We Are America: A Thematic Reader and Guide to Writing by Anna Joy

Part I: AN OVERVIEW OF THE WRITING PROCESS.
1.First Steps. Taking Stock. Gathering Your Thoughts.
2.Writing about Reading. Active Reading. Paul Rogat Loeb: The Civil Rights Movement Was the Sum of Many People. Writing Summaries. Writing Before Reading. Gail Godwin: The Watcher at the Gates. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Responding to Poetry. Gwendolyn Brooks: We Real Cool. Topics for Writing.
3.Writing Paragraphs: The Process. What Is the Writing Process? What Is a Paragraph? Steps to Writing. Topics for Writing.
4.Revising Paragraphs. Basic Paragraph Structure. Revising Paragraphs.
5.Writing Essays. What Is an Essay? The Process for Writing Essays. Narrowing the Topic. Writing a Thesis. Writing a Title. Organizing Body Paragraphs. Strategies for Developing Ideas. Coherence. Special Paragraphs. Revising Essays. Topics for Writing.
Part II: A CROSS-CULTURAL READER.
6.Family and the Sense of Self. Narrating. Describing and Explaining. Writing Before Reading. Russell Baker: Mother. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Narrating. Betty Tilman: One Mistake (student writing). For Further Reading. Donald Hall: Fathers Playing Catch with Sons. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Theodore Roethke: My Papa's Waltz. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing.
7.A Sense of Place. Describing. Writing Before Reading. Amy Tan: Rules of the Game. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Describing. For Further Reading. Annie Dillard: Self and World. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing.Writing Before Reading. Gary Soto: Inheritance. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Norman Ferguson: Garage (student writing). Arina Hung: I Miss You, Mr. Fish (student writing).
8.The Richness of Tradition. Process Analysis. Writing Before Reading. Donald Inn: The Art of Lion Dancing. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Process Analysis. For Further Reading. Eugene Morris: Kwanzaa: Holiday of "Principles to Live By". Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Jane Singer: 'Chanoyu,' The Way of Tea. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. James Cagney: How to Make a Sandwich (student writing). Norma Davis: Memories of Thanksgiving Day (student writing). Interviewing. Liz Ann Larson: Randy: The Best of Two Cultures (student writing). The Writing Process: Writing an Oral History. Sam Masuno: To Be Thankful. Topics for Writing.
9.Getting an Education. Drawing Inferences. Writing Before Reading. Elizabeth Wong: The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. For Further Reading. Mike Rose: I Just Wanna Be Average. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Langston Hughes: Themes for English B. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Thomas Carbone: The Truth about High School (student writing).
10.Self and Others. Classifying. Writing before Reading. Art Jahnke: Whatever Happened to Friendship? Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Classifying. For Further Reading. Lindsy Van Gelder: Personal Politics: A
Lesson in Straight Talk. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Brent Staples: Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. William Blake: A Poison Tree. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Deairich Hunter: Ducks vs. Hard Rocks (student writing).
11.Men and Women. Comparing and Contrasting. Writing Before Reading. Deborah Tannen: Why Can't He Hear What I'm Saying? Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Comparing and Contrasting. For Further Reading. Scott Russell Sanders: The Men We Carry in Our Minds. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Katha Pollitt: Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Li Po. Tr. Ezra Pound: The River-Merchant's Wife. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Dan Krum: Relationships (student writing).
12.Immigrants. Explaining Causes and Effects. Writing Before Reading. Michael J. Mandel and Christopher Farrell: The Immigrants: How They're Helping to Revitalize the U. S. Economy. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Causal Analysis. For Further Reading. Bette Bao Lord: Walking in Lucky Shoes. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Jesus Colon: Kipling and I. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Gabriel Ramirez: Coming to America (student writing).
13.Between Two Cultures. Defining. Writing Before Reading. Marjorie Miller and Ricardo Chavira: Border Culture. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Defining. For Further Reading. Richard Rodriguez: Complexion. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Amy Tan: Mother Tongue. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Norma Davis: Can You Really Go Back Home? (student writing).
14.Evaluating Experience. Evaluating. Writing Before Reading. Jamie Myers: Hypocrisy. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. For Further Reading. Ishmael Reed: America: The Multicultural Society. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Vine Deloria Jr.: Indian Humor. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Sheryl Little: Love and War: An Evaluation of Dr. Zhivago (student writing).
15.The Workplace. Problem Solving. Writing Before Reading. Susan Chira: The Good Mother: New Realities Fight Old Images of Mother. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Problem Solving. For Further Reading. Studs Terkel: The Organizer. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. David Owen: The Perfect Job. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Jim Daniels: Short-Order Cook. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Ernesto Morales: Emergency Room (student writing).
16.Examining Stereotypes. Taking a Stand. Writing Before Reading. Arthur Ashe: A Black Athlete Looks at Education. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Taking a Stand. For Further Reading. Robert L. Heilbroner: Don't Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgments. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Judith Ortiz Cofer: The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Nikki Giovanni: Nikki Rosa. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Bobby Whitright: Body Piercing in America: Legitimate Form of Self-Expression? (student writing).
17.Against Injustice. Persuading. Writing Before Reading. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Letter from the Birmingham Jail. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. The Writing Process: Persuading. For Further Reading. Charles E. King: Homelessness in America. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Writing Before Reading. Cesar Chavez: My Anger and Sadness over Pesticides. Responding to the Reading. Topics for Writing. Joelle Foshee: The Gulf War Is Still Being Fought (student writing).
Part III: REVISING SENTENCES: A WRITING SKILLS WORKBOOK.
18.Recognizing Verbs. The Present Tense. Checking for Verbs. The Past Tense. The Future Tense. Local Dialects and Standard English. Writing Exercise.
19.Working with Verbs and Subjects. Identifying Verbs and Subjects. Writing Exercises.
20.Revising for Verb-Subject and Noun-Pronoun Agreement. Making Verbs and Subjects Agree. Making Nouns and Pronouns Agree. Writing Exercise.
21.Coordinating Conjunctions and Other Connecting Words. Connecting Independent Clauses. Writing Exercise.
22.Subordinating Conjunctions and Relative Pronouns. Connecting Dependent and Independent Clauses. Writing Exercise.
23.Correcting Fragments and Run-on Sentences. Identifying Fragments. Correcting Fragments with Subjects Omitted. Correcting Added-Idea Fragments. Correcting Infinitive and -ing Fragments. Correcting Dependent-Clause Fragments. Correcting Run-On Sentences. Writing Exercises.
24.Making Logical Connections. Phrases in a Series. Correcting Illogically Joined Sentences. Writing Exercise.
25.Consistency of Person and Tense. Consistency of Person. Consistency of Tense. Writing Exercise.
26.Mechanics: A Few Basic Rules for Writers. Punctuation. Spelling. Capitalization.