The Contemporary Writer (Full) - Hardcover

This book helps readers become comfortable, confident, and competent writers who can function in any writing situation by analyzing the audience and context, clarifying their own ideas, and writing clear prose. It focuses on fundamental concepts and practices shared by all prose writers--generating ideas, organizing material, drafting and revising--while demonstrating, through examples, readings, and writing exercises, how to apply these skills in academic, workplace, and personal writing tasks. Provides instruction and exercises on the use of computers as writing tools. Reading Widely, Carefully, And Critically. Discovering A Purpose And Developing A Thesis. Gathering Ideas And Information. Building Strong Paragraphs And Essays. Including Details, Examples, And Evidence. Choosing Appropriate Words And Style. Revising Writing. Understanding Rhetorical Strategies. Narrative. Description. Illustration. Process Analysis. Casual Analysis. Comparison And Contrast. Classification. Definition. Argument. Writing Researched Papers. Doing Research In Libraries And On The Internet. Documenting Sources. Writing Essay Exams. Formatting And Designing College And Workplace Writing. Giving Oral Presentations In College And At Work. Handbook: Sentence Structure. Usage. Punctuation. Guidelines For Speakers Of Other Languages. For anyone who wants to become more comfortable, confident, and competent in any writing situation--academic, workplace, and personal.

PREFACE

TO THE INSTRUCTOR

Effective writing, whether academic, workplace, or personal, shares the same process and the same characteristics. Whether writing a research paper for an economics course, a report on office absenteeism, or a letter about a billing error to a credit card company, writers must consider their purpose and audience, gather information, organize ideas, express themselves clearly, revise, edit, and proofread their work.

College composition courses have traditionally limited their content to academic reading and writing, as if the demands of college composition were unrelated to the reading and writing students do in their professional and personal lives. Traditional rhetorics assume either that composition instruction is relevant only to the academic realm, or that students will instinctively apply what they learn in their 6 composition courses to the writing they do at work and in their personal lives. Students, however, frequently view their composition courses as isolated both from the typical demands of their college curricula and from the writing tasks they do at work or at home. Because this text is intended for use in college composition courses, it focuses on instruction and practice in the conventions of academic writing. However, each chapter also demonstrates, through examples, exercises, and assignments, that the techniques effective in academic writing are equally effective in workplace and personal writing.

During recent years, the demographics of current college students have shifted: In two-year colleges the average student is about twenty-seven years old, has a job, and attends college part time; in four-year colleges, the average age is approaching twenty-one years old, and an increasing number of students work, are married, and have children. The instruction, examples, and assignments in this text are designed to be both useful and relevant to contemporary students.

Each chapter focuses on one trait of effective writing and demonstrates its applicability to academic, professional, and personal writing. In every chapter, discussions, examples, exercises, and assignments reflect workplace and personal as well as academic writing. Readings are tied to the chapter's topic; for example, the chapter on purpose contains readings intended to record, inform, and persuade, and the chapter on research contains readings about research. Each chapter concludes with five writing assignments—three academic assignments drawn from various disciplines, one workplace writing assignment, and one personal assignment. These assignments reinforce the composition instruction and reflect the readings. Although the topic of constructing essays is not discussed thoroughly until Chapter 5, guided assignments allow students to begin writing well-constructed essays in the first chapter. Because the needs, interests, and skill levels of students vary widely, the text provides abundant choices of readings, writing assignments, and collaborative and computer exercises. No professor would expect students to undertake all of the assignments or exercises; however, every professor should find ample material suitable for any class.

Because students cannot write well unless they think clearly, The Contemporary Writer promotes clear thinking in two ways. First, students cannot be passive learners because the text provides activities that require them to manipulate the information they read. Second, the text's assignments require that students think critically and creatively and gather fresh information before writing.

Finally, The Contemporary Writer reflects real writing in two additional ways: The incorporation of technology and the presence of collaborative writing. Almost all writers today rely on computers for research and writing. This text assumes that students use computers to draft and revise papers and that they seek information online. To help them use computers as something other than electronic typewriters, the text contains computer strategies for writing and computer-based assignments. Most writers also rely on the advice and support of colleagues, friends, and family. This text encourages students to work collaboratively and provides discussion topics, exercises, and writing assignments for students to work on in groups.

