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The Composition of Everyday Life, Concise (w/ MLA9E and APA7E Updates), 6th Edition

John Mauk, John Metz

  • Copyright 2019
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2018-01-01T00:00:00+0000')}}
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The Composition of Everyday Life, Concise (w/ MLA9E and APA7E Updates) 6th Edition by John Mauk/John Metz
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Overview

Showing students that the act of writing is connected to their daily lives, Mauk and Metz's THE COMPOSITION OF EVERYDAY LIFE, Concise, emphasizes invention to help students rediscover concepts, uncover meaning and rethink the world around them. This proven text is noted for its fresh voice, colorful use of images and the soundness and timeliness of its pedagogical foundation. The sixth edition offers 13 chapters to help students invent ideas, more than any other text on the market. With 36 reading selections by professional and student writers, many responding to the chapter prompts, this book fully engages students in writing academic essays. And, with its emphasis on invention, The COMPOSITION OF EVERYDAY LIFE gives students excellent preparation for the academic reading and writing activities they may encounter throughout their college experience and well beyond.

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Meet the Authors

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John Mauk

John Mauk, Ph.D., has a doctorate in rhetoric and writing from Bowling Green State University and a master's degree in language and literature from the University of Toledo. Over a 24-year career, he taught composition at Owens Community College, Northwestern Michigan College and Miami University. He was twice named professor of the year. He now writes in various genres, edits manuscripts for professional writers and teaches in continuing education programs. He also hosts Prose from the Underground, a video series featuring interviews and practical advice for working writers.

John Metz

John Metz began teaching college writing as a graduate student at the University of Toledo in 1983. He then taught at University of Toledo, Umpqua Community College and Kent State University over the next forty years. He focused on helping students learn to invent ideas, make appropriate rhetorical decisions and redefine what writing is or can be. His students sometimes said, “I thought this was supposed to be a writing course.”

What's New

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  • New Reading Selections: Fifteen new and diverse readings illustrate the rhetorical tools essential to inventive writing. The latest additions include works by well-known names such as Michael Pollan, Annie Dillard and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In keeping with previous editions, this edition also includes new student writing--vibrant analytical essays that show real students developing highly sophisticated and revelatory ideas.
  • Refined Invention Sections: The Invention sections in Chapters 2–13 are refined to maximize students' engagement with the driving elements of the pedagogy: the Invention Questions. This time around, chapter sections guide students to the most intellectually energizing questions--those designed to move thinking forward.
  • Streamlined Chapter 1 on Inventing Ideas: Because students in composition courses should get writing as quickly as possible, Chapter 1 now focuses on the most critical elements--those necessary to help students' writing become more inventive, more connected to their everyday lives and more resonant with the world around them.
  • Chapter Objectives: Each chapter now begins with learning objectives so instructors can better determine how the material aligns with their curriculum.

Features

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  • Emphasis on Invention: Unlike any other writing guide, THE COMPOSITION OF EVERYDAY LIFE, Concise, offers 13 invention chapters that help students to be inventive thinkers and writers.
  • Step-by-Step Invention Instruction: Point of Contact sections in each invention chapter help students discover a topic from everyday life. Analysis sections launch them beyond initial thoughts and help them explore the topic. Public Resonance helps students extend the topic outward to make it relevant to a community of readers. Thesis sections focus students' thinking and guide them toward revelatory claims. Rhetorical Tools help students support their claims with a variety of common strategies.
  • Thorough Revision and Editing Coverage: Peer Review activities specific to each chapter help students to re-see all the dimensions of their drafts. Adding an intensive editing step to the invention process, Chapter 19, "Vitalizing Sentences," explains and illustrates particular strategies for pruning, weeding, trimming and giving life to writing.
  • Beyond the Final Draft: The Reflection sections help students transfer their ideas to a range of genres by prompting them to theorize about their own language and intellectual moves. These activities also help students identify areas for revision toward a course portfolio.
  • Attractive Design in a Concise Package: THE COMPOSITION OF EVERYDAY LIFE, Concise, offers the clean and elegant design students and instructors value.

