Chapter Summaries of The College Writer

Chapter Summaries of The College Writer

Chapter 1 defines critical thinking through reading, viewing and writing. The use of critical thinking shows how a student should use accumulated knowledge as it pertains to the content of a student’s writing.

Use the reading strategy SQ3R: survey, question, read, recite and review. Read actively by taking notes, adding annotations, mapping, outlining and evaluating. Respond to the text with honesty, fluidity, reflection and selectivity. Summarize the text by skimming first, then reading closely, understand the argument and test the summary. View images actively, with a purpose and with a plan. Evaluate the image, considering the image, evaluating the quality and determining the value.

Develop critical-thinking habits by being curious, creative, open to ideas, involved, rational and focused. Connections must be made, evidence must be tested, research-based conclusions must be made and monitor results. Ask probing questions. Practice Inductive and deductive reasoning. Use analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application.

Chapter 2 provides guidelines for beginning an essay. The student must understand the assignment, rhetorical purpose, subject selection and methods of collecting information.

Understand the rhetorical situation by understanding the subject, audience and purpose. Understand the assignment by understanding the objective, the task, the formal requirements and topics. Select a subject, limiting to a manageable area. Collect information, starting with what you already know and by asking who, what, when, where, why. Identify sources on the Internet and in libraries.

Chapter 3 shows how planning is involved in essay writing. Re-examination of the topic, formation of a thesis statement, various methods of development and outlining are explained.

Take inventory of your thoughts by re-examining the topic. Form a thesis statement with a focus on the central point. The thesis will serve as a guide through the composition of the essay. Outline the essay, listing the main points and essential details.

Chapter 4 shows how to write a draft for an essay. Opening, middle and ending moves are explained, as well as factors to consider regarding audience, purpose and focus.

Write your first draft after reconsidering your audience and purpose. You need to focus on your subject as you freewrite. Do not worry about tidiness at this point. That will come later. At the opening the draft should engage the reader, establish a direction and get to the point. Avoid passive language. The middle should advance the thesis and support your ideas. Build a coherent structure with organized supporting details. End the draft by reasserting the main point by restating the thesis and showing benefits.

Chapter 5 explains revision of the first draft. Points covered are whole-paper issues, revising ideas and organization, revising voice and style, paragraph structure, coherence and collaboration.

Address whole-paper issues by revisiting your purpose and audience. Think globally, that is, check the thesis, focus or theme. Don’t worry about spelling and grammar at this point. Consider if you can support your clear thesis. Look at the overall plan of the opening, middle and closing points. Ask yourself: Are you committed in your rhetoric? Does the writing reflect your commitment? Is it in an academic style? Organize the paragraph structure of the essay and check for unity and coherence. Make sure that the details are complete to support your thesis. Collaborate with others for feedback.

Chapter 6 covers editing and proofreading. Awkward, uninteresting, and unclear sentences are refined. Grammatical errors are corrected. Imprecise, misleading and biased words are replaced with better words.

This is where you refine your essay for submission. Check the overall style of the essay. Eliminate redundant, unfair and unnecessary words as well, as jargon. Combine simple sentences into compound sentences where the ideas interconnect. Add modifying clauses to simple sentences. Vary sentence structure, arranging multiple clauses in parallel fashion. Use strong verbs, rather passive, avoid negatives and expletives. Use specific nouns, vivid verbs and replace jargon and clichés. Change biased words to more fair words. In the last step, check the grammar and correct errors.

Chapter 7 pertains to submitting writing and creating portfolios. This is why we write in the first place. The writer will format essay for typography, add graphics and arrange spacing in a manner that will be attractive to the audience.

Format the essay, keeping it clear and uncluttered. Use an easy-to-read font, space for easy reading and eliminate orphans and widows. Use bullets and graphics selectively. Post your work for potential audiences and create a portfolio.

Chapter 8 shows an example of a writer’s methods. The writer examined the assignment, narrowed it, focused her topic, did research and planned organization of the essay. A first draft was completed and revisions were made, followed by editing and proofreading.

The writer, Angela, started by examining her assignment: the subject, purpose, her audience, the form and assessment of guidelines. She explored and narrowed her assignment from environmental issues down to pollution in a small Canadian town. She then focused her topic based on the 5 Ws and H. She then researched the topic and recorded the relevant information. She formed her organization of the essay: assignment, thesis statement and overall method. She put together the opening, middle and ending paragraphs to for her first draft. She kept a bibliography of her research. Angela made revisions, looking at global issues and made the essay more unified and coherent. Her second revision involved peer review, leading to further refinement. The editing process improved clarity and smoothness. Finally, the proofread draft eliminated spelling and grammatical errors.

Chapter 9 gives the various forms of college writing, pertaining to curricular divisions (humanities, social sciences and natural and applied sciences), types in the divisions and traits of writing across the curriculum.

