Pt. I. A college writer's processes -- Introduction -- 1. Writing processes -- Writing, reading, and critical thinking -- A process of writing -- Audience and purpose -- What matters most -- 2. Reading processes -- A process of critical reading -- Getting started -- Reading on a literal level -- Reading on an analytical level -- 3. Critical thinking processes -- A process ofcritical thinking -- Getting started -- Supporting critical thinking with evidence -- Testing evidence -- Using evidence to support an appeal Pt. II. A writer's situations -- Introduction -- 4. Recalling an experience -- Learning from other writers -- Russell Baker, The art of eating spaghetti -- Student essay: Robert G. Schreiner, What is a hunter? -- Learning by writing -- The assignment: recalling a personal experience -- Generating ideas -- Planning, drafting, and developing -- Revising and editing -- Other assignments -- Applying what you learn: some uses of recalling an experience -- 5. Observing a scene -- Learning from other writers -- Eric Liu, The Chinatown idea -- Student essay: Michael Coil, Communications -- 6. Interviewing a subject -- Learning from other writers -- A. Scott Berg, Travels with "My Aunt" -- Student Essay: Dawn Kortz, Listen -- 7. Comparing and contrasting -- Learning from other writers -- Suzanne Britt, Neat people vs. sloppy people -- Student essay: Tim Chabot, Take me out to the ball game, but which one? -- 8. Explaining causes and effects -- Learning from other writers -- William Severini Kowinski, Kids in the mall: growing up controlled -- Student essay: Yun Yung Choi, Invisible women -- 9. Taking a stand -- Learning from other writers -- Suzan Shown Harjo, Last rites for indian dead -- Student essay: LaBree Shide, ANWR: not a place for profit -- 10. Proposing a solution -- Learning from other writers -- Wilbert Rideau, Why prisons don't work -- Student essay: Heather Colbenson, Missed opportunities -- 11. Evaluating -- Learning from other writers -- Robert Hartwell Fiske, Don't look it up! The decline of the dictionary -- Student essay: Theresa H. Nguyen, Anti-terrorist law violates civil rights Pt. III. Special writing situations -- Introduction -- 12. Responding to literature -- Literary analysis -- Strategies for writing about literature: Synopsis and paraphrase -- Other assignments for writing about literature -- 13. Writing in the workplace -- Guidelines for writing in the workplace -- Business letters -- Memoranda -- Electronic mail -- Résumés and application letters -- 14. Writing for assessment -- Essay examinations -- Short-answer examinations -- Timed writings -- Writing for portfolio assessment Pt. IV. A writer's strategied -- Introduction -- 15. Strategies for generating ideas -- Finding ideas -- Getting ready -- 16. Strategies for planning -- Shaping your topic for your audience and your purpose -- Stating andusing a thesis -- Organizing your ideas -- 17. Strategies for drafting -- Making a start enjoyable -- Restarting -- Paragraphing -- Using topic sentences -- Writing an opening -- Writing a conclusion -- Achieving coherence -- 18. Strategies for developing -- Giving examples -- Providing details -- Defining -- Analyzing a subject -- Dividing and classifying -- Analyzing a process -- Comparing and contrasting -- Identifying causes and effects -- 19. Strategies for revising and editing -- Re-viewing and revising -- Stressing what counts -- Cutting and whittling -- Editing and proofreading -- 20. Strategies for designing your document -- Understanding four basic principles of document design -- Creating an effective design for your document -- Using visuals toreinforce your content -- 21. Strategies for understanding visual representations -- Using strategies for visual analysis -- Level one: seeing the big picture -- Level two: observing the characteristics of an image -- Level three: interpreting the meaning of an image A writer's reader -- Introduction: reading to write -- 22. Families -- E.B. White, Once more to the lake -- Amy Tan, Mother tongue -- Anna Quindlen, Evan's two moms -- Anjula Razdan, What's love got to do with it? -- Danzy Senna, The color of love -- Paired essays -- Noel Perrin, A Part-time marriage -- Stephanie Coontz, Remarriage and stepfamilies -- 23. Men and women -- Judy Brady, I want a wife -- Scott Russell Sanders, The men we carry