Judith Nadell was Associate Professor of Communication at Rowan University (New Jersey). During her eighteen years at Rowan, she coordinated the introductory course in the Freshman Writing Sequence and served as Director of the Writing Lab.  A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Tufts University, she received a doctorate from Columbia University. With a special commitment to grassroots literacy, she founded and designed an adult literacy program, a children’s reading enrichment initiative, and a family literacy project. She is the author of Becoming a Read-Aloud Coach and Vocabulary Basics (both Townsend Press); the creator of The King School Series (also Townsend Press); the co-author of Doing Well in College (McGraw-Hill), The Longman Reader and The Longman Writer. The recipient of a New Jersey award for excellence in teaching writing, Judith Nadell lives with her co-author husband, John Langan, near Philadelphia.

Stage 1: Get an Overview of the Selection
FIRST READING: A CHECKLIST
Stage 2: Deepen Your Sense of the Selection    
SECOND READING: A CHECKLIST  
Stage 3: Evaluate the Selection
EVALUATING A SELECTION: A CHECKLIST  
Assessing Visuals in a Reading  
Assessing an Image: An Example
Assessing a Graph: An Example  
A Model Annotated Reading 

Parents are told to switch the dial if they don’t want their kids watching something on TV. But what should parents do when the entire culture warrants being switched off?

Figure 2.1 Stages of the Writing Process  
Stage 1: Prewrite  
ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE: A CHECKLIST  
Activities: Prewrite  
Stage 2: Identify the Thesis  
Activities: Identify the Thesis
Stage 3: Support the Thesis with Evidence
Activities: Support the Thesis with Evidence  
Stage 4: Organize the Evidence  
OUTLINING: A CHECKLIST
Activities: Organize the Evidence  
Stage 5: Write the First Draft
TURNING OUTLINE INTO FIRST DRAFT: A CHECKLIST
Figure 2.2 Structure of an Essay  
Activities: Write the First Draft
Stage 6: Revise the Essay  
Stage 7: Edit and Proofread  
Student Essay: “What You Don’t Know About Video Games Can Hurt You” by Caylah Francis   
Commentary  
Activity: Revise the Essay 

What Is Description?
How Description Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Description in an Essay  
Figure 3.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Description Essay  
Revision Strategies  
DESCRIPTION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST  
Student Essay: “Enduring with Dignity: Akua’s Surviving Children” by Leanna Stoufer   
Commentary
Activities: Description 

The truth of the old adage “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” is illustrated in this description of the place the author calls home. While his barrio may be considered an unattractive place by outsiders, it is beautiful to Mario Suárez because of the people who live there and the culture they embrace.

Figure 3.2 Essay Structure Diagram: ”El Hoyo” by Mario Suárez

Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, an environmentalist tours New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to assess damage and the prospects for recovery.

An Iraqi woman describes her experience as a refugee in Syria and her realization that people from all segments of Iraqi society, even if they are divided against one another in Iraq, are united and often mutually supportive when they are displaced as refugees.

With wistful affection, the author recalls the laughter and lessons of a late-afternoon gathering of women in her family.

A chance encounter with a young boy turns into an experience the narrator will never forget–one that changes the way he sees the world. 

What Is Narration?  
How Narration Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Narration in an Essay
Figure 4.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Narration Essay
Revision Strategies
NARRATION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST
Student Essay:  “Letters from Dad” by Laura Rose Dunn  
Commentary
Activities: Narration

On a Fourth of July trip to the nation’s capital, a family is confronted by an ugly truth about American life.

Figure 4.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde 

For the narrator of this story, school served as much more than a place to attain an education. As is true for many children, school provided a desperately needed escape from an unhappy home where she was often overlooked.

In the course of being “saved” during a revival meeting, a young boy’s life is changed forever.

The author relates her experiences as a worker in low-wage, blue collar jobs and reflects on how they changed her, but not necessarily in a good way.

A woman gives a ride to a 90-year-old hitchhiker who can't remember where she lives but doesn't want her son to find out she's lost again.

What Is Exemplification? 
How Exemplification Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Exemplification in an Essay
Figure 5.1 Development Diagram: Writing an Exemplification Essay
Revision Strategies 
EXEMPLIFICATION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST 
Student Essay: “ Professors Open Up About the Benefits of a College Degree” by Charlene Adams  
Commentary 
Activities: Exemplification

Where have all the children gone? According to Hymowitz, they’ve been hijacked by a culture that urges them to become teenagers at ten. From clothes and hairstyles to sex, drugs, and violence, today’s “tweens” are hurled prematurely into the adult world.

