Writing that Matters

Robert DiYanni is Professor of Humanities at New York University, USA, where he serves on the faculties of the School of Professional Studies and the Stern School of Business, following a decade in the College of Arts and Science. His publications include The Pearson Guide to Critical and Creative Thinking (2014), Critical and Creative Thinking: A Brief Guide for Teachers (2015), and Critical Reading Across the Curriculum (with Anton Borst; 2017). His co-authored Scribner Handbook for Writers went through four editions, and his Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay went through six.

• PrefacePART I: ESSENTIALS Chapter 1. Writing to LearnWriting and LearningWriting Sentences, Writing ParagraphsSentences—Beginning with ThinkingParagraphs—Developing Your ThinkingFinal ThoughtsApplications and ConsiderationsChapter 2. The Habit of WritingMotivations for Writing10 Obstacles to Writing10 Strategies for Developing the Habit of WritingConnecting Reading and WritingThe Need for FeedbackApplications and Considerations Chapter 3. Writing from ReadingAnnotatingFreewritingUsing a Double-Column NotebookSummarizingSummaryApplications and ConsiderationsChapter 4. The Writing ProcessPre-writing—Thinking and PlanningDraftingRevisingThree Aspects of RevisingEditing and ProofreadingImpediments to WritingApplications and ConsiderationsPART II: STYLE Chapter 5. Words General and Specific, Abstract and ConcreteClichésColloquialismsSlangJargonEuphemismsEnglish Borrowings from Other LanguagesEtymologyDenotation and ConnotationLoaded WordsThe Power of Words: Connotation in ActionThe Prevalence of MetaphorMetaphor and MeaningMetaphor and IdeasMetaphor and PoliticsApplications and ConsiderationsChapter 6. Sentences and PunctuationThe Cumulative Sentence The Periodic SentenceThe Parallel and Antithetical SentenceThe Inverted SentenceThe Interrupting SentenceThe Fragmentary SentenceThe Questioning SentenceSentence LengthSentence VarietyEmphasisPunctuation and the SentenceColon and SemicolonDashDouble Dash and ParenthesesApplications and ConsiderationsChapter 7. Paragraphs Unity and CoherenceParagraph OrganizationTime and SpaceImportance and ClimaxCombining Paragraphs—Unity and CoherenceNotes on Style and StructureFurther Notes on ThoughtApplications and ConsiderationsPART III: STRUCTURE Chapter 8. Aspects of FormTwo-Part FormsBefore-AfterProblem-SolutionThree-Part Forms Revision and FormForm in Nature and ArtApplications and ConsiderationsChapter 9. Modes of Discourse DescriptionNarrationArgumentationGuidelines for Constructing an ArgumentAnticipating ObjectionsMaking ConcessionsThe Modes of Discourse CombinedApplications and ConsiderationsChapter 10. Patterns of ExpositionDefinitionIllustration (Exemplification)EnumerationProcess AnalysisComparison and ContrastConfucianism and TaoismClassificationCause and Effect AnalysisApplications and Considerations PART IV: MASTERYChapter 11. Master ClassKey Elements of Close ReadingLeslie JamisonClose Reading Style, Structure, and Substance in "A Street Full of Splendid Strangers" Style DictionSyntaxFigurative Language and Allusion Structure Substance—Thought Chapter 12. Writing with the MastersWriting with George Orwell and Annie DillardOrwellDillardWriting with Adrienne Rich and E. B. WhiteAdrienne RichWhiteWriting with Toni Morrison and Maxine Hong KingstonMorrisonKingstonWriting with John McPhee and Jhumpa LahiriMcPheeLahiriWriting with George Saunders and Mary KarrSaundersKarrWriting with Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieZadie SmithAdichieAppendix: Thinking, Writing, and AIReferencesIndex