Cover: Becoming a College Writer, 1st Edition by Todd Taylor

Becoming a College Writer

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First  Edition©2019  Todd Taylor

ISBN:9781319220938

ISBN:9781319249236

ISBN:9780312486402

ISBN:9781319298869

ISBN:9781319354084

ISBN:9781319354077

About

These students have done it, and so can you
 
Based on 100 interviews with college writers, Todd Taylor’s groundbreaking multimedia resource helps you learn from other students’ experiences like no other textbook before. Their words and voices—in brief videos and writing examples—form the foundation for a refreshing new style of instruction that asks you to engage with other college writers personally, learning from their challenges and successes. The words and voices of these students are brought to life in the book’s LaunchPad, featuring all of the student videos and a collection of their writing. The result is a unique text that asks you to critically examine and engage with the words and writing of other students, using them as a model to inspire your own successes.

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Table of Contents

A Note to Students: On Becoming a College Writer

Preface for Instructors

Pathways

Part I: Rhetoric

Lesson 1 Writing: Clarify your definition of writing.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 2 Writer: See yourself as a writer.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 3 Audience: Understand and interact with your audience.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 4 Topic: Write about a topic that matters to you.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Part II: Context

Lesson 5 Prompt: Answer the assignment prompt and respond to the grading rubric.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 6 Evidence: Support your writing with evidence.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 7 Genres: Analyze and compare genres to meet audience expectations.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 8 Discipline: Understand that a discipline is a methodology applied to a subject.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 9 Media: Select the appropriate media for your context, and use it appropriately.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Part III: Process

Lesson 10 Planning: Plan your writing process.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 11 Brainstorming: Develop a brainstorming strategy.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 12 Researching: Research before you draft and cite as you research.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 13 Organizing: Organize your preliminary writing according to patterns.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 14 Drafting: Generate momentum in your first draft and keep going.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 15 Revising: Revise Repeatedly from Feedback.\

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 16 Proofreading: Use professional proofreading techniques to help you find errors.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 17 Publishing: Format your writing with pride and purpose.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 18 Reflecting: Reflect on each completed assignment, in writing.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Part IV: Conventions

Lesson 19 Thesis: Focus your thesis through evidence and research.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 20 Introductions and Conclusions: Design the right introduction and conclusion.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 21 Paragraphs: Develop your paragraphs and pack them with evidence and detail.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 22 Sentences: Develop your own active, economic style.

Essentials Video ~ Why ~ How ~ Exercises

Lesson 23 Grammar: Learn from your grammatical mistakes and don’t be intimidated.

23.1 Why you should learn from your grammatical mistakes and not be intimidated.

23.2 Punctuation, Grammar, and Mechanics A-Z

Lesson 24 Citation: Approach citation as a research tool, not as a threat.

24.1 Why you should approach citation as a research tool, not as a threat

24.2 Citation Mechanics A-Z

Part V: Writers like you

Lesson 25 Student Interviews & Sample Papers: Learn from the moves other writers make.

25.1 Why you should study the moves other writers make.

25.2 How to learn from the moves other writers make.

Interview A Nanaissa: Undeclared major

Student Paper A Problem-Solution paper

Interview B Kendra: Environmental Sciences major

Student Paper B Scientific Journal Paper

Interview C Deonta: Sociology Major

Student Paper C Sociology Paper

Interview D Nicole: English Major

Student Paper D Literary Analysis

Interview E Vinh-Thuy: Chemistry Major

Student Paper E: Multimedia Self-Reflection Essay

Interview F Dan: English Major

Student Paper F: Video Essay

Index

Todd Taylor

Todd Taylor is the Director of the Writing Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A leader in bringing digital composing into the college classroom, Taylors research investigates how concepts of literacy are changing in response to advanced communication technologies. He has written or edited numerous works, including Literacy Theory in the Age of the Internet (with Irene Ward) and the award-winning multimedia performance piece, "The End of Composition." Taylor is the recipient of both the Friday Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Chapman Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2009, he created Take 20, a film for writing teachers by writing teachers and published by Bedford/St. Martins. Inspired by that project, he travelled across the country to interview 100 students about their experiences with college writing. That research serves as the foundation for his new text, Becoming a College Writer: A Multimedia Guide.