Essential Actions for Academic Writing

Nigel A. Caplan is an Associate Professor of English as Second Language (ESL) at the University of Delaware English Language Institute. Ann M. Johns is Professor Emerita of Rhetoric and Writing Studies and Linguistics at San Diego State University.

• ContentsScope and Sequence viIntroduction 1Part I: Understanding Texts and Contexts 11Unit 1: The Rhetorical Planning Wheel 13Unit 2: Everyday and Academic Genres and Their Registers 33Part II: Exploring Essential Actions 49Unit 3: Explain 51Unit 4: Summarize 86Unit 5: Synthesize 112Unit 6: Report and Interpret Data 138Unit 7: Argue 168Unit 8: Respond 198Unit 9: Analyze 226Part III: Integrating Actions 249Project 1: Transforming Texts 251Project 2: Problem/Solution Inquiry 273Project 3: Research Paper 290Project 4: Personal Statement 317Grammar Glossary 335Online Source Use Appendix (see Companion Website)

"Overall, we believe Essential Actions for Academic Writing is an excellent textbook for teachers who want options and choice in how they build upon their students’ writing skills. . . The book’s accessibility, content structure, and relevance to college students are particularly strong. Essential Actions in the classroom will likely guide instructors to be more intentional in building students’ understanding of rhetorical decisions, language flexibility, and their agency as writers."