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Read, Reason, Write
AN ARGUMENT TEXT AND READER

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Read, Reason, Write
AN ARGUMENT TEXT AND READER

TWELFTH EDITION
Dorothy U. Seyler
Allen Brizee
READ, REASON, WRITE: AN ARGUMENT TEXT AND READER, TWELFTH EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2019 by McGraw-Hill
Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Previous editions © 2015, 2012, and
2010. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a
database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not
limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the
United States.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
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ISBN: 978-1-259-91627-4
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All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Seyler, Dorothy U., author. | Brizee, Allen, author.
Title: Read, reason, write : an argument text and reader / Dorothy U. Seyler,
Allen Brizee.
Description: Twelfth edition. | New York, NY : McGraw-Hill Education, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017045184 (print) | LCCN 2017046594 (ebook) | ISBN
9781260195088 (Online) | ISBN 9781259916274 (softbound) | ISBN
9781260195064 (looseleaf)
Subjects: LCSH: English language—Rhetoric. | Persuasion (Rhetoric) | College
readers. | Report writing.
Classification: LCC PE1408 (ebook) | LCC PE1408 .S464 2019 (print) | DDC
808/.0427—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017045184
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a Web site
does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill Education does
not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
mheducation.com/highered
Brief Contents
SECTION 1 CRITICAL READING AND ANALYSIS 1
Chapter 1 Writers and Their Sources 2
Chapter 2 Responding Critically to Sources 32
SECTION 2 THE WORLD OF ARGUMENT 63

Chapter 3 Understanding the Basics of Argument 64
Chapter 4 Writing Effective Arguments 94
Chapter 5 Reading, Analyzing, and Using Visuals and
Statistics in Argument 116
Chapter 6 Learning More about Argument: Induction, Deduction,
Analogy, and Logical Fallacies 146
SECTION 3 STUDYING SOME ARGUMENTS BY GENRE 175

Chapter 7 Definition Arguments 176
Chapter 8 Evaluation Arguments 194
Chapter 9 The Position Paper: Claims of Values 209
Chapter 10 Arguments about Cause 225
Chapter 11 Presenting Proposals: The Problem/Solution
Argument 241
SECTION 4 HE RESEARCHED AND FORMALLY DOCUMENTED

T
ARGUMENT 265
Chapter 12 Locating, Evaluating, and Preparing to Use Sources 266
Chapter 13 Writing the Researched Essay 285
Chapter 14 Formal Documentation: MLA Style, APA Style 319
v
vi BRIEF CONTENTS
SECTION 5 A COLLECTION OF READINGS 357

Chapter 15 The Media: Image and Reality 359
Chapter 16 The Web and Social Media: Their Impact on Our Lives 381
Chapter 17 Marriage and Gender Issues: The Debates Continue 401
Chapter 18 Education in America: Issues and Concerns 423
Chapter 19 The Environment: How Do We Sustain It? 443
Chapter 20 Laws and Rights: Gun Control and Immigration Debates 469
Chapter 21 America: Past, Present, Future 495
Appendix Understanding Literature 524

Contents
New to the Twelfth Edition xvii
Features of Read, Reason, Write xix
Let Connect Composition Help Your Students Achieve Their Goals xxi
From the Authors xxv
About the Authors xxvii
SECTION 1 CRITICAL READING AND ANALYSIS 1
Chapter 1 WRITERS AND THEIR SOURCES 2

Reading, Writing, and the Contexts of Argument 3
Responding to Sources 4
Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address” 4
The Response to Content 5
The Analytic Response 5
The Evaluation Response 6
The Research Response 7
Deborah Tannen, “Who Does the Talking Here?” 7
Writing Summaries 10
Active Reading: Use Your Mind! 13
Ruth Whippman, “Actually, Let’s Not Be in the Moment” 14
Using Paraphrase 16
Acknowledging Sources Informally 18
Referring to People and Sources 18
Joel Achenbach, “The Future Is Now: It’s Heading Right at Us, but We
Never See It Coming” 20
Presenting Direct Quotations: A Guide to Form and Style 23
Reasons for Using Quotation Marks 24
A Brief Guide to Quoting 24
For Reading and Analysis 26
Alex Knapp, “Five Leadership Lessons from James T. Kirk” 26
Suggestions for Discussion and Writing 31
vii
viii CONTENTS
Chapter 2 RESPONDING CRITICALLY TO SOURCES 32

Traits of the Critical Reader/Thinker 33
Examining the Rhetorical Context of a Source 33
Who Is the Author? 34
What Type—or Genre—of Source Is It? 34
What Kind of Audience Does the Author Anticipate? 34
What Is the Author’s Primary Purpose? 35
What Are the Author’s Sources of Information? 35
Analyzing the Style of a Source 36
Denotative and Connotative Word Choice 37
Tone 39
Level of Diction 39
Sentence Structure 40
Metaphors 42
Organization and Examples 42
Repetition 43
Hyperbole, Understatement, and Irony 43
Quotation Marks, Italics, and Capital Letters 43
Alexandra Petri, “Nasty Women Have Much Work to Do” 45
Writing about Style 48
Understanding Purpose and Audience 48
Planning the Essay 48
Drafting the Style Analysis 49
Ellen Goodman, “In Praise of a Snail’s Pace” 50
Student Essay: James Goode, “A Convincing Style” 53
Analyzing Two or More Sources 55
Synthesizing Two or More Sources 57
Adam Grant, “Why I Taught Myself to Procrastinate” 57
SECTION 2 THE WORLD OF ARGUMENT 63
Chapter 3 UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF ARGUMENT 64

Characteristics of Argument 65
Argument Is Conversation with a Goal 65
Argument Takes a Stand on an Arguable Issue 65
Argument Uses Reasons and Evidence 65
Argument Incorporates Values 66
Argument Recognizes the Topic’s Complexity 66
The Shape of Argument: What We Can Learn from Aristotle 66
Ethos (about the Writer/Speaker) 66
Logos (about the Logic of the Argument) 67
CONTENTS ix
Pathos (about Appeals to the Audience) 67

Kairos (about the Occasion or Situation) 68
The Language of Argument 69
Facts 70
Inferences 70
Judgments 71
Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt, “Your Brain Lies to You” 72
The Shape of Argument: What We Can Learn from Toulmin 75
Claims 76
Grounds (or Data or Evidence) 78
Warrants 78
Backing 79
Qualifiers 79
Rebuttals 80
Using Toulmin’s Terms to Analyze Arguments 80
Erin Brodwin, “The Secret to Efficient Teamwork Is Ridiculously Simple” 81
For Analysis and Debate 83
Christina Paxson, “A Safe Place for Freedom of Expression” 83
Geoffrey R. Stone, “Free Speech on Campus” 86
Chapter 4 WRITING EFFECTIVE ARGUMENTS 94

Know Your Audience 95
Who Is My Audience? 95
What Will My Audience Know about My Topic? 95
Where Does My Audience Stand on the Issue? 96
How Should I Speak to My Audience? 96
Understand Your Writing Purpose 97
What Type (Genre) of Argument Am I Preparing? 98
What Is My Goal? 98
Will the Rogerian or Conciliatory Approach Work for Me? 99
Move from Topic to Claim to Possible Support 99
Selecting a Topic 100
Drafting a Claim 100
Listing Possible Grounds 101
Listing Grounds for the Other Side or Another Perspective 101
Planning Your Approach 102
Draft Your Argument 103
Revise Your Draft 104
Rewriting 104
Editing 105
x CONTENTS
A Few Words about Word Choice and Tone 106

Proofreading 107
Darius Rejali, “Five Myths about Torture and Truth” 108
M. Gregg Bloche, “Torture Is Wrong—But It Might Work” 111
Chapter 5 READING, ANALYZING, AND USING VISUALS AND

STATISTICS IN ARGUMENT 116
Responding to Visual Arguments 117
Visual Rhetoric and Visual Literacy 117
Reading Graphics 124
Understanding How Graphics Differ 124
The Uses of Authority and Statistics 128
Judging Authorities 128
Understanding and Evaluating Statistics 130
Writing the Investigative Argument 131
Gathering and Analyzing Evidence 131
Planning and Drafting the Essay 133
Analyzing Evidence: The Key to an Effective Argument 133
Preparing Graphics for Your Essay 134
Student Essay: Garrett Berger, “Buying Time” 135
Joe Navarro, “Every Body’s Talking” 140
Chapter 6 LEARNING MORE ABOUT ARGUMENT: INDUCTION, DEDUCTION,

ANALOGY, AND LOGICAL FALLACIES 146
Induction 147
Deduction 148
“The Declaration of Independence” 153
Analogy 157
Logical Fallacies 158
Causes of Illogic 158
Fallacies That Result from Oversimplifying 159
Fallacies That Result from Avoiding the Real Issue 162
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments” 167
Peter Wehner, “In Defense of Politics, Now More Than Ever Before” 170
CONTENTS xi
SECTION 3 STUDYING SOME ARGUMENTS BY GENRE 175
Chapter 7 DEFINITION ARGUMENTS 176

Defining as Part of an Argument 177
When Defining Is the Argument 178
Strategies for Developing an Extended Definition 178
Preparing a Definition Argument 181
Student Essay: Laura Mullins, “Paragon or Parasite?” 182
Robin Givhan, “Glamour, That Certain Something” 185
Nicholas Haslam, “Crossing the Aegean Is ‘Traumatic.’ Your Bad Hair Day
Isn’t” 188
Chapter 8 EVALUATION ARGUMENTS 194

Characteristics of Evaluation Arguments 195
Types of Evaluation Arguments 196
Preparing an Evaluation Argument 197
Student Review: Ian Habel, “Winchester’s Alchemy: Two Men and a Book” 199
Evaluating an Argument: The Rebuttal or Refutation Essay 202
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, “Globalization Shouldn’t Be a Dirty Word” 203
Thomas Sowell, “Christmas-Tree Totalitarians” 205
Chapter 9 THE POSITION PAPER: CLAIMS OF VALUES 209

Characteristics of the Position Paper 210
Preparing a Position Paper 211
Student Essay: Chris Brown, “Examining the Issue of Gun Control” 213
Zainab Chaudry, “Ending Intolerance toward Minority Communities: Hate
Attacks on Sikh Americans” 217
Kaye Wise Whitehead, “A Never Ending War” 219
Haider Javed Warraich, “On Assisted Suicide, Going Beyond
‘Do No Harm’ ” 221
Chapter 10 ARGUMENTS ABOUT CAUSE 225

Characteristics of Causal Arguments 226
An Example of Causal Complexity: Lincoln’s Election and the Start
of the Civil War 228
Mill’s Methods for Investigating Causes 229
xii CONTENTS
Preparing a Causal Argument 231

Caroline Simard, “‘Daring to Discuss Women in Science’: A Response to
John Tierney” 233
David A. Strauss, “A New Wave of Equality” 236
Chapter 11 PRESENTING PROPOSALS: THE PROBLEM/SOLUTION

ARGUMENT 241
Characteristics of Problem/Solution Arguments 242
Priya Natarajan, “Want More Scientists? Turn Grade Schools into
Laboratories” 244
Braden Allenby, “After Armstrong’s Fall, the Case for Performance
Enhancement” 247
Preparing a Problem/Solution Argument 251
Planning 251
Drafting 251
Gretchen Carlson, “My Fight Against Sexual Harassment” 253
Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal” 256
SECTION 4 THE RESEARCHED AND FORMALLY DOCUMENTED

ARGUMENT 265
Chapter 12 LOCATING, EVALUATING, AND PREPARING TO USE SOURCES 266

Selecting a Good Topic 267
What Type of Paper Am I Preparing? 267
Who Is My Audience? 267
How Can I Select a Good Topic? 268
What Kinds of Topics Should I Avoid? 268
Writing a Tentative Claim or Research Proposal 269
Preparing a Working Bibliography 270
Basic Form for Books 271
Basic Form for Articles 272
Locating Sources 273
The Book Catalog 273
The Reference Collection 274
Databases 275
The Web 277
Field Research 278
Federal, State, and Local Government Documents 278
Correspondence 278
Interviews 278
CONTENTS xiii
Lectures 279
Films, DVDs, Television 279
Surveys, Questionnaires, and Original Research 279
Evaluating Sources, Maintaining Credibility 280
Preparing an Annotated Bibliography 282
Student Annotated Bibliography: David Donaldson, “Tell Us What You Really
Are: The Debate over Labeling Genetically Modified Food” 283
Chapter 13 WRITING THE RESEARCHED ESSAY 285

Avoiding Plagiarism 286
What Is Common Knowledge? 289
Using Signal Phrases to Avoid Confusion 289
Organizing the Paper 293
Drafting the Essay 294
Plan Your Time 294
Handle In-Text Documentation as You Draft 294
Choose an Appropriate Writing Style 294
Write Effective Beginnings 296
Avoid Ineffective Openings 297
Compose Solid, Unified Paragraphs 298
Write Effective Conclusions 302
Avoid Ineffective Conclusions 303
Choose an Effective Title 303
Revising the Paper: A Checklist 303
Rewriting 304
Editing 304
Proofreading 305
The Completed Paper 305
Student Essay in MLA Style: David Donaldson, “Tell Us What You Really Are:
The Debate Over Labeling Genetically Modified Food” 305
Chapter 14 FORMAL DOCUMENTATION: MLA STYLE, APA STYLE 319

