The College Writer


Book Description

[This text] provide[s] coverage of the writing process for today's visually oriented students. The text also included a wealth of rhetorical strategies that instructors and students found accessible and helpful. [It] reinforces these strengths with enhanced coverage of many important topics such as analyzing the rhetorical situation, evaluating sources, avoiding plagiarism, and developing visual literacy.-Pref.




Reading, Thinking, and Writing About History


Book Description

Although the Common Core and C3 Framework highlight literacy and inquiry as central goals for social studies, they do not offer guidelines, assessments, or curriculum resources. This practical guide presents six research-tested historical investigations along with all corresponding teaching materials and tools that have improved the historical thinking and argumentative writing of academically diverse students. Each investigation integrates reading, analysis, planning, composing, and reflection into a writing process that results in an argumentative history essay. Primary sources have been modified to allow struggling readers access to the material. Web links to original unmodified primary sources are also provided, along with other sources to extend investigations. The authors include sample student essays from each investigation to illustrate the progress of two different learners and explain how to support students’ development. Each chapter includes these helpful sections: Historical Background, Literacy Practices Students Will Learn, How to Teach This Investigation, How Might Students Respond?, Student Writing and Teacher Feedback, Lesson Plans and Materials. Book Features: Integrates literacy and inquiry with core U.S. history topics. Emphasizes argumentative writing, a key requirement of the Common Core. Offers explicit guidance for instruction with classroom-ready materials. Provides primary sources for differentiated instruction. Explains a curriculum appropriate for students who struggle with reading, as well as more advanced readers. Models how to transition over time from more explicit instruction to teacher coaching and greater student independence. “The tools this book provides—from graphic organizers, to lesson plans, to the accompanying documents—demystify the writing process and offer a sequenced path toward attaining proficiency.” —From the Foreword by Sam Wineburg, co-author of Reading Like a Historian “Assuming literate practice to be at the core of history learning and historical practice, the authors provide actual units of history instruction that can be immediately applied to classroom teaching. These units make visible how a cognitive apprenticeship approach enhances history and historical literacy learning and ensure a supported transition to teaching history in accordance with Common Core State Standards.” —Elizabeth Moje, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, School of Education, University of Michigan “The C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards and the Common Core State Standards challenge students to investigate complex ideas, think critically, and apply knowledge in real world settings. This extraordinary book provides tried-and-true practical tools and step-by-step directions for social studies to meet these goals and prepare students for college, career, and civic life in the 21st century.” —Michelle M. Herczog, president, National Council for the Social Studies







Writing That Makes Sense


Book Description

Description: Students often face a daunting dilemma in academia when it comes to writing. In their composition courses they are encouraged to express their emotions, find themselves, construct their own meanings, discover their voices, and own their identities through writing. But when they are asked to write lab reports, history papers, sociological studies, or to write discipline specific documents for their majors, their professors aren't much interested in self-expression, self-esteem, identity politics, or endlessly open-ended non-answers in search of a question. Their professors want clear writing that makes sense and that evidences critical thinking. What are students to do? Writing That Makes Sense takes students through the basics of the writing process and critical thinking, and it teaches them how to write various types of academic essays they are likely to encounter in their academic careers. Drawing on nearly twenty years of experience in teaching college composition and professional writing, David S. Hogsette combines relevant writing pedagogy and practical assignments with the basics of critical thinking and logical thought to provide students with step-by-step guides for successful writing in academia. Writing That Makes Sense includes many professional essays and articles from a variety of voices often underrepresented in academia today, thus introducing students to a wider intellectual diversity. Students will also benefit from a chapter on information literacy that provides practical tips on engaging the research process and writing research papers. About the Contributor(s): David S. Hogsette is Associate Professor of English and Writing Coordinator at the Old Westbury campus of the New York Institute of Technology, where he teaches composition, professional writing, and various upper-level literature courses. His teaching directly impacts his scholarship, and he has published articles and delivered lectures at national and international conferences on literary topics related to English Romanticism, Gothic literature, fantasy literature, science fiction, and theocentric approaches to literary studies.




Compose Yourself!


