Voices and Values, a Reader for Writers

Key FeaturesReadings that celebrate human valuesTimely, engaging, thought-provoking essays celebrate old-fashioned human values in a style that never preaches. For example, in the first selection, “The Blind Vet,” an author describes the despair and helplessness felt by an injured veteran and the steps he took to regain his independence. The story becomes an argument for the importance of perseverance—never giving up despite the odds—and the need for love and compassion. Other essays—in a style that never preaches—cover such values as gratitude, personal growth, fairness, responsibility, kindness, courage, common sense, and moderation.High-quality activitiesAccompanying the selections is a series of activities that will help students improve their reading, thinking, and writing skills. Activities include:• freewriting topics • discussion questions • vocabulary questions • paragraph assignments • reading comprehension questions • essay assignmentsSample topic sentences and thesis statements, along with specific suggestions for providing support, help students to succeed on the writing assignments. Finally, fifteen additional assignments ask students to read two of the essays and write a paper based on both.VersatilityThe book would be ideal for a reading/writing course. It can also be used as a core text in a reading course or as a reader in a writing course covering paragraphs, essays, or both.Handy supplementsAn annotated Instructor’s Edition of the book includes answers and explanations, making the book very easy for teachers to use. Available at TP’s online Learning Center are teaching suggestions, answers to the Vocabulary and Reading Checks, suggested answers to the discussion questions, guided writing assignments, and five additional readings.Changes in This Edition• Twenty new reading selections. Half of the readings have been replaced with new selections, many taken from current print and online publications. These new readings speak directly to 21st-century concerns. In addition, several of the readings from the first edition have been updated.• Added questions on the writer’s craft. These questions, located at the end of each Reading Check, will help students further sharpen both their reading and their writing skills.• A full-color design. Color has been carefully used throughout—not as window dressing, but to add clarity and readability to the different parts of each chapter in the book.• Appealing visuals. Because so many students today are visual learners, a photograph or other illustration has been added to each reading to help engage students’ interest.• New third-person writing assignments. Half of the paragraph assignments and half of the essay assignments are first-person; the other half of the assignments are third-person. Many of these include suggestions for Internet research, thereby permitting students to become familiar with using Google and other search engines to gather material for a paper.• A new unit on the research paper. Unit Six contains material on writing a research paper with sources, as well as a sample research paper in MLA format.Table of ContentsPreface: To the InstructorIntroduction Becoming a Better Reader Becoming a Better WriterUnit One: Overcoming Obstacles1. The Blind Vet Gail Hoffman2. The Scholarship Jacket Marta Salinas3. Life Over Death Bill Broderick4. A Small Victory Steve Lopez5. Joe Davis: A Cool Man Beth Johnson6. Migrant Child to College Woman Maria Cardenas7. He Was First John Kellmayer8. Into the Light Tanya SavoryUnit Two: Understanding Ourselves9. Night Watch Roy Popkin10. The Most Hateful Words Amy Tan11. A Door Swings Open Roxanne Black12. Responsibility M. Scott Peck13. Thank You Alex Haley14. The Ugly Truth about Beauty Dave Barry15. Dealing with Feelings Rudolph F. Verderber16. The Bystander Effect Dorothy Barkin17. Soft Addictions Tim BashardUnit Three: Relating to Others18. All the Good Things Sister Helen Mrosla19. Shame Dick Gregory20. Adult Children at Home Marilyn Mack21. Abusive Relationships Among the Young Miriam Hill22. Rowing the Bus Paul Logan23. The Rudeness Epidemic Gary Wooten24. Unexpected Kindness Tim Whitaker25. Love Lisa ScottolineUnit Four: Educating Ourselves26. The Fist, the Clay, and the Rock Donald Holland27. A Change of Attitude Grant Berry28. Now More Than Ever: Community College Daniel Wister29. Reading to Survive Paul Langan30. The Professor Is a Dropout Beth Johnson31. The Medium is the Medium David Brooks32. Learning Survival Skills Jean ColemanUnit Five: Examining Social Issues33. Sleeping with Guns Bruce Holbert34. My Daughter Smokes Alice Walker35. A Drunken Ride, A Tragic Aftermath Theresa Conroy and Christine M. Johnson36. Marijuana Today Mark Bowden37. Help Thy Neighbor and Go Straight to Prison Nicholas D. Kristoff38. What Causes Hearing Loss Jane E. Brody39. The Bitter Truth about Sugar Emily Carlin40. Young and Isolated Jennifer M. SilvaUnit Six: Writing a Research Paper with Sources41. The Research Paper 42. Formatting and DocumentationAdditional Writing Assignments Acknowledgments Index Reading Performance Chart