The Simplest Patterns of Parenthetical Documentation 321
Placement of Parenthetical Documentation 321
Parenthetical Citations of Complex Sources 322
Preparing MLA Citations for a Works Cited List 325
Forms for Books: Citing the Complete Book 326
Forms for Books: Citing Part of a Book 329
Forms for Periodicals: Articles in Magazines, Journals, and Newspapers 330
Forms for Periodicals: Articles in Newspapers Accessed in Print 332
Forms for Digital Sources 333
Forms for Other Print and Nonprint Sources 335
xiv CONTENTS
APA Style 338

APA Style: In-Text Citations 338
APA Style: Preparing a List of References 341
Form for Books 342
Form for Articles 343
Form for Electronic Sources 344
Student Essay in APA Style: Carissa Ervine, “The Relationship Between
Depression and Marital Status” 345
SECTION 5 A COLLECTION OF READINGS 357
Chapter 15 THE MEDIA: IMAGE AND REALITY 359

Mark Edmundson, “Off to See the Wizard: Finding the Virtues of Homer,
Plato, and Jesus in Technicolor Oz” 360
Student Essay: Sienna Walker, “Big Pun’s Prophesy” 364
Stuart Elliott, “Coca-Cola—Taste the Change” 369
Tim Wu, “Mother Nature Is Brought to You By . . .” 371
Sanford J. Ungar, “Bannon called the media the ‘opposition.’ He’s right,
and it’s a good thing.” 375
Heather C. McGhee, “‘I’m Prejudiced,’ He Said. Then We Kept Talking.” 378
Chapter 16 THE WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA: THEIR IMPACT ON OUR LIVES 381
Steven Pinker, “Mind over Mass Media” 382
Susan P. Crawford, “The New Digital Divide” 385
Fareed Zakaria, “Bile, Venom, and Lies: How I Was Trolled on
the Internet” 389
Liza Tucker, “The Right to Bury the (Online) Past” 392
Caitlin Gibson, “Clever Is Forever” 394
George Yancy, “I Am a Dangerous Professor” 397
Chapter 17 MARRIAGE AND GENDER ISSUES: THE DEBATES CONTINUE 401

Meg Jay, “The Downside of Living Together” 403
Stephanie Coontz, “Want a Happier Marriage, Dads? Then Take
Paternity Leave” 406
Lisa Jaster, “Women Will Make Units Stronger” 409
Jonathan Rauch, “Here’s How 9 Predictions about Gay
Marriage Turned Out” 411
Gloria Steinem, “Supremacy Crimes” 417
Chapter 18 EDUCATION IN AMERICA: ISSUES AND CONCERNS 423

Richard D. Kahlenberg, “To Really Integrate Schools, Focus on
Wealth, Not Race” 425
CONTENTS xv
Kate Walsh, “The National Teacher Shortage Is a Myth. Here’s What’s

Really Happening” 428
Joseph Zengerle, “Why Future Officers Should Read Shakespeare, Know
History and Understand Psychology” 430
Danielle Allen, “Tuition Is Now a Useless Concept in
Higher Education” 433
Charles R. Pruitt, “Partisan Politics Is Cutting the Heart out
of Public Ivies” 436
Howard Gardner, “Why Kids Cheat at Harvard” 440
Chapter 19 THE ENVIRONMENT: HOW DO WE SUSTAIN IT? 443

Gregory M. Kennedy, S.J., “Trash Talk: Reflections on Our
Throwaway Society” 445
Michael Novacek, “The Sixth Extinction: It Happened to Him. It’s
Happening to You.” 449
Bob Silberg, “Why a Half-Degree Temperature Rise Is a Big Deal” 453
Art Carden, “On Climate Change, Government Is Not the Answer” 457
Alexander Starritt, “The Cleverest Countries on Climate Change—and
What We Can Learn from Them” 459
Rachel Nuwer, “Elephant Loss Tied to Ivory Trade” 465
Chapter 20 LAWS AND RIGHTS: GUN CONTROL AND IMMIGRATION

DEBATES 469
Daniel Webster and Ronald Daniels, “Allowing Guns on Campus Will Invite
Tragedies, Not End Them” 470
David B. Rivkin Jr and Andrew M. Grossman, “Gun Control Proposals in the
Wake of Orlando Could Endanger Constitutional Rights” 474
Robert Wilson, “It’s Time for Police Officers to Start Demanding Gun Laws
That Could End Up Saving Their Own Lives” 476
Amy Chua, “Immigrate, Assimilate” 482
Roberto Suro, “Legal, Illegal” 487
Janet Napolitano, “The Truth about Young Immigrants and DACA” 491
Chapter 21 AMERICA: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE 495

Abraham Lincoln, “Second Inaugural Address” 496
Deidre N. McCloskey, “The Formula for a Richer World? Equality, Liberty,
Justice, and Wealth” 498
Barack H. Obama, “Remarks by the President at the 50th Anniversary of
the Selma to Montgomery Marches” 502
Kwame Anthony Appiah, “How the Future Will Judge Us” 511
Anne Applebaum, “Trump’s Dark Promise to Return to
a Mythical Past” 514
Neil DeGrasse Tyson, “A Cosmic Perspective” 517
xvi CONTENTS
Appendix UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE 524

Getting the Facts: Active Reading, Summary, and Paraphrase 525
Paul Lawrence Dunbar, “Promise” 525
Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour” 526
Summary of “The Story of an Hour” 528
William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 116” 528
Paraphrase of “Sonnet 116” 529
Seeing Connections: Analysis 530
Analysis of Narrative Structure 531
Analysis of Character 531
Analysis of Elements of Style and Tone 532
Drawing Conclusions: Interpretation 533
Writing about Literature 533
Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress” 534
Christopher Marlowe, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” 535
Sir Walter Raleigh, “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” 536
A. E. Housman, “Is My Team Ploughing” 537
Amy Lowell, “Taxi” 538
Janet Taliaferro, “The Last Civilized Act” 539
Susan Glaspell, “Trifles” 544
Student Literary Analysis: Alan Peterson, “Faulkner’s Realistic
Initiation Theme” 561
Index 568
New to the
Twelfth Edition
This new edition continues the key features of previous editions while adding new
material that will make it even more helpful to both students and instructors. Significant
changes include the following:
• New readings. This edition features a rich collection of eighty readings, both
timely and classic, that provide examples of the varied uses of language and strate-
gies for argument. Forty-six of these readings are entirely new to this edition and
include high-quality examples of argument written by author and activist Kaye
Wise Whitehead, philosopher and novelist Kwame Anthony Appiah, Pulitzer
Prize-winning foreign policy journalist Anne Applebaum, noted author and profes-
sor of psychology Steven Pinker, political columnist and CNN host Fareed Zakaria,
astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and engineer and U.S. Army Reserve soldier
Lisa Jaster—to name only a few.
•• New coverage. An entirely new section in Chapter 5 introduces students to the
concepts of visual rhetoric and visual literacy, including Gestalt principles and the
C.A.R.P. design model. Chapter 6 includes additional in-depth coverage of deduc-
tive reasoning in written argument, and Chapter 13 is updated to address changes in
technology for drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading a paper, as well as sub-
mitting it to an instructor.
•• New visuals. Almost all of the readings in this edition feature compelling visuals
that illustrate the topics discussed therein. At the outset of each chapter, students
are presented with a visual prompt tied to critical thinking questions that engage
them with key concepts covered throughout that chapter.
•• Updated documentation coverage. MLA coverage is updated throughout to align
with the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. Chapter 14 includes instruction
around these new guidelines, including ten new example MLA citation models.
This chapter also covers the latest APA guidelines for using and citing secondary
sources.
•• Focus on current issues that are relevant to students. Of the seven chapters in
the anthology section, all have new readings and several take on a new and timely
focus. For example, Chapter 17 on marriage focuses on the issue of marriage equal-
ity, Chapter 18 on education concentrates on the topics of school choice and tuition,
and Chapter 20 on laws and rights examines guns on campus and the “Dream Act.”
xvii
Features of Read,
Reason, Write
Read, Reason, Write supports and aligns with the WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year
Composition (NCTE, 2014). This text’s content and presentation are guided by decades of
classroom experience and by research and theory in composition and rhetoric. This com-
bination has made Read, Reason, Write a best-selling text for now twelve editions.
•• Teaches critical thinking, reading, and composing through a step-by-step
approach to inquiry, analysis, and writing. This text introduces students to vari-
ous genres and guides them in analyzing style, rhetorical construction, and effec-
tiveness. It provides exercises for individual and group work to practice critical
reading and analysis. Questions are included to guide students in responding to,
analyzing, evaluating, and researching and writing about content.
•• Provides instruction for beginning, drafting, completing, and then revising summa-
ries, analyses, and arguments. Guided by convention expectations, the text provides
instruction in overall organization, paragraph structure, and sentence-level issues such as
tone, mechanics, and attribution tailored to various genres. The text also contains
instruction in analyzing and using graphics, images, and document design, helping stu-
dents to think critically about—and also produce—visually enhanced communication.
•• Provides instruction in both classical and contemporary rhetorical theory. The
text presents rhetorical theories in an accessible way to help instructors teach and
students learn these concepts. But, Read, Reason, Write also presents argument as
contextual: written (or spoken) to a specific audience with the expectation of
counterarguments.
•• Includes guidelines and revision boxes throughout. These tools provide an easy
reference for students.
•• Offers thorough and easy-to-reference coverage of both MLA and APA
documentation requirements.
•• Features nine student essays. These illustrate the kinds of writing students will be
asked to prepare in the course—summaries, analyses, arguments, and formally doc-
umented papers.
•• Presents a rich collection of readings. Readings are both timely and classic, pro-
viding examples of the varied uses of language and strategies for argument.
•• Offers a brief but comprehensive introduction to reading and analyzing litera-
ture. Found in the appendix, this section also contains a student essay of literary analysis.
xix
Let Connect
Composition Help
Your Students
Achieve their Goals
Connect is a highly reliable, easy-to-use homework and learning management solution
that embeds learning science and award-winning adaptive tools to improve student
results. Connect Composition addresses the specific needs of the writing course and
various redesign models of instruction. In addition to the innovative content, revolution-
ary learning technology drives skills for the Argument course through a selection of
corresponding toolsets.
Power of Process
One overarching goal is at the heart of Power of Process: for students to become
self-regulating, strategic readers and writers. Power of Process facilitates engaged
reading and writing processes using research-based best practices suggested by major
professional reading and writing organizations.
Power of Process promotes close, strategic reading and critical thinking, leading to
richer, more insightful academic reading and writing in the Argument course and
beyond.
Connect Composition eReader

The Connect Composition eReader provides approximately seventy compelling readings
that instructors can incorporate into their syllabi. Readings are available across a wide
variety of genres, including arguments and literary selections. Instructors can filter the
readings by theme, discipline, genre, rhetorical mode, reading level, and word count.
LearnSmart Achieve
LearnSmart Achieve offers students an adaptive, individualized learning experience
designed to ensure the efficient mastery of reading and writing skills in tandem. By
xxi
xxii LET CONNECT COMPOSITION HELP YOUR STUDENTS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS
©McGraw-Hill Education
Power of Process
targeting students’ particular strengths and weaknesses, LearnSmart Achieve customizes

its lessons and facilitates high-impact learning at an accelerated pace.
LearnSmart Achieve provides instruction and practice for your students in the
following areas.
UNIT TOPIC
THE WRITING The Writing Process Writing a Rough Draft
PROCESS Generating Ideas Revising
Planning and Organizing Proofreading, Formatting, and
Producing Texts
CRITICAL Reading to Understand Evaluating the Effectiveness and
READING Literal Meaning Appropriateness of a Text
Evaluating Truth and
Accuracy in a Text
THE RESEARCH Developing and Integrating Source Material into
PROCESS Implementing a a Text
Research Plan Using Information Ethically and
Evaluating Information and Legally
Sources
LET CONNECT COMPOSITION HELP YOUR STUDENTS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS xxiii
REASONING Developing an Effective Using Ethos (Ethics) to Persuade

