Reading Critically, Writing Well

Contents by Theme 
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