned citizen, as a student in
a class, as a friend relating a story, as a reporter pro-
viding news, as a blogger giving an opinion? Your role
in writing and otherwise communicating affects the
level of language you use, the voice you use, the types
of details you include, and so on.

Understand your subject.
To truly understand your subject, you need to gather
and assimilate all relevant details about it, including
its history, makeup, function, and impact on people
and culture. Knowing those details will help you nar-
row your focus to a specific thesis and support it well.

Writing with Sources: As you search for
information, think about which types of sources
are recommended or expected for the assignment.
Which should be avoided?

Understand your purpose.
Key words in an assignment—such as analyze, ex-
plain, defend, or describe—tell you what the purpose
of the writing is supposed to be. Understanding why
you are writing helps you choose an organizational
strategy, such as classification, definition, or process.
(See pages 34–35.)

Writing with Sources: Think of the sources that
will most help you with your purpose, whether to
entertain, compare, inspire, enlighten, and so on.

Understand your audience.
For any writing task, you must understand your au-
dience in order to develop writing that meets their
needs. To assess your audience, answer questions like
these:

■ Who are my readers: instructor? classmates?
Web users?

■ What do they know about my topic, and what
do they need to know?

■ How well do they understand the terminology
involved?

■ What are their attitudes toward the topic and
toward me?

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Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s 34

■ How well do they read written English—or
visuals such as graphs and charts?

■ How will they use my writing (as entertain-
ment or to complete a task)?

Note: Answers to such questions will help you de-
velop meaningful sentences (pages 82–87), choose
appropriate words (pages 87–90), and select relevant
visuals.

Writing with Sources: Ask yourself what sources
your reader will best understand and most respect.
What sources will add to your credibility and
authority?

Understand the medium (form).
Many communication options are available for every
message. Academic forms include essays, analyses, re-
ports, proposals, research papers, reviews, and so on.
It is important to understand the form of the assign-
ment. What works well in a narrative about a past ex-
perience would not work as well in a lab report. Also,
each of these forms can contain multiple media: writ-
ten elements, graphics, photos, drawings, videos, au-
dios, links, and so on. Understanding the overall me-
dium and the media within it will help you succeed.

Writing with Sources: Make sure you understand
the way that sources are to be cited in the form
of communication you are using. (See 270–297 for
MLA and APA styles.)

Think about the context.
Think about how this assignment relates to others in
the course. Consider these issues:

■ Weight: Is this an everyday assignment, a
weekly or biweekly one, or the big one?

■ Assessment: Find out how the assignment will
be graded. What rubric will be used?

■ Intent: Make certain that you understand the
goals of the assignment and understand what
your instructor wants you to get out of it.

Note: If the writing you are doing is not in response
to an assignment, think about the environment in
which the message will be read. What is the history
of this issue? What is the current climate like? What
might the future be?

Writing with Sources: If you are writing material
that will be reviewed and debated by others in
your field, think about what sources you would
most want your writing to appear in. Make certain
you understand the submission guidelines for the
source.

Understand the
assignment.
Each college instructor has a way of personalizing a
writing assignment, but most assignments will spell
out (1) the objective, (2) the task, (3) the formal re-
quirements, and (4) suggested approaches and topics.
Your first step, therefore, is to read the assignment
carefully, noting the options and restrictions that are
part of it. The suggestions below will help you do that.
(Also see pages 14–29 for one writer’s approach.)

Read the assignment.
Certain words in the assignment explain what main
action you must perform. Here are some words that
signal what you are to do:

Key Words

Analyze: Break down a topic into
subparts, showing how those
parts relate.

Argue: Defend a claim with logical
arguments.

Classify: Divide a large group into
well-defined subgroups.

Compare/contrast: Point out similarities and/or
differences.

Define: Give a clear, thoughtful
definition or meaning of
something.

Describe: Show in detail what
something is like.

Evaluate: Weigh the truth, quality, or
usefulness of something.

Explain: Give reasons, list steps,
or discuss the causes of
something.

Interpret: Tell in your own words what
something means.

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Options: 1. You may choose any natural
disaster or historical event.

2. You may focus on the past,
present, or future.

3. You may examine any kind of
alteration.

Restrictions: 1. You must reflect on a change in
your understanding.

2. The disaster must be natural.
3. The historical event must be

major.

Options and Restrictions — The assignment often
gives you some choice of your topic or approach but
may restrict your options to suit the instructor’s pur-
pose. Note the options and restrictions in the follow-
ing short sample assignment:

Reflect on the way a natural disaster or
major historical event has altered your
understanding of the past, the present, or
the future.

Reflect: Share your well-considered
thoughts about a subject.

Summarize: Restate someone else’s ideas
very briefly in your own
words.

Synthesize: Connect facts or ideas to
create something new.

■ Expand your style?
■ Increase your creativity?

3. How will this assignment contribute to your
overall performance in the course? What course
goals (often listed in the syllabus) does it address?

Relate the assignment to other
assignments.
1. Does it build on previous assignments?
2. Does it prepare you for the next assignment?

Relate the assignment to your
own interests.
1. Does it connect with a topic that already interests

you?
2. Does it connect with work in your other courses?
3. Does it connect with the work you may do in

your chosen field?
4. Does it connect with life outside school?

Reflect on the assignment.
1. First impulses: How did you feel when you first

read the assignment?
2. Approaches: What’s the usual approach for an

assignment like this? What’s a better way of tack-
ling it?

3. Quality of performance: What would it take to
produce an excellent piece of writing?

4. Benefits: What are the benefits to your educa-
tion? to you personally? to the class? to society?

5. Features: Ref lect further on four key features of
any writing assignment.

Purpose: What is the overall purpose of the
assignment—to inform, to explain, to analyze, to
entertain? What is the desired outcome?

Audience: Should you address your instructor?
your classmates? a general reader? How much
does the reader already know about the topic?
What type of language should you use?

Form: What are the requirements concerning
length, format, and due date?

Assessment: How will the assignment be evalu-
ated? How can you be sure that you are complet-
ing the assignment correctly?

Relate the assignment to the goals
of the course.
1. How much value does the instructor give the

assignment? (The value is often expressed as a
percentage of the course grade.)

2. What benefit does your instructor want you to
receive?
■ Strengthen your comprehension?
■ Improve your research skills?
■ Deepen your ability to explain, prove, or per-

suade?
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Select, limit, and
explore your topic.
For some assignments, finding a suitable subject (or
topic) may require little thinking on your part. If an
instructor asks you to summarize an article in a profes-
sional journal, you know what you will write about—
the article in question. But suppose the instructor asks
you to analyze a feature of popular culture in terms
of its impact on society. You won’t be sure of a spe-
cific writing topic until you explore the possibilities.
Keep the following points in mind when you conduct
a topic search. Your topic must . . .

■ meet the requirements of the assignment.
■ be limited in scope.
■ seem reasonable (that is, be within your means

to research).
■ genuinely interest you.

Limit the subject area.
Many of your writing assignments may relate to gen-
eral subject areas you are currently studying. Your
task, then, is to select a specific topic related to the
general area of study—a topic limited enough that you
can treat it with some depth in the length allowed for
the assignment. The following examples show the dif-
ference between general subjects and limited topics:

I read a really disturbing news story this
morning. I’ve been thinking about it all day. In
California a little girl was killed when she was
struck by a car driven by a man distracted by
a billboard ad for lingerie featuring a scantily
clothed woman. Not only is it a horrifying
thing to happen, but it also seems to me all
too symbolic of the way that sexually charged
images in the media are putting children, and
especially girls, in danger. That reminds me
of another news story I read this week about
preteen girls wanting to wear the kinds of
revealing outfits that they see in music videos,
TV shows, and magazines aimed at teenagers.
Too many of today’s media images give young
people the impression that sexuality should
begin at an early age. This is definitely a
dangerous message.

2. Search the Internet. Type in a keyword or phrase
(the general subject stated in the assignment)
and see what you can find. You could also follow
a subject tree to narrow a subject. (See pages
332–334.)

3. Consult indexes, guides, and other library refer-
ences. The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Litera-
ture, for example, lists current articles published
on specific topics and where to find them. (See
page 327.)

4. Discuss the assignment with your instructor or
an information specialist.

5. Use one or more of the prewriting strategies
described on the following pages to generate pos-
sible writing ideas.

Explore for possible topics.
You can generate possible writing ideas by using the
following strategies. These same strategies can be
used when you’ve chosen a topic and want to develop
it further.

Journal Writing — Write in a journal on a regular
basis. Ref lect on your personal feelings, develop your
thoughts, and record the happenings of each day. Pe-
riodically go back and underline ideas that you would
like to explore in writing assignments. In the follow-
ing journal-writing sample, the writer came up with
an idea for a writing assignment about the societal im-
pacts of popular culture.

General Subject Area:
Popular culture

General Subject Area:
Energy sources

Limited Topic:
The Simpsons

TV show

Limited Topic:
Using wind power

Conduct your search.
Finding a writing idea that meets the requirements of
the assignment should not be difficult, if you know
how and where to look. Follow these steps:
1. Check your class notes and handouts for ideas

related to the assignment.

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C h a P t e r 3 : s ta r t i n g 37

Freewriting — Write nonstop for ten minutes or
longer to discover possible writing ideas. Use a key
concept related to the assignment as a starting point.
You’ll soon discover potential writing ideas that might
otherwise have never entered your mind. Note in the
following example that the writer doesn’t stop writing
even when he can’t think of anything to say. Note also
that he doesn’t stop to correct typos and other mis-
takes.

Popular culture. What does that include?
Television obviously but that’s a pretty boring
subject. What else? Movies, pop music, video
games. Is there a connection between playing
violent video games and acting out violent
behavior? Most video players I know would say
no but sometimes news reports suggest a
connection. Is this something I’d want to write
about? Not really. What then? Maybe I could
think about this a different way and focus on
the positive effects of playing video games.
They release tension for one thing and they
can really be challenging. Other benefits? They
help to kill time, that’s for sure, but maybe
that’s not such a good thing. I would definitely
read more if it weren’t for video games, tv,
etc. Maybe I could write about how all the
electronic entertainment that surrounds us
today is creating a generation of nonreaders.
Or maybe I could focus on whether people
aren’t getting much physical exercise because
of the time they spend with electronic media.
Maybe both. At least I have some possibilities
to work with.

Quick Guide: Freewriting
Freewriting is the writing you do without having a
specific outcome in mind. You simply write down
whatever pops into your head as you explore your
topic. Freewriting can serve as a starting point for
your writing, or it can be combined with any of the
other prewriting strategies to help you select, ex-
plore, focus, or organize your writing. If you get
stuck at any point during the composing process,
you can return to freewriting as a way of generat-
ing new ideas.

Reminders
■ Freewriting helps you get your thoughts

down on paper. (Thoughts are constantly
passing through your mind.)

■ Freewriting helps you develop and orga-
nize these thoughts.

■ Freewriting helps you make sense out of
things that you may be studying or re-
searching.

■ Freewriting may seem awkward at times,
but just stick with it.

The Process
■ Write nonstop and record whatever

comes into your mind. Follow your
thoughts instead of trying to direct them.

■ If you have a particular topic or assign-
ment to complete, use it as a starting
point. Otherwise, begin with anything that
comes to mind.

■ Don’t stop to judge, edit, or correct your
writing; that will come later.

■ Keep writing even when you think you
have exhausted all of your ideas. Switch
to another angle or voice, but keep writing.

■ Watch for a promising writing idea to
emerge. Learn to recognize the begin-
nings of a good idea, and then expand that
idea by recording as many specific details
as possible.

The Result
■ Review your writing and underline the

ideas you like. These ideas will often serve
as the basis for future writings.

■ Determine exactly what you need to
write about. Once you’ve figured out what
you are required to do, you may then de-
cide to do a second freewriting exercise.

