495 Text

English 495: College Reading & Writing
Dr. Judith Weingarter, Chaffey College
Prof. Robert Nazar, Chaffey College
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ii
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Academic Success in and out of the Classroom ....................... 1
Kathleen T. McWhorter / Jane E. Aaron
Chapter 2 - Active Reading ..................................................................21

Mimi Markus
Chapter 3 - Improving Your Vocabulary with Context Clues ..................... 95

Donna McKusick/Al Starr
Chapter 4 - Making Inferences ........................................................... 101

Kathleen T. McWhorter
Chapter 5 - Writing Processes ............................................................ 113

Lynn Q. Troyka / Doug Hesse
Chapter 6 - Analyzing Images ............................................................ 159

John D. Ramage / John C. Bean / June Johnson
Chapter 7 - Writing to Evaluate .......................................................... 197

Sidney I. Dobrin
Chapter 8 - The Research Essay ......................................................... 227

Lynne Gaetz / Suneeti Phadke
Handbook ....................................................................................... 265

Richard Johnson-Sheehan / Charles Paine
Index ..............................................................................................309
iii
iv
Academic Success in and
out of the Classroom
Successful writers . . .
● Manage time effectively (below).
● Strengthen concentration by focusing attention and listening.
● Use textbooks effectively and take effective notes.
● Cope with stress.
● Manage online courses.
● Communicate effectively in class.
● Work effectively on group projects.
● Build academic integrity.
Visit MyWritingLab™ for more resources on “Academic Success in and out of
the Classroom.”
Welcome to college and to your college writing class! Now that you
are in college, you can get the most out of your investment by polishing
your writing and reading skills and developing effective study strategies.
This chapter is designed to help you with each of these skills.
SuCCeSS
College Web site
At the beginning of a semester, become familiar with your college’s
Web site so you can find information efficiently. Use the bookmark func-
tion to organize URLs from your college Web site’s pages in a special
folder on your computer. Include URLs for the course-management site
for each class, the writing-center home page, the tutoring-center home
page, the library reference desk, and instructors’ contact information.
a Managing your time

A great deal is expected of you in college, and you may have many
other commitments as well, including a job and family responsibilities—
and you’d still like to have fun once in a while. Attending college is a bal-
ancing act, and the key is time management. Time management is a way
of taking control of your life and your time to achieve what you need to
accomplish. Here’s how to do it.
1 Analyzing your commitments
A first step in managing your time effectively is to analyze your com-
mitments and determine how much time each requires. Identify the tasks
From Chapter 1 of The Successful Writer’s Handbook, Third Edition. Kathleen T. McWhorter,
Jane E. Aaron. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
Academic Success in and out of the Classroom
and activities you perform regularly—commuting, attending class, study-

ing, working, exercising, eating, and so on—and then estimate the time
each involves.
● use the “2-for-1 rule.”To earn a passing grade (a C) in a course,
expect to spend two hours studying outside of class for every hour
that you spent in class. Adjust the 2-for-1 rule depending on your
familiarity and expertise with the subject of each class. Use a chart
such as the one below to estimate the amount of time you need for
studying each week.
Course title Desired grade Study hours per week

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Total:
● Determine whether you are overcommitted. Total your time commit-

ments for a week (including sleep), and subtract that number of hours
from 168 (the number of hours in a week) to see the number of hours
of uncommitted time you have available. If you have little or no un-
committed time, revise your course goals, reduce your hours at work,
or drop an activity.
2 Building a study plan

Once you have estimated your total study hours per week and identi-
fied your other commitments, the next step is to develop schedules for the
term and each week.
● Develop a term schedule. Using a blank schedule or electronic calendar
that divides each day into one-hour blocks, first block out class and
scheduled work time. Then block out all commitments that will re-
main unchanged throughout the term such as sports practice, exercise
class, and work.
● Develop a weekly study schedule. Once you have a term plan, make
a copy for each week of the term. Each week, on Saturday or Sun-
day, make a list of what needs to be done for each course in the
week that’s ahead. Then decide when you will accomplish the tasks,
Figure 1.1
and write them in the blank blocks on that week’s copy of your term
9726101001 (A7) plan.
2
SuCCeSS
Managing time as a commuter student
Commuting to and from campus costs considerable time. Here’s how
to use your time effectively:
1. use your open hours between classes. Find a quiet place on cam-
pus to study. Avoid the cafeteria and snack bar during study periods.
2. Avoid wasting time. If you are spending time hunting for a parking
space, get to campus earlier. Use your early arrival time to get or-
ganized, review, and prepare for the day’s classes. Pack your lunch
to avoid long cafeteria lines.
3. Avoid the morning rush. Especially if you have an early class, get
organized the day before: fill your gas tank on the way home, select
clothing, and pack your books and materials.
4. Buy a large backpack so that you can comfortably carry books,
notebooks, and supplies. Think of it as your portable desk away
from home.
5. Plan your next semester’s schedule to cut down on commuting
time. Consider, for example, registering for both day and evening
classes on three or four days, instead of driving to campus five
days a week. Use your noncommuting day for assignments requir-
ing concentrated blocks of time.
3 Making the most of study time

Use the following guidelines to help you select the best times to study
for different courses and avoid procrastination.
● use peak periods of concentration. Determine when you can concen-
trate best, and reserve these peak times for intensive study.
● Study difficult subjects first. Resist the temptation to get easy tasks out
of the way first. When you start studying, your mind is fresh and alert
and more ready to think through complicated problems or ideas.
● Study for a particular course close to scheduled class time. If a class
meets on Tuesday mornings, plan to study Monday evening and Tues-
day afternoon. By studying close to class time, you will find it easier
to see the connections between class lectures or discussions and what
you are reading and studying.
● Take breaks in your study time. Take a short break to give your mind time to
rest and refocus. A ten-minute break after an hour of study is reasonable.
● use distributed learning. Instead of studying one subject for a lengthy
period of time, distribute your study time over several days. You will
learn material more easily because your mind continues to process the
information after you stop studying. If you study over several blocks
of time, this aftereffect occurs several times rather than just once.
3
Distributed learning Single-session learning
1 hour 1 hour 1 hour 3 hours

study study study study
● Overestimate your study time. It is better to overestimate than to un-

derestimate how much time you need to study. If you overestimate, the
free time you have left will function as a reward for hard work; how-
ever, if you underestimate, you will probably feel pressured, rushed,
and dissatisfied.
CriTiCAl Thinking
Analyzing the grading system
Learn about how your work will be graded by consulting your college
handbook, your college Web site (search for “Grading policies”), and
the syllabuses for your various courses. Your academic adviser can
answer these questions:
● What grade point average (GPA) must I maintain to be a student in
good standing?
● What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship or financial aid package?
● What GPA do I need to be active in competitive athletic programs or
take part in school clubs and activities?
● Is there a higher required GPA average—either for the current se-
mester or cumulative—if I’m in a preprofessional program such as
teacher preparation or premed? If so, what is it?
● I don’t want to fail a course. But if I do, will I be suspended from
school or placed on academic probation? Will I get kicked out of any
special programs?
● Do all my courses this semester count equally toward the GPA? Or
are grades weighted according to the number of credit hours for
each, with lab courses getting more credit?
● Should I withdraw from a course in which I’m not doing well? How
Figure 1.2 might withdrawing from a course affect any scholarships, student
9726101002 (A7) loans, or work-study programs I may have?
SuCCeSS
Overcoming procrastination
Obstacle Solution
You are easily distracted. Clear your desk. Remove everything
that is unrelated to what you need to
study.
You have trouble getting Try working on an assignment for just
started. five minutes. Once you start working,
often you can keep going.
4
Obstacle Solution
You’re unsure about the Recognize when you need more
assignment. information about an assignment.
Get help by talking with classmates or
your instructor.
The assignment seems Divide the task into manageable parts.
overwhelming. Decide how you will approach each
part of the assignment and how much
time to spend on each part.
You don’t have time to study. Recognize your escape routes. Do you
use valuable study time for returning
library books or picking up take-out
food? Analyze your time carefully to
detect and avoid these escape routes.
4 Balancing school, work, and family

For many students, a job is a necessity. Likewise, many students have
family responsibilities. However, a little planning can make the job more
manageable and family responsibilities easier to deal with.
SuCCeSS
Managing school, work, and family
Work or family What to do
You have several breaks at Use the time to study or complete
work, and coworkers sit short tasks such as proofreading a
around having coffee. paper.
You are required to work a Notify your professor as soon as you
double shift and will miss a are aware of the problem and ask for
major exam. a make-up exam.
Your work hours are changing As soon as you get your weekly work
each week, and you feel you schedule, make a study schedule for
never have time to study. that week.
Your baby-sitter did not show Notify your instructor of the problem.
up, and you’ll miss classes. Line up a backup baby-sitter, in case
this happens again.
You cannot manage all the Make sure family members under-
household tasks you used stand why college is important to you
to perform before you started and to them, and ask them for their
college. help. Delegate tasks and make up a
chores list for children.
Your child or spouse resents Reserve quality time for those feeling
the extra time you are classes. neglected. Make them feel in-
spending away from him or volved by asking them to help you
her, studying and attending complete a task you would normally
classes. do alone.
5
exercise 1 Building a term or semester plan

Using the guidelines given previously in this chapter, build a term or semes-
ter plan and a schedule for the upcoming week. Use the plan for a week, and
then write a paragraph evaluating its effectiveness.
b Strengthening your concentration

When attending class, reading, and studying, you need a much higher
level of concentration than when skimming the sports page or watching
a movie.
1 Focusing your attention

When you concentrate, you focus your attention on the task at hand.
Here are tips for maintaining your concentration:
● Vary your activities during study time. Avoid devoting a long period of
time to a single activity. For example, during a two-hour study block,
you might write a first draft of an essay and then work on math prob-
lems. Changing from one skill to another is refreshing and makes
concentration easier.
● Avoid electronic distractions. While you work, turn off your cell
phone, your iPod, the TV, and Facebook. Even if you don’t see them
as time wasters, you will have difficulty understanding complicated
material if you let them distract you and break your concentration.
● Write and highlight as you read. Writing and highlighting force you to
think as you read. For more on highlighting, see later in this text.
● Approach reading assignments critically. Instead of trying to absorb ev-
ery detail, read critically. Look for the author’s point of view, opinions,
and evidence to support main points. Make connections with what
you have already learned about the subject.
● Challenge yourself with deadlines. If you have difficulty maintaining
your concentration, try setting deadlines for completing your tasks.
Reward yourself when you meet a deadline.
2 Monitoring your concentration

Successful students are aware of their level of concentration. Here are
tips on how to monitor, assess, and control your concentration:
● Track your concentration. Record the number of times you are distracted
during a thirty-minute study session. Total up your marks to see
how many times your concentration was broken. Work on decreasing
the tally. Use this tracking system once a week to check your concen-
tration level.
6
● learn to read your symptoms of distractibility. When you find your con-
centration is broken, try to determine why. Was it an external distrac-
tion? Did an idea in the text trigger your memory of something else?
● look for patterns in loss of concentration. What time of day are you most
easily distracted? Where are you studying when distractions occur?
What are you studying? Use this information to adjust your study plan.
● keep a list of distractions. If your mind drifts to other topics while you
are reading or studying—appointments, other projects, or personal
problems—make a list to get them off your mind and to prevent them
from disrupting your study.
exercise 2 Monitoring your concentration

During your next study session, monitor your concentration and identify and
write a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Then make a plan for strength-
ening your concentration.
c getting the most from your textbooks

Textbooks are designed to teach. Second only to your instructor, the
textbook is your most important source of information: if you master it,
you will master the course in which it is assigned. There are two types of
textbooks, introductory texts and advanced, more specialized texts used
by students when they pursue their major. These two types differ in ap-
pearance and content. Introductory texts contain plenty of learning aids,
such as end-of-chapter study questions and marginal definitions. Ad-
vanced texts have far fewer or no learning aids.
1 using introductory textbooks

An introductory textbook helps you understand the basic principles
in a field. Be sure to take advantage of all the features it offers.
SuCCeSS
using textbook Web sites
If you’re using a textbook, check the preface or introduction to see if
there’s a companion Web site. Often these sites have supplementary
material such as glossaries, charts, photos, and even case studies,
exercises, or sample problems—with answers. When a chapter is
scheduled for class reading and discussion, explore the information
on the site before that class session.
7
SuCCeSS
using textbook-learning features
Feature how to use it
Preface or “To the Student” ● Find out how the book is orga-
nized, what topics it covers, and
what learning features it contains.
Chapter opener (may include ● Find out what the chapter is about.
chapter objectives, photo- ● Test yourself later to see if you can
graphs, and chapter outlines) recall main points.
Marginal vocabulary ● Learn the definition of each term.
definitions ● Create a vocabulary log (in a note-
book or computer file), and enter
words you need to learn.
Photographs and other ● Determine the purpose of visuals:
visual elements what important information they
illustrate.
● For diagrams, charts, and tables,
note the process or trend they il-
lustrate. Make marginal notes.
● Practice redrawing diagrams with-
out reference to the originals.
Test-yourself questions (may ● Always be sure you can answer the
come after sections within questions before going on to the
the chapter) next section.
● Use the questions to check your
recall of chapter content when
studying for an exam.
Special-interest inserts (such ● Discover how the inserts are re-
as profiles of people, cover- lated to the chapter content: what
age of related issues, and key concepts they illustrate.
critical-thinking topics)
review questions, problems, ● Read questions or problems before
discussion questions you read the chapter to discover
what you are expected to learn.
● Use questions or problems after you
read the chapter to test your recall.
Chapter summary ● Test yourself by converting summary
statements into questions. Ask Who?
Why? When? How? and So What?
Chapter-review quiz ● Use the quiz to prepare for an
exam. Pay extra attention to items
you get wrong.
2 using advanced textbooks

The authors of advanced textbooks assume that you are seriously mo-
tivated to study the material and do not need photos, boxes, or other fea-
tures to help you learn.
8
To study advanced-level textbooks, create your own study aids:

● Build your own key vocabulary lists.
● Write and answer questions after each section.
● Write your own chapter summary if none is provided.
● Think of your own applications. What practical situations does the ma-
terial relate to? What questions does it raise? Why is it important in
the field? How can you use this information on the job?
d Sharpening your listening skills in class

Listening is your primary way to acquire information in class. Before
a class begins, push aside other concerns so that you can focus and listen
carefully and critically. Use the suggestions below to sharpen your listen-
ing skills:
● Sit in the same place, preferably near the front of the room. A seat near
the front allows you to see what is emphasized by observing the in-
structor’s facial expressions and gestures.
● Focus on content, not delivery. During class, remain focused on the
message, not on your instructor’s personal characteristics.
● listen carefully to opening comments. In opening comments, the in-
structor will likely make connections to prior classes, identify his or
her purpose, or describe the lecture’s content or organization.
● Focus on ideas, not just facts. If you concentrate on recording and
remembering separate, unconnected facts, you will quickly be over-
whelmed. Instead, listen for ideas, trends, and patterns as well as im-
portant facts.
● Stay active by asking mental questions. Keep your attention focused
on the lecture by asking yourself questions. What point is the in-
structor making? What details are important? What examples from
your own experience come to mind? What information, if any, is
unclear?
● Stick with the lecture. Resist the urge to tune out when a lecture be-
comes confusing, complicated, or technical. Take detailed notes, and
then review them after the lecture, editing and filling in more infor-
mation you may have missed.
● Avoid selective listening. Avoid becoming emotionally involved and
hearing only what you want to hear in lectures on controversial
issues. Recognize your own biases, make a deliberate effort to un-
derstand the speaker’s viewpoint, take notes, and delay judgment
until the instructor has finished and you fully understand his or her
message.
9
CriTiCAl Thinking
getting the most from lectures
Before class Anticipate and make connections. What content and
focus do you anticipate in the lecture? How does the
lecture topic fit with previous classes?
During class Sort and evaluate ideas. What are the most impor-
tant ideas and concepts? What examples from your
own experience come to mind? What information is
unclear, if any?
After class Synthesize key points. Study and review your
notes. What is important? What is the best way you
can learn it?
e Taking notes
Don’t try to record everything an instructor says during class, but do
listen actively, evaluate the importance of information, make connections
between ideas, and write down key information in your own words. Fol-
lowing are tips for taking useful notes.
2 recording main ideas

Use your notes to record the major ideas presented in class. Instruc-
tors frequently give clues about what is important.
● listen for repeated points, which signal important ideas or concepts.
Look for signals such as This, you will recall . . . or As we saw last week
in a different framework. . . . Write the ideas or concepts down.
● listen for changes in voice and rate of speech. A speaker’s voice may
get louder or softer or higher or lower as he or she presents impor-
tant ideas. Similarly, a speaker may slow down or pause between
key points to give you time to write them down. For example, if an
instructor giving a definition pauses slightly between each word or
phrase, you should write down the words or phrases the instructor is
listing.
● listen for lists and numbered points. Instructors often introduce im-
portant information with such phrases as three important causes or
four significant effects or five possible situations.
● record your instructor’s written notes. Some instructors write or proj-
ect key words or outlines of major ideas as they speak. Although your
instructor may not write all important ideas, any words or phrases
that are written should be considered important.
● note visuals. Some instructors emphasize important ideas, clarify re-
lationships, or diagram processes or procedures by using visual aids
such as PowerPoint slides, videos, and photographs.
10
CriTiCAl Thinking
Solving note-taking problems
Problem Solution
“My mind wanders, and I get Preview assignments before class. Pose
bored.” questions that you expect to be answered
in class. Sit in the front of the room.
“The instructor talks too Develop a shorthand system; use ab-
fast.” breviations. Leave blanks in your notes
to fill in later.
“The instructor rambles.” Preview assignments to predict how
the lecture will be organized.
“Some ideas don’t seem to Record stray information in the margin
fit anywhere.” or in parentheses, and find a place for
it when you edit your notes.
“Everything seems impor- Use your textbook to identify key con-
tant.” cepts, or check with other students and
compare notes.
“Nothing seems important.” Locate a more basic textbook to get
needed background information.
“I can’t spell the new terms.” Record terms phonetically (the way
they sound) and correct your spelling
during editing.
“I get easily distracted when Close all background windows. Turn
taking notes on my laptop.” off all social media applications.
“I can’t keep up with the Check the instructor’s Web site, which
content in the PowerPoint often provides copies of PowerPoint
presentation.” presentations shown in class.
● listen for direct announcements. Phrases such as It is particularly im-

portant to remember that . . . and One important fact that you must
keep in mind is . . . or hints such as This would make a good exam ques-
tion signal that important information is to follow. Mark hints in your
notes with an asterisk or write Exam? in the margin.
● Be alert for nonverbal clues. Pacing, hand gestures, and other move-
ments are often used for emphasis.
2 recording details and examples

As you listen in class, be selective and record only details that support
the main ideas. Write a brief phrase to summarize each major supporting
detail, using your own words if possible or the speaker’s if you must.
3 Taking organized notes

Record main ideas and details so that you can easily see how the ma-
terial was organized and recall the relative importance of ideas. You can
distinguish main ideas and their support with an outline:
11
Major topic
Main idea
–Detail
–Detail
• Example
Main idea
–Detail
–Detail
Major topic
Main idea
–Detail
• Example
4 Taking notes useful for review and study

The following tips can help make note taking simpler, your notes
more complete, and study and review easier:
● use phrases and abbreviations. Use as few words as possible while still
capturing the main ideas. Try not to write complete sentences. Use
abbreviations of common words (+ for “and,” w/ for “with,” imp. for
“important,” cont’d. for “continued”) and develop abbreviations for
each subject area you are studying (org. for “organization,” MBO for
“management by objectives”).
● leave blank spaces. Leave plenty of space in your notes so that you can
read them easily and fill in details you missed.
● Mark assignments and ideas that are unclear. If an instructor announces
an assignment or test, jot it down and write Assignment or Test Date
in the margin so that you can find it easily. If an instructor presents a
fact or idea that is unclear, put a question mark in the margin and ask
for clarification later.
● record lectures only in special situations. Generally, recording lectures
is not recommended; it is too time consuming. Students for whom
English is not their native language often find the process valuable, as
do those who are not confident about their note taking or are taking
particularly hard courses. You should always ask your instructor for
permission to record a lecture or class.
● Develop creative note-taking systems. Many students create varia-
tions of the traditional note-taking format, using colored pens
or highlighters during or after lectures to distinguish particular
Figure 1.3
kinds of information
9726101003 (A7) or leaving space to add maps or diagrams
that illustrate key ideas. One creative note format is the Recall
Clue System (also known as the Cornell System), described in the
following box.
12
SuCCeSS
using the recall Clue System (the Cornell System)
Follow these steps to create notes:
● Leave a two-inch margin at the left side of each page of notes.
● Keep the margin blank while you are taking notes.
● After you have read and edited your notes, fill in the left margin with
words, phrases, or questions that summarize the notes. These recall
clues should be words that will trigger your memory and help you
recall the complete information in your notes.
Business Communication
Flow of communication
4 factors —regardless of flow—must be concerned w/ 1) accuracy,
affecting 2) completeness, 3) lack of bias, 4) proper transmission
communication of the message
3 directions of
communication A. Downward communication
downward —sending info to employees at lower level of company
communication —usually communicating policies, orders, directives, goals
Follow these steps to study your notes:

● Cover up the notes, exposing only the recall clues in the left margin.
● Read the first recall clue and try to remember the information in the
portion of the notes beside it.
● Check the notes to see if you remembered all the important facts. If
you remembered only part of the information, cover up the notes
and check your recall again. Continue checking until you are satis-
fied that you can remember all key information.
● Move on to the next recall clues, testing and checking again.
5 editing and reviewing your notes

As soon as possible after each class, reread your notes and edit them
to clarify, explain, and rearrange ideas. Note spots where you need more
information, and fill them in either by asking a classmate or your instruc-
tor or by consulting your textbook. Reviewing your notes soon after class
will also make information stick in your mind.
exercise 3 Analyzing your lecture notes

Analyze the content and organization of a set of notes you have taken recently
using the suggestions given in this section, and identify your strengths and
weaknesses. Write a paragraph reporting your findings.
exercise 4 using the recall Clue System

In one of your classes, take notes using the Recall Clue System described in
the box on the previous page and above, and study by testing yourself using
the recall clues. Write a paragraph evaluating the Recall Clue System.
Figure 1.4
9726101004 (A7)
13
f Managing stress
Stress is a natural response to life’s challenges. When you are asked to
perform more (or better) than you think you can, stress often results.
1 Symptoms and causes of stress

Stress is a feeling that you are “losing it”—that you cannot keep up.
It has many symptoms. Emotional symptoms include feeling rushed or
mentally exhausted, having difficulty concentrating, experiencing short-
temperedness, and feeling listless or unfocused. Physical symptoms
include headaches, fatigue, queasiness or indigestion, and weight gain
or loss.
To control stress, it is helpful to identify the situations that provoke it.
Common stressors include academic workload, little problems that added
together become overwhelming, major life changes (marriage, divorce,
birth of a child), jobs, relationships, financial problems, lack of sleep, and
poor health, fitness, or nutrition.
2 Coping with stress

You may not be able to control the situations and events that cause
stress, but you can control how you react to them. To do this, you need
to modify your thinking, your approach, and your habits, as outlined in
the box below.
If you are unable to manage the stress you face, seek the help of your
campus counseling center. Often a skilled counselor can help you deal
with a problem by seeing it from different perspectives.
CriTiCAl Thinking
Coping with stress
Modify your thinking
● Make sure each problem or task has a priority. You may be accepting
problems or tasks that are not yours alone. For example, you may
want to take time to organize a study group, but do you have to do
it? Can you get others to help you?
● Avoid negative thinking. Instead of thinking “I cannot possibly get
this assignment done on time,” ask yourself “How can I finish this
on time?”
● Visualize success. Before beginning an assignment or taking an
exam, stop, close your eyes, and imagine yourself working on and
then completing the task. If you get discouraged midway, stop and
use visualization again.
● Focus on the benefits of achieving the goal. Think of the rewards of
completion rather than the consequences of failure.
14
Modify your approach

● interact with others. Sharing problems makes them seem more
manageable.
● Stop pushing yourself. Take a break and do something you enjoy.
Even a ten-minute break gives you relief from your routine and
reduces stress.
● Make fewer choices. Stress increases when you have many deci-
sions to make. To reduce stress, eliminate some of the small daily
decisions that cost you time and energy. For example, get up at the
same time every day.
Modify your habits

● leave your work problems at work.
● Take charge of your time. Getting control of your time will help you
feel you are in control of your life.
● reduce clutter. Your mental energy drains away when you work
amid clutter, and you waste time looking for misplaced objects or
doing a cleanup blitz.
● get enough sleep and exercise, and practice good nutrition.
g Managing online courses

Many colleges now offer courses that are taught online. Some on-
line classes are conducted in real time: both instructor and students are
online together at given times. Other classes permit students to work
independently, choosing times when they want to participate, work,
and study.
Online courses require a great deal of self-discipline and the ability to
work alone. Use the following tips for taking online courses:
● Avoid taking online courses during your first semester or first year. It is
better to learn what is expected in college classes by attending tradi-
tional classes. Once you are familiar with college expectations, you
will be better prepared to take an online course.
● read, read, read. Reading is your primary source of information. You
read textbooks and communications from instructors and other stu-
dents. If you aren’t a strong reader or you feel that you need personal
contact with an instructor and in-person support from other students,
an online course may not be appropriate for you.
● keep up with the work. Most students who fail online courses fail be-
cause they fall hopelessly behind with the required reading and writ-
ten assignments and cannot catch up.
● Devote specific hours each week to the online course. Make a study
schedule, and follow it as you would for any other class.
● keep your focus. Turn off music, instant messaging, and e-mail.
15
h Communicating effectively in class

1 Communicating with classmates
The Internet, along with software innovations, has created new ways
for you to communicate with your classmates. Using each of them to your
advantage will help you become an effective communicator.
● e-mail. It is helpful to get the e-mail addresses of several classmates. If
you miss a class or are confused by an assignment, you can contact a
classmate and get help immediately.
● Texting. Texting is an opportunity to talk back and forth with class-
mates through your smartphone. You can discuss assigned readings,
quiz each other in preparation for a test, practice for a class discus-
sion, or set up a study group.
● Online study groups. Many students set up Facebook pages on
which to share information and organize study groups. Be sure to
post only serious content, not comments about the instructor or
other classmates. Keep your comments focused and supported by
details.
2 Participating in class discussions

Many college classes require you to get involved and participate. Dis-
cussions allow you to hear the thinking of others and express your own
ideas. Participating in class discussions is good practice, too, for on-the-
job situations in which you will be expected to discuss and share ideas
with coworkers.
● Contribute to the overall discussion. Speak up when you can ask a
thoughtful question, answer someone else’s question, comment on
what has been said, supply additional information, or correct or clar-
ify a misunderstanding. Speak to the group, not to individuals, and
be sure that your comments relate to the discussion. Do not interrupt
other speakers. Do not tell lengthy personal anecdotes or monopolize
the discussion.
● Speak early and be brief. The longer you wait to contribute, the more
difficult it becomes and the more likely someone else will say what
you planned to say. It is also better to say too little than too much;
your instructor will ask you to explain further if he or she feels it is
necessary.
● Organize your remarks. Notes help you speak in a clear and organized
fashion. Jot down comments or ideas as you think of them so that you
can refer to them when you speak. Before you speak, connect what
you plan to say with what has already been said. Then explain your
ideas as clearly as possible.
16
SuCCeSS
Speaking up in class
Even if you’re naturally shy or think others may have more to say,
learn to speak up in class. Volunteer a comment or raise your hand
to answer a question at every class session. Each week, your confi-
dence will grow. Each success in sharing your opinions will help you
later—perhaps in chairing a PTA committee, serving on a city board or
commission, or even running for office.
3 Asking and answering questions

Many students are hesitant to ask or answer questions because they
fear their questions may seem obvious or their answers may be incorrect.
Asking questions is often essential to a complete and thorough under-
standing of a topic. Answering questions posed by your instructor gives
you an opportunity to evaluate how well you have learned or understood
course content as well as to demonstrate your knowledge of a topic.
● Ask questions clearly and concisely. Most instructors welcome serious
questions. If you tend to feel nervous, write your questions down in
advance. Don’t ramble, make excuses, or pose questions for the sake
of asking them. Class time is limited and valuable.
● Think before answering questions. Answering questions is a way to
identify yourself to the instructor as a serious, committed student, but
be sure to think through your response before you raise your hand.
i Working on group projects

Many assignments and class activities involve work in small groups.
Use the following tips to help your group function effectively:
● Take a leadership role. Every group needs a leader. Unless some other
competent group member steps forward, take a leadership role. Al-
though leadership may require more work, you can make sure the
work gets done. As the group’s leader, direct the group in analyzing
the assignment, organize a plan of action, distribute work assign-
ments, and establish deadlines. Select alert, energetic classmates if
you are permitted to choose group members. Be aware of individual
strengths and weaknesses, and assign tasks accordingly.
● Be an active, responsible participant. Accept your share of the work,
complete it well and on time, and expect others to do the same.
● Take action if your group is not functioning effectively. If the group is not
working well together, communicate directly with group members,
but try not to alienate or anger them. See the following box for com-
mon complaints and possible solutions. If the suggestions do not help
your group, consult your instructor.
17
CriTiCAl Thinking
Solving work group problems
When a group member . . . You may want to say . . .
Hasn’t begun to do the work “Your part is hard. How can I help
he or she has been assigned you get started?”
Complains about the “We all seem to have different
workload amounts of work to do. Is there any
way I can help you?”
Misses meetings “So that we all meet regularly, would it
be helpful if I called everyone the night
before to confirm the day and time?”
Seems confused about the “This is a tough assignment. Would it
assignment help if I summarize everybody’s job?”
Is uncommunicative and “Since we are all working on different
doesn’t share information parts, let’s make a list of what we’ve
done so far so that we can see where
to go from here.”
Seems to be making you or First, make up a chart listing each
other members do all the work member’s responsibilities. Distribute
copies. Then ask, “Does anyone have
questions or concerns? Does anyone
want to change his or her completion
date?”
j Building academic integrity

It is important to present yourself as a serious and honest student.
This involves not cheating and avoiding both intentional and uninten-
tional plagiarism.
1 Practicing academic integrity

You can make yourself known as a serious and honest student in
many ways, including by contributing to class. Be a participant rather than
an observer. Be respectful of the opinions of others, especially during class
discussions. Be helpful to classmates.
2 resisting the temptation to cheat

There are many forms of cheating, and you are likely to see some
students engaging in it. Obvious forms of cheating involve copying home-
work assignments or exchanging information with other students dur-
ing exams, but there are other less obvious yet still very serious forms
of cheating. In a writing class, for example, cheating may take the form
of stealing a topic for a paper from a classmate, falsifying or making up
18
research, submitting the same paper for more than one course without
instructor authorization, or having someone write a paper for you. Plagia-
rism, which is using someone else’s work or ideas as if they are your own,
is one of the most severe forms of cheating—and is also the most likely to
be detected.
3 Avoiding plagiarism
Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas or exact words without giv-
ing that person credit. Plagiarizing is dishonest because you are passing off
someone else’s work as your own. There are serious academic penalties for
plagiarism, which range from getting a failing grade on a paper to failing a
course and even being suspended or dismissed from college. In the work-
place and in the media, recent plagiarism scandals have resulted in public
humiliation and the loss of jobs and reputations.
When you write a paper, you will probably use sources to locate the
information you need, so it is important that you know the rules for
indicating when you have taken information from the works of others.
The purpose is to give credit to the person whose ideas or words you are
using and to help others interested in the ideas you are discussing to find
your sources. Plagiarism can be intentional (planned) or unintentional
(done by accident). Both forms carry academic penalties. The guidelines
below will help you understand exactly what is considered plagiarism.
● Plagiarism uses another person’s words without giving credit to that
person.
● Plagiarism uses another person’s theory, opinion, or idea without tell-
ing where the information was taken from.
● Plagiarism results when another person’s exact words are not placed
inside quotation marks. Both the quotation marks and a citation (ref-
erence) to the original source are needed.
● Plagiarism paraphrases (restates) the words of another person with-
out giving credit to him or her.
● Plagiarism uses facts, data, graphs, charts, and so on without stating
where they were taken from.
● It is not plagiarism to use commonly known facts or information, and
you need not give a source for such information. For example, the fact
that Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969 is widely known
and does not require documentation.
Visit MyWritingLab™ to check your comprehension of “Academic Success in and

out of the Classroom.”
19
Active Reading
From Chapter 33 of Write Time, Write Place, Paragraphs and Essays, Second Edition. Mimi Markus. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
21
Active Reading
Learning Objectives
After working through this chapter, you will
be able to:
LO 1 Describe the stages of the active
reading process.
LO 2 Use prereading strategies to prepare
A s a college student, you will be doing quite a bit of read-
ing. Many of your tests, papers, and class discussions will be
based on reading assignments. The types of reading materials
for college assignments will vary. These include textbooks, academic
journals, and magazine and newspaper articles. In English courses
for reading. like the one you are taking now, you may also read professional and
LO 3 Use reading strategies to improve student essays and fiction.
your comprehension. Textbooks, academic journals, and magazine and newspaper
articles have different features. When you know how a reading is
LO 4 Reflect upon and interpret what you
organized, you can choose the best reading strategy to use. The chart
have read.
below describes the features of each type of reading:
Examples of College Reading Materials
Type of Reading Features

Textbooks Textbooks usually include these elements:
■ Units, chapters, and sections
■ Headings and subheadings
■ Chapter summaries
■ Chapter study questions
academic journal a Academic Journal articles follow a standard format:
publication in which researchers Journal
publish articles on their work. ■ Short summary (also called an abstract)
Before an article is published, it Articles ■ Introduction to the subject of the article
has to be reviewed by researchers
working in the same field to
■ Review of research that has already been done on the subject
guarantee the quality of the ■ Methods of research
research. ■ Discussion of the results
Newspaper Newspaper and magazine articles follow a similar format, but
and Magazine a magazine article may have more pictures and may be longer:
Articles ■ A lead paragraph gets the readers attention and briefly tells
who, what, where, when, why, and how.
■ The story begins with essential information and ends with less
important information.
■ Body paragraphs are short.
■ The article ends with a final thought on the subject.
22
Active Reading
PRACTICE Getting to Know College Reading Materials

1 Choose a textbook, an academic journal article, a newspaper article, or a maga-
zine article. Looking at the chart on the previous page, find the features that are listed
in the material you have selected.
What Is Active Reading?

LO 1 Describe the When your professors assign reading materials, they expect you to learn, think about,
stages of the active reading and respond to those materials. Learning how to be an active reader will help you get
process. the most out of your reading assignments.
Active reading is the use of a variety of strategies before, during, and after you read
to help you understand, learn, and study what you have read. Active reading takes time
and effort, but you will get more from your reading than if you simply read and highlight.
The active reading process has three stages: (1) get ready to read, (2) understand
the reading, and (3) remember and think about the reading.
Stage 1. Get Ready to Read

LO 2 Use prereading In this stage, you prepare to read by looking over the material to find out what it is
strategies to prepare for about, what you already know about the topic, what your purpose for reading is, and
reading. how difficult the reading is. Answer the following questions while you look over the
reading material:
GET REAdy To REAd ChECklIsT
What is the reading about? The reading material offers clues about its content.
■ Look at the title to get an idea of the subject of the reading.
■ Look through the reading itself.
Check the length of the reading.
Look at the key parts of the reading. Use the chart on the previous page as a guide.
Look at images, charts, or graphs.
What do you already know about the subject? Having some knowledge about the
subject makes reading easier.
Think about your background knowledge of the topic.
Search online for more information.
What is your purpose for reading? Having a purpose helps you focus on getting the
information you need.
To learn information for a test
To write a summary
To make an outline
To get ready to talk about the main ideas
To write a paper about the reading
Other _____________
23
Active Reading
How difficult is the reading? A more difficult reading will take more time and effort.
Vocabulary words are new to me.
The writing is at a higher level than I am used to.
The explanations are hard to understand.
Take Prereading Notes

Taking prereading notes is an active reading strategy. This strategy involves looking
through the reading for certain features to get an overall idea of what it is about and then
writing them down in a prereading graphic organizer.
Prereading Graphic Organizer

Use the interactive graphic
organizer at mywritinglab.com
Title
Author
Type of reading (textbook selection, magazine

article, news article, website, and so on)
Topic of reading (look for clues in title,
headings, and graphics)
Purpose for reading
List any words or phrases that are in bold print or italics.
List any headings.

Describe any graphics (photos, drawings, charts, maps,
and so on)
Write number of paragraphs or pages.
Explain prior knowledge of subject.
Find unfamiliar words and/or concepts.
24
Active Reading
Tori was assigned to read a section of her textbook Essentials of Sociology by James
M. Henslin shown later in this chapter. She prepared to read by filling in the Get Ready
to Read Checklist shown earlier in this chapter.
After reading the selection, Tori filled in the Prereading Graphic Organizer:
Tori’s Prereading Graphic Organizer
Title “Beauty May Be Only Skin Deep, but Its Effects

Go on Forever: Stereotypes in Everyday Life”
Author James M. Henslin

Type of reading (textbook selection, magazine Textbook excerpt from Essentials of Sociology
article, news article, website, and so on)
Topic of reading (look for clues in title, Title gives the idea that the excerpt will be about
headings, and graphics) how beauty affects our everyday life
Purpose for reading Homework assignment
List any words or phrases that are in bold print or italics. “Stereotypes” is in bold and defined
List any headings. How Self-Fulfilling Stereotypes Work
Describe any graphics (photos, drawings, charts, maps, Chart under heading How Self-Fulfilling Stereotypes Work
and so on).
Write number of paragraphs or pages. 4 paragraphs

Explain prior knowledge of subject. I have heard the expression “beauty is only skin deep.”
According to what the dictionary says, the quote means
that physical beauty is only on the outside and is not as
important as a person’s intellectual, emotional, and
spiritual qualities—but I think our culture and the media
focuses on how important physical beauty is. Women
have a lot of pressure on them to look beautiful so they
go on extreme diets and want to get plastic surgery.
Find unfamiliar words and/or concepts. Word/Concept Definition
self-fulfilling the idea that a person will
stereotype behave in the way others think he
or she will behave
stereotype qualities given or judgments made
about groups of people without
knowing them, related to their race,
nationality, or sexual orientation to
name a few
ingenious very clever and skillful
homely not good-looking
reserved tending to keep your feelings
or thoughts private rather
than showing them
permeate to spread through something;
to be present in every part of it
revenues income
25
Active Reading
PRACTICE Taking Prereading Notes

2 Choose a selection from a textbook for one of your courses or from one of the
reading selections in this textbook and fill in the Prereading Graphic Organizer shown
earlier in this chapter.
Stage 2. Understand the Reading

LO 3 Use reading strat- After you have prepared to read by looking over the material and taking prereading notes,
egies to improve your you are ready for the next stage: read to understand. As an active reader, check frequently
comprehension. to see if you understand what you have read. Instead of silently reading and highlighting,
use strategies that help you understand and learn the material. Three of these strategies
are annotating, taking notes, and RAP.
Annotating
Annotating is the process of writing comments and notes directly on the reading materi-
als. Annotating keeps you involved in your reading. Also, writing notes and comments
are helpful for paragraph summaries, questions about the material, important vocabulary
words and definitions, and your thoughts or opinions. When you annotate, your notes
will stand out so that you can find important information later.
Before annotating, read the section or passage to get a sense of what it is about. You
can write notes and comments, use symbols, or draw concept maps. If you prefer to use
symbols, it is a good idea to make a set of symbols that you plan to use every time you
annotate. For example, you can use circles for words you need to look up or learn or
put boxes around important ideas. Another way to annotate is to draw concept maps in
the margins.
Here is Tori’s annotated version of the textbook excerpt “Beauty May Be Only Skin
Deep, but Its Effects Go on Forever: Stereotypes in Everyday Life.”
Purpose of
experiment—are Beauty May Be Only Skin Deep, but Its Effects
stereotypes Go on Forever: Stereotypes in Everyday Life
self-fulfilling?
Description of 1 Mark Snyder, a psychologist, wondered whether stereotypes—

experiment
our assumptions of what people are like—might be self-fulfilling. He
?? Look up
came up with an ingenious way to test this idea. He (1993) gave college
men a Polaroid snapshot of a woman (supposedly taken just moments
before) and told them that he would introduce them to her after they
talked with her on the telephone. Actually, the photographs—showing
either a pretty or a homely woman—had been prepared before the experi-
ment began. The photo was not of the woman the men would talk to.
2 Stereotypes came into play immediately. As Synder gave each man the
photograph, he asked him what he thought the woman would be like. The men
26
Active Reading
Men reacted more who saw the photograph of the attractive woman said that they expected to
positively to photo of
pretty woman meet a poised, humorous, outgoing woman. The men who had been given a photo
of the unattractive woman described her as awkward, serious, and unsociable.
Main idea 3 The men’s stereotypes influenced the way they spoke on the telephone
to the women, who did not know about the photographs. The men who had
seen the photograph of a pretty woman were warm, friendly, and humorous.
This, in turn, affected the women they spoke to, for they responded in a warm,
friendly, outgoing manner. And the men who had seen the photograph of the
homely woman? On the phone, they were cold, reserved, and humorless, and
the women they spoke to became cool, reserved, and humorless. Keep in mind
that the women did not know that their looks had been evaluated—and that
Summary the photographs were not even of them. In short, stereotypes tend to produce
behaviors that match the stereotype. This principle is illustrated in this figure:
How Self-Fulfilling Stereotypes Work
We see features of the person, or hear things about the person.
We fit what we see or hear into stereotypes, and then expect

the person to act in certain ways.
How we expect the person to act shapes our attitudes.
From how we act, the person gets ideas of how we perceive

him or her.
The behaviors of the person change to match our expectations,

thus confirming the stereotype.
4 Although beauty might be only skin deep, its consequences per-

meate our lives (Katz 2005). Beauty bestows an 1 advantage in every-
day interaction, but it also has other effects. For one, if you are physically
27
Active Reading
2
attractive, you are likely to make more money. Researchers in both Hol-
Effects of being
attractive land and the United States found that advertising firms with better look-
ing executives have 3 higher revenues (Bosman et al. 1997; Pfann et al.
2000). The reason? The researchers suggest that people are more will-
ing to associate with individuals whom they perceive as good-looking.
Men Women
■ Shown photos of women ■ Did not see photos of men and didn’t
know about photos
■ Were warm and friendly to pretty ■ Responded the same way that men
woman, cold to homely woman talked to them
TIP If you don’t want to write in your book, use sticky notes. Write down important
ideas, words, summaries, and questions. You can use different colored sticky notes:
one color for main ideas, another color for vocabulary words to learn, another for
questions you have, and so on.
PRACTICE Annotating a Reading

3 Annotate a reading selection. Use the selection you worked with in Practice 1 or
2 or choose a different one.
Take Notes
Some students find that taking notes on a reading helps them to understand it better.
Using paper or an electronic device, write the main ideas and supporting points from
the reading. Instead of copying word for word, put the ideas in your own words, which
will increase your understanding of the reading selection.
RAP
RAP is an active reading strategy to use while you are reading to check your understanding.
This is especially helpful when the material is difficult or when your mind starts to wander.
RAP can be done silently or out loud. It consists of three parts: Read, Ask, and Paraphrase.
■ Read a paragraph or section.

■ Ask yourself what the main ideas are.
■ Put the main ideas in your own words.
28
Active Reading
Click and Clunk

Click and Clunk is another strategy for checking reading comprehension or figuring
out words you do not know. Say “click” to yourself when you understand and “clunk”
when you come across something that is confusing. Clunks are things that you should
pay more attention to.
Responding to Clunks
When you don’t understand ■ Reread the passage.

part of the reading ■ Reread a few sentences after it for further
explanation.
When you don’t understand ■ Reread the sentence for clues.
a word ■ Reread the sentences before and after.
■ Look for smaller words within the word.
■ Look it up in a dictionary.
Stage 3. Remember and React to the Reading

LO 4 Reflect upon and The active reading process does not end when you have read the very last word of the
interpret what you have material.
read.
Remember the Reading
To remember what you have read, use your annotations and notes to make a reading
map. A reading map includes the main idea, the supporting evidence and explana-
tions, and the conclusion. Add rows for more main ideas and supporting evidence as
needed.
29
Active Reading
Reading Map Graphic Organizer

Use the interactive graphic
organizer at mywritinglab.com
Main Idea:
Supporting Evidence/Explanation:
Supporting Point Explanation
Conclusion:
After annotating the selection, Tori made a Reading Map of it (see next page). To map
the supporting evidence and explanation, she used the chart from the reading and added
the information about the experiment to it.
30
Active Reading
Tori’s Reading Map Graphic Organizer
Main Idea: People tend to believe stereotypes, which affects their actions. As a result, the people who are
stereotyped behave the way others think they should behave.
Supporting Evidence/Explanation: Psychologist Mark Snyder did an experiment to find out whether
stereotypes affect a person’s attitude and whether a person acts the way we expect him or her to act.
Supporting Point Explanation
1. “We see features of the person, College men were shown a photo of pretty
or hear things about the person.” or homely women.
2. “We fit what we see or hear into The men described how they thought the women
stereotypes, and then expect the would act. They gave positive behaviors for pretty
person to act in certain ways.” women and negative behaviors for homely women.
3. “How we expect the person to On the phone, the men were warm and friendly to
act shapes our attitudes.” the pretty women and cold and formal with the
homely women.
4. “From how we act, the person gets The women got an idea of what the men thought
ideas of how we perceive him or her.” of them from the way the men talked to them.
5. “The behaviors of the person change The way the men spoke to the women affected
to match our expectations thus the way they spoke to the men. The women
confirming the stereotype.” spoke to the men in the same way they were
spoken to.
Conclusion:
Researchers suggest that people are more willing to spend time with individuals that they think are good-looking.
PRACTICE Mapping a Reading

4 Map a reading selection. Use a selection you worked with in the other practices
in this chapter or choose a different one. Use the Reading Map Graphic Organizer on
the previous page.
React to the Reading: Reader Response

While you were reading, you probably had thoughts and opinions about the material.
Reacting to the reading involves thinking about what you have read and linking your
thoughts something else you have read, to your own life experiences, or to something
in the real world. Text means the reading selection.
31
Active Reading
Text-to-Text ■ Does this reading remind you of something else you have
read, heard, or seen (story, book, movie, song, news item,
magazine article, website, and so on)?
■ Are the ideas the same or different?
Text-to-Self ■ How do the ideas in the reading relate to your own life,
experiences, or ideas?
■ Do you agree or disagree with what you read?
Text-to-World ■ What does the reading remind you of in the real world?
■ Does it make you think about something in the past, pres-
ent, or future?
PRACTICE Reader Response

5 Respond to a reading selection by answering the questions for text-to-text, text-
to-self, or text-to-world. Use the selection you worked with in the other practices in
this chapter or choose a different one.
REAdING sElECTIoNs
FAMIly sTUdIEs ■ Kelly J. Welch, excerpt from Family Life Now, “Being Single”
■ Eleanore Wells, excerpt from The Spinsterlicious Life: 20 Life Lessons for Liv-
Theme: Singlehood ing Happily Single and Child-free
soCIoloGy ■ James M. Henslin, excerpt from Essentials of Sociology, “The Power of Peer
Pressure: The Asch Experiment”
Theme: Peer Pressure ■ Julia Alvarez, “Names/Nombres”
hIsToRy ■ Robert A. Devine et al., excerpt from America Past and Present, “The Face of
the Holocaust”
Theme: The Holocaust ■ Elie Wiesel, excerpt from Night
hosPITAlITy ■ John R. Walker, excerpt from Introduction to Hospitality Management, “The

Disney Approach to Guest Services”
Theme: Guest Service ■ Jane Engle, “Server Tips: How to Get More Out of Customers”
BIoloGy ■ Teresa Audesirk, Gerald Audesirk, and Bruce E. Byers, excerpt from Biology,
“Sex and Symmetry”
Theme: The Science of Attraction ■ David Perrett, “Why Women Fall for Men Who Look like Their Fa-
ther . . . and Other Astonishing Secrets of the Science of Attraction”
hEAlTh ANd WEllNEss

■ B. E. Pruitt, John P. Allegrante, and Deborah Prothrow-Stith, excerpt from
Health, “Stages of Stress”
Theme: Mind-Body Connection ■ Daniel G. Amen, M.D., “Kill the Ants That Invade Your Brain”
32
Active Reading
ANThRoPoloGy ■ Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, and Peter N. Peregrine, excerpt from Anthro-
pology, “Race: A Meaningless Idea”
Theme: Race ■ Charisse Jones, “Light Skin versus Dark”
EdUCATIoN ■ Don Kauchak and Paul Eggen, excerpt from Introduction to Teaching, “What
Role Should Punishment Play in Classroom Management?”
Theme: Classroom Courtesy ■ Alan Bloom, “Making Cell Phones in the Class a Community Builder”
FAMIly sTUdIEs Theme: Singlehood
Being single Individuals experience singlehood in a variety of ways. As you read the
following textbook excerpt from Family Life Now, think of people you know who fit each
of sociologist Peter Stein’s categories of singles.
Get Ready to Read: Preview the reading and then fill in a Prereading Graphic
Organizer like the one shown earlier in this chapter.
Excerpt from Family Life Now

Being Single
Kelly J. Welch
1 In U.S. culture, and in cultures around the world, marriage is assumed to

be the next stage in a person’s life following adolescence and early adult-
hood. But not everyone who dates has marriage on his or her mind. To be
certain, U.S. culture today is seeing increasing numbers of singles, and
singlehood is becoming a popular trend among the young and old as well.
2 Historically, American culture viewed singlehood as a transitional stage
that preceded marriage and parenting; being single was not viewed as a
lifestyle that adults purposely chose, but as a stepping stone to the eventual,
expected adult roles of spouse and parent. This is changing, however. In
1970, the number of unmarried adults was less than 28 percent; in contrast,
in 2005, 44 percent of households nationwide were maintained by unmar-
ried men or women.
3 Singles are a complex and diverse group, and there are differences in
how people experience singlehood. People may be single because they
have never married, because they are divorced, because they are widowed,
or because they are lesbians or gay men who are not legally allowed to wed.
4 Sociologist Peter Stein developed a system for grouping singlehood into
four categories. It takes into account that some people are single by choice,
while others are single for the time being, or are unintentionally single.
■ Voluntary temporary singles: Singles in this category include those who

have never married, as well as those who were previously married and
are now divorced or widowed. Voluntary singles are not opposed to mar-
riage; rather, they are not currently looking for a mate because it is not a
priority. Voluntary temporary singles may delay marriage for a number of
reasons, including the desire to pursue their education or career goals.
■ Voluntary permanent singles: This category of singles includes those
who chose deliberately to remain unmarried. The choice to remain sin-
gle is stable and permanent over time. Voluntary permanent singles
33
Active Reading
include never-marrieds, those who have divorced and have no intention

of remarrying, cohabiting individuals, gay and lesbian couples, and cer-
tain members of the clergy, such as priests and nuns.
involuntary not done by choice ■ Involuntary temporary singles: Among this category are singles who
want to be married and who are actively seeking a marriage mate. This
group of singles includes people who have never married, as well as
those who were previously married and are now divorced or widowed.
It also includes single parents who have never been married.
■ Involuntary permanent singles: In this category are those singles who
wanted to marry but did not find a marriage mate. These singles may be
never married, divorced, or widowed. Over time, they come to accept
their unmarried status.
5 As Stein’s groups illustrate, singlehood can be a transitional stepping

stone, it can be an unexpected phase in the life course because of divorce
or the death of a spouse, or it can be a deliberate choice. It shows us that
being single is a fluid, changeable state. In other words, there will always
be people who are single for a certain period of time, and there will always
be people who remain single throughout their lives—either by choice or
circumstance.
Understand the Reading

1. What is the main idea of the reading selection?
2. What are the four categories of singles?
3. How has the view of singlehood changed in the United States culture?
Vocabulary in Context. The following words appear in the reading selection.

Write a definition for each of the following words as they are used in the reading selec-
tion. If you are not sure of the meaning, try to figure it out from the other words and
sentences around it.
Word Para Definition

stepping stone 2 ____________________________________________
cohabit 4 ____________________________________________
widowed 3, 4 ____________________________________________
Remember the Reading. Map the reading selection. Fill in a Reading Map like the
one shown earlier in this chapter. Then, using your own words, summarize the reading.
34
Active Reading
React to the Reading

1. Reader Response: Think about the reading and link it to something else you
have read, to your own life experiences, or to something in the real world.
ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Choose one of Stein’s groups of singles and give examples of two
people who fit that group.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Write a paper giving one or more examples for each group
of singles.
happily single In the previous reading selection, Stein groups singles into categories.
One group is the voluntary permanent group. People in this group have decided to
remain single. As you read the following selection from The Spinsterlicious Life, notice
how author Eleanore Wells gives examples of words used to describe single women in
United States culture.
Get Ready to Read: Preview the reading, and then fill in a Prereading Graphic
The Spinsterlicious Life: 20 Life Lessons for Living Happily

Single and Child-free
Lesson 1
Eleanore Wells
1 Marriage. Kids. They’re not for everybody.

2 Recently, Lauren—my best friend for more than 25 years—called me
an “old maid.” It began innocently enough (though few of Lauren’s com-
ments are innocent, given her wicked sense of humor). Practicing my
Spanish, I had left her a phone message playfully identifying myself as Se-
ñorita Wells, and Lauren was kind enough to point out to me that I was too
old to be a señorita. She went on to explain that señorita (like mademoiselle
and even, to a somewhat lesser extent, miss) is used to refer to a young
35
Active Reading
unmarried woman, NOT an old unmarried woman. It seems there is no

word for that. The concept of a delightful middle-aged woman who has
never had a husband (or children) is too far outside what is expected in so-
ciety for there to be a word to describe it. So that’s when Lauren cheerfully
volunteered the “old maid” option. So I stand corrected: There is a word for
this poor woman . . . just not one that I like so much.
3 I began a halfhearted search for a word that aptly describes this life-
stage of mine. I couldn’t be bothered to pick up a hard-copy dictionary, so I
just went online. I Googled the definition of “old maid,” and the Collins Es-
sential English Dictionary said this:
4 old maid, n. 1. A woman regarded as unlikely ever to marry.
5 Okay, that certainly is me . . . by my own definition and that of most people
who know me. I’m often amused by the calls I get from past suitors to ask me
out again when they’re between relationships of their own. I have this vision of
them, newly single, thumbing through their phone contacts and wondering
who they can find to help fill some time. And then they remember me. When
they call, they are usually kind enough to ask if I’m seeing anyone, but I don’t
think even one has ever asked if I was now married. They just kind of know.
6 I kept looking. Answers.com added more color to the definition:
1. Old maid, n. Offensive. A woman who has remained single beyond
the conventional age for marrying.
7 This definition also fits me, technically, though I don’t think I want to
adopt it if it’s going to offend (although I guess the offense is actually to
withered old crone an me). Plus, I can’t help but think of the withered old crone in the Old Maid
unattractive, old woman
card deck. When I was growing up, we would play the game whose goal
was not to be the player who ended up the Old Maid. Ending up an Old
Maid was obviously bad. Plus, the Old Maid was ugly, with scraggly hair, a
big nose, and warts. I don’t look quite like that, so I guess I don’t want her
representing me. And, fittingly, there was only ONE lonely, 7, Old Maid card
in the deck. All the other cards had a mate—because, clearly, that’s the way
things should be.
8 At the opposite end of the spectrum is bachelorette. It sounds light-
hearted and fun. I think of my youth, and cocktails, short dresses, high
heels, and unencumbered weekend mornings. That still feels like me, al-
though my gut knows there’s a problem—without my actually having to
look it up. Webster’s New World College Dictionary says:
36
Active Reading
bach·elor·ette, noun Informal. An unmarried, usually young woman.

9 This definition confirms my suspicions that I passed that a decade or
Jane Austen British author
(1775–1817) who chose to remain two ago. But there’s always spinster. I think of Jane Austen. I’m pretty sure
single. Famous for novels such as
Pride and Prejudice this doesn’t quite fit me, either, but it’s a thought.
spinster an unmarried woman spinster. Archaic: An unmarried woman of gentle family.
who is past the usual age for
marrying and is considered 10 While I’m not exactly sure what “gentle family” means, I doubt that it
unlikely to marry —now often
considered an insulting word describes mine though I have a great family. The Encarta Dictionary says it
blue collar people who do work means “upper class, relating to high social status.” I grew up in a blue-collar
needing strength or physical skill
rather than office work family in Washington, D.C. We’re good people, but good, solid, working-
class people, so I’d be taking a few liberties with spinster, too—but there’s
something about it that I like. It’s archaic, and I think I like the idea of resur-
recting a word that’s past its prime. It sounds sturdy and not completely
pathetic.
11 So spinster it is, at least for now. But why am I not, instead, a wife and/or
mother? Lord knows I’ve been asked that question a gazillion times. My
most honest answer, really, is that I think I was absent the day those genes
were being given out. I don’t have a memory of ever aspiring to be either
of those things (let’s just assume “aspiring” is the right word). When I
played “house” with Renée, Jackie, and Carla as a kid, everyone wanted to
be the mother (who was also a wife) . . . except me. I often agreed to be
the man/husband/father . . . not that I wanted to be a man (I’m straight),
but we were playing make-believe and I didn’t see what the fuss was
about, so I was happy to accept this role so we could get the game mov-
ing along. What difference did it really make? If I remember correctly, I
was the only one who felt that way. I was the only one not vying to play
Mama.
12 It’s always remarkable to me when I come across a grown woman who
brightly declares, “I’ve known since I was a kid exactly what kind of wedding
I wanted.” I’m thinking to myself, “What is wrong with her?” In all these years,
I can honestly say that I’ve never fantasized about my wedding or what I
would name my kids. (Yeah, I’ve met women who picked their firstborn’s
name long before they even knew who the father would be.) I don’t think I
ever actually thought that marriage and kids were necessarily bad things,
but they never seemed to be for me . . . and I really was and remain puzzled
why just about everybody else in the whole wide world felt that it was for
them.
37
Active Reading
13 Most of the spinsters I know are kind of spinsters-by-default in that

they didn’t actively choose it. Some definitely wanted to be married, but
on the fence informal expression just weren’t able to make it happen. Others were kind of on the fence:
meaning undecided
wanting it, but not willing to work too hard at it. As far as I know, I’m the
only one I know who went out of her way to make sure that marriage didn’t
happen. This used to make me feel kind of weird sometimes—that whole
square-peg-round-hole square-peg-round-hole thing. I often get the raised-eyebrow look when I
informal expression meaning trying
to combine two things that do not say I actually chose this. People don’t know what to make of it. Now it’s their
belong or fit together
turn to think “What’s wrong with her?” (meaning me).
14 I still chuckle, though, at the advice I was given, when I was just a spinster-
in-training, from an older woman I knew who had also managed never to
have a husband or child. She told me that I should just “find someone and
marry him.” Even if I didn’t like him very much, I should do it; I had to stay
only a little while. Then I could divorce him, because, you see, “It’s better to
be a has-been than a never-was”! I’m not sure I buy that, but I know that a
lot of people do.
15 I have been fortunate (fortunate?) enough to have had a few boy-
friends who wanted to marry me, so it’s not like I didn’t get a chance. It just
never felt right. And marriage seems really hard. Consistently, whenever I
have tried to entertain the notion of marriage for even a nanosecond, it has
been impossible to look 15 years down the road and still see that same
guy’s face. No matter how much I loved him. That image just didn’t work for
me. How in the world was I supposed to pick someone and stay there? I
don’t even plan most of my vacations too far into the future, because I
might change my mind.
Don’t Fence Me In
16 Amelia Earhart—aviator, brave soul, free spirit, and the first person to
fly solo over both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans—has come closest to
describing my feelings about my own marriage. In a letter to her then-
fiancé in 1931 she wrote, “I cannot guarantee to endure at all the confine-
ments of even an attractive cage.” I totally get that.
17 And kids? All I know is that they can be great . . . for a few minutes.
When I’m around them, I spend most of my time pretending that they’re
cuter and more interesting than I actually think they are. When their par-
ents aren’t looking, I pinch them. (Not really.)
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Active Reading
18 And here’s something I’m finding rather interesting: Lately there’s been
a rash of studies and articles about how some people are finding that rais-
ing kids can be really hard and rather unfulfilling. Maureen Dowd wrote in a
New York Times column and quoted a researcher who found that “the one
thing in life that will make you less happy is having children.”
19 And I think the title of an article in New York magazine, “All Joy and No
Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting,” pretty much says it all. Should this stuff
really be a newsflash, though? Kids are cute, wonderful, and delightful, but
they’re also expensive, time-consuming, irritating, anxiety-producing, and
a lot of work. And sometimes, when they grow up, they lose the “cute.”
(Both articles go on to talk about how unwilling people are to admit they
wish they hadn’t had kids or that their kids were helping destroy their hap-
piness, so I won’t belabor this point.) Honestly, sometimes I wonder if
parents who are “concerned” that I don’t have kids are really members of
misery loves company the misery-loves-company club. Just a thought . . .
a proverb meaning that people
who are sad like to be with 20 So, here I am: 56 years old, still single, still with no children. (Lauren has
others that are sad
been married to Albert for more than 25 years, most of them happy.) And
while I’ve never second-guessed the “no kids” thing (well, almost never), I
do sometimes wish there was such a thing as Rent-a-Husband. I can see
times when one might come in handy.
21 When I meet a guy these days, I’m not necessarily seeking marriage,
but I am no longer repelled by the thought of something seriously long-
lasting. At this age, “till death do us part” isn’t that long, so it’s not so
daunting, and I am finally ready to spend some Saturday nights sprawled
on the couch rather than on a date. Fortunately, I’m too old to have to even
think about kids.

