WRITING FOR 
SCHOOL & WORK
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SHORT TABLE OF CONTENTS (click on the underlined chapter you want):
Introduction
   1. Focusing   2. Examples   3. Starting   4. Quick Writes   5. Modes   6. Thinking
7. News Article   8. Process   9. Summary    10. Lit Report   11. Resume & Application
12. Story            13. Professional Report           14. Basic Analysis            15. Lit Analysis
17. Argument      18. Proposal      19. Response     
20 Lit Thesis      21 Magazine Article
22. Critical Review          23. Recommendation          24. Evaluation          25. Lit Review
30. Revising                            31. Sentences                            32. Paragraphs  
33. Editing         34. Quotations        
35. Punctuations        36. Graphics         Conclusion

Students: Welcome to WRITING FOR SCHOOL AND WORK (also known as "WSW"), an online textbook.  This textbook was first put online in its entirety in August 2000, and not all the chapters are complete.  However, I wanted to put this text online in order to save you money.  In previous years, I’ve offered the textbook through copying services, and the cost of it has been between $35 and $50 (of which I personally received nothing).  You’ll find that this online version does not yet have most of the sample papers (so be sure to buy the “Supplement” at Paradigm printing service), and not all chapters have all of their sections.  However, everything you need for your course is either here, in your Paradigm supplement, or on the course Web site.  I would enjoy your helpful (constructive) ideas.  Good luck this semester.  --Richard 

(Want some helpful suggestions on changing the size of your Web pages?  Look below after the "Contents.")

DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Here is a more detailed list of the chapters.  To find a chapter, go to the "Short Table of Contents" above and click on the chapter's underlined name.    Chapters in italics below are under construction and not available.)

Part I--Starting

Chapter 1: Focusing on Writing.  How, where, and when do writers focus?
Chapter 2: Student Writing Processes.  What do students have to say about how they
focus on writing?
Chapter 3: Starting.  What are some basic methods for starting to write?
Chapter 4: Quick Writing.  What is quick writing or freewriting?
Chapter 5: Rhetorical Modes.  What are these basic modes of writing?
Chapter 6: Critical Thinking.  What is critical thinking?  What are four basic
thinking steps? 
 
Part II—Focusing on Description
(A = Public/Academic Writing, B = Professional/Business Writing, C = Responding
to Readings, &
D = Writing and Literature)
 
Chapter 7: (A) News Article and News Report
Chapter 8: (B) Process Description and Instructions (Mechanical and Human)
Chapter 9: (C) Summary of a Reading
Chapter 10: (D) Literary (“Book”) Report
Chapter 11: (B) Resume and Application Letter
Part III—Focusing on Analysis
 
Chapter 12: (A) Story, Story Ad, and Case Study
Chapter 13: (B) Professional Report
Chapter 14: (C) Basic Analysis
Chapter 15: (D) Literary Analysis (Using the Elements of Literature)
Chapter 16:

Part IV—Focusing on Argument
 
Chapter 17: (A) Argument: Thesis Papers, Dialogue/Dialectic Papers, & Essay Tests
Chapter 18: (B) Project Proposal—Professional and Scientific
Chapter 19: (C) Reaction/Response to Argumentative Readings
Chapter 20: (D) Literary Thesis or “Interpretive Thesis”
Chapter 21: (A) Feature Magazine Article (Public Arguments)
 
Part V—Focusing on Evaluation
 
Chapter 22: (A) Critical Review
Chapter 23: (B) Recommendation Report
Chapter 24: (C) Basic Evaluation
Chapter 25: (D) Literary Review
Chapter 26:

 
Part VI—Focusing on Research, Revision, and Editing

Research:
Chapter 27: Finding Sources--Thinking of Ideas and Drafting (to be written)
Chapter 28: Using Sources--Developing and Organizing Your Ideas (to be written)
Chapter 29: Citing and Documenting Sources--Supporting Your Ideas.
                   See the "Revising" Sections of Chapters 19, 24, & 17.

Revision:
Chapter 30: Revising Strategies
Chapter 31: Sentence Structure: Whole and Partial Peacocks—A Model for Making
Sentences
Chapter 32: Paragraphing--Method and Madness

Editing:
Chapter 33: Basic Editing Guidelines (to be written—see ends of chaps. 17-25 for
editing & researching strategies)
Chapter 34: Quotations and Paraphrases (to be written—see ends of some chapters
for advice on this subject)
Chapter 35: Common Punctuation Errors (partly written)
Chapter 36: Graphics—Images, Graphs, & Space in Pamphlets and Professional
Reports
Conclusion:
 
Part VIII--Miscellaneous Materials for Each Course—See the
Paradigm Supplement.
 

Helpful Web- and File-Viewing Suggestions

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Making the Print Smaller or Larger

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In Netscape, go to the top bar, click on "View," and then on "Increase" or "Decrease Font Size." 

In Internet Explorer, go to the top bar, click on "View" and then on "text size."  Select the size.

In MS Word, go to the top bar, click on "View" and then on ”Zoom."  Select the size.

Narrowing the Width of Your Column

The easiest way to narrow the width of your column to narrow your entire window.  To narrow your entire window, (1) first go to the upper-right corner and click on the square that has two overlapping boxes in it.  (2) Next, in the resulting window, go to the lower-right corner and find the two diagonal marks.  (3) Place your cursor on them until your cursor becomes a thin double arrow.  (4) Then use your mouse to resize the window: hold your mouse button down and drag the window to whatever width (and height) you want; then release the mouse button.  (5) If you need to move the entire window, go to the top bar of it, click and hold on it, and then drag the window to the location you want on your screen.  (6) If, as you read, you come across something that needs the full width of the page, then simply click in the upper-right corner in the square that has the large box.  When you are ready to return to a narrower column, simply click in the upper-right corner on the square that has the two overlapping boxes in it.

If you are reading a chapter as an MS Word file (not on the Web), another option is to go to the lower-left corner of your Word window and then click on the first or third square.  That will give your pages more standard margins on the left and right. 

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.