Table of Contents

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Part I: INVENTION.
1. Inventing Ideas.
Introduction. Asking Questions. Re-Inventing Education. Reading for Rhetoric. How To Use The Composition Of Everyday Life. Inventing Ideas Assignment.
2. Remembering Who You Were.
Readings. "Selling Manure," Bonnie Jo Campbell. "How I Lost the Junior Miss Pageant," Cindy Bosley. "The Thrill of Victory . . . The Agony of Parents," Jennifer Schwind-Pawlak [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
3. Explaining Relationships.
Readings. "Americans and the Land," John Steinbeck. "Mugged," Jim Crockett. "Tinder, You, and Me," Kellie Coppola. [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
4. Observing.
Readings. "Living Like Weasels," Annie Dillard. "The Front Porch," Chester McCovey. "Red Raiders Fans," Taylor Perry. [Student essay.] Invention. Point of Contact. Observing a Culture: Writing an Ethnography Essay. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
5. Analyzing Concepts.
Readings. "Why 'Natural' Doesn't Mean Anything Anymore," Michael Pollan. "Black Like I Thought I Was," Erin Aubrey Kaplan. "The Real, The Bad, and The Ugly," Cassie Heidecker [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
6. Analyzing Texts.
Readings. "The Weight of Sanity: A Sample Analysis of Ann Marie Paulin." "The Default Setting: An Analysis of David Foster Wallace," Adrienne Carr. "Politics and Audience: The New York Times' Appeal to Voters in 2016." Alison Block. [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Caution: Four Common Pitfalls. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
7. Analyzing Images.
Readings. "Rise of the Image Culture: Re-Imagining the American Dream," Elizabeth Thoman. "An Imperfect Reality," Rebecca Hollingsworth. "Look on My Works: Breaking Bad's Final Season Trailer," Nick Fendinger. [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
8. Making Arguments.
Readings. "The Dog Delusion," April Pedersen. "Cruelty, Civility, and Other Weighty Matters," Ann Marie Paulin. "Hive Talkin': The Buzz Around Town about Bees," Teresa Scollon. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: The Open Letter.
9. Responding to Arguments.
Readings. "Entitlement Education," Daniel Bruno. "'Have It Your Way': Consumerism Invades Education," Simon Benlow. "The Power of Failure: J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech," Liz Winhover. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Tattoo Design.
10. Evaluating.
Readings. "Talibanned," Benjamin Busch. "Important and Flawed," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. "Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before," Jaren Provo. [Student essay.] Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Classroom Evaluations.
11. Searching for Causes.
Readings. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Nicholas Carr. "Why We Binge-Watch Television," Kevin Fallon. "Why Millennials Are Weak," Quinn Greenwell. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Photo Essay.
12. Proposing Solutions.
Readings. "Hi, I'm a Digital Junkie and I Suffer from Infomania," Manoush Zomorodi. "Your Kids Bored at School? Tell Them to Get Over It," Laura Hanby Hudgens. "Different Jobs," Dana Stewart. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Comic Strips and Other Media.
13. Thinking Radically: Re-Seeing the World.
Readings. "Celibate Passion," Kathleen Norris. "Build the Wall," Ed Bell. "Unemployed, and Working Hard," Simon Wykoff [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Visual Essay / Collage / Poster.
Part II: RESEARCH.
14. Finding Sources.
Using Catalogs and Databases. Online Catalogs. Periodical Databases. Conducting Interviews. Planning an Interview. Asking the Right Questions. Integrating Interviews into Your Writing. Creating Surveys. Generating Questions. Choosing Respondents. Recording and Using Responses.
15. Analyzing, Synthesizing, and Evaluating Sources.
Developing Critical Literacy. "Just the Facts, Please"-or Maybe Not. "Numbers Don't Lie"-or Do They? Summarizing and Analyzing Sources. Content. Context. Understanding Common Source Genres. Synthesizing Sources. Assignment: Summarizing, Analyzing, and Synthesizing Sources. Sample Synthesis: Exploring Caffeine Views, by Jim Crockett. Evaluating Sources. Relevance. Reliability. Credibility. Timeliness. Diversity. Evaluating Online Sources. Assignment: Evaluating a Source. Sample Source Evaluation.
16. Integrating and Documenting Sources.
Basic Concepts. Issues to Consider and Discuss. Why Get Information from Sources? When to Get Information from Sources. What Is Inventive Research? Where to Get Information from Sources. What Is Plagiarism? Why Document Sources? What's a Good Research Topic? Formal versus Informal Documentation. Integrating Ideas from Sources. Summary. Quotation. Special Conditions in Quoting. Organizing Sources. Blending in the Source Information. Documenting Sources. MLA Style. In-Text Citation. Works Cited. Sample Research Essay. APA Style. In-Text Citation. References. Sample Research Essay.
Part III: ORGANIZATION AND DELIVERY.
17. Organizing Ideas.
Beginning. Changing Paragraphs. Integrating Outside Sources. Counterarguing. Separating Problems and Solutions. Concluding.
18. Developing Voice.
Establishing Presence. Building Credibility. Following Conventions.
19. Vitalizing Sentences.
Controlling the Pace. Getting Specific. Cleaning the Language. Experimenting with Patterns.

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Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

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ISBN: 9781337556125
MindTap English for Mauk/Metz's The Composition of Everyday Life, 6th 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 assignments, emphasize the most important topics and add your own material or notes in the ebook. Interactive activities on grammar and mechanics promote application in student writing, and an easy-to-use paper management system allows for electronic submission, grading and peer review while tracking potential plagiarism. A vast database of scholarly sources with video tutorials and examples supports each step of the research process, and professional tutoring guides students from rough drafts to polished writing. Visual analytics track student progress and engagement with seamless integration into your campus learning management system that keeps all your course materials in one place. MindTap English comes equipped with the diagnostic-guided JUST IN TIME PLUS learning module for foundational concepts and embedded course support. The module features scaffolded video tutorials, instructional text content and auto-graded activities designed to address each student's specific needs for practice and support to succeed in college-level composition courses. The Resources for Teaching folder provides support materials to facilitate an efficient course setup process focused around your instructional goals: the MindTap Planning Guide offers an inventory of MindTap activities correlated to common planning objectives, so that you can quickly determine what you need.