■ Listen to and read the freewriting of oth-
ers; learn from your peers.

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Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s

Listing — Freely list ideas as they come to mind, be-
ginning with a key concept related to the assignment.
(Brainstorming—listing ideas in conjunction with
members of a group—is often an effective way to ex-
tend your lists.) The following is an example of a stu-
dent’s list of ideas for possible topics on the subject of
news reporting:

Aspect of popular culture: News reporting
Sensationalism
Sound bites rather than in-depth

analysis

Focus on the negative
Shock radio
Shouting matches pretending to be
debates
Press leaks that damage national
security, etc.
Lack of observation of people’s privacy
Bias
Contradictory health news confusing
to readers
Little focus on “unappealing” issues
like poverty
Celebration of “celebrity”

Clustering — To begin the clustering process, write
a key word or phrase related to the assignment in the
center of your paper. Circle it, and then cluster ideas
around it. Circle each idea as you record it, and draw
a line connecting it to the closest related idea. Keep
going until you run out of ideas and connections.
The following is a student’s cluster on the subject of
sports:

Sports

gambling
players’ salaries

lack of support
professional sports

women’s sports

role models

violence

recruiting
abuses

cult of winning
college sports

funding
questions

recent
advances

effects on
children’s
sports

After four or five minutes of listing or
clustering, scan your work for an idea to
explore in a freewriting. A writing idea
should begin to emerge during this
freewriting session. (See page 37.)

Collect information and
track your sources.
Writer and instructor Donald Murray said that “writ-
ers write with information. If there is no information,
there will be no effective writing.” How true! Before
you can develop a thoughtful piece of writing, you
must gain a thorough understanding of your topic;
to do so, you must carry out the necessary reading,
ref lecting, and researching. Writing becomes a satis-
fying experience once you can speak with authority
about your topic. Use the following guidelines when

5
C

op
yr

ig
ht

2
01

1
C

en
ga

ge
L

ea
rn

in
g.

A
ll

R
ig

ht
s

R
es

er
ve

d.
M

ay
n

ot
b

e
co

pi
ed

, s
ca

nn
ed

o
r

du
pl

ic
at

ed
, i

n
w

ho
le

o
r

in
p

ar
t.

D
ue

t
o

el
ec

tr
on

ic
r

ig
ht

s,
s

om
e

th
ir

d
pa

rt
y

co
nt

en
t

m
ay

b
e

su
pp

re
ss

ed
f

ro
m

t
he

e
B

oo
k

an
d/

or
e

C
ha

pt
er

(s
).

E
di

to
ri

al
r

ev
ie

w
h

as
d

ee
m

ed
t

ha
t

an
y

su
pp
re
ss

ed
c

on
te

nt
d

oe
s

no
t

m
at

er
ia

ll
y

af
fe

ct
t

he
o

ve
ra

ll
l

ea
rn

in
g

ex
pe

ri
en

ce
. C

en
ga
ge
L
ea
rn
in
g

re
se

rv
es

t
he
r
ig

ht
t

o
re

m
ov

e
ad

di
ti

on
al

c
on
te
nt

a
t

an
y

ti
m

e
if

s
ub

se
qu

en
t

ri
gh

ts
r

es
tr

ic
ti

on
s

re
qu

ir
e

it
.

F
O
S
T
E
R
,

C
E
D
R
I
C

1
6
9
2
T
S

C h a P t e r 3 : s ta r t i n g 39

you start collecting information. (Also see “Research
and Writing” in this book.)

■ Determine what you already know about your
topic. (Use the strategies below this bulleted
list.)

■ Consider listing questions you would like to
answer during your research.

■ Identify and explore possible sources of infor-
mation. (See page 40.)

■ Carry out your research following a logical
plan. (See pages 40–41.)

Find out what you already know.
Use one or more of the following strategies to deter-
mine what you already know about a writing topic.
1. Focused freewriting: At this point, you can

focus your freewriting by (1) exploring your lim-
ited topic from different angles or (2) approach-
ing your freewriting as if it were a quick draft
of the actual paper. A quick version will tell you
how much you know about your topic and what
you need to find out.

2. Clustering: Try clustering with your topic serv-
ing as the nucleus word. Your clustering should
focus on what you already know. (See page 38.)

3. Five W’s of writing: Answer the five W’s—Who?
What? When? Where? and Why?—to identify
basic information on your subject. Add How? to
the list for better coverage.

4. Directed writing: Write whatever comes to mind
about your topic, using one of the modes listed
below. (Repeat the process as often as you need
to, selecting a different mode each time.)

Describe it: What do you see, hear, feel, smell,
and taste?

Compare it: What is it similar to? What is it
different from?

Associate it: What connections between this
topic and others come to mind?

Analyze it: What parts does it have? How do
they work together?

Argue it: What do you like about the topic?
What do you not like about it? What
are its strengths and weaknesses?

Apply it: What can you do with it? How can
you use it?

Ask questions.
To guide your collecting and researching, you may
find it helpful to list questions about your topic that
you would like to answer. Alternatively, you can refer
to the questions below. These questions address prob-
lems, policies, and concepts. Most topics will fall un-
der one of these categories. Use those questions that
seem helpful as a guide to your research.

Problems Policies Concepts

D
es

cr
ip

tio
n

What is the
problem?
What type of
problem is it?
What are its
parts?
What are the
signs of the
problem?

What is the
policy?
How broad
is it?
What are its
parts?
What are
its most
important
features?

What is the
concept?
What are its
parts?
What is its
main feature?
Whom or
what is it
related to?

Fu
nc

tio
n

Who or what
is affected
by it?
What new
problems
might it
cause in the
future?

What is
the policy
designed to
do?
What is
needed to
make it work?
What are or
will be its
effects?

Who has
been
influenced by
this concept?
Why is it
important?
How does it
work?

H
is

to
ry

What is
the current
status of the
problem?
What or who
caused it?
What or who
contributed
to it?

What brought
about this
policy?
What are the
alternatives?

When did it
originate?
How has it
changed over
the years?
How might it
change in the
future?

Va
lu

What is its
significance?
Why?
Why is it
more (or less)
important
than other
problems?
What does it
symbolize or
illustrate?

Is the policy
workable?
What are its
advantages
and
disadvantages?
Is it practical?
Is it a good
policy? Why or
why not?

What
practical
value does it
have?
Why is it
superior
(or inferior)
to similar
concepts?
What is its
social worth?

C
E
D
R
I
C

1
6
9
2
T
S

Sh
ee

va
1

, 2
0
1
1
/
U
se
d
u
n
d
er
li
ce
n
se
fr
o
m
S
h
u
tt
er
st
o
ck
.c
o
m

Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s 40

Identify possible sources.
Finding meaningful sources is one of the most im-
portant steps you will take as you prepare to write.
Listed below are tips that will help you identify good
sources:
1. Give yourself enough time. Finding good sources

of information may be time-consuming. Books
and periodicals you need may be checked out, your
computer service may be down, and so on.

2. Be aware of the limits of your resources. Print
material may be out-of-date. Online information
may be more current, but it may not always be
reliable. (See pages 337–340 for ways to help you
evaluate information.)

3. Use your existing resources to find additional
sources of information. Pay attention to books,
articles, and individuals mentioned in reliable
initial sources of information.

4. Ask for help. The specialists in your school
library can help you find information that is
reliable and relevant. These people are trained to
find information; don’t hesitate to ask for their
help. (See page 324.)

5. Bookmark useful Web sites. Include reference
works and academic resources related to your
major.

Explore different sources of information. — Of
course, books and Web sites are not the only possible
sources of information. Primary sources such as in-
terviews, observations, and surveys may lead you to
a more thorough and meaningful understanding of a
topic. (See pages 337–340.)

Reserve a special part of a notebook to question,
evaluate, and ref lect on your research as it develops.
The record of your thoughts and actions created dur-
ing this process will mean a great deal to you—as much
as or more than the actual information you uncover.
Ref lection helps you make sense of new ideas, refocus
your thinking, and evaluate your progress.

Track sources.
Follow these strategies for tracking sources and taking
notes.

Track resources in a working bibliography. —
Once you find a useful book, journal article, news
story, or Web page, record identifying information for
the source. For more help, see page 346.

Use a note-taking system that respects sourc-
es. — Essentially, your note-taking system should
help you keep an accurate record of useful informa-
tion and ideas from sources while also allowing you
to engage those sources with your own thinking. For a
discussion of possible systems, see pages 347–348.

Distinguish summaries, paraphrases, and quo-
tations. — As you read sources, you will find mate-
rial that answers your questions and helps you achieve
your writing purpose. At that point, decide whether to
summarize, paraphrase, or quote the material:

Primary Sources Secondary Sources

Interviews Articles
Observations Reference book entries
Participation Books
Surveys Web sites

Carry out your research. — As you conduct your
research, try to use a variety of reliable sources. It’s also
a good idea to choose an efficient note-taking method
before you start. You will want to take good notes on
the information you find and record all the publishing
information necessary for citing your sources. (See
pages 347–348.)

A summary pulls just the main points out of
a passage and puts them in your own words:
Summarize source material when it contains
relevant ideas and information that you can boil
down.

A paraphrase rewrites a passage point by point in
your own words: Paraphrase source material when
all the information is important but the actual
phrasing isn’t especially important or memorable.

A quotation records a passage from the source
word for word: Quote when the source states
something crucial and says it well. Note: In your
notes, always identify quoted material by putting
quotation marks around it.

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C h a P t e r 3 : s ta r t i n g 41

Summary:
Munro’s fiction moves readers from recognizable
reality into a hidden world.

Paraphrase:
Reading Munro’s fiction gives readers the
enjoyment of experiencing a double world:
day-to-day reality and on top of that a more
mysterious, fantastic world, with the result that
readers move smoothly between the worlds in a
seamless, ordinary way.

Quotation:
Munro’s fiction takes us into “the shadowy map
of another imaginary or secret world laid over the
real one.”

Critical-Thinking and Writing Activities
As directed by your instructor, complete the following
critical-thinking and writing activities by yourself or
with classmates.
1. Writer Ralph Fletcher shares, “When I write,

I am always struck at how magical and unex-
pected the process turns out to be.” Would you
describe the writing process you follow as “magi-
cal” and “unexpected”? Why or why not?

2. Reread one of your recent essays. Does the writ-
ing show that you thoroughly understood your
subject, met the needs of your audience, and
achieved your purpose?

Arts/music Environment
Health/medicine Work/occupation

Cross-Curricular Connections
Different academic disciplines require different meth-
ods of research note taking. Investigate the styles of
research note taking used in your discipline.

Checklist: Learning Outcomes
Use this checklist as a guide to help you plan your
writing.

I understand the writing process—getting started,
planning, drafting, revising, editing and proofread-
ing, and submitting—and I adapt it to fit each proj-
ect and my own individual style.

I know how to analyze the rhetorical situation:
■ My role—my position and my goals
■ The subject—the general area of inquiry
■ The purpose—to inform, explain, analyze,

persuade
■ The form—essay, narrative, editorial, research

paper
■ The audience—who they are, what they know,

what they need
■ The context—weight, assessment, positioning

of the project.

I know how to analyze an assignment, watching for
options and restrictions.

I know how to select a subject and explore it
through journal writing, freewriting, listing, clus-
tering, and dialogue. I know how to focus the topic
to fit the assignment and my interests.

I know how to collect information and track it
through note-taking and research strategies.

Original:
“To read Munro’s stories is to discover the
delights of seeing two worlds at once: an
ordinary everyday world and the shadowy
map of another imaginary or secret world
laid over the real one, so that in reading
we slip from one world into the other in an
unassuming domestic sort of way.”