Figure 5.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “Tweens: Ten Going On Sixteen” by Kay S. Hymowitz 

While many think of autism as a disability, the author and educator Temple Grandin considers the condition an asset that allows her to see the world in a way that would not be possible if she were “normal.”

Staples describes his own experiences as a black man being avoided in public spaces because of his race.

Forced to share grim news with her children, the author reflects on life’s fragility–and its beauty.

An Indian woman recounts how every one of her scent-memories is associated with a life lesson taught by her mother.

What Is Division-Classification?
How Division-Classification Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Division-Classification in an Essay
Figure 6.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Division-Classification Essay
Revision Strategies
DIVISION-CLASSIFICATION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST
Student Essay: “The Benchers, the Nappers, the Jellyfish, and the Musicians” by Catherine Gispert 
Commentary
Activities: Division-Classification 

Figure 6.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan

“You look great!” you tell a friend who resembles something the cat dragged in. “The check’s in the mail!” you say, knowing your account is empty as a drum. Stephanie Ericsson explores how, when, and why we lie.

According to Zinsser, many students concentrate almost exclusively on the practical — and miss some of the most important parts of college life.

Human capital, necessary for a just, prosperous society, is more than skills and knowledge. It includes cultural, social, moral, cognitive, and aspirational capital.

The author discusses a Pew Research Center report that reveals how teens are tiring of Facebook and turning to other social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr  to stay constantly connected to each other.

What Is Process Analysis?
How Process Analysis Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Process Analysis in an Essay
Figure 7.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Process Analysis Essay
Revision Strategies
PROCESS ANALYSIS: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST
Student Essay: “Don’t Write Poetry–Be a Poet” by Jared Mosley 
Commentary
Activities: Process Analysis 

The writer rids her husband of some of his annoying habits by using an animal training technique; at the end, he’s using the same technique on her.

Figure 7.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “What Shamu Taught Me About A Happy Marriage” by Amy Sutherland    

After serving in the U.S. military in Iraq and returning to college at Georgetown University, Alex Horton offers advice that can help other student veterans as they cope with college life and gives non-veterans insight into the challenges veterans face.

An English professor analyzes a student essay, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Shoddy service and malfunctioning products afflict us all, but some of us complain more effectively than others.

For some, keeping secrets is less about the desire to hide the truth and more about the need to avoid the pain that talking about the past summons up.

What Is Comparison-Contrast?
How Comparison-Contrast Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Comparison-Contrast in an Essay
Figure 8.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Comparison-Contrast Essay
Revision Strategies
COMPARISON-CONTRAST: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST
Student Essay: “Buying a Cross-Country Mountain Bike” by Blake Norman 
Commentary
Activities: Comparison-Contrast 

The author compares e-mail styles and strategies in America and Europe–and declares a preference for one over the other.

Figure 8.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “Euromail and Amerimail” by Eric Weiner 

Josie Appleton explores the diminishing taboo associated with tattoos and body piercings and compares the various reasons many individuals of all ages and from all walks of life use these procedures to modify their bodies.

Does the widespread popularity of American icons and products such as Mickey Mouse and the Big Mac indicate that the world is becoming more Americanized, or do other cultures attach their own significance and meaning to the things they borrow from us? Wasserstrom, a professor who specializes in Chinese history, explores this idea.

Why do men tend to be unconcerned about their appearance while women seem obsessed with how they look? Humorist Dave Barry advances an interesting theory.

Which, the author asks, is a more effective approach to punishment — a few moments of pain or many years of imprisonment? You decide.

What Is Cause-Effect?
How Cause-Effect Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Cause-Effect in an Essay
Figure 9.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Cause-Effect Essay
Revision Strategies
CAUSE-EFFECT: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST
Student Essay: “Party with a Purpose” by Erica Zwieg 
Commentary
Activities: Cause-Effect 

Is urban sprawl wiping out wildlife? Shaw explains how many wild animal species are finding new living environments in the expansion of suburbs.

Figure 9.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “Nature in the Suburbs” by Jane S. Shaw

The veil, or hijab, a head covering worn by many Islamic women and often regarded  as a symbol of oppression, was predicted to become a thing of the past by the twenty-first century. Instead, it has witnessed a comeback, especially among educated, progressive Muslim women. Ahmed explores this phenomenon and her own changing attitude towards the veil.

By taking control of one’s body, this celebrated dancer explains, it is possible to take control of one’s life.

Williams explores the effects on American society of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

“Woman attacked; bystanders ignore her screams.” We read such headlines and shake our heads in despair. What kind of people, we ask, could react so callously? The answer may be–people just like us.

