The Bedford Reader

*indicates new to the 15th edition

CONTENTS

PREFACE FOR INSTRUCTORS

CONTENTS BY THEME AND DISCIPLINE

  HOW (AND WHY) TO USE THIS BOOK
THE SELECTIONS
Readings • Student examples • Visuals
THE METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT
THE PRACTICAL GUIDANCE
Overviews of reading, writing, and research • Reading questions and writing prompts • Glossary and index
THE WRITERS ON WRITING

PART ONE

ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING

 1  CRITICAL READING: Learning from Other Writers
READING ACTIVELY
Previewing • Annotating
NANCY MAIRS Disability (annotated essay)
DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING
Summarizing • Thinking critically
Checklist for critical reading
ANALYZING WRITTEN WORKS
Meaning • Writing strategy • Language
Checklist for analyzing a written work
EXAMINING VISUAL IMAGES
Checklist for examining an image
*Visual Image: from “A Marathon Survivor Starts Over,” photo essay by Josh Haner
Seeing the big picture • Taking a critical look

 2  THE WRITING PROCESS: Discovery and Drafting
ASSESSING THE WRITING SITUATION
Subject • Audience • Purpose • Genre
DISCOVERING IDEAS
Keeping a journal • Freewriting • Exploring the methods of development • Responding to a text
DRAFTING
Focusing on a thesis • Developing ideas • Organizing the evidence • Shaping the introduction and conclusion
A STUDENT ESSAY-IN-PROGRESS
Journal notes on reading • First draft • Next steps

 3 THE WRITING PROCESS: Reviewing and Revising
REVIEWING A DRAFT
REVISING IN STAGES
Checklist for peer review and revision
Purpose and genre • Thesis • Unity • Development • Coherence
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE
Exercising caution • Summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting • Synthesizing ideas
A STUDENT ESSAY-IN-PROGRESS
Peer responses to first draft • Journal notes on peer review • Revised draft • Next steps

 4 THE WRITING PROCESS: Editing
USING EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE
Checklist for editing
CRAFTING CLEAR AND ENGAGING SENTENCES
Emphasis • Parallelism • Sentence variety
FIXING COMMON ERRORS
Sentence fragments • Run-on sentences and comma splices • Subject-verb agreement • Pronouns • Misplaced and dangling modifiers • Shifts
A STUDENT ESSAY-IN-PROGRESS
Edited paragraph • Final draft
ROSIE ANAYA Mental Illness on Television (annotated student essay)

PART TWO

THE METHODS

 5  NARRATION: Telling a Story
Visual Image: Proposal, drawing by Demetri Martin
THE METHOD
THE PROCESS
Purpose and shape • The thesis • The narrator in the story • What to emphasize • Organization
Focus on verbs
How to organize a narrative
Checklist for reviewing and revising a narrative
STUDENT CASE STUDY: A POLICE LOG
Scott Beltran from Ride-Along Report (annotated student writing)

PAIRED SELECTIONS

*Healthcare
*OLIVER SACKS Cold Storage
*Oliver Sacks on Writing
JONATHAN BETHARDS Code Three (student essay)
An emergency medical technician responds to a 911 call, and a stand-off ensues.
AMY TAN Fish Cheeks
*Amy Tan on Writing
MAYA ANGELOU Champion of the World
Maya Angelou on Writing
*DAVID TREUER 22 Vision
SHIRLEY JACKSON The Lottery (short story)
Shirley Jackson on Writing
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

 6  DESCRIPTION: Writing with Your Senses
*Visual Image: Busy Day, photograph by Serena Pallaro
THE METHOD
THE PROCESS
Purpose and audience • Dominant impression and thesis • Organization • Details
How to organize a description
Focus on specific and concrete language
Checklist for reviewing and revising a description
STUDENT CASE STUDY: A FIELD OBSERVATION
Nick Fiorelli from Teaching Methodologies at Child’s Play Preschool (annotated student writing)
SHONDA RHIMES My Summer of Scooping Ice Cream
*CLINT SMITH Red Hat Cell Block
*Clint Smith on Writing
*BARRY LOPEZ The Cape Crozier Penguins
*Barry Lopez on Writing
JOYCE CAROL OATES Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, 1942 (poem)
Visual Image: Nighthawks, painting by Edward Hopper

PAIRED SELECTIONS

FATHERS
BRAD MANNING Arm Wrestling with My Father (student essay)
Brad Manning on Writing
E. B. WHITE Once More to the Lake
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

 7 EXAMPLE: Pointing to Instances
Visual Image: Costumes to Scare Millennials, cartoon by Sarah Andersen
THE METHOD
THE PROCESS
The generalization and the thesis • The examples • Organization
Focus on sentence variety
How to organize examples
Checklist for reviewing and revising an example essay
STUDENT CASE STUDY: A JOB-APPLICATION LETTER
Susan Churchill E-mail to Exeter Hospital (annotated student writing)

