To the Student Writer - 1987

8/7/2019 To the Student Writer - 1987

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English DepartmentNorth Dakota State University

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledqments " , " vii

To the Student Writer lx

Preface " " ,." .." " " xtl

English 110, Writing and Reading I xiii

English 111, Writing and Reading II xiv

Course Policies xvi

Chapter 1: ReadingActively 1

Active Reading Strategies 1

Keeping a Reading Journal. 4

Outlining 5

Summarizing 5

Paraphrasing 7

Making Active Reading Work for You 8

To Review 8

To Practice 8

Chapter 2: Approaching the Assignments 9

Key Terms 9

Understanding Audience 11

Understanding Purpose 12

To Review 13

To Practice 13

Sample Assignment: English 110, Assignment #1 14

Chapter 3: Creating and Recreating Your Draft 15

Steps in the Writing Process 15

Choosing a Topic 18

Writing an Early Draft 21

Thesis Statements 23Initial Revisions 25

Critiquing Your Draft 27

Additional Revisions 29

To Review 33

1'0Practice 33

An Example of the Process 34



IV

Chapter 4: Developing Strong Paragraphs " " .."" " " 43

Topic Sentences/Claims 43

Focus 45

Development '" 46Cohesion and Coherence 50

Beginning and Ending Paragraphs 54

To Review 59

To Practice 59

Chapter 5: Creating Effective Sentences 61

Write Grammatical Sentences 61

Write Cleat Sentences ...............................................................................•........... ; 64

Write Concise Sentences 65

Write Engaging Sentences 67

Write Varied Sentences 68To Review ·.: :..i . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

To Practice :: : 70

Chapter 6: Choosing Your Words " 13Choose Appropriate Language 73

Choose Interesting Language 76

Choose Correct Language : .. : 77

To Review : : :.;;.;;; ;;; 81

To Practice : : : ..; • 81

Chapter 7: Proofreadlnq Your Draft ...~....,...

Mechanics ..

Grammar ..

Punctua cion .

To Review

To Practice

83

..... 85

90

.. 9 7

97

Chapter 8: Using Reasoning ..

Elements of an 99

100

101

103

108

117

................. 128

..................... 129



v

Strategies for Library and Online Research 132

Evaluating Sources '137

To Review '139

To Practice 139

Sample Search Strategy for English '110 140Sample Search Strategy for English 111.. 141

Chapter 10: Using Sources Effectsvely " " "" " "." " 143Borrow from Sources Accurately 143

Organize Your Essay 144

Incorporate Information from Sources 145

Integrate Source Materials 151

To Review 155

To Practice 155

Chapter 11: Documenting Your Sources " " " " """ .." ..157Citations in theText : 158

Works Cited Page 160

General Guidelines for Documenting Sources 163

Annotated List of Sources 168

Sample In-Text Citations and Works Cited Entries 171

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IX

TO THE STUDENT WRiTER

by Thomas Matchie

You are about-to begin a two-semester study of the art of composition. Each semester youwill be writing essays on subjects, most of which should be interesting to a person beginningcollege. As you do this you will be requited to do a considerable amount of reading andthinking about thesetopics, By late spring you may feel like you have just completed theBoston Marathon, but if you have seriously 'entered into the whole process, you will havedeveloped a capability that will not only serve you well in your other studies while in collegebut also prepare you in a very valuable way for life in general.

Preparing for life means not only preparing for a career, but also preparing to be a familymember-a wife ora husband, a parent, the son or daughter of an aging parent. It meansgetting ready to belong to a church group or social club, the PTA, or the city planningcommission. It means laying the groundwork to function as an intelligent voter, taxpayer, orpolitical advocate. All these roles requite skills of understanding, thinking, problem solving,and communication that are just as highly developed as the skills you will need on your job.