Book Description

At long last someone has produced THE practical guide for teaching analytical writing Compose Yourself lays out everything a teacher needs for teaching the art of clear, complete and well-organized writing in the content areas. In fact, I would purchase this guide for students as well as teachers-and not just for high school, but for both middle school and college as well. -Dr. Katherine Nolan, Education Consultant Finally, a book on how to teach analytical writing in all subjects. And the toolbox I was thrilled to find templates, rubrics, and clear-cut examples for descriptive, process, and persuasive writing. Compose Yourself is a must have for all teachers. -Susan King, Magnet School Administrator, Tampa FL, MSA National Board, National Presenter We are perceived by how well we write. Currently our nation's teachers are struggling to find time and tools to teach thoughtful, logical expository writing. Compose Yourself is a simple, straightforward writing guide for all subject area teachers working to improve their students' analytical, expository writing skills. Compose Yourself must find a place in the toolbox of our nation's secondary teachers. -William F. Roberts, Assistant Superintendent Hacienda La Puente Unified School District (California) Compose Yourself A Guide to Critical Thinking & Analytical Writing in Secondary School is a quick and easy guide to teaching and learning critical thinking and analytical writing at the secondary level, regardless of the subject area. It is perfect for teachers, parents, and students who want to go beyond the worksheet to strengthen their thinking and writing skills, better learn and retain information, and improve overall academic performance. After using this guide, students will be able to write clear, concise, analytical responses to complex, real-world questions in all subjects. This resource includes step-by-step processes, copious examples, writing checklists, helpful tips, and black-line masters, all to help all students improve their thinking and writing. Amy Rukea Stempel has been zealously working in education and education reform since 1989. Prior to founding Lightbulb Learning Services, which specializes in the alignment of curriculum to academic standards, literacy development, and classroom/school leadership, she has led standards and curriculum development projects for the Education Trust, Edison Schools, Inc. (formerly the Edison Project) and standards development efforts for the Council for Basic education. In addition to experience in education policy, Ms. Stempel has also taught literature in the International Baccalaureate program for many years and has happily lived the harried and stimulating life of a classroom teacher. Ms. Stempel's prior publications include, Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground: How Some High Schools Accelerate Learning for Struggling Students, Standards for Excellence in Education (contributor), Where in the World Are We? The Need for International Benchmarking, Six Case Studies of Performance Assessment, and Standards: A Vision for Learning. Many years ago, Ms. Stempel completed a B.A. in English from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.A. in Liberal Studies (with concentrations in literature and history) from Georgetown University.




The Thinking Student's Guide to College


Book Description

Each fall, thousands of eager freshmen descend on college and university campuses expecting the best education imaginable: inspiring classes taught by top-ranked professors, academic advisors who will guide them to a prestigious job or graduate school, and an environment where learning flourishes outside the classroom as much as it does in lecture halls. Unfortunately, most of these freshmen soon learn that academic life is not what they imagined. Classes are taught by overworked graduate students and adjuncts rather than seasoned faculty members, undergrads receive minimal attention from advisors or administrators, and potentially valuable campus resources remain outside their grasp. Andrew Roberts’ Thinking Student’s Guide to College helps students take charge of their university experience by providing a blueprint they can follow to achieve their educational goals—whether at public or private schools, large research universities or small liberal arts colleges. An inside look penned by a professor at Northwestern University, this book offers concrete tips on choosing a college, selecting classes, deciding on a major, interacting with faculty, and applying to graduate school. Here, Roberts exposes the secrets of the ivory tower to reveal what motivates professors, where to find loopholes in university bureaucracy, and most importantly, how to get a personalized education. Based on interviews with faculty and cutting-edge educational research, The Thinking Student’s Guide to College is a necessary handbook for students striving to excel academically, creatively, and personally during their undergraduate years.




Clear Thinking and Writing


Book Description

Clear Thinking and Writing will do exactly what its title says--help students focus their thinking and improve their writing. Students will learn that the most important things to do as a thinker and writer are to: 1) Make a clear point, and 2) Provide solid support for the point. Too many writing books lose sight of the forest for the trees. Clear Thinking and Writing presents in a nutshell what students need to do to become better thinkers and writers: make a point and then support it with appropriate, well-organized specific evidence. It gets to the heart of the matter and presents clear thinking and writing as skills that students can learn--Publisher's description.




First You Write a Sentence


Book Description

“Do you want to write clearer, livelier prose? This witty primer will help.” —The New York Times Book Review An exploration of how the most ordinary words can be turned into verbal constellations of extraordinary grace through the art of building sentences The sentence is the common ground where every writer walks. A good sentence can be written (and read) by anyone if we simply give it the gift of our time, and it is as close as most of us will get to making something truly beautiful. Using minimal technical terms and sources ranging from the Bible and Shakespeare to George Orwell and Maggie Nelson, as well as scientific studies of what can best fire the reader's mind, author Joe Moran shows how we can all write in a way that is clear, compelling and alive. Whether dealing with finding the ideal word, building a sentence, or constructing a paragraph, First You Write a Sentence informs by light example: much richer than a style guide, it can be read not only for instruction but for pleasure and delight. And along the way, it shows how good writing can help us notice the world, make ourselves known to others, and live more meaningful lives. It's an elegant gem in praise of the English sentence.




Writing and Thinking


Book Description




Writing and Literature


Book Description

In the age of Buzzfeeds, hashtags, and Tweets, students are increasingly favoring conversational writing and regarding academic writing as less pertinent in their personal lives, education, and future careers. Writing and Literature: Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking and Communication connects students with works and exercises and promotes student learning that is kairotic and constructive. Dr. Tanya Long Bennett, professor of English at the University of North Georgia, poses questions that encourage active rather than passive learning. Furthering ideas presented in Contribute a Verse: A Guide to First-Year Composition as a complimentary companion, Writing and Literature builds a new conversation covering various genres of literature and writing. Students learn the various writing styles appropriate for analyzing, addressing, and critiquing these genres including poetry, novels, dramas, and research writing. The text and its pairing of helpful visual aids throughout emphasizes the importance of critical reading and analysis in producing a successful composition. Writing and Literature is a refreshing textbook that links learning, literature, and life.