AND Thesis or Claim Readers
ARGUMENT Using Evidence and Using Pathos (Emotion) to
Reasoning to Support a Persuade Readers
Thesis or Claim Using Logos (Logic) to Persuade
Readers
GRAMMAR AND Parts of Speech Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
COMMON Phrases and Clauses Pronoun Reference
SENTENCE Sentence Types Subject-Verb Agreement
PROBLEMS Fused (Run-on) Sentences Verbs and Verbals
Comma Splices Adjectives and Adverbs
Sentence Fragments Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers
Pronouns Mixed Constructions
Verb Tense and Voice Shifts
PUNCTUATION Commas Parentheses
AND Semicolons Hyphens
MECHANICS Colons Abbreviations
End Punctuation Capitalization
Apostrophes Italics
Quotation Marks Numbers
Dashes Spelling
STYLE AND Wordiness Faulty Comparisons
WORD CHOICE Eliminating Redundancies Word Choice
Sentence Variety Clichés, Slang, and Jargon
Coordination and Parallelism
Subordination
MULTILINGUAL Helping Verbs, Gerunds Count and Noncount Nouns
WRITERS and Infinitives, and Sentence Structure and Word
Phrasal Verbs Order
Nouns, Verbs, and Objects Subject-Verb Agreement
Articles Participles and Adverb Placement
LearnSmart Achieve can be assigned by units and/or topics.
Book-Specific Resources for Instructors

The following teaching resources are available in Connect. Please contact your local
McGraw-Hill representative for the username and password to access these resources.
Gradeable Assessments tied to Readings

Instructors can assign gradeable assessments tied to more than sixty of the reading
selections in the twelfth edition of Read, Reason, Write. More than 700 new assess-
ments are now available through Connect.
The Read, Reason, Write Master Course

In the Read, Reason, Write Master Course, which you can copy to your own Connect
account and adapt as you wish, you will find various Connect Composition assignment
types to accelerate learning, including LearnSmart Achieve topics, pre- and post-tests,
xxiv LET CONNECT COMPOSITION HELP YOUR STUDENTS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS
Power of Process assignments, Writing Assignments, and Discussion Board prompts

for every chapter of the text. Contact your local McGraw-Hill representative to copy the
course to your Connect account.
Instructor’s Manual
The Instructor’s Manual is written with the diverse needs of composition instructors in
mind. Faculty new to teaching reading will appreciate the brief presentations of theory
that accompany the reading pedagogy in the textbook, as well as the suggestions for
how to teach some of the more difficult argument writing skills. Faculty new to teaching
writing will find help with ways to organize chapters into teachable sections and sug-
gestions for selecting among the easier and more challenging readings.
Flexible Content for Your Argument Course: Customize Read, Reason,

Write with Create™
As an alternative to the traditional text, instructors may use McGraw-Hill Create™ to
arrange chapters to align with their syllabus, eliminate those they do not wish to assign,
and add any of the Read, Reason, Write content available only in Create™ to build one
or multiple print or e-book texts, including Connect Composition access codes.
McGraw-Hill Create is a self-service Web site that allows instructors and departments
to create customized course materials using McGraw-Hill’s comprehensive, cross-
disciplinary content and digital products. Through Create™, instructors may also add
their own material, such as a course syllabus, a course rubric, course standards, and any
specific instruction for students.
From the Authors
I have written in previous prefaces to Read, Reason, Write that being asked to prepare a
new edition is much like being asked back to a friend’s home: You count on it and yet
are still delighted when the invitation comes. But an invitation to a 12th edition?! I am
amazed and humbled. I am also delighted to introduce you to my new coauthor Allen
and to share with you our story. Allen is actually a former student of mine from NVCC.
He was kind enough to let me know when he completed his PhD and took a position at
Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore—and thus made it easy for me to find him
when the time came to bring in a new member of the team.
We can assert that while Allen has brought some fresh ideas to this edition, the
essential character of this text remains the same: to help students become better writers
of the kinds of papers they are most often required to write both in college and the
workplace, that is, summaries, analyses, reports, arguments, and documented essays.
Read, Reason, Write remains committed to showing students how reading, analytic,
argumentative, and research skills are interrelated and how these skills combine to
develop critical thinking.
It continues to be true that no book of value is written alone. Over its more than
thirty years of life, a chorus of voices have enriched this text, too many now to list them
all. Two editors should be given a special thanks, though: Steve Pensinger, who led the
team through four early editions, and Lisa Moore, who brought new ideas to the 6th and
7th editions. Other sponsoring editors, developmental editors, and production editors
have enriched my journey through eleven editions and aided us in preparing this 12th
edition. May you all live long and prosper!
With Allen’s support I will once more close by dedicating Read, Reason, Write to
my daughter Ruth, who, in spite of her own career and interests, continues to give gen-
erously of her time, reading possible essays and listening patiently to my endless debates
about changes. And for all of the new students who will use this edition: May you
understand that it is the liberal education that makes continued growth of the human
spirit both possible and pleasurable.
Dorothy U. Seyler, Professor Emerita,
Northern Virginia Community College
Allen Brizee, Associate Professor,
Loyola University Maryland
xxv
About the Authors
DOROTHY SEYLER is professor emerita of English at Northern
Virginia Community College. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College
of William & Mary, Dr. Seyler holds advanced degrees from Columbia
University and the State University of New York at Albany. She taught at
Ohio State University, the University of Kentucky, and Nassau
Community College before moving with her family to Northern Virginia.
In addition to articles published in both scholarly journals and
popular magazines, Dr. Seyler is the author of ten college textbooks,
including Introduction to Literature, Doing Research, Steps to College
Reading, and Patterns of Reflection. Read, Reason, Write was first
published in 1984. In 2007, she was elected to membership in the
Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., for “excellence in education.”
Professor Seyler is also the author of The Obelisk and the
Englishman: The Pioneering Discoveries of Egyptologist William
Bankes (2015), a “fascinating story,” according to Kirkus Reviews, “of a
figure who deserves to be much better known.” She enjoys tennis, golf,
and travel—and writing about both sports and travel.
ALLEN BRIZEE is associate professor of writing at Loyola
University Maryland. At Loyola, Professor Brizee teaches courses in
first-year writing, rhetoric, technical writing, and writing for the Web. He
also coordinates the writing internship program. Allen began his
educational journey as a student of Dorothy’s at Northern Virginia
Community College (NVCC). After graduating, he transferred to
Virginia Tech, where he earned a BA in English (Phi Beta Kappa) and a
master’s in English.
xxvii
xxviii ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Professor Brizee taught part time at NVCC, The George Washington University,
and the University of Maryland while working as a technical writer. He then
completed his PhD at Purdue and, while there, also worked on the widely used Purdue
Online Writing Lab (OWL).
Dr. Brizee’s research interests include writing pedagogy and civic engagement,
and he has published articles in a number of academic journals. He coauthored
Partners in Literacy: A Writing Center Model for Civic Engagement and coedited
Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education, 3rd edition. He enjoys
collaborating with community groups in Baltimore and participating in medieval
martial arts.
SECTION 1
Critical Reading
and Analysis
©Blend Images/Alamy Stock Photo RF
CHAPTER 1
Writers and Their Sources
©Rubberball/Erik Isakson/Getty Images RF
READ: What is the situation in the photo? Who are the two figures, where are
they, and how do they differ?
REASON: What ideas are suggested by the photo?
REFLECT/WRITE: Why might this visual have been chosen for Chapter 1?
“A re you happy with your new car?” Oscar asks.
“Oh, yes, I love my new car,” Rachel responds.
“Why?” queries Oscar.
“Oh, it’s just great—and Dad paid for most of it,” Rachel exclaims.
“So you like it because it was cheap,” Oscar says. “But wasn’t your father going to
pay for whatever car you chose?”
“Well, yes—within reason.”
“Then why did you choose the Corolla? Why is it so great?”
Rachel ponders a moment and then replies: “It’s small enough for me to feel com-
fortable driving it, but not so small that I would be frightened by trucks. It gets good
mileage, and Toyota cars have a good reputation.”
“Hmm. Maybe I should think about a Corolla. Then again, I wouldn’t part with my
Miata!” Oscar proclaims.
A simple conversation, right? In fact, this dialogue represents an argument. You
may not recognize it as a “typical” argument. After all, there is no real dispute between
Oscar and Rachel—no yelling, no hurt feelings. But in its most basic form, an argument
is a claim (Rachel’s car is great) supported by reasons (the car’s size, mileage, and
brand). Similar arguments could be made in favor of this car in other contexts.
For instance, Rachel might have seen (and been persuaded by) a television or online
Toyota advertisement, or she might have read an article making similar claims in a
magazine such as Consumer Reports. In turn, she might decide to develop her argument
into an essay or speech for one of her courses.
READING, WRITING, AND THE CONTEXTS

OF ARGUMENT
Arguments, it seems, are everywhere. Well, what about this textbook, you counter. Its
purpose is to inform, not to present an argument. True—to a degree. But textbook
authors also make choices about what is important to include and how students should
learn the material. Even writing primarily designed to inform says to readers: Do it my
way! Well, what about novels, you “argue.” Surely they are not arguments. A good
point—to a degree. The ideas about human life and experience we find in novels are
more subtle, more indirect, than the points we meet head-on in many arguments. Still,
expressive writing presents ideas, ways of seeing the world. It seems that arguments can
be simple or profound, clearly stated or implied. And we can find them in many—if not
most—of our uses of language.
You can accept this larger scope of argument and still expect that in your course on
argument and critical thinking you probably will not be asked to write a textbook or a
novel. You might, though, be asked to write a summary or a style analysis, so you
should think about how those tasks might connect to the world of argument. Count on
this: You will be asked to write! Why work on your writing skills? Here are good
answers to this question:
•• Communication is the single most important skill sought by employers.
•• The better writer you become, the better reader you will be.
3
4 SECTION 1 CRITICAL READING AND ANALYSIS
•• The more confident a writer you become, the more efficiently you will handle
written assignments in all your courses.
•• The more you write, the more you learn about who you are and what really matters
to you.
You are about to face a variety of writing assignments. Always think about what
role each assignment asks of you. Are you a student demonstrating knowledge? A
citizen arguing for tougher drunk-driving laws? A scholar presenting the results of
research? A friend having a conversation about a new car? Any writer—including
you—will take on different roles, writing for different audiences, using different
strategies to reach each audience. There are many kinds of argument and many ways to
be successful—or unsuccessful—in preparing them. Your argument course will be
challenging. This text will help you meet that challenge.
RESPONDING TO SOURCES
If this is a text about writing arguments, why does it contain so many readings? (You
noticed!) There are good reasons for the readings you find here:
•• College and the workplace demand that you learn complex information through
reading. This text will give you lots of practice.
•• You need to read to develop your critical thinking skills.
•• Your reading will often serve as a basis for writing. In a course on argument, the
focus of attention shifts from you to your subject, a subject others have debated
before you. You will need to understand the issue, think carefully about the views
of others, and only then join in the conversation.
To understand how critical thinkers may respond to sources, let’s examine “The
Gettysburg Address,” Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech dedicating the Gettysburg
Civil War battlefield. We can use this document to see the various ways writers
respond—in writing—to the writing of others.
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation,
conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so
conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those
who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper
that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot
consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who
struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or to detract. The
world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what
they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work
which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be
here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead
CHAPTER 1 Writers and Their Sources 5
we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of
devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that
this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the
people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address,” (1863).
What Does It Say? THE RESPONSE TO CONTENT

Instructors often ask students to summarize their reading of a complex chapter, a sup-
plementary text, or a series of journal articles on library reserve. Frequently, book re-
port assignments specify that summary and evaluation be combined. Your purpose in
writing a summary is to show your understanding of the work’s main ideas and of the
relationships among those ideas. If you can put what you have read into your own words
and focus on the text’s chief points, then you have command of that material. Here is a
sample restatement of Lincoln’s “Address”:
Our nation was initially built on a belief in liberty and equality, but its future is now
being tested by civil war. It is appropriate for us to dedicate this battlefield, but those
who fought here have dedicated it better than we. We should dedicate ourselves to
continue the fight to maintain this nation and its principles of government.
Sometimes it is easier to recite or quote famous or difficult works than to state, more
simply and in your own words, what has been written. The ability to summarize reflects
strong writing skills. For more coverage of writing summaries, see pp. 10–12.
(For coverage of paraphrasing, a task similar to summary, see pp. 15–19.)
How Is It Written?
How Does It Compare
with Another Work? THE ANALYTIC RESPONSE
Summary requirements are often combined with analysis or evaluation, as in a book

report. Most of the time you will be expected to do something with what you have read,
and to summarize will be insufficient. Frequently you will be asked to analyze a work—
that is, to explain the writer’s choice of style (or the work’s larger rhetorical context).
This means examining sentence patterns, organization, metaphors, and other techniques
selected by the writer to convey attitude and give force to ideas. Developing your skills
in analysis will make you both a better reader and a better writer.
Many writers have examined Lincoln’s word choice, sentence structure, and choice
of metaphors to make clear the sources of power in this speech.* Analyzing Lincoln’s
style, you might examine, among other elements, his effective use of tricolon: the three-
fold repetition of a grammatical structure, with the three points placed in ascending
order of significance.
*
See, for example, Gilbert Highet’s essay, “The Gettysburg Address,” in The Clerk of Oxenford: Essays on
Literature and Life (New York: Oxford UP, 1954), to which I am indebted in the following analysis.
Lincoln uses two effective tricolons in his brief address. The first focuses on the
occasion for his speech, the dedication of the battlefield: “we cannot dedicate—we
cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow. . . .” The best that the living can do is formally
dedicate; only those who died there for the principle of liberty are capable of making
the battlefield “hallow.” The second tricolon presents Lincoln’s concept of democratic
government, a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” The purpose
of government—“for the people”—resides in the position of greatest significance.
A second type of analysis, a comparison of styles of two writers, is a frequent vari-