And if there is one thing you can count on in each of these roles, it's meeting people withdifferent opinions, values, needs, fears, expectations. Moreover, in this complex worldwhere consequences are at stake, you can bet people will debate these consequences fromwhatever viewpoints, thus posing serious problems for you asa decision-maker. And youcan't tunaway. If we are to live together as neighbors, as members of a community, asnations, it's imperative with each conflict we reach some kind of working consensus. Thatwill demand a great deal from you, but that's what a democracy is all about.

Before you begin your journey into thinking and writing, however, it's important that youhave an overall picture of what you are doing and why. One of the first things to keep inmind is that ifyou want to write well, you need to get in the habit of reading. Reading isabove all a means of getting ideas, expanding your mind, seeing new angles on reality.Together we will read many kinds of writing by a host of different authors. You may notlike them all: some may bore you, others confuse you, and a few will make you angry. Butby and large they are all filled with ideas about important things, and you would have to bedead not to begin to see what good reading can do to make you a more alert, thoughtful, andeven helpful human being.

The first-year English sequence is not designed like other courses in college-likepsychology and history or biology-to acquaint you with a body of knowledge. We will be

reading about issues that concern citizens. These issues are related to those roles you'll beplaying in the family, church, marketplace, and government. Considering these issues willhelp you make sense out of confusing and complex situations. Some of the topics will exciteyou more than others, but we want you to sample them all so that whatever role you playyouwill be prepared to fill it with confidence and direction. The real content of this courseis ideas, which are the "stuff" of writing, and if you've got good ones, you'll be a betterwriter and a better citizen.

.Another thing about reading is that you can't read others' writing very long before youbecome aware of the way other people string words and phrases together into thoughts.That's what good writing is about-making good sense with clear and interesting sentences,



x

and developing paragraphs that flow smoothly and logically. After awhile you will be able tocompare styles of writing and talk about your own style. You'll want to know your own

strengths and weaknesses, and maybe that will come from looking at others' images, idioms,

or interesting ways of saying things. These cannot but help you develop new arrows for

your own writing quiver.

Actually, reading is related to another patt of writing, and that is thinking. Ifyou are to write

well, you not only have to read widely, but you have to think about what you read. Thinking

is not always easy these days. \Ve,are only too happy to accept what others say, or to mimic

the thoughts of our parents or peers, or simply to avoid having to use the energy it takes to

think. And we do this, in spite of the fact that it is our reason that sets us apart from the

animals and gives us our dignity. It may surprise you, but many first-year students don't

think much. The great majority hasn't given much thought to other people's perspectives,

and they see things pretty much as black or white, right or wrong, legal or illegal.

Most of us have opinions, but that's not the same thing as an informed judgment. While all

people have a right to their opinions on any subject, that right does not make one's opinion

as good or as valid as any other. The extent to which an opinion is informed increases its

validity. Informed judgments come from knowing and thinking out all sides of a problem,of evaluating the relative merits of different positions, and coming to hold a particular view

because the reasons for holding it are better than those connected with the other

perspective. To do this kind of intellectual growing means that you have to read, reflect,

compare, and read some more.

Then maybe you are ready to write. \Vriting, you know, is not just sitting down and setting

down ideas. Writing is above all a process. It demands that we try out ideas and styles of

expressing these ideas after we've read and thought and talked about what others say and

how they say it. This year you will be writing drafts of what you want to say; that is, you'll be

writing and rewriting your essays as you tr y to make your ideas work together, to flow, to

make sense as a whole. That takes practice, just as learning to play tennis takes practice, but

that's what this year is about-practice, practice, practice.

Many times during this year you will be tempted to say, "I'll just see what the teacher wants

and write my essay to fulfill the assignment and get through this course that way." \Vell,

that's exactly what this course is not about. It's really about becoming a better writer, and

that means taking the time to read, to think about what you've read, to compare new ideas

from your reading with your own experiences, and then to write-and to be willing to

rewrite sentences and paragraphs until your writing comes alive, flows, even sings. Even

your final draft may not be perfect, but it will be a long way down the road, and you'll know

by comparing it with earlier drafts that you are truly progressing.

