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Readings for Writers (w/ APA7E & MLA9E Updates), 16th Edition

Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell, Anthony C. Winkler

  • Copyright 2020
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2019-01-01T00:00:00+0000')}}
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Readings for Writers (w/ APA7E & MLA9E Updates) 16th Edition by Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell/Anthony C. Winkler
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Overview

READINGS FOR WRITERS is the preeminent rhetorical reader for the freshman composition course. This bestseller continues its tradition of providing comprehensive coverage of the writing and research process, while also offering a wide variety of appealing readings. With more than 60 selections from a broad range of topics and genres, this text offers something to spark excitement in any writer.

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Meet the Authors

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Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell

Born in Belgium, the daughter of an American minister, Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell had moved from Brussels to Paris to Bern, Switzerland, by the time she was seven years old. In Bern, she attended the Freies Gymnasium and spoke not only fluent French and German but also English, which was the language spoken to her by her American parents. After World War II, Dr. McCuen-Metherell's parents sent her and her brother to Pacific Union College (in California's Napa Valley), where she received a B. A. in English. She taught English and French in high school for several years and then took night classes at the University of Southern California, where she earned an M.A. and Ph.D. While working on her doctorate, she was hired to teach English at Glendale Community College and later to serve as Dean of the Evening College. A chance meeting in 1973 with Anthony C. Winkler, a successful novelist, led to a literary partnership that has produced 15 coauthored textbooks used at colleges and universities across the United States.

Anthony C. Winkler

Born in Kingston, Jamaica West Indies, Anthony C. Winkler was educated in Jamaica at Excelsior College, Mount Alvernia Academy and Cornwall College, the last two being in Montego Bay. He was also educated at Citrus Community College, Glendora, California. Winkler taught briefly at Pasadena City College and for a year at Moneague Teachers College in Saint Anne, Jamaica, an experience chronicled in GOING HOME TO TEACH (1995). From 1968 to 1975 Winkler had sales territories as a bookman for Appleton Century Crofts textbook publishers, and later for Scott, Foresman. In 1969 he decided he could write textbooks as well as anyone. Through a chance meeting with the sales representative of another company, he submitted the manuscript POETRY AS SYSTEM and was offered a contract for its publication. Eventually, he met Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell and the two became textbook writers and collaborators. Over the years they have produced more than a dozen textbooks, most on rhetoric and writing. In addition to Winkler's textbooks, his body of work includes, among other books: THE PAINTED CANOE (novel, 1983); THE LUNATIC (novel, 1987); THE GREAT YACHT RACE (novel, 1992); DOG WAR (novel, 2006); TRUST THE DARKNESS: MY LIFE AS A WRITER (autobiography, 2008); THE BURGLARY (play, premiered in Toronto in 2005); THE LUNATIC (movie, filmed in 1991); THE ANNIHILATION OF FISH (movie, 1999); and BOB MARLEY, AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT BY HIS MOTHER (biography, 1996, with Cedella Booker).

What's New

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  • Nine new readings include selections by Daniel Defoe, Sojourner Truth, Stephen Jay Gould, Joan Didion, Amy Tan, Elizabeth Kolbert, Colson Whitehead, John McWhorter and Adele Peters.
  • Readings for Writers 16th edition now incorporates a new book format which affords easy and efficient use. Part I: concentrates on the core skills necessary for any good writer. Part II: features professional and student writing and explores the basic modes of writing. Part III: dives into thematic writing and imagery about important themes in today’s world. Part IV: gives key concepts that help writers develop their skills. Part V: lists some common punctuation tips that will enable students to be cognizant of how they write. Part VI: details key information about MLA and APA style and how to write a research paper.
  • MindTap offers vocabulary and reading comprehension auto-gradable quizzes to give students a sense of their progress.
  • MindTap for READINGS FOR WRITERS allows you to personalize your teaching through a Learning Path built with key student objectives and your syllabus in mind. MindTap includes an ebook version of the print book, multimedia, apps and activities that take students up the levels of learning, from basic knowledge to analysis, evaluation and synthesis. You can add activities, PowerPoints, videos and Google docs or select from the available content, and rearrange content if you wish. Analytics and reports provide a snapshot of class progress, time in course, engagement and completion rates.