Humanities include topics such as Archeology, Ethnic studies, Modern Languages and Theatre Arts. Social Studies include Anthropology, Economics, Geophysics and Psychology. Natural and Applied Sciences include Agriculture, Biology, Environment and Physics.

Chapter 10 encourages the student to relive part of his life through writing. The student must consider the topic, the purpose and audience, and then write in a style that brings out experience.

Be passionate, include characters and create memorable descriptions. Consider topics that affect your life. When writing, set the stage, include dialogue, build the plot and express feelings.

Chapter 11 is on description and reflection. The student needs to accurately recall details, look at the deeper meaning, culminating in the essay. It is important for the tone to match the event and for the reflection to be congruent with the viewpoint.

Recall precise details, probe the topic and recall what you find. Focus on topics that give you insights into your life. Consider the key moments and what led to them. Tell the story from your own perspective and how others experienced it. Tell what the outcome was.

Chapter 12 provides guidelines for writing a cause-and-effect analytical essay. Logical thought, tested by the student is paramount in this kind of essay. Information must be gathered and analyzed and be presented to support the thesis.

Link cause and effect with strong supporting evidence. Test your thesis. Choose a topic that you care about. Organize supporting details.

Chapter 13 delves into comparison and contrast. Such an essay must have logical points of comparison.

Know your purpose. Be logical. Consider topics that matter to you. Expand the list traits. Organize by subject or by traits.

Chapter 14 explains how to discuss individuals as parts of groups. Differences between groups are shown by traits. An objective criterion is necessary for this type of essay.

Choose classification to fit the topic by distinguishing one subgroup from another. Use the classification fit your rhetorical purpose. Organize by the traits.
Chapter15 is about process writing, the “how-to” essay. This breaks down to three basic forms: describing, explaining and instructions. Research on the process is essential to this type of essay.

Think logically about the process. Know the purpose and for whom the essay is for. Describe the process for the intended audience to use. Get feedback from an intended reader.

Chapter 16 explains the uses for definitions. It can be an entire essay, or can be used to support arguments in persuasive writing or other types of writing.

Know the purpose of the definition. Present fresh information. Identify what you know. Gather information from the dictionary, encyclopedias and Internet. Compress what you know into single-sentence definition. Get feedback for clarity, continuity and completeness.

Chapter 17 is about strategies for argumentation and persuasion. Persuasive arguments must be built by making a claim, supporting the claim and engaging those who may disagree. Logical fallacies must be avoided. Appeals to the reader must be appropriate.

Prepare your argument by gathering evidence and developing a line of reasoning. Make and qualify your claim by drawing reasonable conclusions from the evidence and adding qualifiers. Support the claim with solid evidence and sound logic. Make concessions when needed, rebut the opposition and make appropriate appeals.

Consider a range of ideas to broaden your perspective. Distinguish facts from opinions. Distinguish three types of claims: claims of truth, claims of value and claims of policy. Avoid all-or-nothing claims. The claim must be meaningful and qualified. Support your claims with observations and anecdotes, statistics, tests and experiments, graphics, analogies experts, analyses and predictions.

Avoid logical fallacies such as bare assertion, begging the question, oversimplification, either/or thinking, complex questions and straw man. Avoid sabotaging the argument with red herrings, misuse of humor, appeals to pity, use of threats, bandwagon mentality and appeal to popular sentiment. Avoid faulty conclusions such as appeals to ignorance, hasty or broad generalizations, false causes, slippery slope arguments, impressing with numbers and half-truths.

Engage the opposition with qualifications, rebuttals and consolidating your claim. Use appropriate appeals by building your credibility through honesty, realistic claims and maintaining trust. Make logical appeals by appealing to our better natures, using a fitting tone, motivation and evidence that readers can understand. The reasoning must be measured, conceding points to the opposition and addressing objections. Focus on the readers needs by understanding their concerns, considering their resistance and matching needs and values

Chapter 18 tells how to take a position on a topic. All possible positions must be explored, and must be supported by facts.

Go beyond pure opinion, and take a measured stance. Consider topics such as current affairs, burning issues, dividing lines and fresh fare. Get inside the issue by investigating possible positions, doing firsthand research, making “pros and cons” columns and developing a line of reasoning.

Chapter 19 shows how to persuade readers to act. The student must promote a cause, not a fight. The action must be reasonable and directed to the appropriate audience. The reader must understand the benefits of the action.

Promote your cause, not a fight. Be reasonable on your claims, and identify any logical fallacies. Consider topics such as personal experiences, personal ideas, community concerns, international affairs and “no-comment” topics. Generate ideas and support by considering opposing viewpoints, constructing dialogue and considering the desired outcome.

Chapter 20 goes into proposing solutions. The writer must show a passion for the solution. The solution must be real, not just on the surface. The quality of the research will support the proposal.

Show a passion for change, avoiding cosmetic solutions. Understand who would benefit. Topics to consider include people problems, college problems, social problems and workplace problems.