2. The author gives examples of three words used in the United States culture to
describe single women. What are they and what do they mean?
3. Why does the author call her life spinsterlicious?
39
Active Reading


halfhearted 3
aptly 3
suitor 5
scraggly 7
unencumbered 8
pathetic 7, 10
resurrecting 10
repelled 21

■ Does it make you think about something in the past,
present, or future?
2. QuickWrite: If you are or were once single, write about either the positive or
negative aspects of being single.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Write a paper giving examples of people who are happily
married or happily single.
40
Active Reading
Connect the Illustration Readings

1. Being single has become more acceptable in the United States. However, not all
religious or cultural groups agree. What are your feelings about singlehood?
2. One example of voluntary permanent singles in Stein’s groups is people who are
cohabiting (living together). Do you think society has become more accepting of
cohabiting?
soCIoloGy Theme: Peer Pressure

The Asch Experiment The pressure to conform is motivated by the human need to be
liked, to be correct, or to fit a social role. Changing your thinking or behavior to fit into
a group can have positive or negative effects. As you read this textbook excerpt, think
about how you would have reacted as a student in Dr. Asch’s experiment.
Excerpt from Essentials of Sociology

The Power of Peer Pressure: The Asch Experiment
James M. Henslin
1 How influential are groups in our lives? To answer this, let’s look first
at conformity in the sense of going along with our peers. Our peers have no
authority over us, only the influence we allow.
social psychology the branch 2 Imagine that you are taking a course in social psychology with Dr.
of psychology that studies persons Solomon Asch and you have agreed to participate in an experiment. As you
and their relationships with others,
with groups, and with society as a enter his laboratory, you see seven chairs, five of them already filled by other
whole students. You are given the sixth. Soon the seventh person arrives. Dr. Asch
stands at the front of the room next to a covered easel. He explains that he
will first show a large card with a vertical line on it, then another card with
three vertical lines. Each of you is to tell him which of the three lines match-
es the line on the first card.
3 Dr. Asch then uncovers the first card with the single line and the com-
parison card with three lines. The correct answer is easy, for two of the lines
are obviously wrong, and one is exactly right. Each person, in order, states
his or her answer aloud. You all answer correctly. The second trial is just as
easy, and you begin to wonder why you are there.
4 Then on the third trial, something unexpected happens. Just as before,
it is easy to tell which lines match. The first student, however, gives the
wrong answer. The second gives the same incorrect answer. So do the third
and the fourth. By now, you are wondering what is wrong. How will the
person next to you answer? You can hardly believe it when he, too, gives the
same wrong answer. Then it is your turn, and you give what you know is
the right answer. The seventh person also gives the same wrong answer.
5 On the next trial, the same thing happens. You know that the choice
of the other six is wrong. They are giving what to you are obviously wrong
answers. You don’t know what to think. Why aren’t they seeing things the
41
Active Reading
same way you are? Sometimes they do, but in twelve trials they don’t.
Something is wrong, and you are no longer sure what to do.
6 When the eighteenth trial is finished, you heave a sigh of relief. The ex-
periment is finally over, and you are ready to bolt for the door. Dr. Asch walks
over to you with a big smile on his face and thanks you for participating in the
experiment. He explains that you were the only real subject of the experi-
ment! “The other six were stooges. I paid them to give those answers,” he
says. Now you feel real relief. Your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you after all.
7 What were the results? Asch tested fifty people. One-third (33 percent)
gave in to the group half the time, giving what they knew to be wrong
answers. Another two out of five (40 percent) gave wrong answers but not
as often. One out of four (25 percent) stuck to their guns and always gave
the right answer. I don’t know how I would do on this test (if I knew noth-
ing about it in advance), but I like to think that I would be part of the 25
percent. You probably feel the same way about yourself. But why should we
feel that we wouldn’t be like most people?
8 The results are disturbing, and more researchers have replicated Asch’s
experiment than any other study. In our land of individualism, the group is
so powerful that most people are willing to say things that they know are
not true. And this was a group of strangers! How much more conformity
can we expect when our group consists of friends, people we value highly
and depend on for getting along in life?

1. What is the main idea of the textbook excerpt?
2. Summarize the Asch experiment.
3. What were the results of the Asch experiment and why were they disturbing?


conformity 1
trial 3
heave a sigh of relief 6
42
Active Reading
bolt for 6
stooges 6
stuck to their guns 7
replicate 8
individualism 8

ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Conformity is defined as behavior that follows the usual standards

expected by a group or society. Write about a time when you or someone you
know conformed to the standards of a group or society. The situation could have
been positive or negative.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Develop your QuickWrite story into a narrative paper.
Make a point about the meaning or importance of the experience or event in your
main idea sentence.
The Power of Names Has anyone ever mispronounced your name? Imagine the frus-
tration many immigrants experience when English speakers have difficulty with their
names. To avoid this, some people translate their names to English equivalents or replace
them with American names. While reading this personal essay, notice how names play
an important role in the author’s struggle for identity in a new culture.
43
Active Reading
Names/Nombres
Julia Alvarez
1 When we arrived in New York City, our names changed almost immedi-
ately. At immigration, the officer asked my father, Mister Elbures, if we had
anything to declare. My father shook his head, “No,” and we were waved
through. I was too afraid we wouldn’t be let in if I corrected the man’s pro-
nunciation, but I said our name to myself, opening my mouth wide for the
organ blast of the a, trilling my tongue for the drum-roll of the r. All-vah-rrr-
es! How could anyone get Elbures out of that orchestra of sound?
super superintendent; the person 2 When we moved into our new apartment building, the super called
who manages an apartment building
my father Mister Alberase, and the neighbors who became mother’s friends
pronounced her name Jew-lee-ah instead of Hoo-lee-ah. I, her namesake,
was known as Hoo-lee-tah at home. But at school, I was Judy or Judith, and
once an English teacher mistook me for Juliet.
3 It took awhile to get used to my new names. I wondered if I shouldn’t
correct my teachers and new friends. But my mother argued that it didn’t
matter. “You know what your friend Shakespeare said, ‘A rose by any other
name would smell as sweet.’” My father had gotten into the habit of calling
any famous author “my friend” because I had begun to write poems and
stories in English class.
4 By the time I was in high school, I was a popular kid, and it showed in
my name. Friends called me Jules or Hey Jude, and once a group of trouble-
making friends my mother forbade me to hang out with called me Alcatraz.
I was Hoo-lee-tah only to Mami and Papi and uncles and aunts who came
sancocho a stew of beef, chicken, over to eat sancocho on Sunday afternoons—old world folk whom I would
or fish with vegetables, plantains, and
yucca just as soon go back to where they came from and leave me to pursue
whatever mischief I wanted to in America. JUDY ALCATRAZ: the name on
the Wanted Poster would read. Who would ever trace her to me?
5 My older sister had the hardest time getting an American name for
herself because Mauricia did not translate into English. Ironically, although
she had the most foreign-sounding name, she and I were the Americans in
the family. We had been born in New York City when our parents had first
tried immigration and then gone back “home,” too homesick to stay. My
mother often told the story of how she had almost changed my sister’s
name in the hospital.
44
Active Reading
6 After the delivery, Mami and some other new mothers were cooing
over their new baby sons and daughters and exchanging names and
weights and delivery stories. My mother was embarrassed among the Sallys
and Hanes and Georges and Johns to reveal the rich, noisy name of Mauri-
cia, so when her turn came to brag, she gave her baby’s name as Maureen.
7 “Why’d ya give her an Irish name with so many pretty Spanish names to
choose from?” one woman asked.
8 My mother blushed and admitted her baby’s real name to the group.
Her mother-in-law had recently died, she apologized, and her husband had
insisted that the first daughter be named after his mother, Mauran. My
mother thought it the ugliest name she had ever heard, and she talked my
father into what she believed was an improvement, a combination of Mau-
ran and her own mother’s name, Felicia.
9 “Her name is Mau-ree-shee-ah,” my mother said to the group of women.
10 “Why that’s a beautiful name,” the new mothers cried. “Moor-ee-sha,
Moor-ee-sha,” they cooed into the pink blanket. Moor-ee-sha it was when
we returned to the States eleven years later. Sometimes, American tongues
found even that mispronunciation too tough to say and called her Maria or
Marsha or Maudy from her nickname Maury. I pitied her. What an awful
name to have to transport across borders!
11 My little sister, Ana, had the easiest time of all. She was plain Anne—that
is, only her name was plain, for she turned out to be the pale, blond “American
beauty” in the family. The only Hispanic thing about her was the affectionate
nicknames her boyfriends sometimes gave her. Anita, or as one goofy guy
used to sing to her to the tune of the banana advertisement, Anita Banana.
12 Later, during her college years in the late ‘60s, there was a push to pro-
nounce Third World names correctly. I remember calling her long distance
at her group house and a roommate answering.
13 “Can I speak to Ana?” I asked, pronouncing her name the American way.
14 “Ana?” The man’s voice hesitated. “Oh! You must mean Ah-nah!”
15 Our first few years in the States, though, ethnicity was not yet “in.” Those
bobby sock years refers to a were the blond, blue-eyed, bobby sock years of junior high school before
time when bobby socks were popular
in the 1950s. Bobby socks have thick the ‘60s ushered in peasant blouses, hoop earrings, serapes. My initial de-
uppers that were turned down into a
cuff at the ankles. sire to be known by my correct Dominican name faded. I just wanted to be
serapes colorful shawls Judy and merge with the Sallys and Janes in my class. But inevitably, my ac-
cent and coloring gave me away. “So where are you from, Judy?”
45
Active Reading
16 “New York,” I told my classmates. After all, I had been born blocks away
at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
17 “I mean, originally.”
18 “From the Caribbean,” I answered vaguely, for if I specified, no one was
quite sure on what continent our island was located.
19 “Really? I’ve been to Bermuda. We went last April for spring vacation. I
got the worst sunburn! So, are you from Portoriko?”
20 “No,” I sighed. “From the Dominican Republic.”
21
“Where’s that?”
22 “South of Bermuda.”
23 They were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame when-
ever they singled me out as a “foreigner,” a rare, exotic friend.
24 “Say your name in Spanish, oh please say it!” I had made mouths drop
one day by rattling off my full name, which according to Dominican cus-
tom, included my middle names, Mother’s and Father’s surnames for four
generations back.
25 “Julia Altagracia Maria Teresa Alvarez Tavares Perello Espaillat Julia Pérez
Rochet González,” I pronounced it slowly, a name as chaotic with sounds as
a Middle Eastern bazaar or market day in a South American village.
26 My Dominican heritage was never more apparent than when my ex-
tended family attended school occasions. For my graduation, they all came,
the whole lot of aunts and uncles and the many little cousins who snuck in
without tickets. They sat in the first row in order to better understand the
Americans’ fast-spoken English. But how could they listen when they were
rococo fancy, ornate style of art of constantly speaking among themselves in florid-sounding phrases, rococo
the early eighteenth century
consonants, rich, rhyming vowels?
27 Introducing them to my friends was a further trial to me. These relatives
had such complicated names and there were so many of them, and their
relationships to myself were so convoluted. There was my Tia Josefina, who
was not really my aunt but a much older cousin. And her daughter: Aida
Margarita, who was adopted, una hija de crianza. My uncle of affection, Tio
madrina godmother Jose, brought my madrina Tia Amelia and her comadre Tia Pilar. My friends
rarely had more than a “Mom and Dad” to introduce.
28 After the commencement ceremony my family waited outside in the
parking lot while my friends and I signed yearbooks with nicknames which
46
Active Reading
recalled our high school good times: “Beans” and “Pepperoni” and “Alcatraz.”
We hugged and cried and promised to keep in touch.
29 Our goodbyes went on too long. I heard my father’s voice calling out
Vamanos let’s go across the parking lot. “Hoo-lee-tah! Vamonos!”
tios and tias and primas 30 Back home, my tios and tias and primas, Mami and Papi, and mis
uncles, aunts, and female cousins
hermanas had a party for me with sancocho and a store-bought pudin,
mis hermanas my sisters inscribed with Happy Graduation, Julie. There were many gifts—that was a
plus to a large family! I got several wallets and a suitcase with my initials
and a graduation charm from my godmother and money from my uncles.
The biggest gift was a portable typewriter from my parents for writing my
stories and poems.
31 Someday, the family predicted, my name would be well-known
throughout the United States. I laughed to myself, wondering which one I
would go by.

1. What is the main idea of the narrative essay?
2. How does the title of the narrative “Names/Nombres” suggest the writer’s
conflict?
3. Why does the writer spell out different pronunciations of names?


declare 1
trilling 1
namesake 2
47
Active Reading
ironically 5
cooing 6
ushered in 15
chaotic 25
florid-sounding 26
React to Reading
ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Being accepted into a group is important to children, especially

when they go to a new school. Write about a time when you or someone else was
not accepted into a group at school.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Write a narrative paper about an incident that shows how
names can affect a person’s self-image and identity.
Connect the Narrative Readings

1. What are the similarities between “The Power of Peer Pressure: The Asch Experi-
ment” and the essay “Names/Nombres”?
2. What do both readings conclude about the people’s need to conform?
48
Active Reading
hIsToRy Theme: The Holocaust

liberating the Camps When the U.S. generals and soldiers opened the doors of the
Nazi concentration camps to free the people imprisoned, they were not prepared for
what they found. Even those who had experience in fighting and had seen death and
destruction were sickened by the unspeakable conditions. As you read this textbook
excerpt, imaging what it must have been like for the liberators and the prisoners.
Excerpt from America Past and Present

The Face of the Holocaust
Robert A. Divine et al.
Nazi death camps camps 1 The liberation of the Nazi death camps near the end of World War II
built by Nazi Germany during the
was not considered an important goal to be achieved; nor was it a planned
Second World War (1939–1945) to
systematically kill millions of people operation. Since 1942, the U.S. government had known that the Nazis were
by gassing and extreme work under murdering Jews in groups, but officials of the Roosevelt administration
starvation conditions; while there
were victims from many groups, Jews were divided on what to do about it. Some argued for air raids on the death
were the main targets camps, even if such raids were likely to kill large numbers of the Jewish
inmates. Others strongly stated that the air raids alone would not stop the
killing, that they would divert resources from the broader attack against
Germany, and that military victory was the surest path to the liberation of
the camps. In part because no one in the United States comprehended the
Hitler’s “final solution” Hitler’s full extent of the evil of Hitler’s “final solution,” Roosevelt sided with
plan and execution of killing European the latter group, and no special action was taken against the death camps.
Jews
As a result, it was by chance that Allied forces first stumbled upon the
Allied forces soldiers from camps, and the GIs who threw open the gates to that living hell were totally
countries that were against Germany unprepared for what they found.
and Italy
2 Inside the Vicious Heart, Robert Abzug’s study of the liberation of the
concentration camps, discusses the phenomenon of the inability to see the
obvious because the truth is so horrible. He calls it “double vision.” Faced
with a revelation so terrible, witnesses could not fully comprehend the evi-
dence of the systematic murder of more than six million men, women, and
children. But as the Allied armies advanced into Germany, the shocking evi-
dence increased. On April 4, 1945, the Fourth Armored Division of the Third
Army unexpectedly discovered Ohrdruf, a relatively small concentration
camp. Ohrdruf’s liberation had a tremendous impact on American forces. It
was the first camp discovered in its original state with its shocking display
of the dead and dying. Inside the compound, corpses were piled in heaps in
the barracks. An infantryman recalled, “I guess the most vivid recollection
of the whole camp is the pyre that was located on the edge of the camp. It
was a big pit, where they stacked bodies—stacked bodies and wood and
burned them.”
3 On April 12, generals Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton toured Ohrdruf. The
generals, professional soldiers familiar with the damage and destruction of
49
Active Reading
battle, had never seen anything like it. Years later, Bradley recalled, “The smell
of death overwhelmed us even before we passed through the stockade.” More
than 3200 naked, extremely thin bodies had been flung into shallow graves.
Others lay in the street where they had fallen.
4 Eisenhower ordered every available armed forces unit in the area to
visit Ohrdruf. “We are told that the American soldier does not know what
he is fighting for,” said Eisenhower. “Now at least he will know what he is
fighting against.” He urged government officials and journalists to visit the
camps and tell the world. In an official message Eisenhower summed it up:
We are constantly finding German camps in which they have

placed political prisoners where unspeakable conditions exist. From
my own personal observation, I can state unequivocally that all written
statements up to now do not paint the full horrors.
5 On April 11, the Timberwolf Division of the Third Army uncovered Nord-
hausen. They found three thousand dead and only seven hundred survivors.
The scene sickened battle-hardened veterans:
The odors, well there is no way to describe the odors. . . . Many

of the boys I am talking about now—these were tough soldiers, there
were combat men who had been all the way through the invasion—
were ill and vomiting, throwing up, just at the sight of this.
6 For some, the liberation of Nordhausen changed the meaning of the

war.
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Active Reading
I must also say that my fellow GIs, most thought that any stories
they had read in the paper . . . were either not true or at least exagger-
ated. And it did not sink in, what this was all about, until we got into
Nordhausen.
7 If the experience at Norhausen gave many GIs a new sense of mission

in battle, it also forced them to distance themselves from the realities of the
camps. Only by closing off their emotions could they go about the shock-
ingly horrible task of sorting out the living from the dead and taking care
of survivors. Margaret Bourke-White, whose Life magazine photographs
brought the horrors of the death camps to millions on the home front, re-
called working “with a veil over my mind.”
People often ask me how it is possible to photograph such atroci-

ties. In photographing the murder camps, the protective veil was so
tightly drawn that I hardly knew what I had taken until I saw prints of
my own photographs.
8 By the end of 1945, most of the liberators had come home and returned
to nonmilitary life. Once home, their experiences produced no common mor-
al responses. No particular pattern developed in their occupational, political,
and religious behavior, beyond a fear of the rise of postwar totalitarianism
shared by most Americans. Few spoke publicly about their role in the libera-
tion of the camps; most found that after a short period of grim fascination,
their friends and families preferred to forget. Some had nightmares, but few
reported being tormented by memories. For the liberators, the ordeal was
over. For the survivors of the Holocaust, liberation was but the first step in
the difficult, painful process of rebuilding broken bodies and destroyed lives.

1. What is the main idea of the reading?
2. The U.S. government knew that the Nazis were murdering large numbers of Jews,
but the officials of President Roosevelt’s administration had different opinions
about what to do about it. What were the opinions?
3. Describe what the troops found at Ohrdruf and Nordhausen.

51
Active Reading

air raids 1
divert 1
phenomenon 2
systematic 2
infantryman 2
pyre 2
stockade 3
unspeakable 4
unequivocally 4
atrocities 7
veil 7
grim 8

ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Throughout history, people failed to understand and accept the oth-
ers who were different. As a result, many individuals and whole groups of people
have been treated badly and often killed. Describe a situation in which a person
or people were not accepted because they were different.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Write a paper describing a war scene from any period in
the history of the world. You may choose a scene in a photograph or one from a
personal experience. To find war photographs, look in history textbooks, maga-
zine or newspaper articles, or search on the Internet.
52
Active Reading
First Night in a Concentration Camp Elie Wiesel was fifteen years old when he and his
family were deported by the Nazis from Romania to the Auschwitz concentration camp
in Poland. After the American army freed the camps, Wiesel was hospitalized. While
there, he wrote the outline for the book Night, describing his experiences during the
Holocaust. However, he was not ready to publicize his experiences and waited ten years
to write the book. Wiesel has continued writing novels and has won many awards for
his humanitarian work. As you read this excerpt, imagine what it must have been like
for a teen-aged boy to arrive at a concentration camp.
Excerpt from Night

Elie Wiesel
1 Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my
life into one long night, seven times sealed.
2 Never shall I forget that smoke.
3 Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw
transformed into smoke under a silent sky.
4 Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.
5 Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me for all
eternity of the desire to live.
6 Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my
soul and turned my dreams to ashes.
7 Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as
long as God Himself.
8 Never.
9 The barrack we had been assigned to was very long. In the roof some
blueish skylights. This is what the antechamber of Hell must look like. So
many crazed men, so much shouting, so much brutality!
10 Dozens of inmates were there to receive us, sticks in hands, striking
anywhere, anyone, without reason. The orders came:
Raus get out 11 “Strip! Hurry up! Raus! hold on only to your belt and shoes. . . . ”
12 Our clothes were to be thrown on the floor at the back of the barrack.
There was a pile there already. New suits, old ones, torn overcoats, rags. For
us it meant true equality: nakedness. We trembled in the cold.
SS a major organization under 13 A few SS officers wandered through the room, looking for strong men.
Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party;
responsible for the majority of war If vigor was that appreciated, perhaps one should try to appear sturdy? My
crimes
53
Active Reading
father thought the opposite. Better not to draw attention. (We later found
out that he had been right. Those who were selected that day were incor-
porated into the Sonder-Kommando, the Kommando working in the
crematoria a building in which crematoria. Bela Katz—son of an important merchant of my town—had
dead people’s bodies are burned
arrived in Birkenau with the first transport, one week ahead of us. When he
Birkenau the extermination camp
in the Auschwitz complex; site of the found out we were there, he managed to get word to us that, having been
crematories
chosen because of his strength, he had been forced to put his own father’s
body into the furnace.
14 The blows continued to rain on us:
15 “To the barber!”
16 Belt and shoes in hand, I let myself be dragged along to the barbers.
They took our hair off with clippers and shaved all the hair on our bodies.
My head was buzzing; the same thought over and over: not to be sepa-
rated from my father.
17 Freed from the barber’s clutches, we began to wander about the
crowd, finding friends, acquaintances. Every encounter filled us with joy—
yes, joy: “Thank God! You are still alive!”
18 Some were crying. They used whatever strength they had left to cry.
Why had they let themselves be brought here? Why didn’t they die in their
beds? Their words were interspersed with sobs.
19 Suddenly, someone threw his arms round me in a hug: Yechiel, the
Sighetel rabbi’s brother. He was weeping bitterly. I thought he was crying
with joy at still being alive.
20 “Don’t cry, Yechiel,” I said. “Don’t waste your tears. . . . ”
21 “Not cry? We’re on the threshold of death. . . . Soon we shall be in-
side. . . . Do you understand? Inside. How could I not cry?”
22 I watched darkness fade through the blueish skylights in the roof. I no
longer was afraid. I was overcome by fatigue.
23 The absent no longer entered our thoughts. One spoke of them—who
knows what happened to them?—but their fate was not on our minds. We
were incapable of thinking. Our senses were numbed, everything was fad-
ing into a fog. We no longer clung to anything. The instincts of self-
preservation, of self-defense, of pride, had all deserted us. In one terrifying
moment of lucidity, I thought of us as damned souls wandering through
the void, souls condemned to wander through space until the end of time,
seeking redemption, seeking oblivion, without hope of finding it.
54
Active Reading

1. What is the author describing in this excerpt?
2. What is the dominant impression of the excerpt?
3. In paragraph 23, the author writes, “Our senses were numbed, everything was
fading into a fog. We no longer cling to anything.” What does he mean?


nocturnal 5
antechamber 9
brutality 9
barrack 12
vigor 13
sturdy 13
blows 14
rain 14
threshold 21
lucidity 23
void 23
redemption 23
oblivion 23

55
Active Reading
ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: What does it mean to feel hopeless? Write about a time when some-
one felt hopeless.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: The first seven paragraphs of the excerpt from Night begin
with the words, “Never shall I forget. . . . ” These paragraphs describe the narra-
tor’s reactions to his experience during his first night at the concentration camp.
Using the same style as the writer, describe your reactions to a terrible experience.
Connect the Description Readings

1. “The Face of the Holocaust” and the excerpt from Night present two different
views of the Holocaust. Explain the differences.
2. The Holocaust is one of many examples throughout history of intolerance—of
people’s refusal to accept ideas, beliefs, or people who are different. Describe a
situation of intolerance that happened in the recent past or that is occurring now.
hosPITAlITy Theme: Guest Service
The disney Approach Walt Disney theme parks are popular travel destinations around
the world: California, Florida, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Paris. The success of Disney’s
theme park business is a result of its commitment to exceptional customer service. As
you read this textbook excerpt, note how Disney expects employees to serve and care
for guests during their visit to the parks.
Excerpt from Introduction to Hospitality Management

The Disney Approach to Guest Services
John R. Walker
To all who come to this happy place: Welcome! Disneyland is your land;
here, age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the
challenge and promise of the future.
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Active Reading
Disneyland is dedicated to the hard facts that have created

America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration
to all the world.
—Disneyland Dedication Plaque, July 17, 1955
1 When Walt Disney conceived the idea to build Disneyland, he estab-

lished a simple philosophical approach to his theme park business, based
on the tenets of quality, service, and show. Walt Disney was committed to
service. Disney’s mission statement is simple: “We create Happiness.” To
reinforce the service concept, Disney has guests, not customers, and cast
members, not employees. Disney’s ability to create a special brand of magic
requires the talents of thousands of people fulfilling many different roles.
However, the heart of it is the frontline cast members. Through the pro-
cesses of hiring and training, cast members learn how Disney expects them
to serve and care for guests during their visit to the park or resort.
2 Disney uses a 45-minute team approach to interviewing called peer in-
terviews. In one interview there may be four candidates and one interview-
er. The candidates may include a housewife returning to the work force, a
teacher looking for summer work, a retiree looking for a little extra income,
or a teenager looking for a first job. All four candidates are interviewed in
the same session. The interviewer looks for how they individually answer
questions and how well they interact with each other—a good indicator
of their future onstage treatment of guests. The most successful technique
used during the 45 minutes is to smile. The interviewer smiles at the people
being interviewed to see if they return the smiles. If they don’t, it doesn’t
matter how well they interview. They won’t get the job.
3 On the first day at work, every new Disney cast member participates in
a one-day orientation program at the Disney University, “Welcome to Show
Business.” The main goal of this experience is to learn the Disney approach
to helpful, caring, and friendly guest service. The cast member training fol-
lows the Disney service model.
■ Smile. This is the universal language of hospitality and service. Guests

recognize and appreciate the cast members’ warmth and sincerity.
Make eye contact and use body language. This means stance, ap-
proach, and gestures. For instance, cast members are trained to use
open gestures for directions, not pointed fingers, because open palms
are friendlier and less directive.
■ Respect and welcome all guests. This means being friendly, helpful, and
going out of the way to exceed guests’ expectations.
Value the magic. When stage cast members are on stage, they are to-
tally focused on creating the magic of Disneyland. They don’t talk about
personal problems or world affairs, and they don’t mention that you can
find Mickey in more than one place.
■ Initiate guest contact. Cast members are reminded to actively initiate
guest contact. Disney calls this being aggressively friendly. It is not
enough to be responsive when approached. Cast members are encour-
aged to take the first step with guests. They have lots of little tricks for
doing this, such as noticing a guest’s name on a hat and then using the
name in conversation or kneeling to ask a child a question.
■ Use creative service solutions. For example, one Disneyland Hotel cast
member recently became aware of a little boy who had come from the
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Active Reading
Midwest with his parents to enjoy the park and then left early because
he was ill. The cast member approached the supervisor with an idea to
send the child chicken soup, a character plush toy, and a get-well card
from Mickey. The supervisor loved the idea, and all cast members are
now allowed to set up these arrangements in similar situations without
a supervisor’s approval.
■ End with a “thank you.” The phrases cast members use are important in
creating a service environment. They do not have a book of accepted
phrases; rather, through training and coaching, cast members are encour-
aged to use their own personality and style to welcome and approach
guests, answer questions, anticipate their needs, thank them, and express
with sincerity their desire to make the guest’s experience exceptional.
4 How does this training translate into action? When a guest stops a street
sweeper to ask where to pick up a parade schedule and the sweeper not only
answers the question but recites the parade times from memory, suggests
the best viewing spots on the parade route, offers advice on where to get
a quick meal before parade time, and ends the interaction with a pleasant
smile and warm send-off, people can’t help but be impressed. It also makes
the sweepers feel their jobs are interesting and important, which they are.
5 Once the initial cast member training is completed, these concepts
must be applied and are continually reinforced by leaders who possess
strong coaching skills.

2. Explain two of the approaches of the Disney service model that cast members
learn when they go through the training process.
3. Give an example of how the training translates into action.


conceive 1
tenets 1
front line 1
indicator 2
stance 3
responsive 3
58
Active Reading

ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Write about a training process you experienced in school, work, or

volunteer service, or write about the process you used to train someone.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Develop your QuickWrite into an instructional or infor-
mational process paper.
Increasing a server’s Tips Service is important to a restaurant’s success from the time
customers enter a restaurant to the time they leave. This newspaper article reports the
results of researcher Michael Lynn’s study “Mega Tips: Scientifically Tested Techniques
to Increase Your Tips.” As you read, think about your own experiences with servers and
the techniques they used that influenced the amount you left for a tip.
Server Tips: How to Get More Out of Customers

Jane Engle
1 Your waitress tells jokes, touches you on the shoulder and draws pic-
tures on the check. Does she have a thing for you? Think again. She may be
angling for a bigger tip, using a list of 14 suggestions from a researcher’s
new booklet.
2 “Mega Tips: Scientifically Tested Techniques to Increase Your Tips,” by
Michael Lynn, an associate professor at the Cornell University School of Ho-
tel Administration in Ithaca, N.Y., is based on more than 25 years of studies
by Lynn and others.
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Active Reading
3 Among other tactics Lynn suggests to servers is to recommend higher-

priced entrées, wear unusual clothing, introduce themselves, call customers
by name, and even offer sunny weather forecasts.
4 You may be wondering where service fits in. It doesn’t. Which is the
most surprising conclusion in Lynn’s work. If you thought you were, at most,
mildly confused about how much to leave servers, read on. It turns out that
we don’t know our own minds, much less the mores of tipping.
5 People typically say they tip to reward good service, Lynn said, which
seems logical, “but it’s obviously not true.”
6 In his studies, he asked diners to rate their server’s performance based
on attentiveness, knowledge, promptness, and other measures. Then he
tallied the tips. The two numbers had little correlation. Service quality ac-
counted for only 4 percent of the differences in diners’ tips, he found.
7 What does boost tips, he said, are higher meal tabs and servers’ actions
that help them connect with their patrons.
8 Research shows the bill’s total accounts for about 70 percent of the dif-
ferences in tips—hardly a shock, given that most people tip on a percentage
of the check; the usual recommendation is 15 to 20 percent. That’s one rea-
son savvy servers prompt diners to choose pricier entrées and extras such
as appetizers, after-dinner drinks, and desserts.
9 Such suggestive selling works well during slow times. During busy
times, the best strategy is “get ‘em their entrées, get ‘em out,” said Lynn, who
worked his way through college as a bartender, busboy, and waiter. Better
to have a table of four wolfing down $20 rib-eye steaks than dawdling over
$2 coffees and $5 slices of cake. No wonder some diners feel they’re being
rushed out the door on Saturday nights. They are.
10 But it’s the customer–server rapport that’s really revealing. What we’re
buying with restaurant tips is not service, Lynn contended, but social ap-
proval from our server and tablemates. The motive: “I don’t want them to
think I’m a cheapskate and a bad guy.” If we feel a personal connection with
a server, we care more about what she or he thinks of us. We’re willing to
pay more for that approval, so we tip more, Lynn said.
11 Many of Lynn’s tactics will sound familiar to frequent diners. His advice
to servers:
■ Wear something unusual. “This will help customers perceive you as
an individual rather than a faceless member of the staff.” In one
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Active Reading
study, waitresses who wore flowers in their hair earned 17 percent

more in tips than those who didn’t.
■ Introduce yourself by name. This can “make you seem friendly and
polite and make the customer feel more empathy for you.” In a
study at a Charlie Brown’s restaurant in Southern California, taking
this step increased average tips from $3.49 to $5.44.
■ Squat next to the table. This makes you more equal to the cus-
tomer, brings your face closer and improves eye contact. In one
study, this action earned about $1 more per table in tips.
■ Touch your customers, preferably on the shoulder (which feels less
private than other zones) for a second or two. Effect on tips: As
much as 17 percent was left, up from 12 percent. Diners may flinch
at this idea, but that’s because “people don’t know what they like,”
Lynn said. They may not even notice they’re being touched, but no
matter, they’ll still tip more.
■ Repeat customers’ orders, word for word. This increases others’ “lik-
ing for and interpersonal closeness to the imitator.” In a Netherlands
study, it also doubled tips.
■ Call customers by name. It’s flattering—and profitable, earning 10
percent more in tips at several Kansas restaurants studied.
■ Draw on the check. A “smiley face” personalizes the transaction
and improves customers’ mood. In a study at a Philadelphia restau-
rant, this increased waitresses’ tips by nearly 18 percent but, oddly,
had no significant effect on waiters’ tips.
■ Smile. At a Seattle cocktail lounge, a waitress earned 140 percent
more in tips when she sported a “large, open-mouthed smile.”
■ Write “thank you” on checks. This may make diners “feel obligated
to earn that gratitude by leaving larger tips.” In one study, the aver-
age tip went up from 16 to 18 percent on a “thank you.”
■ Give customers candy. “People generally feel obligated to recipro-
cate when they receive gifts from others.” Effect on tips in one
study: 23 percent instead of 19 percent.
12 My favorite suggestion is to write a favorable weather forecast on the
check.
13 “Sunny weather puts people in a good mood, and people in a good
mood leave bigger tips than those in a bad mood,” Lynn’s booklet says. The
payoff in one study: 19 percent more in tips.
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Active Reading
14
Manipulative?
15
“Of course,” Lynn said.
16 He acknowledged that there are insincere servers “who hate a custom-
er’s guts, and yet they smile, write ‘thank you’ on the check and ‘come
again.’” But more common, he said, are servers who like their customers
and want to please them but aren’t sure how. That’s where his pointers
come in.
17 Diners who don’t care to become best friends with their server or who
cringe at being touched by a stranger may find Lynn’s work dispiriting be-
cause it looks as though “Hi, I’m Mike, I’ll be your waiter” isn’t going away
soon—at least not at the middle-brow eateries that Lynn’s studies focus on.
18 Lynn, by the way, takes his own advice. He tips 15 to 20 percent or even
40 percent if he’s at a regular lunch spot, he said.
“It really depends,” he added, “on how much I like the server.”

1. What is the main idea of the article?
2. List four of the tactics Lynn suggests to get bigger tips.
3. What does research show that customers are buying with their tips?


angling 1
tactics 3
tally 6
correlation 6
savvy 8
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Active Reading
rapport 10
cheapskate 10
empathy 11
reciprocate 11
manipulative 14
dispiriting 17

ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Write about a time when you had poor service at a restaurant that
provided tables where you could sit down and eat. If you have never eaten at a sit-
down restaurant, write about poor service at a fast-food restaurant.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Write about the steps you would take to improve service
at the restaurant you wrote about in your QuickWrite.
Connect the Process Readings

1. What advice for dealing with customers is similar in both reading selections?
2. Which advice will be useful to you now or in future employment?
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Active Reading
BIoloGy Theme: The Science of Attraction
symmetry Both humans and animals are selective when choosing mates. What do
they look for? Scientists tell us it is symmetry. Symmetry means being the same, or
even, on each side. Notice the results of researchers’ experiments as you read the text-
book excerpt “Sex and Symmetry.”
Get Ready to Read: Preview the reading and then fill in a Prereading Organizer
like the one shown earlier in this chapter.
Excerpt from Biology

Sex and Symmetry
Teresa Audesirk, Gerald Audesirk, and Bruce E. Byers
1 What makes a man sexy? According to a growing body of research, it’s

his symmetry. Female sexual preference for symmetrical males was first
documented in insects. For example, biologist Randy Thornhill found that
symmetry accurately predicts the mating success of male Japanese scorpion-
flies. In Thornhill’s experiments and observations, the most successful males
were those whose left and right wings were equal or nearly equal in length.
Males with one wing longer than the other were less likely to mate; the great-
er the difference between two wings, the lower the likelihood of success.
2 Thornhill’s work with scorpionflies led him to wonder if the effects of
male symmetry also extend to humans. To test the hypothesis that female
humans find symmetrical males more attractive, Thornhill and colleagues
began by measuring symmetry in some young adult males. Each man’s
degree of symmetry was calculated by measurements of his ear length and
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Active Reading
the width of his foot, ankle, hand, wrist, elbow, and ear. From these measure-
ments, the researchers developed an index that summarized how much the
size of these features differed between the right and the left sides of the body.
3 The researchers next gathered a panel of heterosexual female observers
who were unaware of what the study was about and showed them pho-
tos of the faces of the males who had been measured. As predicted by the
researchers’ hypothesis, the panel judged the most symmetrical men to be
most attractive. Apparently, a man’s attractiveness to women is correlated
with his body symmetry.
4 How did the women know which males were most symmetrical? After
all, the researchers’ measurement of male symmetry was based on small
differences in the sizes of body parts that the female judges did not even
see during the test.
5 Perhaps male body symmetry is reflected in facial symmetry, and
females prefer symmetrical faces. To test this hypothesis, a group of re-
searchers used computers to alter photos of male faces, either increasing or
decreasing their symmetry. Then heterosexual female observers rated each
face for attractiveness. The observers had a strong preference for more sym-
metrical faces.
Faces of varying symmetry Researchers used sophisticated software to modify facial sym-
metry. From left a face modified to be less symmetrical; the orginal, unmodified face; a face
modified to be more symmetrical; a perfectly symmetrical face.
6 Why would females prefer to mate with symmetrical males? The most
likely explanation is that symmetry indicates good physical condition.
Something that interferes with the normal development of an embryo can
cause bodies to be asymmetrical, so a highly symmetrical body indicates
healthy, normal development. Females that mate with individuals whose
health and vitality are shown by their symmetrical bodies might have off-
spring that are similarly healthy and vital.

2. Explain the researchers’ experiment to test the hypothesis that female humans
find symmetrical males more attractive.
3. Look at the pictures of the young man’s face. The second photograph was not
modified. Which picture do you prefer and why?
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Active Reading


hypothesis 2, 3, 5
correlated 3
asymmetrical 6
embryo 6
vitality 6
offspring 6

ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Which physical qualities do you find attractive in a romantic part-

ner? Which physical qualities do you find unattractive?
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Write a paper comparing your preferred body type in a
romantic partner to the body type preferred in advertising, movies, television, and
videos.
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Active Reading
Choosing a Partner The authors of “Sex and Symmetry” point to research that shows
people prefer symmetry. However, symmetry is not as important to some people. Psycholo-
gist David Perrett discusses other factors that influence our choice of partners.
Why Women Fall for Men Who Look like Their Father . . .
and Other Astonishing Secrets of the Science of Attraction
David Perrett
Why are some women considered beauties? Can you tell if someone is “the one”
by their face? And why ARE we attracted to men who look like our fathers? In
a new book, a leading expert on attractiveness, Professor David Perrett, of the
University of St. Andrews, answers these compelling questions.
Like Father Like Husband

1 It has long been speculated that women tend to choose partners who
look like their fathers—and men will pick wives who resemble their moth-
ers in some way. But isn’t it just an old wives’ tale?
2 Well, it’s certainly true that the characteristics of our parents are im-
printed in our minds as children, so that we remember and recognize our
parents from a very early age.
3 This is a result of observing our families at close quarters and is seen in
other mammals.
4 But it seems these “remembered” characteristics do go on to influence
who we find attractive in later life.
5 We conducted a large-scale survey, asking 300 men and 400 women
(all of whom were in a relationship and who had been brought up by two
parents) to tell us their hair and eye color, as well as that of their partner
and their parents.
Family ties: Angelina Jolie’s partner Brad Pitt (left) resembles her father Jon Voight
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Active Reading
6 From this information, we found that the main predictor for the choice
of a partner’s eye and hair color—for men and women—was the eye and
hair color of the parent of the opposite sex.
7 Your own hair and eye color, or those of the parent of the same sex,
were far less important. In other words, if a man has a blonde, blue-eyed
mother, he is quite likely to choose a blonde, blue-eyed partner.
8 If a woman’s father has dark hair and dark eyes, her partner is likely to
have a similar appearance.
9 But it’s not just our parents’ coloring that affects the partners we
choose in later life—it’s their facial features as well. Researchers at the Uni-
versity of Pecs, Hungary, compared individual photographs of young,
married couples with individual photographs of their parents at a similar
age to them.
10 Participants in the study were asked to match up the newlyweds, and
then pick out the couples’ parents.
11 The first point of note is that the participants identified a distinct facial
resemblance between the young newlyweds.
12 We’ve often found that people pick out someone of a similar level of
attractiveness to themselves when offered a series of faces to pick from.
This appeared to be one of the subconscious “rules” people used when
matching up the couples in this study.
13 Then there were similarities in face shape; people paired up couples
with matching features. Of most interest, however, was the similarity be-
tween a young man’s partner and his mother.
14 Again, observers found it surprisingly easy to match up the pictures of
a man’s mother with the pictures of the man’s wife.
15 Equally, in a separate study, it was found that young women’s fathers
looked very similar to the men they married.
16 However, the participants of the study could not match the men’s fa-
thers to the men’s partners—which proves that we don’t like faces simply
because they resemble familiar family members.
17 We tend to be attracted to people who resemble our opposite sex par-
ent. This is particularly the case when people have had a good relationship
with the parent in question—it seems we want to replicate that good expe-
rience in our romantic relationships.
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Pretty Women
Drawing attention to her best fea-

tures: Scarlett Johansson has big
eyes and lips, deemed attractive
in a woman, and uses makeup to
highlight them.
18 An important factor in facial attractiveness is how “female” or “male” we

look.
19 As we pass through puberty, our bone structure is influenced by sex
hormones.
testosterone sex hormone 20 Thanks to a flood of testosterone, as boys turn into men their eyebrow
that affects the production
of sperm and signals certain ridges grow more prominent, and their jawbones enlarge rapidly.
physical changes at puberty, such
as the growth of facial hair 21 In women, the sex hormone estrogen prevents the bone growth we
estrogen the female sex see in men’s faces. The result is that while a man’s head shape changes a lot
hormone that activates physical
changes at puberty, such as the as he goes through puberty, a woman’s head shape stays as it is and retains
growth of breasts
childlike proportions—less prominent brows and jaws, thicker lips, a
smaller nose, a smaller head size, and large eyes.
22 In our laboratory, we gave people the ability to choose the female head
shape they found most attractive by allowing them to control face shape
interactively using a computer. Moving the computer mouse in one direc-
tion made the female face on the screen look progressively more masculine.
23 An astonishing 95 per cent of men and women decided that feminiza-
tion of women’s faces (jawline softer and eyes and lips more pronounced)
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made them more attractive. This is reflected in the use of makeup. Women
apply lipstick and eye makeup to enhance their features.
24 And face makeup gives the appearance of a clear complexion—indi-
cating good health, which is seen as attractive. In our studies, we subtly
manipulated facial skin color and texture in photographs of faces, creating
identical faces that were either high or low in skin health.
25 Sure enough, the faces with high skin health—(even skin color and
tone, fewer spots, small pores, and less fine lines and wrinkles)—were
judged the most attractive. Skin condition, attractiveness, and health are
intimately linked because many of the things we do that cause us to age
prematurely (smoking, poor diet, drinking too much, stress, a lack of sleep,
fresh air, and exercise) show their effects on our faces.
26 If our skin looks old for our age, then it suggests that our bodies may have
aged too—and we may be a less than desirable mate and long-term partner.
Age before Beauty

27 What is it that gives our age away? You would think we could judge
someone’s face by doing some mental math like this: “Face shape looks 50.
Skin is pretty good, say 40. Hair—more like 60. All told, I’d guess 50.”
28 But we don’t. Instead, when it comes to weighing up someone’s age,
we simply take the easy route and focus just on the oldest looking part of
the face. We proved this by airbrushing images so that an old woman’s face
was given younger hair and vice versa.
29 In our research, putting younger hair on an older face did not shift the
person’s perceived age from what people guessed the woman to be when
they looked at pictures of her with age-appropriate hair.
30 But an “older” hairdo on a younger face did shift the perceptions of age
of the woman concerned. Most people guessed her to be significantly older
than the picture of her with her age-appropriate hair.
31 So the bad news is that to look young, all your facial features must be
youthful. If any one part looks older than the rest, we pick up on it and ig-
nore the parts that are wearing well.
How to Be More Attractive

32 First impressions can change: How attractive we think someone is can
depend on how long we’ve known them.
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33 Whether or not someone is traditionally good-looking, their attractive-

ness changes the more we get to know them.
34 When we asked people to rate old school friends, for example, they
judged those they like admired as having been the most attractive.
35 But when strangers then rated the same individuals, the results were
very different.
36 Similarly, the ratings that people gave each other at the beginning of a
team exercise compared with the ratings at the end showed the same
thing.
37 By the end of the exercise, people had changed their assessments ac-
cording to how helpful, cooperative, and hardworking the other person
had been.
38 The changes in attraction were more marked in women than men.
Women’s assessments of appearances strongly reflected what they have
found out about personalities and deeds.
39 Men’s judgments were more resilient; although swayed by deeds, they
continued to reflect physical appearance. Yes, sadly, men are a little more
shallow.
clichéd unoriginal 40 So, despite being clichéd, it really does seem that inner beauty is what
matters most. Our consideration of another person’s inner beauty, as ex-
pressed through their personality, actually translates into an assessment of
their outward physical attractiveness.
41 Perhaps the best beauty tip, therefore, is to aim to be a kind and help-
ful person.
42 Unlike the claims made for so many overpriced face creams, this one
really has been “scientifically proven” to work.

2. What factors contribute to a person’s attractiveness?
3. Several studies were reported in the reading selection. Describe one of the studies
and include the results.
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speculate 1
imprint 2
prominent 20, 21
progressively 22
feminization 23
pronounced 23
prematurely 25
airbrushing 28
resilient 39
shallow 39

ent, or future?
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2. QuickWrite: Choose someone you have known for a while. Write a paper com-
paring your opinion of the person’s attractiveness before and after you got to
know him or her.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: At the end of the reading selection, the author states,
“Inner beauty is what matters most.” Write a paper comparing inner beauty with
outer beauty.
Connect the Comparison and Contrast Readings

1. The U.S. culture has a certain idea of what is attractive. However, cultural and
ethnic groups within the U.S. culture have their own ideas of attractiveness.
Compare two groups that view beauty differently.
2. The reading from Biology tells us that symmetry is the basis for attraction. On the
other hand, the other selection by David Perrett tells us about other qualities that
make people attractive. Compare the ideas in the two readings.
hEAlTh ANd WEllNEss Theme: Mind-Body Connection
stress Stress happens when something causes the body to act as if it is under attack.
Some sources of stress are physical, such as an injury. Other sources of stress can be
mental, like problems at work or with finances. As you read the textbook excerpt from
Health, notice the stages that the body goes through when stressed.
Excerpt from Health

Stages of Stress
B. E. Pruitt, John P. Allegrante, and Deborah Prothrow-Stith
1 You are walking in a park. Suddenly, you see a large dog that isn’t on a
leash. The dog is growling. How do you react? Instantly, your mind sizes up
the situation. You recognize the dog could be a threat to your safety. When
you perceive something to be a threat, your body springs into action. Your
body’s response isn’t under your control—it’s automatic.
2 All stressors trigger the same stress response. However, the inten-
sity of the response will vary. The body’s response to stress occurs in
three stages—the alarm stage, the resistance stage, and the exhaustion
stage.
3 Alarm Stage During the alarm stage, your body releases a substance
adrenaline a substance called adrenaline (uh DREN uh lin) into your blood. Adrenaline causes
released in the body of a person many immediate changes in your body, as shown in the figure below. Extra
who is feeling a strong emotion
(such as excitement, fear, or sugar released into your blood combines with oxygen in body cells to give
anger) and that causes the heart you a burst of energy. Your heart beats faster, your breathing speeds up, and
to beat faster and gives the
person more energy your muscles tense. Your attention narrows as you focus on the stressor.
4 These changes prepare you to either “fight” the stressor or “take flight”
and escape. Thus, this initial reaction of the body to stress is called the
fight-or-flight response. This response probably helped early humans
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Fight-or-Flight Response
Flow of blood to brain increases.
Pupils open wide.

Lump forms in throat
as muscles contract.
Heart rate and blood

pressure increase.
Breathing rate increases.
More sugar released Flow of blood to digestive

into blood. Ability of system reduced. Digestion slows.
blood to clot increases. More stomach acid produced.
Adrenaline released into blood.
Flow of blood to
skin reduced.
Sweating increases. Muscles tense. More energy
produced by cells.
survive. Today, your body still reacts to any stressor with the same set of
changes even when fight-or-flight is not a useful response.
5 Resistance Stage Sometimes you can deal with a stressor quick-
ly. You find the keys you thought were lost or you know the answers
to the questions on a quiz. If, however, you are unable to successfully
respond to a stressor during the alarm stage, your body moves into the
resistance stage. During this stage, your body adapts to the continued
presence of the stressor. You may think you are no longer stressed be-
cause the symptoms from the alarm stage disappear. However, the work
that your body does during the resistance stage uses up a lot of energy.
As a result, you may become tired, irritable, and less able to handle any
added stress.
6 Exhaustion Stage The third stage of the stress response is the ex-
haustion stage. Your body can no longer keep up with the demands placed
on it. Your physical and emotional resources are depleted.
7 The exhaustion stage does not occur with each stress response. If it did,
your body would wear out. Exhaustion occurs only if a stressor continues
for a long time—usually weeks, months, or even years. People may reach
the exhaustion stage when they experience extreme stress that is beyond
their control—such as the death of a family member.
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2. Briefly explain the three stages of the body’s response to stress.
3. Explain the fight-or-flight response.


perceive 1
spring into action 1
trigger 2
stressor 3
depleted 6

ent, or future?
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2. QuickWrite: List the stresses in your life and then put them into groups. For
example, one group might be stress associated with school. Another might be
work-related stress.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Using three of the groups that you developed in the
QuickWrite, write a paper in which you explain the stress in each of your groups.
Changing the Brain Dr. Amen is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and human
behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. He teaches medical
students and psychiatric residents about using brain imaging. Dr. Amen believes that
people can change their brains. As you read this excerpt from a website, note how your
beliefs affect your thoughts.
Kill the Ants That Invade Your Brain

Daniel G. Amen, M.D.
1 The brain is a three-pound supercomputer. It is the command and con-

trol center running your life. It is involved in absolutely everything you do.
Your brain determines how you think, how you feel, how you act, and how
well you get along with other people. Your brain even determines the kind
of person you are. It determines how thoughtful you are; how polite or how
rude you are. It determines how well you think on your feet, and it is in-
volved with how well you do at work and with your family. Your brain also
influences your emotional well-being and how well you do with the oppo-
site sex.
2 Your brain is more complicated than any computer we can imagine.
Did you know that you have one hundred billion nerve cells in your brain,
and every nerve cell has many connections to other nerve cells? In fact,
your brain has more connections in it than there are stars in the universe!
Optimizing your brain’s function is essential to being the best you can be,
whether at work, in leisure, or in your relationships.
3 The thoughts that go through your mind, moment by moment, have a
significant impact on how your brain works. Research by Mark George, MD,
and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health demonstrated that
happy, hopeful thoughts had an overall calming effect on the brain, while
negative thoughts inflamed brain areas often involved with depression
and anxiety. Your thoughts matter.
4 I often teach my patients how to metaphorically kill the ANTs that in-
vade their minds. ANTs stand for Automatic Negative Thoughts. The ANTs
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are automatic. They just happen. But they can ruin your whole day, maybe
even your life. For example, I once treated a college student who was ready
to drop out of school. He thought he was stupid because he didn’t do well
on tests. When his IQ (intelligence level) was tested, however, we discov-
ered that he had an IQ of 135 (in the superior range). He just wasn’t a good
test taker. I have identified nine different kinds of ANT species, or ways your
thoughts can distort incoming information to make you feel bad. Here are
four ANT species:
Mind reading—predicting you know that another person is think-

ing something negative about you without them telling you. I often tell
my patients that, “A negative look from someone else may mean noth-
ing more than he or she is constipated. You don’t know. You can’t read
minds. I have 25 years of training in human behavior and I still can’t
read anyone’s mind.”
Fortune telling—predicting a bad outcome to a situation before
it has occurred. Your mind makes happen what it sees. Unconsciously,
predicting failure will often cause failure. For example, if you say, “I
know I will fail the test,” then you will likely not study hard enough and
fail the test.
Always or never thinking—this is where you think in words
like always, never, every time, or everyone. These thoughts are over-
generalizations which can alter behavior. For example, I have a
friend who asked out an attractive woman. She turned him down.
He told himself that no one will ever go out with him again. This
ANT prevented him from asking out anyone else for over nine
months.
Guilt beatings—being overrun by thoughts of “I should have
done . . . I’m bad because . . . I must do better at . . . I have to.” Guilt is
powerful at making us feel bad. It is a lousy motivator of behavior.
5 You do not have to believe every thought that goes through your head.
It’s important to think about your thoughts to see if they help you or they
hurt you. Unfortunately, if you never challenge your thoughts you just “be-
lieve them” as if they were true. ANTs can take over and infest your brain.
Develop an internal anteater to hunt down and devour the negative
thoughts that are ruining your life.
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6 Once you learn about your thoughts, you can chose to think good
thoughts and feel good or you can choose to think bad thoughts and feel
lousy. You can train your thoughts to be positive and hopeful or you can
just allow them to be negative and upset you. That’s right, it’s up to you!
You can learn how to change your thoughts and optimize your brain. One
way to learn how to change your thoughts is to notice them when they are
negative and talk back to them. If you can correct negative thoughts, you
take away their power over you. When you think a negative thought with-
out challenging it, your mind believes it and your brain reacts to it.

2. What are Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)?
3. Describe two of the Automatic Negative Thought species.


optimizing 2
inflame 3
metaphorically 4
distort 4
overgeneralizations 4

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ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Write about an Automatic Negative Thought you have had.

3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Using Amen’s types of Automatic Negative Thoughts,
write a classification paper describing each one with details that apply to you or
people you know.
Connect the Classification Readings

1. How can Dr. Amen’s strategies for killing the ANTS (Automatic Negative
Thoughts) help a person avoid or help deal with the stress response?
2. Our thoughts are often responsible for stress. Many people have three patterns of
thinking that make us feel stress: negative self-talk about ourselves; negative self-
talk about other people or situations; and worried or fearful thoughts about the
future. Write a paper explaining each of the three types of patterns of thinking.
ANThRoPoloGy Theme: Race
Race and Culture Races are invented by cultures, not biology. Ideas about race are
learned through exposure to the beliefs of family, peers, culture, and social groups. In
different societies around the world, race has been used to separate people and to treat
them unequally. As you read this excerpt adapted from a textbook, notice how anthro-
pologists view race and how their view differs from that of society.
Excerpt from Anthropology

Race: A Meaningless Idea
Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, and Peter N. Peregrine
1 In some societies, such as the United States, the idea that humans are
divided into “races” is accepted as truth. People are asked for their “race” on
the census. Most Americans probably believe that “races” are real, mean-
ingful categories based on differences in skin color and other physical char-
acteristics. However, this is not necessarily the case. You may have noticed
that we put “races” in quotes. We have done so on purpose because most
anthropologist someone who anthropologists believe that “race” is a meaningless idea when applied to
scientifically studies humans, their humans. To understand why we say that, we first need to consider what the
customs, beliefs, and relationships
concept of race means in biology.
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2 Biologists classify all forms of life into groups. Just as with animals,
plants, and insects, biologists classify humans. They found that people
living in different geographical locations in the world had different physi-
cal characteristics, such as skin color, hair texture, and facial features.
biologist a scientist who studies Biologists classified these groups into varieties, or races. If people under-
life science stood that the term race was just a system that biologists use to describe
differences within a species from one population to the next, the concept of
race would probably not be controversial. But, as applied to humans, racial
groupings have often been thought to imply that some “races” are inferior
to others.
3 Many anthropologists and others believe that the concept of race
interferes with the search to explain how physical differences developed in
humans. They have two reasons for this belief. One is the misuse and mis-
understanding of the term race. The other is that race has been connected
to racist thinking. In any case, classifying people by race is not scientifically
useful in that search. Populations cannot be grouped according to certain
characteristics because these characteristics vary from region to region.
4 How can groups be clearly divided into “races” if most people from
one region show small differences from those in a neighboring region? Skin
color is a good example. Groups of people who originally came from places
close to the equator where the sun is strongest tend to have darker skin.
Darker skin appears to protect the body from damaging ultraviolet radiation.
For example, in the area around Egypt, there is a change of skin color as
you move from north to south in the Nile Valley. Populations originating in
places farther north developed lighter skin colors because the sunlight was
not as strong.
5 Some of our physical differences make us think that it is possible to
divide humans into races. However, when these physical characteristics are
studied in detail, that cannot be concluded at all. It is an illusion that there
are races. The diversity of human beings is so great and so complicated
that it is impossible to classify the 5.8 billions of individuals into separate
“races.” Human populations do vary biologically in some ways, but it is
important to understand that few of these ways are connected with each
other. All humans are nearly alike genetically under the skin.

1. What is the main idea of the excerpt?
2. According to the authors of the reading, how do biologists define race?
3. Why is the term race controversial?
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census 1
species 2
racist 3
ultraviolet 4
radiation
originating 4
illusion 5
diversity 5

ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: We are not born with any beliefs about racial differences. What we
think about race is learned. What messages have you received about race through-
out your life? Where did they come from?
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: The authors of the excerpt on race present the anthro-
pologists’ view that people can’t be separated into races because human diversity
is so great and complicated. However, throughout history, people have used race
as a basis for discrimination. Write a paper defining discrimination.
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Colorism Colorism is a form or discrimination within racial groups in which there is

skin tone variation. Members of the same race with lighter skin are treated more favor-
ably than those with darker skin. As you read Clarisse Jones’s magazine article “Light
Skin versus Dark,” think about how colorism influences the culture in the United States
and other parts of the world.
Light Skin versus Dark

Charisse Jones
1 I’ll never forget the day I was supposed to meet him. We had only spo-
ken on the phone. But we got along so well, we couldn’t wait to meet
face-to-face. I took the bus from my high school to his for our blind date.
While I nervously waited for him outside the school, one of his buddies
came along, looked me over, and remarked that I was going to be a prob-
lem, because his friend didn’t like dating anybody darker than himself.
2 When my mystery man—who was not especially good-looking—fi-
nally saw me, he took one look, uttered a hurried hello, then disappeared
with his smirking friends. I had apparently been pronounced ugly on arrival
and dismissed.
3 That happened nearly fifteen years ago. I’m thirty now, and the hurt
and humiliation have long since faded. But the memory still lingers, rein-
forced in later years by other situations in which my skin color was judged
by other African Americans—for example, at a cocktail party or a nightclub
where light-skinned black women got all the attention.
4 A racist encounter hurts badly. But it does not equal the pain of
“colorism”—being rejected by your own people because your skin is
colored cocoa and not cream, ebony and not olive. On our scale of beauty,
it is often the high yellows—in the lexicon of black America, those with
light skin—whose looks reap the most attention. Traditionally, if someone
was described that way, there was no need to say that person was good-
looking. It was a given that light was lovely. It was those of us with plain
brown eyes and darker skin hues who had to prove ourselves.
5 I was twelve, and in my first year of junior high school in San Francisco,
when I discovered dark brown was not supposed to be beautiful. At that
age, boys suddenly became important, and so did your looks. But by that
time—the late 1970s—black kids no longer believed in that sixties mantra,
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“Black is beautiful.” Light skin, green eyes, and long, wavy hair were once
again synonymous with beauty.
6 Colorism—and its subtext of self-hatred—began during slavery on
plantations where white masters often favored the lighter-skinned blacks,
many of whom were their own children. But though it began with whites,
black people have kept colorism alive. In the past, many black sororities,
fraternities, and other social organizations have been notorious for accept-
ing only light-skinned members. Yes, some blacks have criticized their
lighter-skinned peers. But most often in our history, a light complexion had
been a passport to special treatment by both whites and blacks.
7 Some social circles are still defined by hue. Some African Americans,
dark and light, prefer light-skinned mates so they can have a “pretty baby.”
And skin-lightening creams still sell, though they are now advertised as good
for making blemishes fade rather than for lightening whole complexions.
8 In my family, color was never discussed, even though our spectrum
was broad—my brother was very light; my sister and I, much darker. But in
junior high, I learned in a matter of weeks what had apparently been
drummed into the heads drummed into the heads of my black peers for most of their lives.
to teach something to someone by
repeating it a lot 9 Realizing how crazy it all was, I became defiant, challenging friends
when they made silly remarks. Still, there was no escaping the distinctions
of color.
10 In my life, I have received a litany of twisted compliments from fellow
blacks. “You’re the prettiest dark-skinned girl I have ever seen” is one; “You’re
pretty for a dark girl” is another.
11 A light-complexioned girlfriend once remarked to me that dark-
skinned people often don’t take the time to groom themselves. As a
journalist, I once interviewed a prominent black lawmaker who was light-
skinned. He drew me into the shade of a tree while we talked because, he
said, “I’m sure you don’t want to get any darker.”
12 Though some black people—like film-maker Spike Lee in his movie
School Daze—have tried to provoke debate about colorism, it remains a
painful topic many blacks would rather not confront. Yet there has been
Afrocentrism emphasizing the progress. In this age of Afrocentrism, many blacks revel in the nuances of
importance of African people in
culture, philosophy, and history the African American rainbow. Natural hairstyles and dreadlocks are in, and
Theresa Randle, star of the hit film Bad Boys, is only one of several darker-
skinned actresses noted for their beauty.
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13 That gives me hope. People have told me that color biases among
blacks run too deep ever to be eradicated. But I tell them that is the kind of
attitude that allows colorism to persist. Meanwhile, I do what I can. When I
notice that a friend dates only light-skinned women, I comment on it. If I
hear that a movie follows the tired old scenario in which a light-skinned
beauty is the love interest while a darker-skinned woman is the comic foil,
the butt of “ugly” jokes, I don’t go see it. Others can do the same.