PAIRED SELECTIONS

*RACISM
BRENT STAPLES Black Men and Public Space
Brent Staples on Writing
*GRACE TALUSAN Yellow Children
*Visual Image: Grace’s High School Senior Portrait, photograph of the author
ANNA QUINDLEN Homeless
Anna Quindlen on Writing
ZANE RASSLER Looking Back (student essay)
Zane Rassler on Writing
*CRISTINA HENRÍQUEZ Everything Is Far from Here (short story)
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

 8  COMPARISON AND CONTRAST: Setting Things Side by Side
Visual Image: Excerpt from Fun Home, graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel
THE METHOD
Uses of comparison and contrast • Purposes
THE PROCESS
Subjects for comparison • Basis for comparison and thesis • Organization • Balance and flexibility
How to organize a comparison-and-contrast essay
Checklist for reviewing and revising a comparison-and-contrast essay
Focus on parallelism
*STUDENT CASE STUDY: AN EVALUATION
*Clarissa del Re Zoom Classes Are Inherently More Challenging (annotated student writing)

PAIRED SELECTIONS

ENDANGERED SPECIES
JOURDAN IMANI KEITH At Risk
Jourdan Imani Keith on Writing
TED CHIANG The Great Silence (short story)
Visual Images: from The Great Silence, video installation by Allora & Calzadilla
SUZANNE BRITT Neat People vs. Sloppy People
Suzanne Britt on Writing
DAVID SEDARIS Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa
David Sedaris on Writing
*J. OWEN MURPHY Climate Change: Pole Pole (documented student essay)
*J. Owen Murphy on Writing
FATEMA MERNISSI Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

 9  PROCESS ANALYSIS: Explaining Step by Step
*Visual Image: Fabulous Monggo!, illustration by Malaka Gharib
THE METHOD
THE PROCESS
How to organize a process analysis
Checklist for reviewing and revising a process analysis
Focus on consistency
STUDENT CASE STUDY: A LAB REPORT
Victor Khoury from DNA Extraction (annotated student writing)

PAIRED SELECTIONS

WRITING
ANNE LAMOTT Shitty First Drafts
KOJI FRAHM How to Write an A Paper (student essay)
Koji Frahm on Writing
*MARY ROACH When Animals Attack
*Mary Roach on Writing
*JUSTIN TORRES The Way We Read Now (short story)
JESSICA MITFORD Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain
Jessica Mitford on Writing
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

10  DIVISION OR ANALYSIS: Slicing into Parts
Visual Image: Deconstructing Lunch, cartoon by Roz Chast
THE METHOD
Kinds of division or analysis • Analysis and critical thinking
THE PROCESS
Subject and purpose • Principle of analysis and thesis • Evidence
How to organize a division or analysis essay
Focus on source material
Checklist for reviewing and revising a division or analysis essay
STUDENT CASE STUDY: A CRITICAL READING
Rachel O’Connor from A Question of Fairness: “The Lottery” as Social Commentary (annotated student writing)
*JESSE WARD What PTSD Looks Like (documented student essay)
*Visual Image: Brian Scott Ostrom, photograph by Craig F. Walker
*NATALIE DIAZ They Don’t Love You Like I Love You (poem)
BARBARA B. PARSONS Whistling in the Dark
Barbara B. Parsons on Writing

PAIRED SELECTIONS

*CONSUMER CULTURE
*JOHN GREEN Piggly Wiggly
*John Green on Writing
ZADIE SMITH Find Your Beach
Visual Image: Find Your Beach, advertisement by Corona
Zadie Smith on Writing
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

11  CLASSIFICATION: Sorting into Kinds
*Visual Image: from They Called Us Enemy, graphic memoir by George Takei
THE METHOD
Subjects and reasons for classification • Kinds of classification
THE PROCESS
Purposes and theses • Categories
Focus on paragraph development
How to organize a classification
Checklist for reviewing and revising a classification
STUDENT CASE STUDY: A RÉSUMÉ
Susan Churchill Résumé (annotated student writing)
SANDRA CISNEROS And Some More (short story)
Sandra Cisneros on Writing
*JULIET CORWIN The Lonely World between the Hearing and the Deaf (student essay)
*JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS Not Black, Not White

PAIRED SELECTIONS

FAILURES TO COMMUNICATE
DEBORAH TANNEN But What Do You Mean?
Deborah Tannen on Writing
WILLIAM LUTZ The World of Doublespeak
William Lutz on Writing
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

12  CAUSE AND EFFECT: Asking Why
*Visual Image: Bright Nights, infographic by Lucy Conklin
THE METHOD
THE PROCESS
Subject and purpose • Thesis • Causal relations • Discovery of causes • Educated guesses
How to organize a cause-and-effect analysis
Focus on clarity and conciseness
Checklist for reviewing and revising a cause-and-effect essay
*STUDENT CASE STUDY: AN OPINION COLUMN
*Adya Mohapatra The Warped Transformation of Cancel Culture (annotated student writing)
LANGSTON HUGHES Harlem (poem)
*Langston Hughes on Writing       
*Visual Image: First Draft with Hand-written Revisions, photograph by the Langston Hughes Papers Digital Collections
*MARY KILLEEN McCANS Signing Their Lives Away (documented student essay)
*Mary Killeen McCans on Writing
DEREK THOMPSON What Makes Things Cool
Visual Image: Raymond Loewy, illustration by Mark Weaver, with photographs by Bernard Hoffman, Jack Garofalo, and Sherman Oaks Antique Mall
MALCOLM GLADWELL Little Fish in a Big Pond
Malcolm Gladwell on Writing