3. Below is a list of general subject areas. Select one
that interests you and do the following: Using the
strategies on pages 36–38, brainstorm possible
topics and select one. Then use the strategies on
pages 38–41 to explore what you know about that
topic and what you need to learn.

Summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting are
treated more fully on pages 349–351. Here is a brief ex-
ample, with the original passage coming from Coral
Ann Howells’ Alice Munro, published in 1998 by Man-
chester University Press as part of its Contemporary
World Writers series.

C
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“ Have a vision. Be demanding.”
—Colin Powell

PART 1
WRITE
C
op
yr
ig
ht
2
01
1
C
en
ga
ge
L
ea
rn
in
g.
A
ll
R
ig
ht
s
R
es
er
ve
d.
M
ay
n
ot
b
e
co
pi
ed
, s
ca
nn
ed
, o
r
du
pl
ic
at
ed
, i
n
w
ho
le
o
r
in
p
ar
t.
D
ue
t
o
el
ec
tr
on
ic
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ig
ht
s,
s
om
e
th
ir
d
pa
rt
y
co
nt
en
t
m
ay
b
e
su
pp
re
ss
ed
f
ro
m
t
he
e
B
oo
k
an
d/
or
e
C
ha
pt
er
(s
).
E
di
to
ri
al
r
ev
ie
w
h
as
d
ee
m
ed
t
ha
t
an
y
su
pp
re
ss
ed
c
on
te
nt
d
oe
s
no
t
m
at
er
ia
ll
y
af
fe
ct
t
he
o
ve
ra
ll
l
ea
rn
in
g
ex
pe
ri
en
ce
. C
en
ga
ge
L
ea
rn
in
g
re
se
rv
es
t
he
r
ig
ht
t
o
re
m
ov
e
ad
di
ti
on
al
c
on
te
nt
a
t
an
y
ti
m
e
if
s
ub
se
qu
en
t
ri
gh
ts
r
es
tr
ic
ti
on
s
re
qu
ir
e
it
.
F
O
S
T
E
R
,

C
E
D
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I
C

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6
9
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C h a P t e r 4 : P l a n n i n g 43

Some of us are meticulous planners. We organize our lives in
advance and formulate strategies for completing every task.
Others of us live more in the moment, believing that what-
ever needs to get done will get done, with or without a
plan.

In writing, author and instructor Ken Macrorie calls for
a blend of these two approaches: “Good writing,” says Mac-
rorie, “is formed partly through plan and partly through ac-
cident.” In other words, too much early planning can get in
the way of the discovery aspect of writing, while not enough
planning can harm the focus and coherence of your writ-
ing.

Learning Outcomes

1 Revisit the rhetorical situation.
2 Form your thesis statement.
3 Select a method of development.
4 Develop a plan or an outline.

4
Planning

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Working with Sources: For projects that involve
research, consider how the rhetorical situation can
guide your use of sources:
1. For your subject, which sources offer reliable

information and analysis that has shaped your
thinking and pointed toward a working the-
sis?

2. To achieve your purpose (to entertain, inform,
analyze, and/or persuade), which resources/
sources should be featured in your writing?

3. Given your audience, which resources will
help you create credibility with the audience
and clarify the topic for them?

Se
rh

iy
S

h
u

lly
e,

2
0
1
1
/
U
se
d
u
n
d
er
li
ce
n
se
fr
o
m
S
h
u
tt
er
st
o
ck
.c
o
m

Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s 44

Specific
Focus

General
Subject

Alternative energy
sources

Limited

Topic

Wind power

Wind power as
a viable energy
source in certain
settings.

Revisit the rhetorical
situation.
Use the following planning checklist to help you de-
cide whether to move ahead with your planning or
reconsider your topic.

Form your thesis
statement.
As you gain knowledge about your topic, you should
concurrently develop a more focused interest in it. If
all goes well, this narrowed focus will bring to mind a
thesis. A thesis statement identifies the central idea for
your writing. It usually highlights a special condition
or feature of the topic, expresses a specific claim about
it, or takes a stand.

State your thesis in a sentence that effectively ex-
presses what you want to explore or explain in your
essay. Sometimes a thesis statement develops early and
easily; at other times, the true focus of your writing
will emerge only after you’ve done some initial writ-
ing.

Find a focus.
A general subject area is typically built into your writ-
ing assignments. Your task, then, is to find a limited
writing topic and examine it from a particular angle
or perspective. (You will use this focus to form your
thesis statement.)

Rhetorical Checklist
Writer

Am I interested in this topic?
How much do I know about this topic, and
how much do I need to learn?

Subject

Does the topic fit with the subject
requirements of the assignment?
Is the topic the right size—not too general or
too specific—for the assignment?
What sources can I use to find out more about
this topic?

Purpose
What are the specific goals of the assignment?
Am I writing to entertain, inform, explain,
analyze, persuade, reflect?

Form
What form should I create: essay, proposal,
report, review?

Audience
Will my readers be interested in this topic?
How can I interest them?
What do they know and need to know about
it? What opinions do they have?

Context
What weight does this assignment have in
terms of my grade?
How will the assignment be assessed?

1
2
C
op
yr
ig
ht
2
01
1
C
en
ga
ge
L
ea
rn
in
g.
A
ll
R
ig
ht
s
R
es
er
ve
d.
M
ay
n
ot
b
e
co
pi
ed
, s
ca
nn
ed
, o
r
du
pl
ic
at
ed
, i
n
w
ho
le
o
r
in
p
ar
t.
D
ue
t
o
el
ec
tr
on
ic
r
ig
ht
s,
s
om
e
th
ir
d
pa
rt
y
co
nt
en
t
m
ay
b
e
su
pp
re
ss
ed
f
ro
m
t
he
e
B
oo
k
an
d/
or
e
C
ha
pt
er
(s
).
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di
to
ri
al
r
ev
ie
w
h
as
d
ee
m
ed
t
ha
t
an
y
su
pp
re
ss
ed
c
on
te
nt
d
oe
s
no
t
m
at
er
ia
ll
y
af
fe
ct
t
he
o
ve
ra
ll
l
ea
rn
in
g
ex
pe
ri
en
ce
. C
en
ga
ge
L
ea
rn
in
g
re
se
rv
es
t
he
r
ig
ht
t
o
re
m
ov
e
ad
di
ti
on
al
c
on
te
nt
a
t
an
y
ti
m
e
if
s
ub
se
qu
en
t
ri
gh
ts
r
es
tr
ic
ti
on
s
re
qu
ir
e
it
.
F
O
S
T
E
R
,

C
E
D
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1
6
9
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T
S

Working with Sources: Sometimes your writing
can take direction specifically from your sources.
You may consider making your thesis a response
to a specific source. For example, if one source is
especially strong or especially contrary to your
own thinking, you could shape your thesis as an
affirmation of the strong source’s authority or as a
rebuttal to the contrary source’s claims.

C h a P t e r 4 : P l a n n i n g 45

an effective
thesis statement

Wind power provides a
viable energy source in the
plains states.

specific focus Wind power as a viable energy
source in certain settings.

limited topic wind power

State your thesis.
You can use the following formula to write a thesis
statement for your essay. A thesis statement sets the
tone and direction for your writing. Keep in mind
that at this point you’re writing a working thesis state-
ment—a statement in progress, so to speak. You may
change it as your thinking on the topic evolves.

Select a method
of development.
In his classic book On Writing Well, William Zins-
ser identifies “striving for order” as one of the keys to
effective writing. For some assignments, this is not a
problem because an organizing pattern is built right
into the assignment. For example, you might be asked
to develop a process paper, which you would organize
chronologically. When a pattern is not apparent, one
might still evolve naturally as you gather information.
If this doesn’t happen, examine your thesis statement
to see what method of development it suggests.

Let your thesis guide you.
An effective thesis will often suggest an organizing
pattern. Notice how the thesis statements below direct
and shape the writing to follow. (Also see page 46.)

Thesis (Focus) for a Personal Narrative
Writers of personal narratives do not always state a
thesis directly, but they will generally have in mind
an implied theme or main idea that governs the way
they develop their writing. The thesis below focuses
the reader’s attention on a less-than-perfect day in the
life of a perfect flight attendant. (See pages 105–106.)

From the first day Northwest hired me in
Minneapolis in 1969, I tried to be a model flight
attendant, to develop the qualities my operations
manual demanded: poise, good judgment,
initiative, adaptability and a spotless appearance.
But one time I slipped up: I fell asleep.

Thesis for a Cause-and-Effect Essay
A cause-and-effect essay usually begins with one or
more causes followed by an explanation of the effects,
or with a primary effect followed by an explanation of
the causes. In the thesis below, the writer credits team
sports with helping to advance women into leadership
roles in major corporations. (See pages 162–175.)

While most of America’s corporations are still
commanded by male chief executives, women are
gaining ground, winning vice-presidential and top
management slots and, in a few cases, the highest
leadership roles. Many of these young female
executives say playing team sports helped them
get ahead.

Thesis for an Essay of

Comparison

Some comparisons treat one subject before the other
(subject by subject), others discuss the subjects point
by point, and some treat similarities and then differ-
ences. The writer of the thesis below introduces her
comparison and contrast of two different views of
Islamic dress—both of which she holds. (See pages
155–156.)

To wear hijab—Islamic covering—is to invite
contradiction. Sometimes I hate it. Sometimes I
value it.

3
C
op
yr
ig
ht
2
01
1
C
en
ga
ge
L
ea
rn
in
g.
A
ll
R
ig
ht
s
R
es
er
ve
d.
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ay
n
ot
b
e
co
pi
ed
, s
ca
nn
ed
, o
r
du
pl
ic
at
ed
, i
n
w
ho
le
o
r
in
p
ar
t.
D
ue
t
o
el
ec
tr
on
ic
r
ig
ht
s,
s
om
e
th
ir
d
pa
rt
y
co
nt
en
t
m
ay
b
e
su
pp
re
ss
ed
f
ro
m
t
he
e
B
oo
k
an
d/
or
e
C
ha
pt
er
(s
).
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di
to
ri
al
r
ev
ie
w
h
as
d
ee
m
ed
t
ha
t
an
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su
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on
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s
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Thesis for an Essay of Classification
An essay of classification identifies the main parts or
categories of a topic and then examines each one. In
the thesis below, the writer identifies four ways to dis-
cuss literature, and he examines each one in turn. (See
pages 134–135.)

There are four main perspectives, or approaches,
that readers can use to converse about literature.

Thesis for a Process Essay
Process essays are organized chronologically. As indi-
cated in the thesis below, the writer of this essay will
explain how cancer cells multiply and affect the body.
(See pages 141–142.)

When a cell begins to function abnormally, it can
initiate a process that results in cancer.

Thesis for a Position Essay
A position paper first introduces a topic and then
states a position in its thesis. The thesis statement
below defines the writer’s position on nuclear energy.
(See pages 194–196.)

However, the risks of nuclear power far outweigh
its benefits, making fossil fuels the safer and more
environmentally responsible option.

Thesis for an Essay of

Definition

An essay of definition explores the denotation, con-
notation, and history of a term. In the following the-
sis statement, the writer names the two words he will
explore—deft and daft—and provides an overview of
the definition essay. (See page 118.)

Let me see if I can explain the original meaning and
also how daft and deft came to part company.

Thesis for an Essay Proposing a Solution
A problem-solution essay usually begins with a discus-
sion of the problem and its causes and then examines
possible solutions. In the following thesis statement,
the writer points to a problem in the supposedly gen-
der-equal society of the United States. After explain-
ing the problem, she offers and argues for a specific
solution. (See pages 229–232.)

Fatherlessness is the most harmful demographic
trend of this generation. Yet, despite its scale and
social consequences, fatherlessness is a problem
that is frequently ignored or denied.