2. How does Charisse Jones define “colorism”?
3. What is the history of “colorism”?


smirking 2
high yellows 4
lexicon 4
mantra 5
subtext 6
notorious 6
hue 7
spectrum 8
defiant 9
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litany 10
provoke 12
revel 12
nuance 12
bias 13

ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Write about an experience with one or both of these:

■ Not wanting to have someone as a friend because of his or her appearance,
beliefs, or residence, and so on
■ Being rejected or left out
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Discrimination is defined as the unfair treatment of a
person or particular group of people because of religion, race, sex, sexual prefer-
ence, color, disability, or other personal features. Using this definition as a start-
ing point, write a paper giving examples of this definition. You may include the
example you wrote about in your QuickWrite.
Connect the Definition Readings

1. What is the difference between the view of skin color in “Race” and in “Light Skin
versus Dark”?
2. Is classifying people according to race a good or a bad idea? Why?
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EdUCATIoN Theme: Classroom Courtesy
Punishment in the Classroom When you were in high school, you may have had classes
where students were disruptive and prevented others from learning. In some schools, this
behavior was tolerated, while in others consequences or punishments were given. Unfor-
tunately, students may bring that same type of disruptive behavior to college classrooms.
Examples are tardiness, texting in class, constant talking, interrupting the instructor, and
lack of preparation for class. As you read the following textbook excerpt, think about
whether or not you believe that punishment is necessary in the classroom.
Excerpt from Introduction to Teaching

What Role Should Punishment Play in Classroom
Management?
Don Kauchak and Paul Eggen
1 Did you ever get a speeding ticket? What happened to your behavior
after you received the ticket—at least for a while? Most of us can agree
with the idea that punishment works—temporarily. But then what?
2 Teachers in general, and especially beginning teachers, worry about
whether they will be able to maintain order in their classrooms. Many turn
to punishment, but punishment as a major management tool is controver-
sial. People who support punishment say it’s effective and necessary, but
critics say it’s ineffective and harmful. The role of punishment in classroom
management, as well as in child raising in general, has been debated for
centuries, and this controversy continues today.
3 Punishment is the process of decreasing or eliminating undesired be-
havior through some unpleasant consequence. Punishment can range from
a teacher action as simple as saying, “Andrew, stop whispering,” to corporal
punishment, the use of physical actions to punish, such as paddling stu-
dents, to eliminate undesirable behavior. Most punishment in the classroom
is not corporal, and usually occurs in the form of simple desists, time-out, or
detention. Desists are verbal or nonverbal communications teachers use to
stop a behavior (Kounin, 1970) such as telling a student to stop whispering,
or putting fingers to the lips to signal “Shhh.” Time-out involves removing
a student from the class and physically isolating him or her in an area away
from classmates. Detention, most commonly used with older students,
is similar to time-out, and involves taking away some of the students’ free
time by keeping them in school either before or after school hours.
The Issue
4 Punishment can be effective in reducing or getting rid of unwanted
behaviors (How did your driving change after receiving a speeding ticket?).
Some critics suggest, however, that punishment should never be used in
classrooms (e.g., Kohn, 1996), and research indicates that methods based
on rewarding positive behavior are more effective than those using punish-
ment (Alberto & Troutman, 2006). Critics also argue that the use of punish-
ments to keep an orderly classroom overemphasizes control and obedience
86
Active Reading
instead of emphasizing that students are responsible for their actions—

which contributes to personal development (Frieberg, 1999b). Critics further
contend that punishing students for simple acts, such as talking without
permission, fails to examine possible causes for the behavior, such as
poor teaching or a student’s not understanding why it’s important to give
everyone a chance to speak. In addition, punishment can have unplanned
consequences, such as resentment and hostility, and can damage teachers’
efforts to create a positive classroom climate.
5 On the other hand, research indicates that desists, when given imme-
diately, briefly, and unemotionally, can be effective (Emmer et al., 2009; Ev-
ertson et al., 2009). Further, research indicates that time-out is effective for
a variety of disruptive behaviors (Alberto & Troutman, 2006), and although
somewhat controversial, detention is widely used and generally viewed as
effective (L. Johnson, 2004).
6 Some forms of punishment are used in almost all classrooms; experi-
enced teachers believe punishment is acceptable when the severity of the
punishment matches the severity of the misbehavior (Cowan & Sheridan,
2003). Additional research suggests that punishment is sometimes neces-
sary; when all punishments are removed, some students become more
disruptive (Pfiffner, Rosen & O’Leary, 1985; Rosen, O’Leary, Joyce, Conway,
& Pfiffner, 1984). Punishment for unacceptable behavior can actually be
helpful because it helps unruly students learn new, more acceptable behav-
iors quickly (Lerman & Vondran, 2002).
You Take a Stand

7 Now it’s your turn to take a position on the issue. What role should
punishment play in classroom management?

1. What are three kinds of punishments used in the classroom that do not use physi-
cal actions?
2. What is the argument in favor of punishment in the classroom?
3. What is the argument against punishment?

87
Active Reading

punishment 2
corporal punishment 3
desists 3
time-out 3
detention 3
overemphasize 4
resentment 4
contend 4
severity 6
Remember the Reading. In a small group or on your own, map the reading selec-
tion. Fill in a Reading Map like the one shown earlier in this chapter. Then, using your
own words, summarize the reading.

ent, or future?
88
Active Reading
2. QuickWrite: Classroom management can be challenging for instructors. Write

about a time when one or more students created problems in a classroom.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Using the situation that you described in the QuickWrite,
write a paper arguing that the way the teacher handled the situation was right
or wrong. As an alternative assignment, argue for or against punishment in the
classroom.
Cell Phones in the Classroom The use of electronic devices especially cell phones in
college classrooms has brought about debate among college professors who have mixed
opinions. Some feel that the lure of these devices can distract students from learning. In
this article, cell phone use in the classroom. As you read, think about whether you agree
with Professor Bloom’s cell phone policy.
Making Cell Phones in the Class a Community Builder

Alan Bloom
Cell Phones Do Not Distract in Class

1 The first time a student’s cell phone rang in my class, I was angry and
frustrated. With their musical ringers, cell phones that go off in class are
rude and distracting. But how to respond? I’ve never been very good at
playing the heavy. Was there any way I could take this annoying occurrence
and twist it so that it would contribute to a more positive classroom envi-
ronment?
2 I’ve devised a “cell phone protocol” that has enabled me to make peace
with the problem. As it appears in the syllabus, the protocol reads: “Please
turn off your cell phone ringer while in class. Mind you, violation of
this protocol will demand punishment—though one that clearly does
not infringe on your eighth amendment rights.” I then ask someone to
identify the eighth amendment, and as a history professor, I’m happy to
report that someone can always explain the constitutional limits on cruel
and unusual punishment. I advise students to turn off their ringers in class,
and I note that if someone’s phone rings, he or she will have to provide the
class with food. It doesn’t have to be an extravagant meal (remember the
eighth amendment!), but there must be enough for everyone. In the be-
ginning, I offered the possibility of a subsidy to economically unable
students. However, I abandoned it once I realized that if students could
afford a cell-phone package, they could provide treats to about
30 classmates.
89
Active Reading
3 The community-building process develops in earnest when a phone

actually rings in class. During an episode that otherwise involves an un-
pleasant exchange, there is now occasion for celebration, as students cheer
at the possibility of their upcoming snack. The cell phone protocol, much
like a kangaroo court in baseball, which exacts minor fines for small indis-
esprit de corps a feeling of loyalty cretions, helps to build an esprit de corps and I push this outcome even
among members of a group
further. When it is difficult to figure out whether the cell phone rang or was
in vibration mode, I encourage the students to vote as to whether or not a
violation has occurred.
4 So what are the drawbacks of this policy? There are few. The biggest is
that even with my policy, cell phones still ring in class and they are just as
rude and distracting. I see no way around this problem. In my class, stu-
dents are distracted, but we grow closer as a result of it. The other potential
problem is that an instructor might not want food in the classroom, fair
enough, just have the punishment be something like telling a joke or shar-
ing a poem.
5 The policy has also produced some wonderful surprises that make me
proud of my students. Once a student decided to skip the standard fare of
candy and brought in dried fruit. Although most of her peers (and her
teacher) were disappointed with the healthy alternative, this student took
the opportunity to encourage people to eat a more healthy diet. And at the
end of this past semester, one of my quietest students informed the class
that she was disappointed in a classmate who still hadn’t brought in food
for his transgression. The chastened student, who apparently had extra
money on his meal card, brought in a buffet for his dumbfounded class-
mates.
6 Ultimately, though, the greatest advantage of the cell phone protocol
occurs when someone’s phone rings in class and the other students start
hooting joyously. It doesn’t make the phone ringing less distracting; but on
the other hand, how often do you hear students cheering in the classroom?
90
Active Reading
Understanding the Reading

2. Explain how the professor of the first article deals with cell phone use in his class
and how the students react to the policy.
3. What surprised Professor Bloom about his students?


protocol 2
extravagant 2
subsidy 2
indiscretion 3
dumbfounded 5
transgression 5
chastened 5

91
Active Reading
ent, or future?
2. QuickWrite: Do any of your instructors have policies about the use of cell phones
or other electronic devices in class? Write about these policies and explain whether
or not they have been effective.
3. QuickWrite Jump Off: Write a paper arguing for or against penalties for using
cell phones (or electronic devices).
Connect the Argument Readings

1. Both readings in this section, “What Role Should Punishment Play in Classroom
Management?” and “Making Cell Phones in the Class a Community Builder,”
discuss whether or not punishment should be used in the classroom. Which
information presented in the first article can be helpful to college teachers?
2. Do you think that disruptive behavior such as cell phone use, repeated tardiness,
lack of preparation, sleeping, and arguing would stop if students had a voice in
determining their class rules and consequences?
Credits
Photo credits are listed in order of appearance.
Photo Credits
© Roger-Viollet/The Image Works; © Bruce MacQueen/Fotolia; © by Prentice-Hall. Used by permission of Pearson
Education, Inc. (left): © Joel Ryan/AP Images; (right): © Evan Agostini/AP Images; © JM11/Wennphotos/Newscom.
Text Credits
Amen, Daniel G., From Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. Copyright © by Daniel G. Amen. Used by permission of
Daniel G. Amen.
Audesirk, Teresa, Audesirk, Gerald, Byers, Bruce E., From Biology. Copyright © by Prentice-Hall. Used by permission
of Pearson Education, Inc.
Bloom, Alan, “Making Cell Phones in the Classroom a Community Builder,” from The Teaching Professor by Alan
Bloom. Copyright © 2007 by Alan Bloom. Used by permission of Magna Publications.
Ember, Carol R., Ember, Melvin, and Peregrine, Peter N., Adapted from Anthropology. Copyright © and used by permis-
sion of Pearson Education, Inc.
Jones, Charisse, “Light Skin Versus Dark,” from Glamour, September 1995. Copyright © 1995 by Charisse Jones. Used
by permission of Charisse Jones.
92
Active Reading
Kauchak, Don and Eggen, Paul, From Introduction to Teaching. Copyright © and used by permission of Pearson Educa-
tion, Inc.
Pruitt, B. E., Allegrante, John P., and Prothrow, Deborah Stith, From Health. Copyright © by Prentice-Hall. Used by
permission of Pearson Education, Inc.
Walker, John R., From Introduction to Hospitality Management, 1/e. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education, Inc. Used
by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.
Wiesel, Elie, From Night by Elie Wiesel, translated by Marion Wiesel. Translation copyright © 2006 by Marion Wiesel.
Used by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.Copyright © 2015 Pearson Educa-
tion, Inc.
93
Improving Your Vocabulary with
Context Clues
Objectives ›› In this chapter, you will learn to do the following:
■ Predict the meaning of an unknown word by using synonym context clues.
■ Predict the meaning of an unknown word by using antonym context clues.
■ Predict the meaning of an unknown word by using example context clues.
■ Predict the meaning of an unknown word by using logical context clues.
Using cOntext clUes
When you use context clues, you make use of the words and text surrounding an
unknown word to help determine the meaning of that word. These surrounding
words, called the context, often provide clues to the unknown word's meaning or
a reasonable approximation of that meaning. Guessing then allows you to con-
tinue reading the text, which will often confirm your guess as correct or give you a
signal that your guess was wrong.
Avoid Stop-and-Start Reading

Even when you come across unfamiliar words, try to continue reading because
stop-and-start reading can prevent you from connecting words and ideas to
make meaning. Often stopping to figure out the meaning of a word makes read-
ers forget what they were reading about. This consequence is why using the dic-
tionary to define words as you read is usually not a productive reading habit.
Instead, it is generally better to try to guess a word's meaning rather than to
stop to look it up.
TIP Use Dictionaries Last, Not First

When you use con-
text clues to guess Context clues can help you understand unknown words, but by themselves they
a word's meaning, do not usually define words precisely. For this reason, make an effort after reading
underline that word. to look up the meanings of any new words whose meanings you guessed through
After you finish
reading, compile
context clues.
your underlined
words using flash
cards or a note-
Using Synonym Context Clues
taking app. Look up The most direct type of context clue, the synonym context clue, includes a syn-
the words in a dic-
tionary and record
onym—a word with a similar meaning to the unfamiliar term's meaning—in the
their definitions in same or in a following sentence. Synonym context clues are frequently used in
your notes. textbook passages as a way of defining new terminology or redefining everyday
From Chapter 10 of Making Sense: Integrated Reading and Writing, First Edition. Donna McKusick
and Alvin J. Starr. Copyright © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
95
Improving Your Vocabulary with Context Clues
words used in a specialized way. The writer may use the terms means, is, that is,
refers to, or is called when introducing the definition. Or the definition may be set
off with commas, dashes, or parentheses. Occasionally a synonym or a meaning
may be presented before the word itself.
ExamplEs synergetic energy filled the meeting of the team players;

that is, a strong cooperative spirit was present.
Synergetic means “filled with a strong cooperative spirit.”
She wore a mantilla, a long veil, over her head.
A mantilla is a long veil.
Memory records specific episodes in life (episodic
memory) …
Episodic memory is memory of specific episodes in life.
ExErcisE 10.1: Using synonym contExt clUEs to UndErstand mEanings
MySkillsLab In each of the following sentences, use context clues to help you guess the meanings
of the italicized words. Note your guess for each word.
TIP 1. My junior high school music teacher, Mrs. Stout, was well known, even
Remember that you notorious, for sending students to the principal's office for wearing clothing she
may not be able considered “distracting.”
to get the exact 2. She had a prim, somewhat stuffy way of dressing and communicating that kept her
meaning of a word
from forming close relationships with the students.
by using a context
clue. 3. My classmate Sarah burst into peals of irrepressible, almost uncontrollable laughter
when Mrs. Stout dismissed a boy for wearing a sweater that was “too red.”
4. Any attempt on the part of the teacher to make Sarah repress or hold back her
laughter only made her laugh more.
5. I enjoy sharing my reminiscences of Mrs. Stout; the memories of how my teacher
made us laugh—as well as her strange ideas about fashion—fascinate my own teen-
aged daughter.
Using AntOnym cOntext clUes
Some context clues provide the opposite meaning of a word, an antonym,

which you can use to guess an unknown word's definition. (Notice that we
just used a synonym context clue to define the word antonym!) Clues that an
opposite meaning is provided might include such words or phrases as unlike,
instead, however, on the contrary, or on the other hand. Also, an opposite-meaning
context clue may be expressed in a separate sentence either before or after a
word.
96
ExamplEs Unlike the exclusionary Athletic Club, which required

members to have a medical checkup before joining, the
Pilates Club included everyone.
The exclusionary Athletic Club is unlike, or opposite from, the
Pilates Club, which includes everyone. The Athletic Club
does not include everyone. Exclusionary therefore means
“not including everyone.”
Instead of being equivocal about whether to take a vacation
or enroll in a college course, Erin was committed to
completing her developmental education requirements by
enrolling in a college course.
Erin was committed rather than equivocal. Committed (the
opposite of equivocal) means “certain, loyal to the idea.”
Equivocal means “vague and unclear” (the opposite
of certain).
ExErcisE 2: Using antonym contExt clUEs to UndErstand mEanings
MySkillsLab In each of the following sentences, use context clues to help you guess the meanings
of the italicized words. Note your guess for each word.
1. When Susan searched for academic assistance in math, she found that the help
from an online tutoring program was not worthwhile; however, the services in
the college's tutoring center were invaluable.
2. Susan had expected to find the tutoring center staffed by math nerds with whom
she could not relate; instead, she discovered that an old, admired friend from grade
school, Tyrell, was serendipitously one of the tutors.
3. Her first attempts at solving the equation were futile; on the other hand, when she
attempted the problem with the tutor, she was successful.
4. Instead of using a standard approach of working with Susan's problems one by
one, Tyrell used a radically different approach in which Susan was asked to find her
own errors and use them to learn the material.
5. Also, rather than relying on textbook formulas and theories, Tyrell's approach was
totally experiential.
Using exAmple cOntext clUes
In a third kind of context clue, the writer will provide an example or examples of
the word. You can use your understanding of the example(s) to guess what the
word means. Often, especially when the word is a specialized term that is part
of the meaning of the passage, an example context clue will appear along with a
synonym context clue to enable you to understand the term more fully.
97
ExamplEs She was accused of hyperbole when she described the

winter as cold enough to turn her feet into blocks of ice
within 30 seconds.
She was accused of hyperbole when she exaggerated about how cold the winter
was. Hyperbole therefore means “exaggeration.”
Using a collaborative teaching technique, the instructor
arranged the students in small groups and assigned each
group a specific part of the project to work on.
Using a collaborative teaching technique, the instructor had the students
work together on the project. Collaborative thus describes a situation in which
people are working together.
ExErcisE 3: Using ExamplE contExt clUEs to UndErstand mEanings
MySkillsLab Use context clues in the following sentences to help you guess the meanings of the
words in italics. Note your guess for each word.
1. Kathy arrived home only to find that her boyfriend, Mike, was in a sullen mood;
for example, he sat in the living room with the lights off and only spoke to
respond to her questions.
2. Mike's mood turned even more morose after he explained to Kathy in somber words
that he had been fired from his job that day.
3. Unfortunately, Mike's low mood was infectious; after seeing how Mike was reacting
to his horrible news, Kathy ended up in tears and with a migraine.
4. During the transformation that followed the bad news, Kathy and Mike changed
from happily laughing as they planned their expensive wedding each day to not
speaking to each other.
5. To deal with their situation, the couple went to a counselor, who used various ex-
ercises to help them move from utter depression to a less emotional position of
neutrality.
Using lOgicAl cOntext clUes
The last type of context clue discussed here involves guessing the meaning of
an unknown word because the context—the words around the unknown word—
makes that guess seem logical or reasonable. For example, if you read that “the
verdant color of the spring grass made you want to go barefoot,” you could logi-
cally conclude that verdant means “green” because you know that grass is usually
green in the spring.
98
ExamplEs He made a rational decision to stop procrastinating and to

do his homework.
A decision to stop procrastinating is usually made with reason and purpose.
Therefore, rational means “with reason and purpose.”
The buildup before the Super Bowl culminated in a flashy
pregame presentation.
A buildup usually results or ends in something. Culminate must mean
“to result or end in.”
Because logical context clues provide less information than synonym,

antonym, or example context clues, the guesses you make about meaning when
you make use of them have the greatest chance of being off the mark, so be sure to
confirm your guess as you continue to read.
ExErcisE 4: Using LogicaL contExt cLUEs to UndErstand MEanings

MySkillsLab Use logical context clues in the following sentences to help you guess the meanings
of the words in italics.
1. Psychologists and physicians have hypothesized for years that there is a strong
relationship between life stress and illness.
2. Even though the way individuals are raised by their parents plays a strong role in
attitudes toward learning, genetics will also predispose individuals toward certain
kinds of learning.
3. When Jaclyn was asked to write an article on basketball for the school newspaper,
she cried out, “I can't do this! Basketball is not in my bailiwick. Now if you ask me
to write a movie review, I can do that!”
4. The argument became very contentious because neither person could understand the
perspective of the other.
5. Jill found the practice of hazing so completely abhorrent that she would not have any-
thing to do with fellow classmates who belonged to a college sorority or fraternity.
Summary MySkillsLab
As you read increasingly challenging texts, you will come across words that you do not know. Part
of being an active reader and making sense of the text is guessing what the author is saying to you.
Accordingly, when you come across a new and unknown word, the best first strategy is to guess the
meaning of the word using the context, or the other words, that surround the unknown word. In
such cases, synonym clues, antonym clues, examples, and logical hints about the meaning of the
word can help you to grasp what the author is trying to say and continue reading.
MySkillsLab
Complete the Post-test in MySkillsLab
to check your understanding of chapter objectives.
99
Making Inferences
From Chapter 7 of Reading Across the Disciplines, Seventh Edition. Kathleen T. McWhorter. Copyright © 2018
by Pearson Education, Inc. Published by Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
101
Making Inferences
Learning Objectives
In this chapter you will learn how to . . .

1 Make inferences from facts.
2 Make inferences from written material.
3 Make accurate inferences.
Look at this photograph, which appeared in a psy-

chology textbook. What do you think is happen-
ing here? What activity have these people been
participating in? What are the feelings of the sub-
jects in the photograph?
In order to answer these questions, you had to
use any information you could get from the photo
and make guesses based on it. The facial expres-
sions, body language, clothing, and other objects
present in this photo provided clues. This reason-
ing process is called “making an inference.”
bst2012/Fotolia
Making Inferences
from the Given Facts
1 Make inferences from facts.
An inference is a reasoned guess about what you don’t know made on the basis of what
you do know. Inferences are common in our everyday lives. When you get on an express-
way and see a long, slow-moving line of traffic, you might predict that there is an accident
or roadwork ahead. When you see a puddle of water under the kitchen sink, you can infer
that you have a plumbing problem. The inferences you make may not always be correct,
even though you base them on the available information. The water under the sink might
have been the result of a spill. The traffic you encountered on the expressway might be
normal for that time of day, but you didn’t know it because you aren’t normally on the road
then. An inference is only the best guess you can make in a situation, given the information
you have.
102
Making Inferences
Exercise 1 Making Inferences 1
Directions: Study the photograph below. Use your skills in making inferences to write a statement
explaining what is happening in this photograph.
Christina Dicken/AP Images
Directions: Read each of the following statements. Place a check mark in front of each sentence that
follows that is a reasonable inference that can be made from the statement.
1. Twice as many couples seek marriage counseling as did 20 years ago.
a. There are more married people now than 20 years ago.
b. There has been an increased demand for licensed marriage counselors.
c. Marriage is more legalistic than it used to be.
d. Couples are more willing to discuss their differences than they were 20 years ago.
103
Making Inferences
2. More than half of all Americans are overweight.

a. Many Americans are at high risk for heart disease.
b. Teaching children about nutrition and exercise should be a high priority in public
schools.
c. Americans place great emphasis on appearance.
d. The weight-loss industry is an important sector of business.
3. Many courts now permit lawyers to file papers and handle some court work over the
Internet.
a. Courtrooms will no longer be needed.
b. Attorneys will be able to check the status of their cases from their home
computers.
c. Some cases may proceed more quickly now.
d. More lawyers will carry laptops.
Making Inferences from Written Material

2 Make inferences from written material.
When you read the material associated with your college courses, you need to make infer-
ences frequently. Writers do not always present their ideas directly. Instead, they often leave
it to you to add up and think beyond the facts they present. You are expected to reason out
or infer the meaning an author intended (but did not say) on the basis of what he or she did
say. In a sense, the inferences you make act as bridges between what is said and what is not
said, but is meant.
How to Make Accurate Inferences

3 Make accurate inferences.
Each inference you make depends on the situation, the facts provided, and your own knowl-
edge and experience. Here are a few guidelines to help you see beyond the factual level and
make solid inferences.
Understand the Literal Meaning

Be sure you have a firm grasp of the literal meaning. You must understand the stated ideas
and facts before you can move to higher levels of thinking, which include inference making.
You should recognize the topic, main idea, key details, and organizational pattern of each
paragraph you have read.
104
Making Inferences
Notice Details
As you are reading, pay particular attention to details that are unusual or stand out. Often
such details will offer you clues to help you make inferences. Ask yourself:
• What is unusual or striking about this piece of information?
• Why is it included here?
Read the following excerpt, which is taken from an essay about a young Polish immigrant
to the U.K., and mark any details that seem unusual or striking.
An Immigration Plan Gone Awry

Due to her own hardship, Katja was not thrilled when her younger brother called
her from Warsaw and said that he was going to join her in the U.K. Katja warned him
that opportunities were scarce in London for a Polish immigrant. “Don’t worry,” he
said in an effort to soothe her anxiety. “I already have a job in a factory.” An advertise-
ment in a Warsaw paper had promised good pay for Polish workers in Birmingham.
A broker’s fee of $500 and airfare were required, so her brother borrowed the money
from their mother. He made the trip with a dozen other young Polish men.
The “broker” picked the young men up at Heathrow and piled them in a van.
They drove directly to Birmingham, and at nightfall the broker dropped the whole
crew off at a ramshackle house inside the city. He ordered them to be ready to be
picked up in the morning for their first day of work. A bit dazed by the pace, they
stretched out on the floor to sleep.
Their rest was brief. In the wee hours of the night, the broker returned with a
gang of 10 or so thugs armed with cricket bats. They beat the young Polish boys
to a pulp and robbed them of all their valuables. Katja’s brother took some heavy
kicks to the ribs and head, then stumbled out of the house. Once outside, he saw
two police cars parked across the street. The officers in the cars obviously chose
to ignore the mayhem playing out in front of their eyes. Katja’s brother knew better
than try to convince them otherwise; the police in Poland would act no differently.
Who knows, maybe they were part of the broker’s scam. Or maybe they just didn’t
care about a bunch of poor Polish immigrants “invading” their town.
“Katja’s Story: Human Trafficking Thrives in the New Global Economy” by David Batstone
from Sojourners Magazine. Used with permission.
Did you mark details such as the $500 broker’s fee, the promise of a well-paying job despite
scarce job opportunities for Polish immigrants, and the beating and robbery of the boys?
105
Making Inferences
Add Up the Facts

Consider all of the facts taken together. To help you do this, ask yourself such questions as
the following:
• What is the writer trying to suggest with this set of facts?
• What do all these facts and ideas seem to point toward or add up to?
• Why did the author include these facts and details?
Making an inference is somewhat like assembling a complicated jigsaw puzzle; you try to
make all the pieces fit together to form a recognizable picture. Answering these questions
requires you to add together all the individual pieces of information, which will enable you
to arrive at an inference.
When you add up the facts in the article “An Immigration Plan Gone Awry” you realize
that Katja’s brother is the victim of a scam.
Be Alert to Clues
Writers often provide you with numerous hints that can point you toward accurate infer-
ences. An awareness of word choices, details included (and omitted), ideas emphasized, and
direct commentary can help you determine a textbook author’s attitude toward the topic at
hand. In “An Immigration Plan Gone Awry,” the “ramshackle” house, the men “piled” into
a van, and sleeping on the floor are all clues that something is amiss.
Consider the Author’s Purpose

Also study the author’s purpose for writing. What does he or she hope to accomplish? In
“An Immigration Plan Gone Awry” the writer seems critical of immigrant brokers and of
the police.
Verify Your Inference

Once you have made an inference, check that it is accurate. Look back at the stated facts
to be sure that you have sufficient evidence to support the inference. Also, be certain that
you have not overlooked other equally plausible or more plausible inferences that could be
drawn from the same set of facts.
Directions: Study the cartoon below and place a check mark in front of each statement that is a
reasonable inference that can be made from the cartoon.
1. The woman in the cartoon is a student.
2. The woman will probably ask someone for detailed directions.
106
Making Inferences
3. The map is likely to be of a college

campus.
4. The cartoonist has a negative atti-
tude toward college students.
5. The cartoonist thinks college cam-
puses are complex.
Cartoonresource/Fotolia
Directions: Read each of the following statements. Place a check mark in front of each sentence that
follows that is a reasonable inference that can be made from the statement.
1. Political candidates must now include the Internet in their campaign plans.
a. Political candidates may host online chats to assess voter opinion.
b. Informal debates between candidates may be conducted online.
c. Internet campaigning will drastically increase overall campaign expenditures.
d. Television campaigning is likely to remain the same.
2. Half of the public education classrooms in the United States are now hooked up to the Internet.
a. Children are more computer literate than their parents were when they were in school.
b. Students now have access to current world news and happenings.
c. Books are no longer considered the sole source of information on a subject.
d. Teachers have become better teachers now that they have Internet access.
3. The Internet can make doctors more efficient through the use of new software and
databases that make patient diagnosis more accurate.
a. The cost of in-person medical care is likely to decrease.
b. Doctors may be able to identify patients with serious illnesses sooner.
c. Doctors are likely to pay less attention to their patients’ descriptions of symptoms.
d. Information on the symptoms and treatment of rare illnesses is more readily available.
107
Making Inferences
Directions: Read each of the following passages. Using inference, determine whether the
statements following each passage are true or not. Place an X next to each untrue statement.
A. Each year, the government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development conducts
a national survey of cities and towns to find out how many people in the United States are
homeless. The 2011 survey found about 636,000 people living in shelters, in transitional
housing, and on the street on a single night in January. But, the government estimates, a
much larger number—approximately 1.6 million people—are homeless for at least some
time during the course of the year. As with earlier estimates of the homeless population,
critics claimed that the HUD estimate undercounted the homeless, who may well have num-
bered several million people. Some estimates suggest that as many as 3 million people are
homeless for at least one night in a given year. In addition, they add, evidence suggests that
the number of homeless people in the United States is increasing.
Macionis, John J. Adapted from Society, 13th ed., Pearson, Boston, 2015, p. 270.
1. The Department of Housing and Urban Development does not consider homeless-
ness to be a problem.
2. Gaining an accurate count of the homeless population is difficult.
3. The number of homeless people remains the same at different times throughout
the year.
4. People who are homeless for short periods may not be counted in estimates of the
homeless population.
5. The number of homeless people in the United States will eventually decrease.
B. Blowfish is one of the most prized delicacies in the restaurants of Japan. This fish is prized
not only for its taste, but for the tingling sensation one gets around the lips when eating it. In
blowfish TTX (a neurotoxin) is concentrated in certain organs, including the liver and gonads.
Its preparation takes great skill and can only be done by licensed chefs who are skilled at
removing the poison-containing organs without crushing them, which can lead to contam-
ination of normally edible parts. The toxin cannot be destroyed by cooking. Lore has it that
the most skilled chefs intentionally leave a bit of the poison in, so that diners can enjoy the
tingling sensation caused by blockage of nerve signals from the sense receptors on the lips.
Germann, William J., Cindy L. Stanfield, Principles of Human Physiology, 1st Ed.,
© 2002. Reprinted and Electronically reproduced by permission of
Pearson Education, Inc., New York, NY.
6. Consuming TTX has potentially dangerous consequences.

7. The United States has strict rules about the preparation of blowfish.
8. Japanese diners enjoy blowfish partly because of the sense of danger involved.
9. TTX causes blockage of signals from nerves.
10. Blowfish is always unsafe to eat.
108
Making Inferences
C. Your culture instills in you a variety of beliefs, values, and attitudes about such things as
success (how you define it and how you should achieve it); the relevance of religion, race, or
nationality; and the ethical principles you should follow in business and in your personal life.
These teachings provide benchmarks against which you can measure yourself. Your ability
to achieve what your culture defines as success, for example, contributes to a positive self-
concept; in the same way, your failure to achieve what your culture encourages will contrib-
ute to a negative self-concept.
DeVito, Joseph A. Human Communication: The Basic Course, 12th ed. Boston:
Pearson Allyn & Bacon, 2012, p. 52.
11. People with positive self-concepts often have achieved their culture’s notion of success.
12. Most cultures do not believe that race or religion are relevant.
13. People often ignore their culture’s beliefs about ethical principles.
14. Self-concept is affected by both success and failure.
15. Your self-concept can never change.
Directions: Read each of the following paragraphs. A number of statements follow them; each
statement is an inference. Label each inference as either:
PA—Probably accurate—there is substantial evidence in the paragraph to support the statement.
IE—Insufficient evidence—there is little or no evidence in the paragraph to support the statement.
A. We could use more wind power. The kinetic energy of moving air is readily converted to
mechanical energy to pump water, grind grain, or turn turbines and generate electricity. Wind
power currently supplies only about 2 percent of U.S. energy production, but it is the fastest-
growing energy source, increasing at an annual rate of 20–30 percent. Wind is clean, free, and
abundant. However, it does not blow constantly, and some means of energy storage or an
alternative source of energy is needed. Not all regions have enough wind to make wind power
feasible. Some environmentalists oppose wind power because the rotating blades kill thou-
sands of birds each year, but so do domestic cats and collisions with television and microwave
towers. The amount of land required for windmills might become a problem if wind power
were used widely, but the land under windmills could be used for farming or grazing.
Hill, John W. ; McCreary, Terry W.; Kolb, Doris K. Chemistry for Changing Times,
13th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2013, p. 446.
1. The United States will continue developing wind power as a source of energy.
2. Some parts of the country may always have to rely on other forms of energy.
3. Environmentalists prefer solar power to wind power.
4. Farmers oppose the use of land for wind turbines.
5. Every renewable energy source has advantages and disadvantages that must be
considered.
109
Making Inferences
B. Artist Georgia O’Keeffe was born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and spent her childhood on
her family’s farm. While in high school, she had a memorable experience that gave her a new
perspective on the art-making process. As she passed the door to the art room, O’Keeffe
stopped to watch as a teacher held up a jack-in-the-pulpit plant so that the students could
appreciate its unusual shapes and subtle colors. Although O’Keeffe had enjoyed flowers in
the marshes and meadows of Wisconsin, she had done all of her drawing and painting from
plaster casts or had copied them from photographs or reproductions. This was the first time
she realized that one could draw and paint from real life. Twenty-five years later she pro-
duced a powerful series of paintings based on flowers.
Frank, Patrick. Adapted from Prebles’ Artforms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts,
9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009, p. 37.
6. O’Keeffe’s artistic style was influenced by her high-school art teacher.

7. O’Keeffe’s paintings from plaster casts were unsuccessful.
8. O’Keeffe was deeply influenced by nature.
9. O’Keeffe was not influenced by modern art.
10. O’Keeffe never copied flowers from other paintings.
Directions: Read the following paragraphs and the statements that follow. Place a check mark next
to the statements that are reasonable inferences.
August Vollmer was the chief of police of Berkeley, California, from 1905 to 1932. Vollmer’s
vision of policing was quite different from most of his contemporaries. He believed the police
should be a “dedicated body of educated persons comprising a distinctive corporate entity
with a prescribed code of behavior.” He was critical of his contemporaries and they of him. San
Francisco police administrator Charley Dullea, who later became president of the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, refused to drive through Berkeley in protest against Vollmer.
Fellow California police chiefs may have felt their opposition to Vollmer was justified, given his
vocal and strong criticism of other California police departments. For example, Vollmer publicly
referred to San Francisco cops as “morons,” and in an interview with a newspaper reporter, he
called Los Angeles cops “low grade mental defectives.”
Because of his emphasis on education, professionalism, and administrative reform, Vollmer
often is seen as the counterpart of London’s Sir Robert Peel and is sometimes called the “father
of modern American policing.” Vollmer was decades ahead of his contemporaries, but he
was not able to implement significant change in policing during his lifetime. It remained for
Vollmer’s students to implement change. For example, O.W. Wilson, who became chief of police
of Chicago, promoted college education for police officers and wrote a book on police adminis-
tration that reflected many of Vollmer’s philosophies. It was adopted widely by police executives
and used as a college textbook well into the 1960s.
110
Making Inferences
Vollmer is credited with a number of innovations. He was an early adopter of the automobile
for patrol and the use of radios in police cars. He recruited college-educated police officers. He
developed and implemented a 3-year training curriculum for police officers, including classes
in physics, chemistry, biology, physiology, anatomy, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and
criminology. He developed a system of signal boxes for hailing police officers. He adopted the
use of typewriters to fill out police reports and records, and officers received training in typing.
He surveyed other police departments to gather information about their practices. Many of his
initiatives have become common practice within contemporary police departments.
Fagin, James A., Criminal Justice, 2nd Ed., © 2007. Reprinted and Electronically
reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., New York, NY.
1. Vollmer did not have a college degree.

2. Most police officers of Vollmer’s time had limited educations.
3. Vollmer believed police should be held accountable for their actions.
4. Sir Robert Peel dramatically changed policing procedures in England.
5. Vollmer received support from most police officers on the street.
6. Vollmer would support technological advances in policing.
7. Police departments of Vollmer’s time were run with a careful eye toward accuracy.
8. Vollmer outlawed billy clubs.
Summary of Learning Objectives

An inference is a reasoned guess about what
Make inferences from facts. you don’t know based on what you do know. It
1 is the best guess you can make in a situation,
What is an inference?
given the facts you have.
Writers do not always present their ideas directly.
Make inferences from written material. Instead, they often leave it to you to think beyond
2 the facts presented and infer the meaning they
Why do authors leave ideas unstated?
intended (but did not say).
To make accurate inferences, first understand
the literal meaning of the reading selection. Pay
attention to details, asking what is unusual or
Make accurate inferences. striking about them and why they have been
3 included. Add up the facts, asking what they
How do you make accurate inferences?
point to. Be alert to clues and consider the
writer’s purpose. Once you have made an
inference, verify that it is accurate.
111
Writing Processes
From Part 2 of Quick Access Brief, Third Edition. Lynn Quitman Troyka, Douglas
Hesse. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
113
Ten Steps for Writing Essays
A Quick Points You will learn to

➤ Adapt writing processes for yourself (see section A).
➤ Think like a writer (see section B).
➤ Decide each essay’s purpose and audience (see section C).
➤ Plan a writing portfolio (see section D).
➤ Develop ideas about your topic (see section E).
➤ Use a thesis statement to help you plan (see section F).
➤ Use outlining to help you plan (see section G).
➤ Get started on a first draft (see section H).
➤ Revise effectively (see section I).
➤ Edit and proofread effectively (see section J).
Visit mywritinglab.com for more resources on writing essays.
This text explains ten steps for writing an essay. They’re designed to be flex-
ible so that you can adjust the order according to your needs for each different
writing assignment.
A How do I adapt writing processes for myself?

Many people assume that a real writer can magically write a finished product,
word by perfect word. Experienced writers know that each piece of writing
is a process, a series of activities that starts the moment they begin think-
ing about a topic and ends when they complete a final draft. All writers
adapt their writing processes to suit their personalities as well as the special
demands of the different writing projects they undertake. For the usual major
stages in the writing process, see Quick Box 1. Although the steps are listed
separately, few real writers work in lockstep order. They know that the steps
overlap and double back on themselves, as the circles and arrows in Figure 1
show.
Figure 1 Visualizing the writing process.
Editing
Planning Drafting Revising and
Proofreading
114
Quick Box 1
The writing process
• Planning means you think like a writer (see section B); determine your
purpose and audience (see section C); plan a writing portfolio (see section B
D); develop ideas about your topic (see section E); compose a tentative
thesis statement (see section F); consider using an outline (see section G).
• Drafting means you write a first pass by composing your ideas into
sentences and paragraphs (see section H).
• Revising means you rewrite your drafts, often more than once, for
the purpose of expanding and/or tightening them; rearranging and/or
deleting parts; checking that you’ve stayed on your topic; and perhaps
drafting needed new material (see section I).
• Editing means you check for the correctness of your surface-level
features, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics.
Proofreading means you carefully scrutinize your final draft to fix
typing errors and missing/repeated small words (see section J).
What is the major difference between weak writers and successful ones?
The good ones refuse to give up. Good writing takes time. We urge you to be
patient with yourself. Remember that experienced writers sometimes struggle
with ideas that are difficult to express, sentences that won’t take shape, and
words that aren’t precise. When that becomes frustrating, they put their writ-
ing aside for a while, do something unrelated to writing, and return with the
“new eyes” that only distance makes available.
B How do I think like a writer?

Writers begin by thinking the way writers do. They engage in the habits of
mind of effective writers, as explained in Quick Box 2.
Quick Box 2
How to think like a writer
Think by Engaging in Writers’ Habits of Mind
• Realize that writing takes time.
• Know that writing requires focused attention free of distractions.
• Recognize that all writing involves rewriting, often many times
(see section I).
continued >>
115
Quick Box 2 Think Like a Writer (continued)
• Believe that the physical act of writing helps fresh ideas spring to
mind (see section E).
• Think critically.
B
Think by Completely Understanding Each Task at Hand
• Read writing assignments completely. Then reread them.
• Approximate the length of a suitable final draft.
• Estimate how long you’ll need for
– Planning (see sections C, E, F, and G)
– Drafting (see section H)
– Revising (see section I)
– Editing (see section J)
– Proofreading (see section J)
• Calculate and set aside the total time you’ll need to complete the
assignment.
• Find out if you need to plan for a writing portfolio.
Think About Your Topic
• Does your assignment state a topic explicitly? If so, focus on it
exclusively without going off the topic.
• Does your assignment give a general topic and expect you to think
of a suitable subtopic? If so, make sure your chosen topic isn’t too
broad or too narrow:
GENERAL TOPIC Marriage
TOO BROAD What makes a successful marriage?
TOO NARROW Couples can go to a municipal hall to get married.
JUST RIGHT Compromise is vital for a happy marriage.
• Does your assignment say you’re free to choose an essay topic? If so,
think of one suitable for academic writing.
– Topic needs to demonstrate your intellectual and writing abilities.
– Topic needs sufficient specific details to back up each general
statement.
Think About Typical Purposes for Your Writing (see section C)
Think About the Audience for Your Writing (see section C)
Think of Ways to Develop Your Topic (see section E)
Think About Your Thesis Statement (see section F)
Consider Outlining (see section G)
116
C How do I decide on the purpose and audience

for each essay?
■ Purpose
Behind each writing project lies the reason, or purpose, for its being under-
taken. Purposes for writing vary, and each makes its own demands on the writer. C
The typical writing purposes are listed in Quick Box 3.
Quick Box 3
Typical purposes for writing
• To narrate something about your life or ideas that’s worth knowing

• To give information
• To analyze a text
• To argue or persuade
– In favor of a point of view on a debatable issue
– In favor of a proposal or a solution to a problem
• To evaluate the quality of a text, object, individual, or event
ESOL Tip: If you’re from another culture, you might be surprised—even

offended—by the directness with which people speak and write in the United
States. If so, we hope you’ll read our open letter to multilingual writers. We want
you to know how much we honor your native culture. Some cultures might
expect writing to contain elaborate, ceremonial language, or to introduce your
central point in an essay’s middle, or to engage in tactful and indirect discussions.
However, when you write for U.S. readers, you need to adapt to U.S. writing style,
which is direct and straightforward.
■ Audience
The audience for your writing are your readers. In planning and writing each
essay, the more specifically you can imagine who your readers will be, the more
likely your chances for engaging their attention. To begin constructing a portrait
of your probable readers, try the ideas listed in Quick Box 4.
117
Quick Box 4
Ways to imagine your audience
• Their level of knowledge. Do your readers have a general idea of your

C topic, to the extent that nonspecialized educated readers might? Or are
your readers specialists in your topic? The answer influences the level of
information you provide in your essay.
• Their interests. How interested or uninterested in your topic are your
readers likely to be? Can you assume your readers are probably enthu-
siastic about it, resistant to it, or open to it? The answer influences the
techniques you use for discussing your topic.
• Their beliefs. Do your readers probably agree or disagree with your
point of view, or have no opinion about it? The answer influences the
degree to which you need to try to convince your readers to change their
minds about a debatable topic.
• Their backgrounds. Which background characteristics are important to
consider in relation to your topic and the purpose you want to achieve
with your writing? How much shared background do you have with
them?
– Age, gender, economic situation, ethnic origin?
– Roles in life, such as student, instructor, business owner, worker,
parent, voter, veteran, property owner, etc.?
– Interests or hobbies?
• Relation to you. Are your readers your personal friends, family,
coworkers, and others you know? Or are they strangers in whom you
want to build trust about your credibility, reliability, and accuracy in
presenting your topic (ethical appeal*)? The answer influences the
level of formality in the language (see section I) you use in presenting
your material.
ESOL Tip: If the cultural background of your readers differs from yours,
you might find it difficult to estimate how much your readers know about your
topic. To get a better idea of your readers’ backgrounds, you might browse for
information on the Internet or discuss your topic with people who might know
more than you do about your readers’ backgrounds.
*Words printed in small capital letters are discussed elsewhere in the text.
118
Your instructor as audience

Of course, one specific audience for your college writing is always your instruc-
tor (and often your peers, as discussed later). The instructor who gave you a
particular writing assignment plays three roles:
• As a stand-in for readers with general or specialized knowledge of your
topic D
• As your writing coach with experience in guiding students to write well

• As the evaluator of your final draft
Instructors expect each writing project to show that the students took seri-
ous time to go through their writing process deliberately and respectfully, even
though your teachers know that few students are experienced writers or experts
on their topics. Instructors recognize a minimal effort at once.
Be careful never to assume that your instructor will mentally fill in infor-
mation you haven’t taken the time to write about. You’re expected to delve
deeply into your topic, develop it beyond its obvious, bare-bones basics, and
write about it fully.
Your peer-response group as audience

A peer-response group consists of other students in your class. Many writing
classes today assign peer groups to gather together and react to each others’
writing. Participating in a peer-response group makes you part of a respected
academic tradition of colleagues helping colleagues. Professional writers often
seek comments from other writers to improve their rough drafts. In many
business areas, final drafts almost always emerge after many people have shared
their thoughts and ideas.
As a member of a peer-response group in a college writing course,
you’re expected to offer your peers as thorough and specific responses as you
can.
D How do I plan a writing portfolio?

Many instructors require a writing portfolio from each student, so it’s wise
to plan for it from the beginning of each writing course. To do so, keep all
writing you’ve done in response to all your assignments, including any drafts
commented on during your writing process as well as your final papers and
exams. Throw away nothing. Date each item. If you work on more than one
computer, carry and clearly label a thumb drive set aside expressly for collect-
ing your writing.
A writing portfolio can be paper or digital, depending on your instructor’s
requirements. A paper portfolio consists of your writings collected in a folder
or a binder. A digital portfolio is like a paper one but in electronic format. It
119
can contain links between—and within—individual texts. Your digital port-

folio might be an upload from your work into an online course management
program, such as BlackBoard. More sophisticated digital portfolios involve
your own design efforts, including images, sounds, and video. For more spe-
cific advice about how to create a writing portfolio, see Quick Box 5.
D Most writing portfolios include a self-reflection essay or letter. Feel free to
use the first person (“I”) since it’s about you as a writer. Here are guidelines
for such an essay.
1. Start with a paragraph in which you introduce yourself as a writer and
state the criteria for selecting the writings you’ve used in your portfolio.
2. Compose a set of body paragraphs in which you give the title and date
to refer in exact date sequence to each separate piece of writing in your
portfolio. Explain why you chose to include it.
Quick Box 5
How to create a writing portfolio
1.
Choose your writing for inclusion according your instructor’s direc-
tions. Here are three typical portfolio assignments.
• “Present three works that best display your strengths as a writer.”
(Here, you want to choose writings that display the range of your
abilities.)
• “Create a portfolio of three works that demonstrates how you’re
able to write for different audiences and purposes.” (Here, you
want to choose examples that respond to more than one writing
situation and one frame.)
• “Select four examples of your writing from this semester that
demonstrate how your writing has developed.” (Here, you want
to show that you’ve improved over the semester, so you might
choose writings from the beginning, middle, and end of the
course. Alternatively, you might choose a few examples of the
same paper in early and revised drafts.)
2.
Write an essay or letter of self-reflection in response to your specific
portfolio assignment and by using the suggestions in section D.
3.
List all the items in your portfolio with page numbers for your
instructor’s reference.
• Write a page number in the upper right corner on each sheet of
paper, to conform to the list of items.
• Enter the date of each piece of writing.
4.
Use an appealing format.
120
3. Write a paragraph, either here or before item 2 in this list, that dis-
cusses how you as a writer have evolved (or have not evolved) during
the course.
4. Conclude with a paragraph to wrap up your self-reflection. You might
also mention your future goals for yourself as a writer.
E
Here is an excerpt from a reflective essay for a portfolio.
Excerpt From A Reflective Essay

During the 2013 fall semester, I completed five papers in
English 101, revising each of them several times based on
responses from my peers and feedback from my instructor.
In the beginning, I was very frustrated. I was getting low
grades, but I had been told in high school my writing was
excellent. After a few weeks, I came to realize my critical
thinking about our topics was too superficial and my peers
didn’t always understand what I thought was clear in my
writing. I’m leaving this course with more confidence as
a writer, based on the strengths the three papers in this
portfolio demonstrate.
One quality apparent in these papers is my ability Generalization
to adjust writings for different audiences, both academic
and general. For example, “Analyzing the Merits Specific
example
of Organic Produce” addresses academic readers,
specifically members of the scientific community.
This can be seen in my use of APA citation style and a
scholarly tone suitable for experts, as in my opening
sentence. The paper begins bluntly and directly because Explanation
of the tone
I decided scholars would require little orientation and
would value my getting right to the point. . . . In contrast, Transition to
another specific
my paper “Is That Organic Apple Really Worth It?” is
example
aimed at a general audience, such as readers of a news
magazine. That paper uses scenes and examples to
engage readers with a friendly tone. . . .
E How do I expand my ideas about my topic?

Strategies popular with experienced writers when they want to extend their
ideas on a topic are listed in Quick Box 6 and explained after it. Experiment
to find out which strategies you find most helpful, adapting to your purpose
and audience for each new writing assignment.
121
Quick Box 6
Strategies for developing ideas about topics
• Freewriting and focused freewriting

E • Brainstorming
• Asking and answering structured questions
• Clustering (also called “mapping”)
• Writing in a journal or a blog
• Chatting with other people
■ Freewriting
Freewriting calls for you to write whatever comes into your mind without
stopping. Freewriting uses the physical act of writing to trigger brain processes
that uncover ideas that don’t come to mind by conscious thinking. It means
you don’t think about whether your ideas are good or your spelling is correct.
Focused freewriting means starting with a favorite word or sentence from
your journal, a quotation you like, or perhaps a topic you’re studying for a
course, and then freewriting with that focus in mind. When you freewrite,
don’t interrupt the flow. Keep writing. Don’t censor your thoughts or insights.
Don’t review or cross out. Such writing is a voyage of discovery in which you
allow your thoughts to emerge as you write.
After a session of freewriting, look over your material for ideas. At times
you may find your material isn’t helpful, but on other occasions, your insights
may startle or delight you.
■ Brainstorming
Brainstorming means listing everything that comes to mind about your topic.
Don’t censor your thoughts. Let your mind roam, and jot down all ideas that
flow logically or that simply pop into your head. After you’ve brainstormed
for a while, look over your lists for patterns. If you don’t have enough to work
with, choose one item in your list and brainstorm from there.
Next, move the items into groups even if loosely related. Discard items that
don’t fit into any group. You’ll probably find that the groups with the most
items turn out to be most effective for developing your topic.
Here’s some brainstorming by student Carol Moreno, who wrote an
essay about the benefits for women of learning to lift weights. Carol
grouped the items marked here with an asterisk and used them in her second
paragraph.
122
*women don’t want masculine-looking muscles; how much weight is

safe for a woman to lift?; *women’s muscles grow long, not bulky; how
to bend down for lifting?; *firm muscles are attractive; free weights or
machines?; *exercise type—anaerobic exercise; *exercise
type—aerobic exercise; injuries; *toning the body
E
■ Asking and answering structured questions
Asking and answering structured questions can stimulate you to think of ideas
for developing your topic. One popular question set consists of those journal-
ists use: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Here’s how Alex Garcia used the journalists’ questions to start writing
about why organic foods are worth the cost:
Who are the people who care about the benefits of eating organic
foods?
What are typical foods people prefer to be organically grown?
Where did the idea of organic foods originate?
When did organic foods become popular?
Why do organic foods cost more than conventionally grown foods?
How are organic foods processed?
■ Clustering
Clustering, also called mapping, is a visual form of brainstorming. Write your
topic in the middle of a sheet and then circle it. Next, move out from the
middle circle by drawing lines with circles at the end of each line. Put in each
circle a subtopic or detail related to the main topic. If a subtopic or detail in a
given circle has further subtopics, draw lines and circles fanning out from that
circle. Continue using this method as far as it can take you. Though you might
not include in your essay all the subtopics and details in your map, chances
Time
& place?
Ballad?
Bring Sing
photo Uptempo
song?
For musical
audition
Sight-
read music
Read Be ready
script to Learn choreography
dance
123
are that some of the material might come in handy. For example, see the previ-
ous page for the map that Miquel Sanz drew to help him think of ideas for the
second paragraph of his essay about auditioning to be in a musical.
■ Writing every day in a journal or blog

E
Writing in a journal or blog every day for 5 to 10 minutes is like having a con-
versation with yourself. It gets you into the habit of productivity so that when
handling a writing assignment, your routine of writing flows more smoothly.
The more you write, the more you get used to expressing yourself through
words.
Write about whatever’s on your mind. Draw on your thoughts, experi-
ences, observations, dreams, reactions to your course work, or responses to
something you’ve read recently. Use a paper notebook or computer document,
depending on what’s most handy and pleasurable for you. Often your journal
or blog can serve as a source of topics for essays as well as related supporting
specifics.
■ Chatting
Chatting with others means talking with them—but with a targeted purpose.
Talk about your topic and toss around ideas. Keep paper, or your journal or
computer, at hand so that you’ll be sure to jot down the ideas as they come to
mind. Research shows that new lines of thoughts and ideas slip people’s minds
rather quickly. Little is as frustrating as remembering you had thought of a
good idea, but now you forget what it was.
“Chatting” today has come to mean more than only talking. You can chat
online with instant messaging, e-mail, and other electronic forums. Exchang-
ing ideas online not only stimulates your thinking but also acts like a warm-up
for putting ideas into words.
EXERCISE 1 Here’s a list brainstormed for a writing assignment. The

topic was “Ways to promote a new movie.” Look over the list and group the
ideas. You’ll find that some ideas don’t fit into a group. Then, add any other
ideas you have to the list.
previews in theaters suspense director

TV ads book the movie was based on topical subject
provocative ads locations special effects
movie reviews Internet trailers dialogue
how movie was made adventure excitement
sneak previews newspaper ads photography
word of mouth stars Facebook page
124
F How does a thesis statement help me plan?

A thesis statement serves as the central, controlling declaration of the point
being made in most essays written in reponse to typical writing assignments.
A thesis statement gives readers a general preview of what they can expect to
read about. It also serves as a road map to check as you write to make sure F
you stay on topic. Expect to compose many drafts of the thesis statement for
each essay, systematically getting closer on successive attempts to what you
want it to encapsulate. The basic requirements of a thesis statement are listed
in Quick Box 7.
“Play” with your thesis statement patiently; indeed, many writers discover
their best thesis statements emerge only after they’ve written their concluding
paragraph. As you revise your essay, continually check your thesis statement
to make sure that it goes well with the content of your essay. If you find a
mismatch, revise one or the other—or perhaps both.
In her essay “Weight Lifting for Women,” Carol Moreno describes how,
with the right training, women can become strong by lifting free weights. She
uses the idiom “pumping iron,” a commonly used term in gyms. Her thesis
statement evolved from a thin assertion to a full one that makes her message
clear.
Quick Box 7
Basic requirements for a thesis statement
1.
It gives the essay’s central message.
It makes an assertion, which puts forth the essay’s central message.
2.
Its assertion ties to the essay’s topic sentences that start each of the
3.
essay’s body paragraphs.
It usually comes at the end of the introductory paragraph.
4.
5.
It uses clear, straightforward language.
6.
It might lay out the major subdivisions of a topic, but a more graceful
technique is to imply them rather than stating them outright.
7.
Avoid these common mistakes in writing a thesis statement:
a. Don’t use it to give a fact that leads nowhere.
b. Don’t say you’re not an expert in your topic; your readers expect
you to have learned enough about it to write your essay.
c. Don’t announce your essay’s purpose with words such as “The
purpose of this essay is . . .”
d. Don’t refer back to your essay’s title using words such as “This is
an important issue . . .” or “My essay is called ‘XYZ’ because . . .”
125
NO Women can lift weights as well as men do.

This has too little information.
NO If trained, any woman can get strong.

The concept of lifting weights is gone; “any” is too broad.
G NO Women can lift weights to get strong.
This repeats the essay’s title rather than give its central message.
Y ES Women can lift weights as long as they learn to do so properly.

Captures the central message of Moreno’s essay, meets the thesis statement
requirements, and avoids the pitfalls listed in Quick Box 7.
EXERCISE 2 Each set of the following sentences offers several versions of

a thesis statement. Within each set, the thesis statements progress from weak to
strong. The fourth thesis statement in each set is the best. Referring to require-
ments listed in Quick Box 7, explain why the first three choices in each set are
weak and the last is best.
A. 1. Advertising is complex.
2. Magazine advertisements appeal to readers.
3. Magazine advertisements must be creative and appealing to all readers.
4. To appeal to readers, magazine advertisements must skillfully use lan-
guage, color, and design.
B. 1. Soccer is a widely played sport.
2. Playing soccer is fun.
3. Soccer requires various skills.
4. Playing soccer for fun and exercise requires agility, stamina, and
teamwork.
C. 1. Hamlet is a play about revenge.
2. Hamlet must avenge his father’s murder.
3. Some characters in the play Hamlet want revenge.
4. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes all seek revenge.
G How does outlining help me write?

An outline is a structured, sequential list of the contents of a text. Some
instructors require an outline with assignments, but others don’t. Always ask.
When given a choice, some students never outline, whereas others find that
outlining helps them write. You might find that outlining helps at different
stages of your writing process: perhaps before drafting to help you flesh out,
pull together, and arrange material; or perhaps during revision to help you
check your flow of thought or make sure you haven’t gone off the topic. Figure
out what works best for you by experimenting.
126
An informal outline does not follow the numbering and lettering conven-
tions of a formal outline. It often looks like a brainstorming list (see section E),
with ideas jotted down in a somewhat random order. Here’s an informal outline
for the second paragraph of Yanggu Cui’s solution essay, “A Proposal to Improve
Fan Behavior at Children’s Games.”
H
Sample Informal Outline
little league games
parents on sidelines
parents yell at officials
insult opposing team
A formal outline, in contrast, follows long-established conventions for using
numbers and letters to show relationships among ideas. No one outline format
is endorsed for MLA style, but instructors generally prefer the format used
in Quick Box 8. Outlines usually don’t show the content of introductory and
concluding paragraphs, but some instructors want them included, so always ask.
To compose a formal outline, always use at least two subdivisions at each
level—no I without a II, no A without a B, etc. All subdivisions need to be at
the same level of generality, so don’t pair a main idea with a subordinate idea
or a subordinate idea with a supporting detail. In format, use parallelism so
that each outline item starts with the same part of speech.
A formal outline can be a sentence outline, of only complete sentences,
or a topic outline, of only words and phrases. Be careful never to mix the two
styles in one outline. Quick Box 8 shows both types.
H How do I get started on a first draft?

Here are three ways to write a first draft. You will probably discover others as
you write more frequently.
• Write a discovery draft. Put aside any planning notes (see section E) and
use focused freewriting about your topic. Chances are you’ll remember
many of the ideas you thought of. When you finish the first draft, you can
consult your notes.
• Write a structured draft. Consult your planning notes (see section E) as
you write, but don’t allow yourself to stall at a part you don’t like. Use a
signal to tell yourself you want to return to that part, and keep on going.
• Combine using a discovery draft and a structured draft. Start with a dis-
covery draft, and when stalled, switch to a structured draft. Or do the reverse.
The direction of drafting is forward. Keep pressing ahead. If a spelling,
a word choice, or a sentence bothers you, use a signal that says you want to
check it later—underline it, highlight it in a color, or switch it to capital letters.
127
Quick Box 8
Outline formats
Format of Traditional Formal Outline
H Thesis statement: Present the entire thesis statement.

I. First main idea
A. First subordinate idea
1.
First reason or example
2.
Second reason or example
a. First supporting detail
b. Second supporting detail
B. Second subordinate idea
II. Second main idea
Example: Formal Sentence Outline

This outline goes with the second paragraph of Yanggu Cui’s solution
essay, “A Proposal to Improve Fan Behavior at Children’s Games.”
Thesis statement: The league organizers need to bring an end to this kind of
abuse, and the best way to do so is by requiring parents to sign a code of
good behavior.
I. For decades, parents have proudly watched their sons and daughters
play little league softball, baseball, soccer, and other sports.
A. In recent years, the parents who attend little league games have
become more vocal on the sidelines.
B. Parents who used to shout encouragement and congratulations to
their children and the teams are now rude.
1.
They scream protests about the coaches’ decisions.
2.
They yell insults at the opposing team.
3.
They hurl threats at officials, many of whom are young.
Example: Formal Topic Outline

This outline goes with the second paragraph of Yanggu Cui’s solution
essay, “A Proposal to Improve Fan Behavior at Children’s Games.”
Thesis Statement: The league organizers need to bring an end to this kind
of abuse, and the best way to do so is by requiring parents to sign a code of
good behavior.
continued >>
128
Quick Box 8 Outline Formats (continued)
I. Parents at little league softball, baseball, soccer, and other sports

A. Parents more vocal on sidelines
B. Parents not encouraging but rude
H
1.
Protest coaches’ decisions
2.
Insult the opposing team
3.
Threaten officials
Research proves that the physical act of writing without pausing makes ideas
and the connections among them “pop into people’s heads unbidden.”
Writers vary in how they’re most comfortable drafting. Some finish their
first draft in one sitting. Others draft a few paragraphs, take a break, and come
back later. Resist being tempted to revise before you finish the first draft. Do
these drafting problems sound familiar?
MY DRAFTING I open a blank document, write a few words, don’t like them,
PROBLEM delete them, and start again, repeatedly.
SOLUTION Darken your computer screen, and type without stopping.
Save your work. Then lighten your computer screen to find
an early draft.
MY DRAFTING I start out well, but soon I’m going off the topic.
PROBLEM
SOLUTION Mark the spot with a highlighter, and pull yourself back to the
topic. Don’t stop. You can revise later.
As you draft, delete nothing. Throw away nothing. You might use some
parts of your first draft as shown in Figure 2.
■ Writer’s block
Writer’s block is the condition that shuts off writers from their ability to write.
Even expert writers sometimes hit a writer’s block. If you get blocked, use the
suggestions in Quick Box 9.
Figure 2 Using a first draft for later revising, editing, and proofreading.
Save and keep it Copy and paste it Use the new document
Write first draft. as its own into a new for revising, editing,
document. document. and proofreading.
129
Quick Box 9
Ways to overcome writer’s block
• Start in the middle. Rather than start at the beginning of your essay, start
I with the body paragraph you feel will be easiest or most interesting to write.
• Visualize yourself writing, moving your fingers across the keyboard.
Top athletes always use visualizing, imagining themselves going though
each motion involved in their sport. Before you start writing, visualize
yourself writing easily.
• Write an e-mail about your topic to a friend, even if you don’t send
it. Write informally. Be playful with your language or ideas. Loosen up.
• Call a friend or relative to chat about your topic. When you chat
with friends about your topic, you are also inviting them to disagree or
argue with you. Keep paper and pen at hand because this exchange can
spark ideas and get your enthusiasm going.
• Play the role of someone else and write to yourself about your topic.
Take on someone else’s identity—a famous person alive now or in the
past, for example—and imagine that person listening to you talk about
your topic and disagreeing or agreeing with you.
• Imagine a scene or sound that relates to your topic. Start to write by
describing what you see or hear. Allow yourself to sink into the environ-
ment of that scene or sound.
I How do I revise effectively?