Students take seriously the studies they deem relevant and useful. The Contemporary Writer is designed to make composition instruction useful and relevant in students' academic, professional, and personal lives.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL FOR INSTRUCTORS AND STUDENTS

Unique Online Study Resource...the Companion Website™
www.prenhall.com/troiano
This website provides additional reinforcement of the text's content while providing a collection of supplementary resources to guide the student through the process of writing in academic, personal, and workplace settings.

Each chapter contains:

• Writing Workshop activities guide students through the writing process.
• Self-graded questions reinforce the chapter content and test comprehension.
• Working Together modules reinforce collaborative learning through various activities.
• Reading comprehension questions for in text and additional on-line readings.
• Timed essay exams.
• Links throughout the website to provide topics for writing, help with research, and key resources for writing.
• Additional modules on documenting sources, oral presentations, and document design.

Daedalus® Online
Prentice Hall is proud to offer a customized version of Daedalus Online designed around the structure and organization of The Contemporary Writer offering you consistency in your writing program. Developed by writing teachers for writing teachers, this web-based program focuses on teaching and learning by means of interactive, written discourse-encouraging exploration of the writing process, collaborative work, peer review, critical thinking, and communication.

This program features:

• Invent
• Interchange
• Reference Links
• Discussion Board
• E-Mail
• Respond
• Document Manager

Access to Daedalus Online is available at a discounted price when packaged with The Contemporary Writer. Learn more about Daedalus Online at www.prenhall.com/english

WEB CT and Blackboard courses for The Contemporary Writer
These complete online courses include all of the functionality and content from the companion website along with additional material for students and instructors. The site includes lecture notes, self-check quizzes, additional writing models, bulletin board/chat topics, and more. These courses are available at a discounted price when you adopt the Troiano text.

FREE when packaged with any Prentice Hall English textbook.
Contact your local representative for details.

• The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, Third Edition
  An updated and expanded edition contains more than 115,000 definitions, covering current phrases, slang, and scientific terms, and including advice on usage and grammar, notes on etymology, foreign words and phrases, and a world gazetteer. It is a brief paperback dictionary that is available FREE when packaged with any Prentice Hall English textbook.
  ISBN: 0-13-032870-7
• English on the Internet 2001: Evaluating online sources
  Contains information on how to get online, popular search engines, the most useful English sites, a glossary of terms and, of course the latest MLA documentation guidelines for electronic sources.
  ISBN: 0-13-022073-6
• Guide to Research and Documentation: Prentice Hall Resources for Writing by Kirk G. Rasmussen—Newly Updated With 2000 MLA
  This useful booklet provides students with research and documentation in a paperback format designed for ease of use and portability. A handy guide, it features the most recent information on MLA, APA, CBE, and CM formats, and covers the research process.
  ISBN: 0-13-081627-2
• Model Student Essays by Mark Gallaher
  This anthology features 25 student essays collected from around the country which are organized into three broad categories: personal experience, explain and inform, and argue a position.
  ISBN: 0-13-645516-6
• New! The Writer's Guide Series
  Provides students and instructor's in-depth coverage on contemporary topics, allowing instructors to cover relevant information based on their course structure and students' needs.
  Writer's Guide to Document & Web Design ISBN: 0-13-018929-4
  Writer's Guide to WAC & Oral Presentations ISBN: 0-13-018931-6
  Writer's Guide to Public Writing ISBN: 0-13-018932-4
• Model Research Papers for Writers 2/E by Janette Lewis
  Nine (9) additional, reproducible model research papers are contained in this supplement. They range from 10 to 12 pages and come from the following disciplines: English, Philosophy, Biology, Psychology, Sociology, Chemistry, History/Classics, and Political Science.
  ISBN: 0-13-238296-2
• The Prentice Hall/New York Times "Themes of the Times" Program
  The "Themes of the Times" program is co-sponsored by Prentice Hall and The New York Times. It is a newspaper supplement that contains current articles designed to inspire students to write.
  ISBN: 0-13-022221-6