ation of the analytic assignment. By focusing on similarities and differences in writing
styles, you can see more clearly the role of choice in writing and may also examine the
issue of the degree to which differences in purpose affect style. One student, for exam-
ple, produced a thoughtful and interesting study of Lincoln’s style in contrast to that of
Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Although Lincoln’s sentence structure is tighter than King’s, and King likes the
rhythms created by repetition, both men reflect their familiarity with the King James
Bible in their use of its cadences and expressions. Instead of saying eighty-seven years
ago, Lincoln, seeking solemnity, selects the biblical expression “Fourscore and seven
years ago.” Similarly, King borrows from the Bible and echoes Lincoln when he
writes “Five score years ago.”
Is It Logical?
Is It Adequately Developed?
Does It Achieve Its Purpose? THE EVALUATION RESPONSE
Even when the stated purpose of an essay is “pure” analysis, the analysis implies a judg-
ment. We analyze Lincoln’s style because we recognize that “The Gettysburg Address”
is a great piece of writing and we want to see how it achieves its power. On other occa-
sions, evaluation is the stated purpose for close reading and analysis. The columnist
who challenges a previously published editorial has analyzed the editorial and found it
flawed. The columnist may fault the editor’s logic or lack of adequate or relevant sup-
port for the editorial’s main idea. In each case the columnist makes a negative evalua-
tion of the editorial, but that judgment is an informed one based on the columnist’s
knowledge of language and the principles of good argument.
Part of the ability to judge wisely lies in recognizing each writer’s (or speaker’s)
purpose, audience, and occasion. It would be inappropriate to assert that Lincoln’s
address is weakened by its lack of facts about the battle. The historian’s purpose is to
record the number killed or to analyze the generals’ military tactics. Lincoln’s purpose
was different.
As Lincoln reflected upon this young country’s being torn apart by civil strife, he saw
the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield as an opportunity to challenge the country
to fight for its survival and the principles upon which it was founded. The result was a
brief but moving speech that appropriately examines the connection between the life
and death of soldiers and the birth and survival of a nation.
These sentences begin an analysis of Lincoln’s train of thought and use of metaphors. The
writer shows an understanding of Lincoln’s purpose and the context in which he spoke.
How Does It Help Me to Understand

Other Works, Ideas, Events? THE RESEARCH RESPONSE
Frequently you will read not to analyze or evaluate but rather to use the source as part of
learning about a particular subject. Lincoln’s address is significant for the Civil War
historian both as an event of that war and as an influence on our thinking about that war.
“The Gettysburg Address” is also vital to the biographer’s study of Lincoln’s life or to
the literary critic’s study either of famous speeches or of the Bible’s influence on
English writing styles. Thus Lincoln’s brief speech is a valuable source for students in a
variety of disciplines. It becomes part of their research process. Able researchers study
it carefully, analyze it thoroughly, place it in its proper historical, literary, and personal
contexts, and use it to develop their own arguments.
To practice reading and responding to sources, study the following article by
Deborah Tannen. The exercises that follow will check your reading skills and your
understanding of the various responses to reading just discussed. Use the prereading
questions to become engaged with Tannen’s essay.
WHO DOES THE TALKING HERE? DEBORAH TANNEN
Professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, Deborah Tannen writes popular books

on the uses of language by “ordinary” people. Among her many books are Talking from
9 to 5 (1994) and I Only Say This Because I Love You (2004). Here she responds to the
debate over who talks more, men or women.
PREREADING QUESTIONS What is the occasion for Tannen’s article—what is she

responding to? Who does most of the talking in your family—and are you okay with
the answer?
It’s no surprise that a one-page article published this month in the journal 1
Science inspired innumerable newspaper columns and articles. The study, by
Matthias Mehl and four colleagues, claims to lay to rest, once and for all, the
stereotype that women talk more than men, by proving—scientifically—that
women and men talk equally.
The notion that women talk more was reinforced last year when Louann 2
Brizendine’s “The Female Brain” cited the finding that women utter, on average,
20,000 words a day, men 7,000. (Brizendine later disavowed the statistic, as
there was no study to back it up.) Mehl and his colleagues outfitted 396 college
students with devices that recorded their speech. The female subjects spoke an
average of 16,215 words a day, the men 15,669. The difference is insignificant.
Case closed.
Or is it? Can we learn who talks more by counting words? No, according to a 3
forthcoming article surveying 70 studies of gender differences in talkativeness.
(Imagine—70 studies published in scientific journals, and we’re still asking the
question.) In their survey, Campbell Leaper and Melanie Ayres found that
counting words yielded no consistent differences, though number of words per
speaking turn did. (Men, on average, used more.)
4 This doesn’t surprise me.

In my own research on gender
and language, I quickly sur-
mised that to understand who
talks more, you have to ask:
What’s the situation? What are
the speakers using words for?
5 The following experience
conveys the importance of sit-
uation. I was addressing a
small group in a suburban Vir-
ginia living room. One man
stood out because he talked a
lot, while his wife, who was sit-
ting beside him, said nothing at
all. I described to the group a
©Corbis/VCG/Getty Images RF
complaint common among
women about men they live
with: At the end of a day she
tells him what happened, what
she thought and how she felt
about it. Then she asks, “How
was your day?”—and is disap-
pointed when he replies,
“Fine,” “Nothing much” or Who is the most passive figure in this group?
“Same old rat race.”
6 The loquacious man spoke up. “You’re right,” he said. Pointing to his wife, he
added, “She’s the talker in our family.” Everyone laughed. But he explained, “It’s
true. When we come home, she does all the talking. If she didn’t, we’d spend the
evening in silence.”
7 The “how was your day?” conversation typifies the kind of talk women tend
to do more of: spoken to intimates and focusing on personal experience, your
own or others’. I call this “rapport-talk.” It contrasts with “report-talk”—giving or
exchanging information about impersonal topics, which men tend to do more.
8 Studies that find men talking more are usually carried out in formal experi-
ments or public contexts such as meetings. For example, Marjorie Swacker ob-
served an academic conference where women presented 40 percent of the
papers and were 42 percent of the audience but asked only 27 percent of the
questions; their questions were, on average, also shorter by half than the men’s
questions. And David and Myra Sadker showed that boys talk more in mixed-sex
classrooms—a context common among college students, a factor skewing the
results of Mehl’s new study.
9 Many men’s comfort with “public talking” explains why a man who tells his
wife he has nothing to report about his day might later find a funny story to tell at
dinner with two other couples (leaving his wife wondering, “Why didn’t he tell me
first?”).
In addition to situation, you have to consider what speakers are doing with 10
words. Campbell and Ayres note that many studies find women doing more
“affiliative speech” such as showing support, agreeing or acknowledging others’
comments. Drawing on studies of children at play as well as my own research of
adults talking, I often put it this way: For women and girls, talk is the glue that
holds a relationship together. Their best friend is the one they tell everything to.
Spending an evening at home with a spouse is when this kind of talk comes into
its own. Since this situation is uncommon among college students, it’s another
factor skewing the new study’s results.
Women’s rapport-talk probably explains why many people think women talk 11
more. A man wants to read the paper, his wife wants to talk; his girlfriend or sister
spends hours on the phone with her friend or her mother. He concludes: Women
talk more.
Yet Leaper and Ayres observed an overall pattern of men speaking more. 12
That’s a conclusion women often come to when men hold forth at meetings,
in social groups or when delivering one-on-one lectures. All of us—women
and men—tend to notice others talking more in situations where we talk less.
Counting may be a start—or a stop along the way—to understanding gender 13
differences. But it’s understanding when we tend to talk and what we’re doing
with words that yields insights we can count on.
Deborah Tannen, “Who Does the Talking Here?” The Washington Post, 15 Jul. 2007. Copyright ©2007
Deborah Tannen. Reprinted by permission.
QUESTIONS FOR READING AND REASONING

1. What was the conclusion of the researchers who presented their study in Science?
2. Why are their results not telling the whole story, according to Tannen? Instead of count-
ing words, what should we study?
3. What two kinds of talk does Tannen label? Which gender does the most of each type of
talking?
4. What is Tannen’s main idea or thesis?
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND WRITING

5. How do the details—and the style—in the opening and concluding paragraphs
contribute to the author’s point? Write a paragraph answer to this question. Then
consider: Which one of the different responses to reading does your paragraph
illustrate?
6. Do you agree with Tannen that understanding how words are used must be part of any
study of men and women talking? If so, why? If not, how would you respond to her
argument?
7. “The Gettysburg Address” is a valuable document for several kinds of research projects.
For what kinds of research would Tannen’s essay be useful? List several possibilities
and be prepared to discuss your list with classmates.
WRITING SUMMARIES
Preparing a good summary is not easy. A summary briefly restates, in your own words,
the main points of a work in a way that does not misrepresent or distort the original.
A good summary shows your grasp of main ideas and your ability to express them
clearly. You need to condense the original while giving all key ideas appropriate
attention. As a student you may be assigned a summary to
•• show that you have read and understood assigned works;
•• complete a test question;
•• have a record of what you have read for future study or to prepare for class discus-
sion; or
•• explain the main ideas in a work that you will also examine in some other way,
such as in a book review.
When assigned a summary, pay careful attention to word choice. Avoid judgment
words, such as “Brown then proceeds to develop the silly idea that. . . .” Follow these
guidelines for writing good summaries.
GUIDELINES for Writing Summaries

1. Write in a direct, objective style, using your own words. Use few, if any,
direct quotations, probably none in a one-paragraph summary.
2. Begin with a reference to the writer (full name) and the title of the work,
and then state the writer’s thesis. (You may also want to include where
and when the work was published.)
3. Complete the summary by providing other key ideas. Show the reader
how the main ideas connect and relate to one another.
4. For short summaries, do not include specific examples, illustrations, or
background sections. For longer summaries of a complex work, use spe-
cific examples sparingly. Instead, paraphrase information from the original
piece (see pp. 16−18 for more information on paraphrasing).
5. Combine main ideas into fewer sentences than were used in the original.
6. Keep the parts of your summary in the same balance as you find in
the original. If the author devotes about 30 percent of the essay to
one idea, that idea should get about 30 percent of the space in your
summary.
7. Select precise, accurate verbs to show the author’s relationship to ideas.
Write Jones argues, Jones asserts, Jones believes. Do not use vague verbs
that provide only a list of disconnected ideas. Do not write Jones talks
about, Jones goes on to say.
8. Do not make any judgments about the writer’s style or ideas. Do not in-
clude your personal reaction to the work.
EXERCISE: Summary
■ ■
With these guidelines in mind, read the following two summaries of Deborah Tannen’s “Who
Does the Talking Here?” (see pp. 7–9). Then answer the question: What is flawed or weak about
each summary? To aid your analysis, (1) underline or highlight all words or phrases that are
inappropriate in each summary, and (2) put the number of the guideline next to any passage that
does not adhere to that guideline.
SUMMARY 1
I really thought that Deborah Tannen’s essay contained some interest-

ing ideas about how men and women talk. Tannen mentioned a study
in which men and women used almost the same number of words. She
goes on to talk about a man who talked a lot at a meeting in Virginia.
Tannen also says that women talk more to make others feel good. I’m a
man, and I don’t like to make small talk.
SUMMARY 2
In Deborah Tannen’s “Who Does the Talking Here?” (published July 15,
2007), she talks about studies to test who talks more—men or women.
Some people think the case is closed—they both talk about the same
number of words. Tannen goes on to say that she thinks people use
words differently. Men talk a lot at events; they use “report-talk.”
Women use “rapport-talk” to strengthen relationships; their language is
a glue to maintain relationships. So just counting words does not work.
You have to know why someone is speaking.
Although we can agree that the writers of these summaries have read Tannen’s essay, we can
also find weaknesses in each summary. Certainly the second summary is more helpful than the
first, but it can be strengthened by eliminating some details, combining some ideas, and putting
more focus on Tannen’s main idea. Here is a much-improved version:
REVISED SUMMARY
In Deborah Tannen’s essay “Who Does the Talking Here?” (published

July 15, 2007), Tannen asserts that recent studies to determine if
men or women do the most talking are not helpful in answering that
question. These studies focus on just counting the words that men
and women use. Tannen argues that the only useful study of this
issue is one that examines how each gender uses words and in
which situations each gender does the most talking. She explains
that men tend to use “report-talk” whereas women tend to use
“rapport-talk.” That is, men will do much of the talking in meetings
when they have something to report. Women, on the other hand, will
do more of the talking when they are seeking to connect in a
relationship, to make people feel good. So, if we want to really
understand the differences, we need to stop counting words and
listen to what each gender is actually doing with the words that are
spoken.
At times you may need to write a summary of a page or two rather than one paragraph.
Frequently, long reports are preceded by a one-page summary. A longer summary may become part
of an article-length review of an important book. Or instructors may want a longer summary of a
lengthy or complicated article or text chapter. The following is an example of a summary of a
lengthy article on cardiovascular health.
SAMPLE LONGER SUMMARY
In her article “The Good Heart,” Anne Underwood (Newsweek, October

3, 2005) explores recent studies regarding heart disease that, in
various ways, reveal the important role that one’s attitudes have on
physical health, especially the health of the heart. She begins with the
results of a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine
that examined the dramatic increase in cardiovascular deaths after an
earthquake in Los Angeles in 1994. People who were not hurt by the
quake died as a result of the fear and stress brought on by the event.
As Underwood explains in detail, however, studies continue to show
that psychological and social factors affect coronaries even more than
sudden shocks such as earthquakes. For example, according to
Dr. Michael Frenneaux, depression “at least doubles an otherwise
healthy person’s heart-attack risk.” A Duke University study showed
that high levels of hostility also raised the risk of death by heart
disease. Another study showed that childhood traumas can increase
heart disease risks by 30 to 70 percent. Adults currently living under
work and family stress also increase their risks significantly.
How do attitudes make a difference? A number of studies
demonstrate that negative attitudes, anger, and hostile feelings directly
affect the chemistry of the body in ways that damage blood vessels.
They also can raise blood pressure. Less directly, people with these
attitudes and under stress often eat more, exercise less, and are more
likely to smoke. These behaviors add to one’s risk. Some physicians
are seeking to use this information to increase the longevity of heart
patients. They are advising weight loss and exercise, yoga and therapy,
recognizing, as Underwood concludes, that “the heart does not beat in
isolation, nor does the mind brood alone.”
Observe the differences between the longer summary of Anne Underwood’s article and the
paragraph summary of Deborah Tannen’s essay:
•• Some key ideas or terms may be presented in direct quotation.

