The brief Bedford reader / X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Jane E. Aaron.

Contents
1. Narration: Telling a Story
VISUAL IMAGE: How Joe's Body Brought Him Fame Instead of Shame, advertisement for
Charles Atlas
The Method
The Process
Focus on Verbs
Checklist for Revising a Narrative
Narration in Paragraphs
Narration in Practice: Reporting a car accident
DIFFERENCE
Maya Angelou, Champion of the World
Maya Angelou on Writing
Amy Tan, Fish Cheeks
Amy Tan on Writing
Annie Dillard, The Chase
Annie Dillard on Writing
Sherman Alexie, Indian Education
Sherman Alexie on Writing
Note: Chapters 5 through 13 follow the same structure as Chapter 4


2. Description: Writing with Your Senses
VISUAL IMAGE: Doug and Mizan's House, East River, 1993, photograph by Margaret Morton
FATHERS
Brad Manning (student), Arm Wrestling with My Father
Brad Manning on Writing
Sarah Vowell, Shooting Dad
Sarah Vowell on Writing
Judith Ortiz Cofer, Silent Dancing
Judith Ortiz Cofer on Writing
Ethan Canin, Fly-Fishing for Doctors
Ethan Canin on Writing


3. Example: Pointing to Instances
VISUAL IMAGE: Cellular Phones of the Future, cartoon by Barry Blitt
HOMELESSNESS
Barbara Lazear Ascher, On Compassion
Barbara Lazear Ascher on Writing
Anna Quindlen, Homeless
Anna Quindlen on Writing
Brent Staples, Black Men and Public Space
Brent Staples on Writing
Scott Russell Sanders, Signs
Scott Russell Sanders on Writing


4. Comparison and Contrast: Setting Things Side by Side
VISUAL IMAGES: American Gothic, painting by Grant Wood; Rural Rehabilitation Client, 1935, photograph by Ben Shahn
PERSONALITIES
Suzanne Britt, Neat People vs. Sloppy People
Suzanne Britt on Writing
Dave Barry, Batting Clean-up and Striking Out
Dave Barry on Writing
Bruce Catton, Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts
Bruce Catton on Writing
David Sedaris, Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa
David Sedaris on Writing


5. Process Analysis: Explaining Step by Step
VISUAL IMAGE: Workers Making Dolls, photograph by Wally McNamee
Linnea Saukko (student), How to Poison the Earth
Linnea Saukko on Writing
Bill Bryson, How You Became You
Bill Bryson on Writing
CUSTOMS
Jessica Mitford, Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain
Jessica Mitford on Writing
Horace Miner, Body Ritual Among the Nacirema


6. Division or Analysis: Slicing into Parts
VISUAL IMAGE: Deconstructing Lunch, cartoon by Roz Chast
MEN AND WOMEN
Judy Brady, I Want a Wife
Armin A. Brott, Not All Men are Sly Foxes
Emily Prager, Our Barbies, Ourselves
Emily Prager on Writing
Laila Ayad (student), The Capricious Camera
VISUAL IMAGE: Mounted Nazis on the Lookout for Likely Polish Children, photograph


7. Classification: Sorting into Kinds
VISUAL IMAGE: What Everyone Should Know About the Movie Rating System, chart from the Motion Picture Association of America
Russell Baker, The Plot Against People
Russell Baker on Writing
Samuel P. Huntington, The Crisis of National Identity
LIES
Stephanie Ericsson, The Ways We Lie
Stephanie Ericsson on Writing
William Lutz, The World of Doublespeak
William Lutz on Writing


8. Cause and Effect: Asking Why
VISUAL IMAGE: Garbage In . . . , cartoon by Mike Thompson
GLOBALIZATION
Naomi Klein, A Web of Brands
Naomi Klein on Writing
Chitra Divakaruni, Live Free and Starve
Chitra Divakaruni on Writing
Gore Vidal, Drugs
Gore Vidal on Writing
Meghan Daum, Safe-Sex Lies


9. Definition: Tracing a Boundary
VISUAL IMAGE: Need Is a Very Subjective Word, advertisement for HUMMER
HURTFUL WORDS
Gloria Naylor, The Meanings of a Word
Gloria Naylor on Writing
Christine Leong (student), Being a Chink
Christine Leong on Writing
Thomas Sowell, "Needs"
Dagoberto Gilb, Pride
Dagoberto Gilb on Writing


10. Argument and Persuasion: Stating Opinions and Proposals
VISUAL IMAGE: Corporate America Flag, image from Adbusters Media Foundation
Colleen Wenke (student), Too Much Pressure
William F. Buckley, Jr., Why Don't We Complain?
William F. Buckley, Jr., on Writing


LC's copy lacks p. 481-508 which included the rest of the "useful terms" and the index.

Includes index : p. 451 - 462