To revise, you work on your first draft systematically to rewrite it so that you
get the content into the best shape you can. You do this by adding, cutting,
replacing, and rearranging material.
While drafting, you suspended judgment of your writing; for revision,
you need to switch to making judgments. As you revise, keep all your drafts
and notes as you rewrite because you might want to go back to an earlier revi-
sion and use part of it.
Here’s an important point: although you know your topic well, your reader
might be encountering it for the first time. This means you need to strive dur-
ing revision for clarity, often by defining and explaining any terms or processes
that might be unfamiliar to them. Work on the overarching elements of your
essay. Save the last two steps—editing and proofreading—until you’ve finished
revising the draft. This tactic is important: “premature editing” distracts writers
too soon from the content of their material.
130
Quick Box 10
Revision checklist
1.
Does your introductory paragraph clearly lead into your topic, thesis
statement, and essay?
I
2.
Does your thesis statement clearly focus on your topic and tie into
your topic sentences (see section F)?
3.
Do your topic sentences flow logically from your thesis statement
and tie into the content of each paragraph?
4.
Do your topic sentences, which are your generalizations, contain
sufficient support with reasons, examples, and other types of
details?
5.
Is the sequence of your paragraphs logically arranged?
6.
Have you used appropriate transitions to connect ideas within and
between paragraphs?
7.
Have you used deliberate repetition and parallelism, when possible,
to enhance the flow in your paragraphs and essay?
8.
Does your conclusion complete your essay logically?
As you revise, work through the questions in Quick Box 10, or use revision
guidelines supplied by your instructor. When you make a change, evaluate it
on its own and also in the context of the surrounding material. Also, as you
work, check your thesis statement so that you update it to fit well with your
newly evolved essay. Continue revising until you’re satisfied that your essay is
ready for editing.
As you start to revise your essay, avoid being impressed by the clean, well-
formatted appearance of your draft as it looks on the screen or printed on
paper. Drafts are meant to be revised, so during revision expect to add and
delete words or longer passages. Neatness is crucial only after you’ve finished
proofreading (see section J).
■ Revisit your thesis statement

In working through your essay draft to revise it, revisit your thesis statement,
which you wrote for your earlier draft, to make sure that it fits well with your
newly evolved essay. Use your thesis statement also as a check at the end of each
body paragraph to make sure that the paragraph’s topic sentence and content
ties clearly with your thesis statement.
131
■ Consider your essay’s title

Your title needs to be an integral part of your entire essay. Never simply tack
on a title at the last minute. Check your title if you created one for your draft,
or write one for the first time, making sure that you’ve stayed on your topic.
As you work systematically through your revision, keep reconsidering your title
J for its fit with your essay.
Alert: A title stands alone. Never open an essay with words that are a
reaction to the title or with an opening sentence that is a continuation of the
wording of the title.
■ Review your level of formality

You want to maintain a consistent level of formality throughout your essay.
As you revise, make sure you haven’t slipped from one level to another with-
out realizing the switch. Levels of formality are generally divided into three
categories. The “Semiformal Level” of writing is most appropriate for college
essays, business writing, public writing such as in newspapers, published
opinion pieces, and the like.
• Semiformal level of style in writing has these characteristics: (1) Its pre-
sentation is reasonable and evenhanded, without pretension or highly
informal word choice; (2) the sentence style is direct, clear, and concise.
• Informal level of style in writing is not appropriate for college essays,
unless you use dialogue for specific effect. It’s appropriate for personal—
not business—e-mails, for Facebook postings, tweets, personal blogs, and
the like.
• Formal level of style in writing is appropriate for formal occasions such
as official ceremonies and for the language in contracts, policy statements,
and the like.
J How do I edit and proofread effectively?

Editing, which comes after revision, means finding and fixing errors you’ve
made in grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitals, numbers, italics, and abbre-
viations. Some instructors call these surface-level features. These are considered
very important.
You may also want to ask friends, classmates, or colleagues with a good
“editing eye” to read your paper and circle anything they think you need to
check for correctness.
You want to hand in writing that shows you’ve paid close attention to the
small errors that can ruin a paper’s clarity and shows a respectful stance toward
your assignment, yourself, and your instructor. Edit slowly and methodically.
132
Whenever you question a rule or a writing technique, find the exact informa-
tion you want, and use it carefully.
■ Editing software
Editing features in software can lead you to make mistakes instead of help-
J
ing you to correct your writing. Use it very cautiously. Microsoft® Word, for
example, flags contractions and suggests incorrect alternatives: if you write
“they’re,” the flags suggest you use “their” or “there,” neither of which is cor-
rect. Also, most word processing software suggests rules of sentence structure
and grammar that are extremely old fashioned and sometimes incorrect.
■ Spell check software

Software that claims to check your spelling is highly unreliable. While it can
flag a serious typo (“hte” for “the”), it does not warn you that “form” is wrong
when you meant to type “from.”
■ Thesaurus software
Thesaurus software, often built into word processing programs, gives you
synonyms for words. While those synonyms might seem appealing, they often
have slightly different meanings from what you intend to say. If you’re not
completely sure of the definition of a suggested synonym, always look it up in
a dictionary or online. If you use the wrong, but seemingly impressive, word,
your instructor will know you’re either trying to show off or have not taken
the time to check its meaning.
■ Strategies for proofreading

proofreading means a careful, line-by-line reading of a final, clean version
of your writing. If you find errors during proofreading, always print a fresh,
clean copy of your work.
Almost all writers proofread more effectively on a printed page rather than
on a screen, so print your pages whenever possible for proofreading. If you can-
not avoid working onscreen, try highlighting a small section at a time so that
you are visually separating it from the rest of the writing on the screen. This
helps reduce the tendency to read too quickly and overlook errors.
Here are some effective proofreading strategies.
• Consult your lists of spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors that you
often make. (For example, you may have trouble keeping to, too, and two
straight.) Consult your lists before you proofread to look specifically for
your personal troublemakers.
133
Composing Paragraphs
• Proofread with a ruler held just under the line you are reading so that you
can focus on one line at a time.
• Start at the end of a paragraph or the end of your essay, and read each full
sentence in reverse order or word by word, to avoid being distracted by the
content.
A
• Read your final draft aloud so that you see and/or hear errors.
• Look especially for omitted letters and words.
• Watch out for repeated words (“the” or “and” are common repeats).
Quick Points You will learn to

➤ Write effective introductory paragraphs (sec section B).
➤ Write effective body paragraphs.
➤ Write effective concluding paragraphs.
Visit mywritinglab.com for more resources on composing

paragraphs.
A What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a group of sentences that work together to develop a unit
of thought. Paragraphs help you divide material into manageable parts and
arrange the parts in a unified whole. College essays typically consist of an intro-
ductory paragraph, a group of body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph;
each type is described in this text.
B How can I write effective introductory paragraphs?

Introductory paragraphs point to what lies ahead and seek to arouse read-
ers’ interest. For strategies for composing effective introductory paragraphs,
consult Quick Box 1. The paragraph’s final sentence usually presents the
134
Quick Box 1
Strategies for writing introductory paragraphs
Strategies for Capturing Your Reader’s Interest
• Provide relevant background information about your topic. B

• Relate a brief, interesting anecdote that applies to your topic.
• Give pertinent, perhaps surprising statistics about your topic.
• Ask a provocative question or two to lead in to your topic.
• Use a quotation that relates closely to your topic.
• Draw an analogy to clarify or illustrate your topic.
• Define a key term you use throughout your essay.
Strategies to avoid
• Never make obvious statements about the essay’s topic or purpose, such
as “I am going to discuss some facts about animation.”
• Never apologize, as in “I’m not sure I’m right, but here’s what I think.”
• Never use overworked expressions, such as “Haste does make waste, as I
recently discovered.”
essay’s thesis statement. Sample paragraphs 1 and 2 use different strategies

to arouse interest; both conclude with a thesis statement.
Alone one is never lonely, May Sarton says in her essay Paraphrase of
“The Rewards of Living a Solitary Life.” Most people, how- quotation
ever, are terrified of living alone. They are used to living with
others—children with parents, roommates with roommates,
1
friends with friends, husbands with wives. When the statis-
tics catch up with them, therefore, they are rarely prepared.
Chances are high that most adult men and women will live Thesis
alone, briefly or longer, at some time. statement
—Tara Foster, student
Arguably the greatest mysteries in the universe lie in the Surprising

three-pound mass of cells, approximately the consistency of fact to arouse
interest
oatmeal, that reside in the skull of each of us. It has even been
135
suggested that the brain is so complex that our species is smart

enough to fathom everything except what makes us so smart;
2 that is, the brain is so cunningly designed for intelligence that
it is too stupid to understand itself. We now know that is
not true. The mind is at last yielding its secrets to persistent
scientific investigation. We have learned more about how the Thesis
C statement
mind works in the last twenty-five years than we did in the
previous twenty-five hundred.
—Daniel T. Willingham, Why don’t students like school?
C How can I write effective topic sentences?

A topic sentence contains the main idea of a body paragraph and controls
its content. Main ideas are usually generalizations. The connection needs
to be clear between the main idea and its supporting details in the sentences
that follow it. Topic sentences usually come at the beginning of a paragraph,
but putting them at the end or implying them can be effective depending on
how you want your sentences to flow.
■ Starting with a topic sentence

When a topic sentence starts a paragraph, readers immediately know what
topic will be discussed.
Family businesses are discovering a new venue where they can work out
their problems: the classroom. Over the past few years, more family-firm lead-
ers have been turning to executive-education courses tailored to their needs.
Instead of just teaching the best way to run a business, the courses focus on
overcoming the unique obstacles that family ties can pose—such as succession
3 planning and poor communication among relatives. Several company execu-
tives are encouraged to attend at the same time, and a large part of the courses
involves getting everyone at the company on the same page, often through
team exercises like role playing. The instructors act partly as professors and
partly as counselors, giving advice on navigating current family conflicts as
they teach business theory.
—Alina Dizik, “The Family That Goes to School Together . . .”
■ Ending with a topic sentence

When a topic sentence ends a body paragraph, you want all sentences leading
to it to flow into it smoothly.
136
The third most popular language in America—after English and S panish—

is American Sign Language (ASL). It is a visual-gestural language composed
of a collection of coded gestures based on a system developed in France in the
eighteenth century. It was brought to the United States by Thomas Hopkins
Gallaudet, a young Congregational minister from Connecticut. After traveling
4 to France and learning about this system of signing, Gallaudet returned to the
C
United States, bringing a young French deaf-signing teacher, Laurent Clerc,
with him. Together they developed a sign language system that blended French
signs with American signs. As a legacy, today deaf people in both France and
the United States can recognize similarities in the signs they use.
—Roger E. Axtell, Gestures: The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language
around the World
■ Implying a topic sentence

When a paragraph conveys a main idea without a specific topic sentence, you
want to be sure that the details clearly add up to a main idea. The implied
topic sentence of paragraph 5, if it were stated explicitly, might be something
like “To lure buyers into the local clothing store, the manager engaged in false
advertising, but not everyone caught on.”
Customers used to wait at the cash register for minutes before a checker
would finally pay attention. Of course, the wait happened only when they
actually had found the item they had come to buy. Most customers went away
5 empty-handed. The manager had a practice of running ads for products that
were just about sold out. I would watch people pick through piles of shirts in a
fruitless search for something other than an extra-small or an extra-extra-large.
—Armstrong Washington, student
EXERCISE 1 Identify the topic sentences in the following paragraphs. If

the topic sentence is implied, write the point the paragraph conveys. For help,
consult section C.
A. A good college program should stress the development of high-level
reading, writing, and mathematical skills and should provide you with a
broad historical, social, and cultural perspective, no matter what subject
you choose as your major. The program should teach you not only the most
current knowledge in your field but also—just as important—prepare you
to keep learning throughout your life. After all, you’ll probably change
jobs, and possibly even careers, at least six times, and you’ll have other
responsibilities, too—perhaps as a spouse and as a parent and certainly as
a member of a community whose bounds extend beyond the workplace.
—Frank T. Rhodes, “Let the Student Decide”
137
B. The once majestic oak tree crashes to the ground amid the destructive
flames, as its panic-stricken inhabitants attempt to flee the fiery tomb.
Undergrowth that formerly flourished smolders in ashes. A family of deer
darts furiously from one wall of flame to the other, without an emergency
exit. On the outskirts of the inferno, firefighters try desperately to stop the
destruction. Somewhere at the source of this chaos lies a former campsite
D
containing the cause of this destruction—an untended campfire. This scene
is one of many that illustrate how human apathy and carelessness destroy
nature.
—Anne Bryson, student
C. Rudeness isn’t a distinctive quality of our own time. People today would
be shocked by how rudely our ancestors behaved. In the colonial period, a
French traveler marveled that “Virginians don’t use napkins, but they wear
silk cravats, and instead of carrying white handkerchiefs, they blow their
noses either with their fingers or with a silk handkerchief that also serves
as a cravat, a napkin, and so on.” In the 19th century, up to about the
1830s, even very distinguished people routinely put their knives in their
mouths. And when people went to the theater, they would not just applaud
politely—they would chant, jeer, and shout. So, the notion that there’s been
a downhill slide in manners ever since time began is just not so.
—“Horizons,” U.S. News & World Report
D How can I write effective body paragraphs?

Body paragraphs in an essay come after the introductory paragraph. Its sen-
tences support the generalization in the topic sentence. What separates
most good writing from bad is the writer’s ability to move back and forth
between generalizations and specific details.
■ Specific details
For help in thinking of details, try using RENNS, a memory device sum-
marized in Quick Box 2. You need not expect to use all the RENNS in each
of your body paragraphs. Choose whichever RENNS details work for your
paragraphs or think of others.
Paragraph 6 contains many specific details that support the opening topic
sentence.
Between 1910 and 1920, “The Rubber Capital of the Numbers
World” was the fastest-growing city in the nation, thanks to a
booming automobile industry. Akron, Ohio, had a few crucial Names
features that helped it thrive as a hub. It was not only located Reasons
close to auto makers, it also had water power and cheap coal to
138
Quick Box 2
RENNS: Ways to think of specific, supporting details
R = Reasons can provide support.
• Jbecause
ules Verne, who wrote in the 19th century, amazes today’s readers
he imagined inventions not possible back then.
D
E = Examples can provide support.

• For example, he predicted submarines and moon rockets.
N = Names can provide support.
• He forecast that moon rockets would take off from the state of Florida.
N = Numbers can provide support.
• He predicted the takeoffs at 27° North Latitude, 5° West Longitude.
S = Senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, touch—provide support.
• TVerne
oday, NASA space vehicles blast off only 80 miles from the site
chose.
draw on. During the peak years, more than 300 rubber com- Examples
panies called the city home, but most died off in the fierce
pricing competition. Then, in the 1970s, French manufacturer Numbers
6 Michelin introduced the longer-lasting radial tire. In Akron,
profits slipped and plants closed. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Names
is now the only major tire company that still has headquarters
in Akron.
—Wall Street Journal research “Akron, Ohio”
EXERCISE 2 Look again at the paragraphs in Exercise 1. Identify the

RENNS in each paragraph. For help, consult section D.
■ Transitions
Transitions are words that express connections among ideas. Such connections
are links that create coherence, a smooth flow of thoughts within paragraphs
and from one paragraph to another in essays. The most commonly used transi-
tions are listed in Quick Box 3.
Here are some tips for using transitions effectively.
• Vary the transitions you use within a category. For example, avoid using
for instance every time you give an example.
• Use each transition precisely, according to its exact meaning. For example,
the expression in contrast signals that you will be discussing something
that’s unlike what you just discussed.
139
Quick Box 3
Transitions: words to express relationships among ideas
ADDITION also, besides, equally important, furthermore, in

D addition, moreover, too
COMPARISON in the same way, likewise, similarly
CONCESSION granted, naturally, of course
CONTRAST at the same time, certainly, despite the fact that,
however, in contrast, instead, nevertheless, on the
contrary, on the other hand, otherwise, still
EMPHASIS indeed, in fact, of course
EXAMPLE a case in point, as an illustration, for example, for
instance, namely, specifically
PLACE here, in the background, in the front, nearby, there
RESULT accordingly, as a result, consequently, hence, then,
therefore, thus
SUMMARY finally, in conclusion, in short, in summary
TIME SEQUENCE eventually, finally, meanwhile, next, now, once, then,
today, tomorrow, subsequently, yesterday
NO The jewels were valuable. Otherwise, the carpets were not.

Otherwise makes no sense.
Y ES The jewels were valuable. In contrast, the carpets were not.

This comparison makes sense.
Paragraph 7 contains four transitions, highlighted here to stand out.

Jaguars, for example, were once found in the United States from southern
Louisiana to California. Today they are rare north of the Mexican border, with
no confirmed sightings since 1971. They are rare, too, in Mexico, where biolo-
7
gist Carl Koford estimated their population at fewer than a thousand in a 1972
survey. Some biologists think the number is even smaller today. Similarly,
jaguars have disappeared from southern Argentina and Paraguay.
—Jeffrey P. Cohen, “Kings of the Wild”
140
■ Deliberate repetition and parallelism

Deliberate repetition means you intentionally repeat key words to
achieve coherence within and between paragraphs. Used well, it moves
readers along gracefully. Overused, its monotony dulls your impact. Para-
graph 8 uses deliberate repetition well. The word it is repeated through-
out, each time clearly referring to the skin; midway, the word skin recurs D
once, but it is also reinforced by it and it’s. Parallelism enhances coher-
ence with the rhythms of language. In paragraph 8, one sentence uses the
rhythm of matching phrases: gives us, protects us, cools us, heats us. Another
sentence twice employs “of” phrasing: organ of the body, organ of sexual
attraction.
Our skin is what stands between us and the world. If you Deliberate
think about it, no other part of us makes contact with some- repetition
thing not us, but the skin. It imprisons us, but it also gives
us individual shape, protects us from invaders, cools us down Parallelism
or heats us up as need be, produces vitamin D, holds in our
body fluids. Most amazing, perhaps, is that it can mend itself
when necessary, and it is constantly renewing itself. Weighing
8
from six to ten pounds, it’s the largest organ of the body, and
the key organ of sexual attraction. Skin can take a startling Parallelism
variety of shapes: claws, spines, hooves, feathers, scales, hair.
It’s waterproof, washable, and elastic. Although it may cascade
or roam as we grow older, it lasts surprisingly well. For most
cultures, it’s the ideal canvas to decorate with paints, tattoos,
and jewelry. But, most of all, it harbors the sense of touch.
—Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses
EXERCISE 3 Locate the coherence techniques in the following paragraph.

Look for transitional expressions, deliberate repetition, and parallel structures.
For help, consult section D.
Kathy sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the side of the hood.
The band of her earphones held back strands of straight copper hair that had
come loose from two thick braids that hung down her back. She swayed with
the music that only she could hear. Her shoulders raised, making circles in the
warm air. Her arms reached out to her side; her open hands reached for the
air; her closed hands brought the air back to her. Her arms reached over her
head; her opened hands reached for a cloud; her closed hands brought the
cloud back to her. Her head moved from side to side; her eyes opened and
closed to the tempo of the tunes. Kathy was motion.
—Claire Burke, student
141
E How can I use rhetorical strategies to develop effective

body paragraphs?
Rhetorical strategies are patterns for presenting ideas effectively. You
can choose to use each strategy depending on what you want to
E accomplish.
Here we show you rhetorical strategies one at a time. In real writing, how-
ever, no paragraph is isolated, so rhetorical strategies often overlap in one
paragraph. For example, in a paragraph explaining how to prepare a slide to
study under a microscope, you would likely use the process pattern along with
definition and description.
■ Narration
Narrative writing tells what is happening or what has happened, as in Para-
graph 9. It is storytelling.
We walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of
the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Someone was drawing water and
my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over
one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I
stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly
9 I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten—a thrill of returning
thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then
that “water” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my
hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!
There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept
away.
—Helen Keller, The Story of My Life
■ Description
Descriptive writing paints a picture in words. To impose a logical sequence
on your description, you might work from the general to the specific, as in
paragraph 10. Other effective sequences include top to bottom; from least to
most important, building to a climax; or any other sequence that works well
with your topic. Description is often used in college essays.
Paragraph 10 uses specific details to expand our understanding of a com-
mon object: the yo-yo.
142
The common yo-yo is crudely made, with a thick shank between two
widely spaced wooden disks. The string is knotted or stapled to the shank.
With such an instrument nothing can be done except the simple up-down
movement. My yo-yo, on the other hand, was a perfectly balanced con-
10 struction of hard wood, slightly weighted, flat, with only a sixteenth of
an inch between the halves. The string was not attached to the shank, but
E
looped over it in such a way as to allow the wooden part to spin freely on
its own axis. The gyroscopic effect thus created kept the yo-yo stable in all
attitudes.
—Frank Conroy, Stop Time
■ Process
Process writing presents instructions; lays out steps in a procedure; explains
how objects work; or describes human behaviors, as in paragraph 11 about
people’s reactions in a plane crash.
In the precious first moments after a plane crash, when experts say a half-
second head start can get you to an aisle first, the most basic elements of
human character are revealed. Some instincts help survival and others hinder
escape. Some people are panicked into pushing, shoving and fighting. For
many, the brain shuts down and they are slow to react. That’s why practice
11 and familiarity can help. Balking at the top of a three-story evacuation slide
can lead to a push, sending you cart-wheeling down and resulting in bro-
ken ankles. Research shows even practicing with the seat belt latch can help
quicken escape. On average, six percent of passengers in an evacuation get
delayed by seat-belt struggles, the Civil Aeronautics Administration study
found.
—Scott McCartney, “British Airways Puts Fliers in Mock Disasters:

How to Get a Head Start”
■ Examples or illustrations
Examples and illustrations provide concrete, specific support for the main
idea. Paragraph 12 presents in rapid succession several types of “metamessages”
so that taken together the examples create a coherent picture.
Another way to think about metamessages is that they frame a conver-
sation, much as a picture frame provides a context for the images in the
picture. Metamessages let you know how to interpret what someone is saying
12 by identifying the activity that is going on. Is this an argument or a chat? Is
it helping, advising, or scolding? At the same time, they let you know what
143
position the speaker is assuming in the activity, and what position you are
being assigned.
—Deborah Tannen, You Just Don’t Understand
E ■ Extended definition
Definition calls for clarifying the meaning of a word or concept in more detail
than a dictionary definition. Extended definitions are often included in para-
graphs that are developed in other ways. Paragraph 13 offers an extended
definition of the term “soft skills,” using examples that progress from the some
what less important to the more dramatic, crucially important point. Within
essays, extended definitions clarify concepts that might not be familiar to the
writer’s probable audience.
When it comes to soft skills, most people think they are all about those
warm-and-fuzzy people skills. Yes, it’s true that people skills are a part of the
equation, but that’s just for starters. While hard skills refer to the technical
ability and the factual knowledge needed to do the job, soft skills allow you to
more effectively use your technical abilities and knowledge. Soft skills encom-
pass personal, social, communication, and self-management behaviors. They
cover a wide spectrum of abilities and traits: being self-aware, trustworthiness,
13 conscientiousness, adaptability, critical thinking, attitude, initiative, empa-
thy, confidence, integrity, self-control, organizational awareness, likeability,
influence, risk taking, problem solving, leadership, time management, and
then some. Quite a mouthful, eh? These so-called soft skills complement the
hard ones and are essential for success in the rough-and-tumble workplace.
You can have all the technical expertise in the world, but if you can’t sell your
ideas, get along with others, or turn your work in on time, you’ll be going
nowhere fast.
—Peggy Klaus, The Hard Truth About Soft Skills
■ Comparison and contrast

Comparisons deal with similarities; contrasts deal with differences. Comparison
and contrast writing is usually organized in one of two ways. Point-by-point
organization moves back and forth between the items being compared, as in
paragraph 14. Block organization discusses one item completely before dis-
cussing the next, as in paragraph 15 (sporting games are covered completely
before anything is said about business). These organizational patterns can be
extended into essays, adapting them as suits the topic.
144
I retain only one confused impression from my earliest years: it’s all red,
and black, and warm. Our apartment was red: the upholstery was of red
moquette, the Renaissance dining-room was red, the figured silk hangings
over the stained-glass doors were red, and the velvet curtains in Papa’s study
14 were red too. The furniture in this awful sanctum was made of black pear
wood; I used to creep into the kneehole under the desk and envelop myself
E
in its dusty glooms; it was dark and warm, and the red of the carpet rejoiced
my eyes. That is how I seem to have passed the early days of infancy. Safely
ensconced, I watched, I touched, I took stock of the world.
—Simone de Beauvoir, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter
Games are of limited duration, take place on or in fixed and finite sites
and are governed by openly promulgated rules that are enforced on the spot
by neutral professionals. Moreover, they are performed by relatively evenly
matched teams that are counseled and led through every move by seasoned
hands. Scores are kept, and at the end of the game, a winner is declared. Busi-
15 ness is usually a little different. In fact, if there is anyone out there who can say
that the business is of limited duration, takes place on a fixed site, is governed
by openly promulgated rules that are enforced on the spot by neutral profes-
sionals, competes only on relatively even terms, and performs in a way that can
be measured in runs or points, then that person is either extraordinarily lucky
or seriously deluded.
—Warren Bennis, “Time to Hang Up the Old Sports Clichés”
■ Analysis
Analysis examines and discusses separate parts of a whole. Paragraph 16 offers
an analysis of how to create strong passwords for your computer’s protected
files.
For a pretty strong password, think 10. If your password contains 10 char-
acters, you should be able to sleep well at night—perhaps for 19.24 years.
That’s how long it would take hackers to try every combination of 10 charac-
ters, assuming that the password is encrypted and that the hackers have enough
16 computing power to mount a 100-billion-guesses-a-second effort to break the
encryption. But if your user names and passwords are sitting unencrypted
on a server, you may not be able to sleep at all if you start contemplating the
potential havoc ahead.
—Randall Stross, “Digital Domain”
145
■ Classification
Classification groups items according to a shared characteristic. In paragraph
17, three types of signals used by some baseball coaches are explained.
Many different kinds of signals are used by the coaches. There are flash
E signals, which are just what the name implies: The coach may flash a hand
across his face or chest to indicate a bunt or hit-and-run. There are holding
signals, which are held in one position for several seconds. There might be
17 the clenched fist, bent elbow, or both hands on knees. Then there are the
block signals. These divide the coach’s body into different sections, or blocks.
Touching a part of his body, rubbing his shirt, or touching his cap indicates a
sign. Different players can be keyed to various parts of the block so the coach
is actually giving several signals with the same sign.
—Rockwell Stensrud, “Who’s on Third?”
■ Analogy
Analogy is a kind of comparison, identifying similarities between objects or
ideas that are not usually associated with each other. Essays that explain com-
plicated processes or examples often benefit when the writer uses an analogy
to a more familiar idea. Paragraph 18 discusses word choices in writing by
drawing analogies to choices of dress.
Casual dress, like casual speech, tends to be loose, relaxed, and colorful. It
often contains what might be called “slang words”: blue jeans, sneakers, base-
ball caps, aprons, flowered cotton housedresses, and the like. These garments
could not be worn on a formal occasion without causing disapproval, but in
ordinary circumstances they pass without remark. “Vulgar words” in dress,
on the other hand, give emphasis and get immediate attention in almost any
18 circumstances, just as they do in speech. Only the skillful can employ them
without some loss of face, and even then they must be used in the right way. A
torn, unbuttoned shirt, or wildly uncombed hair can signify strong emotions:
passion, grief, rage, despair. They are most effective if people already think of
you as being neatly dressed, just as the curses of well-spoken persons count for
more than those of the customarily foul-mouthed.
—Alison Lurie, The Language of Clothes
■ Cause and effect

Cause and effect paragraphs examine outcomes and reasons for outcomes.
Causes lead to an event or an effect; effects result from causes.
Paragraph 19 discusses the effect of ecological problems.
146
Many collapses of the past appear to have been triggered, at least in part,
by ecological problems: people inadvertently destroyed their environmental
resources. But societies are not doomed to collapse because of environmental
damage. Some societies have coped with their problems, whereas others have
19 not. But I know of no case in which a society’s collapse can be attributed sim-
ply to environmental damage; there are always complicating factors. Among
F
them are climate change, the role of neighbors (who can be friendly or hos-
tile), and, most important, the ways people respond to their environmental
problems.
—Jared Diamond, “Collapse: Ecological Lessons in Survival”
F How can I write effective concluding paragraphs?

Concluding paragraphs of essays need to follow logically from the thesis
statement and body paragraphs. Your concluding paragraph provides a sense
of completion, a finishing touch that enhances the whole essay. Never merely
tack on a conclusion. Quick Box 4 suggests ways for writing conclusions. The
Quick Box 4
Strategies for writing concluding paragraphs
Strategies for Capturing your Reader’s Interest
• Use one of the strategies suggested for introductory paragraphs (see

Quick Box 1), but always choose a different one than you used in the
introduction.
• Ask the reader for awareness, action, or a similar outcome.
• Project into the future.
• Summarize the main points of the essay but only if it is particularly long.
Strategies to Avoid
• Never introduce new ideas or facts that belong in the body of the essay.
• Never merely reword the introduction.
• Never announce what you have done, as in “In this paper, I have
explained Japanese animation.”
• Never make absolute claims, as in “In this essay, I have proved that
anime deserves our attention.”
• Never apologize, as in “Even though I am not an expert, I feel the points
I have made are valid.”
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Designing Documents
conclusion in paragraph 20 is from the essay whose introductory paragraph

was shown in paragraph 1. It poses a challenging question and asks the reader
to prepare for the future.
You need to ask yourself, “If I had to live alone starting tomorrow morn-
ing, would I know how?” If the answer is no, you need to become conscious
A 20
of what living alone calls for. If you face up to life today, you will not have to
hide from it later on.
—Tara Foster, student
Designing Documents
Quick Points You will learn to

➤ Design documents effectively (see section A).
➤ Use photographs and graphs effectively (see section B).
Visit mywritinglab.com for more resources on document

design.
A How can I design documents effectively?

Document design refers to the format and physical appearance of your writ-
ten work. It deals with how a document looks, not what it says, including
elements such as text, headings, highlighting, and layout of pages when they
include graphics or photographs.
Alert! As you read this text, check to see if your instructors have specific
format requirements for student work and if so, follow them, not the principles
in this text.
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Designing Documents
■ Text
College essays usually call for one-inch margins all around, double spacing,
and 12-point type in the font called “Times New Roman.” For emphasis, use
word choice, not italics, although of course use italics for names of sources,
such as books.
For posters, newsletters, and brochures you can choose among many fonts, A
but make sure that your material is easy to read by using only one or, if abso-
lutely necessary, two fonts. Select a font that conveys a tone suitable for your
message. For example, avoid handwriting fonts, unless for a signature or in a
formal invitation.
■ Lists
Lists rarely have a place in an essay. However, they’re usually permitted in
research papers, science reports, posters, and the like. Use numbers or small
bullets to set off each item. For the first word in each item, use the same part
of speech, as explained below under “headings”
■ Highlights
Highlights, such as boldface, italics, and background colors, call attention to
key words in a document. In essays, your word choice rather than a highlight
creates emphasis. In posters, newsletters, and brochures, use highlights in mod-
eration so that they clarify rather than complicate.
■ Headings
Headings allow writers to break long passages into chunks, thereby making
complex material easier to understand. In your non-research essays, avoid
headings unless they are permitted by your instructor. For research papers,
MLA style discourages headings, while APA style favors them. In posters,
newsletters, and brochures, headings can serve an essential role by directing the
reader’s eye to key material. Here are guidelines for using headings:
• Maintain the same size as the text font in research papers and science
reports. Slightly increase their size and consider using boldface in posters
and the like.
• Keep the wording brief and informative.
• Use parallelism for the first word of each heading. You can use
verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, or prepositions as long as you’re
consistent.
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Designing Documents
■ Color
Use only black for the text in your college essays. The use of other colors
becomes important when you want to insert color photographs and/or g raphics
(see section B) into your document. Color can add an attractive dimension, but
use it sparingly for the best effect. In posters, newsletters, and brochures, you
B can call attention to your key words or elements by changing the text color or
using a tinted colored background over them.
■ Page layout
Page layout refers to the arrangement of text, visuals (drawings, photographs,
and graphics), color, and white space in a document. You want to arrange
your elements so that the document is easy to read or look at, with key words
or elements immediately obvious to your audience. Attention to page layout
becomes especially important when you insert graphics and photographs into
your documents (see section B). Consider these principles of document design
in illustrated essays, posters, newsletters, brochures, and the like.
• Unity: strive for harmony among all elements, such as print, visuals, color,
and white space.
• Variety: use headings, boldface, and color to break up monotony.
• Balance and emphasis: give your main message prominence in the docu-
ment, and place the related material so that the whole document is appeal-
ing to the eye. To test this, look at the document from a distance or reduce
it to page view on your computer, asking yourself whether the presentation
seems lopsided or too busy.
B How do I use photographs and graphics effectively?

■ Photographs
Photographs that illustrate content can add a dynamic dimension to written
material, such as essays, posters, newsletters, and brochures. However, before
you insert photographs in your essays, check that your instructor permits them.
In selecting photographs, make sure that they tie directly to the content of
your material. When necessary for clarity, write a caption to place below the
photograph. Try to place the photograph close to the text to which it applies.
If this is impossible, put it in an appendix and refer to it clearly in your writing.
Sharp focus is important in choosing photographs. If you use your personal
photograph, you’ll need it to be in digital form so that it prints clearly in your
paper. Take care if you find a photograph on a Web site because while it might
look clear on your computer screen, it often becomes fuzzy when extracted and
inserted into a document. To be assured of clarity, you might choose a “stock
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Designing Documents
photo” from the Web site of a stock photo agency, each of which has hundreds
of thousands of images; however, in some cases a small fee is required.
Copyright laws are important to keep in mind when you use a photograph
other than your own or one a friend gives you. Generally you may use an image
once for a class assignment since the use is not for profit, and—most impor-
tant—you will never post your paper online or anywhere else. To ask permis- B
sion to use an image more extensively, e-mail the source for reprint rights. For
a student project, sometimes the fee will be waived, but this is happening less
often today because of the widespread misuse of others’ “intellectual property,”
including images and music. Your instructors are aware of copyright laws, so
never plagiarize a photo or other image.
As long as you don’t distort the truth, you can adjust a photograph by
making it lighter or darker, sharpening colors, getting rid of red eye, and other
minor changes. You can even crop an image so that it focuses on the point
you want to make. For example, Figure 1 shows a complete scene of a woman
driving her young child while using her phone; Figure 2 is cropped so that the
focus is only on the woman talking on her phone.
Documentation of sources, including photographs and other visuals, is
a central academic responsibility of all students. This applies even if a pho-
tograph is yours or belongs to a friend. For essays, research papers, science
reports, and the like, use the documentation style required in your course,
listing your sources on a separate end page: in MLA style on the works cited
page, or in APA style, the references page. On posters, the source informa-
tion can be entered in small print at the bottom; in brochures and newsletters,
the source information can be placed in small print either near the material or
at the end of the document, as long as you make clear what information came
from which source.
■ Graphics
Graphics serve to display factual and numeric information by visually con-
densing it, comparing it, and otherwise laying it out so that it delivers a clear
message. If you create a graphic yourself, you need only to document the
source of the information you used. If you copy a graphic from a source, you
need to document it; if the graphic gives a source for its information, be sure
to document that also. The most typical varieties of graphics appear at the end
of this section: a bar graph, a line graph, a pie chart, and a table.
151
Designing Documents
Figure 1 Original full version of photograph.
Figure 2 Cropped version of the same photograph.
152
Designing Documents
• Bar graphs compare values, such as COLLEGE MAJORS
the number of different majors at 350
300
a college, as shown in the graph at 250
right. 200
150
100 B
50
0
AD REVENUE Art Business English Music Theater
850
800
750 • Line graphs indicate changes over

700
time. For example, advertising rev-
650
600
enue is shown over an eight-month
550 period in the graph at left.
500
450
Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. COLLEGE EXPENSES
Misc. (4.45%)
Clothes (4.45%)
• Pie charts show the relationship of Car (13.34%) Tuition (36.68%)
each part to a whole, such as a typi-

Phone (2.67%)
cal budget for a college student, as Books (3.29%)
shown in the chart at right.
Room/board (35.12%)
• Tables present data in list form, as shown in the following, to allow readers
to grasp a lot of information at a glance.
Table 1 Student ratings of sustainability, by term
Students Rating
Semester Sustainabilily as Important Percentage of All Students
Fall 2011 2,321 65.8%
Spring 2012 2,892 72.3%
Fall 2012 3,425 78.1%
153
Credits
Credits are listed in order of appearance.
Text
Daniel T. Willingham, Why Don’t Students Like School? John Wiley and Sons, 2010;
“The Family That Goes to School Together” by Alina Dizik. Reproduced with per-
mission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. License number 3250880813119; Roger E. Axtell,
Mike Fornwald, Gestures: Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the World. John
Wiley and Sons, 1998; Armstrong Washington; Frank T. Rhodes, “Let the Student
Decide”; “The once majestic oak tree crashes . . . and carelessness destroy nature” by
Anne Bryson. Copyright ©. Reproduced by permission of Anne Bryson; “Horizons.”
US News & World Report; Reproduced with permission of The Wall Street Journal,
Copyright © Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide; Jeffrey P.
Cohen, “Kings of the Wild”; Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses. Random
House, 1991; Claire Burke; Helen Keller, The Story of My Life. Cosimo, Inc, 2009;
Frank Conroy, Stop-Time: A Memoir. Penguin Books, 1977; Scott McCartney, “Train-
ing for a Plane Crash,” The Wall Street Journal. New Jersey: Dow Jones & Company,
Inc. 2011; Deborah Tannen, You Just Don’t Understand, HarperCollins Publishers,
1990; Peggy Klaus, The Hard Truth About Soft Skills. HarperCollins Publishers, 2009;
Simone de Beauvoir, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter. New York: Harper Perennial.
2005; Warren Bennis, Business Forum: Business Needs New Images; Time to Hang Up
the Old Sports Clichés. New York: The New York Times Company, 1987; Excerpt from
“Guard That Password (and Make Sure It’s Encrypted)” by Randall Stross, The New
York Times, Digital Domain, June 12, 2011; Rockwell Stensrud, “Who’s on Third?”;
Alison Lurie, The Language of Clothes. Random House, Vintage Books, 1983; Jared
Diamond, Collapse: Ecological Lessons in Survival. Penguin Books, 2011; “You need to
ask yourself . . . to hide from it later on” by Tara Foster. Reproduced by permission of
Tara Foster.
Photos
Michael Krasowitz/Getty Images; Michael Krasowitz/Getty Images.
Terms Glossary
adjective A word that describes or limits (modifies) a noun, a pronoun, or a word
group functioning as a noun: silly joke, three trumpets.
adverb A word that describes or limits (modifies) verbs, adjectives, other adverbs,
phrases, or clauses: loudly, very, nevertheless, there.
analogy An explanation of the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar, often comparing
things not usually associated with each other. Analogy is a rhetorical strategy useful for
developing a paragraph. Unlike a simile, which uses like or as in making a comparison,
an analogy does not use such words.
APA style APA is the abbreviation for the American Psychological Association. APA
style specifies the format and the form of citation and documentation used in source-
based papers in many academic disciplines, especially psychology and most other social
sciences.
154
Terms Glossary
assertion A statement that expresses a point of view about a topic. Often used by
writers to develop a thesis statement.
audience The readers to whom a written document is primarily directed.
body paragraphs Paragraphs in an essay or other document that come between the
introductory and concluding paragraphs.
brainstorming Listing all ideas that come to mind on a topic, and then grouping the
ideas by whatever patterns emerge.
cause and effect The relationship between outcomes (effects) and the reasons for
them (causes), which is a rhetorical strategy for developing paragraphs.
classification A rhetorical strategy that organizes information by grouping items ac-
cording to their underlying shared characteristics.
clustering Also called mapping, it is an invention technique based on thinking
visually about a topic and drawing attached balloons for its increasingly specific sub-
divisions.
coherence The written or spoken progression from one idea to another using
transitional expressions, pronouns, selective repetition, and/or parallelism to make
connections between ideas explicit.
comparison and contrast A rhetorical strategy for organizing and developing para-
graphs by discussing a subject’s similarities (by comparing them) and differences (by
contrasting them).
concluding paragraph Final paragraph of an essay, report, or other document.
definition A rhetorical strategy that defines or gives the meaning of terms or ideas.
deliberate repetition A writing technique that uses the conscious repetition of a
word, phrase, or other element to emphasize a point or to achieve a specific effect on
readers.
description A statement that paints a picture in words.
descriptive writing Paints a picture in words.
documentation The acknowledgment of a source’s words and ideas being used in
any written document by giving full and accurate information about the source of the
words used and about where those words can be found. Also see documentation style.
document design The arrangement of words, images, graphics, and space on a page
or screen.
drafting The part of the writing process in which writers compose ideas in sentences
and paragraphs, thereby creating drafts. A discovery draft is what some writers call an
early, rough draft.
editing The part of the writing process in which writers check a document for the
technical correctness in edited American English of its grammar, sentence structure,
punctuation, spelling, and mechanics.
ethical appeal Rhetorical strategy intended to evoke confidence in your credibility,
reliability, and trustworthiness. Its Greek name is ethos.
example Specific incident or instance provided to illustrate a point.
focused freewriting Freewriting that starts with a set topic or builds on one sentence
taken from earlier freewriting.
formal outline An outline that lays out the topic levels of generalities or hierarchies
and marks them with roman numerals, letters, and numbers indented in a carefully
prescribed fashion.
155
Terms Glossary
frame A guide that suggests how to develop or structure an essay or assignment.

freewriting Writing nonstop for a period of time to generate ideas by free associa-
tion of thoughts.
illustration Provides support for the main idea of a paragraph by giving several ex-
amples, often ones that call on the five senses to picture them.
informal outline Outline that doesn’t follow the rules of a formal outline.
introductory paragraph Opening paragraph of document that orients readers and
generates interest in the topic or ideas that follow.
levels of formality The degrees of formality of language, reflected by word
choice and sentence structure. A formal level is used for ceremonial and other
occasions when stylistic flourishes are appropriate. A semiformal level, which is
neither too formal nor too casual, is acceptable for most academic writing.
MLA style MLA, the abbreviation for the Modern Language Association, specifies
the format and the form of citation and documentation in source-based papers in
English and some other humanities courses.
narrative writing Writing that tells a story.
noun A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns function as subjects,
objects, or complements.
outline A technique for laying out ideas for writing in an orderly fashion that shows
levels of generality. An outline can be formal or informal.
paragraph A group of sentences that work together to develop a unit of thought.
parallelism The use of equivalent grammatical forms or matching sentence struc-
tures to express equivalent ideas: singing and dancing.
parts of speech The names and definitions of types of words that give you a vocab-
ulary for identifying words and understanding how language works to create meaning.
peer-response group Groups of students in your class who gather together to read
and constructively react to each other’s writing.
phrase A group of related words that does not contain a subject and predicate and
thus cannot stand alone as an independent grammatical unit. A phrase can function as
a noun, a verb, or a modifier.
planning Early part of the writing process in which writers gather ideas.
preposition A word that conveys a relationship, often of space or time, between the
noun or pronoun following it and other words in the sentence: under, over, in, out. The
noun or pronoun following a preposition is called the object of the preposition.
process writing Presents instructions, lays out steps in a procedure, explains how
objects work, or describes human behaviors.
proofreading Carefully scrutinizing your final draft to fix typing errors and miss-
ing/repeated small words.
purpose Purposes for writing vary: to narrate, give information, analyze a text, argue
or persuade, and evaluate.
References The title of a list of sources at the end of a research paper or scholarly ar-
ticle or other written work used in many documentation styles, especially that of APA.
RENNS A memory aid for the specific, concrete details used to support a topic sen-
tence in a paragraph: reasons, examples, names, numbers, and the five sentences.
revising A part of the writing process in which writers evaluate their rough drafts
and, on the basis of their assessments, rewrite by adding, cutting, replacing, moving,
and often totally recasting material.
156
Terms Glossary
rhetorical strategies Various techniques for presenting ideas to deliver a writer’s

intended message with clarity and impact, including logical, ethical, and emotional
appeals. Rhetorical strategies involve stylistic techniques such as parallelism and
planned repetition as well as patterns for organizing and developing writing such as
illustration, description, and definition.
sentence outline A type of outline in which each element is a sentence.
synonym A word that is close in meaning to another word.
thesis statement A statement of an essay’s central theme that makes clear the
main idea, the writer’s purpose, the focus of the topic, and perhaps the organizational
pattern.
topic outline An outline in which items are listed as words or phrases, not full
sentences.
topic sentence The sentence that expresses the main idea of a paragraph.
transition The word or group of words that connects one idea to another in dis-
course. Useful strategies for creating transitions include transitional e xpressions,
conjunctive adverbs, parallelism, and planned repetition of key words and phrases.
verb A word that shows action or occurrence, or that describes a state of being. Verbs
change form to show time (tense), attitude (mood), and role of the subject (voice).
Verbs occur in the predicate of a clause. Verbs can be parts of verb phrases, which
consist of a main verb, any auxiliary verbs, and any modifiers. Verbs can be described
as transitive or intransitive, depending on whether they take a direct object.
Works Cited In MLA documentation style, the list of standardized information
about all sources drawn upon in a research paper or other scholarly written work.
writing process Stages of writing in which a writer plans, drafts, revises, edits, and
proofreads. The stages often overlap.
writing situation Elements for writers to consider at the beginning of the writing
process: their writing topic, purpose, audience, context, role, and special requirements.
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AnAlyzing
imAges
What You Will learn
1 To analyze the persuasive effects of images and how these effects are
created.
2 To respond to visual images as a more informed citizen and perceptive
cultural critic.
3 To write a comparative analysis of two visual texts.
T
his text asks you to think about three major kinds of communica-
tion through images—documentary or news photos, paintings, and
advertisements—to increase your visual literacy skills. By visual literacy,
we mean your awareness of the importance of visual communication
and your ability to interpret or make meaning out of images by examining their
context and visual features. We focus on the ways that images influence our con-
ceptual and emotional understanding of a phenomenon and the ways that they
validate, reveal, and construct the world.
This text invites you to analyze images in order to understand their rhetorical
and experiential effects. To analyze means to divide or dissolve the whole into
its parts, examine these parts carefully, look at the relationships among them, and
then use this understanding of the parts to better understand the whole—how it
functions, what it means. When you analyze, your goal is to raise interesting
questions about the image or object being analyzed—questions that perhaps your
reader hasn’t thought to ask—and then to provide tentative answers, supported
by points and details derived from your own close examination.
The ability to analyze visual texts rhetorically is important because we are sur-
rounded by glamorous and disturbing images from photojournalism, the Internet,
billboards, newspapers, television, and magazines—images that, as one critic has
stated, “have designs on us,” yet we may not fully understand how they affect us.
Engaging Image Analysis
To introduce you to image analysis, we provide an exercise that asks you to interact
with several news photographs on the issue of immigration reform.
From Chapter 10 of The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, Seventh Edition. John D.
Ramage, John C. Bean, June Johnson. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Analyzing Images
Immigration reform is one of the most complex issues facing the United
States today; the problem is particularly acute with respect to immigrants from
Mexico and Central America, who are drawn to the United States by employ-
ment opportunities. U.S. citizens benefit from immigrants’ inexpensive labor,
which helps keep the prices of services and goods low. In addition to a sizable
Mexican-American citizenry, more than ten million illegal immigrants currently
live in the United States. All these factors give rise to a number of controversial
questions: Should the United States increase border security and focus on build-
ing impassable barriers? Should it deport illegal immigrants or explore routes to
making them citizens? Should it crack down on employers of illegal immigrants
or should it implement a guest worker program to legitimize immigrant labor?
Public debate about immigration issues is particularly susceptible to manip-
ulation by the rhetorical appeal of images. Examine these news photos and
consider their rhetorical effects.
FIgurE 1 Wall between Tijuana, Mexico, and the FIgurE 2 Immigrants Crossing the Border
United States Illegally
FIgurE 3 Protestors Marching for FIgurE 4 Immigrants Saying Their Citizenship

Compassionate Treatment of Immigrants Pledge
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Analyzing Images
On yOur Own
1. What objects, people, or places stand out in each photo? Does the photo look
candid or staged, taken close-up or from a distance? How do the angle of the
photo (taken from below or above the subject) and the use of color contribute to
the effect?
2. What is the dominant impression conveyed by each photo?
3. Examine how the similarities and differences among the four photos convey
different rhetorical impressions of immigrants, Latino culture, or the role of
immigrants and ethnic diversity in U.S. culture.
In cOnvErsAtIOn
Share your responses to the photos and then speculate about how you might use
these photos to enhance the persuasiveness of particular claims. Choose one or two
photos to support or attack each claim below and explain what the photo could con-
tribute to the argument.
1. The United States should install stricter border security using physical barriers,
increased border patrols, and more visa checks.
2. The United States should offer amnesty and citizenship to immigrants who are
currently in the United States illegally.
Understanding Image Analysis: Documentary 1

Analyze the
and News Photographs persuasive effects
Documentary and news photos are aimed at shaping the way we think and feel of images and
about an event or cultural/historical phenomenon. For example, consider the how these effects
newspaper photos, TV news footage, or Internet videos of the billowing clouds are created.
of smoke and ash from the collapsing World Trade Center towers on September
11, 2001. Figures 5, 6, and 7 present three well-known documentary images of
this event, taken from three different positions and at three slightly different
moments as the event unfolded.
Although all three photos convey the severity of the terrorist attack, each
has a different impact. Figure 5 records the event shortly before the north
tower collapsed and just after the south tower was struck by the second plane,
marked in the photo by the red flames. The sheer magnitude and horror of the
moment-by-moment action unfolding before our eyes evoked shock, anger, and
feelings of helplessness in Americans.
In contrast to the first image, which was taken from a distance below the tow-
ers, Figure 6 was taken by a police detective in a helicopter searching for survivors
on the roof of the north tower before it collapsed. This photo suggests the apoca-
lyptic explosion and implosion of a contemporary city. The destruction pictured
here is too massive to be an ordinary event such as a fire in a major building, and
yet the streams of ash and smoke don’t reveal exactly what is happening.
Another well-publicized view of this event is that of the firefighters on the
ground, seen in Figure 7. Here the firefighters, risking their lives while trying
to rescue the people in the towers, have come to symbolize the self-sacrifice,
courage, and also vulnerability of the human effort in the face of such colossal
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Analyzing Images
FIgurE 5 Terrorist Attack on the World FIgurE 6 World Trade Center Attack Seen from
Trade Center the Air
FIgurE 7 Firefighters in the World Trade Center Wreckage
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Analyzing Images
destruction. This image also suggests the terror and suspense of a science-fiction-
like conflict. All three photos, while memorializing the same event, have different
specific subjects, angles of vision, and emotional and mental effects.
The rest of this section introduces you to the ways that photographers think
about their use of the camera and the effects they are trying to achieve.
Angle of vision and credibility of Photographs

Although the word “documentary” is associated with an objective, transparent,
unmediated glimpse of reality, the relationship of documentary photography to
its subject matter has always been complex. Historians are now reassessing early
documentary photographs, exploring the class and race agendas of the photogra-
phers in the kinds of scenes chosen, the photographers’ stance toward them, and
the wording of the narratives accompanying the photographs. In other words,
despite a photograph’s appearance of capturing a moment of reality (whose real-
ity?), its effect is always influenced by the photographer’s rhetorical angle of
vision conveyed through the framing and focusing power of the camera. Perhaps
now more than ever, we are aware that the photographer’s purpose and tech-
niques actually shape the reality that viewers see. (Think of the multiple cameras
tracking a football game and replaying a touchdown from different angles, often
creating very different impressions of a particular play.)
The photographer’s power to shape reality is enhanced by various strategies
for making “unnatural” photographs seem “natural” or “real.” For example, pho-
tographs can be manipulated or falsified in the following ways:
• staging images (scenes that appear spontaneous but are really posed)
• altering images (airbrushing, reshaping body parts)
• selecting images or parts of images (cropping photographs so that only
certain parts are shown)
• mislabeling images (putting a caption on a photograph that misrepresents
the image)
• constructing images (putting the head of one person on the body of another)
Research has revealed that many famous photographs were tampered with. As
early as the Civil War, composite photos of generals were created by combining
heads, bodies, and scenery and inserting figures into scenes. Today this manipula-
tion is also conducted by amateur photographers using photo-editing software.
The potential for altering images gives us additional reasons for considering the
active role of the photographer and for investigating the credibility and purpose
behind images.
How to Analyze a Documentary Photograph

Photographs are always created and interpreted within a social, political, and
historical context—the original context in which the photograph was made
and viewed and your own context as a current viewer and interpreter. At play
are the assumptions, values, and cultural knowledge of the photographer, the
original viewers, and the later viewers. Also at play are the sites in which the
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photograph is viewed—whether in an original news story, a museum, an upscale

art exhibit, an expensive coffee-table book, a documentary film, an Internet site,
or a textbook. These sites invite us to respond in different ways. For example, one
site may call us to social action or deepen our understanding of an event, while
another aims to elicit artistic appreciation or to underscore cultural differences.
Examining the rhetorical contexts of a Photo A first step in analyzing

a documentary photograph is to consider its various rhetorical contexts. The
following chart will help you ask illuminating questions.
Strategies for Analyzing the Rhetorical Contexts

of Documentary Photographs
context Questions to Ask
Photographer’s purpose and context in • What was the photographer’s original

making the photograph intention/purpose in making the image
(to report an event, convey information,
persuade viewers to think about the event
or people a certain way)?
• What was the original historical,
cultural, social, and political context in
which the photograph was taken?
Original context for displaying the • Where was the photograph originally
photograph viewed (news story, photo essay,
scientific report, public exhibit, advocacy
Web site)?
• How does the original title or caption, if
any, reflect the context and shape
impressions of the image?
Cultural contexts for interpreting the • How does the photograph’s appearance
photograph in a particular place influence your
impression of it?
• How does your own cultural context differ
from that of original viewers?
• What assumptions and values do you
bring to the context?
Examining the Effects of a Photo on a viewer In addition to consider-

ing the contexts of photographs, we can explore how photographs achieve their
effects—that is, how they move us emotionally or intellectually, how they imply
arguments and cause us to see the subject in a certain way. An image might
soothe us or repel us; it might evoke our sympathies, trigger our fears, or call forth
a web of interconnected ideas, memories, and associations.
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Analyzing Images
Before you begin a detailed analysis of a photograph, you will find it helpful
to explore the photograph’s immediate impact.
• What words come to mind when you view this photograph?
• What is the mood or overall feeling conveyed by the photo?
• Assuming that photographs “have designs on us,” what is this photograph
trying to get you to feel, think, do, or “see”?
The following chart will help you examine a photograph in detail in order to ana-
lyze how it achieves its persuasive effects.*
Strategies for Analyzing the Persuasive Effects

of Photographs and Other Images
what to Examine some Questions to Ask about rhetorical Effect
Subject matter: People in portraits: Is the emphasis on identity, character, and

Portraits can be formal or informal and can personality, or representative status (wife of
emphasize character or social role. wealthy merchant, king, soldier, etc.), or symbolic
The gaze of the human subjects can imply (an image of wisdom, daring, etc.)?
power through direct eye contact and What do details of clothing and setting (a room’s
deference or shyness through lack of furnishings, for example) reveal about historical
eye contact. period, economic status, national or ethnic identity?
Subject matter: People in scenes: Scenes What is the relationship of the people to each
can make a statement about everyday life or other and the scene? Can you re-create the
capture some aspect of a news event or crisis. story behind the scene?
Does the scene look natural/realistic or
staged/aesthetically attractive?
Subject matter: Landscape or nature: If the setting is outdoors, what are the features of
Scenes can focus on nature or the the landscape: urban or rural, mountain or desert?
environment as the dominant subject. What aspects of nature are shown?
If people are in the image, what is the relationship
between nature and the human figures?
What vision of nature is the artist constructing—
majestic, threatening, hospitable, tamed, orderly,
wild?
(continued)
*We are indebted to Terry Barrett, Professor Emeritus of Art Education at Ohio State University, for his
formulation of questions, “Looking at Photographs, Description and Interpretation,” and to Claire
Garoutte, Associate Professor of Photography at Seattle University, for informing our discussion of
context in analyzing documentary photographs.
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Analyzing Images
Distance from subject: Close-ups tend Are viewers brought close to the subject or
to increase the intensity of the image and distanced from it?
suggest the importance of the subject. How does the distance from the subject contribute
Long shots tend to blend the subject to the effect of the photo or painting?
into the environment.
Angle and orientation: The vantage How does the angle influence what you see?
point from which the photograph was taken Why do you think this angle was chosen?
and the positioning of the photographer
How would the photograph have changed if
to the subject determine the effect of
it had been taken from another angle?
images.
Low angle makes the subject look larger.
High angle makes the subject look smaller.
A level angle implies equality.
Front views tend to emphasize the persons
in the image. Rear views often emphasize
the scene or setting.
Framing: Framing determines what is How does the framing of the image direct your
inside the image and what is closed off to attention?
viewers; it’s a device to draw the attention What is included and what is excluded from the
of viewers. image?
How does what the photo or painting allows you to
see and know contribute to its effect?
Why do you think this particular frame was
chosen?
Light: The direction of the light determines How does the light reveal details?
the shadows and affects the contrasts, which What does the direction of the light contribute to
can be subtle or strong. the presence of shadows?
Lighting has different effects if it is natural How do these shadows affect the mood or feeling
or artificial, bright, soft, or harsh. of the photo?
Focus: Focus refers to what is clearly in focus What parts of the image are clearly in focus?
or in the foreground of the photo versus what Are any parts out of focus?
is blurry.
What effect do these choices have on viewers’
The range between the nearest and farthest impression of the image?
thing in focus in the photo is referred to as
How great is the depth of field and what effect
the depth of field.
does that have?
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Analyzing Images
Scale, space, and shape: Size/scale and How do the scale, space, and shape of objects direct
shape affect prominence and emphasis. viewers’ attention and affect a feeling or mood?
Size and scale can be natural, minimized, or Are shapes geometric and angular or flowing and
exaggerated. organic?
Use of space can be shallow, deep, or both. Are shapes positive such as objects, or negative such
Both positive shapes and voids can draw as voids?
viewers’ attention.
Use of repetition, variety, and balance: What elements are repeated in this image?
Repetition of elements can create order, What variety is present, say, in shapes?
wholeness, and unity.
Does the visual weight of the photo seem to be
Variety can create interest. distributed evenly on the sides, top, and bottom?
Balance can create unity and harmony. What roles do repetition, variety, and balance play
in the impression created by the photo?
Line: Lines can be curved and flowing, Does the use of line create structure and convey
straight, or disjointed and angular. movement/action or calm/stasis?
Lines can be balanced/symmetrical, stable, How does the use of line control how viewers look
and harmonious, or disjointed and agitated. at the photo or painting?
Color: Choice of black and white can reflect How many colors are used? What is the relationship
the site of publication, the date of the photo, of the colors? Which colors dominate? Are the
or an artistic choice. colors warm and vibrant or cool, bright, or dull?
Colors can contribute to the realism and How are light and dark used? How does the use of
appeal; harmonious colors can be pleasing; color direct viewers’ attention and affect the
clashing or harsh colors can be disturbing. impression of the image?
What emotional response do these colors evoke?
sample Analysis of a Documentary Photograph

To illustrate how a documentary photograph can work on the viewer’s mind
and heart, we show you our own analysis of a photo titled The Fall of the Berlin
Wall (Figure 8), taken by photojournalist Peter Turnley in 1989. At the time,
the Berlin Wall, which separated communist East Berlin from democratic West
Berlin, symbolized the oppression of communism. In 1987 President Ronald
Reagan appealed to Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics, saying in a famous speech, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
When the border opened in November 1989, marking the end of communist
rule in Eastern Europe, East Berliners flooded into West Berlin, sparking weeks
of celebration. Peter Turnley is a world-famous American photojournalist whose
photos of major world events have appeared on the covers of Newsweek as well
as international magazines. This photograph appeared in a 1996 exhibit (and
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Analyzing Images
FIgurE 8 Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989, by Peter Turnley
later a book) entitled In Time of War and Peace at the International Center of
Photography in New York.
This documentary photograph of a celebratory scene following the open-
ing of the Berlin Wall in 1989 uses elements of framing, orientation, focus, bal-
ance, and color to convey the dominant impression of a life-changing explosion
of energy and emotion triggered by this significant event. This distance photo
is divided into three horizontal bands—the sky, the wall, and the celebratory
crowd—but the focal point is the yelling, triumphant German youth sitting
astride the wall, wearing jeans, a studded belt, and a black jacket. The graffiti indi-
cate that the photo was taken from the West Berlin side (East Berliners were not
permitted to get close to the wall), and the light post between the two cranes was
probably used to illuminate the no-man zone on the communist side.
Every aspect of the photograph suggests energy. In contrast with the mostly
homogeneous sky, the wall and the crowd contain many diverse elements. The
wall is heavily graffitied in many colors, and the crowd is composed of many
people. The wall looks crowded, tattered, and dirty, something to be torn down
rather than cleaned up. Most of the graffiti consist of tags, people’s response to
the ugly obstruction of the wall; West Berliners had no power to destroy the wall,
but they could mark it up. The slightly blurred crowd of heads suggests that the
people are in motion. At first it is hard to tell if they are angry protesters storming
the wall or celebrators cheering on the German youth. The photograph captures
this dual emotion—anger and joy—all at once.
At the center of the photograph is the German youth, whose dark jacket
makes him stand out against the light blue sky. A few days earlier the wall had
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Analyzing Images
fenced him in (at that time, it would have been unthinkable even to approach
the wall lest he be shot by border guards). Now he rides the wall like an American
cowboy at a rodeo. He has conquered the wall. He has become transformed from
prisoner to liberator. His cowboy gesture, reflecting European fascination with
American cowboy movies, becomes the symbol of the ideological West, the land
of freedom, now the wave of the future for these reunited countries. He holds in
his hand a tool (a hammer or chisel?) used to chip away the wall symbolically,
but the position of his arm and hand suggests a cowboy with a pistol.
What makes this photograph so powerful is the distance. Had Turnley used
a telescopic lens to focus on the German youth up close, the photograph would
have been about the youth himself, a personal story. But by placing the youth
into a larger frame that includes the crowd, the long expanse of ugly wall, and
the cranes and lamppost behind the wall, Turnley suggests both the enormous
public and political nature of this event and the implications for individual lives.
The youth appears to be the first of the energized crowd to demonstrate the con-
quering of the powerful barrier that had shaped so many German lives for almost
three decades. Thus the composition of this photo packs many layers of meaning
and symbolism into its depiction of this historic event.
FOR
Exploring a Photograph’s compositional WRItIng
Elements and rhetorical Effect AnD
In the last eight years, documentary photographs have played a key role in per- DISCuSSIOn
suading audiences that climate change is a serious threat that must be addressed
through stricter carbon dioxide emission limits and investments in clean
energy. One recurring image shows mountains with receding or disappearing
glaciers.
1. Working in groups or individually, describe and interpret this recurring
image using questions from the strategies chart for analyzing the con-
text, composition, and rhetorical effects of photos. What is the dominant
impression conveyed by this photograph?
2. Then using the Internet, search for another photograph that is currently
being used in the public discussion of climate change (for example, a
photograph employed by environmentalists to fight climate change on an
advocacy Web site). Analyze its context, composition, and rhetorical effect.
3. If you were writing to underscore to young voters the seriousness of cli-
mate change, which photograph would you choose and why?
2
Understanding Image Analysis: Paintings Respond to visual
When you analyze a painting, many of the strategies used for analyzing documen- images as a more
tary photographs still apply. You still look carefully at the subject matter of the informed citizen
painting (the setting, the people or objects in the setting, the arrangement in space, and perceptive
the clothing, the gaze of persons, the implied narrative story, and so forth). Likewise, cultural critic.
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Analyzing Images
you consider the painter’s distance from the subject, the angle of orientation, the
framing, and other features that paintings share with photographs. Additionally,
your analysis of paintings will be enriched if you consider, as you did with docu-
mentary photographs, the context in which the painting was originally created and
originally viewed as well as your own cultural context and place of viewing.
But painters—by means of their choice of paints, their brushstrokes, their
artistic vision, and their methods of representation—often do something quite
different from photographers. For example, they can paint mythological or imagi-
nary subjects and can achieve nonrepresentational effects not associated with a
camera such as a medieval allegorical style or the striking distortions of Cubism.
Also, the long history of painting and the ways that historical periods influence
painters’ choices of subject matter, medium, and style affect what viewers see and
feel about paintings. Background on the artist, historical period, and style of paint-
ings (for example, Baroque, Impressionism, Expressionism, and Cubism) can be
found in sources such as the Oxford Art Online database. In analyzing paintings,
art critics and historians often contrast paintings that have similar subject matter
(for example, two portraits of a hero, two paintings of a biblical scene, two land-
scapes) but that create very different dominant impressions and effects on viewers.
How to Analyze a Painting

Just as with photographs, you should ground your interpretation of a painting
in close observation. Many of the elements introduced in the strategies chart for
analyzing photographs can apply or be adapted to the analysis of paintings. In
addition, you will want to examine the following elements of the paintings you
are analyzing.
Strategies for Analyzing the Particular Elements of Paintings

Elements to Analyze Questions to Ask about rhetorical Effect
Design and shape of the painting: What is the viewer’s impression of the shape of the
The width to height, division into parts, painting and the relationship of its parts?
and proportional relationship of parts How does line organize the painting? Is the painting
influence the impression of the painting. organized along diagonal, horizontal, or vertical lines?
Medium, technique, and brushstrokes: In what medium is the artist working?