•• Results of studies may be given in some detail.
•• Appropriate transitional and connecting words are used to show how the parts of
the summary connect.
•• The author’s name is often repeated to keep the reader’s attention on the article
summarized, not on the author of the summary.
■ ■
ACTIVE READING: USE YOUR MIND!

Reading is not about looking at black marks on a page—or turning the pages as quickly
as we can. Reading means constructing meaning, getting a message. We read with our
brains, not our eyes and hands! This concept is often underscored by the term active
reading. To help you always achieve active reading, not passive page turning, follow
these guidelines.
GUIDELINES for Active

Reading
1. Understand your purpose in reading. Do not just start turning pages to
complete an assignment. Think first about your purpose. Are you reading
for knowledge on which you will be tested? Focus on your purpose as you
read, asking yourself, “What do I need to learn from this work?”
2. Reflect on the title before reading further. Titles are the first words writers
give us. Take time to look for clues in a title that may reveal the work’s sub-
ject and perhaps the writer’s approach or attitude as well. Henry Fairlie’s
title “The Idiocy of Urban Life,” for example, tells you both Fairlie’s subject
(urban or city living) and his position (urban living is idiotic).
3. Become part of the writer’s audience. Not all writers have you and me in
mind when they write. As an active reader, you need to “join” a writer’s au-
dience by learning about the writer, about the time in which the piece was
written, and about the writer’s expected audience. For readings in this text
you are aided by introductory notes; study them.
4. Predict what is coming. Look for a writer’s main idea or purpose statement.
Study the work’s organization. Then use this information to anticipate what
is coming. When you read “There are three good reasons for requiring a
dress code in schools,” you know the writer will list three reasons.
5. Concentrate. Slow down and give your full attention to reading. Watch for
transition and connecting words that show you how the parts of a text con-
nect. Read an entire article or chapter at one time—or you will need to start
over to make sense of the piece.
6. Annotate as you read. The more senses you use, the more active your in-
volvement. That means marking the text as you read (or taking notes if the
material is not yours). Underline key sentences, such as the writer’s thesis.
Then, in the margin, indicate that it is the thesis. With a series of examples
(or reasons), label them and number them. When you look up a word’s defi-
nition, write the definition in the margin next to the word. Draw diagrams to
illustrate concepts; draw arrows to connect example to idea. Studies have
shown that students who annotate their texts get higher grades. Do what
successful students do.
7. Keep a reading journal. In addition to annotating what you read, you may
want to develop the habit of writing regularly in a journal. A reading journal
gives you a place to note impressions and reflections on your reading, your
initial reactions to assignments, and ideas you may use in your next writing.
EXERCISE: Active Reading

■ ■
Read the following essay, studying the annotations that are started for you. As you read, add
your own notes. Then test your active reading by responding to the questions that follow the
essay.
ACTUALLY, LET’S NOT BE IN THE MOMENT RUTH WHIPPMAN
Formerly a producer and director of BBC documentaries, Ruth Whippman now lives in
California with her family and devotes her professional life to writing. She is the author
of The Pursuit of Happiness and America the Anxious as well as essays that appear
frequently in newspapers and magazines. The following article, drawn from her second
book, was published November 27, 2016.
Topic? 1 I’m at the kitchen sink, after a long day of work and kids and chores and the
emotional exhaustion of a toxic election season, attempting to mindfully focus on
congealed SpaghettiOs. My brain flits to the Netflix queue. I manhandle my
thoughts back to the leaky orange glob in front of me. My brain flits to the
president-elect.
2 I’m making a failed attempt at “mindful dishwashing,” the subject of a how-to
article an acquaintance recently shared on Facebook. According to the practice’s
Not dishwashing
— idea of thought leaders, in order to maximize our happiness, we should refuse to succumb
mindfulness to domestic autopilot and instead be fully “in” the present moment, engaging
completely with every clump of oatmeal and decomposing particle of scrambled
egg. Mindfulness is supposed to be a defense against the pressures of modern
life, but it’s starting to feel suspiciously like it’s actually adding to them. It’s a
special circle of self-improvement hell,
striving not just for a Pinterest-worthy
home, but a Pinterest-worthy mind.
3 Perhaps the single philosophical
consensus of our time is that the key to
contentment lies in living fully mentally
in the present. The idea that we should
be constantly policing our thoughts
©Photodisc/Alamy Stock Photo RF
away from the past, the future, the

imagination or the abstract and back to
whatever is happening right now has
gained traction with spiritual leaders
and investment bankers, armchair
philosophers and government
bureaucrats and human resources
departments. Corporate America offers
its employees mindfulness training to
“streamline their productivity,” and the
United States military offers it to the Wash with your hands; contemplate
Marine Corps. Americans now spend an more important issues with your mind!
estimated $4 billion each year on “mindfulness products.” “Living in the Moment”

has monetized its folksy charm into a multibillion-dollar spiritual industrial
complex.
So does the moment really deserve its many accolades? It is a philosophy 4
likely to be more rewarding for those whose lives contain more privileged mo-
ments than grinding, humiliating or exhausting ones. Those for whom a given
moment is more likely to be “sun-dappled yoga pose” than “hour 11 manning the
deep-fat fryer.”
On the face of it, our lives are often much more fulfilling lived outside the 5
present than in it. As anyone who has ever maintained that they will one day lose
10 pounds or learn Spanish or find the matching lids for the Tupperware will
know, we often anticipate our futures with more blind optimism than the reality is
likely to warrant.
Surely one of the most magnificent feats of the human brain is its ability to 6
hold past, present, future and their imagined alternatives in constant parallel, to
offset the tedium of washing dishes with the chance to be simultaneously
mentally in Bangkok, or in Don Draper’s bed, or finally telling your elderly relative
that despite her belief that “no one born in the 1970s died,” using a car seat isn’t
spoiling your child. It’s hard to see why greater happiness would be achieved by
reining in that magical sense of scope and possibility to outstare a SpaghettiO.
What differentiates humans from animals is exactly this ability to step men- 7
tally outside of whatever is happening to us right now, and to assign it context
and significance. Our happiness does not come so much from our experiences
themselves, but from the stories we tell ourselves that make them matter.
But still, the advice to be more mindful often contains a hefty scoop of mor- 8
alizing smugness, a kind of “moment-shaming” for the distractible, like a stern
teacher scolding us for failing to concentrate in class. The implication is that by
neglecting to live in the moment we are ungrateful and unspontaneous, we are
wasting our lives, and therefore if we are unhappy, we really have only ourselves
to blame.
This judgmental tone is part of a long history of self-help-based cultural 9
thought policing. At its worst, the positive-thinking movement deftly rebranded
actual problems as “problematic thoughts.” Now mindfulness has taken its place
as the focus of our appetite for inner self-improvement. Where once problems
ranging from bad marriages and work stress to poverty and race discrimination
were routinely dismissed as a failure to “think positive,” now our preferred solu-
tion to life’s complex and entrenched problems is to instruct the distressed to be
more mindful.
This is a kind of neo-liberalism of the emotions, in which happiness is seen 10
not as a response to our circumstances but as a result of our own individual men-
tal effort, a reward for the deserving. The problem is not your sky-high rent or
meager paycheck, your cheating spouse or unfair boss or teetering pile of dirty
dishes. The problem is you.
It is, of course, easier and cheaper to blame the individual for thinking the 11
wrong thoughts than it is to tackle the thorny causes of his unhappiness. So we
give inner-city schoolchildren mindfulness classes rather than engage with
education inequality, and instruct exhausted office workers in mindful breathing

rather than giving them paid vacation or better health care benefits.
12 In reality, despite many grand claims, the scientific evidence in favor of the
Moment’s being the key to contentment is surprisingly weak. When the United
States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality conducted an enormous
meta-analysis of over 18,000 separate studies on meditation and mindfulness
techniques, the results were underwhelming at best.
13 Although some of the studies did show that mindfulness meditation or other
similar exercises might bring some small benefits to people in comparison with
doing nothing, when they are compared with pretty much any general relaxation
technique at all, including exercise, muscle relaxation, “listening to spiritual
audiotapes” or indeed any control condition that gives equal time and attention
to the person, they perform no better, and in many cases, worse.
14 So perhaps, rather than expending our energy struggling to stay in the
Moment, we should simply be grateful that our brains allow us to be elsewhere.
Ruth Whippman, “Actually, Let’s Not Be in the Moment,” The New York Times, 27 Nov. 2016. Copyright
©2016 by Ruth Whippman. Used with permission of the author.
QUESTIONS FOR READING AND REASONING

1. What is the meaning of mindfulness? How do we practice it?
2. What are the presumed advantages of the practice of mindfulness?
3. What is the author’s view of this new concept? State her view as a thesis—the claim of
her essay.
4. How does Whippman support her claim? List specific details of her support.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND WRITING