Develop a plan
or an outline.
After writing a working thesis and reviewing the
methods of development (pages 45–46), you should be
ready to organize the information you have collected.
Remember, organizing your research and background
information before you start writing can make the
drafting stage less of a hassle. Here are five strategies
for effective organizing, starting with the basic list.

Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s

Quick List A brief listing of main points
(See below.)

Topic Outline A more formal plan, including
main points and essential
details (See page 47.)

Sentence Outline A formal plan, including
main points and essential
details, written as complete
sentences (See page 48.)

Writing Blueprints Basic organizational strategies
preferred for different forms
of writing (See pages 48–49.)

Graphic Organizer An arrangement of main
points and essential details
in an appropriate chart or
diagram (See pages 50–51.)

Quick Lists
Though listing is the simplest of all the methods of
organization, it can help you take stock of your main
ideas and get a sense of what further research or plan-
ning needs to be done. There is no right or wrong way
to go about listing. The key is to come up with a system
that works best for you. Here are two examples that
you may consider: the basic bulleted list, which briefly

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Insight: The text-filled outlines on pages 48–49 all
display the organization of “Four Ways to Talk About
Literature,” (pages 132–133).

Insight: Planning is adaptable. Some writers prefer
to generate an outline before they begin writing,
while others prefer to make a more detailed outline
after having written a draft. In the latter strategy, an
outline can serve as a tool for evaluating the logic
and completeness of the paper’s organization.

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C h a P t e r 4 : P l a n n i n g 47

lists the main points you will discuss, and a T Chart,
which lists the main points on one side and a support-
ing detail on the other side.

Sample Basic List

Sample T Chart

Topic: Different ways to discuss literature

■ Focus on the text itself

■ Focus on the text and the reader

■ Focus on the author of the text

■ Focus on ideas outside of literature

Topic: Different ways to discuss literature

Main Points Supporting Details

Text-centered
approach

Emphasizes
structure and rules

Audience-centered
approach

Relationship
between reader and
text

Author-centered
approach

Emphasizes the
writer’s life

Main
Points

Topic
Topic

Topic Outline
If you have a good deal of information to sort and ar-
range, you may want to use a topic outline for your
planning. In a topic outline, you state each main point
and essential detail as a word or phrase. Before you
start constructing your outline, write your working
thesis statement at the top of your paper to help keep
you focused on the subject. (Do not attempt to outline
your opening and closing paragraphs unless you are
specifically asked to do so.)

An effective topic outline is parallel in structure,
meaning the main points (I, II, III) and essential de-
tails (A, B, C) are stated in the same way. Notice how
the sample outline below uses a parallel structure,
making it easy to follow.

Thesis: There are four main
perspectives, or approaches, that
readers can use to converse about
literature.

I. Text-centered approaches
A. Also called formalist

criticism
B. Emphasis on structure of

text and rules of genre
C. Importance placed on

key literary elements

II. Audience-centered
approaches

A. Also called rhetorical or
reader-response criticism

B. Emphasis on interaction
between reader and text

III. Author-centered approaches
A. Emphasis on writer’s life
B. Importance placed on

historical perspective
C. Connections made

between texts

IV. Ideological approaches
A. Psychological analysis of

text
B. Myth or archetype

criticism
C. Moral criticism

Supporting
Details

Thesis

Main
Point

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Working with Sources: When your writing
project involves sources, the planning phase will
include a great deal of sorting through material.
Outlining can help you organize your primary
and secondary sources to best support your thesis.
As you organize your research in your outline, ask
these questions:
■ Where and how should I work with primary

sources—interviews, surveys, analyses, obser-
vations, experiments, and other data I have col-
lected?

■ Where and how should I bring in secondary
sources—scholarly books, journal articles, and
the like?

Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s

Sentence Outline — A sentence outline is a more
formal method of arrangement in which you state each
main point and essential detail as a sentence. Writing
a sentence outline helps you determine how you will
express your ideas in the actual writing. Here is an ex-
ample.

Sentence Outline

48
Thesis: There are four main
perspectives, or approaches, that
readers can use to converse about
literature.

I. A text-centered approach
focuses on the literary piece
itself.

A. This approach is often
called formalist criticism.

B. This method of criticism
examines text structure
and the genre’s rules.

C. A formalist critic
determines how key
literary elements
reinforce meaning.

II. An audience-centered
approach focuses on the
“transaction” between text
and reader.

A. This approach is
often called rhetorical
or reader-response
criticism.

B. Each reader’s interaction
with a text is unique.

III. An author-centered
approach focuses on the
origin of a text.

A. An author-centered critic
examines the writer’s
life.

B. This method of criticism
may include a historical
look at a text.

C. Connections may be
made between the text
and related works.

Supporting
Details

Writing Blueprints
The writing blueprints on this page and the next lay
out basic organizational strategies for different forms
of writing. The blueprints may help you arrange the
details of your essay or even find holes in your re-
search.

Classification Blueprint

Subgroup 1
Point 1 Point 2

Subgroup 3
Point 1 Point 2

Subgroup 2
Point 1 Point 2

Subgroup 4
Point 1 Point 2

Beginning

Ending

Main
Points

Approaches to
Conversing About
Literature (Topic)

Text-
Centered

Audience-
Centered

Author-
Centered

Ideological

Summary
Thesis
Main
Point
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Nick White/Photodisc/Getty Images 49C h a P t e r 4 : P l a n n i n g 49

Comparison – Contrast Blueprint

Cause – Effect Blueprint

Problem-Solution Blueprint

Cause

Beginning
Cause
Cause

Effect(s)

Ending

Point A
Subject 1

Subject 2

Point B
Subject 1 Subject 2

Beginning
Ending

Subject 1

Subject 2
Beginning
Ending

Problem(s)

Solution(s)

Objection(s)

Rebuttal(s)

Beginning

Effect

Effect
Effect
Ending

Cause(s)

Point by Point

Cause-Focused Effect-Focused

Subject by Subject

Beginning

Similarities

Differences

Ending

Similarities-Differences

studies
structure
of a text

focuses on key
literary elements

explores
reader

and text
interaction

focuses on
writer’s life

puts text
in historical
perspective covers moral,

psychological,
and sociological

analysis

Approaches to Conversing About Literature

text-centered

audience-centered author-centered

ideological

Thesis: There are four main perspectives, or
approaches, that readers can use to converse about
literature.

Graphic Organizers — If you are a visual learner,
you may prefer using a graphic organizer to arrange
your ideas for writing. A graphic organizer allows
you to arrange main points and essential details in an
appropriate chart or diagram. Graphic organizers can
help you map out your ideas and illustrate relation-

ships between them. Here is a line diagram that was
used to organize some of the same ideas that were
outlined previously.

Line Diagram

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50 Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s

Opinion

Reason

1
Reason
2
Reason
3

PersuasionProcess Analysis

Subject

Steps (Chronological Order)

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Comparison/Contrast (Venn Diagram)

Subject A Subject B

Similarities
Differences
Comparison

Qualities Subject A Subject BGraphic Organizers:
Quick Guide
The following graphic organizers relate to the meth-
ods of development discussed on pages 45–46. Each
one will help you collect and organize information for
expository or persuasive writing. Adapt the organiz-
ers as necessary to fit your particular needs or per-
sonal style.

Cause-Effect

Subject (Object of Study)

Causes (Because of
. . . )

•

•
•
•

Effects ( . . . these
conditions resulted)

•
•
•
•
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C h a P t e r 4 : P l a n n i n g 51

Problem

Causes
of the

Problem

Parts of the
Problem

Future
Implications

Possible
Solutions

Specific Topic

CategoryCategory Category

Details
Details

Details
Details
Details
Details

Concept
to Be

Defined

HistoryRelated
Words

Quotations

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tiv
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De
fin

iti
on

(W
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P
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Synonym
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Antonym
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Classification

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Problem/Solution

Critical-Thinking and Writing Activities
As directed by your instructor, complete the following
activities.
1. Author Ken Macrorie claims that “good writ-

ing is formed partly through plan and partly
through accident.” Do you agree? Why or why
not? Relate Macrorie’s idea to your own writing
experiences. How carefully do you plan? How
much do you leave to accident?

2. A number of organizational patterns are discussed
on pages 45–46. Choose one of these patterns and
select a model essay from chapters 9–18 that fol-
lows the pattern. Read the essay, note the thesis,
and explain how the writer develops it.

Cross-Curricular Connections
In most disciplines, it is common practice early in the
paper to “survey the literature” on the topic. In a lit-
erary analysis, you might survey common interpreta-
tions of a key concept before you relay your view.
1. Identify the studies that should be included in

the review.
2. Categorize studies by approach or arrange them

chronologically.

Checklist: Learning Outcomes
Use this checklist as a guide to help you plan your
writing.

I have taken stock of the rhetorical situation.
■ I have reviewed the information I have

collected so far.
■ My planning and research fully address my

subject, purpose, and audience.

I have developed a focused thesis statement.
■ My thesis statement reflects a limited topic.
■ My thesis statement clearly states the specific

idea I plan to develop.
■ The thesis is supported by the information I

have gathered.

I have patterned my writing from my thesis.
■ The thesis suggests a pattern of organization

for my essay.

I have organized my research.
■ I have organized my support in a list, an

outline, or a graphic organizer.
■ I have arranged my source material under my

main supporting points.

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Pa r t 1 : P r o C e s s Sinisa Botas, 2011 / Used under license from Shutterstock.com

“First drafts are concerned with ideas,
with getting the direction and concept of

the piece of writing clear.”
—Toby Fulwiler

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In 1978, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield pooled $8,000
of their own money and borrowed another $4,000 to
open a small ice-cream shop in Burlington, Vermont.
From that small start, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream has
grown into a highly profitable multinational business
known for its innovations and social conscience. (In
2000, Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch corporation, bought Ben
and Jerry’s for $326 million dollars.)

From a distance, it would seem that Cohen and Green-
field have approached this “project” with a joie de vivre that
should be the envy of everyone. They’ve developed an irresistible
line of ice cream, created a wonderful work environment, commit-
ted millions to good causes, and on and on. What’s not to like about
Ben and Jerry’s?

So what does this story have to tell you about your own research
projects? (1) Start with topics that truly interest you; this is the only
way you can do meaningful work. (2) Learn as much as you can about
each topic. You can’t guess in a research paper; you have to know what
you’re talking about. (3) Take a few risks by approaching each topic in
a new or unusual way. (4) And give yourself plenty of time. Quality
research can’t be rushed.

This chapter will help you initiate such meaningful research proj-
ects, beginning with understanding the nature of college-level research.

C h a P t e r 2 5 : P l a n n i n g y o U r r e s e a r C h P r o j e C t 311

25
Planning Your
Research
Project

Learning Outcomes

1 Understand academic research.
2 Initiate the process.
3 Develop a research plan.
4 Consider possible resources and

sites.

5 Understand sources.

joie de vivre
French for “joy of life,” a quality in people who live
life to its fullest

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research paper
a fairly long essay (5–15 pages), complete with thesis
statement, supporting evidence, integrated sources, and careful
documentation

Pa r t 2 : F o r m s 312

Understand academic
research.
Take ownership of each research project by exploring
a topic or an angle that truly interests you and com-
pels you to get started. Your main goal is to become
thoroughly knowledgeable about your topic and share
your findings in a thoughtful way. The traditional re-
search paper is a fairly long essay (5 to 15 pages), com-
plete with a thesis statement, supporting evidence,
integrated sources, and documentation. Research can
also be presented in a field report, on a Web site, or in
a multimedia presentation.

Your instructors, peers, and the academic com-
munity in general will be your main audience. How-
ever, you may also have a more specific audience in
mind—smokers, Floridians, fellow immigrants, and
so on. The expected voice in most research projects
is formal or semiformal. Always try to maintain a
thoughtful, confident tone throughout your writing.
Generally, you should avoid the pronouns “I” and
“you” in an effort to remain objective and academic.
Unfortunately though, avoiding “I” and “you” can re-
sult in the overuse of the pronoun “one,” so watch for
that problem as well.