One other subtle temptation, of course, given the fact that we live in an age of technology, is

to think that computers will do the lion's share of our work for us. Not so! All thatcomputers imply-the Internet, e-mail, word processing of all kinds--demands even more

that we learn to read, think, and write well. Because there is so much information out there,

you W 1 1 1 . need to red carefully as you do your research so that you can manage it in an

organG.ed way. Then you will need to select painstakingly, being highly critical. about what is

significant to your purposes. And ultimately you will need to express yourself illan accurate,

carefully developed manner. In short, your computer should become a highly honed tool,

subordinate to your mind and natural voice that will eventually blossom fully in your writing.

A final note is that writing can be fun. It need not be just a chore ..·The best writers like to

write because they think of it, not as drudgery, but as an adventure, a means of new



Xl

discovery. Critics tell us that the best writing is really not the communication of an idea to

another person, but discovering-through the process of writing ourselves-who we are.

This means finding what we really think and what we want to say and the best way to say it.

ltmeans integrating our experiences and feelings with the information we have gathered into

a well-reasoned statement of our conclusions expressed in the best prose we can muster.

That's a magnificent task, perhaps one of the highest order of things we can do as humanbeings. .

So good luck this year, and don't waste the year, as some students do each year. Rather,

enter now into the process-the process of reading, thinking, and writing-with your whole

self. Itcould be one of the greatest decisions of your life.



ritiill!

If i l i i

I

Freshman English CommitteeNorth Dakota S tate University

191 Spring Street

Lexington, Massachusetts 02173



Copyright © 1987 by The Freshman English Committee (FEC) of the

English Department, North Dakota State University.

All rights reserved.

This copyright covers material written expressly for this volume by the

editor/s as well as the compilation itself. It does not cover the individual

selections herein that first appeared elsewhere. Permission to reprint these

has been obtained by Ginn Press for this edition only. Further reproduction

by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying andrecording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, must be

arranged with the individual copyright holders noted.

Ginn Press, Lexington, Massachusetts 02173

Cover design by Genevieve T. Parent.

Reprinted with permisssion of Macmillan Publishing Company from The

Aims of Education by Alfred North Whitehead. Copyright 1929 by

Macmillan Publishing Company, renewed 1957 by Evelyn Whitehead.

BA7542

ISBN: 0·536-05881-4

Printed in the United States of America



To the Student Writer

You are about to begin a three-quarter study of the art of composition. Each quarter you

will be writing essays on subjects, most of which should be interesting to a person beginningcollege. As you do this you will be required to do a considerable amount of reading and thinking

about these topics. By late spring you may feel like you have just completed the Boston

Marathon, but if you have seriously entered into the whole process, you will have developed acapability that will not only serve you well in your other studies while in college, but prepare

you in a very valuable way for life in general.

Preparing for life means not only preparing for a career, but preparing to be a family

member-a wife or husband, a parent, the son or daughter of an aging parent. It means getting

ready to belong to a church group or social club, the PTA, or the city planning commission. It

means laying the groundwork to function as an intelligent voter, tax-payer, or political

advocate. All these roles require skills of understanding, thinking, problem-solving, and

communication that are just as highly developed as the skills you will need on your job.

And if there is one thing you can count on in each of these roles, it's meeting people with

different opinions, values, needs, fears, expectations. Moreover, in this complex world where

consequences are at stake, you can bet people will debate these consequences from whatever

viewpoints, thus proposing serious problems for you as a decision-maker. And you can't run

away. If we are to live together as neighbors, as members of a community, as nations, it'simperative that with each conflict we reach some kind of working consensus. That will

demand a great deal from you, but that's what a democracy is all about.

Before you begin your journey into thinking and writing, however, it's important that you

have an overall picture of what you are doing and why. One of the first things to keep in mind

is that if you want to write well, you need to get in the habit of reading. Reading is above all a

means of getting ideas, expanding your mind, seeing new angles on reality. Together we will

read many kinds of writing by a host of different authors. You may not like them all: some maybore you, others confuse you, and a few will make you angry. But by and large they are all

filled with ideas about important things, and you would have to be dead not to begin to see

what good reading can do to make you a more alert, thoughtful, and even helpful human being.