5. In paragraph 3, Whippman demonstrates the current popularity of mindfulness; what is
clever about her discussion in this paragraph?
6. What is the most interesting piece of information or concept, for you, in Whippman’s
essay? Why? Write a journal entry—four or five sentences at least—in response to this
question.
USING PARAPHRASE
Paraphrasing’s goal is the same as summary’s: an accurate presentation of the informa-
tion and ideas of someone else. Unlike summary, we paraphrase an entire short work.
This can be a poem (see pp. 528–29 for a paraphrase of a poem) or a complex section of
prose that needs a simpler (but often longer than the original) restatement so that we are
Another random document with
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The best part of the kangaroo is its tail. Talk of ox-tail soup, ye
metropolitan gourmands! Commend us to the superb kangaroo-tail
soup of Australia, made from the tail weighing some 10 or 12 lbs., if
a full-grown forester.
The pademelon, a smaller species of kangaroo, weighs about 9 or
10 lbs., and when cooked like a hare, affords a dish with which the
most fastidious gourmand might be satisfied.
The following is the native mode of cooking a kangaroo steak:—It is
placed in a scooped out stone, which is readily found in the streams,
and pressed down by heavy stones on the top of it; the heat is
applied beneath and round the first top stone; at the critical moment
the stones are quickly removed, and the steak appears in its most
savoury state.
The aborigines of Australia always roast their food; they have no
means of boiling, except when they procure the service of an old
European saucepan or tin pot. ‘It is a very remarkable fact’ (remarks
Mr. Moore) ‘in the history of mankind, that a people should be found
now to exist, without any means of heating water, or cooking liquid
food; or, in short, without any culinary utensil or device of any sort.
The only mode of cooking was to put the food into the fire, or roast it
in the embers or hot ashes; small fish or frogs being sometimes first
wrapped in a piece of paper-tree bark. Such was their state when
Europeans first came among them. They are now extremely fond of
soup and tea.’
A native will not eat tainted meat, although he cannot be said to be
very nice in his food, according to our ideas. Their meat is cooked
almost as soon as killed, and eaten immediately.
The parts of the kangaroo most esteemed for eating are the loins
and the tail, which abound in gelatine, and furnish an excellent and
nourishing soup; the hind legs are coarse, and usually fall to the
share of the dogs. The natives (if they can be said to have a choice)
give a preference to the head. The flesh of the full-grown animal may
be compared to lean beef, and that of the young to veal; they are
destitute of fat, if we except a little being occasionally seen between
the muscles and integuments of the tail. The colonial dish, called a
steamer, consists of the flesh of the animal dressed, with slices of
ham. The liver when cooked is crisp and dry, and is considered a
substitute for bread; but I cannot coincide in this opinion.
The goto, or long bag of kangaroo skin, about two feet deep, and a
foot and a half broad, carried by the native females in Australia, is
the common receptacle for every small article which the wife or
husband may require or take a fancy to, whatever its nature or
condition may be. Fish just caught, or dry bread, frogs, roots, and
clay, are all mingled together.
Mr. George Bennett (Wanderings in New South Wales) thus speaks
of Australian native cookery:—
‘After wet weather they track game with much facility; and from the
late rains the hunting expeditions had been very successful; game
was, therefore, very abundant at the camp, which consisted of
opossums, flying squirrels, bandicoots, snakes, &c.
‘One of the opossums among the game was a female, which had
two large-sized young ones in her pouch; these delicate morsels
were at this time broiling, unskinned and undrawn, upon the fire,
whilst the old mother was lying yet unflayed in the basket.
‘It was amusing to see with what rapidity and expertness the animals
were skinned and embowelled by the blacks. The offal was thrown to
the dogs; but, as such a waste on the part of the natives does not
often take place, we can only presume it is when game, as it was at
present, is very abundant. The dogs are usually in poor condition,
from getting a very precarious supply of provender. The liver being
extracted, and gall-bladder removed, a stick was thrust through the
animal, which was either thrown upon the ashes to broil, or placed
upon a wooden spit before the fire to roast. Whether the food was
removed from the fire cooked, or only half dressed, depended
entirely on the state of their appetites. The flesh of the animals at this
time preparing for dinner, by our tawny friends, appeared delicate,
and was no doubt excellent eating, as the diet of the animals was in
most instances vegetable.’
Another traveller in the Bush thus describes the aboriginal practices
and food:—‘We had scarcely finished the snake, when Tomboor-
rowa and little Sydney returned again. They had been more
successful this time, having shot two wallabies or brush kangaroos
and another carpet-snake of six feet in length. A bundle of rotten
branches was instantly gathered and thrown upon the expiring
embers of our former fire, and both the wallabies and the snake were
thrown into the flame. One of the wallabies had been a female, and
as it lay dead on the grass, a young one, four or five inches long,
crept out of its pouch. I took up the little creature, and, presenting it
to the pouch, it crept in again. Having turned round, however, for a
minute or two, Gnunnumbah had taken it up and thrown it alive into
the fire; for, when I happened to look towards the fire, I saw it in the
flames in the agony of death. In a minute or two the young wallaby
being sufficiently done, Gnunnumbah drew it out of the fire with a
stick, and eat its hind-quarters without further preparation, throwing
the rest of it away.
‘It is the etiquette among the black natives for the person who takes
the game to conduct the cooking of it. As soon, therefore, as the
skins of the wallabies had become stiff and distended from the
expansion of the gases in the cavity of their bodies, Tomboor-rowa
and Sydney each pulled one of them from the fire, and scraping off
the singed hair roughly with the hand, cut up the belly and pulled out
the entrails. They then cleaned out the entrails, not very carefully by
any means, rubbing them roughly on the grass or on the bushes,
and then threw them again upon the fire. When they considered
them sufficiently done, the two eat them, a considerable quantity of
their original contents remaining to serve as a sort of condiment or
sauce. The tails and lower limbs of the two wallabies, when the latter
were supposed to be done enough, were twisted off and eaten by
the other two natives (from one of whom I got one of the vertebræ of
the tail and found it delicious); the rest of the carcases, with the large
snake, being packed up in a number of the Sydney Herald, to serve
as a mess for the whole camp at Brisbane. The black fellows were
evidently quite delighted with the excursion; and, on our return to the
Settlement, they asked Mr. Wade if he was not going again to-
morrow.’
The kangaroo rat, an animal nearly as large as a wild rabbit, is
tolerably abundant, and very good eating, when cooked in the same
manner. The natives take them by driving a spear into the nest,
sometimes transfixing two at once, or by jumping upon the nest,
which is formed of leaves and grass upon the ground.
It is less sought for than its larger relatives, except by thorough
bushmen, owing to the prejudice excited by the unfortunate name
which has been bestowed upon it. Those who have once tried it
usually become fond of it; and to the sawyers and splitters these
animals yield many a fresh meal, during their sojourn amidst the
heavily timbered flats and ranges of Victoria and New South Wales.
The animal is not of the rat species, but a perfect kangaroo in
miniature.
The flesh of the phalangers is of delicate flavor. The large grey
opossum (Phalangista vulpina) forms a great resource for food to the
natives of Australia, who climb the tallest trees in search of them,
and take them from the hollow branches. The flesh is very good,
though not much used by the settlers, the carcase being thrown to
the dogs, while the sportsman contents himself with the skin.
The common opossum (Didelphys Virginiana) is eaten in some of
the states and territories of America; it is very much like a large rat,
and is classed among the ‘vermin’ by the Americans. Their flesh is,
however, white and well-tasted; but their ugly tail puts one out of
conceit with the fare.
The wombat, a bear-like marsupial quadruped of Australia, (the
Phascolomys wombat,) is eaten in New South Wales and other parts
of the Australian Continent. In size it often equals a sheep, some of
the largest weighing 140 lbs.; and the flesh is said by some to be not
unlike venison, and by others to resemble lean mutton. As it is of
such considerable size, attaining the length of three feet, it has been
suggested that it might be worth naturalizing here.
RODENTIA.
Passing now to the rodents or gnawing animals, we find that the
large grey squirrel (Sciurus cinereus, Desm.) is very good eating.
The flesh of the squirrel is much valued by the Dyaks, and it will,
doubtless, hereafter be prized for the table of Europeans.
The marmot (Arctomys Marmotta), in its fat state, when it first retires
to its winter quarters, is in very good condition, and is then killed and
eaten in great numbers, although we may affect to despise it.
The mouse, to the Esquimaux epicures, is a real bonne bouche, and
if they can catch half-a-dozen at a time, they run a piece of horn or
twig through them, in the same manner as the London poulterers
prepare larks for the table; and without stopping to skin them, or
divest them of their entrails, broil them over the fire; and although
some of the mice may have belonged to the aborigines of the race,
yet so strong is the mastication of the natives, that the bones of the
animal yield to its power as easily as the bones of a rabbit would to a
shark.
There is a very large species of rat spoken of as found in the island
of Martinique, nearly four times the size of the ordinary rat. It is black
on the back, with a white belly, and is called, locally, the piloris or
musk rat, as it perfumes the air around. The inhabitants eat them;
but then they are obliged, after they are skinned, to expose them a
whole night to the air; and they likewise throw away the first water
they are boiled in, because it smells so strongly of musk.
The flesh of the musk rat is not bad, except in rutting time, for then it
is impossible to deprive it of the musky smell and flavour.
So fat and sleek do the rats become in the West Indies, from feeding
on the sugar cane in the cane fields, that some of the negroes find
them an object of value, and, with the addition of peppers and similar
spiceries, prepare from them a delicate fricassée not to be
surpassed by a dish of French frogs.
There is a professional rat-catcher employed on each sugar
plantation, and he is paid so much a dozen for the tails he brings in
to the overseer. Father Labat tells us that he made his hunters bring
the whole rat to him, for if the heads or tails only came, the bodies
were eaten by the negroes, which he wished to prevent, as he
thought that this food brought on consumption! The health of the
negroes was then a matter of moment, considering the money value
at which they were estimated and sold. A rat hunt in a cane field
affords glorious sport. In cutting down the canes, one small patch is
reserved standing, into which all the rats congregate, and the
negroes, surrounding the preserve, with their clubs and bill-hooks
speedily despatch the rats, and many are soon skinned and cooked.
The negroes in Brazil, too, eat every rat which they can catch; and I
do not see why they should not be well-tasted and wholesome meat,
seeing that their food is entirely vegetable, and that they are clean,
sleek, and plump. The Australian aborigines eat mice and rats
whenever they can catch them.
Scinde is so infested with rats, that the price of grain has risen 25
per cent. from the destruction caused to the standing crops by them.
The government commissioner has recently issued a proclamation
granting head-money on all rats and mice killed in the province. The
rate is to be 3d. a dozen, the slayer having the privilege of keeping
the body and presenting the tail.
In China, rat soup is considered equal to ox-tail soup, and a dozen
fine rats will realize two dollars, or eight or nine shillings.
Besides the attractions of the gold-fields for the Chinese, California
is so abundantly supplied with rats, that they can live like Celestial
emperors, and pay very little for their board. The rats of California
exceed the rats of the older American States, just as nature on that
side of the continent exceeds in bountifulness of mineral wealth. The
California rats are incredibly large, highly flavoured, and very
abundant. The most refined Chinese in California have no hesitation
in publicly expressing their opinion of ‘them rats.’ Their professed
cooks, we are told, serve up rats’ brains in a much superior style to
the Roman dish of nightingales’ and peacocks’ tongues. The sauce
used is garlic, aromatic seeds, and camphor.
Chinese dishes and Chinese cooking have lately been popularly
described by the fluent pen of Mr. Wingrove Cooke, the Times’
correspondent in China, but he has by no means exhausted the
subject. Chinese eating saloons have been opened in California and
Australia, for the accommodation of the Celestials who now throng
the gold-diggings, despite the heavy poll-tax to which they have
been subjected.
Mr. Albert Smith, writing home from China, August 22, 1858, his first
impressions, says:—
‘The filth they eat in the eating houses far surpasses that cooked at
that old trattoria at Genoa. It consists for the most part of rats, bats,
snails, bad eggs, and hideous fish, dried in the most frightful
attitudes. Some of the restaurateurs carry their cook-shops about
with them on long poles, with the kitchen at one end, and the salle-à-
manger at the other. These are celebrated for a soup made, I should
think, from large caterpillars boiled in a thin gravy, with onions.’
The following is an extract from the bill of fare of one of the San
Francisco eating houses—
Grimalkin steaks 25 cents.
Bow-wow soup 12 ”
Roasted bow-wow 18 ”
Bow-wow pie 6 ”
Stews ratified 6 ”
The latter dish is rather dubious. What is meant by stews rat-ified?
Can it be another name for rat pie? Give us light, but no pie.
The San Francisco Whig furnishes the following description of a
Chinese feast in that city:—‘We were yesterday invited, with three
other gentlemen, to partake of a dinner à la Chinese. At three o’clock
we were waited upon by our hosts, Keychong, and his partner in
Sacramento-street, Peter Anderson, now a naturalized citizen of the
United States, and Acou, and escorted to the crack Chinese
restaurant in Dupont-street, called Hong-fo-la, where a circular table
was set out in fine style:—
‘Course No. 1.—Tea, hung-yos (burnt almonds), ton-kens (dry
ginger), sung-wos (preserved orange).
‘Course No 2.—Won-fo (a dish oblivious to us, and not mentioned in
the cookery-book).
‘No. 3.—Ton-song (ditto likewise).
‘No. 4.—Tap-fau (another quien sabe).
‘No. 5.—Ko-yo (a conglomerate of fish, flesh, and fowl).
‘No. 6.—Suei-chon (a species of fish ball).
‘Here a kind of liquor was introduced, served up in small cups,
holding about a thimbleful, which politeness required we should
empty between every course, first touching cups and salaaming.
‘No. 7.—Beche-le-mer (a dried sea-slug, resembling India rubber,
worth one dollar per pound).
‘No. 8—Moisum. (Have some?)
‘No. 9.—Su-Yum (small balls, as bills of lading remark, ‘contents
unknown’).
‘No. 10.—Hoisuigo (a kind of dried oyster).
‘No. 11.—Songhai (China lobster).
‘No. 12.—Chung-so (small ducks in oil).
‘No. 13.—Tong-chou (mushrooms, worth three dollars per pound).
‘No. 14.—Sum-yoi (birds’ nests, worth 60 dollars per pound).
‘And some ten or twelve more courses, consisting of stewed acorns,
chestnuts, sausages, dried ducks, stuffed oysters, shrimps,
periwinkles, and ending with tea—each course being served up with
small china bowls and plates, in the handiest and neatest manner;
and we have dined in many a crack restaurant, where it would be a
decided improvement to copy from our Chinese friends. The most
difficult feat for us was the handling of the chop sticks, which mode
of carrying to the mouth is a practical illustration of the old proverb,
‘many a slip ’twixt the cup and lip.’ We came away, after a three
hours’ sitting, fully convinced that a China dinner is a very costly and
elaborate affair, worthy the attention of epicures. From this time,
henceforth, we are in the field for China, against any insinuations on
the question of diet à la rat, which we pronounce a tale of untruth.
We beg leave to return thanks to our host, Keychong, for his elegant
entertainment, which one conversant with the Chinese bill of fare
informs us, must have cost over 100 dollars. Vive la China!’
Mr. Cooke, in his graphic letters from China, speaks of the fatness
and fertility of the rats of our colony of Hong Kong. He adds: ‘When
Minutius, the dictator, was swearing Flaminius in as his Master of the
Horse, we are told by Plutarch that a rat chanced to squeak, and the
superstitious people compelled both officers to resign their posts.
Office would be held with great uncertainty in Hong Kong if a similar
superstition prevailed. Sir John Bowring has just been swearing in
General Ashburnham as member of the Colonial Council, and if the
rats were silent, they showed unusual modesty. They have forced
themselves, however, into a state paper. Two hundred rats are
destroyed every night in the gaol. Each morning the Chinese
prisoners see, with tearful eyes and watering mouths, a pile of these
delicacies cast out in waste. It is as if Christian prisoners were to see
scores of white sucking pigs tossed forth to the dogs by
Mahommedan gaolers. At last they could refrain no longer. Daring
the punishment of tail-cutting, which follows any infraction of prison
discipline, they first attempted to abstract the delicacies. Foiled in
this, they took the more manly course. They indited a petition in good
Chinese, proving from Confucius that it is sinful to cast away the
food of man, and praying that the meat might be handed over to
them to cook and eat. This is a fact, and if General Thompson
doubts it, I recommend him to move for a copy of the
correspondence.’
A new article of traffic is about to be introduced into the China
market from India, namely, salted rats! The genius with whom the
idea originated, it would appear, is sanguine; so much so, that he
considers himself ‘on the fair road to fortune.’ The speculation
deserves success, if for nothing else than its originality. I have not,
as yet however, observed the price that rules in Whampoa and Hong
Kong nor the commodity quoted in any of the merchants’ circulars,
though it will, doubtless, soon find its place in them as a regular
article of import.
A correspondent of the Calcutta Citizen, writing from Kurrachee, the
chief town of the before mentioned rat infested province of Scinde,
declares that he is determined to export 120,000 salted rats to
China. The Chinese eat rats, and he thinks they may sell. He says:
—‘I have to pay one pice a dozen, and the gutting, salting, pressing,
and packing in casks, raises the price to six pice a dozen (about
three farthings), and if I succeed in obtaining anything like the price
that rules in Whampoa and Canton for corn-grown rats, my fortune is
made, or rather, I will be on the fair road to it, and will open a fine
field of enterprise to Scinde.’
Rats may enter into consumption in other quarters, and among other
people, than those named, when we find such an advertisement as
the following in a recent daily paper at Sydney:—
‘Rats! Rats! Rats!—To-night at 8 o’clock, rattling sport; 200
rats to be entered at G. W. Parker’s Family Hotel.’
Query.—What ultimately becomes of these rats, and who are the
persons who locate and take their meals at this ‘Family Hotel?’
Probably they are of the rough lot whose stomachs are remarkably
strong.
Some classes of the Malabars are very fond of the bandicoot, or pig
rat (Perameles nasuta, Geoff. Desm.), which measures about
fourteen inches in length from head to tail, the tail being nearly as
long as the body. They are much sought after by the coolies, on the
coffee estates in Ceylon, who eat them roasted. They also eat the
coffee rat (Golunda Ellioti of Gray), roasted or fried in oil, which is
much smaller, the head and body only measuring about four or five
inches. These animals are migratory, and commit great damages on
the coffee tree, as many as a thousand having been killed in a day
on one estate. The planters offer a reward for the destruction of
these rodents, which brings grist to the mill in two ways to the coolies
who hunt or entrap them, namely, in money and food.
The fat dormouse (Myoxus glis, Desm.) is used for food in Italy, as it
was by the ancient Romans, who fattened them for the table in
receptacles called Gliraria.
Dr. Rae, in his last arctic exploring expedition, states, that the
principal food of his party was geese, partridges, and lemmings
(Arvicola Hudsonia). These little animals were migrating northward,
and were so numerous that their dogs, as they trotted on, killed as
many as supported them all, without any other food.
There is another singular little animal, termed by naturalists the
vaulting rat, or jerboa. On an Australian species, the Dipus Mitchelli,
the natives of the country between Lake Torrens and the Great
Creek, in Australia seem chiefly to subsist. It is a little larger than a
mouse, and the hind legs are similar to those of the kangaroo.
Captain Sturt and his exploring party once witnessed a curious
scene. They came to a native who had been eating jerboas, and
after they met him they saw him eat one hundred of them. His mode
of cooking was quite unique. He placed a quantity, for a few
seconds, under the ashes of the fire, and then, with the hair only
partially burnt off, took them by the tail, put the body in his mouth,
and bit the tail off with his teeth. After he had eaten a dozen bodies,
he took the dozen tails, and stuffed them into his mouth.
The flesh of the beaver is looked upon as very delicate food by the
North American hunters, but the tail is the choicest dainty, and in
great request. It is much prized by the Indians and trappers,
especially when it is roasted in the skin, after the hair has been
singed off; and in some districts it requires all the influence of the fur-
traders to restrain the hunters from sacrificing a considerable
quantity of beaver fur every year to secure the enjoyment of this
luxury. The Indians of note have generally one or two feasts in a
season, wherein a roasted beaver is the prime dish. It resembles
pork in its flavour, but it requires a strong stomach to sustain a full
meal of it. The flesh is always in high estimation, except when they
have fed upon the fleshy root of a large water lily, which imparts a
rank taste to it.
The flesh of a young porcupine is said to be excellent eating, and
very nutritious. The flavour is something between pork and fowl. To
be cooked properly, it should be boiled first, and afterwards roasted.
This is necessary to soften the thick, gristly skin, which is the best
part of the animal. The flesh of the porcupine is said to be used by
the Italians as a stimulant; but, never having tasted it myself, I
cannot speak from experience as to the virtue of this kind of food.
The Dutch and the Hottentots are very fond of it; and when skinned
and embowelled, the body will sometimes weigh 20 lbs. The flesh is
said to eat better when it has been hung in the smoke of a chimney
for a couple of days.
The flesh of the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) is good and very
agreeable eating. Some of the Hudson Bay trappers used to depend
upon the Hystrix dorsata for food at some seasons of the year.
Rabbits, which form so large an article of consumption with us, are
not much esteemed as an article of food by the negroes in the West
Indies, resembling, in their idea, the cat. Thus, a black who is
solicited to buy a rabbit by an itinerant vendor, would indignantly
exclaim, ‘Rabbit? I should just like to no war you take me for,
ma’am? You tink me go buy rabbit? No, ma’am, me no cum to dat
yet; for me always did say, an me always will say, dat dem who eat
rabbit eat pussy, an dem who eat pussy eat rabbit. Get out wid you,
and your rabbit?’
And yet, with all this mighty indignation against rabbits, they do not
object, as we have seen, to a less dainty animal in the shape of the
rat.
Although the negroes in the West Indies do not care for rabbits, yet
their brethren in the American States are by no means averse to
them. A field slave one day found a plump rabbit in his trap. He took
him out alive, held him under his arm, patted him, and began to
speculate on his qualities. ‘Oh, how fat. Berry fat. The fattest I eber
did see. Let me see how I’ll cook him. I’ll broil him. No, he is so fat he
lose all de grease. I fry him. Ah yes. He so berry fat he fry hisself.
Golly, how fat he be. No, I won’t fry him—I stew him.’ The thought of
the savory stew made the negro forget himself, and in spreading out
the feast in his imagination, his arms relaxed, when off hopped the
rabbit, and squatting at a goodly distance, he eyed his late owner
with cool composure. The negro knew there was an end of the stew,
and summoning up all his philosophy, he thus addressed the rabbit,
at the same time shaking his fist at him, ‘You long-eared, white-
whiskered rascal, you not so berry fat arter all.’
I need not here touch upon hare soup, jugged hare, or roasted hare,
from the flesh of our own rodent; but the Arctic hare (Lepus glacialis)
differs considerably from the English in the colour and quality of its
flesh, being less dry, whiter, and more delicately tasted; it may be
dressed in any way. When in good condition it weighs upwards of 10
lbs.
The capybara, or water hog (Hydrochœrus capybara), an ugly-
looking, tailless rodent, the largest of the family, is hunted for its flesh
in South America, and is said to be remarkably good eating. It grows
to the size of a hog two years old.
The flesh of the guinea pig (Cavia cobaya, Desm.) is eaten in South
America, and is said to be not unlike pork. When he is dressed for
the table his skin is not taken off as in other animals, but the hair is
scalded and scraped off in the same manner as it is in a hog.
The white and tender flesh of the agouti (Dasyprocta Acuti, Desm.),
when fat and well dressed, is by no means unpalatable food, but
very delicate and digestible. It is met with in Brazil, Guiana, and in
Trinidad. The manner of dressing them in the West Indies used to be
to roast them with a pudding in their bellies. Their skin is white, as
well as the flesh.
The flesh of the brown paca (Cœlogenus subniger, Desm.), a nearly
allied animal, is generally very fat, and also accounted a great
delicacy in Brazil.
Another South American rodent, the bizcacha, or viscascha
(Lagostomus trichodactylus), is eaten for food. It somewhat
resembles a rabbit, but has larger gnawing teeth, and a long tail. The
flesh, when cooked, is very white and good.
EDENTATA, OR TOOTHLESS ANIMALS.