What Is Definition?
How Definition Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Definition in an Essay
Figure 10.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Definition Essay
Revision Strategies
DEFINITION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST
Student Essay: “‘Tweet, Tweedle-lee-dee (118 Characters Left)” by Olivia Fletcher
Commentary
Activities: Definition

The attitudes and values of “Gen Nexters”–those 18 to 25–seem contradictory, but perhaps they actually do make sense.
Figure 10.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” by Ann Hulbert 

Although piracy has long been considered a crime, there is no complete explanation in U.S. law of what exactly piracy entails. So who, then, is a pirate?

This selection explores the changing definition of female beauty, from the days when big was considered beautiful to the present, when “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” is the prevailing mantra.

Asserting that the names used to label individuals play an important role in their identities, Comas-Díaz creates a taxonomy of the words used to identify members of the Hispanic/Latino population and defines each term.  

Raspberry looks at the expectations that many of his fellow African Americans have for themselves–and sees a serious problem.

What Is Argumentation-Persuasion?
How Argumentation-Persuasion Fits Your Purpose and Audience
Strategies for Using Argumentation-Persuasion in an Essay
Figure 11.1 Development Diagram: Writing an Argumentation-Persuasion Essay
QUESTIONS FOR USING TOULMIN LOGIC: A CHECKLIST
Revision Strategies
ARGUMENTATION-PERSUASION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST
Student Essay: “It’s About Time, Augusta” by Lydia Gumm  
Commentary
Activities: Argumentation-Persuasion

A noted scholar explores the difference between invoking the First Amendment and simply exercising good judgment in academic settings.

Figure 11.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “Free-Speech Follies” by Stanley Fish 

This author believes that the fear of receiving a failing grade can go a long way toward getting the attention of nonachieving students.

The author believes that in order for farming to be sustainable, it must follow practices set by ecosystems and human communities, not set by the industrial system.

With scathing irony, this celebrated writer exposes the violent nature of the lowest creature on Earth: the human being.

Every year high school students die in car accidents when other teens are driving. What can be done to stop these tragedies?

The author contends that teaching is geared toward the learning style of girls, which leaves boys at a disadvantage.

A gender studies researcher believes that if boys seem to perform worse than girls in school, important factors such as race and class may be at work — not a bias against boys in general.

To encourage people to donate organs, the author proposes limiting the receipt of donated organs to only those who agree to donate themselves.

The food columnist and popular TV personality Mark Bittman takes a stand against hyperprocessed food that he believes is making Americans obese, advocating for government programs to help Americans gain control of their eating habits.

As leading researchers,  Marlow and Abdukadirov make the argument that there is no easy answer to the issue of obesity in the United States and that individuals–not governments–must take the initiative in combating this serious issue.

The Patterns in Action: During the Writing Process
The Patterns in Action: In an Essay 572
Student Essay: “Dating Then and Now: A Convoluted Mess” by Houston Barber 

Hillary Rodham Clinton, considered by many to be the leading female political figure in the United States, makes an impassioned plea for women’s rights around the globe.

America’s most influential civil rights leader pleads eloquently for a drastic change in the way that governments pursue world peace.

Essayist Didion turns her curious gaze on the wedding industry of Las Vegas, a city created to gratify the illusions of hopeful gamblers, whether at the roulette wheel or in love.

In this classic eighteenth-century satirical essay, the Irish writer Jonathan Swift proposes an unthinkable solution to the starvation that is claiming the lives of thousands of his fellow countrymen.

Evaluating Source Materials
EVALUATING ARTICLES AND BOOKS: A CHECKLIST
EVALUATING INTERNET MATERIALS: A CHECKLIST
Analyzing and Synthesizing Source Material
ANALYZING AND SYNTHESIZING SOURCE MATERIAL: A CHECKLIST
Using Quotation, Summary, and Paraphrasing Without Plagiarizing
USING QUOTATION, SUMMARY, AND PARAPHRASE: A CHECKLIST
Avoiding Plagiarism 
Integrating Sources into Your Writing
INTEGRATING SOURCES INTO YOUR WRITING: A CHECKLIST
Documenting Sources: MLA Style
How to Document: MLA In-Text References
USING MLA PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES: A CHECKLIST
How to Document: MLA List of Works Cited
Citing Print Sources–Books
Citing Print Sources–Periodicals
Citing Sources Found on a Website
Citing Sources Found Through an Online Database or Scholarly Project
Citing Other Common Sources 

1 Fragments
2 Comma Splices and Run-ons
3 Faulty Subject-Verb Agreement
4 Faulty Pronoun Agreement
5 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
6 Faulty Parallelism
7 Comma Misuse
8 Apostrophe Misuse
9 Confusing Homonyms
10 Misuse of Italics and Underlining 

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