PAIRED SELECTIONS

GLOBALIZATION
CHITRA DIVAKARUNI Live Free and Starve

Chitra Divakaruni on Writing
*JARED DIAMOND The Global Perils of Inequality
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

13  DEFINITION: Tracing Boundaries
*Visual Image: Friend, artwork by Jonny Sun
THE METHOD
THE PROCESS
Discovery of meanings • Methods of development • Thesis • Evidence
How to organize a definition
Focus on unity
Checklist for reviewing and revising a definition
STUDENT CASE STUDY: AN ESSAY EXAM
Martin Ward Civil Liberties (annotated student writing)

PAIRED SELECTIONS

PRIVILEGE
TAL FORTGANG Checking My Privilege (student essay)
Tal Fortgang on Writing
ROXANE GAY Peculiar Benefits
Roxane Gay on Writing
EMILY DICKINSON “Hope” is the thing with feathers (poem)
*RICHARD RODRIGUEZ X: The Neutering of the Spanish Tongue
*N. SCOTT MOMADAY The Sacred Spell of Words
*Visual Images: Emily Spear; Carnegie, Oklahoma; photographs by Maddie McGarvey
N. Scott Momaday on Writing       
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

14  ARGUMENT AND PERSUASION: Stating Opinions and Proposals
Visual Image: Corporate America Flag, image from Adbusters Media Foundation
THE METHOD
Audience and common ground • Elements of argument • Reasoning
Focus on tone
THE PROCESS
Finding a subject • Organizing
How to organize an argument
Checklist for reviewing and revising an argument
*STUDENT CASE STUDY: A PROPOSAL 
*Natalie Dowzicky Don’t Leave White Colleges, Pay Your Elite Student Athletes (annotated student writing)
*ELLY VINTIADIS   Mass Shootings and the Myth of the Violent Mentally Ill (annotated essay)       
 *Elly Vintiadis on Writing

PAIRED SELECTIONS

HOW CAN FAMILY IMMIGRATION POLICY BE REFORMED?
LINDA CHAVEZ Supporting Family Values
Linda Chavez on Writing
*MARIE MYUNG-OK LEE I Was an Anchor Baby
GROUPED SELECTIONS
IS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT MORALLY DEFENSIBLE?
DAVID B. MUHLHAUSEN How the Death Penalty Saves Lives
SEMON FRANK THOMPSON What I Learned from Executing Two Men
JESSICA BLANK AND ERIK JENSEN from The Exonerated (documentary play)
Visual Image: The Exonerated, poster for the Secret Theater
Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen on Writing
GROUPED SELECTIONS
SHOULD FREEDOM OF SPEECH BE LIMITED?
SARAH HEMPHILL What Happened to Free Speech on College Campuses? (documented student essay)
Sarah Hemphill on Writing
*AZIZ HUQ The Conservative Case against Banning Critical Race Theory
*JULIA SERANO Free Speech and the Paradox of Tolerance
*Julia Serano on Writing
ADDITIONAL WRITING TOPICS

*15 MIXING THE METHODS: Combining the Patterns of Development
*Visual Image: Not Milk, advertisement by Oatly
THE METHODS
THE PROCESS
Subject and Purpose • Thesis • Organization
Focus on coherence
How to organize an essay using multiple methods
Checklist for reviewing and revising a mixed-methods essay
*STUDENT CASE STUDY: AN OPEN LETTER
*Angela Dziuba A Response to Tal Fortgang (annotated student writing)
JOAN DIDION Earthquakes (annotated essay)
Joan Didion on Writing

PAIRED SELECTIONS

TRANSCENDENTALISM
HENRY DAVID THOREAU What I Lived For
Henry David Thoreau on Writing
LUIS ALBERTO URREA Barrio Walden
Luis Alberto Urrea on Writing
*ISABELLA LOH The Blue Death (documented student essay)
LOUISE ERDRICH The Crest (short story)
Louise Erdrich on Writing
JONATHAN SWIFT A Modest Proposal

*PART THREE

RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION

16 RESEARCH: Finding and Using Sources
CONDUCTING RESEARCH
Using the library • Evaluating sources • Preparing an annotated bibliography
Checklist for evaluating sources
WRITING WITH SOURCES
Building knowledge • Integrating source material • Synthesizing multiple sources • Avoiding plagiarism

17 MLA STYLE: Documenting Sources in the Humanities
SOURCE CITATION USING MLA STYLE       
MLA parenthetical citations • MLA list of works cited
A SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER IN MLA STYLE       
MARGARET LUNDBERG Eating Green (annotated student essay)

18 APA STYLE: Documenting Sources in the Social Sciences
SOURCE CITATION USING APA STYLE
APA parenthetical citations • APA reference list
A SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER IN APA STYLE       
ERIC KIM The Brain That Changes (annotated student essay)

GLOSSARY OF USEFUL TERMS

DIRECTORY TO THE WRITERS ON WRITING

INDEX