The freshman English sequence is not designed like other. courses in college--likepsychology and history or biology-to acquaint you with a body of knowledge. We will bereading about issues that concern citizens. These issues are related to those roles you'll be

playing in the family, church, marketplace, and government. They'll give you information tohelp make sense out of confusing and complex situations. Some of the topics will excite you more

than others, but we want you to sample them all so that whatever role you play you will beprepared to fill it with confidence and direction. The real content of this course is ideas, which

are the "stuff" of writing, and if you've got good ones, you'll be a better writer and a better

citizen.

Another thing about reading is that you can't read others' writing very long before you

become aware of the way other people string words and phrases together into thoughts. That's



what good writing is about-making good sense with clear and interesting sentences, and

developing paragraphs that flow smoothly and logically. After awhile you will be able tocompare styles of writing and talk about your own style. You'll want to know your own strengths

and weaknesses, and maybe that will come from looking at others' images, idioms, or

interesting ways of saying things. These cannot but help you develop new arrows for your ownwriting quiver.

Actually, reading is related to another part of writing, and that is thinking. If you are towrite well, you not only have to read widely, but you have to think about what you read.

Thinking is not always easy these days. We are only too happy to accept what others say, ormimic the thoughts of our parents or peers, or simply avoid having to use the energy it takes to

think. And this, in spite of the fact that it is our reason that sets us apart from the animals,

gives us our dignity. This may surprise you, but most freshmen don't think much. The great

majority haven't given much thought to other people's perspectives, and see things pretty much

as black or white, right or wrong, legal or illegal.

Most of us have opinions, but that's not the same thing as an informed judgment. While all

people have a right to their opinions on any subject, that right does not make one's opinion asgood or valid as any other. The extent to which an opinion is informed increases its validity.

Informed judgments come from knowing and thinking out all sides of a problem, of evaluating

the relative merits of different positions, and coming to hold a particular view because the

reasons for holding it are better than those connected with the other perspective. To do this

kind of intellectual growing means that you have to read, reflect, compare, and read some more.

Then maybe you are ready to write. Writing, you know, is not just sitting down and setting

down ideas. Writing is above all a process. It demands that we try out ideas and styles of

expressing these ideas after we've read and thought and talked about what others say and how

they say it. This year you will be writing drafts of what you want to say; that is, you'll be

writing and re-writing your essays as you try to make your ideas work together, to flow, to make

sense as a whole. That takes practice, like learning to play tennis takes practice, but that's

what this year is about-practice, practice, practice.

There will be many times during this year that you will be tempted to say, "I'll see what

the teacher wants and write my essay to fulfill the assignment and get through this course that

way." Well that's exactly what this course is no t about. It's really about becoming a betterwriter, and that means taking the time to read, to think about what you've read, to compare

new ideas from your reading with your own experiences, and then beginning to write, and to be

willing to re-write sentences and paragraphs until your writing comes alive, flows, even sings.

Even your final draft may not be perfect, but it will be a long way down the road, and you'll

know by comparing itwith earlier drafts that you are truly progressing.

A final note is that writing can be fun. It need not be just a chore. The best writers like towrite because they think of it, not as drudgery, but as an adventure, a means of new discovery.

Critics tell us that the best writing is really not the communication of an idea to anotherperson, but discovering-through the process of writing ourselves-who we are. This means

finding what we really think and what we want to say and the best way to say it. Itmeans

integrating our experiences and feelings with the information we have gathered into a well-

reasoned statement of our conclusions expressed in the best prose we can muster. That's amagnificent task, perhaps one of the highest order of things we can do as human beings.

So good luck this year, and don't waste the year, as many students do each year. Rather,

enter now into the process-the process of reading, thinking, and writing-with your whole

self. Itcould be one of the greatest decisions ofyour life.

To the Student Writer - 1987

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