Features

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  • The Insite App in MindTap provides students with an easy way to upload papers for peer review, your comments and if you desire, an originality check. You can comment on student papers using prepopulated comments or write your own; create your own library of comments that you can then reuse; or respond to student papers in a video, which is especially useful in an online course to personalize your interaction with students.
  • Students will discover more than 60 readings from multiple genres, including poems, newspaper columns, diary entries, formal arguments, student essays, biographies, speeches and excerpts from books, paragraphs, emails and short stories.
  • The authors' unique labeling system--which categorizes selections as offering advice, a topic for discussion, an example or an issue for critical thinking and debate--gives students a roadmap for using each reading effectively.
  • To illustrate the planning and forethought required of successful writers, each selection is introduced by a rhetorical thumbnail, a biographical note about the author and a contextual note about the subject being discussed.
  • Each Part III includes Issues for Critical Thinking and Debate to jumpstart students' thinking about relevant topics--self-image, terrorism, bullying, drugs and society, immigration, online dating, racism, the status of women, homelessness and new technologies--ensuring lively classroom discussions. Each issue includes readings and images from a variety of perspectives.
  • Punctuation Workshop features give students practice with the most common punctuation marks, such as commas, semicolons and dashes.
  • Student Corner features showcase the development of real student essays, along with their commentary and corresponding writing tips for other writers.