Some instructors encourage students to con-
nect research with personal experience, mean-
ing that you can, at times, use the pronouns “I”

and “you.” But be careful to keep the focus where it
belongs—on the topic. The best research writing al-
ways centers on compelling ideas and information
about the topic.

Research involves many steps.
The research process involves getting started, plan-
ning, conducting research, and developing the re-
sults. While research generally follows these steps,
you should understand that the process is dynamic
and recursive, meaning that it can be full of twists
and turns, detours and side trips. For example, during
your research, you may discover information that will

change your mind about the topic or about the thesis
statement you developed earlier. The flowchart below
shows you the different tasks related to research.

A Research Flowchart

Getting Started
• Review the assignment.
• Consider your resources.
• Choose a subject.

List or cluster your
current ideas and
opinions.

Conduct prelimi-
nary research in
reference works.

Talk with others
to learn opposing
opinions.

• Evaluate and take notes
from sources.

• Summarize, paraphrase, and
quote.

Conduct
Primary
Research

Take Careful
Notes

Conduct
Secondary
Research

Observe, interview,
survey, or
experiment.

Reflect in your
research journal.

Check books,
articles, and Web
sites.

Analyze primary
documents and
artifacts.

Create and add
to a working
bibliography.

Search catalogs,
indexes, databases,
and the Internet.

Planning Your Research
Narrow the topic, form a research question or working thesis,
develop a research plan, and select keyword searching terms.

Conducting Research

Organizing and Drafting
• Answer your research question or refine your thesis.
• Develop an outline.
• Write the research paper, integrating and documenting sources.

Initiate the process.
To get started, you need to do four things: (1) under-
stand the assignment, (2) select a topic, (3) build re-
search questions, and (4) develop a working thesis.
Your research project will only be as good as the plan-
ning that you put into it, so attend to each step with
care.

Understand the assignment.
The first important step in a research project is to
thoroughly review the assignment. Take some initial

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working thesis
a preliminary answer to
your main research question, the focus of your research

Checklist: Main Question

✔ Is the question too narrow, too broad, or
just about right for a research paper?

✔ Is the question too easy or too hard to
answer?

✔ Am I committed to answering this
question? Does it interest me?

✔ Will I be able to find enough information
about it within a reasonable amount of time?

✔ Will the question and answers interest the
reader?

C h a P t e r 2 5 : P l a n n i n g y o U r r e s e a r C h P r o j e C t 313

notes about it; record key words, options, restrictions,
and requirements. Finally, write down any questions
you still have about the project, find answers, and
proceed.

Select a topic.
Author Joyce Carol Oates says, “As soon as you con-
nect with your true subject, you will write.” Your goal
at the outset of a research project is to find your “true
subject,” an appropriate topic you sincerely want to
explore and write about.

Making It Manageable
In most cases, your instructor will establish a general
subject area to get you started. Your job is to select a
specific, manageable topic related to that subject. A
topic is “manageable” when you can learn about it in
a reasonable amount of time. (You may have to carry
out some cursory research in order to select a topic.)

Build research questions.
Generating research questions helps you find mean-
ingful information and ideas about your topic. These
questions sharpen your research goal, and the answers
become the focus of your writing. Create questions by
following the guidelines below.

Needing to Know
List questions about your topic—both simple and
complex—to discover what you need to know about it.
Keep listing until you land on the main question you
want to answer—the main issue you need to address.
Then brainstorm supporting questions that you must
research in order to adequately answer the main ques-
tion.

General
Subject

Area of
Interest

Manageable
Topic

urban social
problems

the
homeless

increase in homeless
families

World War II
legislation &
initiatives

the Marshall
Plan

the Plan’s impact on
the new world order

alternative
energy

new generation
of vehicles

hybrid-electric
vehicles

Main Question:

Should consumers embrace hybrid-electric
vehicles?

Supporting Questions (Who? What? When?
Where? Why? How?):

Who has developed hybrid-electric cars?
What is a hybrid-electric car?
When were they developed?
Where are they currently in use?
Why are hybrids is use?
How do they work?

Develop a working thesis.
A working thesis offers a preliminary answer to your
main research question. An effective working thesis
keeps you focused during your research, helping you
decide whether to read a particular book or just skim
it, fully explore a Web site or quickly surf
through it. When forming your working
thesis, don’t settle for a simple statement
of fact about your topic; instead, form a
statement that demands to be proved or
that requires thoughtful explanation. The
quick guide on the next page includes
a formula for
writing this
statement.

iofoto, 2011 / Used under license from Shutterstock.com

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Library of Congress classification
a system of classification used in most academic and research
libraries

databases
a collection of data

Pa r t 2 : F o r m s 314

Quick Guide: Working Thesis

Formula:

a limited topic + a tentative claim, statement,
or hypothesis = a working thesis

Samples:

Hybrid-electric cars offer consumers a
reasonable alternative to gas-only cars.

The sharp increase in homeless families will
force city planners to rethink their social
service policies.

The Marshall Plan benefited Europe and the
United States in three significant ways.

Use the following checklist to evaluate
your working thesis.

Checklist: Working Thesis

✔ Does my working thesis focus on a single,
limited topic?

✔ Is it stated clearly and directly?

✔ Does it provide a preliminary answer to
my main research question?

✔ Do I have access to information that
supports it?

✔ Does my working thesis meet the
requirements of the assignment?

Remember that your working thesis is set in
sand, not stone. Your thinking on it might
change as you research the topic because dif-

ferent sources may push you in new directions. Such
changes show that you are truly engaged in your re-
search. For more help with developing and refining a
thesis, see page 44.

Develop a
research plan.
As you develop your research plan, consider what you
already know about your topic. You can find this out
by freewriting, clustering, or talking about your topic.
(See pages 37–38.) Push yourself to gather as many of
your own thoughts and feelings about the topic as you
can before you conduct any “outside” research. Once
you determine what you already know, then you can
decide what you still need to find out. You should also
figure out what resources can help you develop your
research questions and working thesis.

Choose research methods.
Do you need more background information? Is prima-
ry research a possibility? What other types of research
are you interested in? The following information will
answer your questions about planning your research.

Background Research
Take these steps to find information about central
concepts and key terms related to your topic.

■ Use the Library of Congress subject headings to
find keywords for searching the library catalog,
periodical databases, and the Internet (page
320).

■ Conduct a preliminary search of the library
catalog, journal databases, and the Internet to
confirm that strong resources on your topic ex-
ist.

■ Use specialized reference works to find back-
ground information, definitions, facts, and sta-
tistics (page 327).

Primary Research
If at all possible, conduct primary research about your
topic. Primary research is firsthand research in which
you carry out interviews, observe the topic in action,
and so on in order to develop your distinctive ap-
proach to the topic.

■ Use interviews (238–249) and surveys (pages
323–324) to get key information from experts
and others.

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artifact
any object made or modified by a human culture and later
discovered

C h a P t e r 2 5 : P l a n n i n g y o U r r e s e a r C h P r o j e C t 315

■ Conduct observations or experiments (pages
250–261) to obtain hard data.

■ Analyze original documents or artifacts.

Library Research
With the help of a librarian or research specialist,
search for important library resources. As you prob-
ably know, the library contains a wide variety of use-
ful materials.

■ Use scholarly books to get in-depth, reliable ma-
terial (pages 326–327).

■ Refer to periodical articles (print or electronic)
to get current, reliable information (pages 328–
329). Select from news sources, popular maga-
zines, scholarly journals, and trade journals.

■ Consider other resources, such as recorded in-
terviews, pamphlets, marketing studies, or vari-
ous government publications.

Internet Research
The Internet serves as an incredible resource that you
can access at your fingertips. Use the following infor-
mation to help you plan effective Internet searches.

■ Use tools, such as search engines and subject
guides, that will lead you to quality resources
(pages 331–337).

■ Select reputable Web sites that librarians, in-
structors, or other experts recommend (page
332).

■ Test Web sites for reliability (pages 337–340).
Sketch out tentative deadlines for completing

each phase of your work: getting started, conducting
research, drafting, and so on. Generally, you should
spend about half your time on research and planning
and half on writing. For some projects, you may have
to formalize your planning in the form of a proposal,
which shows your instructor that your plan is work-
able within the constraints of the assignment.

Consider possible
resources and sites.
When researching your topic, be sure to use a wide
range of quality resources, as opposed to relying ex-

clusively on information, substantial or not, from a
few Web sites. (Your instructor may establish guide-
lines for the number and type of resources you should
consult.) As you review your researching options,
consider which resources will give you the best infor-
mation about your topic. A sociology paper on air-
port behavior may require personal, direct research; a
business paper on the evolution of subprime mortgage
loans may best be researched in business publications,
government reports, journals, newspapers, and so on.

Consider information resources.
The sources of information available to you are almost
unlimited, from interviewing someone to referring
to bibliographies, from reviewing journal articles to
studying graphics. Listed here are the common sourc-
es of information.

Type of
Resource Examples

Personal, primary
resources

Memories, diaries, journals, logs,
experiments, tests, observations,
interviews, surveys

Reference
works (print and
electronic)

Dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias,
almanacs, yearbooks, atlases, directories,
guides, handbooks, indexes, abstracts,
catalogs, bibliographies

Books (print and
electronic)

Nonfiction, how-to, biographies, fiction,
trade books, scholarly and scientific
studies

Periodicals and
news sources

Print newspapers, magazines, and
journals; broadcast news and news
magazines; online magazines, news
sources, and discussion groups

Audiovisual,
digital, and
multimedia
resources

Graphics (tables, graphs, charts, maps,
drawings, photos), audiotapes, CD’s,
videos, DVD’s, Web pages, online
databases

Government
publications

Guides, programs, forms, legislation,
regulations, reports, records, statistics

Business and
nonprofit
publications

Correspondence, reports, newsletters,
pamphlets, brochures, ads, catalogs,
instructions, handbooks, manuals,
policies and procedures, seminar and
training materials

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Understand sources.
Information sources can be primary, secondary, or
tertiary. Depending on your assignment, you may be
required to use primary and/or secondary sources,
but rarely tertiary.

The Sources
Primary sources are original sources, which means they
give firsthand information on a topic. These sources
(such as diaries, people, or events) inform you directly
about the topic, rather than through other people’s
explanations or interpretations. The most common
forms of primary research are observations, inter-
views, surveys, experiments, and analyses of original
documents and artifacts.

Secondary sources present secondhand informa-
tion on your topic—information at least once removed
from the original. This information has been compiled,
summarized, analyzed, synthesized, interpreted, or
evaluated by someone studying primary sources.
Journal articles, documentaries, and nonfiction books
are typical examples of such secondary sources.

Tertiary sources present thirdhand information on
your topic. They are essentially reports of reports of
research and, therefore, are distant from the original
information. Examples of tertiary sources would in-
clude some articles in popular magazines and entries
in Wikipedia. Aside from giving you ideas for focus-
ing your topic and for conducting further research,
tertiary sources should generally not be used in col-
lege research projects and should not appear in works-
cited or reference lists.

The next column lists possible primary and sec-
ondary sources for a research project exploring hy-
brid car technology and its viability. Note: Whether a
source is primary or secondary depends on what you
are studying. For example, if you were studying U.S.
attitudes toward hybrid cars, a newspaper editorial
or a TV roundtable discussion would be
a primary source. However,
if you were studying hybrid
technology itself, the same
newspaper editorial or TV
roundtable would be a sec-
ondary source.

