The Composition of Everyday Life, Brief (w/ MLA9E & APA7E Updates),
6th Edition

Part I: INVENTION.
1. Inventing Ideas.
Introduction. Asking Questions. Re-Inventing Education. Reading for Rhetoric. How To Use The Composition Of Everyday Life. Inventing Ideas Assignment.
2. Remembering Who You Were.
Readings. "Selling Manure," Bonnie Jo Campbell. "How I Lost the Junior Miss Pageant," Cindy Bosley. "The Thrill of Victory . . . The Agony of Parents," Jennifer Schwind-Pawlak [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
3. Explaining Relationships.
Readings. "Americans and the Land," John Steinbeck. "Mugged," Jim Crockett. "Tinder, You, and Me," Kellie Coppola. [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
4. Observing.
Readings. "Living Like Weasels," Annie Dillard. "The Front Porch," Chester McCovey. "Red Raiders Fans," Taylor Perry. [Student essay.] Invention. Point of Contact. Observing a Culture: Writing an Ethnography Essay. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
5. Analyzing Concepts.
Readings. "Why 'Natural' Doesn't Mean Anything Anymore," Michael Pollan. "Black Like I Thought I Was," Erin Aubrey Kaplan. "The Real, The Bad, and The Ugly," Cassie Heidecker [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
6. Analyzing Texts.
Readings. "The Weight of Sanity: A Sample Analysis of Ann Marie Paulin." "The Default Setting: An Analysis of David Foster Wallace," Adrienne Carr. "Politics and Audience: The New York Times' Appeal to Voters in 2016." Alison Block. [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Caution: Four Common Pitfalls. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
7. Analyzing Images.
Readings. "Rise of the Image Culture: Re-Imagining the American Dream," Elizabeth Thoman. "An Imperfect Reality," Rebecca Hollingsworth. "Look on My Works: Breaking Bad's Final Season Trailer," Nick Fendinger. [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay.
8. Making Arguments.
Readings. "The Dog Delusion," April Pedersen. "Cruelty, Civility, and Other Weighty Matters," Ann Marie Paulin. "Hive Talkin': The Buzz Around Town about Bees," Teresa Scollon. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: The Open Letter.
9. Responding to Arguments.
Readings. "Entitlement Education," Daniel Bruno. "'Have It Your Way': Consumerism Invades Education," Simon Benlow. "The Power of Failure: J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech," Liz Winhover. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Tattoo Design.
10. Evaluating.
Readings. "Talibanned," Benjamin Busch. "Important and Flawed," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. "Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before," Jaren Provo. [Student essay.] Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Classroom Evaluations.
11. Searching for Causes.
Readings. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Nicholas Carr. "Why We Binge-Watch Television," Kevin Fallon. "Why Millennials Are Weak," Quinn Greenwell. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Photo Essay.
12. Proposing Solutions.
Readings. "Hi, I'm a Digital Junkie and I Suffer from Infomania," Manoush Zomorodi. "Your Kids Bored at School? Tell Them to Get Over It," Laura Hanby Hudgens. "Different Jobs," Dana Stewart. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Comic Strips and Other Media.
13. Thinking Radically: Re-Seeing the World.
Readings. "Celibate Passion," Kathleen Norris. "Build the Wall," Ed Bell. "Unemployed, and Working Hard," Simon Wykoff [Student essay]. Invention. Point of Contact. Analysis. Public Resonance. Thesis. Rhetorical Tools. Revision. Reflection. Beyond the Essay: Visual Essay / Collage / Poster.
Part II: RESEARCH.
14. Finding Sources.
Using Catalogs and Databases. Online Catalogs. Periodical Databases. Conducting Interviews. Planning an Interview. Asking the Right Questions. Integrating Interviews into Your Writing. Creating Surveys. Generating Questions. Choosing Respondents. Recording and Using Responses.
15. Analyzing, Synthesizing, and Evaluating Sources.
Developing Critical Literacy. "Just the Facts, Please"--or Maybe Not. "Numbers Don't Lie"--or Do They? Summarizing and Analyzing Sources. Content. Context. Understanding Common Source Genres. Synthesizing Sources. Assignment: Summarizing, Analyzing, and Synthesizing Sources. Sample Synthesis: Exploring Caffeine Views, by Jim Crockett. Evaluating Sources. Relevance. Reliability. Credibility. Timeliness. Diversity. Evaluating Online Sources. Assignment: Evaluating a Source. Sample Source Evaluation.
16. Integrating and Documenting Sources.
Basic Concepts. Issues to Consider and Discuss. Why Get Information from Sources? When to Get Information from Sources. What Is Inventive Research? Where to Get Information from Sources. What Is Plagiarism? Why Document Sources? What's a Good Research Topic? Formal versus Informal Documentation. Integrating Ideas from Sources. Summary. Quotation. Special Conditions in Quoting. Organizing Sources. Blending in the Source Information. Documenting Sources. MLA Style. In-Text Citation. Works Cited. Sample Research Essay. APA Style. In-Text Citation. References. Sample Research Essay.
Part III: ORGANIZATION AND DELIVERY.
17. Organizing Ideas.
Beginning. Changing Paragraphs. Integrating Outside Sources. Counterarguing. Separating Problems and Solutions. Concluding.
18. Developing Voice.
Establishing Presence. Building Credibility. Following Conventions.
19. Vitalizing Sentences.
Controlling the Pace. Getting Specific. Cleaning the Language. Experimenting with Patterns.
Part IV: ANTHOLOGY.
20. Everyday Rhetoric.
Remembering. "A Beat Education," Leonard Kress. "The Grapes of Mrs. Rath," Steve Mockensturm. Explaining Relationships. "What the Honey Meant," Cindy Bosley. "Dog-Tied," David Hawes. Observing. "Onward, Gamers, Onward!" Royce Flores. "The Farm on the Hill," Evan Proudfoot. Analyzing Concepts. "Why We No Longer Use the 'H' Word," Dan Wilkins. "This Is What a Feminist Looks Like," Barack Obama. Analyzing Texts and Images. "Cartoons 'n Comics: Communication to the Quick," Joy Clough. "Protests with the Mostest: The Art of Opposition Through Protest Signs," Deanna Krokos. Making Arguments. "Internet Addiction," Greg Beato. "Trees Please," Michael Rust. Responding to Arguments. "Military Fraud: The Myth of Automatic Virtue," Steve Gillman. "Crimes Against Humanity," Ward Churchill. Evaluating. "Revealing the Ugly Cartoonish Truth: The Simpsons," Simon Benlow. "The Parting Breath of the Now-Perfect Woman," Chester McCovey. Searching for Causes. "Are Female Long-Distance Runners More Prone to Suicidal Depression?" Emily de la Bruyere. "American Consumerism," Jamie Benley. Proposing Solutions. "Technology, Movement, and Sound," Ed Bell. "Reverence for Food," Rachel Schofield. Thinking Radically. "Not Homeschooling? What's Your Excuse?" Tricia Smith Vaughn. "Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results," Joanne Lipman. "An Apology to Future Generations," Simon Benlow.

