At a Glance: Essays - Softcover

Lee Brandon is the author of twelve college English textbooks with Cengage Learning, including the best-selling series, Sentences, Paragraphs, and Beyond with Integrated Readings, and Paragraphs and Essays with Integrated Readings and the highly successful At a Glance series. He has served as chair of the English Department at Mt. San Antonio College, where he taught for more than thirty years and occasionally still teaches. Few authors are as active in the promotion of their books as Lee Brandon, who regularly visits schools across the country and presents at professional conferences. Lee also has to his credit poems and short stories in magazines; songs recorded and in sheet music; a best-selling musical play for elementary school students (in print with Lorenz Music); a play produced by a college drama department; a published Ford Foundation grant project; a chapbook of ballads about his youth, Oklahoma, My Sweet Sorrow; a chapbook of ballads about his experience teaching for ten years in a high-security California women's prison, Butterflies on Barbwire; and newspaper articles about travel, adventures, and whimsical experiences.

1. The Essay and Its Parts The Essay Defined A Sample Essay: "Razor Wire Sweat Lodge," Leah The Thesis Defined Sources for the Thesis Writing the Thesis Patterns of Support for the Thesis Special Paragraphs Within the Essay Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: The Essay and Its Parts 2. The Writing Process: Prewriting The Writing Process Defined Prewriting Strategies Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Prewriting 3. The Writing Process: Writing, Revising, and Editing Writing Your First Draft Revising Your Writing Adding Editing to Revision Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Writing, Revising, and Editing 4. Descriptive Narration: Moving Through Time and Space A Natural Combination of Narration and Description The Narrative Pattern The Descriptive Pattern Order for Descriptive Narration: Time and Space Examining Essays of Descriptive Narration Student Writer: "Magical, Stinky Gloves," Herman Velasco Professional Writer: "The Pie," Gary Soto Practicing Patterns of Descriptive Narration Topics for Essays of Descriptive Narration Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Descriptive Narration 5. Exemplification: Writing with Examples Writing Essays of Exemplification Examining Essays of Exemplification Student Writer: "Cheating Is Not Worth the Bother," Lara Olivas Professional Writer: "Saturday Night and You're All Alone? Maybe You Need a Cyberdate," Beth Brophy Practicing Patterns of Exemplification Topics for Essays of Exemplification Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Exemplification 6. Analysis by Division: Examining the Parts Writing Essays of Analysis by Division Examining Essays of Analysis by Division Student Writer: "Elvis Presley: Twentieth-Century Legend," Emmett Davis Professional Writer: "Designer Babies," Michael D. Lemonich Practicing Patterns of Analysis by Division Topics for Essays of Analysis by Division Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Analysis by Division 7. Process Analysis: Writing About Doing Writing Essays of Process Analysis Two Types of Process Analysis: Directive and Informative Working with Stages Basic Forms Examining Essays of Process Analysis Student Writer: "What's Behind a Brilliant Smile," Chanya Werner Professional Writer: "Zen and the Art of Pomegranate Eating," Will Brock Practicing Patterns of Process Analysis Topics for Essays of Process Analysis Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Process Analysis 8. Cause and Effect: Determining Reasons and Results Writing Essays of Cause and Effect Examining Essays of Cause and Effect Student Writer: "Getting High and Living Low," Sergio Ramos Professional Writer: "Effects of the Automobile," James M. Henslin Practicing Patterns of Cause and Effect Topics for Essays of Cause and Effect Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Cause and Effect 9. Classification: Establishing Groups Writing Essays of Classification Examining Essays of Classification Student Writer: "Types of Fly Fighters," Jolene Carter Professional Writer: "Managing Conflicts in Relationships," Rudolph F. Verderber Practicing Patterns of Classification Topics for Essays of Classification Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Classification 10. Comparison and Contrast: Showing Similarities and Differences Writing Essays of Comparison and Contrast Examining Essays of Comparison and Contrast Student Writer: "The Piper Cherokee and the Cessna 172," Brittany Markovic Professional Writer: "A Mixed Tex-Cal Marriage," Jose Antonio Burciaga Practicing Patterns of Comparison and Contrast Topics for Essays of Comparison and Contrast Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Comparison and Contrast 11. Definition: Clarifying Terms Writing Essays of Definition Examining Essays of Definition Student Writer: "Modern Mother," Marie Maxwell Professional Writer: "You and Your Boss," Paul Hertneky Practicing Patterns of Definition Topics for Essays of Definition Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Definition 12. Argument: Writing to Influence Writing Essays of Argument Examining Essays of Argument Student Writer: "Teaching Our Kids to Shoot 'Em Up," Tina Sergio Professional Writer: "How About Low-Cost Drugs for Addicts?" Louis Nizer Practicing Patterns of Argument Topics for Essays of Argument Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: Argument Appendix A. The Research Paper The Research Paper Defined Ten Steps to Writing a Research Paper Student Example: "Zoos--An Endangered Species?" Michael Chung Writer's Guidelines at a Glance: The Research Paper Appendix B Subjects and Verbs Kinds of Sentences Sentence Problems Sentence Combining Variety in Sentences: Types, Order, Length, Beginnings Parallel Structure Omissions: When Parts Are Missing Verbs Pronouns Adjectives and Adverbs Avoiding Wordy Phrases Punctuation Capitalization