Pa r t 2 : F o r m s 316

Consider information sites.
Where do you go to find the resources that you need?
Consider the information sites listed below, remem-
bering that many resources may be available in differ-
ent forms in different locations. For example, a journal
article may be available in a library or in an electronic
database.

Information
Location Specific Sites

People Experts (knowledge area, skill,
occupation)

Population segments or individuals (with
representative or unusual experiences)

Libraries General: public, college, online

Specialized: legal, medical, government,
business

Computer
resources

Computers: software, CD-ROM’s

Networks: Internet and other online
services (e-mail, limited-access
databases, discussion groups, MUDs,
chat rooms, Web sites, blogs, YouTube,
image banks, wikis); intranets

Mass media Radio (AM and FM), television
(network, public, cable, satellite), print
(newspapers, magazines, journals)

Testing, training,
meeting, and
observation sites

Plants, facilities, field sites, laboratories,
research centers, universities, think tanks,
conventions, conferences, seminars,
museums, galleries, historical sites

Municipal, state,
and federal
government
offices

Elected officials, representatives, offices
and agencies, Government Printing
Office, and Web sites (GPO, www.
gpoaccess.gov)

Business and
nonprofit
publications

Computer databases, company files,
desktop reference materials, bulletin
boards (physical and electronic),
company and department Web sites,
departments and offices, associations,
professional organizations, consulting,
training, and business information
services

primary sources
original sources that give firsthand information about a topic

secondary sources
sources that are at least once removed from the original; sources
that provide secondhand information

tertiary sources
sources that provide thirdhand information, such as wikis;
discouraged for college research projects

S1001, 2011 / Used under license from Shutterstock.com

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Hybrid Car Technology
Primary Sources

– E-mail interview with automotive engineer
– Fuel-efficiency legislation
– Test-drive of a car at a dealership– Published statistics about hybrid car sales

Secondary Sources
– Journal article discussing the devel-opment of hybrid car technology– Newspaper editorial on fossil fuels– TV news roundtable discussion of hybrid car advantages and disadvan-tages

– Promotional literature for a specific hybrid car

past (e.g., in high school). What features of that
paper are consistent with a college-level approach
to research writing? What would you have to
change to improve the thinking, level, and ap-
proach of the paper?

2. From the broad list of research subjects below, se-
lect one and (a) brainstorm a list of related topics,
(b) select and refine a topic, (c) list key research
questions, (d) formulate a working thesis, and (e)
develop a list of possible resources (primary, sec-
ondary, and tertiary) for the topic.

Subjects: museums, organic foods, department
stores, the entertainment industry, third-world
struggles, comedy, wealth, mental illness, forests

3. Using what you have learned in this chapter, devel-
op a research plan that identifies a topic of interest
to you, clarifies the value of the research, zeros in
on specific research questions and a working the-
sis, maps out research methods, and establishes a
workable schedule.

Checklist: Learning Outcomes
Use the checklist below to assess what you have learned
about planning a research project, as well as to mea-
sure what you have done to plan a specific project.

I understand the nature of academic research
in terms of its purpose, audience, and context.
I understand the research process and have
initiated the process through analyzing the
assignment, developing a manageable topic,
brainstorming research questions, and articu-
lating a working thesis.
I have developed a research plan that includes
consideration of background research, pri-
mary research, library research, and Internet
research.
As part of my planning, I have considered the
range of information resources available as
well as sites where resources can be found.
I understand differences between primary, sec-
ondary, and tertiary sources, and I know which
types make sense for my project.

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“Basic research is what I am doing
when I don’t know what I am doing.”

—Wernher von Braun

Yegor Korzh, 2011 / Used under license from Shutterstock.com

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30
Grammar

Grammar is the study of the structure and
features of the language, consisting of rules

and standards that are to be followed to pro-
duce acceptable writing and speaking. Parts of
speech refers to the eight different categories
that indicate how words are used in the Eng-
lish language—as nouns, pronouns, verbs, ad-
jectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, or
interjections.

Learning Outcomes

1 Noun
2 Pronoun
3 Verb
4 Adjective
5 Adverb
6 Preposition
7 Conjunction
8 Interjection

Noun
A noun is a word that names something: a person, a
place, a thing, or an idea.

Toni Morrison/author Lone Star/film

Renaissance/era UC-Davis/university

A Congress of Wonders/book

Classes of Nouns
All nouns are either proper nouns or common nouns.
Nouns may also be classified as individual or collec-
tive, or concrete or abstract.

Proper Nouns — A proper noun, which is always
capitalized, names a specific person, place, thing, or
idea.

Rembrandt, Bertrand Russell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . person

Stratford-upon-Avon, Tower of London . . . . . . . places

The Night Watch, Rosetta stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . things

New Deal, Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ideas

Common Nouns — A common noun is a general
name for a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. Com-
mon nouns are not capitalized.

optimist, instructor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . person

cafeteria, park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . places

computer, chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . things

freedom, love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ideas

Collective Nouns — A collective noun names a
group or a unit.

family • audience • crowd • committee • team • class

Concrete Nouns — A concrete noun names a thing
that is tangible (can be seen, touched, heard, smelled,
or tasted).

child • the White Stripes • gym • village • microwave
oven • pizza

Pa r t 3 : h a n d B o o k 398

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Abstract Nouns — An abstract noun names an
idea, a condition, or a feeling—in other words, some-
thing that cannot be seen, touched, heard, smelled, or
tasted.

beauty • Jungian psychology • anxiety • agoraphobia
• trust

Forms of Nouns
Nouns are grouped according to their number, gender,
and case.

Number of Nouns — Number indicates whether a
noun is singular or plural. A singular noun refers to
one person, place, thing, or idea. A plural noun refers
to more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

Singular:
student • laboratory • lecture • note • grade result

Plural:
students • laboratories • lectures • notes • grade
results

Gender of Nouns — Gender indicates whether a
noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, or indefinite.

Masculine father • king • brother • men •
colt • rooster

Feminine mother • queen • sister •
women • filly • hen

Neuter
(without
gender)

notebook • monitor • car •
printer

Indefinite
(masculine
or feminine)

professor • customer • children
• doctor • people

Case of Nouns — The case of a noun tells what role
the noun plays in a sentence. There are three cases:
nominative, possessive, and objective.

Nominative: A noun in the nominative case is used
as a subject. The subject of a sentence tells who or what
the sentence is about.

Dean Henning manages the College of Arts and
Communication.

Note: A noun is also in the nominative case when it is
used as a predicate noun (or predicate nominative). A
predicate noun follows a linking verb, usually a form
of the be verb (such as am, is, are, was, were, be, being,
been), and repeats or renames the subject.

Ms. Yokum is the person to talk to about the
college’s impact in our community.

Possessive: A noun in the possessive case shows pos-
session or ownership. In this form, it acts as an adjec-
tive.

Our president’s willingness to discuss concerns with
students has boosted campus morale.

Objective: A noun in the objective case serves as an ob-
ject of the preposition, a direct object, an indirect ob-
ject, or an object complement.

To survive, institutions of higher learning sometimes
cut budgets in spite of protests from students and
instructors.

(Learning is the object of the preposition of, pro-
tests is the object of the preposition in spite of,
budgets is the direct object of the verb cut, and
students and instructors are the objects of the
preposition from.)

A Closer Look:
Direct and Indirect Objects
A direct object is a noun (or pronoun) that iden-
tifies what or who receives the action of the verb.

Budget cutbacks reduced class choices.
(Choices is the direct object of the active verb
reduced.)

An indirect object is a noun (or pronoun) that
identifies the person to whom or for whom some-
thing is done, or the thing to which or for which
something is done. An indirect object is always
accompanied by a direct object.

Recent budget cuts have given students fewer
class choices. (Choices is the direct object of
have given; students is the indirect object.)

ESL Note: Not every transitive verb is followed
by both a direct object and an indirect object.
Both can, however, follow give, send, show, tell,
teach, find, sell, ask, offer, pay, pass, and hand.

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Quick Guide: Classes of Pronouns

Personal I, me, my, mine / we, us, our,
ours / you, your, yours / they,
them, their, theirs / he, him, his,
she, her, hers,

it, its

Reflexive and
Intensive

myself, yourself, himself,
herself, itself, ourselves, your-
selves, themselves

Relative who, whose, whom, which,
that

Indefinite all, another, any, anybody,
anyone, anything, both, each,
each one, either, everybody,
everyone, everything, few,
many, most, much, neither,
nobody, none, no one, noth-
ing, one, other, several, some,
somebody, someone, some-
thing, such

Interrogative who, whose, whom, which,
what

Demonstrative this, that, these, those

Reciprocal each other, one another

Alexander Kalina, 2011 / Used under license from Shutterstock.com
© Graffizone/iStockphoto.com400 Pa r t 3 : h a n d B o o k

Classes of Pronouns
There are several classes of pronouns: personal, ref lex-
ive and intensive, relative, indefinite, interrogative, de-
monstrative, and reciprocal.

Personal Pronouns — A personal pronoun refers
to a specific person or thing.

Marge started her car; she drove the antique
convertible to Monterey, where she hoped to sell it at
an auction.

Reflexive Pronouns — A reflexive pronoun is
formed by adding -self or -selves to a personal pro-
noun. A ref lexive pronoun can act as a direct object or
an indirect object of a verb, an object of a preposition,
or a predicate nominative.

Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun.
Most pronouns have an antecedent. An antecedent is
the noun or pronoun that the pronoun refers to or re-
places. Most pronouns have antecedents, but not all
do. (See “Indefinite Pronouns” on page 401.)

Sample Pronouns:
Roger was the most interesting 10-year-old I ever
taught. He was a good thinker and thus a good
writer. I remember his paragraph about the cowboy
hat he received from his grandparents. It was “too
new looking.” The brim was not rolled properly.
But the hat’s imperfections were not the main idea
in Roger’s writing. No, the main idea was how he
was fixing the hat himself by wearing it when he
showered.

Sample Antecedents:
As the wellness counselor checked her chart, several
students who were waiting their turns shifted
uncomfortably.

(Counselor is the antecedent of her; students is the
antecedent of who and their.)

Note: Each pronoun must agree with its antecedent
in number, person, and gender. (See page 421.)

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C h a P t e r 3 0 : g r a m m a r 401

Note: When an interrogative pronoun modifies a
noun, it functions as an adjective.

Demonstrative Pronouns — A demonstrative
pronoun points out people, places, or things.

We advise this: Bring along as many maps and
schedules as you need.

Those are useful tools. That is the solution.

Note: When a demonstrative pronoun modifies a
noun, it functions as an adjective.

Forms of Personal Pronouns
The form of a personal pronoun indicates its number
(singular or plural), its person (first, second, or third),
its case (nominative, possessive, or objective), and its
gender (masculine, feminine, neuter, or indefinite).

Number of Pronouns — A personal pronoun is
either singular (I, you, he, she, it) or plural (we, you,
they).

He should have a budget and stick to it.

(singular)

We can help new students learn about budgeting.

(plural)

Person of Pronouns — The person of a pronoun
indicates whether the person is speaking (first per-
son), is spoken to (second person), or is spoken about
(third person).

First person is used to name the speaker(s).

I know I need to handle my stress in a healthful way,
especially during exam week; my usual chips-and-
doughnuts binge isn’t helping.

(singular)

We all decided to bike to the tennis court.
(plural)

Second person is used to name the person(s) spoken to.

Maria, you grab the rackets, okay?
(singular)

John and Tanya, can you find the water bottles?
(plural)

Charles loves himself.
direct object of loves

Charles gives himself A’s for fashion sense
indirect object of gives

Charles smiles at himself in store windows.
object of preposition at

Charles can be himself anywhere.
predicate nominative

Intensive Pronouns — An intensive pronoun inten-
sifies, or emphasizes, the noun or pronoun it refers to.

Leo himself taught his children to invest their lives in
others.