in our minds -- Dave Barry, From now on, let women kill their own spiders -- Judith Ortiz Cofer, Don't misread my signals -- Paired essays -- Deborah Tannen, Women and men talking on the job -- Nicholas Wade, How men and women think -- 24. Popular culture -- Stephen King, Why we crave horror movies -- Veronica Chambers, The myth of Cinderella -- Jay Chiat, Illusions are forever -- Michael Abernethy, Male Bashing on TV -- Paired essays -- James Poniewozik, Why reality TV is good for us -- Elaine Showalter, Window on reality -- 25. The workplace -- Joe Robinson, Four weeks vacation -- Steve Olson, Year of the blue-collar guy -- Jane Smiley, The case against chores -- Barbara Ehrenreich, Warning: this is a rights-free workplace -- Ann Marlowe, Pros and amateurs -- Paired essays -- Anne Finnigan, Nice perks-if you can get 'em -- Elinor Burkett, Unequal work for unequal pay -- 26. Education -- William Zinsser, The right to fail -- Malcolm X, Learning to read -- Johanna Wald, Extracurricular drug testing -- Richard Rodriguez, Public and private language -- Paired essays -- Shelby Steele, Affirmative action: the price of preference -- Goodwin Liu, The causation fallacy A writer's research manual -- Introduction: The nature of research -- 27. Planning and managing your research project -- Planning your project -- Generating ideas and forming a research question -- Managing your project -- 28. Finding sources in the library, on the internet, and in the field -- Searching the library -- Using other library resources -- Using the web for research -- Finding sources in the field -- 29. Evaluating sources -- Evaluating library and internet sources -- Evaluating your field sources -- Reconsidering your purpose and your thesis -- 30. Integrating sources -- Combining your sources with your own ideas -- Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing in your notes -- Incorporating source material in your paper -- Avoiding plagiarism -- 31. Writing your research paper -- Planning and drafting -- Revising and editing -- Documenting sources -- Applying what you learn: Some uses of research -- A sampleresearch paper: Sarah E. Goers, Is inclusion the answer? -- 32. Documenting sources -- Citing sources: MLA style -- Listing sources: MLA style -- Citing sources: APA style -- Listing sources: APA style A writer's handbook -- Introduction: Grammar, or the way words work -- 33. Grammatical sentences -- 1. Sentence fragments -- 2. Comma splices and fused sentences -- 3. Verbs -- 4. Subject-verb agreement -- 5. Pronoun case -- 6. Pronoun reference -- 7. Pronoun-antecedent agreement -- 8. Adjectives and adverbs -- 9. Shifts -- 34. Effective sentences -- 10. Misplaced and dangling modifiers -- 11. Incomplete sentences -- 12. Mixed constructions and faulty predication -- 13. Parallel structure -- 14. Coordination and subordination -- 15. Sentence variety -- 35. Word choice -- 16. Appropriateness -- 17. Exact words -- 18. Bias-free language -- 19. Wordiness -- 36. Punctuation -- 20. End punctuation -- 21. The comma -- 22. The semicolon -- 23. The colon -- 24. The apostrophe -- 25. Quotation marks -- 26. The dash -- 27. Parentheses, brackets, and the ellipsis mark -- 37. Mechanics -- 28. Abbreviations -- 29. Capital letters -- 30. Numbers -- 31. Italics -- 32. The hyphen -- 33. Spelling -- Appendices -- Quick research guide -- Quick editing guide -- A glossary of troublemakers -- Answers for lettered exercises -- Index.

Both reliable and innovative, The Bedford Guide for College Writers involves students in active learning, whether their writing class meets on campus or online. The guide contains a process-oriented rhetoric and a thematic reader, giving students a rich array of material that will help them develop successful college-level writing skills. Both parts provide frequent opportunities for students to experiment and apply the skills presented. Learning by Doing activities, Responding to an Image practices, and engaging assignments all help students make important writing skills their own. The Bedford Guide helps students to be the confident, resourceful, and independent writers they will need to be. The new edition extends active learning into the online environment, offering integrated e-Pages, including videos, audio segments, and visual essays that take advantage of what the Web can do.