The material with which the painting is How does the medium contribute to the impression
made (for example, pen and ink, tempera/ of the painting?
water colors, charcoal, oil paints on paper
Are brushstrokes sharp and distinct or thick, layered,
or canvas) and the thickness and style of
or fused? Are they delicate and precise or vigorous?
brushstrokes determine the artistic effect.
What effect does the awareness or lack of awareness of
brushstrokes have on the appearance of the painting?
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Analyzing Images
sample Analysis of a Painting

As an example of a visual analysis of a painting, we offer an interpretation of a
famous painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), a French Impressionist
painter of the late nineteenth century. The French Impressionists were recognized
for their refusal to paint old themes; their embrace of scenes of modern society,
especially the city and suburbs; and their experimentation with light and brush-
strokes as a way to capture fleeting impressions. Figure 9 shows Renoir’s oil paint-
ing La Loge (The Theater Box), which he painted as his main contribution to the
first exhibit of Impressionist paintings in 1874. Impressionist paintings were con-
sidered too avant garde to be displayed at the conservative state-controlled Salon,
which was the official arbiter and channel of the work of established French
artists.
Renoir’s La Loge depicts social life in nineteenth-century urban society as an
occasion to act out social roles. This painting of a man and a woman elegantly
dressed in a theater box at the opera, a popular social spot of the period, suggests
that attending the theater/opera entailed displaying one’s wealth, being seen, and
inspecting others as much as it did watching a performance. This painting focuses
intensely on two members of the audience and specifically on the woman, who
catches and holds our gaze. While the man in the background is looking at some-
one in the audience through his opera glasses, the woman looks directly at view-
ers and invites their attention.
FIgurE 9 Renoir’s La Loge (1874)
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Analyzing Images
Renoir has compelled viewers to dwell on this woman by a number of his

choices in this painting. He has chosen to paint her in a tightly framed close-up
image, which the slightly off-center woman dominates. Her face and eyes convey
the impression that she and the viewer are staring at each other, while in the
shadows the man’s eyes are blocked by his opera glasses. Thus this painting
combines the woman’s portrait with a scene at the opera, even though most of
the setting, the theater box, is excluded from the painting. (We know we are at
the opera because of the painting’s title and the man’s and woman’s accessories.)
There seems to be a story behind the scene: What is the man looking at and why
is he not noticing the woman as we, the viewers, are compelled to do? This depic-
tion of a moment seems to be less a shared experience of relationship and more a
site for performance: men engaged in looking, women inviting the gaze of others.
Another choice Renoir has made to focus viewers’ attention on the woman
is his striking use of color. In this painting, the color palette is not large—white,
black, brown/gold/sepia, with her red lips and red flowers on her bodice. The
white of her face and her upper body is the brightest, suggesting light shining
on her. Renoir also highlights the woman with short, thick brushstrokes, which
give her shimmering, elegant dress texture and the impression of silk, velvet, and
lace. As additional signs of wealth, she wears earrings, a gold bracelet, a flower in
her hair, and a flower at her bosom. The stark contrast of the black and white in
her dress, the white of her face, and the red of her lips—and the agitated diagonal
but converging lines of the stripes of her dress that, along with her arms angled
out from her body, shape her into a diamond—all work to direct viewers’ eyes to
her bosom and most of all to her face. Although the expression of the woman
is calm, smiling in mild amusement or subtle emotion, the painting captures
intensity, perhaps excitement or anticipation, through the sharp contrast of the
red, white, and black. The piece is fairly still, and yet we are transfixed by this
woman’s eyes and lips. With the complex interaction of artistic elements in this
painting, Renoir has invited viewers to experience an exciting scene of privileged
nineteenth-century urban life.
FOR
WRItIng contrasting the compositional Features of two Paintings
AnD This exercise asks you to apply the analysis strategies we’ve presented to exam-
DISCuSSIOn ine the pastel painting Carousel by Camille Pissarro shown in Figure 10 and to
contrast it with Renoir’s painting in Figure 9. Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) was
also a French Impressionist who regularly exhibited his works in Impressionist
exhibitions. He painted Carousel in 1885; the medium is pastel on paper
mounted on board.
Your task: Working individually or in groups, analyze Pissarro’s painting
and then find some striking points of commonality or difference with the
Renoir painting that you think merit discussion.
• Begin by applying the strategies for analyzing photographic images and
paintings.
• After you have analyzed the visual features of the paintings, consider why
Pissarro titled his painting Carousel.
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Analyzing Images
FIgurE 10 Carousel by Camille Pissarro (1885)
• Finally, what are the thematic differences between these two paintings?
How do these paintings, both Impressionistic images of well-dressed women
at leisure, create similar or different effects on viewers? What view or feeling
about life or about the artists’ worlds is conveyed in each painting? What
way of seeing or thinking are these paintings persuading you to adopt?
Understanding Image Analysis: Advertisements

The images in advertisements are fascinating to analyze. Like other images, they
employ the rhetorical strategies we described in the section on documentary
photographs. Often, the ad’s words (called the “copy”) also contribute to its rhe-
torical effect. Moreover, ads make a more direct and constant demand on us than
do documentary photographs and paintings. Advertising, a multibillion-dollar
global industry whose business is communicating across a wide range of media to
stimulate the purchase of products or services, comes to us in multiple forms: not
just as slick, glamorous magazine ads, but also as direct mail, billboards, radio and
television commercials, e-advertisements, banners, pop-ups, and spam. Figures 11
and 12, a billboard and a bus ad, illustrate the ordinary ubiquity of ads. Because of
advertising’s powerful role in shaping our culture and influencing our self-images,
we have good reason to analyze the rhetorical strategies of advertisers.
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Analyzing Images
FIgurE 11 A Billboard Ad
FIgurE 12 Ad on a City Bus
FOR
WRItIng Examining the Appeal of Ads
AnD Think about the images and words in the two car insurance ads in Figures 11
DISCuSSIOn and 12.
1. What do you notice most about the images and copy in these ads?
2. What is the appeal of these ads?
3. How are these ads designed to suit their contexts, a billboard and a bus
panel? Why would they be less suitable for a magazine?
How Advertisers think about Advertising

Although cultural critics frequently focus on ads as manipulative messages that
need to be decoded to protect unwary consumers, we confess that we actually
enjoy ads, appreciate how they hold down the consumer cost of media, and
admire their often-ingenious creativity. (We suspect that others secretly enjoy
ads also: Think of how the Super Bowl is popular both for its football and for
its ads.) In this section, we take a look at advertising from a marketer’s point
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of view in order to deepen your awareness of an ad’s context and the many
behind-the-scenes decisions and negotiations that produced it. Whether mar-
keting professionals design an individual ad or a huge marketing campaign,
they typically begin by asking questions.
who Is Our target Audience? At the outset, marketers identify one or more
target audiences for their product or service. They often use sophisticated psycho-
logical research to identify segments of the population who share similar values,
beliefs, and aspirations and then subdivide these categories according to age,
gender, region, income level, ethnicity, and so forth. Think of the different way
you’d pitch a product or service to, say, Wal-Mart shoppers versus Neiman Marcus
shoppers, steak eaters versus vegans, or skateboarders versus geeks.
How Much Media Landscape can we Afford? While identifying their

target audience, marketers also consider how much terrain they can afford to
occupy on the enormous media landscape of billboards, newspapers, magazines,
mailing lists, Internet pop-ups, mobile ads, TV and radio commercials, posters,
naming rights for sports stadiums, T-shirts, coffee mugs, product placements in
films, sandwich boards, or banners carried across the sky by propeller airplanes.
Each of these sites has to be rented or purchased, with the price depending on
the perceived quality of the location and the timing. For example, a thirty-second
TV commercial during the 2013 Super Bowl cost $3.8 million, and a one-time,
full-page ad in a nationally circulated popular magazine can cost up to $500,000
or more. Overall, advertisers hope to attain the best possible positioning and
timing within the media landscape at a price they can afford.
what Are the Best Media for reaching Our target Audience? A
marketer’s goal is to reach the target audience efficiently and with a minimum of
overflow—that is, messages sent to people who are not likely buyers. Marketers
are keenly aware of both media and timing: Note, for example, how daytime TV
is dominated by ads for payday loans, exercise equipment, or technical colleges,
while billboards around airports advertise rental cars. Women’s fashion maga-
zines advertise lingerie and perfume but not computers or life insurance, while
dating services advertise primarily through Internet ads.
Is Our goal to stimulate Direct sales or to Develop Long-term

Branding and Image? Some ads are intended to stimulate retail sales
directly: “Buy two, get one free.” In some cases, advertisements use informa-
tion and argument to show how their product or service is superior to that
of their competitors. Most advertisements, however, involve parity products
such as soft drinks, deodorants, breakfast cereals, or toothpaste. (Parity prod-
ucts are roughly equal in quality among competitors and so can’t be promoted
through any rational or scientific proof of superiority.) In such cases, advertis-
ers’ goal is to build brand loyalty based on a long-lasting relationship with
consumers. Advertisers, best thought of as creative teams of writers and artists,
try to convert a brand name appearing on a cereal box or a pair of jeans to a
field of qualities, values, and imagery that lives inside the heads of its targeted
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Analyzing Images
consumers. Advertisers don’t just want you to buy Nikes rather than Reeboks
but also to see yourself as a Nike kind of person, who identifies with the life-
style or values conveyed in Nike ads.
Mirrors and windows:the strategy of an Effective Advertisement

A final behind-the-scenes concept that will help you analyze ads is the marketers’
principle of “mirrors and windows,” a psychological and motivational strategy to
associate a product with a target audience’s dreams, hopes, fears, desires, and
wishes (often subconscious).
• The mirror effect refers to the way in which the ad mirrors the target audi-
ence’s self-image, promoting identification with the ad’s message. The target
audience has to say, “I am part of the world that this ad speaks to. I have
this problem (pimples, boring hair, dandelions, cell phone service without
enough bars).”
• The window effect provides visions of the future, promises of who we will
become or what will happen if we align ourselves with this brand. The ad
implies a brief narrative, taking you from your ordinary self (mirror) to your
new, aspirational self (window).
For example, the acne product Proactiv Solutions uses a very common mirrors/
windows strategy. Proactiv infomercials create the mirror effect by featuring reg-
ular-looking teenagers with pimples and the window effect by using a gorgeous
actress as endorsing spokesperson: If I use Proactiv Solutions, ordinary “me” will
look beautiful like Jessica Simpson.
But the mirrors and windows principle can be used in much more subtle and
creative ways. Consider the brilliance of the Geico insurance gecko ads promot-
ing what advertisers call “a resentful purchase”—that is, something you need to
have but that doesn’t give you material pleasure like a new pair of shoes or money
in a savings account. Insurance, a hassle to buy, is also associated with fear—fear
of needing it, fear of not having it, fear of not being able to get it again if you
ever use it. In this light, think of the Geico campaign featuring the humorous,
big-eyed gecko (friendly, cute) with the distinctive cockney voice (working-class
swagger). When this chapter was being written, Geico billboards were sprouting
up all over the country (see Figure 13), while large-print ads were appearing in
popular magazines along with numerous TV and radio commercials. Here are
some of the particular advantages of the gecko for Geico’s layered advertising
campaign across many media:
• “Gecko” sounds like “Geico.” In fact, this sound-alike feature was the
inspiration for the campaign.
• The gecko is identifiable by both sight and sound. If you see a print ad
or a billboard, you remember what the voice sounds like; if you hear a radio
ad, you remember what the gecko looks like; on TV or YouTube, you get both
sight and sound.
• The gecko is cheap. The cost of the computer simulations that produce
the gecko is minimal in comparison to the royalties paid to celebrities for an
advertising endorsement.
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Analyzing Images
FIgurE 13 Geico Gecko Billboard Ad
• The gecko is ethnically/racially neutral. Marketers didn’t have to decide

whether to choose a white versus black versus Asian spokesperson, yet a per-
son of any race or nationality can identify with the little lizard. (Think Kermit
the Frog on Sesame Street.) Feminist critics, however, might rightly ask why
the gecko has to be male.
• The gecko is scandal-proof. When in 2010 the Tiger Woods imbroglio
ruined the golfer’s public image, the huge insurance company Accenture,
along with TagHauer watches and other companies, had to drop his endorse-
ment ads, forcing them at great expense to create new advertising campaigns
and to lose media visibility in the interim.
Yet we must still ask why the gecko is a good advertising device for an insur-
ance company. How does the gecko campaign incorporate mirrors and windows?
Let’s start with the mirror effect. It is easy to identify with the Geico ads because
everyone has to buy insurance and because everyone wants to save money. (The
gecko’s main sales pitch is that Geico will save you 15 percent.) Moreover, our
long cultural history of identifying with animated characters (Sesame Street, ET)
makes it easy to project our own identities onto the gecko. Additionally, the
cockney voice makes the gecko a bit of an outsider, someone breaking into cor-
porate culture through sheer bravado. (Many people think of the gecko’s accent
as Australian more than cockney, giving the lizard a bit of sexy, macho Crocodile
Dundee appeal.)
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Analyzing Images
The ads also create a window effect, which comes from the way the gecko
humanizes the insurance company, removing some of the fear and anxiety of
buying insurance. You don’t think of the gecko as selling you the insurance so
much as buying it for you as your agent, hopping right up on the corporate desk
and demanding your rights. Geico becomes a fun company, and you as consumer
picture yourself going away with a pile of saved money. Recent ads have added
another symbolic feature to the gecko—a pair of glasses—which makes him seem
intellectual and responsible, more serious and grown-up. Meanwhile, another
Geico campaign, the talking-money ad (see the billboard ad in Figure 11), extends
the concept of a humorous, friendly creature, like the gecko, that turns Geico
insurance into a savings, not an expense.
FOR
WRItIng Designing Ads
AnD This exercise asks you to apply these marketing concepts to designing your
DISCuSSIOn own ad. Imagine you are an advertising professional assigned to the Gloopers
account. Gloopers is a seaweed (kelp)-based snack treat (a fiction, but pretend
it is real) that is very popular under another name in Japan. It was introduced
earlier in the American market and failed miserably—what sort of a treat is sea-
weed? But now, you have laboratory evidence that Gloopers provides crucial
nutritional benefits for growing bodies and that it is a healthy alternative to
junk food. Many food companies would kill for the endorsement of nutritious
content that you now have to work with, but the product is still made out of
gunky seaweed. Working in groups or individually, develop a campaign for this
product by working out your answers to the following questions:
• Who is your target audience? (Will you seek to appeal to parents as well as
children?)
• What is your core message or campaign concept? (Think of a visual approach,
including a mirror and window appeal, and perhaps a tagline slogan.)
• What is the best positioning in the media landscape for this campaign?
• How will you build a brand image and brand loyalty?
How to Analyze an Advertisement

In addition to thinking about the decision making behind an ad, when you ana-
lyze a print ad you need to ask three overarching questions:
1. How does the ad draw in the target audience by helping them identify with
the ad’s problematic situation or story (mirror effect)?
2. How does the ad create a field of values, beliefs, and aspirations that serve as
windows into a more fulfilled life?
3. How do the ad’s images and words work together to create the desired persua-
sive effects?
For the images in an ad, all the strategies we have already described for docu-
mentary photographs and for paintings continue to apply—for example, angle of
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Analyzing Images
vision, framing, and so forth. (Review the strategies chart.) With many ads you
also have to factor in the creative use of words—puns, connotations, and inter-
textual references to other ads or cultural artifacts. Note that in professionally
created ads, every word, every punctuation mark, and every visual detail down to
the props in the photograph or the placement of a model’s hands are consciously
chosen.
The following strategies chart focuses on questions particularly relevant to
print ads.
Strategies for Analyzing the Compositional Features of Print Ads

what to Do some Questions to Ask
Examine the settings, furnishings, and all • Is the room formal or informal; neat, lived-in,
other details. or messy?
• How is the room furnished and decorated?
• If the setting is outdoors, what are the
features of the landscape: urban or rural,
mountain or meadow?
• Why are particular animals or birds included?
(Think of the differences between using a
crow, a hummingbird, or a parrot.)
Consider the social meaning of objects. • What is the emotional effect of the objects in
a den: for example, duck decoys and fishing
rods versus computers and high-tech
printers?
• What is the social significance (class,
economic status, lifestyle, values) of the
objects in the ad? (Think of the meaning of a
groomed poodle versus a mutt or a single rose
versus a fuchsia in a pot.)
Consider the characters, roles, and actions. • Who are these people and what are they
doing? What story line could you construct
behind the image?
• Are the models regular-looking people,
“beautiful people,” or celebrities?
• In product advertisements, are female
models used instrumentally (depicted as
mechanics working on cars or as consumers
buying cars) or are they used decoratively
(bikini-clad and lounging on the hood of the
latest truck)?
(continued)
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Analyzing Images
what to Do some Questions to Ask
Observe how models are dressed, posed, • What are the models’ facial expressions?
and accessorized. • What are their hairstyles and what cultural
and social significance do they have?
• How well are they dressed and posed?
Observe the relationships among actors • How does the position of the models signal
and among actors and objects. importance and dominance?
• Who is looking at whom?
• Who is above or below, in the foreground or
background?
Consider what social roles are being played • Are the gender roles traditional or
out and what values appealed to. nontraditional?
• Are the relationships romantic, erotic,
friendly, formal, uncertain?
• What are the power relationships among
characters?
Consider how document design functions • What features of document design

and how the words and images work (variations of font style and size, placement
together. on the page, formal or playful lettering)
stand out?
• How much of the copy is devoted to product
information or argument about superiority of
the product or service?
• How much of the copy helps create a field of
values, beliefs, aspirations?
• How do the words contribute to the “story”
implied in the visual images?
• What is the style of the language (for
example, connotations, double entendres,
puns)?
sample Analysis of an Advertisement

With an understanding of possible photographic effects and the compositional
features of ads, you now have the background knowledge needed to begin
doing your own analysis of ads. Many of the most dramatic and effective ads
now come to us in the form of billboards and television commercials. To show
you how such ads can be analyzed, let’s examine the acclaimed General Electric
Cloud commercial that first aired in 2008. Most people think of General Electric
as a company that produces consumer electronics and appliances (refrigerators,
dishwaters, etc.); however, GE, one of the largest multinational corporations in
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Analyzing Images
the world, actually has divisions focused on energy, technology infrastructure,

and consumer industrial products as well. In 2005, in a push to be recognized
as a green company, GE initiated its Ecoimagination campaign and has since
increased its presence in wind power, solar panels, desalination, and water
purification technology. GE’s positioning of itself as a green company invested
in water reuse solutions is the back story as well as the subtext of the GE Cloud
commercial. You can see the forty-eight second commercial on YouTube.
From its first frame, this ad plays on imagination and pulls viewers into a
highly romanticized industrial fantasy of the water cycle in which workers in the
clouds perform the purification processes of nature. In the first several frames,
white buckets sail through the air above green fields to the clouds, where they are
received by male and female workers dressed in perfectly white uniforms, wearing
white gloves, white hair coverings, and white hardhats. The sequence of frames
that follows depicts the synchronized process of these workers feeding the water
from earth through enormous bellows, which vaporize it and then condense it
through a giant wringer, like those once used for laundry. Then a scientist-techni-
cian examines a test tube of this water and pronounces it pure so that the brigade
of workers in an assembly line in the clouds can pass buckets of the water to other
technicians, who pour it into a vast watering can structure. As thunder crashes,
the watering can tips and the purified water falls to earth as rain. In the final few
seconds of the commercial, a voice-over interprets the action of the narrative:
“Just as nature reuses water, GE water technologies turn billions of gallons into
clean water every year. Rain or shine.” The final frame shows a glimpse of these
actual industrial processes, and the ad ends with the “Ecoimagination” logo.
Our students in film studies noticed how this ad exemplifies the intense
dynamism of commercials with the camera constantly moving, zooming in and
out, and panning left or right. These movements reflect the time constraints and
attention spans commercials must accommodate. The rapidly moving images are
tied together by the color palette—mostly whites and grays—and the consistent
pace of rapidly changing frames.
Our students also noted that this ad affects viewers first through its multiple,
fantastical, and powerful appeals to pathos, which arouse viewers’ curiosity with
a narrative that does not directly declare its product or its purpose. Why is the
setting for this ad the clouds? Why are the characters in the ad dressed in tech-
nicians’ uniforms that are scrupulously white? What exactly are these workers
producing? One curiosity-arousing appeal to pathos derives from the “heavenly”
associations conveyed through the gorgeous images of billowing clouds and radi-
ant sun beams outlining and shining through them and the predominance of
white, the color of purity. These images conjure up paintings of heaven in which
the figures in the sky are angels or good souls entering the afterlife. These associa-
tions suggest that there is something supernatural and divine about this scene,
a message underscored by the Creedence Clearwater Revival song “Have You
Ever Seen the Rain?” sung by the winsome voice of Julu Stulbach. In this case, a
familiar classic song, charged with personal associations and emotional power, is
rendered in a new arrangement, making it particularly evocative. The song with
its lyrics about “the calm before the storm” adds a seriousness and builds on the
audience’s fascination with weather—what causes it and how could we control
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Analyzing Images
it? A second, more playful appeal to pathos is generated by the white-uniformed

workers who tap viewers’ familiarity with science fiction and children’s fantasy
stories in their resemblance to the uniformed Umpa-Lumpa factory workers in
the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. These workers signal, as do their
counterparts in fiction and film, that readers are in an imagined world but one
that comments on the real world. A third appeal to pathos carries the mirror
effect of the commercial. In depicting these workers as purposeful, industrious,
coordinated, and effective, the ad prompts viewers to admire the hard work
and indirectly see themselves as dedicated team players engaged in a project to
accomplish some important task.
This analysis of the ad’s appeals to pathos reveals why GE chose to romanticize
and fantasize rather than be realistic and direct. If we ask, “Why not take viewers
on a tour of a wastewater treatment plant?”, the answer dawns on us. A waste-
water treatment plant with its giant steel rakes and grates, with scraps of toilet
paper and even condoms caught in the prongs, and its various holding tanks for
different stages of processing sewage, would interest only a small portion of the
audience—and perhaps disgust others—while limiting water technologies to one
process. Similarly, the actual technology and plants for industrial cleanup might
bore many viewers, who are more interested in product than in process. Instead,
the fantastical and associational appeals of the ad can deliver a larger hopeful
message while shaping a positive and memorable image of the company.
All these appeals to pathos build the company’s ethos and brand recogni-
tion and prepare viewers to absorb the subtly conveyed core message of the ad:
Not only is GE good for the environment in the care it takes with resources like
water, but GE also possesses the power of nature, and equipped with human
ingenuity, knowledge, and ecoimagination, GE’s water technologies can solve
the world’s water problems. The ad, through its window effect, comforts view-
ers with a sense of the world in which tough problems such as available clean
water are faced and solved by the wonders of technology. The dirty process of
recycling is now connected with cleanliness, purity, and ample supply of water.
The ad inspires appreciation and confidence in GE’s know-how and technologi-
cal capabilities that are as good as, if not better than, nature itself. After all, GE
can process billions of gallons of water a year and can do it whether it is raining
or sunny.
FOR
WRItIng Analyzing an Ad from Different Perspectives
AnD The Axe Apollo men’s cologne ad that aired during the 2013 Super Bowl is
DISCuSSIOn part of a recent campaign that features traditional culture heroes—lifeguards
and firefighters—in competition with another culture hero, the astronaut.
Go to YouTube to see the ad with its story line of a shark-endangered, bikini-
clad woman rescued by a handsome, buff lifeguard. The audience’s expected
narrative—rescued girl falls in love with lifeguard—is thwarted, strangely and
humorously, by the out-of-nowhere appearance of the geeky, uniformed astro-
naut. What makes this strange ad effective? You may want to watch the entire
ad several times to aid you in your analysis.
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Analyzing Images
1. Campaign and analysis. After watching this ad, analyze its rhetorical
effect and appeal by using the strategies suggested in the charts shown
earlier as well as ideas presented throughout this section (target audience,
choice of medium, brand building, mirror-and-window strategy, and com-
positional features).
2. Focus on camera techniques. Think especially in terms of camera shifts
and framing, angle and orientation, distance from the subject, and focus.
How do these visual techniques contribute to the narrative and the overall
impact of the ad?
3. Cultural criticism. Reexamine the ad from the perspective of gender,
class, ethnicity, and historical moment. Think about the relationships
among the characters and focus on the gender roles. To what extent does
this ad break or reinforce traditional notions of gender, race, and class?
Consider also our particular historical moment. India and China are
strengthening their educational systems in math, science, and technology
as they look to the development of their space programs; meanwhile fund-
ing for the U.S. space program has not kept pace with its robust start in the
1960s and 1970s. Speculate on the cultural relevance of this campaign at
this historical moment.
4. Cultural criticism continued. Compare the view of heroism and
gender in the Axe Apollo ad with that of the Air Force recruitment
poster. To what extent does the woman as expert, solo pilot in the Air
Force poster reverse the stereotype of the bikini-clad woman in the Axe
Apollo ad? What strategies do advertisers use to appeal simultaneously
to both power and femininity in their portrayals of female leaders?
Analysis of two visual texts WRItIng

PROjECt
Choose two documentary/news photographs, two paintings, or two adver- 3
tisements to analyze in a closed-form essay. Your two visual texts should Write a
have enough in common to facilitate meaningful comparisons. Show these comparative
images in your essay (if you are analyzing videos, you’ll need to show screen analysis of two
captures), but also describe your two visual texts in detail to highlight what visual texts.
you want viewers to see and to provide a foundation for your analysis. For
this closed-form analysis, choose several key points of contrast as the focus.
Your thesis statement should make a claim about key differences in the
way that your chosen visual texts establish their purposes and achieve their
persuasive effects.
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Analyzing Images
Exploring and Generating Ideas for Your Analysis

For the subject of your analysis, your instructor may allow you to choose your
own images or may provide them for you. If you choose your own, be sure to
follow your instructor’s guidelines. In choosing your visual texts, look for some
important commonality that will enable you to concentrate on similarities and
differences in your analysis:
• Documentary or news photographs. Analyze two photographs of an

event from magazines with different political biases; two news photographs
from articles addressing the same story from different angles of vision; or two
images on Web sites presenting different perspectives on a recent controver-
sial issue such as industrial farming or the war against terrorists.
• Paintings. Find two paintings with similar subject matter but different
dominant impressions or emotional impacts.
• Print ads or television (YouTube) ads. Look for two ads for the same
product (for example, cars, perfume, watches, shampoo) that are aimed at
different target audiences or that make appeals to noticeably different value
systems.
No matter what type of visual texts you are using, we suggest that you
generate ideas and material for your analysis by using question-asking strategies.
To help you generate more ideas, go detail by detail through your
images, asking how the rhetorical effect would be different if some detail were
changed:
• How would this documentary photo have a different effect if the homeless
man were lying on the sidewalk instead of leaning against the doorway?
• Why did the artist blur images in the background rather than make them
more distinct?
• What if the advertisers had decided the model should wear jogging shorts
and a tank top instead of a bikini? What if the model were a person of color
rather than white?
Shaping and Drafting Your Analysis

Your closed-form essay should be fairly easy to organize at the big-picture level,
but each part will require its own organic organization depending on the main
points of your analysis. At the big-picture level, you can generally follow a
structure like the one shown in Figure 14.
If you get stuck, we recommend that you write your rough draft rapidly,
without worrying about gracefulness or correctness, merely trying to capture your
initial ideas. Many people like to begin with the description of the two visual
texts and then write the analysis before writing the introduction and conclu-
sion. After you have written your draft, put it aside for a while before you begin
revising.
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Analyzing Images
FIgurE 14 Framework for an Analysis of Two Visuals

• Hooks readers' interest;
• Gives background on the two visual texts you are analyzing;
Introduction • Sets up the similarities;
• Poses the question your paper will address;
• Ends with initial mapping in the form of a purpose or thesis
statement.
• Describes each visual text in turn.

General description
of your two visual
texts (ads,
photographs,
paintings)
• Analyzes and contrasts each text in turn, using the ideas you
Analysis of the
generated from your observations, question asking, and close
two visual texts
examination.
• Returns to the big picture for a sense of closure;

Conclusion
• Makes final comments about the significance of your analysis.
Revising
Most experienced writers make global changes in their drafts when they revise,
especially when they are doing analytical writing. The act of writing a rough draft
generally leads to the discovery of more ideas. You may also realize that some
of your original ideas aren’t clearly developed or that the draft feels scattered or
disorganized.
We recommend that you ask your classmates for a peer review of your draft
early in the revising process to help you enhance the clarity and depth of your
analysis.
Questions for Peer Review

Ask your peer reviewers to address these questions:
1. How well do the title, introduction, and thesis set up an academic analysis?
2. Where does the writer capture your interest and provide necessary back-
ground information? How might the writer more clearly pose the question to
be addressed and map out the analysis?
3. Where could the writer describe the visual texts more clearly so that readers
can “see” them?
4. How has the writer established the complexity of the texts and their com-
monalities and differences?
5. How well has the writer used the questions about angle of vision, artistic
techniques, and compositional features presented in this text to achieve a
detailed and insightful analysis of the texts? Where could the writer add more
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Analyzing Images
specific details about settings, props, posing of characters, facial expressions,

manners of dress, story line, and so forth?
6. In what ways could the writer improve this analysis by clarifying, deepen-
ing, expanding, or reorganizing the analysis? How has the writer helped you
understand something new about these two texts?
WRItIng Multimodal or Online Options

PROjECt
1. Museum Audioguide Podcast Many art museums feature portable
audioguide recorders that prompt viewers to pause in front of exhibits
to hear an analysis of the painting or photograph. Assume that your
chosen images (if you have selected two paintings or two documentary
photographs) are exhibited side by side at a museum as part of a fea-
tured display. Create a podcast describing and analyzing the exhibits.
You can assume that your audience will be looking at the exhibit as you
talk.
2. Lecture with Visual Aids Assume that for a global outreach program
you have been invited to present an analysis of two ad campaigns for
the same product or company as this product or company is marketed
in different cultures. For example, how are Coca Cola products adver-
tised in China? How is MacDonald’s advertised in Central America?
Prepare a lecture with PowerPoint or Prezi slides that you can record on
video and upload to YouTube. Your slides can hone in on certain fea-
tures of the ads as you talk.
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Analyzing Images
Our first two readings argue different perspectives on the ethics of photographing readings
injuries and victims’ suffering in disasters. The readings refer to victims of the mas-
sive 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the same issue resurfaced in news coverage of the
2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The first reading is an op-ed by Clark Hoyt, public
editor of the New York Times. For background, you can do a Web search of photo-
graphs of the Haiti disaster as well as explore the New York Times’ gallery of photos.
Clark Hoyt*
Face to Face with tragedy
1 It was hard to look at some of the pictures of suffering and death caused by the
earthquake in Haiti—and impossible to turn away.
2 The top of one front page in the Times was dominated by a woman, her hand to her
cheek, as if in shock, walking past partially covered corpses lined up along a dirty curb.
The next day, an even larger photograph at the top of page 1 showed a man covered in
gray dust, lying alone, dead, statue-like, on a stretcher made from a piece of tattered
cardboard spread over a crude ladder. Inside that same paper, the Friday after the disas-
ter, was a gruesome scene from the central morgue in Port-au-Prince: a man mourning
the death of his 10-month-old daughter, lying in her diaper atop a pile of bodies.
3 Some readers were offended at these scenes and even more graphic pictures on
the paper’s Web site, calling them exploitive and sensationalistic. “The numerous
photographs printed in the Times showing the dead strewn about the streets of Port-
au-Prince are unnecessary, unethical, unkind and inhumane,” wrote Randy Stebbins
of Hammond, La. Christa Robbins of Chicago said, “I feel that the people who have
suffered the most are being spectacularized by your blood-and-gore photographs,
which do not at all inform me of the relief efforts, the political stability of the region
or the extent of damage to families and infrastructure.” She spoke for several readers
when she added, “If this had happened in California, I cannot imagine a similar depic-
tion of half-clothed bodies splayed out for the camera. What are you thinking?”
4 But other readers were grateful for the shocking pictures, even as they were deeply
troubled by them. Mary Louise Thomas of Palatka, Fla., said a different photo of the
baby, lying on her dead mother, caused her to cry out, “Oh, my God!” and to sob for
an hour. “But run from it? Never,” she said. People repelled by such images “should
really try staring truth in the face occasionally and try to understand it,” she wrote.
5 Mary Claire Carroll of Richmond, Vt., asked, “How else can you motivate or
inspire someone like me to donate money” to help out in Haiti? Her son, she added,
thinks Americans “are too sheltered and protected from the real world.”
6 Every disaster that produces horrific scenes of carnage presents photographers
and their editors with the challenge of telling the unsanitized truth without crossing
into the offensive and truly exploitive. In 2004, when a giant undersea earthquake
*Clark Hoyt. “Face to Face with Tragedy” from The New York Times, January 23, 2010. © 2010 The
New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the
United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express
written permission is prohibited.
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unleashed a tsunami that killed tens of thousands along Indian Ocean coastlines, the
Times ran a dramatic front-page photo of a woman overcome with grief amid rows of
dead children, including her own. Some readers protested, but the newspaper’s first
public editor, Daniel Okrent, concluded that the paper was right to publish the pic-
ture. It told the story of the tsunami, he said.
7 I asked Kenneth Irby, leader of the visual journalism group at the Poynter
Institute in Florida, for his assessment of the pictures from Haiti. Irby brings unusual
perspectives to the task. He is a veteran photojournalist and an ordained minister,
the pastor of an African Methodist Episcopal church in Palmetto, Fla. His wife’s best
friend is Haitian, and her family was still unaccounted for when we talked last week.
“I think the Times coverage has been raw, truthful and tasteful,” he told me, defending
even the most graphic images.
8 Irby, who has been in touch with photographers in Haiti, said survivors want the
world to see what has happened. “The actual loved ones, the bereaved, implore the
journalists to tell their stories,” he said.
9 That is exactly what Damon Winter told me. He is the Times photographer who
took the pictures that elicited most of the protests to me and much praise on the
paper’s Web site. Winter, who won a Pulitzer Prize last year for his coverage of the
Obama presidential campaign, was the first Times staff photographer on the scene, fly-
ing from New York to the Dominican Republic and then into Haiti aboard a chartered
helicopter. He had never been to Haiti or covered a natural disaster.
10 “I have had so many people beg me to come to their home and photograph the
bodies of their children, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers,” he said. “There are so
many times that I have to apologize and say that I cannot, that I have photographed
so many bodies already, and I think it breaks their hearts because they so desperately
want people to know what has happened to them, what tremendous pain they are in,
and that they desperately need help.” Winter said it was important “that I do what-
ever I can to try and make our readers understand just how dire the situation is here.”
11 Jessie De Witt, an international photo editor, said Winter sent the paper 26 pic-
tures on his first day in Haiti, including the picture of the bodies along the curb that
wound up on the front page. He sent 65 the next day, including the mourning father
and the dead man on the stretcher. De Witt and her colleagues think carefully about
photo selections. A picture of a dog eyeing a corpse is out, as are stacks of bodies with-
out context. And they think about juxtaposition: an Armageddon-like scene of people
scrambling for supplies from a ruined store was played against a quieter picture of
people waiting patiently for medical treatment.
12 Michele McNally, the assistant managing editor in charge of photography, said
she was going through all the photos from all sources, and Winter’s photos of the
single dead man and the grieving father “stopped me in my tracks.” Bill Keller, the
executive editor, said editors considered both for the front page, but chose the lone
body, played big, because it was dramatic and there was “an intimacy that causes
people to pause and dwell on the depth of the tragedy.” Looking at one person,
instead of many, “humanizes it,” he said.
13 I asked McNally about Robbins’s contention that such pictures would not appear
in the paper if the victims were somewhere in the United States. If such pictures
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existed, she said, she would run them. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans,
the Times did publish a front-page picture of a body floating near a bridge where a
woman was feeding her dog. But despite Katrina’s toll, there were relatively few such
images in the paper. Irby said that authorities in the United States are generally quick
to cordon off disaster scenes.
14 Just as a picture of a grieving mother told the story of the tsunami in 2004, the
disturbing images of the last two weeks have been telling the story of Haiti, and the
Times is right to publish them. As Patricia Lay-Dorsey, a reader from Detroit, put it,
Winter’s “camera was my eye as much as it was his. And every one of his photos told
the truth.”
tHInkIng crItIcALLy
about “Face to Face with Tragedy”
1. According to Clark Hoyt, what are the ethical and rhetorical problems that
photojournalists face in photographing disasters like the Haiti earthquake?
Who are the different stakeholders in this controversy?
2. Earlier, we discussed the importance of the photographer’s purpose and of
the cultural, social, historical, and political context of the photograph. What
claims does Hoyt make for the purpose and context of the published images
of human suffering in Haiti?
3. Research the coverage of the Haiti earthquake in one of the prominent general
news commentary sources such as Newsweek, Time, USA Today, or a leading
newspaper’s or online news site’s archives. What images appear the most
often? How did the captions for these images shape your impression of them?
4. What intellectual and emotional impact did these images have on you?
Our second reading, an op-ed piece by Manoucheka Celeste, a doctoral candidate

in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington, was pub-
lished in the Seattle Times on January 26, 2010.
Manoucheka Celeste
Disturbing Media Images of Haiti Earthquake
Aftermath tell Only Part of the Story
1 As a Haitian, former journalist and media scholar, [I found] the earthquake in
Haiti . . . both personally devastating and intellectually challenging.
2 The first earthquake to hit Haiti in more than 200 years was unbelievable, unex-
pected and unprecedented. The devastation is clear with more than 200,000 lives
lost. The damage is real. As we saw, people around the world responded quickly and
generously.
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Analyzing Images
3 This catastrophe presented an opportunity for media to respond in an unprece-

dented way. Some news outlets arrived before relief workers and doctors. We watched
the horrors as they happened. I hoped that this was the moment when those of us
trained in journalism would do something remarkable: Bring news of an unimagi-
nable event in a way that disrupted the sensational and stereotypical ways that people
in the “Third World” are represented.
4 What we got instead was much less humane. Videos of dead bodies, including
children and the elderly, filled our television screens. For those of us who tuned in
for information about friends and families, it was and is unbearable and despicable.
Coverage went from sensational to ridiculous as CNN compared the literacy rates of
Haiti and the United States. This was irrelevant as it continued to represent Haiti as a
failed state.
5 The focus on poverty, with the repeated tagline “the poorest country in the
Western Hemisphere” and references to crime and unrest, make it hard for viewers
to imagine any other aspect of life in Haiti. People were called looters for taking food
from collapsed buildings after not having eaten for days, framing their survival as a
crime. The humanity needed in this moment is clearly missing.
6 Media scholars have long connected media coverage with public opinion, cultivat-
ing our attitudes and creating and reinforcing stereotypes. It is predominantly people
of color who are shown negatively in news and entertainment. While the images mobi-
lized some to help, they are damaging in the long term as they become ingrained in
how we imagine Haitians. For many this is the first and last contact they will have with
this population. The images matter as Haitians are shown as less than human. In mass
media when images of Haiti and various countries in the African continent are shown,
blackness becomes associated with helplessness, danger, poverty and hopelessness.
7 In the most disgusting moment in broadcast history, Pat Robertson proclaimed
that Haiti had it coming because of its “deal with the devil,” linking Haiti to “godless-
ness.” What Robertson didn’t consider was that “godlessness” was used as an excuse
to kill and colonize peoples throughout history in the name of God, including Haiti,
which, incidentally, is a heavily Christian country.
8 The question that plagues me and hopefully all audiences is: Who is able to die
with dignity? In recent media history, there are few, but increasing instances where
dead Americans are shown. From Columbine to Sept. 11, we rightfully protect the
dead and rarely dare show them on television or in newspapers. Yet, the increasing
presence of graphic and emotionally charged images, especially in broadcast media
makes it seem normal or desirable.
9 This earthquake, despite the amazing pain that it has caused to so many, presents
an unprecedented opportunity. Viewers and readers can demand that in people’s
darkest hour or once they lose their lives that they are treated with dignity.
10 We want the story without sensationalism and reinforcement of stereotypes.
We want the media to value the lives of people who are “not us.” As I waited for
eight days to hear that my own mother and grandmother in Port-au-Prince are safe,
I wanted to hold on to good memories of the person who brought me into the world
and the one who taught me to be generous and tenacious. Let’s seize the opportunity
of this horrific tragedy to demand better from our news sources: dignity for everyone.
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Analyzing Images
tHInkIng crItIcALLy
about “Disturbing Media Images of Haiti Earthquake Aftermath
Tell Only Part of the Story”
1. In her criticism of the media’s use of “graphic and emotionally charged im-
ages,” how does Manoucheka Celeste argue against the main perspective that
Hoyt endorses?
2. Celeste’s op-ed piece examines the role of viewers’ knowledge, values, and
assumptions in interpreting photos in news stories. What historical, political,
and racial elements does Celeste underscore?
3. For the photographs of the Haiti disaster that you located and viewed, argue
that they either simplified and distorted the issues or pushed them toward
complexity and depth. In your mind, what does it mean to treat the human
subjects of photographs with “dignity”?
4. How do the views of photography argued in these two readings relate to the
gory images of victims of the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013? What
should the public see? What is responsible, ethical visual coverage of events
like this? What images from this event had powerful emotional impact?
Our final reading is student Lydia Wheeler’s analytical essay written for the writing
project. It analyzes two documentary photos focused on economic hardship and
displacement. One photo, taken by photographer Stephen Crowley, accompanied
a New York Times story about a mother and her daughters in the 2008 recession
caused by the collapse of the housing bubble in the United States. The subject, Isabel
Bermudez, was subsisting on food stamps unable to find a job; previously she had
supported her daughters with a six-figure salary. Then the market collapsed, she lost
her job, and shortly afterward she lost her house. The second photo is a famous
image taken in 1936 in Nipoma, California, during the Great Depression. The photo
is part of the Migrant Mother series by photographer Dorothea Lange. Lydia decided
to examine the original newspaper contexts for these photographs and to approach
them as depictions of women’s experiences of economic crisis.
Lydia Wheeler (student)

two Photographs Capture Women’s Economic
Misery
1 During economic crises, the hardship of individuals is often presented to us as
statistics and facts: number of bankruptcies, percentage of the population living below
the poverty line, and foreclosures or unemployment rates. Although this numerical
data can be shocking, it usually remains abstract and impersonal. In contrast, photog-
raphers such as Stephen Crowley and Dorothea Lange help us visualize the human
suffering involved in the economic conditions, skillfully evoking the emotional, as
191
Analyzing Images
well as the physical, reality of their subjects. Crowley’s color photograph, first pub-
lished January 2, 2010, in a New York Times article titled “Living on Nothing but Food
Stamps,” is captioned “Isabel Bermudez, who has two daughters and no cash income.”
Lange’s black and white photograph was commissioned by the Resettlement Agency
to document Americans living in the Great Depression; she originally captioned it
Destitute pea pickers in California; a 32 year old mother of seven children. February 1936.
However, in March of the same year, the San Francisco Times published Lange’s pho-
tograph in an article demanding aid for workers like Florence Owens Thompson, the
central subject of the picture. Once published, the photograph became famous and was
nicknamed Migrant Mother. A close look at these two photos shows that through their
skillful use of photographic elements such as focus, framing, orientation, and shape,
Stephen Crowley and Dorothea Lange capture the unique emotional and physical
realities of their subjects, eliciting compassion and admiration, respectively.
2 Stephen Crowley’s photograph of a mother sitting in a room, perhaps the dining
room of her house, and her young daughter standing and reaching out to comfort her
sets up contrasts and tensions that underscore loss and convey grief. The accompany-
ing article explains that Isabel Bermudez, whose income from real estate once amply
supported her family, now has no income or prospect for employment and relies
entirely on food stamps. A careful examination of Crowley’s photograph implies this
loss by hinting that Bermudez’s wealth is insecure.
3 The framing, distance, and focus of Crowley’s photograph emphasize this van-
ished wealth and the emotional pain. The image is a medium close up with its human
Isabel Bermudez, who has two daughters and no cash income, by Stephen Crowley
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Analyzing Images
Destitute pea pickers in California; a 32 year old mother of seven children

[Migrant Mother] by Dorothea Lange
subjects to the side, surrounding them with empty space and hints of expensive fur-
nishings. While part of the foreground is sharply focused, the background is blurry
and unfocused. There is a suggestion that the room is spacious. Further, the high,
decorative backs of the room’s chairs, the repetitive design decorating the bookshelf
on the frame’s left, and the houseplant next to the bookshelf show that the room is
well furnished, even luxurious. Bermudez and her daughter match their surround-
ings in being elegantly dressed. Bermudez looks across the room as if absorbed in her
troubles; her daughter looks intently at her. Viewers’ eyes are drawn to Bermudez’s
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Analyzing Images
dark dress and her pearl necklace and earrings. However, the ostensible comfort of
Bermudez and her surroundings starkly contrasts with her grief.
4 Crowley heightens this contrast and tension through the subjects’ orientation
and the space between them. The space between Bermudez and her daughter is one
of the photograph’s dominant features, but it contains only out-of-focus objects in
the background. Neither figure is centered in the photo; neither looks at the camera.
Consequently, the viewers’ attention moves back and forth between them, creating a
sense of uneasiness. The meaning of this photo is focused not on what Bermudez has
but on what she has lost.
5 Crowley also evokes sympathy and compassion for his subjects with his choice
of angle, scale, and detail. The photograph’s slightly high angle makes viewers look
down—literally—on Bermudez, making her appear vulnerable and powerless and
reinforcing the pathos. The most striking bid for compassion is the tears streaming
down Bermudez’s well made-up face. The contrast between her tidy appearance
and the tear tracks on her face suggest overwhelming sadness. The poignancy of her
apparent breakdown is heightened by her somber daughter’s attempt to wipe away
the tears on her mother’s face. Crowley’s decisions regarding Isabel’s composition cre-
ate an image that is highly disturbing.
6 In contrast to Crowley’s photograph, Lange’s Migrant Mother—through its con-
tent, focus, frame, rhythm, and angle—conveys long-standing poverty. Yet through
this image of inescapable poverty pressing upon its subjects, it evokes admiration for
this mother.
7 Lange’s frame and focus generate much of the intensity of Migrant Mother. This
photo is also a medium close up, but Lange’s frame is tight with no open space. The
lack of this openness cramps Lange’s subjects and creates a claustrophobic feel inten-
sified by the number of subjects shown—four to Isabel’s two. There is almost no back-
ground. The subjects filling the foreground are crowded and sharply focused. The
contrast between crowded foreground and empty background exaggerates the former
and adds a touch of loneliness to Migrant Mother; this mother has no resources besides
herself. Additionally, the subjects of Migrant Mother almost epitomize poverty: Their
hair is messy and uncombed, their skin dirt-stained. Even their clothes are worn—
from the hem of Thompson’s frayed sleeve to the smudges on her baby’s blanket,
Lange’s photograph shows that Thompson can barely afford functional items.
8 Migrant Mother’s circular lines also create a sense of sameness, stagnation, and
hopelessness. Thompson’s face draws viewers’ eyes as the dominant feature, and
Lange has ringed it with several arcs. The parentheses of her standing children’s
bodies, the angle of her baby in its blanket, and the arc of her dark hair form a ring
that hems Thompson in and creates a circular path for the eyes of viewers. Seen with
the obvious destitution of Lange’s subjects, this repetition is threatening and grimly
promises that it will be difficult, if not impossible, for this family to escape its poverty.
9 Like Crowley’s Isabel, the impact of Lange’s Migrant Mother derives from both
the tragedy of her subjects’ situation and their reactions. Lange uses angle and scale
to generate sympathy and admiration for Thompson’s strength. Once again we see
a slightly high angle highlighting the subjects’ vulnerability, which Lange reinforces
with the slender necks of Thompson’s children and a glimpse of her brassiere.
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Analyzing Images
However, Lange then contrasts this vulnerability with Thompson’s strength, foster-
ing viewers’ admiration rather than compassion. Migrant Mother’s scale, for exam-
ple, exaggerates rather than diminishes Thompson’s size: the photograph’s frame
focuses viewers’ attention on the mother, who looks large, compared to her children.
Additionally, Lange’s subject literally supports the bodies of the children surround-
ing her. Unlike Bermudez, Thompson sits tall as a pillar of strength for her vulnerable
children. Even her expression—worried but dry eyed—fosters admiration and respect
in viewers. By juxtaposing Thompson’s vulnerability with her strength, Lange creates
a photograph that conveys both its subjects’ poverty and their stoicism in facing the
Great Depression.
10 Lange and Crowley guide viewer’s reactions to their photographs through careful
control of the elements that influence our emotional responses to their work. Though
they both show women in economic crises, these artists are able to convey the distinct
realities of their subjects’ situations and consequently send viewers away in different
emotional states: one of compassion, one of admiration. The fame and veneration of
Lange’s Migrant Mother is a testament to her ability to evoke desired emotions. The
photograph was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1941 and again in 1955,
and was co-opted by countless movements since it was first published. Whether
Crowley’s Isabel will achieve similar fame for epitomizing this generation’s economic
crisis remains to be seen, but both photographs certainly succeed in delivering strong,
lasting emotional statements.
tHInkIng crItIcALLy
about “Two Photographs Capture Women’s Economic Misery”
1. What photographic elements has Lydia chosen to emphasize in her analysis of
each of these photos?
2. What parts of Lydia’s analysis help you see and understand these photos with
greater insight? Do you agree with her choice of important elements and her
analysis of their effects?
3. If you were analyzing these photos, what features would you choose to
compare and stress?
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Analyzing Images
Text Credit
Student Writing by Lydia Wheeler.
Photo Credits
Credits are listed in order of appearance
Photo 1: Leslie Stone/The Image Works (top left). Guillermo Arias/AP Images (top
right). J. Emilio Flores/Corbis (bottom left). Carlos Barria/Reuters/Corbis (bottom
right).
Photo 2: Steven James Silva/Reuters/Landov (top left). Det. Greg Semendinger/
NYPD/AP Images (top right). David Turnley/Corbis (bottom).
Photo 3: Peter Turnley/Corbis
Photo 4: Scala/Art Resource, NY
Photo 5: Albright-Knox Art Gallery/Art Resource, NY
Photo 6: June Johnson (two images)
Photo 7: Lars Halbauer/Dpa/Landov
Photo 8: Stephen Crowley/The New York Times/Redux
Photo 9: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division/Lange, Dorothea,
[LC-DIG-fsa-8b29516]
196
Writing to
Evaluate
Learning Objectives Before you read this chapter
Consider what it means to evaluate
1 Distinguish critical evaluation from everyday something. How do you evaluate?
evaluation
What does evaluation suggest? What
2 Develop and apply critical, evaluative criteria is the difference between evaluation
3 Write critical evaluations using effective strategies and analysis? In your journal or blog,
write about your understandings of
4 Analyze visuals using effective criteria what evaluation entails.
5 Use visuals strategically in your evaluative writing
From Chapter 13 of Writing Situations, First Edition. Sidney I. Dobrin. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson, Inc.
197
Writing to Evaluate
In 1999, software engineer John Swapceinski launched the web page Teacher
Ratings, a site designed to let university students rate their professors. The site, which
became Rate My Professors, included more than ten million ratings for close to one
million professors, and students now use it not only to rate their professors but also to
help them make decisions about what courses to register for in the future.
One of its developers explains the purpose of the site: “All we’re doing is tak-
ing chatter that may be in the lunchroom or the dorm room and organizing it so
it can be used by students.” Ultimately, what the developers of Rate My Professors
provide is information based on a series of criteria through which students evalu-
ate professors.
As the site admits, there’s really nothing statistically reliable about the rat-
ings, nor do the ratings actually provide an accurate reflection of the quality of a
professor’s teaching. Nevertheless, the site remains popular and unquestionably
contributes to many students’ evaluative processes in selecting classes. Rate My
Professors uses subjective criteria in its ratings, but in the context, that subjectiv-
ity is as valuable as any other kind of data. The rhetorical situation in which Rate
My Professors participates requires these kinds of opinions as part of the evalua-
tive process.
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Writing to Evaluate
Evaluation 1 Distinguish
critical evaluation
To evaluate is to judge, to assess a value by determining the worth, merit, and signifi- from everyday
evaluation
cance of something. Like analysis, evaluation depends on careful scrutiny and exami-
nation, and it contributes to problem solving and decision making. In fact, you make
informal appraisals every day to help you make decisions: which clothes to wear, mu-
sic to listen to, classes to register for, movies to see, company to keep, food to eat,
and so on. You make most of your evaluative decisions without thinking about your
criteria because you have internalized them throughout your life and have a tacit
understanding of them.
In contrast, when conducting a formal evaluation, you will need to develop ex-
plicit criteria and explain how they guide your evaluation beyond what you do and
don’t like. Assertions, claims, and opinions are not evaluations—until you provide
criteria for and evidence supporting your assertions. Formal evaluation depends on
detailed analysis, specific criteria for how to conduct that analysis, and clearly articu-
lated reasons for why and how you made the analysis.
Evaluative criteria are basically the standards we set to judge something. A chem-
istry teacher’s evaluation of your lab work might be based on predetermined stan-
dards established by the chemistry department. NBA scouts evaluate a basketball
player’s value for their teams based on criteria established by the coaches and play-
ers. Identifying and articulating the criteria by which you evaluate something focuses
your evaluation on what information you need to make an informed decision. In fact,
it is the most important part of your evaluation.
Evaluation is an act of responsible participation because in doing it, you gather
information, ask questions, and make relevant judgments that can affect others.
When you write an evaluation and distribute it, you participate in a conversation that
can influence how others make judgments.
Outside of college, written evaluations are likely to be an important part of your
life. At work, you may have to learn how to respond to performance reviews, and you
will likely have to write evaluations of others. In your community life, you may read
and write evaluations about local interests like school board proposals, city planning
proposals, or a homeowners’ association’s plans. In your personal life, you evaluate
things such as brands of food products, real estate options, automotive performance,
and cell phone carriers, all of which affect your decisions. In addition, you rely on re-
views of books, movies, music, software, games, and products, all of which are forms
of evaluation. Many online shopping sites such as Amazon or Best Buy include re-
views of the products they sell. These reviews, written (we assume) by actual product
users, judge and evaluate a product so others can make better-informed decisions—a
purpose that ultimately applies to all forms of evaluation.
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Writing to Evaluate
annotated example
Edward C. Baig writes the Personal Technology column in USA Today and cohosts USA Today’s weekly
“Talking Tech” podcast. Baig has written for Business Week, U.S. News & World Report, and Fortune
Magazine. He is also the coauthor of iPhone for Dummies and iPad for Dummies. Baig often writes to evalu-
ate new computer products; his reviews inform and influence readers regarding the computer products they
purchase and use. In the review reprinted here, Baig evaluates the Sony Tablet P, a two-screened tablet re-
leased by Sony in 2012. As you read the review, consider how and why Baig establishes the criteria he uses
in his evaluation.
Review: Sony Tablet P Shows 2

Screens Aren’t Better Than 1
Edward C. Baig
One constant of almost every tablet computer introduced since the Baig’s opening paragraph sets the context
original iPad is a slate-style design. That is why the dual-screen Sony for the review: what is being evaluated,
Tablet P represents such a departure. what makes the tablet different from oth-
The two 5.5-inch touchscreen displays on this Android tablet ers, and why the review is timely.
are hidden when you fold the entire thing into a clamshell that can
fit an inside blazer pocket. It’s Sony’s second unique tablet design of
late. The first was the Sony Tablet S that came out last year, which is
meant to evoke a folded-back magazine.
Folded in your pocket, the Tablet P, which went on sale this week
Continuing to provide context, Baig begins
and is available through AT&T Wireless, is something altogether dif- to offer details about the tablet, conveying
ferent. It’s just over an inch thick, which makes it feel rather chunky. information about size and weight, as well
You also feel every bit of its 0.8 pounds too. Of course, you can’t slip as comparative information.
an iPad into a pocket, including the latest model that Apple unveiled
Wednesday in San Francisco.
As for the clamshell, you don’t immediately know what to make
of the gray contraption with the black hinge on the bottom. It re- Baig’s language is beginning to reveal his
minds you of a hard case for eyeglasses or for a fancy ballpoint pen. judgment about the tablet. He continues to
The presence of Sony and AT&T logos and a camera peephole (for provide details about the tablet, but in do-
one of the two mediocre cameras on board) provides the biggest hint ing so begins to develop a tone of disap-
proval in his writing.
that this is an electronic gadget of some sort. But you’re still not sure
of its purpose even if you look closely at its oval-shaped bottom and
see the power button, AC-power port, volume buttons and micro
USB connector.
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Writing to Evaluate
It becomes clearer when you unfold the device and see the two Again, Baig uses comparisons to situate
handsome screens, each with 1024 * 480 resolution. The design is his claims, and he makes clear evaluative
vaguely similar to the Nintendo 3DS portable handheld. But the rea- statements explaining his perception of the
son for two screens still isn’t obvious. tablet.
You can lay the entire tablet flat or angle up just the panel with
Baig uses description as a method for
the upper screen, which lets you prop the tablet up on a desk or night establishing what part of the tablet he
table. Unfolded, the device is rectangular and just over 6 * 7 inches. is evaluating. Notice how the evaluative
Under many scenarios, such as when you’re browsing the Web, claims depend on this description of how
the two displays are effectively combined to form one larger viewing the two screens work together.
area. But the pivoting bezel, smack dab in the middle, obstructs your
view and mars the experience. Now Baig offers an evaluative statement
In some instances, the displays can be used to show indepen- about the two screens, a statement that
dent but related content, such as a virtual keyboard on the bottom may not have been clear without the previ-
ous paragraph establishing and explaining
screen you use to enter a Web address on the top screen. Too bad
how the two screens work together.
that keyboard lacks a dedicated “.com” key, a nicety found on numer-
ous other tablets. Another unfortunate drawback: You cannot display
Baig maintains his evaluative approach,
separate apps on the two screens. That’s in stark contrast to another identifying more negative characteristics of
dual-screen device I’ve reviewed, the Kyocera Echo smartphone. the tablet. This evaluation does not waiver;
Sony says 40 dual-screen optimized apps were available at it is decided in its position.
launch. One two-screen app that works well is UStream. You can
watch say the PBS NewsHour stream on the upper display while
checking out viewer comments on the bottom.
I tried the Virtual Table Tennis app game in which you control
your paddle on the bottom while watching the ping-pong action on
the top.
If you’re viewing a movie in the top screen, the play controls ap-
The positive aspects of the tablet are really
pear on the bottom. Similarly, while you can read the contents of a a few of the applications available for it.
specific e-mail in that upper screen, the bottom screen might display However, in addressing those applications,
your inbox or the keyboard you can use to compose a new message. Baig still maintains a critical stance, identi-
Tablet P is tied to Sony’s own digital entertainment experiences, fying the difficulties with the device itself.
including the Music Unlimited subscription service and Video Un-
limited, for movies and TV shows sales and rentals. You can use it as
an e-reader. The device is also “PlayStation certified,” so you could
have a go, as I did, at Crash Bandicoot or other PlayStation games,
with the controls familiar to gamers appearing on both screens.
But Tablet P is at its most frustrating when the two screens are These two paragraphs work well in, first,
meant to work as one. On some apps you have the option to view identifying some of the characteristics of
content that spans both screens or just employ a single screen the tablet, and, then, identifying a primary
negative aspect of the product.
(a waste, it seems, since the other screen is not used at all).
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annotated example
Worth noting:
• Audio. The lone external speaker is all-too-soft, evident when I lis- Baig provides feedback about six impor-
tened to music without headphones inside Pandora. tant criteria. In this section, Baig catego-
• Reception. I had trouble holding onto a Wi-Fi signal in my house, rizes specifically the features that he sees
as “worth noting.” This organizational
though none of my other computers or tablets had difficulty on
structure can help guide readers through
the same networks.
the specifics of his negative response to
• Memory. Sony could be more generous. Before boarding a plane, the product.
I tried downloading a movie I had rented moments before from
the Video Unlimited Store only to be told that I didn’t have enough
room on the device. A 2GB SD memory that can be expanded to
32GB is supplied.
• Pricing. The tablet costs $399.99 with a two-year AT&T data agree-
ment; $549.99 without. AT&T’s 3GB monthly data plan costs $35
and its 5GB plan $50. Though billed as a 4G device, Tablet P runs
off AT&T’s HSPA+ network, not its fastest LTE network.
• Battery life. I didn’t conduct a formal test, but Sony claims about
seven hours of general use. I got through a full day of mixed use
without a problem. The battery is removable.
• Software. Though it currently runs the older Honeycomb version
of Android, AT&T says Tablet P is upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice
Cream Sandwich. No timetable was given.
I give Sony brownie points for trying something new but am un-
convinced that in most instances two screens are better than one.
The bottom line:

Store: sony.com/tablet
Baig clearly summarizes his evaluation,
Price: $399.99 with two-year AT&T contract or $549.99 without.
noting what is positive and what is
Pro: Two very nice screens. Dual-screen optimized apps work negative, but in doing so confirms his
well. Fits in pocket. Tied into Sony entertainment experiences with overall negative judgment.
movies, music, books, and PlayStation games.
Con: Browsing and other apps marred by obstructed view. Spotty
Wi-Fi. Older version of Android for now. No “.com” key on virtual
keyboard. Design won’t appeal to everybody.
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student example
Quang Ly is majoring in English and pursuing minors in business administration and
entrepreneurship. When he graduates, he hopes to attend law school and study intel-
lectual property rights. During his spare time Quang likes to blog about his personal life,
writing about things like interpersonal relationships and the complications of love.
Quang is also a Twilight fan. After writing a manual for his English teacher about
how to survive a vampire invasion, Quang was encouraged to write an evaluation to
explain why the Twilight series has become so popular. His evaluation uses headings
to identify specific areas of evaluation, and he uses a good deal of secondary informa-
tion to support his evaluation. In fact, Quang’s thorough use of research and analysis
contribute much of the strength and effectiveness of the evaluation. Notice how Quang
uses his research to support the evaluation, and notice, too, how he explains his choice
of criteria.
Have You Been Bitten? Evaluating

the Success of the Twilight Craze
Quang Ly
Craze is an understatement, and the word alone cannot begin to describe the enor-
mous fan base the Twilight series has managed to gather since becoming a global hit.
The Twilight book series has garnered much attention since its first novel appeared in
2005. Stephanie Meyer, the author behind the best-selling vampire-romance novels, is
often compared to the widely acclaimed J. K. Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter
series. Meyer’s Twilight books have accomplished popularity and commercial success,
impacting not only American culture but also creating a worldwide phenomenon. While
compelling, the claim about Twilight’s massive success is broad and sweeping. How can
we, as critics ourselves, prove and validate this claim and perhaps other similar claims?
First, we must acknowledge that measuring “success” is difficult, particularly when
dealing with a work of literature or art. Critics of the Twilight series have weighed in on
both sides of the argument, some claiming the book a literary success, others criticizing
it as shallow and unformed. When Twilight, the first book in the series, was published
in 2005, reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and on Amazon.
com, among many others, praised Meyers and the book. Publisher’s Weekly identified
Meyer’s as one of the most “promising authors of 2005.” However, other reviews, such
as those published in the Kirkus Review, The New York Times, and The Washington Post
found little to praise about the book. Writing in The New York Times, Elizabeth Spires
criticized the novel, saying “The premise of Twilight is attractive and compelling—who
hasn’t fantasized about unearthly love with a beautiful stranger?—but the book suffers
at times from overearnest, amateurish writing. A little more ‘showing’ and a lot less ‘tell-
ing’ might have been a good thing, especially some pruning to eliminate the constant
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references to Edward’s shattering beauty and Bella’s undying love.” Similarly, writing
for The Washington Post, Elizabeth Hand writes that “Meyer’s prose seldom rises above
the serviceable, and the plotting is leaden.” Perhaps most telling, horror author Stephen
King, in an interview published in USA Weekend, was asked to compare Meyer with
Rowling; he responds: “Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young peo-
ple. … The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephanie Meyer can’t
write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
As the series progressed, criticism for the books and films continued, as did fan
appreciation. Thus, evaluating the success of the Twilight series must be considered in
terms of critics versus fans. By strictly literary criteria, the series may not be a successful
piece of literature; however, from the fans’ perspective, the series is hailed as excellent.
Thus, evaluating the success of the series should be addressed from the fans’ perspective
simply because literary criteria and aesthetic evaluation are never cut and dry. However,
fan-based success can be identified, quantified, and evaluated through four critically
important criteria: copies sold, recognition/awards received, commercial success, and
public’s reception. These criteria provide a framework we can use to evaluate the suc-
cess of a work or text from a fan perspective. These criteria can be used to evaluate the
success of Twilight and provide the data needed to support the claim that the Twilight
series is one of the most successful and influential young adult series in contemporary
literature.
According to Publishers Weekly, the Twilight series has sold over 116 million copies
worldwide, with translation into at least 37 different languages (Turan). Though these
numbers do not compare to the Harry Potter series (having sold 450 million copies and
translated into 67 languages (“Rowling”)), Meyer’s book sales have set their own records,
making Meyer an instant best-selling author and Twilight an immediate hit with fans.
When the first book of the series, Twilight, reached bookstores, it became the most pop-
ular reading fad of the time and sent waves of positive word-of-mouth promotion of the
book all over the world. Young adults (the primary readers of Twilight) flocked to book-
stores to try to get their hands on the “hot, new” book.
We can look at the sales of the entire book series to get a better idea of how the
first sensational book led to the record-breaking sales of the other books: Twilight
(17 million), New Moon (5.3 million), Eclipse (4.5 million), Breaking Dawn (6 million).
These staggering numbers indicate the impact Stephanie Meyer’s book has had on the
world with her vampire-fantasy books. These sales figures also show how the books have
influenced, and even inspired, people not only to read her books but also to encourage
their friends to give Meyer’s books a chance.
The Twilight books have consecutively set sales records in the publishing industry;
likewise, they have achieved substantial recognition and awards. The first novel Twilight,
for example, debuted at No. 5 on the New York Times Best Seller list within a month of its
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Writing to Evaluate
release in 2005 and later peaked at No. 1 (“Children’s,” 2007). That same year, Twilight
was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2005. In addition, the
novel was also the biggest selling book of 2008 (Cadden).
Meyer’s sequels have also gained notable recognition. The second book, New
Moon, debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children’s Chapter Books,
and in its second week rose to the #1 position, where it remained for the next eleven
weeks (“Children’s,” 2006). New Moon was also #1 on USA Today’s Top 150 Bestsellers.
The book also remained on the USA Today Best Seller list for over 150 weeks after enter-
ing the list two weeks after its release, later peaking at #1 (Rev. of New Moon). Moreover,
New Moon was the best-selling book of 2009. The second novel followed in the footsteps
of the first novel and finished the year strong with its loyal Twilight fans.
Eclipse was the fourth bestselling book of 2008, following only Twilight, New Moon,
and Breaking Dawn. It, too, was ranked #1 on Publishers Weekly’s list of “Bestselling
Hardcover Backlist Children’s Books” in 2008 (Cadden). Eclipse peaked at #1 on
USA Today’s top 150 best sellers list and went on to spend over 100 weeks on the list
(“Eclipse”). The book replaced J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on
the top of bestseller lists around the globe, including The New York Times Best Seller
list. For another book to replace one of Rowling’s books as one of the bestselling books
around the globe is more than significant. This particular accomplishment speaks to
how well Meyer’s story connects with its audience and is a great way to really pinpoint
the massive impact of the Twilight series.
Finally, Breaking Dawn was the third best-selling novel of 2008 behind Twilight and
New Moon. The novel was awarded the British Book Award for “Children’s Book of the
Year” and debuted at #1 on USA Today’s top 150 best sellers list, spending over 58 weeks
on the list (“Watch”). The 2009 “Children’s Choice Book Awards” selected the novel as
“Teen Choice Book of the Year” and at the same time, the Twilight series won the 2009
Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Book, where it competed against the Harry Potter series
(“Breaking Dawn”). Whereas Harry Potter was once the favorite among teens, Twilight
dethroned that series.
Given the number of Twilight books sold, in addition to the numerous awards the
series received, it comes as no surprise that the series spawned a tremendously success-
ful movie franchise. Adoption into film can be a good indicator that a book has been
well-received by the public. There is a long-standing Hollywood practice of turning
popular fiction with a large fan base into feature films. Such bestsellers-turned-movies
include Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. Meyer’s Twilight
series entered the Hollywood radar, and her renowned vampire romance fantasy novels
were adapted into movies that raked in millions of viewers and millions of dollars, ren-
dering even further the immense impact the series has on the world.
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The first film, Twilight (2008), grossed $35.7 million on its opening day and
has grossed $392 million worldwide. The film is fifth overall on online ticket service
Fandango’s list of top advance ticket sales (McClintock, “‘Twilight’”). In addition, DVD
sales grossed another $181 million, ranking it as the most purchased DVD of the year in
2008 (“Twilight”). The first movie became an instant success and paved the way for its
sequels to achieve similar degrees of success.
The second film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) trumped Twilight’s box office
success, setting new records for advance ticket sales. The film is currently the biggest
advance ticket seller on Fandango (Davis). The opening weekend of The Twilight Saga:
New Moon is the fourth highest opening weekend in domestic history with $142 million
(“Opening”).
The third film of the series, Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), surpassed The Twilight
Saga: New Moon in a variety of categories. The film is the first of the Twilight Saga films
to be released in IMAX. In addition, the film also has the widest independent release.
The film ended its box-office run in the U.S.A. and Canada having grossed $300 million
to become the highest-grossing film of the franchise and the highest-grossing romantic
fantasy, werewolf, and vampire movie of all time at the American and Canadian box
office (“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”).
The next to last film, Breaking Dawn–Part 1 (2011) earned a franchise-best $291 mil-
lion on its worldwide opening weekend, marking it the 10th largest worldwide opening
of all time (Subers). It reached $500 million worldwide in 12 days, record time for the
franchise. It ranks as the 4th highest-grossing film of 2011 worldwide and the 2nd highest
grossing film of the franchise (McClintock, “Box Office”).
The Twilight Saga films have definitely raised the bar for other franchises to aim
for. Their gross figures are beyond extraordinary. The Twilight films have accomplished
rare feats, such as most purchased DVD in a year and widest independent releases. The
incredible sales figures of these films confirms that Twilight has captured the hearts of
millions of people, and it does not look like the Twilight craze is going to slow down any-
time soon. Once a person is bitten by Twilight, there does not seem to be a cure for it, or
at least not a desire to be cured from it.
Like any popular fiction book, Twilight has met with both support and opposition
from the public. But Meyer’s book has been praised more for its plot, which combines
the right amount of romance and horror into one perfectly good story, than for its con-
troversial relationship the books display between the characters. Twilight fans all over
the world have fallen in love with Meyer’s books and many claimed her books are the
successor to Harry Potter.
In addition, because of Meyer’s choice of setting in the books, the town of Forks,
Washington, has been improving economically thanks to Twilight-related tourism (re-
member: you can’t really get to Hogwarts). Die-hard fans want to immerse themselves
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in the same environment in which their favorite characters appear. Even the high school
depicted in the Twilight movies is being renovated by way of public donations.
There have been other not-so-noticeable effects from Twilight. For example, there
are multiple survival guides for how to survive a vampire attack. There are also different
variations of shirts that say “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob”; the fast food chain Burger
King recently used these shirts in a commercial campaign. Likewise, though there have
been college courses about vampires and literary works like Dracula for a while now, the
Twilight series has “revamped” the definition of vampires and has reintroduced the idea
of vampires to a whole new generation, and now more colleges are offering more classes
specifically about vampires.
Interest in vampires is sweeping the nation in a large part because of how popular
Twilight has become over the years, and the entertainment industry is taking advantage
of this fad by introducing vampire related television shows such as the Vampire Dairies
and My Babysitter’s a Vampire (though Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996)
predates Twilight by nearly a decade and was a very popular television show; likewise,
Anne Rice’s multi-book series The Vampire Chronicles had developed a large fan base
beginning in 1976, and that Meyer has noted as influential in her writing). We may all
have once considered vampires to be horrible creatures, but now we view them as some-
thing interesting and extraordinary in part due to Twilight.
Fan-based appreciation, made evident by the franchise’s international popularity,
serves as viable criteria for evaluating Twilight’s success. The series is, unquestionably,
regarded as one of the most successful young adult series in recent times. To reiterate,
using the four criteria copies sold, recognition/awards received, commercial success,
and public’s perception, and acknowledging the distinction between these fan-based
criteria and aesthetic literary criteria, we can clearly see that the Twilight series is not
only a successful series, it is one of the most successful series in popular literary history.
Works Cited
Amazon.com. “Twilight. (The Twilight Saga, Book 1): Editorial Review.” Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
“Breaking Dawn.” eNotes.com. eNotes.com, Inc., 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Cadden, Mary, et al. “Best-Selling Books: The annual top 100 (2008).” USA Today. Gannett, 21 June
2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
“Children’s Books. (2006)” New York Times. New York Times, 22 Oct. 2006. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
“Children’s Books. (2007)” New York Times. New York Times, 17 Jun. 2007. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Craig, Amanda. (2006). “New-Age Vampires Stake Their Claim.” Times [London]. Times
Newspapers, Ltd., 14 Jan. 2006. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
Davis, Erik. “‘New Moon’ Now Fandango’s Biggest Advance Ticket Seller Ever!” Freshly Popped: The
Movie Blog. Fandango, 16 Nov. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
“Eclipse.” eNotes.com. eNotes.com, Inc., 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
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student example
“Exclusive: Stephen King on J. K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer.” USA Weekend. Gannett, 2 Feb. 2009.
Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
Hand, Elizabeth. “Love Bites.” Washington Post. Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2008. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
“Harry Potter vs. Twilight.” Bookstove. Bookstove.com, 8 Nov. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
McClintock, Pamela. “‘Twilight’ shining bright at box office.” Variety. Variety Media, 21 Nov. 2008.
Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
---. “Box Office Report: ‘Twilight: Breaking Dawn’ Hits $500 Mil Worldwide in 12 Days.” Hollywood
Reporter. Hollywood Reporter, 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
“Opening Weekends.” Box Office Mojo. IMDB, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Rev. of New Moon. Cakitches.com. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
“Rowling ‘makes £5 every second.’” BBCNews.com. BBC, 3 Oct. 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Subers, Ray. “Around-the-World Roundup: ‘Breaking Dawn’ Lights Up Overseas.” Box Office Mojo.
IMDB, 22 Nov. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Spires, Elizabeth. “‘Enthusiasm,’ by Polly Shulman and ‘Twilight,’ by Stephenie Meyer.” New York
Times. New York Times, 12 Feb. 2006. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
Turan, Kenneth. “You wanna neck?” Los Angeles Times. Tribune Newspapers, 21 Nov. 2008. Web. 18
Apr. 2012.
“Twilight.” Answers.com. Answers Corporation, 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
“Twilight Review.” Publisher’s Weekly. PWxyz, 18 Jul. 2005. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” Box Office Mojo. IMDB, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
“Watch Breaking Dawn Online.” Watch Breaking Dawn Online. Weebly, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Thinking about Quang’s Essay

1. Quang Ly’s analytical approach is not to evaluate the artistic quality of the Twilight
series but, instead, to evaluate the series’ popularity and influence. He accounts
for this distinction at the beginning of his essay. In what ways do the criteria he
establishes affect how you respond to his evaluation? How does his side-stepping
of literary aesthetic criteria affect his evaluation? Why might he want to avoid an
aesthetic evaluation?
2. Quang uses a good deal of research to provide quantitative information in support

of his evaluation. How does Quang’s use of research differ from the experiential, or
hands-on, research that Baig uses in the previous example about the Sony two-
screen tablet? Which approach do you find more reliable? Given that Baig is a
professional technology commentator and that Quang is a student, how does each
writer’s ethos interact with the kind of research each uses?
3. Does the judgment that Quang levels in this evaluation convince you that his posi-
tion is accurate? Reliable? Valuable? Why or why not?
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Writing to Evaluate
student example
ThE Road To a
Strong theSiS
second thoughts:
“as books and films, the
series could be evaluated
as literary works using second thoughts: second thoughts:
aesthetic literary criteria “a lot of literary reviews “If I do that, I’ll need to
to determine whether the didn’t like the writing in be distinct in what criteria
books are successful or the books, but the fans I am using to guide the
not.” liked the narratives.” evidence I gather.”
Response:
“I could probably find
reliable evidence to show
how many copies of the
Response: Response: book have sold, how
“But literary criticism will probably rely on “That means that any many and what kinds of
aesthetic literary criteria, and I’d have to have criteria I develop will recognition and awards
some concrete way of talking about the series have to distinguish the books and films have
as literature or as pop culture and figuring out between fans and critics. received, what kind of
Question: whether the series is art or entertainment. I But once I make that commercial success the
“What can be don’t feel prepared to write about those kinds distinction, I can show movies have had, and the
evaluated about of big issues. Literary aesthetic seems to be a evidence of how fans public’s response to the
Twilight?” pretty uncertain way to indicate success.” respond to the series.” books and films.”
Assignment: thesis:
“My teacher asked me to “Based on fan response, sales of books and films, and
evaluate Twilight.” awards received, the Twilight series has been an exceptional
success and has become one of the most influential
franchises in recent young adult literature.”
When Quang ly’s teacher asked him to evaluate the Twilight FinAl thoughts:
“I will really need to emphasize
series, he was given an idea, or more specifically a subject, why I am not using more traditional
to write about. he was not given a thesis. Quang had to literary criteria and why my focus
on fan-based criteria is a legitimate
develop that thesis on his own. indicator of the series’ success.”
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Writing to Evaluate
professional example
Sean McCoy is a freelance photographer and writer based in Denver, Colorado. He is
currently a Contributing Editor at Monopoint Media, home of GearJunkie.com. Before
joining GearJunkie.com, McCoy was the chief photographer for The Virgin Islands Daily
News. He was also owner of Three Amigos Tropical Adventures, a day cruise and over-
night adventure service he ran aboard his 45-foot sailing trimaran. Along with two rock
climbers from Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was also the cofounder of the rock and ice
climbing magazine Vertical Jones Magazine. McCoy’s evaluation “Square Water Bottle
Raises $126K on Kickstarter. We Test It Out” was published on October 22, 2012, in
the online magazine GearJunkie.com, an online publication that focuses on news, prod-
uct reviews, and adventure stories from the outdoor world. Published in the category
“Food/Hydration Reviews,” “Square Water Bottle Raises $126K on Kickstarter. We Test
It Out” evaluates a new kind of water bottle for outdoor enthusiasts. As you read this gear review, notice how
McCoy synthesizes his descriptions of the bottle with his evaluative statements and criteria to maintain a conver-
sational tone more than a technical tone.
Square Water Bottle Raises $126K on

Kickstarter. We Test It Out
Sean McCoy
A novel idea can raise six-figure investment via crowd-source funding sites like Kickstarter.
Clean Bottle recently proposed turning its popular hydration vessel square, and people re-
sponded in droves.
We got a first look at the stainless steel bottle last week. Beyond its stand-out shape, the
Clean Bottle Square opens on both ends for easy washing, is dishwasher-safe, and it fits in aver-
age car cup holders for universal use.
While it may seem a little superfluous, the top-and-bottom openings are pretty darn con-
venient. They allow the bottle to be fully cleaned from either end, no reaching in to scrub.
The top and bottom caps fit snuggly on, and they close with a reassuring click in just a
quarter turn. The caps are made of non-BPA plastic. Rubber gaskets seal them shut.
While the Square looks like a Thermos-type bottle, it is not. Don’t make this mistake like
we did—it is a single-walled bottle. Metal con-
ducts heat, and I found out first-hand that hot
liquids in this thing can burn fingers if you’re not
careful!
Style-wise, the bottle matches the look and
feel of a metal Macbook Pro, which should bode Exploded view of Clean Bottle Square
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Writing to Evaluate
well for the coffee-shop set. As noted, it

fits in a car cup holder, letting you take it
easily along on trips or errands. It is very
tall, though, so watch out because it can
tip over easily.
A potential downfall, the bottle holds
only 20 liquid ounces. To me that amount
is the absolute minimum size a water
bottle can be and still be worth carrying
around.
As noted, the bottle is tall at 11
inches and it weighs about 10 ounces
when empty. This is not a bottle meant for
backpacking or serious outdoor pursuits.
Advantages to the square design?
If dropped, the bottle cannot easily roll
away. This is not a problem that I’ve faced a lot in my life, but maybe for kids it could be an
advantage.
My take? Outside of the notable exception of use on sailboats, trains or other moving ve-
hicles, I really don’t see the big advantage to the square shape. On sailboats or other places
with shifting angles and unstable surfaces the bottle might really shine.
At $40, the bottle is pricey. But with an eye-catching design and quality build it could fit
nicely in a lot of Christmas stockings when it is released in December.
Analyzing the Situation

1. Why might a writer who writes for a gear review resource evaluate a water bottle?
2. Who is McCoy’s audience here? How do you know?
3. Does McCoy’s medium tell you anything about how conversations in this situation circu-
late? What might the medium reveal, too, about the audience?
Analyzing the Rhetoric

1. What does the title tell you about the evaluation, and how does the title prepare you for
how the evaluation will be presented?
2. What role do the visuals play in how McCoy evaluates the bottle?
3. What language does McCoy use to clarify his evaluative position?
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Writing to Evaluate
professional example
Discussing
1. McCoy’s evaluation is not very long. Given that the evaluation is a product review for
a water bottle—a product that is not really complicated—does McCoy provide enough
information, definition, and evaluation to suit your needs as a reader? Discuss whether or
not you want more information from McCoy in this review.
2. How do evaluations like McCoy’s serve audiences? That is, McCoy evaluates a water
bottle, a fairly mundane object. With things like water bottles, many people simply evalu-
ate whether or not they like drinking from them; so, why does McCoy write this evalua-
tion, and how does it serve its audience?
Writing
1. Using only the criteria McCoy uses in his evaluation, evaluate a different brand of water
bottle. Then, using McCoy’s evaluation, compare the Square with the water bottle you
have evaluated.
2. Locate three other published reviews of water bottles online—even another review of the
Square. By what criteria are those bottles evaluated? How do those reviews compare
with McCoy’s in terms of detail, criteria, medium, audience, purpose, and approach?
Write a document that evaluates how water bottles are evaluated and how each review
you use compares with McCoy’s.
212
three examples
SiDE SiDE
By
Compare the way the three evaluations in this chapter make use of the
elements of the rhetorical situation.
annotated example student example professional example
Edward C. Baig, Quang Ly, Sean McCoy,
“Review: Sony Tablet P Shows 2 “have You Been “Square Water Bottle
Screens aren’t Better Than 1” Bitten? Evaluating Raises $126K on
the Success of the Kickstarter. We Test
Twilight Craze” It out”
To provide evaluative information To evaluate why a book series To evaluate a new version of a
puRpose
about a new product might be considered successful familiar product
Readers deciding whether or not Readers who are interested in Readers who are outdoor
Audience to purchase a tablet with one or the success of the Twilight series enthusiasts
two screens
Design, size, weight, usability, Copies sold, recognition, com- Design, size, clean-ability,
cRiteRiA efficiency, reception, memory, mercial success, and public temperature retention, and cost
pricing, battery life, software reception
Based on observation, personal Based on research; uses and Based on observation, descrip-
evidence experience, and product testing cites numerous Web resources tion, and personal experience
with the product
Reports outcomes of product Uses research-based evidence Describes features and char-
methods testing; compares with other to provide quantitative acteristics and evaluates their
similar products information effectiveness
Judges the product to be inferior Judges the book series to be Judges the bottle to be attractive
outcome
successful but limited in its usefulness
Circulated by way of mass Circulated by way of academic Circulated by way of online
distRibution
media essay review page
Uses single and multiple para- Uses fan-based criteria and Uses short paragraphs to
graph schemes to address in- organizes by each criteria: cop- address each characteristic
oRgAnizAtion dividual product characteristics. ies sold, recognition/awards evaluated
Uses listing to emphasize key received, commercial success,
points at the end and public’s reception
Uses a critical tone to emphasize Uses formal, academic Uses first-person, conversational
the negative evaluation. Words language tone to connect with the
like chunky, mediocre, obstructs, audience
lAnguAge mars, too bad, unfortunately,
frustrating, waste, and worth
nothing all maintain a negative
tone
213
prepare
2 Develop and apply critical, evaluative criteria
characteristic preparing Your evaluation

Evaluation is not always safe The judgments you may reach may not sit well with others. Sometimes evaluations
reveal things you may not wish to have learned. A performance evaluation, for
example, may expose weaknesses in your job performance, potentially affecting your
path to a promotion or your sense of competence.
Evaluation must be transparent Evaluations done ethically do not pursue hidden agendas. The audience should
to be ethical understand why you are evaluating and how you arrived at your results.
Evaluation must have a Defining your purpose helps set the context for the evaluation, and it contributes to
purpose the transparency of your evaluation.
Evaluative writing should Effective evaluations state a claim much like a thesis statement. They clearly explain
make a claim that leads to an the judgments based on the research and analysis. Outcomes may lead to a final
outcome decision or to further evaluative work.
Evaluation should be written for Knowing your audience in advance can affect how you conduct your analysis
a specific audience because you will understand what information the audience needs.
Evaluative writing should Evaluations have not only a purpose, a reason for evaluating, but also ramifications.
explain what is at stake Your audience should be able to discern what the implications of your evaluation are.
Evaluation must be conducted Criteria should be determined beforehand by the situation, that is, by the purpose of the
according to criteria evaluation and the audience. These criteria and why they are pertinent need to be clear.
Evaluations may require An academic evaluation may require that you conduct research to complete the
research evaluation. For example, a literature teacher may ask you to evaluate a selection of
poetry, but to do so, you may have to conduct research about the poem or the poet
to better understand the context or meaning of the poem.
Evaluations require evidence Evaluations that don’t provide evidence come across as assertions or opinions:
“Avatar is the best movie of the decade.” That evaluation provides a judgment that
may or may not be accurate. Your audience will need supporting evidence such as
“Avatar is the best movie of the decade because it grossed more money than any
other movie, received consistently higher rankings, and received more Academy
Award nominations than any other movie in this time period.”
Evaluations should describe In addition to details about the criteria you use, your evaluation should include an
techniques and methods you explanation of the techniques you use to gather the information and evidence.
used
Evaluations are based on The analysis should logically connect the information, the criteria, the method, and
analysis that is clearly explained the outcome.
Evaluations must be distributed An evaluation must reach its audience to serve its purpose. For instance, posting a
review of a product on a sales web page helps ensure that your evaluation will reach
an interested audience.
214
Respond
3 Write critical evaluations using effective strategies
strategy developing Your evaluation

Identify the thing to be Be sure to describe and define for your audience what you are evaluating. Describe
evaluated the parts and relations of the thing and any terms needed to understand it. These
details also can become part of the evidence supporting your claim.
Ask questions Ask critical research questions to lead you to a better understanding of the details of
the thing being evaluated.
Consider the situation How you evaluate and how you report the results of your evaluation depend on the
situation of the evaluation. Your audience will affect the criteria for your evaluation,
your method, and how you convey the results, including the medium you use. Also
consider the constraints that limit your evaluation and the players who might be
affected by your evaluation.
Define the criteria Define the criteria and standards you choose to guide your evaluation, keeping in
mind what your audience needs to know. Never change criteria in the midst of an
evaluation or, if comparing like items, never measure one item by one set of criteria
and the other item by another set. Criteria may be weighted; that is, some criteria
may be more important than others.
Confirm needed resources Ahead of time, make sure you have access to any equipment, tools, materials, or
beforehand measuring rubrics that you might need to conduct the evaluation.
Provide evidence Search out evidence such as statistical data, description, testimony, forensic data,
and usability testing to support your evaluation.
Include visuals Whenever possible, be sure to include visuals that help your audience comprehend
the purpose, criteria, method, and/or result of your evaluation.
Be ethical Remember: evaluations inform decisions that can affect people’s lives. Be sure your
results are not skewed. Adhere to the criteria you have established.
Organize Organize your evaluative writing using one of the approaches described in this chapter.
Don’t ignore your feelings Stating how you feel about something is a valid form of evaluation. Explaining why you
feel a certain way, however, will be most effective.
Reach a conclusion Explicitly state an outcome, even if that outcome is a need for further evaluation. If your
criteria and analysis don’t lead to a definitive result, you may need to rethink the criteria
and evaluation process you used and reevaluate.
215
Writing to Evaluate
Developing Criteria for an Evaluation

Each kind of subject that you might evaluate requires a different set of evaluative cri-
teria. For instance, you would evaluate a software application differently than you
would sushi restaurants. Thus, the criteria you select should reflect your evaluative
purpose and relate to what you are evaluating. Answer the following questions and
analyze your responses to identify relevant elements or characteristics that could be-
come criteria.
criteria Questions
Initial Reactions Questions regarding initial reactions:
• What about this thing do I like or not like (support, agree with)? Why?
• What did I notice first?
• How do I feel about this thing?
Physical Attributes Questions regarding physical attributes:
• What can be said about size, color, taste, weight, sound, and smell?
• What can be said about design and functionality?
Validity Questions regarding validity:
• If evaluating a text, who is the author? Is the author an expert? What is the author’s
reputation?
• If evaluating a web page, who sponsors the page? Is there a conflict of interest? Is the
sponsor reputable? Is the sponsor easily identifiable?
• If there is research involved, is the research accurate?
• Is the evidence presented in a nonbiased way, or does it seem weighted toward a particular
conclusion?
• Does the evidence appear to be encompassing, or is something missing?
• Are there evident errors?
Cost and Value Questions regarding cost and value:
• How does the product cost compare with other similar products?
• What is the monetary, personal, and cultural worth of what you are evaluating?
• What are the immediate value and long-term value? The immediate cost and long-term cost?
Comparatives Questions regarding comparatives:
• Which is better? How do you define better?
• Which is safer?
• Which lasts longer?
• Which is clearer, makes more sense?
Organizing an Evaluation
Evaluative writing needs to convey the following information:
• What is being evaluated, defined and described clearly
• What your judgment is, stated directly and based on the evaluation
• What criteria you used, defined and explained
216
Writing to Evaluate
• Why and how you reached your judgment

• What opposing evaluations might say (and what evidence refutes them)
• A concluding statement that emphasizes your judgment
You can organize your evaluation by following the preceding bulleted list, even using
headings to distinguish these parts of an evaluative document.
Alternatively, depending on the situation, you may want to try either of the fol-
lowing two common approaches.
Making Your Evaluation in Focusing on Each Criterion

Relation to Other Evaluations
Define and Define and describe

describe what your criteria
you are evaluating for evaluation.
and why you are
evaluating it.
Define and describe

Explain results of what you are
other evaluations and evaluating.
why your evaluation
is necessary.
Describe one point

Define and describe of evaluation based
your criteria for upon one criterion.
evaluation.
Describe another
point of evaluation
Define and describe based upon the
the results of your next criterion.
evaluation.
Continue to do so
State your judgment until all points of criteria
based on the have been exhausted.
evaluation results.
Conclude, stating
Conclude, postioning your judgment and
your judgment in providing evidence
relation to the others. for it.
217
MAPPING
YOUR SITUATION
NETWORKS
• In what networks will my evaluation circulate?
• How is my evaluation related to other
evaluations?
• How might my evaluation affect future
evaluations in this situation?
WRITERS AND SPEAKERS RELATIONS

• Who are the other writers and • What is my relation to the situation?
speakers in this situation? • What are the relationships between
• What have they said about writers/speakers, audience, and players?
the situation? • What are the relationships to external
• Why are they in the position forces, like culture, religion, or politics?
to speak in this situation? • What are the power relations?
AUDIENCE MEDIUM AND METHOD CONTEXT

• Who will read/see my • In what genre will I • Where will my evaluation
evaluation? deliver my evaluation? take place?
• What do I know about • What are my criteria • Where will my evaluation
my intended audience? for evaluation? appear?
• Who will the evaluation • What method will I use • What limits are imposed
affect directly and to convey my evaluation? on my evaluation?
indirectly? • How will I distribute
my evaluation?
PURPOSE
• What am I evaluating?
• Why am I evaluating?
• How should I approach
my evaluation to
accomplish my purpose?
Mapping your situation will help you generate ideas you can use
to compose. Start by answering these questions about each part
of the situation. Begin with your purpose and work outward to
relations and networks.
218
Writing to Evaluate
Writing Projects
essay
Any of the subjects in the following list might be evaluated from various perspectives.
Select one of them and develop a detailed set of criteria by which to conduct an eval-
uation. After establishing your criteria, conduct the evaluation, and use one of the or-
ganizational strategies discussed in this chapter to write an evaluation of the subject
you picked.
General:
• Your dietary/nutritional habits
• A movie currently showing
• Effectiveness of public transportation in your area
• Land use in your community
• Radio stations in your community
• Sustainability efforts in your community
On your campus:
• The school newspaper
• The availability of technology
• Library accessibility
• Dining choices
• Energy consumption
• Recycling efforts
visual evaluation 4 Analyze

visuals using
Edward C. Baig’s review of the Sony tablet earlier in this chapter uses the Android op- effective criteria
erating system, which was developed by a consortium of companies to compete with
Apple’s iPads. Using online resources, identify four features that both Android tablets
and iPads have. Then conduct some research to compare these features between the
two types of tablet platforms. Next, design a graphic (chart or graph) that conveys the
information in an evaluative fashion (see “Visuals and Evaluation” in this chapter).
digital
An increasingly popular feature of online commerce enables customers and users to
provide feedback about companies, products, and services. Develop a set of criteria
and evaluate a product you have recently purchased or a service you have recently
used. Post your evaluation either to a site such as Yelp, Angie’s List, or Epinions, or
directly into the customer comments portion of the website through which you made
the purchase.
219
Writing to Evaluate
Research
Locate three web pages that provide information about pollution in your state. Evalu-
ate those three sites for their accuracy, effectiveness in presenting information, clar-
ity, reliability, and accessibility. You may use your library’s suggestions for evaluating
Web resources in addition to the suggestions provided in this chapter.
Radical Revision
Look back to the other prompts for writing projects provided here. Select one of these
prompts for which you have already written a response and radically revise the docu-
ment to be published as a YouTube video. Be alert to (a) how you will need to re-
vise your evaluation to address a public audience instead of an academic audience
and (b) how the difference in media will affect how you present your evaluation. Also
keep ethics in mind.
Visuals and Evaluation

5 Use
visuals Visuals can be evaluated much like text. In addition, visuals can be used as tools to
strategically in help you figure out, organize, and convey your evaluations.
your evaluative
writing
evaluating visuals
Visuals, like any text, can be evaluated. In fact, on a daily basis, you already evalu-
ate countless visuals that compete for your attention, including advertisements, web
pages, instructions, directions, films, television broadcasts, icons, logos, photographs,
graffiti, videos, and sign lettering. Evaluating a visual can consider straightforward
criteria such as readability, effectiveness, genre, and so on, but certain visuals such as
works of art may also be evaluated from an aesthetic perspective. Because aesthetic
criteria are difficult to identify and confirm, aesthetic evaluation often uses less spe-
cific criteria.
visuals that evaluate

In addition to evaluating visuals, we can use visuals as tools for helping the audience
to comprehend information. Visuals can reinforce the information in your evaluation
or can function independent of written text. In general, graphics and images can be
effective for evaluative purposes. As the following chart shows, graphics, including
graphs and charts, depict information symbolically, and images, including photo-
graphs, depict information in more realistic ways than text alone can.
220
type of visual use for conveying evaluative information
Graphics
Graphs A graph is a diagram that represents 2000

the relationship between two or more 1,897
kinds of quantifiable information, often 1500
in relation to time. Thus, graphs might 1,460
assist in showing how two or more 1000
items compare in an evaluation. Bar
graphs such as the one shown here 741
500
are common forms.
0
November January February
Charts Charts, closely related to graphs, represent information Savings

3%
visually, but not usually in relation to time. Pie charts
(shown here) and flowcharts are common forms. Some
Wants Needs
flowcharts show a process linearly in time, but they do 10% 52%
not specifically quantify time.
Debt
35%
Tables Tables simply list data in a system

of rows and columns, providing Year South Bend Percent of County St. Joseph County
easy access to specific informa- 2005 107,889 40.5 266,371
tion that might be difficult to find 2010 108,368 40.1 270,266
in a graphic relationship. The 2015 109,158 39.5 276,679
table shown here provides data 2020 110,045 38.8 283,885
that shows the population growth
2025 110,914 38.1 290,946
of South Bend, Indiana, as it re-
lates to the surrounding county. Source: IBRC
Images
Photographs Because of their realistic representational qualities, photographs can accurately depict evidence and
examples to assist an evaluation. For example, before and after photographs can show convincing
effects of a process. The photographs found here show the effect of trawling on the seabed.
Photo manipulation applications, like Adobe’s Photoshop, allow users to customize and alter pho-
tographs through cropping; adjusting colors; adding callouts or captions; and highlighting, adding,
or deleting particular parts of a photograph. Close attention to ethical considerations is critical
when using these applications.
221
Writing to Evaluate
Writing Process Use the guidelines in this chart to plan, review, and evaluate your pro-
cess for writing. Each step in the process should support the overall
guiDelineS purpose of your project.
Situate Plan reSearCh

• Understand your reasons for evaluating. • Confirm and clarify your • Determine what kind of information
• Understand how constraints might limit reason/purpose for you will need to evaluate.
your evaluation. evaluating. • Conduct research to gather the infor-
• Distinguish the role of location in your • Consider your form for mation you need.
analysis. delivering your analysis. • Confirm that your research will be
• Match your criteria to your audience’s • Develop your criteria. valid and useful.
needs. • Begin to take notes. • Identify any visuals you may need to
• Consider what genres, media, and evaluate or depict your evaluation.
methods might assist you. • Organize your evaluation.
Draft review anD reviSe

• Confirm your purpose. Review your evaluation for
• Define and explain your criteria. • clarity and concision.
• Define and explain the reason for • accuracy.
the evaluation. • degree of detail appropriate to the situation and purpose.
• Define and explain the subject • extraneous information.
being evaluated. • organizational approach.
• Draft and organize the content of • style appropriate to the situation.
your document. • visual effectiveness and readability.
• Use the visual process to develop • Confirm your research and citations.
any visuals you will need. • Consider revising the title to most accurately reflect the document’s purpose.
• Design your document.
eDit evaluate
• Proofread carefully. • Seek feedback from peers (take advantage of peer editing opportunities).
• Correct all mechanical and • Self-evaluate.
grammatical errors. • Ask for feedback from a representative member of the target audience.
• Ask for feedback from an editor in whom you are confident.
• Evaluate the usefulness of any feedback you receive and revise accordingly.
DiStribute/CirCulate
• Consider technologies of circulation.
• Publish in a form that will be visible within the situation.
• Identify methods for increasing circulation (like search engine optimization) within and beyond the specific situation.
• Consider audience access.
• Identify possible sources of audience response.
222
Writing to Evaluate
Seeking Feedback
Peers, target audiences, and editors can offer valuable observations that will
strengthen your writing. You will encourage more constructive feedback from these
readers if you structure your questions for them carefully. Consider asking these
kinds of questions to get feedback.
evaluation Guidelines
initiAl ReAction content

• Do you agree with the evaluation? Why or why • Does the evaluation reach a judgment based on
not? the criteria?
• Did the evaluation provide all you needed to get a • Does the writer describe and define the criteria?
clear picture of the item evaluated? • Does the writer describe and define the item be-
• Does the author provide enough details? What ing evaluated?
details stand out for you? • What particularly interesting information, if any,
• How clearly are the criteria and method of evalua- does the writer present?
tion explained? • What unnecessary or extraneous information, if
• What is the purpose of the evaluation? any, appears in the evaluation?
• What are the strengths of the evaluation? • What details stand out for you?
• What are the weaknesses of the evaluation?
• Generally speaking, what is the primary thing the visuAls
writer must do to improve this document? • Does the writer use visuals to clarify or explain the
• What details, if any, does the evaluation not in- evaluation?
clude that you thought should be present? • If so, are the visuals appropriate to the purpose?
• Do the visuals work in conjunction with the writing
situAtion or independently?
• Who do you understand this evaluation to be writ- • Are the visuals clear and easy to read?
ten for, and what leads you to that conclusion? • Does the document design distract from or sup-
• Does the evaluation fulfill its purpose effectively? port the purpose and/or readability of the evalua-
tion?
ReAdAbilitY • What recommendations regarding visuals do you
• Did you understand the evaluation? have for the writer?
• Were the judgments clearly explained?
• What parts, if any, are difficult to follow or under- mechAnics
stand? • What evident mechanical distractions, if any, are
• What organizational strategy does the writer use in the document?
to present the evaluation? • Which sentences are unclear, if any?
• Are you able to follow the organization of the • Which sentences or paragraphs are particularly
evaluation? well written, if any?
• Are all references cited appropriately?
223
Writing to Evaluate
Summary
To evaluate is to assess something to determine its worth, merit, and significance and to
articulate that assessment in a clear claim. Evaluation is an act of responsible participation be-
cause the evaluator gathers information, asks questions, and makes relevant judgments that
can affect others. As a result, evaluation is not always safe, but to be ethical and valid, it must
be transparent. Evaluation should be intended for a specific audience and should explain to
that audience what is at stake. It must be conducted using relevant criteria and may require
resources, research, and evidence, which should be described and explained. All evaluations
are based on analysis that leads to an outcome. Visuals can also be evaluated; in addition,
visuals themselves can be used as tools for conveying evaluative information.
Chapter Review
1. What are the primary differences between critical evaluations and everyday evaluations?
2. What are the evaluative characteristics of explicit, rigorous evaluation?
3. Identify and explain eight strategies for writing critical evaluations.
4. What are some methods for developing critical, evaluative criteria?
5. What kinds of visuals evaluate?
Thinking and Writing about the Chapter

Reflection
Now that you have learned more about writing to evaluate, look back to the blog post or jour-
nal entry you wrote in response to the prompt at the beginning of this chapter. How has your
understanding of evaluation changed? Write a follow-up post or entry to explain your new
understanding of evaluation.
Discussion Threads
1. What do you informally evaluate in your college life? How do you conduct those evalua-
tions? What criteria do you use, and how did you select them? Do you evaluate the same
way each time?
2. Review what this chapter says about the ethics of evaluation. Then discuss the role of
ethics in evaluating in a college setting. What are the ethical ramifications of your evalua-
tions of classes, teachers, majors, events, activities, residential and dining facilities, and
resources?
3. This chapter asserts that evaluation is an act of responsible participation because evalu-
ation gathers information, asks questions, and makes relevant judgments that can affect
others. Discuss how writing to evaluate and responsible participation converge in your life
and your classmates’ lives.
224
Writing to Evaluate
Collaboration
1. It is likely that the teacher in the class for which you are using Situations of Writing will ask
you to evaluate your own and your classmates’ writing. Working in small groups, develop
a set of criteria that might be useful for your class to use as guidelines when conducting
such evaluations. Once each group has completed the task, collaborate as a class to
synthesize these sets into a single set of evaluation criteria.
2. The shopping.com network includes a well-used evaluation site called Epinions. Work-
ing in groups, explore the Epinions pages and analyze the evaluative mechanisms there.
What kinds of things are evaluated on Epinions? How does Epinions help establish evalu-
ative criteria for its users? How does it allow users to develop their own evaluative criteria?
Writing
1. Many websites and organizations offer “Top 100” lists, which are forms of evaluation.
Yet, often, the reports of the lists do not include any explanation of criteria or method for
the evaluation. Explore one of the following web pages and then write an evaluation of
the top 100 list, addressing the criteria for the list’s evaluation when you can locate it or
speculating on the criteria when you can’t.
• Top 100 Speeches

• Top 100 Films
• Top 100 Songs
• Top 100 Music Videos
• Top 100 Blogs
• Top 100 Websites
• Top 100 Universities
2. What was the last movie you saw? The last book you read? The last music you pur-
chased? The last app you added to your phone? Using the guidelines provided in this
chapter, write a critical evaluation of any one of these choices.
3. This question has been intentionally omitted from this text.
Local Situation
Chances are your college or university has developed and published policies regarding Inter-
net use. These policies likely include protocols concerning privacy, accessibility, e-mail use,
security, identity, passwords, harassment, and intellectual property. Locate your school’s In-
ternet policies. Write an evaluation either of these policies in general or of one specific policy,
particularly in relation to students.
225
Writing to Evaluate
Credits
credits are listed in order of appearance
Text Credits
Ly, Quang, “Student Essay, Have You Been Bitten? “Rate My Professors Screen grab” from
Evaluating the Success of the Twilight Craze.” ratemyprofessors.com. Used by permission of
“Square Water Bottle Raises $126K on Kickstarter. Viacom.
We Test It Out” by Sean McCoy from Gear Junkie,
Copyright © 2012. Used by permission of Gear
Junkie LLC.
Photo Credits
© incamerastock / Alamy; Quang Ly; (t): Sean McCoy; (b): CleanBottle.com; CleanBottle.com;
PETER AUSTER KRT/Newscom
226
The Research Essay
From Chapter 17 of The Writer’s World: Essays, Fourth Edition. Lynne Gaetz, Suneeti Phadke. Copyright ©
2018 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
227
The Research
Essay
Learning
Objectives
1 Plan a research essay.

2 Gather information.
3 Evaluate sources.
4 Take notes.
5 Organize your first
draft.
6 Incorporate visuals.
7 Cite sources.
8 Avoid plagiarism.
When preparing a new meal, you may follow the recipe of an experienced chef
9 Integrate and add your own touches. In the same way, when you write a research essay,
paraphrases, you cite other people’s ideas and combine them with your own to make a more
summaries, and convincing paper.
quotations.
10 Use MLA style.
Writers’ Exchange
11 Review a sample
research essay. Work with a partner. Match the word in Column A with a word that has
a similar purpose or meaning in Column B. Then discuss the differences
between the two words in each pair.
A B
MLA Footnote
Works Cited Plagiarism
Copying Indirect quotation
Parenthetical documentation APA
Paraphrase Bibliography
228
The Research Essay
Planning a Research Essay

1 Plan a research essay.
Conducting research means looking for information that will help you better
understand a subject. Knowing how to locate, evaluate, and use information from
other sources is valuable in your work and day-to-day activities. It is also crucial in
college writing because, in many of your assignments, you are expected to include
information from outside sources. In this chapter, you learn some strategies for
writing a research paper.
Determining Your Topic

In some courses, your instructor will ask you to write a research paper about a
specific topic. However, if you are not assigned one, you will need to think about
issues related to your field of study or to your personal interests.
The scope of your topic should match the size of the assignment. Longer
essays may have a broader topic, but a short research essay (of three or four pages)
must have a rather narrow focus. If you have a very specific focus, you will be
able to delve more thoroughly into the topic. To help find and develop a topic, try
exploring strategies such as freewriting, questioning, or brainstorming.
Finding a Guiding Research Question

The point of a research essay is not simply to collect information and summarize
it; the idea is to gather information that relates directly to your guiding research
question. To help you determine your central question, brainstorm a list of
questions that you would like your research to answer.
For example, John Cary Nuez wants to write about the military, so he could
ask himself some questions to narrow his topic.
What are the major dangers for U.S. soldiers?
Are women effective in combat mission roles?
What types of people make the best soldiers?
Nuez’s next step is to find a guiding research question that can become the focus
of his essay.
Should women have combat roles in war zones?
Gathering Information
2 Gather information.
Once you know what information you seek, you can begin gathering ideas, facts,
quotations, anecdotes, and examples about the research topic you have chosen.
Before you begin to gather information, consider how to find it and how to sort
the valid information from the questionable information.
229
The Research Essay
The Writer’s Desk: Find a Research Topic

Choose a general topic that you might like to write about.
Topic:
Now ask five or six questions to help you narrow the topic.
Decide which question will become your guiding research question, and write
it here.
Consulting Library-Based Sources

Today’s technological advances in both print and electronic publishing
make it easier than ever to access information. For sources, you can consult
encyclopedias, online catalogs in libraries, periodicals, and the Internet.
Here are some tips for finding information about your topic through
library resources.
• Ask a reference librarian to help you locate information using various

research tools, such as online catalogs, CD-ROMs, and microfiches.
Before meeting with the librarian, write down some questions that you
would like the answers to. Possible questions might be Can I access the
library’s online databases from my home computer? and Can you recommend
a particular online database?
• Search the library’s online holdings. You can search by keyword,
author, title, or subject. Using an online catalog, a student typed in the
key words addiction and biology and found the following book.
230
The Research Essay
Author Goldstein, Avram

Title Addiction: from biology to drug policy
Imprint New York: Oxford University Press, 2001
Call Number RC564.G66 2001
Location NRG – Book Shelves
Status Available
Description 353 p.; 24 cm.
ISBN 0195146638
Notice that the listing gives the call number, which helps you locate the book
on the library shelves. If the catalog is part of a library network, the online
listing explains which library to visit. Because books are organized by topic,
chances are good that you will find other relevant books near the one you
have chosen.
• Use online periodicals in libraries. Your library may have access to
EBSCOhost® or INFOtrac. By typing keywords into EBSCO, you can search
through national or international newspapers, magazines, or reference books.
When you find an article that you need, print it or cut and paste it into a word
processing file, and then email the document to yourself. Remember to print
or copy the publication data because you will need that information when you
cite your source.
Searching the Internet

Search engines such as Google and Yahoo! can rapidly retrieve thousands
of documents from the Internet. However, most people do not need as many
documents as those engines can generate. Here are some tips to help make your
Internet searches focused and efficient.
• Choose your keywords with care. Imagine you want information

about new fuel sources for automobiles. If you type the words
alternative energy in Google’s keyword search space, you will come
up with ten million entries (also known as “hits”). Think about more
precise terms that could help you limit your search. For instance, if
you are really interested in fuel sources for automobiles, you might
change your search request to alternative car fuel. If you do not find
information on your topic, think about synonyms or alternative
ways to describe it.
• Use quotation marks to limit the search. Remember that you are
driving the search, and you can control how many hits you get.
By putting quotation marks around your search query, you limit
the number of sites to those that contain all of the words that you
231
The Research Essay
requested. For example, when you input the words alternative car fuel
into Google, you will have more than three million hits. When the same
words are enclosed within quotation marks, the number of hits is reduced
significantly.
• Use bookmarks. When you find information that might be useful, create a
folder where you can store the information in a “bookmark” or “favorites” list.
Then you can easily find it later. (The bookmark icon appears on the toolbar
of your search engine.)
• Use academic search engines. Sites such as Google Scholar or Virtual Learning
Resources Center help you look through academic publications such as theses,
peer-reviewed papers, books, and articles. To find more academic sites, simply
do a search for “academic search engines.”
Conducting Interviews or Surveys

You can support your research essay with information from an interview. Speak to
an expert in the field or someone who is directly affected by an issue. If you record
the interview, ensure that your subject gives you permission to do so. Remember
to plan the interview before you meet the person and list key questions that you
would like answered. Include the person’s complete name and qualifications in
your research notes.
Another source of information can be a survey, which is an assessment of the
views of many people. For example, if you are writing about a tuition fee increase,
you can survey students to gather their opinions. When you plan your survey,
follow some basic guidelines:
• Determine your goal. What do you want to discover?

• Determine the age, gender, and status of the respondents (people you will
survey). For example, you might decide to survey equal-sized groups of males
and females or those over and under twenty-five years of age.
• Decide how many people you will survey. Survey at least ten people (or a
number determined by your instructor).
• Determine the type of survey you will do. Will you survey people using the
phone, email, or written forms? Keep in mind that people are more likely to
obscure the truth when asked questions directly, especially if the questions are
embarrassing or very personal. For example, if you ask someone whether he
agrees or disagrees with legalized abortion, he might present a viewpoint that
he thinks you or nearby listeners will accept. The same person might be more
honest in an anonymous written survey.
• Plan your survey questions. If gender, age, marital status, or job status are
important, place questions about those items at the beginning of your survey.
When you form your questions, do not ask open-ended, essay-type questions
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because it will be difficult to compile the results. Instead, ask yes/no questions
or provide a choice of answers. Sample questions:
What is your gender? male _____ female _____
How often do you use the public transit system (the bus, subway, or train)?
_____ weekdays _____ about once a week
_____ rarely or never _____ about once a month
Tech Link
If you want to determine your respondents’ knowledge about a topic, include There are many online
an “I don’t know” response. Otherwise, people will make selections that survey tools that help
you draft questions
could skew your survey results. easily and distribute
surveys electronically.
Has Jackson Monroe done a good job as student union leader? Two examples are
Google Forms and
_____ yes _____ no _____ I don’t know SurveyMonkey.
Evaluating Sources
3 Evaluate sources.
When you see sources published in print or online, especially when they are
attention-grabbing with color or graphics, you may forget to question whether
those sources are reliable. For instance, a company’s website advertising an
alternative cancer therapy might be less reliable than an article in a scientific
journal by a team of oncologists (doctors who treat cancer).
HINT: Questions for Evaluating a Source

Each time you find a source, ask yourself the following questions:
• Will the information support the point that I want to make?
• Is the information current? When was the site last updated? Ask yourself
if the date is appropriate for your topic.
• Is the site reliable and highly regarded? For instance, is it from a
well-respected newspaper, magazine, or journal? Is the English
grammatically correct?
• Is the author an expert on the subject? (Many sites provide biographical
information about the author.)
• Does the writer present a balanced view, or does he or she clearly favor
one viewpoint over another? Ask yourself if the writer has a political or
financial interest in the issue.
• Is there advertising on the site? Consider how advertising might
influence the site’s content.
• Do different writers supply the same information on various sites?
Information is more likely to be reliable if multiple sources cite the same facts.
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Practice 1
Imagine that you are conducting research about the safety of bottled water.
Answer the questions by referring to the list of Web entries that follows the
questions.
1. Write the letters of three Web hits that are not useful for your essay. For
each one you choose, explain why.
2. Write the letters of the three Web hits that you should investigate
further. Briefly explain how each one could be useful.
A. Should I stop drinking bottled water? | Life and style | The ...
www.theguardian.com › Lifestyle › Health & wellbeing
Jun 1, 2015 - There is no evidence bottled water is better for you and,
indeed, it may be less safe than tap water.
B. There Can Be Dangers Of Drinking Bottled Water | Water Purifiers

http://www.home-water-distiller.com/waterpurifiers/drinkingwater/
there-can-be-dangers .. . 62/
22 Aug 2008 . . . Water is an excellent way to keep your mind sharp
and your body in excellent shape as most everyone in the world
already knows.
C. Healthy Diet Info Zone: BOTTLED WATER - DANGER!!!

http://health-diet-info.blogspot.com/2008/05. . .html
BOTTLED WATER - DANGER!!! Posted by Martin | 6:55 AM.
Healthy Drinks · 0 comments. Bottled water in your car . . .
very dangerous, woman! . . .
D. Bottled vs. Tap

http://pediatrics.about.com. . .a/080702_ask_3.htm
Is the extra cost of bottled water vs. tap water worth it? . . . “consumers
should feel confident of the safety of their water,” says Stew Thornley,
a water quality health educator with the Minnesota Department
of Health. . . .
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E. City still in shock over water danger

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-02/23... htm
City still in shock over water danger. By Qian Yanfeng (China Daily)
“. . . but I’m still drinking bottled water and only use tap water for
washing,” he said. . . .
F. ABC News: Study: Bottled Water No Safer Than Tap Water

http://abcnews.go.com...id=87558&page=
Bottled water users were twice as likely as others to cite health for
their choice of beverage, the study found. Fifty-six percent of
bottled water users . . .
HINT: Do Not Pay for Online Articles

Ignore websites that offer to sell articles or essays. There are many free online
journals, magazines, and newspapers that contain articles suitable for a
research project. Also find out if your college has access to extensive online
databases such as EBSCO.
The Writer’s Desk: Research Your Topic

Using the guiding research question that you developed in the previous Writer’s Desk,
list some keywords that you can use to research your topic.
Using the library and the Internet, find some sources that you can use for your research
essay. You might also conduct interviews or prepare a survey. Print out relevant online
sources, and keep track of your source information.
Taking Notes
4 Take notes.
As you research your topic, keep careful notes on paper, on note cards, or in
computer files. Do not rely on your memory! You would not want to spend
several weeks researching, only to accidentally plagiarize because you had not
adequately acknowledged some sources.
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The Research Essay
Look for sources that support your thesis statement. Each time you find a
source that seems relevant, keep a detailed record of its publication information
so that you can easily cite the source when you begin to write your research essay.
You will find important information about preparing in-text citations and a Works
Cited (MLA) list later in this chapter.
For example, a student created the following note card after finding source
material in the library.
Author: Morris, Charles G. and Albert A. Maisto

Title: Understanding Psychology, 11th ed.
Publisher: Pearson
Date: 2016
Page 406: Wartime experiences often cause soldiers intense and

disabling combat stress that persists long after they have left the
battlefield.
Finding Complete Source Information

Source information is easy to find in most print publications. It is usually on the
copyright page, which is often the second or third page of the book, magazine, or
newspaper. On many Internet sites, however, finding the same information can
take more investigative work. When you research on the Internet, look for the
home page to find the site’s title, publication date, and so on. Record as much
information from the site as possible.
Book, Magazine, Newspaper Website

Author’s full name Author’s full name
Title of article or chapter Title of article
Title of book, magazine, or newspaper Title of site
Publishing information (name of publisher Publisher of site
and date of publication) Date of publication or update
date that you accessed the site
Volume and number of a series, and page Complete website address
numbers used
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Magazine Title
Date
Page Number
Article Title
Author
237
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Newspaper Title
Date
Page Number
Article Title
Author
238
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Title of Site
Title of article
Date of
publication
About ScienceDaily® | Editorial Staff | Awards & Reviews | Contribute News | Advertise With Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
Publisher Copyright © 1995–2010 ScienceDaily LLC — All rights reserved — Contact: editor@sciencedaily.com
Note: This web site is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Part of the iVillage Your Total Health Network
HINT: Avoid Plagiarism

Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism is using someone else’s work without giving
that person credit—even if you did it unintentionally. Such an act is considered
stealing and is a very serious offense. Always make sure that your notes
contain detailed and clear source information. Then, when you later quote,
paraphrase, or summarize another’s work, you can cite the source.
The Writer’s Desk: Take Notes

Use your topic from the previous Writer’s Desk. Take notes from the sources that you
have found. In your notes, include direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries.
Organize your sources, and keep a record of them. For more information about quoting,
paraphrasing, and summarizing, see the sections Avoid Plagiarism and Integrating
Paraphrases, Summaries, and Quotations later in this chapter.
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Organizing Your First Draft

5 Organize your first draft.
For research essays, as for any other type of essay, planning is essential. After you
have evaluated the material that you have gathered, decide how you will organize
your material. Group your notes under the main points that you would like to
develop. Then arrange your ideas in a logical order. You might choose to use
spatial, chronological, or emphatic order.
Writing a Thesis Statement

After taking notes, plan your thesis statement. Your thesis statement expresses
the main focus of your essay. You can convert your guiding research question
into a thesis statement. For instance, John Cary Nuez wrote the guiding research
question: Should women have combat roles in war zones? After researching and
gathering material, he reworked his question to create a thesis statement.
Women should be retained only for combat support roles and not for
direct combat engagements.
Creating an Outline
An outline or plan will help you organize your ideas. Write your main points, and
list supporting details and examples. You can mention the sources you intend to
use to support specific points. After looking at your preliminary outline, check if
there are any holes in your research. If necessary, do more research to fill in those
holes before writing your first draft.
JOhN’S PrEliMiNAry OUTliNE
Thesis: Women should be retained only for combat support roles and not
for direct combat engagements.
1. Women acquire combat training–related injuries more than men.
—Women have a greater risk of injury than men. (UK Ministry of Defense)
—Injured female combatants may cause problems for entire unit.
2. Women cannot meet the same physical training standards as
required by men.
—Very few women qualified for the first phase of courses (Kamarck).
—Female marines cannot equal men in training performance (Leiby).
3. Women are essential to combat missions in their combat support roles.
—They are exposed to similar danger and stress as men (Morris).
—They participate in meaningful actions.
—They have special and useful skills (Mulrine).
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The Research Essay
The Writer’s Desk: Make a Preliminary Plan

Write a thesis statement for your essay. Then organize your topic and make a plan. In
your preliminary plan, include source information. Remember that this is not a final plan.
You can add or remove information afterward.
Incorporating Visuals
6 incorporate visuals.
Visuals—such as charts, maps, graphs, photos, or diagrams—can help to clarify,
summarize, emphasize, or illustrate certain concepts in research essays. For
example, a graph showing the falling crime rate can be an effective way to
support an argument that policing methods have become increasingly successful.
Remember to use visuals sparingly and to cite them properly.
Most word processing programs offer templates for many visuals. For example,
the toolbar in MS Word allows you to select Chart under Insert to create line, bar,
pie, and other types of charts. Simply input your own data, and the program will
create the chart for you. The following charts are standard templates from MS Word.
100 100
80 80 1st Qtr
East
60 60 2nd Qtr
East West
40 40 3rd Qtr
West North
20 4th Qtr
20 North 0
0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Qtr Qtr Qtr Qtr
Qtr Qtr Qtr Qtr
Other visuals can be useful for illustrating concepts. Often, readers prefer
seeing an object or idea in context rather than trying to understand it in writing.
Basic diagrams, like the one shown here, can be especially useful for scientific
and technical writing.
radio waves
receiver where
waves are collected
waves
converted into
electro signals
computer
received as signal
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The Research Essay
HINT: Using Visuals

Here are some recommendations for using visuals in an academic
research essay:
• Ask your instructor whether you are permitted to use visuals in your
essay and, if so, where you need to insert them (in the body of your
essay or in an appendix).
• Include a label above each visual to clearly identify it. For example, you
can number figures and tables sequentially: Figure 1, Figure 2, or Table 1,
Table 2, and so on.
• Place a caption alongside or under the visual to help the reader
understand it.
• Acknowledge the source of any visual that you borrow.
• Explain in the text how the visual supports a specific point. For example,
in the body of your paper, you might write Figure 2 illustrates how the
crime rate has fallen steadily since the 1990s.
Citing Sources
7 Cite sources.
Each time you borrow someone’s words, ideas, or images, you must cite or
credit the source to avoid plagiarizing. There are two places you need to cite
sources in your research essays—in the essay and at the end of it. Use in-text
citations (also known as parenthetical citations) as you incorporate quotations,
paraphrases, or summaries. Then, cite the sources in an alphabetized list at the
end of your essay. The title of this source list depends on the documentation style
you choose. For example, the Modern Language Association (MLA) refers to the
list as Works Cited and the American Psychological Association (APA) refers to
it as References. This chapter presents MLA guidelines. For information about
APA guidelines, you can go to their website.
HINT: Choose a Documentation Style

A documentation style is a method of presenting the material that you have
researched. Three common sources for documenting style are the Modern
Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological Association (APA),
and the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). Before writing a research essay, check
with your instructor about which documentation style you should use and
where you can find more information about it.
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Avoid Plagiarism
8 Avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarism is the act of using someone else’s words or ideas without giving that
person credit. Plagiarism is a very serious offense and can result in expulsion
from a course or termination from work. Always acknowledge the source when
you borrow material.
The following actions are examples of plagiarism.
• copying and pasting text from an Internet source without using quotation
marks to properly set off the author’s words
• using ideas from another source without citing that source
• making slight modifications to an author’s sentences but presenting the work
as your own
• buying another work and presenting it as your own
• using another student’s work and presenting it as your own
HINT: Be Careful
The Internet has made it easier to plagiarize, but it is also easier for instructors
to catch cheaters. To avoid plagiarism, always cite the source when you
borrow words or ideas.
Integrating Paraphrases, Summaries,

and Quotations
9 integrate paraphrases, summaries, and quotations.
In a research essay, you can support your main points with paraphrases,
summaries, and integrated quotations. They strengthen your research paper and
make it more forceful and convincing.
• A paraphrase is an indirect quotation. It is roughly the same length as the

author’s original words. When you paraphrase, restate someone’s ideas using
your own words.
• A summary is another type of indirect quotation. It is shorter than a paraphrase
and includes only the main ideas of the original work.
• A direct quotation contains the exact words of the speaker or writer, and it is
set off with quotation marks.
All of these strategies are valid ways to incorporate research into your writing, as
long as you give credit to the author or speaker. Review examples of a paraphrase,
summary, and quotation.
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Original Selection
Identity marketing is a promotional strategy whereby consumers alter some
aspects of themselves to advertise for a branded product. A British marketing
firm paid five people to legally change their names for one year to “Turok,”
the hero of a video game series about a time-traveling Native American who
slays bionically enhanced dinosaurs. In another case, the Internet Underground
Music Archive (IUMA) paid Kansas parents $5,000 to name their baby boy
Iuma. Body art is the most common form of identity advertising. Air New
Zealand created “cranial billboards” in exchange for a round-trip ticket to New
Zealand; thirty Los Angeles participants shaved their heads and walked around
with an ad for the airline on their skulls. Some companies pay people to display
more permanent body art. The Casa Sanchez restaurant in San Francisco gives
free lunches for life to anyone who gets its logo tattooed on his or her body. The
Daytona Cubs baseball team awards free season tickets for life to anyone who
will tattoo the Cubs logo on his or her body.
—Solomon, Michael R. Consumer Behavior. 12th ed., Pearson, 2016, p. 557.
Paraphrase
In his book Consumer Behavior, Michael R. Solomon discusses a marketing

trend called identity marketing. Citizens receive a financial incentive to
promote a company in some way. For example, an advertising company paid
people to briefly rename themselves after a popular game’s lead character. An
online music archive offered cash to parents who would name their baby after
the company. The most widespread form of identity marketing occurs when
people agree to have their head shaved or their body tattooed in exchange
for some reward, such as a free flight, a lifetime supply of baseball tickets, or
unlimited free lunches (557).
Summary
Mention source Michael R. Solomon, in his book Consumer Behavior, discusses a marketing
trend called identity marketing. Examples include some firms who pay
people to adopt the company’s name and companies who give rewards such
as free lunches or sports tickets to those who agree to be tattooed with the
business’s name (557).
Quotation
In his book Consumer Behavior, Michael R. Solomon discusses identity

marketing, which is “a promotional strategy whereby consumers alter some
aspects of themselves to advertise for a branded product” (557).
How to Summarize and Paraphrase

When you paraphrase or summarize, you restate someone’s ideas using your
own words. The main difference between a paraphrase and a summary is the
244
The Research Essay
length. A paraphrase can be close to the same length as the original selection, but
a summary is much shorter.
To paraphrase or summarize, do the following:
• Paraphrase if your audience needs detailed information about the subject.