Wallace, in his travels on the Amazon, tells us that the Indians
stewed a sloth for their dinner, and as they considered the meat a
great delicacy, he tasted it, and found it tender and very palatable.
Among other extraordinary animals for which Australia is proverbial,
is the Echidna hystrix, or native porcupine, which is eaten by the
aborigines, who declare it to be ‘cobbong budgeree (very good), and,
like pig, very fat.’ Europeans who have eaten of them confirm this
opinion, and observe that they taste similar to a sucking pig. There
appear to be two species of this animal, the spiny echidna and the
bristly echidna; the first attains a large size, equalling the ordinary
hedgehog. It has the external coating and general appearance of the
porcupine, with the mouth and peculiar generic character of the ant-
eater.
The flesh of the great ant-eater (Myrmecophaga jubata, Linn.) is
esteemed a delicacy by the Indians and negro slaves in Brazil, and,
though black and of a strong musky flavour, is sometimes even met
with at the tables of Europeans.
The armadillo, remarkable for its laminated shell, when baked in its
scaly coat is a good treat, the flesh being considered delicate eating,
somewhat like a rabbit in taste and colour. The flesh of the large
twelve-banded Brazilian one (Dasypus Tatouay) is said to be the
best of all. In South America there are several species of armadillo,
all of which are used for food when met with.
Mr. Gosse states, that this animal feeds upon soft ground fruits and
roots, and also on carrion, whenever it can find it; and a large
proportion of the sustenance of this, as well as of other species, is
derived from the numberless wild cattle which are caught and
slaughtered on the Pampas for the sake of their hides and tallow, the
carcases being left as valueless to decay, or to become the prey of
wild animals. Notwithstanding the filthy nature of their food, the
armadillos, being very fat, are eagerly sought for by the inhabitants
of European descent, as well as by the Indians. The animal is
roasted in its shell, and is esteemed one of the greatest delicacies of
the country; the flesh is said to resemble that of a sucking pig.
PACHYDERMATA, OR THICK-SKINNED
ANIMALS.
What do our African brethren consider tit-bits? Ask Gordon
Cumming. He will enumerate a list longer than you can remember.
Study his ‘Adventures,’ and you will become learned in the mystery
of African culinary operations. What are sheep’s-trotters and insipid
boiled calves’ feet compared to baked elephants’ paws?
Listen to his description of the whole art and mystery of the process
of preparing them:—
‘The four feet are amputated at the fetlock joint, and the trunk, which
at the base is about two feet in thickness, is cut into convenient
lengths. Trunk and feet are then baked, preparatory to their removal
to headquarters. The manner in which this is done is as follows:—A
party, provided with sharp-pointed sticks, dig a hole in the ground for
each foot and a portion of the trunk. These holes are about two feet
deep and a yard in width; the excavated earth is embanked around
the margin of the holes. This work being completed, they next collect
an immense quantity of dry branches and trunks of trees, of which
there is always a profusion scattered around, having been broken by
the elephants in former years. These they pile above the holes to the
height of eight or nine feet, and then set fire to the heap. When these
strong fires have burnt down, and the whole of the wood is reduced
to ashes, the holes and the surrounding earth are heated to a high
degree. Ten or twelve men then stand round the pit and take out the
ashes with a pole about sixteen feet in length, having a hook at the
end. They relieve one another in quick succession, each man
running in and raking the ashes for a few seconds, and then pitching
the pole to his comrade, and retreating, since the heat is so intense
that it is scarcely to be endured. When all the ashes are thus raked
out beyond the surrounding bank of earth, each elephant’s foot and
portion of the trunk is lifted by two athletic men, standing side by
side, who place it on their shoulders, and, approaching the pit
together, they heave it into it. The long pole is now again resumed,
and with it they shove in the heated bank of earth upon the foot,
shoving and raking until it is completely buried in the earth. The hot
embers, of which there is always a great supply, are then raked into
a heap above the foot, and another bonfire is kindled over each,
which is allowed to burn down and die a natural death; by which time
the enormous foot or trunk will be found to be equally baked
throughout its inmost parts. When the foot is supposed to be ready, it
is taken out of the ground with pointed sticks, and is first well beaten,
and then scraped with an assagai, whereby adhering particles of
sand are got rid of. The outside is then pared off, and it is transfixed
with a sharp stake for facility of carriage. The feet thus cooked are
excellent, as is also the trunk, which very much resembles buffalo’s
tongue.’
Elephants’ petit(?) toes, pickled in strong toddy vinegar and cayenne
pepper, are considered in Ceylon an Apician luxury. As soon as it is
known that an elephant has been killed in Africa, every man in the
neighbourhood sets off with his knife and basket for the place, and
takes home as much of the carcase as he can manage to carry. The
flesh is not only eaten when fresh, but is dried and kept for months,
and is then highly esteemed.
The manner in which the elephant is cut up is thus described by the
author and sportsman I have already quoted:—‘The rough outer skin
is first removed, in large sheets, from the side which lies uppermost.
Several coats of an under skin are then met with. The skin is of a
tough and pliant nature, and is used by the natives for making water-
bags, in which they convey supplies of water from the nearest vey,
or fountain (which is often ten miles distant), to the elephant. They
remove this inner skin with caution, taking care not to cut it with the
assagai; and it is formed into water bags by gathering the corners
and edges, and transfixing the whole on a pointed wand. The flesh is
then removed in enormous sheets from the ribs, when the hatchets
come into play, with which they chop through and remove
individually each colossal rib. The bowels are thus laid bare; and in
the removal of these the leading men take a lively interest and active
part, for it is throughout and around the bowels that the fat of the
elephant is mainly found. There are few things which a Bechuana
prizes so highly as fat of any description; they will go an amazing
distance for a small portion of it. They use it principally in cooking
their sun-dried biltongue, and they also eat it with their corn. The fat
of the elephant lies in extensive layers and sheets in his inside, and
the quantity which is obtained from a full-grown bull, in high
condition, is very great. Before it can be obtained, the greater part of
the bowels must be removed. To accomplish this, several men
eventually enter the immense cavity of his inside, where they
continue mining away with their assagais, and handing the fat to
their comrades outside till all is bare. While this is transpiring with the
sides and bowels, other parties are equally active in removing the
skin and flesh from the remaining parts of the carcase.
‘In Northern Cachar, India, the flesh of the elephant is generally
eaten. The Kookies encamp in the neighbourhood of the carcase
until they have entirely consumed it, or are driven away by the
effluvia of decomposition. Portions of the flesh that they cannot
immediately eat are dried and smoked to be kept for future
consumption.
‘Fat of any kind is a complete godsend to the Bechuana and other
tribes of Southern Africa; and the slaughter of an elephant affords
them a rich harvest in disembowelling the carcase, and mining their
way into the interior of the huge cavity to remove the immense layers
furnished by such a large animal if in good condition.’
Galton, the African traveller, in his hints for bush cooking, tells us:—
‘The dish called beatee is handy to make. It is a kind of haggis made
with blood, a good quantity of fat shred small, some of the tenderest
of the flesh, together with the heart and lungs of the animal, cut or
torn into small shivers, all of which is put into the stomach and
roasted, by being suspended before the fire with a string. Care must
be taken that it does not get too much heat at first, or it will burst. It is
a most delicious morsel, even without pepper, salt, or any
seasoning.’
In all the large rivers of Southern Africa, and especially towards the
mouths, the hippopotami abound. The colonists give them the name
of sea-cows. The capture of one of these huge beasts, weighing, as
they sometimes do, as much as four or five large oxen, is an
immense prize to the hungry Bushman or Koranna, as the flesh is by
no means unpalatable; and the fat, with which these animals are
always covered, is considered delicious. When salted it is called zee-
koe speck, is very much like excellent fat bacon, and is greatly
prized by the Dutch colonists, not only for the table, but for the
reputed medicinal qualities which are attributed to it. In Abyssinia,
hippopotamus meat is commonly eaten.
The hog is one of those animals that are doomed to clear the earth
of refuse and filth, and that convert the most nauseous offal into the
nicest nutriment in its flesh. It has not altogether been unaptly
compared to a miser, who is useless and rapacious in his life, but at
his death becomes of public use by the very effects of his sordid
manners. During his life he renders little service to mankind, except
in removing that filth which other animals reject.
A delicate sucking pig, a Bath chap, or a good rasher of bacon are,
however, tit-bits not to be despised.
Lord Brougham hoped to see the day when every man in the United
Kingdom would read Bacon. ‘It would be much better to the
purpose,’ said Cobbett, ‘if his lordship would use his influence that
every man in the kingdom could eat bacon.’
In British India, only Europeans and the low Hindoos eat pork, but
wild hogs are very abundant, and afford good sport to the hunter.
The avoidance of pork arises as much from religious scruples as the
deep-rooted aversion to the domestic swine all must imbibe who
have only seen it in the East, where it is a tall, gaunt, half famished,
and half ferocious-looking brute, which performs the office of
scavenger.
The legend which ascribes to the eating of human flesh the origin of
one of the most loathsome of diseases, scarce offers a more horrible
picture to the imagination than is presented by a letter recently
published in the Ceylon Examiner. The beautiful islands of Mauritius
and Bourbon are largely supplied with pork from Patna, a province of
Hindostan that has been over-run by the cholera. Both there and at
Calcutta the bodies of the natives are consigned to the Ganges,
instead of being interred. ‘Let any person,’ says the writer in the
Ceylon paper, ‘at daybreak start from the gates of Government
House, Calcutta, and, whether his walk will be to the banks of the
river or to the banks of the canals which on three sides surround the
city, he will see pigs feeding on the dead bodies of the natives that
have been thrown there during the night. During the day the river
police clear away and sink all that remains of the bodies. Bad as is
the metropolis of India it is nothing compared to Patna. Hundreds
upon hundreds of human corpses are there strewed along the
strand; and fattening, ghoule-like, upon these are droves upon
droves of swine. These swine are slaughtered, cut up, and salted
into hams, bacon, and pickled pork, and then despatched to
Calcutta.... The great market for this poisonous swine produce is the
Mauritius and Bourbon, where it is foisted on the inhabitants as the
produce of Europe. Moreover, as these swine are sold in Calcutta at
3s. or 4s. each carcase, it is stated that the inferior class of
homeward-bound vessels are provisioned with them, and thus this
human-fed pork is introduced into Europe and America.’
Pork-eaters may believe as much of the following remarks as they
please. ‘It is said that the Jews, Turks, Arabians, and all those who
observe the precept of avoiding blood and swine’s flesh, are infinitely
more free from disease than Christians; more especially do they
escape those opprobria of the medical art, gout, scrofula,
consumption, and madness. The Turks eat great quantities of honey
and pastry, and much sugar; they also eat largely, and are indolent,
and yet do not suffer from dyspepsia as Christians do. The swine-fed
natives of Christendom suffer greater devastation from a tubercular
disease of the bowels (dysentery) than from any other cause. Those
persons who abstain from swine’s flesh and blood are infinitely more
healthy and free from humors, glandular diseases, dyspepsia, and
consumption; while in those districts, and among those classes, of
men, where the pig makes the chief article of diet, tubercle in all its
forms of eruptions, sore legs, bad eyes, abscesses, must prevail.’
These are the remarks of an American journalist, which, however,
have not, I conceive, the shadow of foundation.
‘It appears somewhat singular,’ remarks Mr. Richardson, in his
history of the pig, ‘that the flesh of the hog was prohibited in the
ceremonial of the Jewish law; the same prohibition being afterwards
borrowed by Mahomet, and introduced into the Koran.’ Great
difference of opinion prevails as to the cause of this prohibition;
some alleging that this food was unsuited to the land inhabited by
the Jews. As, however, the kinds of food to be eaten and rejected—
doubtless to prevent that luxurious epicurism unsuited to a growing
and prosperous nation—were to have a limit, this limit was fixed by
two distinctive marks: they must ‘divide the hoof, and chew the cud;’
that principle of restriction admitting only a limited range to the food
permitted. The pig, the horse, and the camel were excluded. It was
only in a state of low nationality, or in times of great degeneracy, that
the Jew ever tasted pork.
The food of the hog varies in different localities, and probably
materially influences the flavour of the meat. In the River Plata
provinces they feed them on mutton. After describing the purchase—
8,000 at eighteen-pence per dozen (?)—by a Mr. M. Handy, a
traveller adds, ‘As soon as the sheep became fattened on his own
lands, he killed about a thousand, sold the fleeces at five shillings
per dozen, and with the mutton he fed a herd of swine. Mentioning
this fact to a large party of Europeans, at the dinner table of Lord
Howden, when in Buenos Ayres, my statement was received with a
murmur of scepticism; but I offered to accompany the incredulous to
the pastures, where the remainder of the sheep were then
feeding.’—(Two Thousand Miles’ Ride through the Argentine
Provinces.) But the Yankees beat this, according to a late American
paper. In North America they generally feed them on maize, but in
some of the States, apples form a principal portion of their food, and
the ‘apple sauce’ thus becomes incorporated with the flesh. A
gentleman travelling down East, overtook a farmer dragging a lean,
wretched-looking, horned sheep along the road. ‘Where are you
going with that miserable animal?’ asked the traveller. ‘I am taking
him to the mutton mill, to have him ground over,’ said the farmer.