• John Mauk

  John Mauk has a Ph.D. in rhetoric and writing from Bowling Green State University and a Masters in language and literature from the University of Toledo. Scholarship includes an article on critical geography and composition (COLLEGE ENGLISH, March 2003). Mauk now teaches composition and rhetoric courses at Northwestern Michigan College. In 2007, he served on the NCTE Nominating Committee.

• John Metz

  John Metz has a B.A. in English from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (1983) and an M.A. in English from the University of Toledo (1985). He has taught first-year writing for over 20 years and currently teaches at Kent State University at Geauga in Twinsburg, Ohio.

• New Reading Selections: Fifteen new and diverse readings illustrate the rhetorical tools essential to inventive writing. The latest additions include widely celebrated writers such as Michael Pollan and Annie Dillard as well as some high-profile figures such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Barack Obama. In keeping with previous editions, this edition includes new student writing--vibrant analytical essays that show real students developing sophisticated and revelatory ideas.

• Refined Invention Sections: The Invention sections in Chapters 2–13 are refined to maximize students' engagement with the driving elements of the pedagogy: the Invention Questions. This time around, these sections guide students to the most intellectually energizing questions--those designed to move thinking forward.

• Streamlined Chapter 1 on Inventing Ideas: Because students in composition courses should get writing as quickly as possible, Chapter 1 now focuses on the most critical elements--those necessary to help students' writing become more inventive, more connected to their everyday lives and more resonant with the world around them.

• Chapter Objectives: Each chapter now begins with learning objectives so instructors can better determine how the material aligns with their curriculum.

• Emphasis on Invention: Unlike any other writing guide, THE COMPOSITION OF EVERYDAY LIFE, Brief, offers 13 invention chapters that help students to be inventive thinkers and writers.

• Step-by-Step Invention Instruction: Point of Contact sections in each invention chapter help students discover a topic from everyday life. Analysis sections launch them beyond initial thoughts and help them explore the topic. Public Resonance helps students extend the topic outward to make it relevant to a community of readers. Thesis sections focus students' thinking and guide them toward revelatory claims. Rhetorical Tools help students support their claims with a variety of common strategies.

• Thorough Revision and Editing Coverage: Peer Review activities specific to each chapter help students to re-see all the dimensions of their drafts. Adding an intensive editing step to the invention process, Chapter 19, "Vitalizing Sentences," explains and illustrates particular strategies for pruning, weeding, trimming and giving life to writing.

• Beyond the Final Draft:, The Reflection sections help students transfer their ideas to a range of genres by prompting them to theorize about their own language and intellectual moves. These activities also help students identify areas for revision toward a course portfolio.

• Attractive Design in a Concise Package: THE COMPOSITION OF EVERYDAY LIFE, Brief, offers the clean and elegant design students and instructors value.

Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

Online Instructor's Manual for Mauk/Metz's The Composition of Everyday Life, Brief and Concise, 6th
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