The Compact Reader

PART ONE: A COMPACT GUIDE TO READING AND WRITING
1 READING       
Reading Attentively
Reading Critically      
Analyzing a Sample Essay
*Toni Morrison, The Work You Do, The Person You Are
Reading Visuals
Visual Image: Father and Daughter, photograph by Clay Benskin
 
2 DEVELOPING AN ESSAY
Getting Started
Forming a Thesis        
Drafting
     
3 REVISING     
Reading Your Own Work Critically
Using a Revision Checklist
Clara Marquez’s Revised Draft

4 EDITING
Checking for Common Errors
Making Sentences Clear and Effective  
Choosing the Best Words
Using an Editing Checklist
Clara Marquez’s Editing and Final Draft
*Clara Marquez, A Fair Balance (student essay)

PART TWO:  SHORT ESSAYS BY METHOD AND THEME
5 NARRATION: Facing Fear    
Reading Narration
Analyzing Narration in Paragraphs   
*David Treuer, from The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee         
Michael Ondaatje, from Running in the Family
Developing a Narrative Essay        
Langston Hughes, Salvation       
Jennifer Finney Boylan, In the Early Morning Rain  
*Eric Rowley, A Flight to Remember (student essay)  
Additional Writing Topics                             

6 DESCRIPTION:  Experiencing a Sense of Place               
Reading Description                                  
Analyzing Description in Paragraphs               
Joan Didion, from South and West               
*Pam Houston, from Deep Creek         
Developing a Descriptive Essay
*Maisha M. Prome, Momentum (student essay)
*Dagoberto Gilb, The Quake That Rocked Mexico City, and Brought Its People Together
Amy Tan, The Darkest Moment of My Life                                              
Additional Writing Topics 
        
7 EXAMPLE:  Seeking Education                
Reading Examples                         
Analyzing Examples in Paragraphs                                                  
*Gish Jen, from The Girl at the Baggage Claim           
*Jimmy Santiago Baca, from Stories from the Edge                
Developing an Essay by Example    
Perri Klass, She’s Your Basic LOL in NAD                
David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day                        
Olivia Melendez, The Chinese Kindergartener (student essay)         
Additional Writing Topics 

8 DIVISION OR ANALYSIS: Looking at Popular Culture        
Reading Division or Analysis 
Analyzing Division or Analysis in Paragraphs   
*Andy Mulvihill, from Action Park     
Luci Tapahonso, from Sign Language  
Developing an Essay by Division or Analysis
*Dan Kois, It’s Time for the Muppets to Give a Different Couple the Spotlight               
Leslie Jamison, Sublime, Revised 
Saanya Ojha, Plastic Perfection: A Closer Look at Barbie (student essay)
Additional Writing Topics 

9 CLASSIFICATION: Confronting Stereotypes                    
Reading Classification                              
Analyzing Classification in Paragraphs                          
Scaachi Koul, from One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter         
*Joy Harjo, from Crazy Brave               
Developing an Essay by Classification             
*Mindy Kaling, Types of Women in Romantic Comedies Who Are Not Real
Jonathan R. Gould, Jr., The People Next Door (student essay)        
Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, White  
Additional Writing Topics

10 PROCESS ANALYSIS: Working Together           
Reading Process Analysis      
Analyzing Process Analysis in Paragraphs
*Edward O. Wilson, from Letters to a Young Scientist
*Trevor Noah, from Born a Crime
Developing an Essay by Process Analysis        
*Mary Roach, Forty-Two Minutes and Holding . . .
*Lauren Collins, Fragrant Harvest
*Kristen Shaul, Coffee (student essay)
Additional Writing Topics 

11 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST: Feeling at Home         
Reading Comparison and Contrast 
Analyzing Comparison and Contrast in Paragraphs 
Maya Angelou, from Letter to My Daughter
Firoozeh Dumas, from Laughing without an Accent
Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, Souvenirs                  
Brian Jaehyung Kim, Double Identity (student essay)         
Barbara Lazear Ascher, The Box Man           
Additional Writing Topics

12 DEFINITION: Pursuing Happiness              
Reading Definition     
Analyzing Definition in Paragraphs              
Carlin Flora, from “The Pursuit of Happiness”   
*Zadie Smith, from “Joy”                                                
Developing an Essay by Definition
*Peter Singer, Chimpanzees Are People, Too
Jessica Sayuri Boissy, One Cup at a Time (student essay)    
Julia Alvarez, The Practice of Gracias            
Additional Writing Topics

13 CAUSE-AND-EFFECT ANALYSIS:  Understanding Science and Technology
Reading Cause-and-Effect Analysis
Analyzing Causes and Effects in Paragraphs                  
Ross Andersen, from “Pleistocene Park”
Diane Ackerman, from The Human Age
Developing an Essay by Cause-and-Effect Analysis
*Richard Preston, What New Things Are Going to Kill Me?   
Derek Thompson, The Making of Hits 
Kaitlyn Haskie, A Paradigm Shift: Indigenous Peoples in the New Millennium (student essay)  
Additional Writing Topics

14 ARGUMENT AND PERSUASION: Protesting Racism      
Reading Argument and Persuasion
Analyzing Argument and Persuasion in Paragraphs
*Jose Antonio Vargas, from Dear America
Martin Luther King, Jr., from “Letter from Birmingham Jail”                            
Developing an Argumentative and Persuasive Essay                              
Zoe Krey, Questionable Coverage: Police Brutality Is Only Part of the Problem (student essay)
Brent Staples, Confederate Memorials as Instruments of Racial Terror 
Ernest B. Furgurson, The End of History?   
*Sarah Vowell, America’s Statue Wars Are a Family Feud
Additional Writing Topics 

Part Three: Brief Notes on Writing Research Papers
15 WORKING WITH SOURCES  
Responding to Readings              
Researching a Subject            
Writing a Research Paper         

16 CITING SOURCES IN MLA STYLE           
Documentation Models    
Sample Research Paper
Jarrod Ballo, Women and Children First (student essay)

Glossary                                                                                                   
Index of Authors and Titles
Guide to the Elements of Writing