United States
Reading Critically, Writing Well with 2020 APA and 2021 MLA Updates
Twelfth Edition©2020 New Edition Available Rise B. Axelrod; Charles R. Cooper; Ellen Carillo
Your expert guide to engaged reading and writing.
This ebook has been updated to provide you with the latest guidance on documenting sources in MLA style and follows the guidelines set forth in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (April 2021).
Reading Critically, Writing Well is a diverse collection of readings from established, emerging, and student writers, combined with expert support for writing across genres. The readings aim to inspire engaged reading, spark curious conversations, and provoke thoughtful writing. Reading Critically, Writing Well provides both the readings and the support you need to make effective rhetorical choices in your own writing.
Table of Contents
Contents by Discipline
1 Academic Habits of Mind: From Reading Critically to Writing Well
Joining the Academic Conversation
*Ben Greenman, The Online Curiosity Killer
From Reading Critically to Writing Well
The Writing Process
2 A CATALOG OF READING STRATEGIES
Annotating
Martin Luther King Jr., An Annotated Sample from “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Taking Inventory
Outlining
Summarizing
Paraphrasing
Skimming
Synthesizing
Analyzing Assumptions
Contextualizing
Exploring the Significance of Figurative Language
Analyzing Visuals
Looking for Patterns of Opposition
Reflecting on Challenges to Your Beliefs and Values
Comparing and Contrasting Related Readings
Lewis H. Van Dusen Jr., Legitimate Pressures and Illegitimate Results
Evaluating the Logic of an Argument
Recognizing Logical Fallacies
Recognizing Emotional Manipulation
Judging the Writer’s Credibility
Reading Like A Writer
3 AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND LITERACY NARRATIVES
Rhetorical Situations for Autobiographies and Literacy Narratives
A GUIDE TO READING AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND LITERACY NARRATIVES
Annie Dillard, An American Childhood (Annotated Essay)
READINGS
David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day
*Molly Montgomery, In Search of Dumplings and Dead Poets
Saira Shah, Longing to Belong
Jenée Desmond-Harris, Tupac and My Non-Thug Life
*Rhea Jameson, Mrs. Maxon (Student Essay)
A GUIDE TO WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND LITERACY NARRATIVES
Writing Your Draft
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
4 OBSERVATION
Rhetorical Situations for Observations
A GUIDE TO READING OBSERVATIONS
The New Yorker, Soup
READINGS
John T. Edge, I’m Not Leaving Until I Eat This Thing
Gabriel Thompson, A Gringo in the Lettuce Fields
Amanda Coyne, The Long Good-Bye: Mother’s Day in Federal Prison
*Robin Wall Kimmerer, Asters and Goldenrods
*Linda Fine, Bringing Ingenuity Back
A GUIDE TO WRITING OBSERVATIONAL ESSAYS
Writing Your Draft
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
5 REFLECTION
Rhetorical Situations for Reflections
A GUIDE TO READING REFLECTIVE ESSAYS
Brent Staples, Black Men and Public Space (Annotated Essay)
READINGS
Dana Jennings, Our Scars Tell the Stories of Our Lives (Annotated Essay)
Jacqueline Woodson, The Pain of the Watermelon Joke
Manuel Muñoz, Leave Your Name at the Border
*Maya Rupert, I, Wonder: Imagining a Black Wonder Woman
*Samantha Wright, Starving for Control (Student Essay)
A GUIDE TO WRITING REFLECTIVE ESSAYS
Writing Your Draft 00
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
6 EXPLAINING CONCEPTS
Rhetorical Situations for Concept Explanations
A GUIDE TO READING CONCEPT EXPLANATIONS
Susan Cain, Shyness: Evolutionary Tactic? (Annotated Essay)
READINGS
John Tierney, Do You Suffer from Decision Fatigue?
*Jeff Howe, The Rise of Crowdsourcing
Melanie Tannenbaum, The Problem When Sexism Just Sounds So Darn Friendly
Michael Pollan, Altered State: Why “Natural” Doesn’t Mean Anything
*William Tucker, The Art and Creativity of Stop-Motion (Student Essay)
A GUIDE TO WRITING ESSAYS EXPLAINING CONCEPTS
Writing Your Draft
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
7 EVALUATION
Rhetorical Situations for Evaluations
A GUIDE TO READING EVALUATIONS
Amitai Etzioni, Working at McDonald’s (Annotated Essay)
READINGS
*Mathew Hertogs, Typing vs. Handwriting Notes: An Evaluation of the Effects of Transcription Method on Student Learning
*Ian Bogost, Brands are Not Our Friends
Malcolm Gladwell, What College Rankings Really Tell Us
Christine Rosen, The Myth of Multitasking
Christine Romano, Jessica Statsky’s “Children Need to Play, Not Compete”: An Evaluation (Student Essay)
A GUIDE TO WRITING EVALUATIONS
Writing Your Draft
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
8 ARGUING FOR A POSITION
Rhetorical Situations for Position Arguments
A GUIDE TO READING ESSAYS ARGUING FOR A POSITION
*Christie Aschwanden, There’s No Such Thing as ‘Sound Science’ (Annotated Essay)
READINGS
*Isiah Holmes, The Heroin and Opioid Crisis is Real
Sherry Turkle, The Flight from Conversation
Daniel J. Solove, Why Privacy Matters Even If You Have “Nothing to Hide”
Miya Tokumitsu, In the Name of Love
Jessica Statsky, Children Need to Play, Not Compete (Student Essay)
A GUIDE TO WRITING POSITION ARGUMENTS
Writing Your Draft
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
9 SPECULATING ABOUT CAUSES OR EFFECTS
Rhetorical Situations for Speculating about Causes or Effects
A GUIDE TO READING ESSAYS SPECULATING ABOUT CAUSES OR EFFECTS
Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies (Annotated Essay)
READINGS
*Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Patterns Of Death In The South Still Show The Outlines Of Slavery
*C Thi Nguyen, Escape the Echo Chamber
Nicholas Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Sendhil Mullainathan, The Mental Strain of Making Do with Less
Clayton Pangelinan, #socialnetworking: Why It’s Really So Popular (Student Essay)
A GUIDE TO WRITING ESSAYS SPECULATING ABOUT CAUSES OR EFFECTS
Writing Your Draft
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
10 PROPOSAL TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
Rhetorical Situations for Proposals
A GUIDE TO READING PROPOSALS
*Alice Wong, The Last Straw (Annotated Essay)
READINGS
Harold Meyerson, How to Raise Americans’ Wages
*Maryanne Wolf, Skim Reading is the New Normal
William F. Shughart II, Why Not a Football Degree?