• Summarize if the audience needs to know only general information.
• A summary is generally a maximum of 30 percent of the length of the original
selection.
• Restate the main ideas using your own words. You can keep specialized words,
common words, and names of people or places. However, find synonyms for
other words, and use your own sentence structure.
• Maintain the original author’s ideas and intent.
• Acknowledge the source. Mention the author or title of the work. When
available, also include the page number.
• Proofread your writing to ensure that you have expressed the message in your
own words.
HINT: Should I Paraphrase, Summarize, or Quote?

In a research essay, include some quotations, but do not overwhelm your
reader with other people’s direct speech. Instead, sprinkle in very short
paraphrases, summaries, and quotations, when needed, to back up your
arguments.
MLA Style: In-Text Citations

10 Use MlA style.
When you paraphrase, summarize, or quote, you must cite the source in the body
of the essay. You must also cite the source in a Works Cited page at the end of
your essay.
You can do in-text citations in two different ways. Note that these methods
must be used with paraphrases, summaries, and quotations.
1. Cite the source in the sentence.

Mention the author’s name in the sentence. If you are using a print source, then
put the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
Author’s name page number in parentheses

Virginia Postrel mentions that the crisis became a national obsession (44).
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The Research Essay
For online sources, mention the author’s name. No page number is necessary.
Michelle Singletary mentions the misconception: “If you have a
federal student loan, it can’t be discharged in bankruptcy.”
If an online source does not provide an author’s name, mention the article’s
title or the website title in the sentence.
According to “Student Debt Assistance,” too many students have
extremely high credit card balances.
2. Cite the source in parentheses following the sentence.

In parentheses after the selection, put the author’s last name and the page
number, with no punctuation in between.
The crisis was on everyone’s mind: “On the subject of credit, bad news
Name and page number
sells” (Postrel 44).
For online sources, put the author’s last name in parentheses. For e-books,
include the chapter number if possible.
Students cannot simply refuse to pay a student loan from the federal
government (Singletary).
If the online source does not provide an author’s name, write a short form of
the title in parentheses.
The student debt load is worrisome: “Today, the average time it takes
to retire undergraduate loans is 19.7 years” (“Student”).
HINT: Quoting from a Secondary Source

Some works include quotations from other people. If an author is quoted in
a secondary source, then put the abbreviation qtd. in, meaning “quoted in,”
in parentheses.
Hillel Black describes a “consumer credit explosion that makes the
population explosion seem small” (qtd. in Postrel 45).
Practice 2
Read the next selection and then write a paraphrase, a summary, and a direct
quotation. Remember to acknowledge the source.
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Original Selection
Although fewer Americans are smoking (down to about 25 percent
from over 40 percent in the sixties), women and teenagers are actually
smoking more than before. This is alarming news when one considers
the toxic nature of nicotine: In the 1920s and 1930s, it was used as an
insecticide and is considered to be highly toxic and fast acting. Although the
amount of nicotine in a cigarette is low, first-time smokers often experience
nausea as a result of the toxic effects after just a few puffs.
—Ciccarelli, Saundra K. Psychology. Pearson, 2009, pp. 148–149.
1. Write a paraphrase.
2. Write a summary.
3. Write a direct quotation.
Practice 3
Practice identifying plagiarism. Read the following selection, and then
determine if the paraphrase and summaries contain plagiarized information.
Check for copied words or phrases, and also determine if the source is
properly mentioned.
Original Selection
Having children can affect marital satisfaction. Studies show that
parents report lower levels of satisfaction compared to nonparents. Mothers
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The Research Essay
of infants, however, show the greatest difference in marital contentment

when compared to women with no children at all. In general, the data show
that satisfaction for both men and women decreases after the birth of the
first child. Researchers suggest that this is, in large part, due to conflicts
that come about from parenting and decreased levels of personal freedom.
Children demand attention and force a shift in roles from husband/wife to
father/mother. Regardless of the form of the study, parents exhibit lower
levels of a sense of well-being while expressing more frequent negative
emotions than do peers who are without children.
—Carl, John D. Think: Social Problems. 2nd ed., Pearson, 2013, p. 219.
1. Paraphrase
In Think: Social Problems, John D. Carl writes that parents have a lower rate
of marital happiness than couples without children. Mothers of infants
show the greatest difference in marital happiness, perhaps because
there are many conflicts that are caused by the presence of children. For
instance, children demand attention and couples experience a shift in
roles from spouses to parents. Also, parents have decreased levels of
personal freedom. They express more frequent negative emotions than
nonparents (219).
Is this an example of plagiarism? yes _______ no _______
Why?
2. Summary
In Think: Social Problems, John D. Carl writes that childless couples are
actually more satisfied than those with children. The decline in happiness
may partially be due to the stresses involved in parenting. Mothers and
fathers see their liberty eroded as they expend a lot of time and energy
taking care of their offspring (219).
Why?
3. Summary
Studies show that parents do not feel as content as nonparents, mainly
because there are many stresses involved in raising children. Mothers
and fathers have a lot of restrictions on their personal time, and their role
as spouse is taken over by the role of caretaker. Thus, they have a more
pessimistic outlook than child-free couples.
Why?
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MLA: Preparing a Works Cited List

An MLA-style Works Cited list appears at the end of a research essay. It gives
readers details about each source from which you have borrowed material
to write your essay. Works Cited is not the same as a running bibliography,
which lists all of the sources you consulted while you were researching your
essay topic. In a Works Cited list, include only works that you have quoted,
paraphrased, or summarized.
To prepare a Works Cited list, follow these basic guidelines.
1. A Works Cited list always starts on a new page. Put your name and page number
in the upper right-hand corner, as you do on all other pages of the essay.
2. Write “Works Cited” at the top of the page and center it. Do not italicize it,
underline it, or put quotation marks around it.
3. List each source alphabetically, using the author’s last name.
4. Indent the second line and all subsequent lines of each entry five spaces.
5. Double-space all lines.
Parts of a Works Cited Reference

A work cited reference has the following parts.
1. Author Complete last name, first name
2. Title of Source:
Title of short work “Article” or “Short Story”
Title of long work Book or Magazine or Website Name
3. Container (information to identify
the location of the source)
–Title of container where the source Title of Book, Series, Journal, or
can be found Website
–Other contributors Edited by, Translated by,
Illustrated by, Adapted by,
Directed by, and Narrated by
–Version 2nd ed., 3rd ed., or Updated ed.
–Volume and issue numbers Vol. 8, no. 4
–Publisher Complete Name of Company or
Organization (unless the website
name is essentially the same as the
publisher’s name)
–Date of publication 2016
–Time of publication for a Webpage 12:34 a.m.
–Page number(s) in print sources p. 21 or pp. 419–422
–Website Url (omit the http://) or
digital object identifier (DOi)
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ExAMPlE
Miller, Barbara. Cultural Anthropology in a Globalizing World.
4th ed., Pearson, 2017, pp. 205–243.
Sample MLA-Style Works Cited Entries

The following are a few sample entries for various publications. The MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers has a complete list of sample entries. As
you look at the samples, notice how they are punctuated.
Model Entries
BOOkS
comma period period comma comma period
Last name, First name. Title of Book. edition, Publisher, Year.
One author
Carl, John D. Think: Social Problems. 2nd ed., Pearson, 2013.
Two authors
After the first author’s last and first name, write the first and last name of the
second author. Write and before the second author name.
Wade, Carole, and Carol Tavris. Psychology. 12th ed., Pearson, 2016.
Three or more authors

Put the first author’s name followed by et al., which means “and others.”
Manza, Jeff, et al. The Sociology Project 2.0. Pearson, 2016.
Editor instead of an author

Write the editor’s name followed by editor.
Gansworth, Eric, editor. Sovereign Bones: New Native American Writing.

Nation, 2007.
Two or more books by the same author

Write the author’s name in the first entry only. In subsequent entries, type three
hyphens followed by a period. Then add the title.
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 1969.
---. Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me. Random House, 2006.
A work in an anthology
For articles or essays taken from an anthology or edited collection, mention
the author and title of the article first. Then write the anthology’s title followed
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The Research Essay
by edited by and the name of the editor. End with the publisher, year, and page
numbers of the piece you are citing.
Weaskus, Jeanette. “A Ghost Dance for Words.” Sovereign Bones: New

Native American Writing, edited by Eric Gansworth, Nation, 2007,
pp. 129–134.
A previously published article in a collection

Some collections give information about a previously published article on the
page where the article appears. After the title of the work, include the date of the
original publication. Then include the title of the collection.
Buchenwald, Art. “The Hydrogen Bomb Lobby.” 1981. Controversy:

Issues for Reading and Writing, edited by Judith J. Pula, et al.,
3rd ed., Pearson, 2005, pp. 178–180.
A book in a series
If the book is part of a series, then end your citation with the series name (but do
not italicize it or set it off in any way).
Fiorina, Morris P., et al., editors. Culture War? 3rd ed., Pearson, 2011.
Great Questions in Politics.
Encyclopedia and dictionary

When encyclopedias and dictionaries list items alphabetically, you can omit
volume and page numbers. It is sufficient to list the edition and year of
publication.
“Democracy.” New Oxford American Dictionary. 3rd ed., 2016.
PEriODiCAlS
Last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine,

Newspaper, or Journal, volume, number, date, pages.
Note: If the pages are not consecutive, put the first page number and a plus sign (81+).
Newspaper article
Gillis, Justin. “In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change.”
The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2016, pp. 6–7.
Magazine article
Goodell, Jeff. “The Rise of Intelligent Machines.” Rolling Stone, 10 Mar.
2016, pp. 44–51.
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The Research Essay
Editorial
Put the editor’s name first. If the editorial is unsigned, begin with the title. Put
“Editorial” after the title.
“Gun Ownership Does Not Make Women Safer.” Editorial, Boston Globe,
10 Feb. 2016, p. A19.
Journal article
Seligman, Martin. “The American Way of Blame.” APA Monitor, vol. 29,
no. 7, 1998, p. 97.
ElECTrONiC (iNTErNET) SOUrCES

When using a source published on the Internet, include as much of the following
information as you can find. Keep in mind that some sites do not contain complete
information. Put a comma after the publisher or sponsor. include the complete
Url address or DOI (digital object identifier) of scholarly articles. Leave out
“http://” from the URL address and end the citation with a period.
Last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Site or Online

Publication, Publisher or Sponsor (if available), Date, URL or DOI.
Personal website article
Winterson, Jeannette. “Gnomon.” Jeannette Winterson, 31 Jul. 2015,

jeanettewinterson.com/category/stories/.
E-Book
Format the e-book reference like you would if it were a print version, but add
the URL.
Heywood, Ian, et al. An Introduction to Geographical Information

Systems. 4th ed., Pearson, 2011, Amazon Digital Services,
www.amazon.ca/Introduction-Geographical-Information-Systems-
4th/dp/027372259X.
Online newspaper article

Macdonald, Nancy. “Canada’s Prisons are the ‘New Residential Schools.’”
Maclean’s, Rogers Digital Media, 18 Feb. 2016, www.macleans.ca/
news/canada/canadas-prisons-are-the-new-residential-schools/.
Sisson, Paul. “Flue Caseload Spikes in San Diego County.” San Diego
Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2016, 5:50 p.m., www.sandiegouniontribune.
com/news/2016/feb/17/flu-week6-spike/.
Online magazine article

Alos-Ferrer, C., et al. “Inertia and Decision Making.” Frontiers in Psychology,
vol. 7, no. 169, 16 Feb. 2016, PMC, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00169.
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The Research Essay
Online dictionary
“Prescient.” Dictionary.com, 26 Apr. 2016, www.dictionary.com/browse/
prescient.
Web-only article
Leonard, Andrew. “America Favors the Rich.” Salon, 28 Aug. 2012, www
.salon.com/2012/08/28/the_class_warfare_trap/.
No listed author
If the site does not list an author’s name, begin with the title of the article.
“Mass Layoff Summary.” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13 May 2013, www
.bls.gov/news.release/mslo.nr0.htm.
OThEr TyPES Of SOUrCES

film or online video
For a film, include the names of the most relevant contributors to the project. For
instance, you could include the name of the the director and/or main performers.
Also mention the studio and the year of release. For an online video, include the
website link.
Note: If the video is long, include the exact time of the video that you are
referencing in your in-text citation.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Directed by Zack Snyder,

performance by Ben Affleck, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2016.
“A New Direction on Drugs.” 60 Minutes. Interview by Scott Pelley,

CBSnews, 13 Dec. 2015, www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-a-new-
direction-on-drugs-2/.
radio or television program

Include the segment title, title of the series, creator, season, episode, and date.
“The Real Killer.” The Catch, created by Jennifer Schuur and Helen
Gregory, performance by Mireille Enos, season 1, episode 2,
Shondaland ABC Studios, 2016.
Sound recording
Include the name of the performer or band, the title of the song, the title of the
CD, the name of the recording company, and the year of release. If it is a digital
source, include the URL.
Beyoncé. “Daddy Lessons.” Lemonade, Beyoncé Knowles, 2016, iTunes.

apple.com/us/album/lemonade/id1107429221.
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The Research Essay
Social Media
For a tweet, copy the full text and place in quotation marks. For a Facebook post,
just use the first line of the post as your title. Include the time of the posting as
well as the date.
Last name, First name (or in a Tweet, the user name). “Entire tweet or first
few words of Facebook update.” Twitter or Facebook, Date posted,
Time viewed, URL.
@StLouisBlues. ”Thanks to all our fans for making 2015–16 another

incredible season.” Twitter, 27 May 2016, 10:00 a.m., twitter.com/
hashtag/WeAllBleedBlue?src=hash&lang=en.
@dottynixon. “For my next writing project, finally got around to reading
the Canadian Constitution. Funny what work you put off.” Twitter,
15 Oct. 2017, 10:15 a.m., twitter.com/dottynixon.
Paranjape, Meghana. ”Monkeying around in the forest . . . .”
Facebook, 30 Mar. 2015, 2:18 p.m., www.facebook.com/meghana.
paranjape?fref=ts.
HINT: Placement and Order of Works Cited

The Works Cited list should be at the end of the research paper. List sources
in alphabetical order of the authors’ last names. If there is no author, put
the title in the alphabetized list. The example is a Works Cited page for the
quotations listed earlier.
Works Cited
Postrel, Virginia. “The Case for Debt.” The Atlantic, Nov. 2008, pp. 44–47.
Singletary, Michelle. “The Color of Money.” The Washington Post,
28 Apr. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/people/michelle-
singletary.
“3 Unexpected Stats Proving College Loans Confound Both Students
and Administrators.” American Student Assistance, 26 Apr. 2016, www
.asa.org/for-partners/schools/content-pages/3-unexpected-stats-
proving-college-loans-confound-both-students-and-administrators/.
Practice 4
Imagine that you are using the following sources in a research paper. Arrange
the sources for a Works Cited list using MLA style. Remember to place the
items in alphabetical order.
• You use a definition of “stress” from the online dictionary Dictionary.com.

The year of publication is 2016. You accessed the site today.
• You quote from the 12th edition of the textbook Society: The Basics by John
J. Macionis. The book was published by Pearson in 2017.
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The Research Essay
• You use statistics from the article “Sleeping Disorder Statistics.” It is on the
website Statistic Brain Research Institute. The data on the website is from
April 12, 2015. There is no author. The URL is www.statisticbrain.com/
sleeping-disorder-statistics/.
• You quote from the article “Is Stress Contagious?” by Beth Levine from
the magazine O, The Oprah Magazine. The article is on page 81 in the June
2014 issue.
• You quote from the article “How Stress Harms the Heart” by Alexandra
Sifferlin. It appeared in Time. It was published on March 24, 2016. The URL
is time.com/4270655/how-stress-harms-the-heart/.
Works Cited
The Writer’s Desk: Write a Research Essay

Write your research essay. After you write your first draft, revise and edit it. Remember
to double-space your essay and include a Works Cited page.
Sample Research Essay

11 review a sample research essay.
Title Pages and Outlines

Although MLA does not insist on an outline for a research essay, your instructor
may request one.
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The Research Essay
Outline
Thesis: For the Armed Forces to be battle ready and effective,

women should be retained only for combat support roles
and not for direct combat engagements.
I. Women acquire combat training related injuries more
than men.
A. Women have a greater risk of MSK injury than men.
B. Such injuries can cause a loss in duty time.
C. High level of injury of female combatants may
cause problems for entire unit.
II. Women cannot meet the same physical training
standards as required by men.
A. Congress is reviewing standards to establish
gender-neutral tests.
B. Very few women qualified for the first phase of the
course at Army Ranger School.
C. Female marines cannot equal men in training
performance.
III. Women are essential to combat missions in their
combat support roles.
A. They are exposed to similar danger and stress as
men.
B. Women participate in meaningful actions.
C. Women have special and useful skills.
The Research Essay

Write your last name
and page number in
the top right corner of Nuez 1
each page.
John Cary Nuez
Double-space Professor Travis Lockwood
your identification
information. English 102
May 26, 2017
Center the title Women in Combat

without underlining,
italics, quotation For over six decades, women have been joining the U.S.
marks, or boldface
type. military. In 2013, the Department of Defense rescinded the rule
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The Research Essay
Nuez 2
that prohibited women from serving in the combat divisions, thus Double-space your
essay.
exposing more and more women to direct combat environments.
The U.S. Department of Defense reported that over 14,000 Cite the source of a
paraphrase.
assignments in ground combat units were opened to women in
2015 (Roulo). In his report, David Burrelli provides a definition of You can introduce
a quotation with a
ground combat: “Direct ground combat is engaging an enemy complete sentence.
on the ground with individual or crew served weapons while
being exposed to hostile fire and to probability of physical contact
with hostile force’s personnel” (4). Despite the fact that there are
more positions for women on the frontline, critics have expressed
concerns about female participation in direct combat. Indeed, for End your introduction
with your thesis
the Armed Forces to be battle ready and effective, women should statement.
be retained only for combat support roles and not for direct combat
engagements.
First, women acquire combat training–related injuries
You can acknowledge
more than men. It is true that some women are very strong opposing viewpoints
and then refute them.
and fit, and combat training may prepare such women to face
a high level of physical demands. However, women face a
greater risk of being injured than men. A study by the United
Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence on Musculoskeletal injury
You can integrate
(MSK) shows that “women with the same aerobic fitness and a quotation into a
sentence.
strength as men are still likely to have a greater risk of MSK
injury due to the inherent differences in their physiology and
anatomy” (Women B1). Such injuries can cause a loss in duty If the author is not
known, put the first
time, thereby affecting training. Additionally, if many female word of the title in
parentheses.
combatants suffer from training injuries, then this could cause
problems for the entire unit. For instance, the unit may not be
able to deploy if several members are injured.
Furthermore, some studies show that women cannot meet
the same physical training standards as required by men.
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The Research Essay
Nuez 3
The military has been encouraging women to participate in

training courses required for direct combat duty. Only twenty-
Cite the source
of summarized nine women took part in the Infantry Officer Course but none
information.
graduated, and as of May 2015, of the over one hundred women
who participated in the elite Army Ranger School Course, only
You can identify the

twenty qualified for the initial part of the course (Kamarck 18). In
source in the phrase addition, reporter Richard Leiby in The Seattle Times writes, “It’s
introducing the
quotation. official. Men rule at pullups. Most female Marines can’t even do
three lousy pullups!” The physical difference between men and
women could potentially affect the output required of military
personnel in combat engagements. In 2016, the U.S. military
includes women in all units, and the U.S. Congress is reviewing
how to establish standards for physical testing that are gender
neutral. Despite the military’s efforts to adjust the physical
standards for women, the result of failed training completion
is an indication that women are not be able to perform at the
same level as men in physical endurance.
Women are essential to the combat mission with their role
in combat support. Even though women serve in the support
capacity, they are still exposed to as much danger as men,
such as vulnerability to live fire or explosives. And like their
It is not necessary
to document your male counterparts, women soldiers may also feel the long-term
common knowledge.
effects of combat missions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). Morris and Maisto state, “Wartime experiences often
cause soldiers intense and disabling combat stress that persists
Include the page
number of a print long after they have left the battlefield” (406). In their supporting
source.
role, women would participate in meaningful action and do
essential service to aid those on the front line. Women should
not feel as if they are being sheltered because they would be
subject to equal risk as male soldiers. Instead, women should
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The Research Essay
Nuez 4
be proud of their contributions in combat support. Referring to

women’s capabilities, Col. David Fivecoat, commander of the
Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, says, “You may not be
able to hump the extra weight because you’re a small person,
Three spaced periods
but if you can do a great job planning, or going to get the water, indicate that part of
the quotation has
or if you’re seen as value-added—that’s how you do well . . . ” been deleted.
(qtd. in Mulrine). Most men in the military acknowledge that Use “qtd. in” to show
women are a valuable asset when it comes to winning a war. that the quotation
appeared in a
Taking into consideration women’s potential for injuries and secondary source.
their lower level of performance and training outcomes, they

do not seem suited for direct combat roles. Women have been
instrumental in the effectiveness of the military for a long time,
and their participation continues to be essential in times of war.
Women have demonstrated their excellence and their unique End with a quotation,
skills, and there is nothing more for them to prove. Women prediction, or
suggestion.
should be proud of their work in the military.
Put the Works Cited

Nuez 5 list on a separate page.
Works Cited Center the Works
Cited heading.
Burrelli, David F. Women in Combat: Issues for Congress.
Congressional Research Service, 9 May 2013, Library of
Congress, www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA590333.
Kamarck, Kirsty N. Women in Combat: Issues for Congress.
Congressional Research Service, 3 Dec. 2015, Library of
Congress, fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42075.pdf. List sources in
alphabetical order.
Leiby, Richard. ”Why Most Female Marines Struggle to
Pass Pullup Test.” The Seattle Times, 12 Jan. 2014,
www.seattletimes.com/life/wellness/why-most-female-
Double-space
marines-struggle-to-pass-pullup-test/. throughout, and
indent the second
Morris, Charles G. and Albert A. Maisto. Understanding line of each source.
Psychology. 11th ed., Pearson, 2016.
259
The Research Essay
Nuez 6
Mulrine, Anna. “Breaking Military’s Ultimate Glass Ceiling?:
Women Start Ranger Training.” The Christian Science
Monitor, 30 Apr. 2015, www.csmonitor.com/USA/
Military/2015/0430/Breaking-military-s-ultimate-glass-
ceiling-Women-start-Ranger-training.
Roulo, Claudette. “Defense Department Expands Women’s
Combat Role.” DoD News, U.S. Department of Defense,
24 Jan. 2013, archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle
.aspx?id=119098.
Women in Ground Close Combat (GCC) Review Paper. United
Kingdom Ministry of Defence, 1 Dec. 2014, www.gov.uk/
government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/
file/389575/20141218_WGCC_Findings_Paper_Final.pdf.
Practice 5
Answer the following questions by referring to the research essay.
1. How many magazines or books were used as sources? _____
2. How many Internet articles were used as sources? _____
3. When the student used a quotation that appeared as a quotation in

another source, how did he show that fact? (See the fourth paragraph.)
4. In the Works Cited page, how many sources do not

mention an author? _____
5. On the Works Cited page, are the sources listed in alphabetical order?
yes _____ no _____
Indicate if the following sentences are true (T) or false (F). Look at the
Works Cited page to answer each question. If the sentence is false, write a
true statement under it.
6. The second row of each citation should be indented. T F
260
The Research Essay
7. The title of articles should be set off with italics. T F
8. Place periods after the author’s first name and the title of
the work. T F
9. For Internet sources, no dates are necessary. T F
10. For Internet sources, include the URL. T F
HINT: APA Website

To get some general information about some basic style questions, you can
view the APA’s website. Use the menu on the left side of the page to direct
you to specific style questions and answers.
On the same website, there is a link to information about online or
“electronic” sources. Because the information about online sources is
continually being updated, the site has comprehensive information about
the latest citation methods.
The Writer’s Room

Writing Activity 1
Write a research paper about one of the following topics. Ask your instructor
what reference style you should use. Put a Works Cited page at the end of your
assignment.
1. Write about a contemporary issue that is in the news.

2. Write about any issue in your career choice or field of study.
261
The Research Essay
Writing Activity 2
Write a research paper about one of the following topics. First, brainstorm
questions about your topic and find a guiding research question. Then follow
the process of writing a research essay.
Affirmative action Health-care reform

Animal testing Holistic healing
Assisted suicide Home schooling
Attention-deficit disorder Immigration
Body image Legitimate vs. fake news
Censorship of the Internet Mandatory drug testing
Childhood obesity News media and bias
Consequences of war Prison reform
Date rape Privacy and the Internet
Executive salaries Technology and pollution (e-waste)
Fertility treatments or planned parenthood Teen pregnancy
Foreign adoptions Tobacco industry
Gambling Violence in the media
Genetically modified food Volunteer work
Government-sponsored gambling Youth gangs
Checklist: Research Essay
When you plan a research essay, ask yourself these questions.
❏ Have I narrowed my topic?

❏ Have I created a guiding research question?
❏ Are my sources reliable?
❏ Have I organized my notes?
❏ Have I integrated source information using quotations, paraphrases,
and summaries?
❏ Have I correctly documented my in-text or parenthetical citations?
❏ Have I correctly prepared and punctuated my Works Cited page?
262
The Research Essay
credits
Credits are listed in order of appearance.
text PhOtOS
Screenshot from “Science Daily”. Copyright © 1995–2010. Used corbis_infinite/Fotolia; WavebreakmediaMicro/Fotolia; alexmat
by permission of Science Daily; From Consumer Behavior by 46/Fotolia; Copyright © 2014 Harper’s Magazine. All Rights
Michael R. Solomon. Copyright © 2013 by Pearson Education; Reserved. Reproduced from the January issue by special
From “Psychology” by Saundra K Ciccarelli. Copyright © 2006 permission; Dan Hallman/UpperCut Images/Getty Images;
by Pearson Education; From Think: Social Problems 2 Ed. by Copyright © 2014 Harper’s Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
John D. Carl. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc., Reproduced from the January issue by special permission;
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; “Women in Direct Combat: A Philadelphia Inquirer, June 10, 2016 Cover. Copyright © 2016.
Scrutiny of Physical Impediments to Combat Effectiveness” by Used by permission of The YGS Group; Philadelphia Inquirer,
John Carey Nuez. A15 Business section page, June 10, 2016. Copyright © 2016.
Used by permission of The YGS Group; Stock Foundry Images/
Alamy Stock Photo.
263
Handbook
From Handbook of Writing Today, MLA Update, Third Edition. Richard Johnson-Sheehan, Charles Paine.
Copyright © 2017 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
265
Handbook
T his handbook will answer your questions about English grammar and usage.
It will also help you write correctly and clearly.
1 Sentences
Every sentence has at least one subject and at least one verb, begins with a capital let-
ter, and ends with end punctuation (a period, question mark, or exclamation point).
In college writing and beyond, you will be asked to communicate complex ideas.
Use this handbook to help you understand the wide variety of sentence types while
avoiding grammatical errors.
1A Fragments
Sentence fragments are errors in which partial sentences are treated as complete
sentences—begun with a capital letter and ended with a period. The fragment may
be a subordinate clause, a phrase, or a combination of subordinate elements. Each of
these is a fragment because it lacks a subject or a verb, or it begins with a subordinat-
ing word. Only independent clauses can make independent statements.
Subordinate Clause Fragment
Recognition. A subordinate clause has a subject and a verb but is not an indepen-
dent clause because it includes a subordinate connector.
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Handbook
Some common subordinating connectors, grouped by function, include:
Time: after, before, once, since, until, whenever

Place: where, wherever
Cause: as, because, since
Contrast: although, even though, though, while
Condition: even if, if
Result: in order that, so, so that
Alternative: than, whether
Relative pronouns, such as who, whom, whose, whatever, why, and unless, can also be
subordinate connectors.
Any clause beginning with one of these words is subordinate and should not be
written as a sentence. Here are examples of clause fragments (italicized):
The Vikings revolutionized shipbuilding with the keel. Which allowed their ships
to go faster and farther without stopping for supplies.
Norway’s Lapps are believed to be a nomadic people of Asian heritage. Who fol-
low reindeer herds through Norway’s cold, rugged land.
Because the northern part of Norway is so far north. It has long periods during the
summer when the sun shines 24 hours a day.
Correction. There are two main ways of correcting clause fragments: (1) attaching
them to the preceding or following sentence, and (2) removing or changing the sub-
ordinating connector. These sentences illustrate both types of correction:
The Vikings revolutionized shipbuilding with the keel. This innovation allowed
their ships to go faster and farther without stopping for supplies. The subordinat-
ing word of the fragment is changed.
Norway’s Lapps are believed to be of Asian heritage—nomadic people who
follow reindeer herds through Norway’s cold, rugged land. The fragment is
connected to the preceding sentence with a dash.
Because the northern part of Norway is so far north, it has long periods during
the summer when the sun shines 24 hours a day. The fragment is connected to
the following sentence with a comma.
Phrase Fragment
Phrase fragments lack a subject, a verb, or both. The most common phrases written
as fragments are verbal phrases and prepositional phrases.
Recognition. A verbal phrase is a word group made up of a verb form and related
modifiers and other words. As opposed to verb phrases, which are made up of verb parts
(such as has been gone), a verbal phrase is constituted with a verbal, a word formed from
a verb but not functioning as a verb. Going, for example, is a verbal, as is gone.
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Handbook
There are three kinds of verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives. Gerunds end
in -ing; participles end in either -ing (present) or -ed (regular past); infinitives are usu-
ally introduced by to. Here are a few examples of how verbals are formed from verbs:
Present Participle
Verb and Gerund Past Participle Infinitive
snap snapping snapped to snap
go going gone to go
has having had to have
Verbals function primarily as adjectives and nouns, most often in verbal phrases.
In the following examples, the italicized verbal phrases are fragments because
they are written as sentences:
Eero Saarinen designed the 630-foot Gateway Arch for the St. Louis riverfront.
Imagining a giant stainless steel arch. Participial phrase modifying Eero Saarinen
Critics said that cranes could not reach high enough. To lift the steel sections into
place. Infinitive phrase modifying high
Saarinen knew that precision was of utmost importance. In building the arch.
Gerund phrase as object of preposition In
Correction. Verbal phrase fragments can be corrected in one of two ways: (1) by
connecting them to a related sentence, or (2) by expanding them into a sentence.
Both ways are illustrated below:
Eero Saarinen designed the 630-foot Gateway Arch for the St. Louis riverfront. He
imagined a giant stainless steel arch. The verbal fragment is expanded to a
sentence.
Critics said that cranes could not reach high enough to lift the steel sections into
place. The verbal fragment is connected to a related sentence.
Saarinen knew that precision was of utmost importance in building the arch. The
gerund phrase, object of the preposition in, is connected to a related sentence.
Recognition. A prepositional phrase is a word group made up of a preposition and

its object. Together they contribute meaning to a sentence, usually modifying a noun
or a verb. Like subordinating conjunctions, prepositions show relationships, such
as time, place, condition, and cause. Common prepositions include about, above,
among, below, but, by, from, in addition to, into, like, out of, past, regarding, toward,
and until.
In the following examples, prepositional phrases have been written as sentences
and are therefore fragments:
The Vikings were descendents of Teutonic settlers. Like most of today’s Norwegians.
Norway is a land of natural beauty. From its fjord-lined coast to frigid Lapland.
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Handbook
Correction. Prepositional phrase fragments can also be corrected (1) by connecting

them to a related sentence, or (2) by expanding them into a sentence.
The Vikings were descendents of Teutonic settlers, like most of today’s
Norwegians. or Like most of today’s Norwegians, the Vikings were descendents of
Teutonic settlers. The prepositional phrase is connected to a related sentence.
Norway is a land of natural beauty. Its charm extends from its fjord-lined coast to
frigid Lapland. The prepositional phrase is expanded into a sentence.
Incomplete Thoughts
Sometimes fragments are simply errors in punctuation—the writer uses a period
when a comma or no punctuation would be correct. A more difficult type of fragment
to correct is the incomplete thought, such as this one:
A large concrete dock 50 feet short of a wooden platform anchored in the middle
of the bay.
With fragments of this sort, the writer needs to insert the missing information. The
reader doesn’t know what happens—what the dock does or what is done to it. The
fragment might be revised like this:
A large concrete dock juts out, stopping 50 feet short of a wooden platform an-
chored in the middle of the bay.
Acceptable Fragments
You probably encounter fragments every day. Titles are often fragments, as are an-
swers to questions and expressions of strong emotion.
Titles: Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae
Answer to question: “How many more chairs do we need?” “Fifteen.”
Expression of strong emotion: “What a great concert!”
And much advertising uses fragments:
Intricate, delicate, exquisite. Extravagant in every way.
Another successful client meeting. Par for the course.
Finally, writers quoting spoken words might use fragments:
Claire asked Erin, “Why would you do that?”
Erin shrugged. “Because.”
Common as they are in everyday life, fragments are usually unacceptable in aca-
demic or workplace writing. When you do choose to use a fragment, you should do it
intentionally, and only after carefully considering your readers and the effect that you
want to achieve.
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Handbook
1B Comma Splices
Comma splices consist of two independent clauses (clauses that can stand alone as
sentences) improperly joined together by a comma as one sentence. Here are two
examples:
The economy of Algeria is in trouble, many citizens blame the government.
The death of any soldier is tragic, however, death by friendly fire is particularly
disturbing.
Recognition. The first step in avoiding comma splices is to identify them. Because
they happen only in sentences with at least two independent clauses, you can test
your sentences by substituting periods for commas. If you end up with two complete
sentences, you probably have a comma splice. In testing the first of the two preceding
examples we come up with the following result:
The economy of Algeria is in trouble.
Many citizens blame the government.
Both of these clauses obviously qualify as complete sentences, so they must be
independent clauses. They therefore cannot be connected with a comma. Remember
this simple rule of punctuation: Periods and commas are not interchangeable. If a
period is correct, a comma is not.
Correction. You can revise comma splices using five different strategies.
1. Separate the independent clauses using a comma and a coordinating conjunc-
tion. There are seven—and only seven—coordinating conjunctions. As a mem-
ory aid, their first letters spell F-A-N-B-O-Y-S:
for but
and or
nor yet
so
To correct a comma splice, begin the second independent clause with one of
these conjunctions preceded by a comma. For example:
The economy of Algeria is in trouble, and many citizens blame the government.
2. Separate the independent clauses using a semicolon (with or without a transi-

tional adverb). Semicolons are often interchangeable with periods and therefore
can be used to separate independent clauses. For example:
The economy of Algeria is in trouble; many citizens blame the government.
The death of any soldier is tragic; however, death by friendly fire is particularly
disturbing.
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Handbook
In the second example, however is a transitional adverb. Unlike coordinating

conjunctions, transitional adverbs are not conjunctions and so do not join
sentence elements. They do, however, connect ideas by showing how they
relate to one another. Like conjunctions, they can show addition, contrast,
result, and other relationships. Some of the most common transitional
adverbs are also, in addition, next, finally, for example, however, meanwhile,
therefore, and then.
A semicolon should always precede the transitional adverb that begins
the second independent clause. A comma usually follows the transitional
adverb, although in some instances, as in the following example, the comma
is omitted:
Air bags deflate within one second after inflation; therefore they do not interfere
with control of the car.
Some comma splices result when writers use transitional adverbs as if they
were coordinating conjunctions. If you have trouble distinguishing
transitional adverbs from coordinating conjunctions, remember that none
of the coordinating conjunctions is longer than three letters, and all of the
transitional adverbs are four letters or longer. Also, keep in mind that
transitional adverbs are movable within the sentence while coordinating
conjunctions are not; for example, the preceding example could be rewritten
as:
Air bags deflate within one second after inflation; they do not therefore interfere
with control of the car.
3. Make one of the independent clauses subordinate to the other by inserting a sub-
ordinating conjunction. When one of the clauses explains or elaborates on the
other, use an appropriate subordinating conjunction to make the relationship
between the two clauses more explicit (see 1A, Fragments). Consider the follow-
ing comma splice and its revision:
Henry forgot to fill in his time card on Friday, he is going to have a hard time get-
ting paid for the overtime he put in last week.
Because Henry forgot to fill in his time card on Friday, he is going to have a
hard time getting paid for the overtime he put in last week.
4. Rewrite one of the independent clauses as a modifying phrase. A modifying

phrase serves as an adjective or adverb within a sentence. By rewriting one of the
independent clauses as a phrase, you can eliminate unneeded words. For exam-
ple, consider the following comma splice and its revision:
The celebrity couple smiled for the camera, they were glowing of wealth and
fame.
The celebrity couple smiled for the cameras, glowing of wealth and fame.
Here, glowing of wealth and fame acts as an adjective modifying the noun couple.
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5. Punctuate each independent clause as a separate sentence. No law of grammar,

punctuation, or style says you must present the two independent clauses
together within one sentence. The example from before is perfectly acceptable
written as follows:
The economy of Algeria is in trouble. Many citizens blame the government.
It may be to your advantage to divide long and/or complex independent
clauses into separate sentences. Doing so may help convey your meaning to
readers more clearly.
1C Fused Sentences
Fused sentences, sometimes called run-on sentences, are similar to comma splices.
However, instead of a comma between the two independent clauses, there is no
punctuation; the two independent clauses simply run together. For example:
The United States has 281 lawyers per 100,000 people Japan has only 11
attorneys per 100,000.
The World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the world you would
never know it based on the indifferent response of the average American.
Recognition. Unlike the comma splice, there is no punctuation in the fused sen-
tence to guide you to the end of the first independent clause and the beginning of the
second. As a result, it can be more challenging to identify independent clauses within
fused sentences, particularly if the sentence also contains modifying phrases or
dependent clauses set off by commas. The best way to do this is to read from the be-
ginning of the sentence (reading aloud may help) until you have found the end of the
first independent clause. Consider the following example:
Even though I was still sick with the flu, I attended the awards banquet as my
family watched, the coach presented me with the trophy for most valuable
player.
This fused sentence contains two subordinate clauses (Even though I was still
sick with the flu and as my family watched), each one attached to one of the two inde-
pendent clauses (I attended the awards banquet and the coach presented me with the
trophy).
Correction. Revise fused sentences using any one of the same five strategies for
correcting comma splices (see 1B Comma Splices for more information on each
strategy).
1. Separate the independent clauses using a comma and a coordinating conjunc-
tion. For example:
The United States has 281 lawyers per 100,000 people, but Japan has only 11
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2. Separate the independent clauses using a semicolon (with or without a transi-

tional adverb). For example:
The United States has 281 lawyers per 100,000 people; Japan has only 11
The World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the world; however, you
would never know it based on the indifferent response of the average
American.
3. Make one of the independent clauses subordinate to the other by inserting a sub-
ordinating conjunction. The newly formed dependent clause should explain the
remaining independent clause. For example, consider the following fused sen-
tence and its revision:
I run a marathon my feet get sore.
Whenever I run a marathon, my feet get sore.
4. Rewrite one of the independent clauses as a modifying phrase. Remember, mod-
ifying phrases act as adjectives or adverbs. Consider the following fused sentence
and its revision:
Last night the tomcats fought outside my window they were crying and
hissing for what seemed like hours.
Last night the tomcats fought outside my window, crying and hissing for
what seemed like hours. Here, the phrase crying and hissing acts as an adjective
modifying the noun tomcats.
5. Punctuate each independent clause as a separate sentence. As with comma

splices, you can write the independent clauses (and their related phrases and
dependent clauses) as separate sentences. Indeed, this is often the easiest way to
handle fused sentences. For example:
I attended the awards banquet even though I was still sick with the flu. As my
family watched, the coach presented me with the trophy for most valuable
player. Here, the subordinate clause attached to the first independent clause
even though I was still sick with the flu was also moved to the back of the first sen-
tence for better readability.
1D Parallelism
Correctly used parallelism results when two or more grammatically equivalent sen-
tence elements are joined. The sentence elements can be nouns, verbs, phrases, or
clauses. (See 1E Coordination and Subordination.)
Parallelism becomes a problem when dissimilar elements are joined in pairs, in
series, in comparisons using than or as, or in comparisons linked by correlative con-
junctions. Consider the following examples of faulty parallelism:
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She did not like rude customers or taking orders from her boss. The two ele-
ments in the pair are not parallel.
We were having a hard time deciding what to do in the afternoon: go snorkeling,
go fishing, or swim out to the sand bar. The last of the three elements in the series
is not parallel.
Michael decided to complete his degree next semester rather than studying
abroad for another year. The two elements compared using than are not
parallel.
My sister not only lost the race but also her leg got hurt. The two elements com-
pared by the correlative conjunction not only . . . but also are not parallel. Other
correlative conjunctions include both . . . and, either . . . or, neither . . . nor,
whether . . . or, and just as . . . so.
Faulty parallelism can be corrected in various ways:
She did not like dealing with rude customers or taking orders from her boss.
Words were added to the first element to make it parallel to the second.
We were having a hard time deciding what to do in the afternoon: go snorkeling,
go fishing, or go swimming. The last element was rewritten to make it parallel
with the others in the series.
Michael decided to complete his degree next semester rather than to study
abroad for another year. The verb form of the second element is changed from a
participle to an infinitive to make it parallel with the verb form in the first
element.
My sister not only lost the race but also hurt her leg. The second element was
rewritten to make it parallel with the first element.
1E Coordination and Subordination

When dealing with complex ideas, you will often need to explain relationships among
things, ideas, places, people, events, and so forth. Most sentence relationships in-
volve either coordination or subordination. That is, sentence elements are either
grammatically equal to other elements (coordination) or grammatically dependent
on other parts (subordination).
Coordination
When two or more equivalent sentence elements appear in one sentence, they are
coordinate. These elements can be words, phrases, or clauses. Only parallel elements
can be coordinated: verbs linked with verbs, nouns with nouns, phrases with phrases,
and clauses with clauses (See 1D Parallelism). For example:
Broccoli and related vegetables contain beta-carotene, a substance that may
reduce the risk of heart attack. Two nouns are joined by a coordinating
conjunction.
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We ran, swam, and cycled every day while we were at the fitness camp. Three
parallel verbs are joined in a series with commas and a coordinating
conjunction.
American medical devices are equally remarkable, giving life to those with termi-
nally diseased organs, giving mobility to those crippled with arthritic joints and
deadened nerves, and even, miraculously, restoring the sense of hearing to those
deprived of it.—Atlantic. The participial (verbal) phrases are joined by commas
and a final coordinating conjunction. Also, embedded in the second participial
phrase, two coordinate noun phrases are joined by a coordinating conjunction:
arthritic joints and deadened nerves.
The term “Big Bang” is common usage now with scientists, but it originated as a
sarcastic rejection of the theory. Two independent clauses are joined by a
comma and a coordinating conjunction.
Subordination
Subordinate elements show where the emphasis lies in sentences and modify ele-
ments with independent clauses. A subordinate element—either a phrase or clause—
is dependent on the element it modifies for its meaning. It often provides a fuller
meaning than could be achieved exclusively through the use of independent
elements.
For example:
For walking and jogging, the calorie expenditure is greater for people of greater
body weight. The subordinate element is a prepositional phrase, modifying is
greater.
Increasing both speed and effort in aerobic activities, the exerciser burns more
calories. The subordinate element is a verbal phrase, modifying exerciser.
Because sedentary people are more likely to burn sugar than fat, they tend to be-
come hungry sooner and to overeat. The subordinate clause modifies the verb
tend.
People who exercise on a regular basis change certain enzyme systems so that
they are more likely to burn fat than sugar. There are two subordinate clauses,
one beginning with who and modifying People, and one beginning with so that
and modifying the verb change.
Effective writing contains both coordination and subordination—coordination
that sets equivalent elements side by side, and subordination that makes some
elements dependent on others.
1F Mixed Sentences
A mixed sentence is a problem that occurs when two or more parts of a sentence do
not make sense together. It is called faulty predication when a subject and predicate
are mismatched. This kind of problem usually occurs when writers are striving to ex-
press complex relationships. For example:
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By driving to the movie was how we saw the accident happen. The prepositional
phrase By driving to the movie is treated as the subject of the verb was.
Prepositional phrases cannot serve as subjects.
Just because the candidate once had a drinking problem doesn’t mean he won’t
be a good mayor now. The adverb clause because the candidate once had a drink-
ing problem is treated as the subject of the verb doesn’t mean. Adverbs modify
verbs and adjectives and cannot function as subjects.
A CAT scan is when medical technicians take a cross-sectional X-ray of the body.
The adverb clause when medical technicians take a cross-sectional X-ray of the
body is treated as a complement of the subject CAT scan—another function ad-
verbs cannot serve.
The reason I was late today is because my alarm clock broke. The subject, reason,
is illogically linked with the predicate, is because. Reason suggests an explana-
tion, so the predicate, is because, is redundant.
For cases of faulty predication, either revise the subject so it can perform the ac-
tion expressed in the predicate or revise the predicate so it accurately depicts an ac-
tion performed by the subject. When you are writing, avoid these patterns: is when, is
where, and The reason . . . is because.
There are often many ways to revise mixed sentences:
While driving to the movie, we saw the accident happen.
Just because the candidate once had a drinking problem, we can’t conclude
that he won’t be a good mayor.
A CAT scan is a cross-sectional X-ray of the body.
The reason I was late today is that my alarm clock broke.
1G Shifts
Shifts occur when writers lose track of their sentence elements. Shifts occur in a vari-
ety of ways:
In person
In music, where left-handed people seem to be talented, the right-handed world
puts you at a disadvantage. Shift from people, third person, to you, second
person
In tense
Even though many musicians are left handed, instruments had been designed for
right handers. Shift from present tense to past perfect
In number
A left-handed violinist has to pay extra to buy their left-handed violin. Shift from
singular to plural
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In mood
Every time the violinist played, she could always know when her instrument was
out of tune. Shift from the indicative mood, violinist played, to the subjunctive
mood, she could always know
In voice
The sonata was being practiced by the violinists in one room while the cellists
played the concerto in the other room. Shift from the passive voice, was being
practiced, to the active voice, played
In discourse type
She said, “Your violin is out of tune,” and that I was playing the wrong note. Shift
from the direct quotation, “Your violin is out of tune,” to the indirect quotation,
that I was playing the wrong note
Once you recognize shifts, revise them by ensuring that the same grammatical struc-
tures are used consistently throughout the sentence:
In music, where left-handed people seem to be talented, the right-handed
world puts them at a disadvantage.
Even though many musicians are left handed, instruments have been
designed for right handers.
Left-handed violinists have to pay extra to buy their left-handed violins.
Every time the violinist played, she knew when her instrument was out of
tune.
The violinists practiced the sonata in one room while the cellists played the
concerto in the other room.
She said, “Your violin is out of tune and you are playing the wrong note.”
1H Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

Dangling and misplaced modifiers are words and word groups that are phrased or
positioned in ways that make the meaning of a sentence unclear and sometimes even
ludicrous:
Reaching to pick up the saddle, the obnoxious horse may shake off the blanket.
The dangling verbal phrase appears to relate to horse.
To extend lead out of the eversharp pencil, the eraser cap is depressed. The dan-
gling verbal phrase implies that the eraser cap does something.
The eversharp pencil is designed to be used permanently, only periodically re-
placing the lead. The dangling verbal phrase implies that the pencil replaces the
lead.
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Dick only had to pay ten dollars for his parking ticket. The misplaced adverb
should immediately precede ten.
Theodore caught a giant fish in the very same spot where he had lost the ring two
years later. The misplaced adverb phrase confusingly appears to modify the last
part of the sentence instead of, correctly, the first part.
Errors of this type are difficult for writers to recognize because these errors do not
seem ambiguous to them.
Recognition. Verbal phrases always have implied but unstated subjects. In other
words, somebody or something is performing the action of the verbal phrase, but the
phrase itself does not say who or what. For clarity, that implied subject should be the
same as the subject of the sentence or clause.
Correction. The way to correct dangling and misplaced modifiers depends on the
type of error. Misplaced modifiers can often be moved to a more appropriate
position:
Dick had to pay only ten dollars for his parking ticket.
Two years later, Theodore caught a giant fish in the very same spot where he
had lost the ring.
Dangling modifiers usually require some rewording:
As you reach to pick up the saddle, the obnoxious horse may shake off the blan-
ket. The dangling verbal phrase is converted to a clause.
To extend lead out of the eversharp pencil, depress the eraser cap. The main
clause is revised so that you is the implied subject of depress (as it is for To
extend).
The eversharp pencil is designed to be used permanently, only periodically need-
ing the lead replaced. The dangling verbal phrase is revised so that the implied
subject of needing is pencil.
1I Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Modifiers

Some modifiers are essential to a sentence because they restrict, or limit, the meaning
of the words they modify; others, while adding important information, are not essen-
tial to the meaning of a sentence. The first type is called restrictive and the second
nonrestrictive:
Restrictive
People who plan to visit Europe should take time to see Belgium. Relative clause
modifying and identifying People
The industrialized country between the Netherlands and France on the North Sea
is constitutionally a kingdom. Prepositional phrases modifying and identifying
country
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The Kempenland was thinly populated before coal was discovered there.
Subordinate clause modifying was populated and giving meaning to the
sentence
Language and cultural differences have created friction that has existed for cen-
turies. Relative clause modifying and identifying friction
Nonrestrictive
Belgium has two major populations: the Flemings, who live in the north and
speak Flemish, and the Walloons, who live in the south and speak French. Two
relative clauses, the first modifying Flemings and the second modifying Walloons
With Brussels in the middle of the country, both groups inhabit the city.
Prepositional phrases, together modifying inhabit
NATO’s headquarters is in Brussels, where it has been since its beginning in 1950.
Subordinate clause modifying Brussels
Covering southeastern Belgium, the sandstone Ardennes mountains follow the
Sambre and Meuse rivers. Participial (verbal) phrase modifying mountains
If you think the distinction between restriction and nonrestriction is not worth
making, consider the following sentences, the first restrictive and the second
nonrestrictive:
People who wear braces on their teeth should not eat caramel apples.
People, who wear braces on their teeth, should not eat caramel apples.
Set off with commas, the nonrestrictive who clause implies that all people wear
braces on their teeth and should not eat caramel apples, which is clearly not the case.
It does not restrict, or limit, the meaning of people. In the first sentence, however, the
who clause does restrict, or limit, the meaning of people to only those who wear
braces on their teeth. Often only the writer knows the intended meaning and there-
fore needs to make the distinction by setting off, or not setting off, the modifier.
Here are a few guidelines that might help you in making this fine distinction:
1. A modifier that modifies a proper noun (one that names a person or thing) is
usually nonrestrictive, because the name is sufficient identification. Notice
Flemings and Walloons in the previous example.
2. A that clause is almost always restrictive.
3. Adverbial subordinate clauses (those beginning with subordinating conjunc-
tions such as because and when) are almost always restrictive and are usually not
set off with commas when they appear at the end of their sentences. If they ap-
pear at the beginning of sentences, they are almost always set off with commas.
4. A nonrestrictive modifier at the beginning of a sentence is followed by a comma,
one at the end is preceded by a comma, and one in the middle is enclosed with
two commas.
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1J Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs, often called modifiers, modify nouns and verbs. Adjectives
modify nouns; that is, they describe, limit, explain, or alter them in some way.
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, telling more than the words by
themselves would tell: drive carefully (adverb modifying a verb), unexpectedly early
(adverb modifying an adjective), drive very carefully (adverb modifying an adverb).
Adverbs usually tell how, where, when, and how much.
Adjectives and adverbs occasionally present some problems for writers. Be care-
ful not to use adjectives when adverbs are needed, as in this incorrect sentence:
The governor suspected that the legislators were not taking him serious. The sen-
tence element receiving modification is the verb were not taking, yet the modifier
serious is an adjective, which can only modify nouns. The correct modifier for
this sentence is the adverb seriously. (If you are not sure whether a word is an
adjective or an adverb, check your dictionary, which should identify parts of
speech.)
Another problem in form concerns the comparative and superlative degrees. The
comparative form of adjectives and adverbs shows a greater degree between two
things, as in these correct sentences:
Your luggage is stronger than mine. Adjective comparing your luggage and mine
Your luggage survives airport baggage handling better than mine does. Adverb
comparing how the two survive handling
The comparative degree is formed by adding -er to shorter adjectives and adverbs
(strong, stronger; hard, harder). Longer words are preceded by more (beautiful, more
beautiful; seriously, more seriously). Do not use -er with more (not more harder).
The superlative form shows a greater degree among three or more things, as in
these correct sentences:
This is the strongest luggage I have ever seen. Adjective comparing the present
luggage to all other luggage the writer has seen
Your luggage survives airport baggage handling best of all luggage I’ve seen.
Adverb comparing how all luggage the writer has seen survives handling
The superlative degree is formed by adding -est to shorter adjectives and adverbs
(strong, strongest; hard, hardest). Longer words are preceded by most (beautiful, most
beautiful; seriously, most seriously). Do not use -est with most (not most strongest).
2 Verbs
Verbs often tell what the subject is doing:
The company agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges.
Nearly every miner can name a casualty of black lung disease.
Another common function of verbs is to link subjects to complements:
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Logan is an isolated county in the corner of the state.