Table of Contents

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PART I: READING AND WRITING: FROM READING TO WRITING.
1. Reading Critically.
Kinds of Reading. Steps to Critical Reading. Read Actively. Demystify the Writer. Understand What You Read. Imagine an Opposing Point of View for All Opinions. Look for Biases and Hidden Assumptions. Separate Emotion from Fact. If the Issue Is New to You, Look up the Facts. Use Insights from One Subject to Illuminate or Correct Another. Evaluate the Evidence. Ponder the Values behind a Claim. Recognize Logical Fallacies. Don't Be Seduced by Bogus Claims. Annotate Your Reading. Finally, Be Sure You Understand the Writer's Opening Context. Answers to Critical Reading Questions on Andy Rooney.
2. Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasion.
Road Map to Rhetoric. Grammar and Rhetoric. The Importance of Good Grammar. Letting the Habits of Literate Writers Be the Final Referee. Exercises. The Importance of Rhetoric. Audience and Purpose. The Internal Reader/Editor. Levels of English. Writing as a Process. Writing about Visual Images. Writing on Social Networks. Advice. What--and How--to Write When You Have No Time to Write / Donald Murray. Examples. Ain't I a Woman? / Sojourner Truth. MindTap Only: I Have a Dream / Martin Luther King, Jr. Chapter Writing Assignments. Pointer from a Pro: Write Often. Real-Life Student Writing. Email from Samoa.
3. Synthesis: Incorporating Outside Sources.
Road Map to Synthesis. Building Blocks of Incorporating Outside Sources. Paraphrase. Exercises. Summary. Exercises. Quotation. Exercises. Guidelines for Effectively Synthesizing Outside Sources. Guidelines for Thinking and Reading Critically. Guidelines for Improving Your Use of Outside Sources. Writers at Work: Strategies for Incorporating Outside Sources. Writers at Work: Using Paraphrase and Summary. Writers at Work: Using Quotation. Chapter Writing Assignment: Writing a Synthesis Essay. Sources. The American Dream Is Dead: Here's Where It Went / Adele Peters. By Our Own Bootstraps / W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm. Long Live the American Dream / Shikha Dalmia. Essay Prompts. Suggestions for Additional Reading.
4. The Writer's Voice.
Road Map to Writer's Voice. Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? Vocabulary. Syntax. Attitude. Exercises. Advice. Tone: The Writers' Voice in the Reader's Mind / Mort Castle. Examples. Salvation / Langston Hughes. Mother Tongue / Amy Tan. Chapter Writing Assignments. Real-Life Student Writing. A Thank-You Note to an Aunt.
5. The Writer's Thesis.
Road Map to Thesis. Finding Your Thesis. Key Words in the Thesis. Characteristics of a Good Thesis. Nine Errors to Avoid in Composing a Thesis. The Explicit Versus the Implicit Thesis. Exercises. Advice. The Thesis / Sheridan Baker. Examples. Is Texting Killing the English Language? / John McWhorter. The Median Isn't the Message / Stephen Jay Gould. Chapter Writing Assignments. Real-Life Student Writing. A Eulogy to a Friend Killed in a Car Wreck.
6. Organizing Ideas.
Road Map to Organizing. Organizing the Short Essay. Organizing the Long Essay. Planning by Listing Supporting Materials. Organizing with a Formal Outline. Exercises. Advice. Write to Be Understood / Jim Staylor. Examples. Rules for Aging / Roger Rosenblatt. That Time of Year (Sonnet 73) / William Shakespeare. Chapter Writing Assignments. Real-Life Student Writing. Note from a Graduate Student to a Department Secretary.
7. Developing Good Paragraphs.
Road Map to Paragraphs. Parts of the Paragraph. Supporting Details. Topic Sentence Developed over More Than One Paragraph. Position of the Topic Sentence. Paragraph Patterns. Characteristics of a Well-designed Paragraph. Writing Your Own Paragraphs. Exercises. Advice. Writing Successful Paragraphs / A. M. Tibbetts and Charlene Tibbetts. Examples. Paragraphs with the Topic Sentence at the Beginning. From the Lessons of the Past / Edith Hamilton. Paragraphs with the Topic Sentence at the End. The 'Loser Edit' That Awaits Us All / Colin Whitehead. Chapter Writing Assignments. Real-Life Student Writing. Letter of Application to an Honors Program.
PART II: PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT.
Patterns of Development for the Subject "Guilt."
8. Narration.
Road Map to Narration. What Narration Does. When to Use Narration. How to Write a Narrative. Warming Up to Write a Narrative. Examples. My Name Is Margaret / Maya Angelou. Shame / Dick Gregory. Chapter Writing Assignments. Pointer from a Pro: Keep Trying. Chapter Writing Assignments.
9. Description.
Road Map to Description. What Description Does. When to Use Description. How to Write a Description. Warming Up to Write a Description. Examples. The Libido for the Ugly / H. L. Mencken. Hell / James Joyce. Student Corner. Body Modification--Think about It! / Shelley Taylor. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Pointer from a Pro: Less Is More. Chapter Writing Assignments.
10. Process Analysis.
Road Map to Process Analysis. What Process Analysis Does. When to Use Process Analysis. How to Write a Process Analysis. Warming Up to Write a Process Analysis. Examples. My Strangled Speech / Dan Slater. Hunting Octopus in the Gilbert Islands / Sir Arthur Grimble. Pointer from a Pro: Be Open to Criticism. Chapter Writing Assignments.
11. Illustration/Exemplification.
Road Map to Illustration/Exemplification. What Illustration/Exemplification Does. When to Use Illustration. How to Use Illustration. Warming Up to Write an Illustration. Examples. The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria / Judith Ortiz Cofer. "Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall..." / John Leo. Pointer from a Pro: Be Clear. Chapter Writing Assignments.
12. Definition.
Road Map to Definition. What Definition Does. When to Use Definition. How to Use Definition. Warming Up to Write a Definition. Examples. Entropy / K. C. Cole. America's Invisibly Wounded Soldiers / David Finkel. Pointer from a Pro: Let Your Writing Percolate. Chapter Writing Assignments.
13. Comparison/Contrast.
Road Map to Comparison/Contrast. What Comparison/Contrast Does. When to Use Comparison/Contrast. How to Use Comparison/Contrast. Warming Up to Write a Comparison/Contrast. Examples. Real Work / Rick Bragg. Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts / Bruce Catton. Pointer from a Pro: Read to Write. Chapter Writing Assignments.
14. Division/Classification.