Kelly D. Brownell and Thomas R. Frieden, Ounces of Prevention — The Public Policy Case for Taxes on Sugared Beverages
*James Benge, Adapting to the Disappearance of Honeybees (Student Essay)
A GUIDE TO WRITING PROPOSALS
Writing Your Draft
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
11 Multi-Genre Writing: Pulling it all together
Rhetorical Situations for Multi-Genre Writing
A GUIDE TO READING MULTI-GENRE ESSAYS
*Atul Gawande, The Heroism of Incremental Care
READINGS
*Wesley Morris, Who Gets to Decide What Belongs in the Canon
*Phil Christman, On Being Midwestern: The Burden of Normality
*Tajja Isen, How Can We Expand the Way We Write About Our Identities
*Jonathan Jones, Leonardo v Rembrandt: Who’s the Greatest
*Aru Terbor, A Deeper Look at Empathetic and Altruistic Behavior (Student Essay)
A GUIDE TO WRITING multi-genre essays
Writing Your Draft
Reviewing and Improving the Draft
12 STRATEGIES FOR RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION
PLANNING A RESEARCH PROJECT
Analyzing Your Rhetorical Situation and Setting a Schedule
Choosing a Topic and Getting an Overview
Focusing Your Topic and Drafting Research Questions
Establishing a Research Log
Creating a Working Bibliography
Annotating Your Working Bibliography
Taking Notes on Your Sources
FINDING SOURCES
Searching Library Catalogs and Databases
Searching for Government Documents and Statistical Information
Searching for Websites and Interactive Sources
CONDUCTING FIELD RESEARCH
Conducting Observational Studies
Conducting Interviews
Conducting Surveys
EVALUATING SOURCES
Choosing Relevant Sources
Choosing Reliable Sources
USING SOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR IDEAS
Synthesizing Sources
Acknowledging Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
Using Information from Sources to Support Your Claims
CITING AND DOCUMENTING SOURCES IN MLA Style
Using In-Text Citations
Creating a List of Works Cited
CITING AND DOCUMENTING SOURCES IN APA Style
Using In-Text Citations
Creating a List of References
Index to Methods of Development
Index of Authors, Titles, and Terms
Rise B. Axelrod
Rise B. Axelrod is McSweeney Professor of Rhetoric and Teaching Excellence, Emeritus, at the University of California, Riverside, where she was also director of English Composition. She has previously been professor of English at California State University, San Bernardino; director of the College Expository Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder; and assistant director of the Third College (now Thurgood Marshall College) Composition Program at the University of California, San Diego. She is the co-author, with Charles R. Cooper, of the best-selling textbooks The St. Martin's Guide to Writing and The Concise St. Martin's Guide to Writing, as well as Reading Critically, Writing Well.
Charles R. Cooper
Charles R. Cooper, was emeritus professor at the University of California, San Diego until his passing in 2017. He served as coordinator of the Third College (now Thurgood Marshall College) Composition Program at the University of California, San Diego, and co-director of the San Diego Writing Project, one of the National Writing Project Centers. He advised the National Assessment of Educational Progress writing study and coordinated the development of California's first statewide writing assessment. He taught at the University of California, Riverside; the State University of New York at Buffalo; and the University of California, San Diego. Co-editor, with Lee Odell, of Evaluating Writing and Research on Composing: Points of Departure, and he was co-author, with Rise Axelrod, of the best-selling textbooks The St. Martin's Guide to Writing and The Concise St. Martin's Guide to Writing, as well as Reading Critically, Writing Well.
Ellen Carillo
Ellen C. Carillo is a Professor of English at the University of Connecticut and the writing program coordinator at its Waterbury Campus where she teaches writing and literature courses. She is the author of Securing a Place for Reading in Composition: The Importance of Teaching for Transfer; A Writer’s Guide to Mindful Reading; Teaching Readers in Post-Truth America; The Hidden Inequities in Labor-Based Contract Grading; and the MLA Guide to Digital Literacy, as well as the editor or co-editor of several collections.
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