Sometimes the verb tells something about the subject, as the following passive verb
does:
Casualties of mining cannot be measured only by injuries.
Through changes in form, verbs can tell the time of the action (past, present, future),
the number of the subject (singular or plural), and the person of the subject (first per-
son, I, we; second person, you; third person, he, she, it, they).
2A Tense
Writers can encounter problems with verbs because verbs, unlike most other words
in English, have many forms, and a slight shift in form can alter meaning:
The fish has jumped into the boat.
The fish have jumped into the boat.
The meaning changes from one fish to more than one fish jumping into the boat.
Observe how the verb vanish changes in the following sentences to indicate differ-
ences in time, or tense:
Present Many agricultural jobs vanish.
Past Many agricultural jobs vanished.
Future Many agricultural jobs will vanish.
Perfect Many agricultural jobs have vanished.
Past Perfect Many agricultural jobs had vanished.
Future Perfect Many agricultural jobs will have vanished.
Omitting an -ed ending or using the wrong helping verb can give readers a false
message.
Helping (Auxiliary) Verbs. It is also important to use a form that is a finite, or an ac-
tual, verb. In the following example, the word that appears to be a verb (italicized) is
not a finite verb:
The fish jumping into the boat.
The word jumping does not have one of the primary functions of verbs—telling the
time of the action, called tense. The time of the occurrence could have been the past
(the fish were jumping), the present (the fish are jumping), or the future (the fish will
be jumping). We also don’t know whether the writer meant one fish or many. The -ing
form is a verbal and requires a helping, or auxiliary, verb to make it finite, or able to
tell time: words such as am, is, are, was, were (forms of be). Other helping verbs are do
and have.
Irregular Verbs. Most verbs change forms in a regular way: want in the present
becomes wanted in the past, wanting with the auxiliary be (i.e., is wanting), and
wanted with the auxiliary have (i.e., have wanted). Many verbs change irregularly,
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however—internally rather than at the ending. Here are a few of the most common
irregular verbs:
Base Form Past Tense Present Participle Past Participle
be (is, am, are) was, were being been
come came coming come
do did doing done
drink drank drinking drunk
give gave giving given
go went going gone
grow grew growing grown
lie laid lying lain
Check your dictionary for the forms of other verbs you suspect may be irregular.
The verb form that is perhaps the most troublesome is the -s form in the present
tense. This form is used for all singular nouns and the pronouns he, she, and it. (See
2D Subject-Verb Agreement.)
2B Voice
English sentences are usually written in the active voice, in which the subject of the
sentence is the doer of the action of the verb:
Scott misplaced the file folder. Scott, the subject of the sentence, performed the
action, misplaced.
With the passive voice, the doer of the action is the object of a preposition or is omit-
ted entirely:
The file folder was misplaced by Scott. File folder is now the subject of the
sentence.
The file folder was misplaced. The person doing the action is not named.
Choose the passive voice when it is appropriate to the genre and to your readers’
needs. For genres such as memoirs, profiles, and literary analyses, you will probably
choose active voice because readers of these genres usually want to know who is
doing what to whom. In other situations, you may choose to use the passive voice,
either because you do not know the doer’s identity or because the doer’s identity is
unimportant or obvious to the reader. When writing a lab report in a chemistry
course, for instance, your reader does not need to be told who specifically combined
the chemicals. Finally, the passive voice can be useful if you want to keep the subjects
consistent within a paragraph.
2C Mood
In most writing and speaking, the most commonly used mood by far is the indicative
mood, which is used to make statements, to ask questions, and to declare opinions.
For example:
Not many people today think the world is flat. Makes a statement
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Does anybody today think the world is flat? Asks a question

Members of the Flat Earth Society should reevaluate their thinking. Declares an
opinion
Verbs in the imperative mood issue commands, requests, or directions. Imperative
verbs never change form. When the subject of an imperative verb is not explicitly
identified, it is understood to be you.
Julia, stop teasing your baby brother. Issues a command
Please complete this report by tomorrow morning. Issues a request
Turn right at the light and drive for another two blocks. Issues directions
Verbs in the subjunctive mood communicate wishes, make statements contrary to
fact, list requirements and demands, and imply skepticism or doubt. They usually ap-
pear in clauses introduced by if, that, as if, and as though. Use the base form of the
verb for the present tense subjunctive. For the past tense subjunctive of the verb be,
use were for all subjects.
She wishes that her son’s best friend were more responsible. Communicates a
wish
If the world were to end tomorrow, we would not have to pay taxes anymore.
Makes a statement contrary to fact
The jury summons requires that your cousin arrive punctually at 8:00 a.m. and
sign in with the court clerk. Lists requirements
His girlfriend talks as if she were a pop music diva. Implies skepticism
Be sure to select the correct verb forms to express indicative, imperative, and sub-
junctive moods.
2D Subject-Verb Agreement
Errors in subject-verb agreement occur only with present tense verbs and the verb
tenses that use present tense forms of helping verbs (such as have and be). And, ex-
cept for the irregular verb be (with its forms am, is, are, was, were), the problem cen-
ters on third-person singular verbs with their -s ending. Here is the problem
illustrated. Notice that only the verbs in the third-person singular are different.
Unfortunately, all nouns are third person and, when singular, require this form in the
present tense.
Present Present Perfect
Singular Plural Singular Plural
First person I work we work I have worked we have worked
Second person you work you work you have worked you have worked
Third person he (she, it) they work he (she, it) they have worked
works has worked
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It is the -s form, then, that you need to watch for to avoid errors in subject-verb agree-
ment. Here are some issues that may cause problems.
Intervening Subordinate Element

When a subject and a verb are side by side, they usually do not present a problem.
Often, however, writers separate them with subordinate elements, such as clauses,
prepositional or verbal phrases, and other elements. The result may be a subject-verb
agreement error. The following sentence illustrates this problem:
The realization that life is a series of compromises never occur to some people.
The subject is realization, a singular noun, and should be followed by the singu-
lar verb occurs. The corrected sentence would read “The realization that life is a
series of compromises never occurs to some people.”
Subject Complement
Subject complements follow some verbs and rename the subject, although they are
not always in the same number as the subject. Because a singular subject may have a
plural complement, and vice versa, confused writers might make the verb agree with
the complement instead of the subject. Here’s an example:
The result of this mistake are guilt, low self-esteem, and depression. The subject
is result, not guilt, low self-esteem, and depression; the singular subject should be
followed by the singular verb is. The corrected sentence would read “The result
of this mistake is guilt, low self-esteem, and depression.”
Compound Subject
Two or more words may be compounded to make a subject. Subjects connected by
and and but are plural, but those connected by or and nor are singular or plural
depending on whether the item closer to the verb is singular or plural:
The young mother and the superior student are both candidates for compulsive
perfectionism. Two subjects, mother and student, are joined by and and take a
plural verb.
Promotions or an employee award tells the perfectionist he or she is achieving
personal goals. When two subjects, promotions and award, are joined by or, the
verb agrees with the nearer one; in this sentence, a singular verb is required.
An employee award or promotions tell the perfectionist he or she is achieving
personal goals. Here the plural verb, tell, agrees with promotions, the closer of
the two subjects.
Indefinite Pronoun as Subject

Although these words often seem plural in meaning, most of them are singular gram-
matically. When indefinite pronouns are the subjects of sentences or clauses, their
verbs are usually singular:
Everyone has at some time worried about achieving goals. The singular indefi-
nite pronoun everyone takes a singular verb, has.
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Each car and truck on the highway was creeping along on the icy pavement. The
singular indefinite pronoun, each, requires a singular verb, was.
Neither of us is going to worry about being late. The singular indefinite pronoun,
neither, takes a singular verb, is.
Nevertheless, some of us are going to be very late. The indefinite pronoun some
(like all, any, and none) is singular or plural depending on context; compare
“Some of the book is boring.”
Inverted Sentence Order

Examples of inverted order are questions, plus sentences beginning with there.
Sentences like these demand closer attention to agreement.
Have the results of the test come back yet? The plural subject, results, takes a plu-
ral verb, have.
There are many special services provided just for kids at hotels, ski lodges, and
restaurants. The plural subject, services, takes a plural verb, are. There is never a
subject; it only holds the place for the subject in an inverted sentence.
Intervening Relative Clause

Subordinate clauses that begin with the relative pronouns who, which, or that pres-
ent special problems in subject-verb agreement. Their verbs must agree with their
own subjects, not with a word in another clause. These subordinate clauses demand
special attention because whether the pronouns are singular or plural depends on
their antecedents. These sentences illustrate agreement within relative clauses:
Every person who attends the baseball game will receive a free cap. Who, the
subject of attends, means “person,” a singular noun.
John is one of the few people I know who care about frogs. Who, the subject of
care, means “people,” a plural noun.
John is the only one of all the people I know who cares about frogs. Who in this
sentence means “one.”
3 Pronouns
Pronouns can have all the same sentence functions as nouns; the difference is that
pronouns do not have the meaning that nouns have. Pronouns refer only to nouns.
Whenever that reference is ambiguous or inconsistent, there is a problem in clarity.
3A Pronoun Case
Case is a grammatical term for the way nouns and pronouns show their relationships
to other parts of a sentence. In English, nouns have only two case forms: the regular
form (the one listed in a dictionary, such as year) and the possessive form (used to
show ownership or connection, such as year’s; possessive nouns are discussed at 5J
Apostrophe).
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Pronouns, however, have retained their case forms. Here are the forms for personal
and relative pronouns:
Subjective Objective Possessive

Personal I me my, mine
you you your, yours
he him his
she her her, hers
it it its
we us our, ours
they them their, theirs
Relative who whom whose
whoever whomever whosever
Notice, first, that possessive pronouns, unlike possessive nouns, do not take apostro-
phes—none of them. Sometimes writers confuse possessive pronouns with contrac-
tions, which do have apostrophes (such as it’s, meaning it is or it has; and who’s,
meaning who is; for a further discussion, see 5J Apostrophe).
Another problem writers sometimes have with pronoun case is using a subjec-
tive form when they need the objective or using an objective form when they need
the subjective.
Subjective Case. Use the subjective forms for subjects and for words referring to
subjects, as in these examples:
Among the patients a nutritionist sees are the grossly overweight people who
have tried all kinds of diets. Who is subject of the verb have tried in its own
clause.
They have a life history of obesity and diets. They is the subject of have.
He and the patient work out a plan for permanent weight control. He and patient
are the compound subjects of work.
The patient understands that the ones who work out the diet plan are he and the
nutritionist. He and nutritionist refer to ones, the subject of the clause.
Notice that pronoun case is determined by the function of the pronoun in its own
clause and that compounding (he and the patient) has no effect on case.
Objective Case. Use the objective forms for objects of all kinds:
“Between you and me,” said the patient to his nutritionist, “I’m ready for some-
thing that works.” You and me are objects of the preposition between.
An exercise program is usually assigned the patient for whom dieting is pre-
scribed. Whom is the object of the preposition for.
The nutritionist gives her a suitable alternative to couch sitting. Her is the indi-
rect object of gives.
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Modest exercise combined with modest dieting can affect him or her dramati-
cally. Him or her is the direct object of can affect.
Having advised them about diet and exercise, the nutritionist instructs dieters
about behavioral change. Them is the object of the participle having advised.
Notice again that the case of a pronoun is determined by its function in its own clause
and is not affected by compounding (you and me).
Possessive Case.
Use the possessive forms to indicate ownership. Possessive pronouns have two forms:
adjective forms (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) and possessive forms (mine, yours,
his, hers, its, ours, theirs). The adjective forms appear before nouns or gerunds; the
possessive forms replace possessive nouns.
The patient purchased his supplements from the drug store his nutritionist rec-
ommended. Adjective form before nouns
His swimming every day produced results faster than he anticipated. Adjective
form before gerund
His was a difficult task to accomplish, but the rewards of weight loss were great.
Possessive form replacing possessive noun
3B Pronoun Reference
Personal and relative pronouns (see list under 3A Pronoun Case) must refer unam-
biguously to their antecedents. Pronouns and antecedents must agree.
Here are sentences in which the pronouns do not clearly refer to their
antecedents:
The immunologist refused to admit fraudulence of the data reported by a former
colleague in a paper he had cosigned. More than one possible antecedent. He
could refer to immunologist or to colleague.
In Carolyn Chute’s book The Beans of Egypt, Maine, she treats poverty with con-
cern and understanding. Adjective used as intended antecedent (possessive
nouns function as adjectives). In this case, Carolyn Chute’s modifies book and
cannot serve as an antecedent of the pronoun she.
It says in the newspaper that the economy will not improve soon. Implied ante-
cedent. There is no antecedent for it.
At Ajax they have tires on sale till the end of the month. Implied antecedent.
There is no antecedent for they.
Faulty pronoun reference is corrected by clarifying the relationship between the pro-
noun and its intended antecedent:
The immunologist refused to admit fraudulence of the data reported by a former
colleague in a paper the immunologist had cosigned. The immunologist replaces
the unclear pronoun he.
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In her book The Beans of Egypt, Maine, Carolyn Chute treats poverty with con-
cern and understanding. The possessive pronoun her replaces the possessive
noun and refers to the noun subject, Carolyn Chute.
The newspaper reports that the economy will not improve soon. The unclear
pronoun it is replaced by its implied antecedent, newspaper.
Ajax has tires on sale till the end of the month. The unclear pronoun they is re-
placed by Ajax.
3C Pronoun Agreement
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number, person, and gender. (See the
list of pronouns in 3A Pronoun Case.)
Compound Antecedents
If the antecedents are joined by and, the pronoun is plural; if they are joined by or,
the pronoun agrees with the nearer antecedent. Here are examples of correct usage:
In the pediatric trauma center, the head doctor and head nurse direct their med-
ical team. The pronoun their refers to both doctor and nurse.
The head doctor or the head nurse directs his or her team. The pronouns his or
her refer to the closer antecedent, nurse (because the gender of the nurse is not
known, the neutral alternatives are used).
The head doctor or the other doctors give their help when it is needed. The pro-
noun their agrees with the closer antecedent, doctors.
Indefinite Pronouns as Antecedents

As their name implies, indefinite pronouns do not refer to particular people or things;
grammatically they are usually singular but they are often intended as plural. Some
common indefinite pronouns are all, any, anybody, each, either, everybody, neither,
no one, nothing, one, some, somebody, and something.
Like nouns, these pronouns can serve as antecedents of personal and relative
pronouns. But because most of them are grammatically singular, they can be trouble-
some in sentences. Here are examples of correct usage:
Everyone in the trauma center has his or her specific job to do. or All the person-
nel in the trauma center have their specific jobs to do. The neutral, though wordy,
alternative his or her agrees with the singular indefinite pronoun everyone. The
second sentence illustrates the use of the plural when gender is unknown.
Each of them does his or her job efficiently and competently. or All of them do
their jobs efficiently and competently. Each is singular, but all can be either sin-
gular or plural, depending on context (compare “All literature has its place”).
Shifts in Person
Agreement errors in person are shifts between I or we (first person), you (second per-
son), and he, she, it, and they (third person). These errors are probably more often a
result of carelessness than of imperfect knowledge:
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Last summer I went on a canoeing trip to northern Manitoba. It was my first trip
that far north, and it was so peaceful you could forget all the problems back
home. The person represented by you was not present. The writer means I.
See also 1G Shifts.
3D Relative Pronouns
Use relative pronouns to introduce clauses that modify nouns or pronouns. Personal
relative pronouns refer to people. They include who, whom, whoever, whomever, and
whose. Nonpersonal relative pronouns refer to things. They include which, which-
ever, whatever, and whose.
Use which to introduce nonrestrictive clauses and that to introduce restrictive
clauses (see 1I Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Modifiers). Use who to refer to the sub-
ject of the sentence and whom to refer to an object of the verb or preposition.
Following are examples of common errors:
The lawyer that lost the case today went to law school with my sister. Uses imper-
sonal relative pronoun that
Conflict between the two parties led to the lawsuit that was finally settled today.
The relative pronoun that introduces a nonrestrictive clause that modifies law-
suit. Nonrestrictive clauses supply extra information to the sentence, not defin-
ing information.
The case resulted in a ruling, which favored the plaintiff. The relative pronoun
which introduces a restrictive clause that modifies ruling. Restrictive clauses
supply defining information.
Later, the lawyer whom lost the case spoke with the jurors who we had inter-
viewed. The first relative pronoun whom refers to the subject lawyer while the
second relative pronoun who refers to the object of the verb had interviewed.
Once you recognize relative pronoun errors, it is usually easy to fix them:
The lawyer who lost the case today went to law school with my sister.
Conflict between the two parties led to the lawsuit, which was finally settled
today.
The case resulted in a ruling that favored the plaintiff.
Later, the lawyer who lost the case spoke with the jurors whom we had
interviewed.
4 Style
Style is a choice you make as a writer in response to the rhetorical situation. Here, you
will learn strategies for writing with clarity and conciseness. You will also learn strate-
gies for recognizing when certain kinds of language are and are not appropriate.
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4A Conciseness
Concise writing shows that you are considerate of your readers. You do not need to
eliminate details and other content to achieve conciseness; rather, you cut empty
words, repetition, and unnecessary details.
Follow these guidelines to achieve conciseness in your writing:
1. Avoid redundancy. Redundant words and expressions needlessly repeat what
has already been said. Delete them when they appear in your writing.
2. Avoid wordy expressions. Phrases such as In the final analysis and In the present
day and age add no important information to sentences and should be removed
and/or replaced.
3. Avoid unnecessary intensifiers. Intensifiers such as really, very, clearly, quite, and of
course usually fail to add meaning to the words they modify. Delete them when doing
so does not change the meaning of the sentence, or when you could replace the
words with a single word (for instance, replacing very good with excellent).
4. Avoid excess use of prepositional phrases. The use of too many prepositional
phrases within a sentence makes for wordy writing. Always use constructions
that require the fewest words.
5. Avoid negating constructions. Negating constructions using words such as no
and not often add unneeded words to sentences. Use shorter alternatives when
they are available.
6. Use the passive voice only when necessary. When there is no good reason to
use the passive voice, choose the active voice.
Here are more examples of wordy sentences that violate these guidelines, with un-
necessary words in italics:
If the two groups cooperate together, there will be positive benefits for both. Uses
redundancy
There are some people who think the metric system is un-American. Uses wordy
expression
The climb up the mountain was very hard on my legs and really taxed my lungs
and heart. Uses unnecessary modifiers
On the day of his birth, we walked to the park down the block from the house of his
mother. Uses too many prepositional phrases
She did not like hospitals. Uses negating construction when a shorter alternative
is available
The door was closed by that man over there. Uses passive voice when active voice
is preferable
Corrections to the wordy sentences above result in concise sentences:
If the two groups cooperate, both will benefit. This correction also replaces the
wordy construction there will be . . . for both with a shorter, more forceful
alternative.
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Some people think the metric system is un-American.

The climb up the mountain was hard on my legs and taxed my lungs and
heart.
On his birthday, we walked to the park near his mother’s house.
She hated hospitals.
That man over there closed the door.
4B Appropriate Language
Effective writers communicate using appropriate language.
Suitability
Some situations require formal language. Formal language communicates clearly
and directly with a minimum of stylistic flourish. Its tone is serious, objective, and
often detached. Formal language avoids slang, pretentious words, and unnecessary
technical jargon. Informal language, on the other hand, is particular to the writer’s
personality or social group and assumes a closer and more familiar relationship
between the writer and the reader. Its tone is casual, subjective, and intimate.
Informal language can also employ slang and other words that would be inappropri-
ate in formal writing.
As informal language is rarely used within most academic, technical, or business
settings, the following examples show errors in the use of formal language:
The director told the board members to push off. Uses informal language
Professor Oyo dissed Marta when she arrived late to his class for the third time in
a row. Uses slang
The aromatic essence of the gardenia was intoxicating. Uses pretentious words
The doctor told him to take salicylate to ease the symptoms of viral rhinorrhea.
Uses unnecessary jargon
Employing formal language correctly, these examples could be revised as follows:
The director told the board members to leave.
Professor Oyo spoke disrespectfully to Marta when she arrived late to his class
for the third time in a row.
The scent of the gardenia was intoxicating.
The doctor told him to take aspirin to ease his cold symptoms.
Sexist Usage
Gender-exclusive terms such as policeman and chairman are offensive to many read-
ers today. Writers who are sensitive to their audience, therefore, avoid such terms,
replacing them with expressions such as police officer and chairperson or chair. Most
sexist usage in language involves masculine nouns, masculine pronouns, and
patronizing terms.
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Masculine Nouns. Do not use man and its compounds generically. For many peo-
ple, these words are specific to men and do not account for women as separate and
equal people. Here are some examples of masculine nouns and appropriate gender-
neutral substitutions:
Masculine Noun Gender-Neutral Substitution
mailman mail carrier
businessman businessperson, executive, manager
fireman firefighter
man-hours work hours
mankind humanity, people
manmade manufactured, synthetic
salesman salesperson, sales representative, sales agent
congressman member of Congress, representative
Making gender-neutral substitutions often entails using a more specific word for a
generalized term, which adds more precision to writing.
Masculine Pronouns. Avoid using the masculine pronouns he, him, and his in a
generic sense, meaning both male and female. Consider the following options:
1. Eliminate the pronoun.
Every writer has an individual style. Instead of Every writer has his own style.
2. Use plural forms.
Writers have their own styles. Instead of A writer has his own style.
3. Use he or she, one, or you as alternates only sparingly.
Each writer has his or her own style. Instead of Each writer has his own style.
One has an individual writing style. Instead of He has his own individual
writing style.
You have your own writing style. Instead of A writer has his own style.
Patronizing Terms. Avoid terms that cast men or women in gender-exclusive roles
or imply that women are subordinate to men. Here are some examples of biased or
stereotypical terms and their gender-neutral substitutions:
Biased/Stereotypical Term Gender-Neutral Substitution
lady lawyer lawyer
male nurse nurse
career girl professional, attorney, manager
coed student
housewife homemaker
stewardess flight attendant
cleaning lady housecleaner
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Biases and Stereotypes

Most writers are sensitive to racial and ethnic biases or stereotypes, but they should
also avoid language that shows insensitivity to age, class, religion, and sexual
orientation.
5 Punctuation, Mechanics, and Spelling

Punctuation is a system of signals telling readers how the parts of written discourse
relate to one another. Punctuation provides readers with cues for interpreting the
writer’s words as the writer intended them to be understood.
5A End Punctuation
A period is the normal mark for ending sentences. A question mark ends a sentence
that asks a direct question, and an exclamation point ends forceful assertions.
Period .
Sentences normally end with a period.
Studies suggest that eating fish two or three times a week may reduce the risk of
heart attack. Statement
Eat two or three servings of fish a week. Mild command
The patient asked whether eating fish would reduce the risk of heart attack.
Indirect question
Avoid inserting a period before the end of a sentence; the result will be a fragment
(see 1A Fragments). Sentences can be long or short; their length does not determine
their completion. Both of the following examples are complete sentences:
Eat fish. Mild command; the subject, you, is understood
In a two-year study of 1,000 survivors of heart attack, researchers found a 29 per-
cent reduction in mortality among those who regularly ate fish or took a fish oil
supplement. Statement; one sentence
Question Mark ?
A sentence that asks a direct question ends in a question mark.
How does decaffeinated coffee differ from regular coffee?
Do not use a question mark to end an indirect question:
The customer asked how decaffeinated coffee differs from regular coffee.
With quoted questions, place the question mark inside the final quotation marks:
The customer asked, “How does decaffeinated coffee differ from regular
coffee?”
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Exclamation Point !
The exclamation point tells readers that the sentence should be interpreted as force-
ful or dramatic.
Fire!
Shut that door immediately!
Because they give the impression of shouting, exclamation points are rarely needed
in formal business and academic writing.
5B Semicolon ;
Semicolons are mainly used for connecting two (or sometimes three) independent
clauses.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a viral infection common to Southeast Asia; it kills
about 5,000 children a year.
Sometimes the second clause contains a transitional adverb (see 1B Comma Splices):
Dengue has existed in Asia for centuries; however, it grew more virulent in the
1950s.
Do not use a comma where a semicolon or period is required; the result is a comma
splice (see 1B Comma Splices). In contrast, a semicolon used in place of a comma
may result in a type of fragment (see 1A Fragments):
In populations where people have been stricken by an infectious virus, survivors
have antibodies in their bloodstreams; which prevent or reduce the severity of
subsequent infections. The semicolon makes a fragment of the which clause.
Do not confuse the semicolon with the colon (see 5D Colon). While the semicolon
connects independent clauses, a colon ordinarily does not.
The semicolon is also used to separate items in a series when the items contain
internal commas:
Scientists are researching the effects of staphylococcus bacteria, which cause in-
fections in deep wounds; influenza A virus, which causes respiratory flu; and
conjunctivitis bacteria, which have at times caused fatal purpuric fever.
5C Comma ,
The comma is probably the most troublesome mark of punctuation because it has so
many uses. Its main uses are explained here.
Compound Sentences. A comma joins two independent clauses connected with a

coordinating conjunction (see 1B Comma Splices):
Martinique is a tropical island in the West Indies, and it attracts flocks of tourists
annually.
Do not use the comma between independent clauses without the conjunction, even
if the second clause begins with a transitional adverb:
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Faulty: Martinique is a tropical island in the West Indies, it attracts flocks of tour-
ists annually. Two independent clauses with no conjunction creates a comma
splice.
Faulty: Martinique is a tropical island in the West Indies, consequently it attracts
flocks of tourists annually. Two independent clauses with transitional adverb
creates a comma splice.
Introductory Sentence Elements. Commas set off a variety of introductory sentence

elements, as illustrated here:
When the French colonized Martinique in 1635, they eliminated the native Caribs.
Introductory subordinate clause
Choosing death over subservience, the Caribs leaped into the sea. Introductory
participial (verbal) phrase
Before their death, they warned of a “mountain of fire” on the island. Introductory
prepositional phrase
Subsequently, the island’s volcano erupted. Introductory transitional adverb
Short prepositional phrases sometimes are not set off with commas:
In 1658 the Caribs leaped to their death.
Sometimes, however, a comma must be used after a short prepositional phrase to
prevent misreading:
Before, they had predicted retribution. Comma is required to prevent mis-
reading
Nonrestrictive and Parenthetical Elements. Words that interrupt the flow of a sen-
tence are set off with commas before and after.
In this class are nonrestrictive modifiers (see 1B Restrictive and Nonrestrictive
Modifiers), transitional adverbs (see 1B Comma Splices), and a few other types of in-
terrupters. Here are examples:
This rugged island, which Columbus discovered in 1502, exports sugar and rum.
Nonrestrictive which clause; commas before and after
A major part of the economy, however, is tourism. Interrupting transitional ad-
verb; commas before and after
Tourists, attracted to the island by its climate, enjoy discovering its culture.
Interrupting participial (verbal) phrase (see 1A Fragments); commas before and
after
A popular tradition in Martinique is the Carnival, which occurs just before Lent
each year. Nonrestrictive which clause; one comma
Martinique is an overseas department of France, a status conferred in 1946. An
absolute, ending the sentence (participial phrase plus the noun it modifies)
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Series
Commas separate items in a series:
Martiniquans dance to steel drums, clarinets, empty bottles, and banjos. Four
nouns
Dressing in colorful costumes, dancing through the streets, and thoroughly enjoy-
ing the celebration, Martiniquans celebrate Carnival with enthusiasm. Three
participial (verbal) phrases
Martinique has a population of over 300,000, its main religion is Roman
Catholicism, and its languages are French and Creole dialect. Three independent
clauses
Various sentence elements can make up a series, but the joined elements should be
grammatically equivalent (see 1D Parallelism, which discusses faulty parallelism).
Common practice calls for a comma before the conjunction joining the last item in
the series.
Quotations
Commas set off quoted sentences from the words that introduce them:
“A wise man,” says David Hume, “proportions his belief to the evidence.”
According to Plato, “Writing will produce forgetfulness” in writers because “they
will not need to exercise their memories.” The second clause is not set off with a
comma.
“X on beer casks indicates beer which paid ten shillings duty, and hence it came
to mean beer of a given quality,” reports The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
Quotations introduced with that and other connectors (such as because in the second
sentence here) are not set off with commas. Commas at the end of quotations go
inside the quotation marks.
Coordinate Adjectives
Commas separate adjectives that equally modify a noun:
The “food pyramid” was designed as a meaningful, memorable way to represent
the ideal daily diet. Two adjectives modify the noun way equally.
When you’re not sure about using a comma, try inserting the coordinating conjunc-
tion and between the two adjectives to see if they are truly coordinate (meaningful
and memorable). Do not use a comma between adjectives that are not coordinate or
between the last adjective and the noun being modified. (See also 1J Adjectives and
Adverbs.)
Addresses and Dates

Use a comma to separate city and state in an address, but not to set off the zip code:
Glen Ridge, New Jersey 07028 or Glen Ridge, NJ 07028
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In a sentence, a state name is enclosed in commas:

The letter from Glen Ridge, New Jersey, arrived by express mail.
Dates are treated similarly:
January 5, 1886 but 5 January 1886
The events of January 5, 1886, are no longer remembered. When other punctua-
tion is not required, the year is followed by a comma.
Commas to Avoid
A comma does mean pause, but not all pauses are marked by commas. Use a comma
only when you know you need one. Avoid the following comma uses:
1. To set off restrictive sentence elements:
People, who want a balanced diet, can use the food pyramid as a guide. The
restrictive who clause is necessary to identify people and should not be set off
with commas.
2. To separate a subject from its verb and a preposition from its object:
People who want a balanced diet, can use the food pyramid as a guide. The
comma following the who clause separates the subject, people, from its verb, can
use. Treat the noun phrase (People who want a balanced diet) as if it were a single
word.
The bottom level of the food pyramid contains food from grains, such as, bread,
cereals, rice, and pasta. The preposition such as should not be followed by a
comma.
3. To follow a coordinating conjunction (see 1B Comma Splices):
The food pyramid describes a new approach to a balanced diet. But, the meat
and dairy industries opposed it. The coordinating conjunction but should not be
set off with a comma.
4. To separate two independent clauses (see 1B Comma Splices) not joined with a
coordinating conjunction:
The pyramid shows fewer servings of dairy and meat products, therefore con-
sumers would buy less of these higher-priced foods. The comma should be
replaced with a semicolon (5B).
5. To set off coordinate elements joined with a coordinating conjunction:
Vegetables and fruits are near the bottom of the pyramid, and should be eaten
several times a day. The coordinating conjunction and joins a second verb,
should be eaten, not a second independent clause; therefore no comma is
needed.
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5D Colon :
Colons connect two sentence parts, as a hinge connects a door to its frame. Colons
tell readers that a second part of the sentence is coming and that the second part will
complement the first part by providing either: (1) a list that has been anticipated in
the first part, or (2) an explanation, restatement, or elaboration of the first part:
The space shuttle Challenger lifted off on January 28, 1986, with a seven-member
crew: Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka,
Judith A. Resnik, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. The list explains crew.
A twelve-member investigating team discovered the cause of the disaster: a leak
in one of the shuttle’s two solid-fuel booster rockets. The phrase explains the
cause of the disaster.
Do not use colons interchangeably with semicolons (see 5B Semicolon). Colons ordi-
narily are followed by a phrase or phrases, but they are often followed by an indepen-
dent clause:
A twelve-member investigating team discovered the cause of the disaster: a leak
was found in one of the shuttle’s two solid-fuel booster rockets. Both sides of the
colon contain an independent clause.
Avoid using colons after verbs and prepositions (see 1A Fragments):
The two causes of the O-ring failure were cold temperatures and design deficien-
cies. No colon after were
The commission investigating the disaster noted a number of failures in commu-
nication, such as one within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
No colon after such as
Colons have a few other set uses:
Time: 10:15 a.m.
Salutation in a business letter: Dear Patricia Morton:
Biblical reference: Genesis 2:3
5E Dash —
The dash separates sentence elements like a comma, but suggests greater emphasis:
In The War of the Worlds (1898), science fiction writer H. G. Wells described an
intense beam of light that destroyed objects on contact—the laser.
It is also used to set off a nonrestrictive sentence element (see 1I Restrictive and
Nonrestrictive Modifiers) that might be confusing if set off with commas:
A number of medical uses—performing eye surgery, removing tumors, and un-
clogging coronary arteries—make the laser more than a destructive weapon. The
three explanatory items separated by commas are set off from the rest of the sen-
tence with dashes.
A dash is sometimes used in place of a colon when a colon might seem too formal:
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Besides its medical uses, the laser serves many other functions—reading price
codes, playing compact audio discs, and sending telephone messages.
Use the dash with caution; overuse defeats the purpose of giving special emphasis to
special parts of your writing. Overuse might also give readers the impression that you
aren’t familiar with alternative means of punctuation.
5F Quotation Marks “ ”
The main use for quotation marks is to set off direct quotations:
Professor Charlotte Johnson announced, “Interdisciplinary science is combining
fields of scientific knowledge to make up new disciplines.”
“Biochemistry,” she went on to say, “combines biology and chemistry.”
Quotations within quotations are marked with single quotation marks:
“The term ‘interdisciplinary science’ thus describes a change in how processes
are investigated,” she concluded.
Periods and commas (see 5C Comma) always go inside the end quotation marks; co-
lons and semicolons almost always go outside the quotation. Dashes, question
marks, and exclamation points go inside or outside depending on meaning:
“Do you know the various branches of the physical sciences?” asked Professor
Johnson. Question mark goes inside quotation marks because it applies to the
quotation.
Did the professor say, “Histology deals with tissues and cytology with the fine
structures of individual cells”? Question mark goes outside quotation marks be-
cause it applies to the surrounding sentence, not the quotation.
Do not use quotation marks to set off indirect quotations:
The professor said that histology and cytology are different branches of study.
Also, do not use quotation marks when you are using a long quotation. Instead, place
the quoted material in its own block of text that is all indented and omit the quotation
marks.
Another use for quotation marks is to enclose titles of works that are not pub-
lished separately, including short stories, poems, songs, chapters, and essays:
“You Are a Man,” by Richard Rodriguez
“The Incident,” by Countee Cullen
Do not enclose titles of your own essays in quotation marks when they are in title po-
sition. (See 5K Italics for treatment of titles of works that are published separately.)
Quotation marks are sometimes used to indicate to readers that you are using a
word or phrase in a special sense, but be careful not to overuse this function:
The “right” way to do a thing is not always the best way.
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5G Other Marks
Parentheses ( )
Parentheses enclose interrupting elements. They usually add explanatory informa-
tion that might seem digressive to the topic.
The Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator (PBFA II) is a device designed to produce
energy by fusion. Parentheses set off an abbreviation that will henceforth be
used in place of the full term.
The PBFA II stores up to 3.5 million joules of energy. (One joule is the amount of
energy expended by a one-watt device in one second.) Parentheses set off an ex-
planation framed as a complete sentence.
Parentheses are always used in pairs. They might have internal punctuation (as in the
second example), but marks related to the sentence as a whole go outside the
parentheses:
During fusion (joining of two atomic nuclei to form a larger nucleus), mass is con-
verted to energy. Parenthetical element is followed by a comma, showing that it
relates to fusion. If it had been preceded by a comma, it would appear, illogically,
to relate to mass.
Brackets [ ]
Square brackets are used to indicate to the reader that the writer has inserted words
into quoted material:
Describing the Great Depression, Frederick Lewis Allen says, “The total amount
of money paid out in wages [in 1932] was 60 percent less than in 1929.” The
words in 1932 were not part of the original text.
Some writers use brackets to enclose brief parenthetical material within
parentheses:
Jules Verne (Journey to the Center of the Earth [1864]) described giant apes and a
vast subterranean sea at the core of the earth. The date of publication is paren-
thetical to the title of the book.
Ellipsis Dots . . .
Ellipsis dots (spaced periods) are used in quotations to indicate where words have
been omitted. Three spaced periods mark omissions within a sentence. If the omis-
sion comes at the end of your sentence but not at the end of the original sentence, use
four spaced periods.
One of the legacies of the Great Depression, says Frederick Lewis Allen, is that “if
individual Americans are in deep trouble, . . . their government [should] come to
their aid.” Words following a comma in the original sentence are omitted within
the sentence. The brackets enclose an inserted word.
This idea, adds Allen, “was fiercely contested for years. . . .” Allen’s sentence did
not end at years, where the quoted sentence ends.
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Make sure that the omitted words do not distort the meaning of the original
selection.
5H Capitalization
The rules for capitalization are relatively fixed. Following are examples of situations
calling for capitalization.
1. Beginning of a sentence:
In 1929, the whole credit structure of the American economy was shaken.
2. Proper names or nouns:
With the onset of the Great Depression, President Hoover at first tried to organize
national optimism. Historical period or event; person
Bankers on Wall Street, manufacturers in Detroit, and legislators in Washington
all had an effect on the economy. Place
President Hoover set up the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to aid banks and
businesses. Person; institution
Jell-O, Pepsi, Rice Krispies Trade names
Aunt Beatrice, Grandmother Dietz, Dad Relationships when they are part of the
name; but not my dad and my aunt and uncle
3. Titles:
Death at an Early Age, by Jonathan Kozol; The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An

Overview of the New Physics, by Gary Zukav. Capitalize first and last words,
words following colons, and all other words except articles (a, an, and the) and
conjunctions and prepositions of fewer than five letters (and, but, in, by, etc.).
Avoid capitalizing common nouns; for example:
For many people, the winter of 1902 was bleak. Seasons
Many people moved south to a warmer climate. Compass directions
Simon Waterson was a professor of history at the time. Titles that are not part of
proper names
5I Abbreviation
While abbreviations are part of the language, not all are acceptable in all circum-
stances. A general guideline is that they are less common in formal prose than in less
formal circumstances. The following examples are arranged from most acceptable to
least acceptable in written prose.
Titles with proper names

Dr. Paul Gordon Paul Gordon, Ph.D.
George Grossman, Jr.
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Handbook
Times and dates

11:15 A.M. or 11:15 a.m. 53 B.C.E C.E. 371
Names of organizations and countries

NATO CIA NBC
Use U.S. as an adjective (in a U.S. city) and United States as a noun (a city in the
United States).
Latin abbreviations (write out except in source citations and parenthetical

comments)
etc. and so forth (et cetera—applies to things)

i.e. that is (id est)
e.g. for example (exempli gratia)
cf. compare (confer)
et al. and others (et alii—applies to people)
N.B. note well (nota bene)
Abbreviations to be avoided in most prose

The school board not bd. met on Tuesday not Tues. February not Feb. 3.
William not Wm. Townsend was a guest lecturer in the economics not econ.
class.
Townsend arrived from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania not PA or Penn., late last night.
Consult your dictionary when you have questions about specific abbreviations.
5J Apostrophe ‘
The apostrophe has two main uses in English—to mark possessive nouns and to
show contractions—plus a few specialized uses. Avoid all other uses.
Possessive Nouns
Ownership or connection is marked on nouns with apostrophes:
Norton’s résumé is short and concise. The résumé belongs to Norton.
This week’s newsletter will be a little late. The newsletter of this week
The article’s title is confusing. The title of the article
To make nouns possessive, follow one of these steps:
1. For singular nouns, add ’s (nature + ’s = nature’s; Tess + ’s = Tess’s).
2. For plural nouns ending in s, add ’ (strangers + ‘ = strangers’).
3. For plural nouns not ending in s, add ’s (men + ’s = men’s).
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Do not use apostrophes to make nouns plural. (See 5N Spelling.) And do not use
apostrophes with possessive and relative pronouns. (See 3A Pronoun Case.)
For example:
The Harris’s are in Florida. Incorrectly uses apostrophe to make the noun Harris
plural
The family lost it’s home in the fire. Incorrectly uses apostrophe with the pro-
noun it to make it possessive
Contractions
Apostrophes stand in place of omitted letters in contractions:
doesn’t does not who’s who is or who has
isn’t is not let’s let us
it’s it is or it has we’ll we will
Because contractions reflect a casual style, they are usually not acceptable in formal
writing. Do not confuse the contracted it is (it’s) and who is (who’s) with the posses-
sive pronouns its and whose. (See 3A Pronoun Case.)
Special Uses
Plurals of letters, numbers, and words used as terms
I am hoping to get all A’s this year.
The memo had four misspelled there’s. See 5K Italics, which discusses italicizing
words used as terms.
All the 7’s are upside down in the 1990s catalog. The plural for years is usually
formed without apostrophes.
Omitted letters or numbers
We’ll never forget the summer of ’78. Restrict to informal writing.
“Be seein’ ya,” Charlie said. Dialect in quoted speech.
5K Italics
Italic type, which slants to the right, has specialized uses.
Titles of works published independently
The Atlantic Monthly (magazine)
A Farewell to Arms (book)
Leaves of Grass (book-length poems)
The Wall Street Journal (newspaper)
American Idol (television program)
The Glass Menagerie (play)
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Handbook
Ships, aircraft, spacecraft, and trains

Challenger (spacecraft)
Leasat 3 (communications satellite)
San Francisco Zephyr (train)
Italics are also used for words, letters, and numbers used as themselves in a
sentence:
The process of heat transfer is called conduction.
The letter e is the most commonly used vowel.
Many people consider 13 to be an unlucky number.
Italics can also be used for emphasis:
“I said, ‘Did you buy the tickets?’ not ‘Would you buy the tickets?’”
Although underlining was used as a substitute for italics in the past, writers generally
avoid it nowadays because underlining is used for other purposes (for example, to
indicate a hyperlink in Web and other electronic writing).
5L Hyphens -
Hyphens divide words at the ends of lines, form compound words, and connect
spelled-out numbers.
Dividing Words
There are three general rules to remember when using hyphens to divide words at
the ends of lines: (1) always divide between syllables, (2) don’t divide one-syllable
words, and (3) don’t divide words so that only two letters carry over to the second
line. Consider the following examples:
In the end, after months of waiting and mountains of legal fees, the court rul-
ed against him. Incorrectly divides the one-syllable word ruled.
Needless to say, when the court ruled against him, he was not particular-
ly pleased. Incorrectly divides the word particularly so that only the last two
letters carry over to the second line.
Forming Compound Words

Knowing when to hyphenate compound words can be tricky because some com-
pound words can be written as single words (for example, graveyard or postmaster)
while others can be written as two separate words (for example, place kick or execu-
tive secretary). Complicating matters further, compound adjectives take hyphens
when they precede nouns but not when they follow nouns. Here are some examples
of the correct and incorrect use of hyphens:
My ex-husband is a pro-Communist crackpot. Use hyphens after the prefix ex-
and any prefix placed before a proper name, in this case pro- before Communist.
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Handbook
In general, though, most words formed with prefixes are written as one word; for
example, antisocial or multicultural.
The post-mortem revealed that her brother in law died of natural causes. This
sentence contains two hyphenation errors. First, the compound word post-mor-
tem should be written as a single word, postmortem (see comment on prefixes in
the preceding example). Second, the compound noun brother in law should be
hyphenated as brother-in-law.
The secretary treasurer discouraged the group from making highly-risky invest-
ments. This sentence contains two hyphenation errors. First, the compound
noun secretary treasurer requires a hyphen. Second, -ly adverbs such as highly
are written as separate words when they precede adjectives such as risky.
Connecting Spelled-Out Numbers

Use hyphens to link compounds of spelled out numbers and to link numbers to
nouns. For example:
twenty-fifth time six-year-old
nine-page letter 35-year-old
132-page report
Whenever you have a question about dividing words and hyphenating compound
words, use your dictionary. Dots usually mark syllables, and hyphens mark hyphen-
ated compounds.
5M Numbers
Use the following guidelines to handle numbers in writing:
1. Spell out numbers requiring two words or less and write numerals for numbers
requiring three or more words. In practice, this means you will write out num-
bers one to ninety-nine and write numerals for 100 and above.
2. Spell out numbers that begin sentences. For long numbers this can lead to awk-
ward sentences. In such instances, you should consider revising the sentence to
move the number away from the beginning of the sentence so it can be written in
numerals.
3. Make exceptions for numbers used in special figures. In these instances, num-
bers are usually written as numerals. Special figures of this type include days and
years; pages, chapters, and volumes; acts, scenes, and lines; decimals, fractions,
ratios, and percentages; temperatures; addresses, statistics; and amounts of
money.
Consider the following examples:
The company mailed twenty-one parcels yesterday.
She bought 2,200 acres of ranch land with her lottery winnings.
One hundred and fifty-two cows drowned in the flood.
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Handbook
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The famous “To be, or not to be” soliloquy appears in act 3, scene 1 of
Hamlet.
The suspect resided at 221 Dolores Street, apartment 3B.
5N Spelling
Your spelling checker will flag most misspelled words and suggest alternatives, but it
will often miss unintended homonyms (for instance, accepting Brutish Literature
when you meant to type British Literature). Because you should not rely solely on a
spell checker, here is a review of the most useful and dependable rules of spelling.
Doubling a Final Consonant

When adding a suffix such as -ing or -ed to a word that ends in a consonant, double
the final consonant to keep the internal vowel short; for example, permit, permitted;
stop, stopped. Double the final consonant when all three of the following are true:
1. The word ends in a consonant preceded by a vowel.
2. The word is one syllable or the accent is on the final syllable.
3. The suffix begins with a vowel.
Here are some other examples:

sit sitting prefer preferred
put putting occur occurrence
Words Containing ie or ei
The familiar rhyme about using ie or ei is true most of the time—enough times that it
is worth remembering: i before e except after c when the sound is long e. Thus, words
such as these follow the rule:
receive believe weight
ceiling chief beige
There are a few common exceptions: caffeine, either, neither, seize, and weird. Another
common word that the rule does not address is friend (spelled i before e, but the
sound is not long e).
Final e
To add an ending to a word that ends in a silent e, drop the e when the ending begins
with a vowel:
believe + able = believable believe + ed = believed
hope + ing = hoping hope + ful = hopeful
When the consonant preceding the final e is a soft c or g, the e is dropped only when
the ending begins with e or i:
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Handbook
change + ing = changing change + able = changeable

nice + er = nicer nice + ly = nicely
Final y
To add an ending to a word with a final y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i
except when your ending is -ing:
happy + ly = happily study + ing = studying
apply + es = applies apply + ing = applying
try + ed = tried try + ing = trying
When the final y is preceded by a vowel, keep the y:
play + ed = played play + ful = playful
employ + ed = employed employ + ment = employment
but
say + s = says say + d = said
pay + ment = payment pay + d = paid
Never change the y when adding an ending to a proper noun: the Barrys.
Plurals
Plural nouns ordinarily have an s ending:
boy + s = boys car + s = cars
Words that end in ch, s, sh, x, or z require -es:
box + es = boxes church + es = churches
Words ending in o are a little more troublesome. If the o is preceded by a vowel, add s:
radio + s = radios video + s = videos
If the o is preceded by a consonant, ordinarily add -es:
hero + es = heroes potato + es = potatoes
A few common words take either s or -es:
tornados, tornadoes zeros, zeroes volcanos, volcanoes
Some words form their plurals internally or do not have a plural form. Do not add an
s to these words:
child, children deer, deer
man, men fish, fish
Compound words ordinarily have an s at the end of the compound:
textbook, textbooks snowshoe, snowshoes
text edition, text editions
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Handbook
But when the first word of the compound is the main word, add the s to it:
sisters-in-law attorneys-general
Whenever you are in doubt about the correct plural ending, check your dictionary.
Homonyms
Some of the most troublesome words to spell are homonyms, words that sound alike
but are spelled differently. Here is a partial list of the most common ones:
accept, except it’s, its than, then
affect, effect know, no their, there, they’re
already, all ready lead, led to, too, two
cite, sight, site maybe, may be whose, who’s
forth, fourth passed, past your, you’re
A few other words, not exactly homonyms, are sometimes confused:

breath, breathe loose, lose
choose, chose precede, proceed
lightning, lightening quiet, quite
Check the meanings of any sound-alike words you are unsure of in your dictionary.
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Index
A 284, 285, 289, 294, 295,
296, 297 E
Abbreviations, 12, 301, 302 Clustering, 122, 123, 155 E-books, 246
Academic Disciplines, 154 Clutter, 15 Ebscohost, 231
Academic Journals, 22 Coherence, 139, 141, 155 Editing, 9, 11, 13, 114, 115, 116,
Academic Search Engines, 232 Collaboration, 225 129, 130, 131, 132, 133,
Academic Writing, 116, 156, 294 Collections, 251 155, 163, 222
Accept, Except, 308 Colons, 298, 301 Ellipsis, 300
Active Voice, 277, 282, 290 Comma Splice, 270, 271, 272, 295 Emotion, 73, 168, 172, 269
Adjectives, 149, 154, 268, 273, Comma Splices, 270, 271, 272, Emphatic Order, 240
276, 280, 287, 296, 304, 294, 295, 297 Encyclopedias, 230, 251
305 Commas, 96, 270, 272, 275, 279, Ethos, 155, 182, 208
Adverbs, 149, 154, 157, 271, 273, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, Example Context Clues, 95, 97, 98,
276, 280, 295, 296, 305 299 99
Advertisements, 126, 159, 173, Communication, 13, 109, 136, 144, Exclamation Points, 294, 299
175, 179, 220 159, 189 Experts, 119, 121, 143
Advertising, 28, 66, 126, 137, 153, Comparative Degree, 280 Explanation, 29, 30, 31, 65, 121,
173, 174, 176, 177, 178, Comparative Form, 280 154, 214, 225, 298
233, 244, 269 Comparatives, 216 Exploring, 163, 169, 184, 229
Advocacy, 164, 169 Comparison, 73, 140, 144, 146,
Affect, Effect, 308 154, 155, 176
Agreement, 282, 283, 284, 285,
288
Complements, 156, 280, 284 F
Composing, 115, 134, 135, 136, Facebook, 6, 16, 124, 132, 254
Amazon, 199, 203, 207, 252 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, Facts, 9, 13, 19, 57, 102, 104, 106,
Analogies, 146 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 111, 135, 147, 191, 229,
Analogy, 135, 146, 154 147 233
Anecdotes, 16, 229 Composition, 169, 194 Feedback, 121, 202, 219, 222, 223
Annotating, 26, 28, 30 Compound Adjectives, 304 Fiction, 22, 163, 178, 182, 205,
Announcements, 11 Compound Antecedents, 288 206, 298
Antecedents, 285, 287, 288 Compound Sentences, 294 Film, 83, 164, 181, 182, 205, 206,
Anthology, 250 Compound Subjects, 286 253
Apa, 121, 149, 151, 154, 156, 228, Compound Words, 304, 307 Films, 175, 204, 205, 206, 209,
242, 252, 261 Comprehension, 19, 22, 26, 29 220, 225
Apa Style, 149, 151, 154 Computers, 65, 104, 175, 179, 202 Final Draft, 114, 115, 116, 119,
Apostrophes, 286, 302, 303 Concentration, 1, 3, 6, 7, 49, 53, 134, 156
Appeals, 157, 181, 182, 184 56 First Draft, 6, 114, 127, 129, 130,
Argument, 87, 92, 99, 143, 161, Conciseness, 289, 290 240, 255
175, 180, 203, 241 Concluding Paragraphs, 127, 134, Flowcharts, 221
Arguments, 164, 245 147, 155 Focused Freewriting, 122, 127, 155
Articles, 22, 39, 52, 184, 232, 235, Conclusions, 147 Fonts, 149
250, 252, 260, 261, 301 Concrete Details, 156 Formal Language, 291
Artifacts, 179 Conjunctions, 268, 270, 271, 274, Forums, 124
Association, 110, 154, 156, 199, 301 Fragments, 266, 267, 268, 269,
242 Conjunctive Adverbs, 157 271, 293, 294, 295, 298
Associations, 164, 181 Consumer Behavior, 244, 263 Framing, 163, 166, 168, 170, 179,
Assumptions, 26, 163, 164, 191 Context Clues, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 183, 190, 192
Attitude, 31, 84, 106, 144, 157 Contractions, 133, 302, 303 Freewriting, 122, 127, 155, 156,
Authors, 8, 67, 80, 81, 111, 203, Coordinate Adjectives, 296 229
250, 254 Coordinating Conjunctions, 270, 271 Fused Sentence, 272, 273
Author’s Purpose, 106 Coordination, 273, 274, 275 Fused Sentences, 272, 273
Auxiliary Verbs, 157 Correlative Conjunctions, 274
Credibility, 118, 155, 163
B
Critical Thinking, 4, 10, 11, 14, 18,
144 G
Generalizations, 77, 131, 136, 138
Background Information, 11, 135 Genre, 218, 220, 282
Background Knowledge, 23, 180 Genres, 222, 282
Bar Graphs, 153
Beliefs, 56, 76, 79, 81, 85, 109,
D Gerunds, 268, 287
Dangling Modifiers, 278 Glossaries, 7
118, 175, 178, 180 Dashes, 96, 298, 299 Glossary, 154, 155, 156, 157
Bias, 13, 85, 262 Data, 19, 153, 191, 198, 202, 204, Google, 231, 232, 233
Blogs, 132, 225 215, 221, 231, 241, 248, Google Scholar, 232
Body Paragraphs, 22, 120, 125, 255, 287 Grammar, 115, 132, 133, 155, 266,
134, 138, 142, 147, 155 Databases, 107, 230, 235 272
Boldface, 149, 150, 256 Date Of Publication, 236, 249, 300 Graphics, 24, 25, 148, 150, 151,
Brackets, 300 Dependent Clauses, 272, 273 155, 220, 221, 233
Brainstorming, 122, 123, 127, 155, Description, 26, 56, 142, 155, 157, Graphs, 8, 19, 23, 144, 148, 153,
229 165, 184, 185, 201, 215, 155, 187, 220, 221, 241
Branding, 175 231
Diagrams, 8, 12, 241
C
Dialogue, 124, 132
Dictionaries, 95, 251 H
Dictionary, 25, 29, 36, 37, 133, Headings, 22, 24, 25, 148, 149,
Calendar, 2 150, 203, 217
Capital Letters, 118, 127 144, 251, 253, 254, 280,
282, 285, 296, 302, 305, Helping Verbs, 281, 283
Capitalization, 301 Highlighting, 6, 26, 133, 148, 194,
Captions, 189, 221 308
Direct Quotations, 239, 299 221
Case Studies, 7 Homonyms, 306, 308
Categories, 33, 34, 35, 79, 132, Discourse, 277, 293
Discover, 8, 125, 127, 232 Humor, 35
175, 206 Hyphens, 250, 304, 305
Characters, 126, 177, 179, 180, Document Design, 148, 150, 155,
180 Hypothesis, 64, 65, 66
181, 183, 186, 206, 207
Charts, 7, 8, 19, 23, 24, 25, 153, Documentary Photographs, 163,
183, 220, 221, 241 164, 165, 169, 173
Citations, 222, 236, 242, 245, 262, Documentation, 19, 151, 154, 155, I
302 156, 157, 228, 242 Illustration, 41, 140, 156, 157
Claims, 71, 133, 147, 161, 189, Documentation Style, 151, 155, Illustrations, 143
199, 201, 202, 203 157, 242 Image Analysis, 159, 161, 169, 173
Classification, 79, 146, 155 Documentation Styles, 156 Imagery, 175
Clauses, 154, 266, 270, 271, 272, Drafts, 115, 119, 120, 125, 130, Immigration Reform, 159, 160
273, 274, 275, 279, 283, 131, 155, 156, 157, 185 Imperative Mood, 283
309
Incomplete Thoughts, 269 Mood, 61, 98, 157, 165, 166, 167, Print Sources, 249
Indefinite Pronouns, 284, 288 277, 282, 283 Prior Knowledge, 24, 25
Independent Clauses, 266, 270, Problem Solving, 144, 199
271, 272, 273, 275, 294, Professor, 5, 59, 67, 76, 89, 91,
Index, 65
295, 297 N 92, 165, 198, 256, 291,
299, 301
Narration, 142
Indicative Mood, 277 Narrative, 43, 47, 48, 142, 156, Profiles, 8, 282
Indirect Quotations, 299 169, 176, 181, 182, 183 Prompts, 182, 220
Inference, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107, Narrative Essay, 47 Pronouns, 155, 267, 282, 284,
108, 109, 111 Negating Constructions, 290 285, 286, 287, 288, 289,
Infinitives, 268 New Words, 95 291, 292, 303
Informal Language, 291 News Photographs, 159, 183, 184 Proofreading, 5, 114, 115, 116,
Intellectual Property, 151, 225 News Stories, 191 129, 130, 131, 133, 156
Intensifiers, 290 Newsletters, 149, 150, 151 Proposals, 199
Intent, 245 Newspapers, 132, 159, 175, 190, Prose, 204, 301, 302
Interpreting, 164, 191, 293 207, 208, 231, 235 Protocol, 89, 90, 91
Interrupting Elements, 300 Nonrestrictive Clauses, 289 Punctuation, 115, 132, 133, 155,
Interviews, 232, 235 Nonrestrictive Modifiers, 278, 289, 179, 246, 266, 269, 270,
Introduction, 7, 22, 32, 33, 56, 86, 295, 298 272, 293, 294, 299, 300
93, 110, 147, 184, 185, Note Taking, 12
252, 257 Noun Phrases, 275
Introductory Paragraphs, 134, 135,
147
Novels, 37, 53, 203, 205 Q
Quotation Marks, 19, 231, 232,
Irregular Verbs, 281, 282 243, 249, 254, 293, 296,
Issues, 8, 9, 160, 191, 209, 229,
251, 259, 283, 284 O 299
Quotations, 228, 229, 239, 242,
Italics, 24, 25, 98, 99, 132, 149, Objective Case, 286
Objects, 15, 102, 143, 146, 156, 243, 245, 246, 254, 262,
256, 261, 290, 299, 303, 296, 299, 300
304 161, 167, 169, 179, 180,
194, 286, 298
Observation, 50, 170, 213
J Online Sources, 246, 261 R
Openings, 210 Reading Comprehension, 29
Jargon, 291 Opinion, 19, 73, 107, 118, 132, Reading Process, 22, 23, 29
Journalism, 188, 190 190, 283 Reading Selections, 26, 32, 63
Journals, 22, 235 Opposing Viewpoints, 257 Reading Strategies, 22
Judgment, 9, 130, 200, 202, 208, Organization, 9, 12, 13, 53, 144, Reasons, 33, 80, 131, 138, 139,
214, 216, 217, 223 184, 213, 223, 249 146, 155, 156, 163, 199,
Outline, 11, 23, 53, 115, 126, 127, 222
128, 129, 155, 156, 157, Recall Clue System, 13
K 240, 255, 256 Redundancy, 290
Key Words, 10, 141, 149, 150, 157, Outlines, 8, 10, 127, 255 Reference Books, 231
230 Outlining, 114, 116, 126, 181 Reference Librarian, 230
Keyword Search, 231 Reflection, 120, 121, 198, 224
Knowledge, 17, 23, 24, 25, 60, Relative Clauses, 279, 285
118, 119, 137, 144, 163,
180, 182, 191, 233, 258,
P Relative Pronouns, 267, 285, 286,
287, 289, 303
Page Numbers, 120, 251
288, 299 Paintings, 110, 159, 169, 170, 171, Repetition, 131, 141, 155, 157,
172, 173, 178, 181, 183, 167, 194, 290
184, 185, 186 Reports, 59, 111, 149, 151, 213,
L Parallelism, 127, 131, 141, 149, 225, 288, 296
Research Essays, 149, 240, 241,
Latin Abbreviations, 302 155, 156, 157, 273, 274,
Layout, 148, 150 296 242
Lead Paragraph, 22 Paraphrases, 19, 228, 239, 242, Research Papers, 149, 151, 250
Lecture Notes, 13 243, 245, 262 Research Topic, 229, 230
Lectures, 3, 9, 10, 12 Parentheses, 11, 96, 194, 245, Resolution, 201
Letter, 38, 117, 120, 266, 297, 298, 246, 257, 300 Restrictive Clauses, 289
304, 305 Parenthetical Citations, 242, 262 Reviews, 124, 199, 200, 203, 209,
Letters, 118, 127, 134, 155, 234, Participles, 268 210, 212, 239
270, 271, 301, 303, 304 Passive Voice, 277, 282, 290 Revising, 114, 115, 116, 121, 129,
Libraries, 230, 231 Past Participle, 268, 282 130, 131, 156, 184, 185,
Line Graphs, 153 Past Tense, 282, 283 222, 305
Links, 120, 139 Pathos, 181, 182, 194 Revision, 126, 130, 131, 132, 220,
Listing, 10, 18, 122, 151, 155, 213, Peer Review, 185 271, 273
231 Periodicals, 230, 231, 251 Rhetoric, 211
Lists, 9, 10, 122, 133, 149, 175, Periods, 3, 108, 170, 259, 261, Rhythms, 141
205, 225, 249, 283 267, 270, 299, 300
Literature, 203, 204, 209, 214, 288, Photography, 124, 163, 165, 168,
306 188, 191 S
Logos, 200, 220 Phrase Fragments, 267, 268, 269 Scenarios, 201
Pie Charts, 153, 221 Scenes, 121, 163, 165, 171, 175,
Plagiarism, 18, 19, 228, 239, 243, 176, 187, 189, 305
M Plato, 296
247, 248 Search Engines, 231, 232
Semicolons, 270, 294, 298, 299
Magazines, 159, 167, 175, 176,
184, 231, 235, 260 Plot, 206 Sentence Fragments, 266
Main Ideas, 10, 11, 12, 23, 28, 29, Plural Nouns, 302, 307 Sentence Structure, 133, 155, 156,
136, 243, 245 Plurals, 303, 307 245
Mapping, 31, 122, 123, 155, 185, Popular Magazines, 176 Setting, 6, 165, 166, 169, 172,
218 Portfolios, 120 179, 181, 206, 224, 279
Maps, 12, 24, 25, 26, 241 Possessive Case, 287 Settings, 179, 186, 291
Mechanics, 115, 155, 179, 223, Possessive Form, 285, 287 Shifts, 183, 276, 277, 288, 289
293 Possessive Nouns, 285, 286, 287, Short Stories, 299
Memoirs, 145, 154, 282 302 Skills, 1, 9, 58, 103, 126, 137, 144,
Messages, 81, 174, 175, 299 Possessive Pronouns, 286, 287 154, 159, 240, 256, 259
Minutes, 4, 38, 57, 124, 137, 253 Posters, 149, 150, 151, 175 Slang, 146, 291
Mirror Effect, 176, 177, 178 Powerpoint, 10, 11, 186 Slides, 10, 186
Mirrors And Windows Principle, 176 Preface, 7, 8 Software, 16, 65, 107, 133, 163,
Misplaced Modifiers, 277, 278 Prefixes, 305 198, 199, 202, 213, 216
Mixed Sentences, 275, 276 Premise, 203 Speeches, 225
Mla Documentation Style, 157 Prepositional Phrase Fragments, Spelling, 11, 115, 122, 127, 132,
Mla Style, 127, 149, 151, 156, 228, 269 133, 155, 293, 303, 306
245, 254 Prepositional Phrases, 267, 268, Statistics, 135, 191, 253, 255, 305
Models, 179, 180 276, 278, 279, 290, 295 Stereotypes, 25, 26, 27, 31, 190,
Modifiers, 157, 267, 277, 278, 280, Prepositions, 149, 268, 298, 301 293
289, 290, 295, 298 Present Participle, 268, 282 Stereotypical Terms, 292
Modifying Phrases, 272 Present Tense Verbs, 283 Stressors, 14, 73
Monitoring, 6, 7 Presentations, 11 Structure, 69, 133, 155, 156, 167,
310
181, 184, 202, 223, 245, Window Effect, 176, 178, 182
301 Wordy Expressions, 290
Student Essays, 22 Works Cited, 151, 157, 207, 228,
Styles, 127, 156, 292 242, 245, 249, 250, 254,
Subject Complements, 284 255, 259, 260, 261, 262
Subject Matter, 163, 165, 169, Writing Portfolio, 114, 115, 116,
170, 184 119, 120
Subjective Case, 286 Writing Portfolios, 120
Subjunctive Mood, 283 Writing Process, 114, 115, 119,
Subordinate Clause Fragment, 266 126, 155, 156, 157, 222
Subordinate Clauses, 272, 275, Writing Situation, 157
279, 285 Www, 234, 235, 252, 253, 254,
Subordinating Conjunctions, 268 255, 259, 260
Subordination, 273, 274, 275
Summaries, 22, 26, 28, 228, 239,
242, 243, 245, 247, 262
Summary, 8, 9, 22, 23, 27, 111,
Y
Youtube, 176, 181, 182, 184, 186,
140, 224, 243, 244, 245, 220
246, 247, 248, 253
Superlative Form, 280
Supporting Details, 136, 139, 240
Surprise, 205
Surveys, 232, 233
Syllabus, 89
Symbols, 26
Synonym, 95, 96, 97, 99, 133, 157
Synonyms, 133, 231, 245
T
Tables, 8, 63, 153, 221, 242
Tense, 73, 74, 157, 276, 281, 282,
283
Tension, 194
Terminology, 95
Terms, 11, 96, 130, 145, 154, 155,
156, 157, 183, 204, 212,
215, 231, 239, 291, 292,
303
Testimony, 215
Tests, 22, 77, 256
Textbooks, 1, 7, 8, 9, 15, 22, 52,
307
Themes, 171
Thesis Statement, 114, 115, 116,
125, 126, 128, 131, 135,
155, 157, 183, 214, 236,
240, 241
Thesis Statements, 125, 126
Time Management, 1, 144
Title Pages, 255
Titles, 269, 299, 301, 303
Tone, 70, 82, 121, 149, 200, 210,
213, 291
Topic Sentence, 131, 136, 137, 138,
157
Topic Sentences, 125, 131, 136,
137
Topics, 7, 8, 119, 121, 122, 124,
261, 262
Transfer, 304
Transitional Adverbs, 271, 295
Transitional Expressions, 141, 155
Transitions, 131, 139, 140, 157
U
Unity, 150, 167
Urls, 1
V
Verb Phrases, 157, 267
Verbal Phrases, 267, 268, 278, 284
Verbals, 268
Verbs, 149, 154, 157, 268, 273,
274, 275, 276, 280, 281,
282, 283, 284, 285, 298
Videos, 10, 66, 161, 183, 190, 220,
225, 307
Visual Aids, 10, 186
Visual Arts, 110
Visual Literacy, 159
Visualization, 14
Visuals, 8, 10, 150, 151, 185, 197,
211, 215, 219, 220, 222,
223, 224, 228, 241, 242
Voice, 10, 45, 47, 92, 157, 176,
177, 181, 277, 282, 290
W
Web Site, 1, 4, 7, 11, 150, 151,
164, 169, 187, 188, 239
Web Sites, 7, 184
Websites, 225, 235
311

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English 495: College Reading & Writing

Dr. Judith Weingarter, Chaffey College

Prof. Robert Nazar, Chaffey College

Copyright © 2018 by Pearson Learning Solutions

A Pearson Education Company

ISBN 10: 1323869832

Printed in the USA

Chapter 2 - Active Reading ..................................................................21

Chapter 3 - Improving Your Vocabulary with Context Clues ..................... 95

Chapter 4 - Making Inferences ........................................................... 101

Chapter 5 - Writing Processes ............................................................ 113

Chapter 6 - Analyzing Images ............................................................ 159

Chapter 7 - Writing to Evaluate .......................................................... 197

Chapter 8 - The Research Essay ......................................................... 227

Handbook ....................................................................................... 265

a Managing your time

and activities you perform regularly—commuting, attending class, study-

Course title Desired grade Study hours per week

● Determine whether you are overcommitted. Total your time commit-

2 Building a study plan

3 Making the most of study time

Distributed learning Single-session learning

1 hour 1 hour 1 hour 3 hours

● Overestimate your study time. It is better to overestimate than to un-

4 Balancing school, work, and family

exercise 1 Building a term or semester plan

b Strengthening your concentration

1 Focusing your attention

2 Monitoring your concentration

exercise 2 Monitoring your concentration

c getting the most from your textbooks

1 using introductory textbooks

2 using advanced textbooks

To study advanced-level textbooks, create your own study aids:

d Sharpening your listening skills in class

2 recording main ideas

● listen for direct announcements. Phrases such as It is particularly im-

2 recording details and examples

3 Taking organized notes

4 Taking notes useful for review and study

Follow these steps to study your notes:

5 editing and reviewing your notes

exercise 3 Analyzing your lecture notes

exercise 4 using the recall Clue System

1 Symptoms and causes of stress

2 Coping with stress

Modify your approach

Modify your habits

g Managing online courses

h Communicating effectively in class

2 Participating in class discussions

3 Asking and answering questions

i Working on group projects

j Building academic integrity

1 Practicing academic integrity

2 resisting the temptation to cheat

Visit MyWritingLab™ to check your comprehension of “Academic Success in and

Examples of College Reading Materials

Type of Reading Features

PRACTICE Getting to Know College Reading Materials

What Is Active Reading?

Stage 1. Get Ready to Read

GET REAdy To REAd ChECklIsT