Available to Qualified Adopters: Prentice Hall Resources for Composition

• ABC News/Prentice Hall Video Library: Composition, Volume 2
  ISBN: 0-13-149030-3
• "Profiles of a Writer" Video Series
• Computers and Writing, 2E, by Dawn Rodrigues—University of Texas at Brownsville.
  ISBN: 0-13-084034-3
• The Prentice Hall/Simon & Schuster Transparencies for Writers
  ISBN: 0-13-703209-9
• Classroom Strategies by Wendy Bishop—Florida State University
  ISBN: 0-13-572355-8
• Portfolios by Pat Belanoff—SUNY Stonybrook
  ISBN: 0-13-572322-1
• Journals by Chris Burnham—New Mexico State University
  ISBN: 0-13572348-5
• Collaborative Learning by Harvey Kail—University of Maine & John Trimbur—Worcester Polytechnic Institute
  ISBN: 0-13-572371-X
• English as a Second Language by Ruth Spack—Tufts University
  ISBN: 0-13572389-2
• Distance Education by W. Dees Stallings—University of Maryland, University College
  ISBN: 0-13-572314-0
• Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum 2E by Art Young—Clemson University
  ISBN: 013-081650-7

Special Offers

• Takenote!
  A complete information management tool for people who write research papers. TakeNote! integrates note taking, outlining and bibliographic reference management software into one easy-to-use CD-ROM package. Just $6 net when packaged with any text or $24 standalone. ISBN 0-13-022209-7
• Writer's Helper, Version 4.0 (Microsoft® Windows and Macintosh®)
  Based on the notion that software tools can be attributed to imaginative and well-organized writing, WRITER'S HELPER offers a collection of unique ' nineteen prewriting activities and 18 revising tools to help students through the writing process. Available for $10 when packaged with this text.

TO THE STUDENT

College composition does not typically rank high among students' favorite courses—any students approach college composition courses with emotions ranging indifference to anxiety or even dread. One reason for students' negative ode toward composition courses is that writing is difficult. No composition can make writing easy; however, The Contemporary Writer does provide helpful information and useful strategies for writing.

A second reason that many students dislike composition courses is that the courses appear to have few practical benefits. The goal of The Contemporary Writer is to improve students' writing in their academic, professional, and personal lives. The text reflects the real writing that people do, not only in their e courses, but also on their jobs and in their personal lives, and provides information, guidelines, and practice for the writing people do in college, at work, and at home.

Sometimes students' reluctance stems from qualms they have about themselves as writers as well as doubts they have about the purpose and usefulness of composition courses. Dispelling a few myths is a good starting point.

ELIMINATING MYTHS ABOUT WRITERS AND WRITING

MYTHS ABOUT WRITERS

Myth #1: Writers are born, not made.
No one is born a pianist, a golfer, a mechanic, a chef, or a writer. As people grow and learn, they develop different abilities, but people become experts only at the skills they spend time practicing. Just as no one can be a talented golfer without spending endless hours on the links, no one can become a talented writer without writing. Writers are not special people; they are merely people who write often and who, like pianists or golfers, strive to improve their skills.

Myth #2: Journalists, novelists, and poets are writers—not ordinary college students or working people.
Everyone who writes is a writer, whether they write books for publication, papers for college courses, memos at work, or e-mail messages to friends. Writing well is a key to success in college courses and on the job; furthermore, as people progress in college or their careers, the more writing they do, and the more their success depends on their ability to write effectively and efficiently. Since most people who are successful in college and on the job are effective writers, developing expertise now will contribute to your long-term academic and professional success.

Myth #3: To write well, a person must be inspired.
Inspiration would be nice. It would make writing more exciting and easier. However, you've probably heard the expression that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. On rare occasions, a writer may suddenly be seized by an idea and dash off an inspired and excellent piece of writing. However, 99% of the time writers—even seasoned professional writers—think, plan, worry, write, change their minds and plan again, write again, and finally, after a difficult and messy process, finish a piece of writing—and then wish they'd written it slightly differently.

MYTHS ABOUT COMPOSITION COURSES

Myth #1: College composition courses are irrelevant to other college courses.
In your college composition course, you will probably be asked to keep a writer's log, respond in writing essays you read, work in groups to generate ideas and evaluate each other's writing, and revise your initial drafts. You may never be asked to repeat many of these tasks in another college course. However, the skills you gain through the writing activities in your composition course should produce major benefits in your other college courses. You will approach writing assignments with increased confidence because you'll know how to generate ideas, how to locate and incorporate supporting information, how to organize ideas effectively, and how to produce a final assignment efficiently. Composition courses not only improve your writing skills, but they also improve your reading skills, your thinking skills, and your communication skills—not a bad profit for your investmen...