The lesson was sometimes painful—but they learned
it themselves.

Relative Pronouns — A relative pronoun relates
an adjective dependent (relative) clause to the noun or
pronoun it modifies. (The noun is italicized in each
example below; the relative pronoun is in bold.)

Freshmen who believe they have a lot to learn are
absolutely right.

Just navigating this campus, which is huge, can be
challenging.

Indefinite Pronouns — An indefinite pronoun re-
fers to unnamed or unknown people, places, or things.

Everyone seemed amused when I was searching for
my classroom in the student center.

(The antecedent of everyone is unnamed.)

Nothing is more unnerving than rushing at the last
minute into the wrong room for the wrong class.

(The antecedent of nothing is unknown.)

Most indefinite pronouns are singular, so when they
are used as subjects, they should have singular verbs.
(See pages 418–420.)

Interrogative Pronouns — An interrogative pro-
noun asks a question.

So which will it be—highlighting and attaching a
campus map to the inside of your backpack, or being
lost and late for the first two weeks?

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Quick Guide: Number, Person, and Case of Personal Pronouns

Pa r t 3 : h a n d B o o k 402

Third person is used to name the person(s) or thing(s)
spoken about.

Today’s students are interested in wellness issues.
They are concerned about their health, fitness, and
nutrition.

(plural)

Maria practices yoga and feels she is calmer for her
choice.

(singular)

One of the advantages of regular exercise is that it
raises one’s energy level.

(singular)

Case of Pronouns — The case of each pronoun tells
what role it plays in a sentence. There are three cases:
nominative, possessive, and objective.

Nominative: A pronoun in the nominative case is
used as a subject. The following are nominative forms:
I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

He found an old map in the trunk.

My friend and I went biking. (not me)

A pronoun is also in the nominative case when it is
used as a predicate nominative, following a linking
verb (am, is, are, was, were, seems) and renaming the
subject.

It was he who discovered electricity. (not him)

Possessive: A pronoun in the possessive case shows
possession or ownership: my, mine, our, ours, his, her,
hers, their, theirs, its, your, yours. A possessive pronoun
before a noun acts as an adjective: your coat.

That coat is hers. | This coat is mine. | Your coat is lost.

Objective: A pronoun in the objective case can be
used as the direct object, indirect object, object of a
preposition, or object complement: me, you, him, her,
it, us, them.

Professor Adler hired her.
(Her is the direct object of the verb hired.)

He showed Mary and me the language lab.
(Me is the indirect object of the verb showed.)

He introduced the three of us—Mary, Shavonn, and
me—to the faculty.

(Us is the object of the preposition of; me is part of
the appositive renaming us.)

Gender of Pronouns — The gender of a pronoun
indicates whether the pronoun is masculine, femi-
nine, neuter, or indefinite.

Masculine he, him, his

Feminine she, her, hers

Neuter
(without gender)

it, its

Indefinite
(masculine or feminine)

they, them, their

Nominative Case Possessive Case Objective Case

First Person Singular I my, mine me

Second Person Singular you your, yours you

Third Person Singular he, she, it his, her, hers, its him, her, it

First Person Plural we our, ours us

Second Person Plural you your, yours you
Third Person Plural they their, theirs them

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Verb
A verb shows action (pondered, grins), links words (is,
seemed), or accompanies another action verb as an
auxiliary or helping verb (can, does).

Harry honked the horn. (shows action)

Harry is impatient. (links words)

Harry was honking the truck’s horn.
(accompanies the verb honking)

Classes of Verbs
Verbs are classified as action, auxiliary (helping), or
linking (state of being).

Action Verbs: Transitive and Intransitive — As its
name implies, an action verb shows action. Some action
verbs are transitive; others are intransitive. (The term
action does not always refer to a physical activity.)

Rain splashed the windshield. (transitive verb)

Josie drove off the road. (intransitive verb)

Transitive: Transitive verbs have direct objects that
receive the action.

The health-care industry employs more than 7
million workers in the United States.

(Workers is the direct object of the action verb em-
ploys.)

Intransitive: Intransitive verbs communicate action
that is complete in itself. They do not need an object
to receive the action.

My new college roommate smiles and laughs a lot.

Note: Some verbs can be either transitive or intransi-
tive.

Ms. Hull teaches physiology and microbiology.
(transitive)

She teaches well. (intransitive)

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Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs — Auxiliary verbs (help-
ing verbs) help to form some of the tenses, the mood,
and the voice of the main verb. (See pages 404–405.)

Auxiliary Verbs
is
am
are
was

were

be
being
been

can
could
will
would

shall
should
may
might

must
have
has
did

ESL Note: “Be” auxiliary verbs are always followed
by either a verb ending in ing or a past participle.

Linking (State of Being) Verbs — A linking verb
is a special form of intransitive verb that links the sub-
ject of a sentence to a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective
in the predicate.

The streets are flooded. (adjective)

The streets are rivers! (noun)

Common Linking Verbs
am
are

be
become

been
being

is
was

were

Additional Linking Verbs
appear
feel

look
seem

sound
grow

remain
smell

taste

Note: The verbs listed as “additional linking verbs”
above function as linking verbs when they do not
show actual action. An adjective usually follows these
linking verbs.

The sky looked ominous. (adjective)

My little brother grew frightened. (adjective)

Note: When these same words are used as action
verbs, an adverb or a direct object may follow them.

I looked carefully at him. (adverb)

My little brother grew corn for a science project.
(direct object)

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Forms of Verbs
A verb’s form differs depending on its number (sin-
gular, plural), person (first, second, third), tense (pres-
ent, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, future
perfect), voice (active, passive), and mood (indicative,
imperative, subjunctive).

Number of a Verb — Number indicates whether
a verb is singular or plural. The verb and its subject
both must be singular, or they both must be plural.
(See “Subject-Verb Agreement,” pages 418–420.)

My college enrolls high schoolers in summer
programs. (singular)

Many colleges enroll high schoolers in summer
courses. (plural)

Person of a Verb — Person indicates whether the
subject of the verb is first, second, or third person. The
verb and its subject must be in the same person. Verbs
usually have a different form only in third person sin-
gular of the present tense.

Tense of a Verb — Tense indicates the time of an
action or state of being. There are three basic tenses
(past, present, and future) and three verbal aspects
(progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive).

Present tense: This tense expresses action happen-
ing at the present time or regularly.

In the United States, more than 75 percent of workers
hold service jobs.

Present progressive tense: This tense also express-
es action that is happening continually, in an ongoing
fashion at the present time, but it is formed by com-
bining am, are, or is and the present participle (ending
in ing) of the main verb.

More women than ever before are working outside
the home.

Present perfect tense: This tense expresses action
that began in the past and has recently been complet-

ed or that continues up to the present time.

My sister has taken four years of swimming lessons.

Present perfect progressive tense: This tense also
expresses an action that began in the past but stresses
the continuing nature of the action. Like the present
progressive tense, it is formed by combining auxiliary
verbs (have been or has been) and present participles.

She has been taking them since she was six years old.

Past tense: This tense expresses action that was com-
pleted at a particular time in the past.

A hundred years ago, more than 75 percent of
laborers worked in agriculture.

Past progressive tense: This tense expresses past ac-
tion that continued over time. It is formed by combining
was or were with the present participle of the main verb.

In 1900, my great-grandparents were farming.

Past perfect tense: This tense expresses an action in
the past that was completed at a specific time before
another past action occurred.

By the time we sat down for dinner, my cousins had
eaten all the olives.

Past perfect progressive tense: This tense express-
es a past action but stresses the continuing nature of
the action. It is formed by using had been along with
the present participle.

They had been eating the olives all afternoon.

Future tense: This tense expresses action that will
take place in the future.

Next summer I will work as a lifeguard.

Future progressive tense: This tense expresses an
action that will be continuous in the future.

I will be working for the park district at North Beach.

Future perfect tense: This tense expresses future ac-
tion that will be completed by a specific time.

By 10:00 p.m., I will have completed my research
project.

1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person
Singular I think you think he/she/it thinks

Plural we think you think they think

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Quick Guide: Using Active Voice
Generally, use active voice rather than passive voice
for more direct, energetic writing. To change your
passive sentences to active ones, do the following:
First, find the noun that is doing the action and
make it the subject. Then find the word that had
been the subject and use it as the direct object.

Passive: The winning goal was scored by Eva.
(The subject, goal, is not acting.)

Active: Eva scored the winning goal.
(The subject, Eva, is acting.)

Note: When you want to emphasize the receiver
more than the doer—or when the doer is un-
known—use the passive voice. (Much technical
and scientific writing regularly
uses the passive voice.)

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C h a P t e r 3 0 : g r a m m a r 405

Mood of a Verb — The mood of a verb indicates the
tone or attitude with which a statement is made.

Indicative mood: This mood is the most common, is
used to state a fact or to ask a question.

Can any theme capture the essence of the complex
1960s culture? President John F. Kennedy’s directive
[to the right] represents one ideal popular during
that decade.

Imperative mood: This mood is used to give a com-
mand. (The subject of an imperative sentence is you,
which is usually understood and not stated in the sen-
tence.)

Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what
you can do for your country. —John F. Kennedy

Subjunctive mood: This mood is used to express a
wish, an impossibility or unlikely condition, or a ne-
cessity. The subjunctive mood is often used with if or
that. The verb forms below create an atypical subject-
verb agreement, forming the subjunctive mood.

If I were rich, I would travel for the rest of my life.
(a wish)

If each of your brain cells were one person, there
would be enough people to populate 25 planets.

(an impossibility)

The English Department requires that every student
pass a proficiency test.

(a necessity)

Verbals — A verbal is a word that is made from a
verb, but it functions as a noun, an adjective, or an
adverb. There are three types of verbals: gerunds, in-
finitives, and participles.

Gerund: A gerund ends in ing and is used as a noun.

Waking each morning is the first challenge. (subject)

I start moving at about seven o’clock. (direct object)

I work at jump-starting my weary system.
(object of the preposition)

As Woody Allen once said, “Eighty percent of life is
showing up.” (predicate nominative)

Future perfect progressive tense: This tense also
expresses future action that will be completed by a
specific time but (as with other perfect progressive
tenses) stresses the action’s continuous nature. It is
formed using will have been along with the present
participle.

I will have been researching the project for three
weeks by the time it’s due.

Voice of a Verb — Voice indicates whether the sub-
ject is acting or being acted upon.

Active voice: This voice indicates that the subject of
the verb is performing the action.

People update their résumés on a regular basis.
(The subject, people, is acting; résumés is the di-
rect object.)

Passive voice: This voice indicates that the subject of
the verb is being acted upon or is receiving the action.
A passive verb is formed by combining a be verb with
a past participle.

Your résumé should be updated on a regular basis.
(The subject, résumé, is receiving the action.)

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Quick Guide: Using Verbals
Make sure that you use verbals correctly; look care-
fully at the examples below.

Verbal: Diving is a popular Olympic sport.
(Diving is a gerund used as a subject.)

Diving gracefully, the Olympian hoped to
get high marks.

(Diving is a participle modifying
Olympian.)

Verb: The next competitor was diving in the
practice pool.

(Here, diving is a verb, not a verbal.)

Pa r t 3 : h a n d B o o k 406

Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs can often be confusing. That’s because
the past tense and past participle of irregular verbs
are formed by changing the word itself, not merely by
adding d or ed. The following list contains the most
troublesome irregular verbs.