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AN ARGUMENT TEXT AND READER

AN ARGUMENT TEXT AND READER

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Brand Manager: Penina Braffman Greenfield

SECTION 2 THE WORLD OF ARGUMENT 63

SECTION 3 STUDYING SOME ARGUMENTS BY GENRE 175

SECTION 4  HE RESEARCHED AND FORMALLY DOCUMENTED

SECTION 5 A COLLECTION OF READINGS 357

Appendix Understanding Literature 524

SECTION 1 CRITICAL READING AND ANALYSIS 1

Chapter 1 WRITERS AND THEIR SOURCES 2

Chapter 2 RESPONDING CRITICALLY TO SOURCES 32

SECTION 2 THE WORLD OF ARGUMENT 63

Chapter 3 UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF ARGUMENT 64

Pathos (about Appeals to the Audience) 67

Chapter 4 WRITING EFFECTIVE ARGUMENTS 94

A Few Words about Word Choice and Tone 106

Chapter 5 READING, ANALYZING, AND USING VISUALS AND

Chapter 6 LEARNING MORE ABOUT ARGUMENT: INDUCTION, DEDUCTION,

SECTION 3 STUDYING SOME ARGUMENTS BY GENRE 175

Chapter 7 DEFINITION ARGUMENTS 176

Chapter 8 EVALUATION ARGUMENTS 194

Chapter 9 THE POSITION PAPER: CLAIMS OF VALUES 209

Chapter 10 ARGUMENTS ABOUT CAUSE 225

Preparing a Causal Argument 231

Chapter 11 PRESENTING PROPOSALS: THE PROBLEM/SOLUTION

SECTION 4 THE RESEARCHED AND FORMALLY DOCUMENTED

Chapter 12 LOCATING, EVALUATING, AND PREPARING TO USE SOURCES 266

Chapter 13 WRITING THE RESEARCHED ESSAY 285

Chapter 14 FORMAL DOCUMENTATION: MLA STYLE, APA STYLE 319

APA Style 338

SECTION 5 A COLLECTION OF READINGS 357

Chapter 15 THE MEDIA: IMAGE AND REALITY 359

Chapter 17 MARRIAGE AND GENDER ISSUES: THE DEBATES CONTINUE 401

Chapter 18 EDUCATION IN AMERICA: ISSUES AND CONCERNS 423

Kate Walsh, “The National Teacher Shortage Is a Myth. Here’s What’s

Chapter 19 THE ENVIRONMENT: HOW DO WE SUSTAIN IT? 443

Chapter 20 LAWS AND RIGHTS: GUN CONTROL AND IMMIGRATION

Chapter 21 AMERICA: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE 495

Appendix UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE 524

Connect Composition eReader

targeting students’ particular strengths and weaknesses, LearnSmart Achieve ­customizes

REASONING Developing an Effective Using Ethos (Ethics) to Persuade

Book-Specific Resources for Instructors

Gradeable Assessments tied to Readings

The Read, Reason, Write Master Course

Power of Process assignments, Writing Assignments, and Discussion Board prompts

Flexible Content for Your Argument Course: Customize Read, Reason,

Writers and Their Sources

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READING, WRITING, AND THE CONTEXTS

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address,” (1863).

What Does It Say? THE RESPONSE TO CONTENT

Summary requirements are often combined with analysis or evaluation, as in a book

A second type of analysis, a comparison of styles of two writers, is a frequent vari-

How Does It Help Me to Understand

WHO DOES THE TALKING HERE? DEBORAH TANNEN

Professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, Deborah Tannen writes popular books

PREREADING QUESTIONS What is the occasion for Tannen’s article—what is she

4 This doesn’t surprise me.

SECTION 4 HE RESEARCHED AND FORMALLY DOCUMENTED

targeting students’ particular strengths and weaknesses, LearnSmart Achieve customizes