Writing Rhetorically
1 Expectations for College Writing: Open your book, open your mind 
a Choose openness
b Use social media wisely 
c Position yourself as an academic writer 
d Read and listen respectfully, actively, and critically 
e Plan research 
f  Use digital tools effectively
 
2 Rhetorical Situations 
a Make good choices for your rhetorical situation 
b Plan your text''s topic and message 
c Consider your purpose and stance as a communicator 
d Analyze your audience 
e Think about genres and media 
f  Consider language and style 
g A SAMPLE RHETORICAL SITUATION
 
3 Exploring, Planning, and Drafting 
a Explore your topic
b Narrow your topic 
c Craft a working thesis 
d Gather information 
e Organize information 
f  Make a plan 
g Create a draft
 
4 Developing Paragraphs 
a Focus on a main idea 
b Provide details 
c Use effective methods of development 
d Make paragraphs flow 
e Work on opening and closing paragraphs 

5 Reviewing, Revising, and Editing 
a Review your writing 
b Get the most from peer review 
c Consult instructor comments 
d Revise 
e Edit 

6 Reflecting 
a Reflect to present your work effectively 
A STUDENT''s REFLECTIVE STATEMENT 
b Reflect to learn 
A STUDENT''s REFLECTIVE BLOG POST 
 
Critical Thinking and Argument
7 Critical Reading 
a Consider reading collaboratively 
b Preview the text; consider the source 
c Read and annotate the text 
d Summarize the main ideas 
e Analyze and reflect on the text 
f Think critically about visual texts 
g A STUDENT''S CRITICAL READING 

8 Analyzing Arguments
a Think critically about argument
b Recognize cultural contexts
c Identify an arguments''s basic appeals
d Recognize the use of stories in argument
e Understand Toulmin''s elements of argument
f Think critically about fallacies
g A STUDENT''S RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

9 Constructing arguments
a Understand purposes for argument 
b Determine whether a statement can be argued 
c Make a claim and draft a working thesis 
d Examine your assumptions 
e Shape your appeal to your audience 
f  Consider the use of narratives or stories
g Establish credibility through ethical appeals 
h Use effective logical appeals 
i Use appropriate emotional appeals 
j Consult sources 
k Organize your argument 
l  Consider design and delivery 
m A STUDENT''S ARGUMENT ESSAY 
 
Research
10 Doing research
a  Preparefor a research project
b  Form a research question and hypothesis 
c  Plan your research 
d  Move from hypothesis to working thesis 
e  Understand different kinds of sources 
f   Use web and library resources
g  Consulting your library''s staff, databases, and other resources
h  Conduct field research

11  Evaluating Sources  
a  Understand why writers use sources 
b  Create a working bibliography or an annotated bibliography 
c  Evaluate a source''s usefulness and credibility 
d  Read critically, and interpret sources 
e  Synthesize sources
 
12  Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism 
a  Decide whether to quote, paraphrase, or summarize 
b  Integrate quotations, paraphrases, and summaries effectively 
c  Integrate visuals and media effectively and ethically 
d  Understand why acknowledging sources matters 
e  Know which sources to acknowledge 
f   Recognize patch writing 
g  Uphold your academic integrity, and avoid plagiarism 
h  Write and revise a research project
 
Academic, Professional, and Public Writing
13 Writing Well in Any Discipline or Profession 
a Consider genres across disciplines and professions 
b Consider expectations for academic assignments 
c Learn specialized vocabularies and styles 
d Use evidence effectively 
e Pay attention to ethical issues 
f  Collaborate effectively and with an open mind
 
14  Writing for the Humanities 
a Read texts in the humanities 
b Write texts in the humanities 
c A STUDENT''S CLOSE READING OF POETRY

15  Writing for the Social Sciences 
a Read texts in the social sciences 
b Write texts in the social sciences 
c EXCERPT FROM A STUDENT''S PSYCHOLOGY LITERATURE REVIEW                       

16 Writing for the Natural and Applied Sciences 
a Read texts in the natural and applied sciences 
b Write texts in the natural and applied sciences 
c EXCERPT FROM A STUDENT''S CHEMISTRY LAB REPORT
 
17 Writing in Professional Settings 
a Read texts for business 
b Write texts for business 
STUDENT MEMO 
TRADITIONAL RÉSUMÉ 
CREATIVE RÉSUMÉ 

18 Making Design Decisions 
a Choose a type of text 
b Plan a visual structure 
c Format print and digital texts appropriately 
d Consider visuals and media 
  
19 Creating Presentations 
a Consider assignment, purpose, and audience for presentations 
b Write to be heard and remembered 
c Create slides or other visuals 
d Practice and deliver the presentation 
e Consider other kinds of presentations 

20 Communicating in Other Media 
a Consider your rhetorical context 
b Consider types of multimodal texts 
c Plan features of texts 

21  Writing to Make Something Happen in the World 
a Decide what should happen 
b Connect with your audience 
c SAMPLE WRITING TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN IN THE WORLD 
 
Language and Style
22  Language and Identity
a Recognize how the language of others can shape identity
b Use language to shape your own identity

23  Language Varieties 
a  Use "standard" varieties of English appropriately 
b  Use varieties of English to evoke a place or community 
c  Build credibility within a community with language variety 
d  Bring in other languages appropriately 

24 Writing to the World 
a  Think about what seems "normal" 
b  Clarify meaning 
c  Meet audience expectations 

25  Language That Builds Common Ground 
a  Examine assumptions and avoid stereotypes 
b  Examine assumptions about gender 
c  Examine assumptions about race and ethnicity 
d  Consider other kinds of difference 

26  Style Matters
a Use effective words and figures of speech
b Use powerful verbs
c Use varied sentence lengths and openings

27 Coordination, Subordination, and Emphasis
a Use coordination to relate equal ideas
b Use subordination to distinguish main ideas
c Use closing and opening positions for emphasis

28 Consistency and Completeness
a Revise faulty sentence structure
b Match up subjects and predicates
c Use elliptical structures carefully
d Check for missing words
e Make comparisons complete, consistent, and clear

29 Parallelism
a Make items in a series parallel
b Make paired ideas parallel
c Include all necessary words

30 Shifts
a Revise unnecessary shifts in verb tense
b Revise unnecessary shifts in mood
c Revise unnecessary shifts in voice
d Revise unnecessary shifts in person and number
e Revise shifts between direct and indirect discourse
f Revise shifts in tone and word choice

31 Conciseness
a Eliminate unnecessary words
b Simplify sentence structure
 
The Top Twenty
32 The Top Twenty: A Quick Guide to Editing Your Writing
Wrong word
Missing comma after an introductory element
Incomplete or missing documentation
Vague pronoun reference
Spelling (including homonyms)
Mechanical error with a quotation
Unnecessary comma
Unnecessary or missing capitalization
Missing word
Faulty sentence structure
Missing comma with nonrestrictive element
Unnecessary shift in verb tense
Missing comma in a compound sentence
Unnecessary or missing apostrophe (including its/it''s)
Fused (run-on) sentence
Comma splice
Lack of pronoun-antecedent agreement
Poorly integrated quotation
Unnecessary or missing hyphen
Sentence fragment
 
Sentence Grammar
33 Parts of