Common Irregular Verbs and Their Principal Parts

Present Past Past
Tense Tense Participle

am, be was, were been

arise arose arisen

awake awoke, awoken,

awaked awaked

beat beat beaten

become became become

begin began begun

bite bit bitten, bit

blow blew blown

break broke broken

bring brought brought

build built built

burn burnt, burnt,

burned burned

burst burst burst

buy bought bought

catch caught caught

choose chose chosen

come came come

cost cost cost

cut cut cut

dig dug dug

dive dived, dove dived

do did done

draw drew drawn

dream dreamed, dreamed,

dreamt dreamt

drink drank drunk

drive drove driven

eat ate eaten

Infinitive: An infinitive is to and the base form of the
verb. The infinitive may be used as a noun, an adjec-
tive, or an adverb.

To succeed is not easy. (noun)

That is the most important thing to remember.
(adjective)

Students are wise to work hard. (adverb)

ESL Note: It can be difficult to know whether a ger-
und or an infinitive should follow a verb. It’s helpful
to become familiar with lists of specific verbs that can
be followed by one but not the other.

Participle: A present participle ends in ing and func-
tions as an adjective. A past participle ends in ed (or
another past tense form) and also functions as an ad-
jective.

The studying students were annoyed by the
partying ones.

The students playing loud music were annoying.
(These participles function as adjectives: studying,
partying, playing, and annoying students. Notice,
however, that playing has a direct object: music.
All three types of verbals may have direct objects.
See “Verbal Phrase” on page 414.)

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C h a P t e r 3 0 : g r a m m a r 407

Present Past Past
Tense Tense Participle

fall fell fallen

feel felt felt

fight fought fought

find found found

flee fled fled

fly flew flown

forget forgot forgotten,

forgot

freeze froze frozen

get got gotten

give gave given

go went gone

grow grew grown

hang (execute) hanged hanged

hang (suspend) hung hung

have had had

hear heard heard

hide hid hidden

hit hit hit

keep kept kept

know knew known

lay laid laid

lead led led

leave left left

lend lent lent

let let let

lie (deceive) lied lied

lie (recline) lay lain

make made made

mean meant meant

meet met met

pay paid paid

prove proved proved,

proven

put put put

read read read

ride rode ridden

ring rang rung

Present Past Past
Tense Tense Participle

rise rose risen

run ran run

see saw seen

set set set

shake shook shaken

shine (light) shone shone

shine (polish) shined shined

show showed shown

shrink shrank shrunk

sing sang sung

sink sank sunk

sit sat sat

sleep slept slept

speak spoke spoken

spend spent spent

spring sprang sprung

stand stood stood

steal stole stolen

strike struck struck,

stricken

strive strove striven

swear swore sworn

swim swam swum

swing swung swung

take took taken

teach taught taught

tear tore torn

tell told told

think thought thought

throw threw thrown

wake woke, woken,

waked waked

wear wore worn

weave wove woven

wind wound wound

wring wrung wrung

write wrote written

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matka_Wariatka, 2011 / Used under license from Shutterstock.com Pa r t 3 : h a n d B o o k 408

Adjective
An adjective describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.
The articles a, an, and the are adjectives.

Advertising is a big and powerful industry.
(A, big, and powerful modify the noun industry.)

Note: Many demonstrative, indefinite, and inter-
rogative forms may be used as either adjectives or
pronouns (that, these, many, some, whose, and so on).
These words are adjectives if they come before a noun
and modify it; they are pronouns if they stand alone.

Some advertisements are less than truthful.
(Some modifies advertisements and is an adjec-
tive.)

Many cause us to chuckle at their outrageous claims.
(Many stands alone; it is a pronoun and replaces
the noun advertisements.)

Proper Adjectives — Proper adjectives are created
from proper nouns and are capitalized.

English has been influenced by advertising slogans.
(proper noun)

The English language is constantly changing.
(proper adjective)

Predicate Adjectives — A predicate adjective fol-
lows a form of the be verb (or other linking verb) and
describes the subject. (See “Linking (State of Being)
Verbs” on page 403.)

At its best, advertising is useful; at its worst, deceptive.
(Useful and deceptive modify the noun advertis-
ing.)

Forms of Adjectives — Adjectives have three forms:
positive, comparative, and superlative.

The positive form is the adjective in its regular form.
It describes a noun or a pronoun without comparing
it to anyone or anything else.

Joysport walking shoes are
strong and comfortable.

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The comparative form (-er, more, or less) compares
two things. (More and less are used generally with ad-
jectives of two or more syllables.)

Air soles make Mile Eaters stronger and more
comfortable than Joysports.

The superlative form (-est, most, or least) compares
three or more things. (Most and least are used most
often with adjectives of two or more syllables.)

My old Canvas Wonders are the strongest, most
comfortable shoes of all!

Adverb
An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective,
another adverb, or a whole sentence. An adverb an-
swers questions such as how, when, where, why, how
often, or how much.

The temperature fell sharply.
(Sharply modifies the verb fell.)

The temperature was quite low.
(Quite modifies the adjective low.)

The temperature dropped very quickly.
(Very modifies the adverb quickly, which modifies
the verb dropped.)

Unfortunately, the temperature stayed cool.
(Unfortunately modifies the whole sentence.)

Types of Adverbs — Adverbs can be grouped in
four ways: time, place, manner, and degree.

Time: These adverbs tell
when, how often, and
how long.

Place: These adverbs tell
where, to where, and
from where.

today, yesterday
daily, weekly
briefly, eternally

here, there
nearby, beyond
backward, forward

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C h a P t e r 3 0 : g r a m m a r 409

Manner: These adverbs
often end in ly and
tell how something
is done.

Degree: These adverbs
tell how much or
how little.

Forms of Adverbs — Adverbs have three forms:
positive, comparative, and superlative.

The positive form is the adverb in its regular form. It
describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb with-
out comparing it to anyone or anything else.

With Joysport shoes, you’ll walk fast. They support
your feet well.

The comparative form (-er, more, or less) compares
two things. (More and less are used generally with ad-
verbs of two or more syllables.)

Wear Jockos instead of Joysports, and you’ll walk
faster. Jockos’ special soles support your feet better
than the Joysports do.

The superlative form (-est, most, or least) compares
three or more things. (Most and least are used most
often with adverbs of two or more syllables.)

Really, I walk fastest wearing my old Canvas
Wonders. They seem to support my feet, my knees,
and my pocketbook best of all.

Preposition
A preposition is a word (or group of words) that shows
the relationship between its object (a noun or pronoun
following the preposition) and another word in the
sentence.

Regarding your reasons for going to college, do they
all hinge on getting a good job after graduation?

(In this sentence, reasons, going, college, getting,
and graduation are objects of their preceding
prepositions regarding, for, to, on, and after.)

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precisely
regularly
regally
well

substantially
greatly
entirely

partly
too

Prepositions
aboard
about
above
according to
across
across from
after
against
along
alongside
alongside of
along with
amid
among
apart from
around
as far as
aside from
at
away from
back of
because of
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond
but
by
by means of
concerning
considering
despite

down
down from
during
except
except for
excepting
for
from
from among
from between
from under
in
in addition to
in behalf of
in front of
in place of
in regard to
inside
inside of
in spite of
instead of
into
like
near
near to
notwithstanding
of
off
on
on account of
on behalf of
onto
on top of
opposite
out
out of

outside
outside of
over
over to
owing to
past
prior to
regarding
round
save
since
subsequent to
through
throughout
till
to
together with
toward
under
underneath
until
unto
up
upon
up to
with
within
without

Regular Irregular

Positive fast
effectively

well
badly

Comparative faster
more effectively

better
worse

Superlative fastest
most effectively

best
worst

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Pa r t 3 : h a n d B o o k 410

Experience is the worst teacher; it gives the test
before it presents the lesson.

(The clause before it presents the lesson is depen-
dent. It connects to the independent clause it gives
the test.)

Note: Relative pronouns can also connect clauses.
(See “Relative Pronouns” on page 401.)

Conjunctions

Interjection
An interjection communicates strong emotion or sur-
prise (oh, ouch, hey, and so on). Punctuation (often a
comma or an exclamation point) is used to set off an
interjection.

Hey! Wait! Well, so much for catching the bus.

ESL Note: Prepositions often pair up with a verb and
become part of an idiom, a slang expression, or a two-
word verb.

Prepositional Phrases — A prepositional phrase
includes the preposition, the object of the preposition,
and the modifiers of the object. A prepositional phrase
may function as an adverb or an adjective.

A broader knowledge of the world is one benefit of
higher education.

(The two phrases function as adjectives modifying
the nouns knowledge and benefit respectively.)

He placed the flower in the window.
(The phrase functions as an adverb modifying the
verb placed.)

Conjunction
A conjunction connects individual words or groups of
words.

When we came back to Paris, it was clear and cold
and lovely. —Ernest Hemingway

Coordinating Conjunctions — Coordinating con-
junctions usually connect a word to a word, a phrase
to a phrase, or a clause to a clause. The words, phrases,
or clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction are
equal in importance or are of the same type.

Civilization is a race between education and
catastrophe. —H. G. Wells

Correlative Conjunctions — Correlative conjunc-
tions are a type of coordinating conjunction used in
pairs.

There are two inadvisable ways to think: either
believe everything or doubt everything.

Subordinating Conjunctions — Subordinating
conjunctions connect two clauses that are not equally
important. A subordinating conjunction connects a
dependent clause to an independent clause. The con-
junction is part of the dependent clause.

and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet

either, or; neither, nor; not
only, but (but also); both, and;
whether, or

after, although, as, as if, as
long as, because, before,
even though, if, in order that,
provided that, since, so that,
than, that, though, unless, until,
when, whenever, where, while

Coordinating

Correlative

Subordinating

Noun — A noun is a word that names some-
thing: a person, a place, a thing, or an idea.

Toni Morrison/author Lone Star/film

UC–Davis/university Renaissance/era

A Congress of Wonders/book

A Closer Look:
Parts of Speech

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Pronoun — A pronoun is a word used in place of
a noun.

I my that themselves which

it ours they everybody you

Verb — A verb is a word that expresses action, links
words, or acts as an auxiliary verb to the main verb.

are break drag fly run sit was

bite catch eat is see tear were

Adjective — An adjective describes or modifies
a noun or pronoun. (The articles a, an, and the are
adjectives.)

The carbonated drink went down easy on that
hot, dry day. (The and carbonated modify drink;
that, hot, and dry modify day.)

Adverb — An adverb describes or modifies a verb,
an adjective, another adverb, or a whole sentence.
An adverb generally answers questions such as how,
when, where, how often, or how much.

greatly precisely regularly there

here today partly quickly

slowly yesterday nearly loudly

Preposition — A preposition is a word (or group
of words) that shows the relationship between its ob-
ject (a noun or pronoun that follows the preposition)
and another word in the sentence. Prepositions in-
troduce prepositional phrases, which are modifiers.

across for with out to of

Conjunction — A conjunction connects individu-
al words or groups of words.

and because but for or since so yet

Interjection — An interjection is a word that com-
municates strong emotion or surprise. Punctuation
(often a comma or an exclamation point) is used to
set off an interjection from the rest of the sentence.

Stop! No! What, am I invisible?

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Pages from EnglishCompII_Unit1Read

read
Condensed_comp_vandermey_ch03
Chapter 3: Starting��
Discover your process.
Understand the rhetorical situation.
Understand the assignment.
Select, limit, and explore your topic.
Collect information and track your sources.
Critical-Thinking and Writing Activities

Condensed_comp_vandermey_ch04
Chapter 4: Planning��
Revisit the rhetorical situation.
Form your thesis statement.
Select a method of development.
Develop a plan or an outline.
Critical-Thinking and Writing Activities

Condensed_comp_vandermey_ch25
Chapter 25: Planning Your Research Project��
Understand academic research.
Initiate the process.
Develop a research plan.
Consider possible resources and sites.
Understand sources.
Critical-Thinking and Writing Activities

Condensed_comp_vandermey_ch30
PART 3: WRITE
Chapter 30: Grammar��
Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Conjunction
Interjection

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