Road Map to Division/Classification. What Division/Classification Does. When to Use Division/Classification. How to Use Division/Classification. Warming Up to Write a Division/Classification. Examples. The Six Stages of E-Mail / Nora Ephron. Kinds of Discipline / John Holt. Pointer from a Pro: Conquer Writer's Block. Chapter Writing Assignments.
15. Causal Analysis.
Road Map to Causal Analysis. What Causal Analysis Does. When to Use Causal Analysis. How to Use Causal Analysis. Warming Up to Write a Causal Analysis. Examples. A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun / Linda M. Hasselstrom. XXXL / Elizabeth Kolbert. Pointer from a Pro: Be Modest. Chapter Writing Assignments.
16. Argumentation and Persuasion.
Road Map to Argumentation and Persuasion. What Argumentation and Persuasion Do. When to Use Argumentation and Persuasion. How to Use Argumentation and Persuasion. Warming Up to Write an Argument. Examples. Why Don't We Complain? / William F. Buckley, Jr. A Modest Proposal / Jonathan Swift. Pointer from a Pro: Read Your Writing Aloud. Chapter Writing Assignments.
17. Combining the Modes.
Road Map to the Modes. What Combining the Modes Does. When to Combine the Modes. How to Use Combined Modes. Examples. The Education of Woman / Daniel DeFoe. Once More to the Lake / E. B. White. Pointer from a Pro: Take Revision Seriously. Chapter Writing Assignments.
PART III: THEMATIC COLLECTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATE.
Theme 1. Terrorism.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: My Accidental Jihad / Krista Bremer. MindTap Only: The Real War / Thomas L. Friedman. Student Corner. Terrorism: America in Fear / Jeffrey Metherell. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 2. Self-Images.
Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: Body Image / Cindy Maynard. MindTap Only: Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self / Alice Walker. Student Corner. Body Modification--Think about It! / Shelley Taylor. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 3. Bullying.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: In Defeat of Bullies: Awareness Is Power / Joyce Plage. MindTap Only: The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf / Anonymous. Student Corner. Bullied / Gunnar Neuman. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 4. Drugs and Society.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: How We Get Addicted / Michael D. Lemonick. MindTap Only: Have We Lost the War on Drugs? / Gary S. Becker and Kevin M. Murphy. Student Corner. Solving the Drug Problem in the United States / Jordan Dubini. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 5. Immigration.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security with Billions / Eduardo Porter. MindTap Only: Wide-open Spaces / Bill Bryson. Student Corner. Immigrants in America / Dave Herman. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 6. Online Dating.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: The Truth about Online Dating / Robert Epstein. MindTap Only: Evaluating Internet Dating / Tim Daughtry. Student Corner. "OMGILY2!!" Online Dating Is at Your Own Risk / Kindra M. Neuman. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 7. Racism.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: Warriors Don't Cry / Melba Patillo Beals. MindTap Only: Incidents with White People / Sarah L. and A. Elizabeth Delany. Student Corner. Color of Their Skin AND Content of Their Character / Carrie Moore. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 8. The Status of Women.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: The New Feminism / Kate Gubata. MindTap Only: The Farce of Feminism / Rebecca E. Rubins. Student Corner. "Woman" Is a Noun / Paula Rewa. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 9. Homelessness.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: The Homeless Lack a Political Voice, But Not American Ideals / Matt Lynch. Student Corner. People Out on a Limb / Antoinette Poodt. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
Theme 10. The New Technology.
Images. Studying the Images. Writing Assignments. MindTap Only: No Technology? No Problem / Eric Brende. MindTap Only: Beware the Apps! / Lacreta Scott. Student Corner. Thoughts about the Internet / Charlie Sorensen. How I Write. My Writing Tip.
PART IV: REWRITING YOUR WRITING.
Revising. Editing. Rule 1: Make Your Title Descriptive. Rule 2: Begin with a Simple Sentence. Rule 3: Prune Deadwood. Rule 4: Do Not Overexplain. Rule 5: Be Specific. Rule 6: Avoid Trite Expressions. Rule 7: Use the Active Voice. Rule 8: Make Your Statements Positive. Rule 9: Keep to One Tense. Rule 10: Place Key Words at the Beginning or End of a Sentence. Rule 11: Remove Multiple Ofs. Rule 12: Break Up Noun Clusters. Rule 13: Use Exclamation Points Sparingly. Rule 14: Vary Your Sentences. Rule 15: Keep Your Point of View Consistent. Rule 16: Use Standard Words. Rule 17: End with Impact. Editing an Actual Essay.
PART V: CHECKING YOUR PUNCTUATION.
The Period. The Comma. The Semicolon. The Dash. The Apostrophe. The Question Mark. The Colon. The Exclamation Point. Quotation Marks. Using Other Punctuation with Quotation Marks.
PART VI: WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS.
Why English Instructors Assign Research Papers. How to Choose Your Topic. How to Narrow Your Subject. The Process of Writing the Paper. Preparing "Works Cited" or "References." Writing the Final Copy. Annotated Student Research Paper: Modern Language Association (MLA) Style. A Victory for Readers? Copyright Law and Google Book Search / Nick Penaranda. Annotated Student Research Paper: American Psychological Association (APA) Style. Development of a Scale to Detect Sexual Harassers: The Potential Harasser Scale (PHS) / Leanne M. Masden and Rebecca B. Winkler. Exercises.
Glossary.
Index.

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ISBN: 9781337902489
MindTap for McCuen-Metherell/Winkler's Readings for Writers, 16th Edition is the digital learning solution that powers students from memorization to mastery. It gives you complete control of your course--to provide engaging content, to challenge every individual and to build their confidence. Empower students to accelerate their progress with MindTap. MindTap: Powered by You. MindTap gives you complete ownership of your content and learning experience. Customize the interactive syllabi, emphasize the most important topics and add your own material or notes in the ebook. MindTap readings that aren't available in the printed text as well as auto-gradable reading comprehension and vocabulary quizzes for all readings in Part II.