We have included the questions that appear below the artworks that open each chapter, the journal prompts from the text's color insert, the “In Your Own Words,” and the “Art of Writing” exercises so that you can submit your answers to your instructor via e-mail, should he or she direct you to do so.

From the textbook: Responding to Art, View and Reflect, In Your Own Words, The Art of Writing

Response to Art (page 31)

1			What is your initial response to the painting The Persistence of Memory (1931), by Salvador Dalí?
2			What do you think the limp or melting timepieces are meant to convey to the viewer? The landscape? The figure in the right foreground? What does the combination of elements in the painting suggest?
3			Answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about the painting. Is there a main idea uniting these key details?

View and Reflect (color insert page 3)

"Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has nothing else." —Baltasar Gracian

4			In your journal, consider how both the quotation and the painting The Persistence of Memory (1931), by Salvador Dalí emphasize the importance of time.

In Your Own Words (page 37)

5			What is the difference between a stressor and stress? What are some of your stressors?
6			In what ways does the college experience contribute to the stress level of students?
7			Can stress be positive? Give an example of positive stress in your life.
8			What physical reactions does stress cause in the body?
9			Describe some healthy ways to deal with stress.

The Art of Writing (page 37)

In a brief essay, respond to one of the items below:

10			Keep track of your own stress for several days. Try to determine what events are likely to trigger a stress response in you. Is your home life, work life, or school life the most stressful? Is your life more or less stressful than you expected?
11			Interview a friend or family member who seems to handle stress well. What strategies does this person use to successfully cope with stress?

In Your Own Words (page 43)

12			Charles F. Kleber, President of Better Education Through Simplified Spelling, says that "the current irrational English spelling system is responsible, at least in part, for the nation's illiteracy problems, the dropout rate, crime, welfare dependence and drug and alcohol abuse." He is referring to the fact that in English one letter can stand for more than one sound. George Bernard Shaw once sarcastically asked why "fish" wasn't spelled "ghoti"--using the gh from "enough," the o from "women," and the ti from "nation."
13			Despite these exceptions, Vos Savant and most reading specialists contend that 80 percent of the most commonly used English words do follow reliable phonetic rules. Given the current complexity of the language, do you think children should be taught phonics (sound-symbol relationships) in the primary grades? Is this method likely to help create better spellers?

The Art of Writing (page 43)

In a brief essay, respond to the item below:

14			Some people say the simplest remedy for poor spelling is to develop a good computer spell-checking program. But how much can a spell-checking program accomplish? Word processors don't flag correctly spelled words that are used incorrectly.

In Your Own Words (page 51)

15			Dr. Mel Levine (professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School and an expert on learning differences) says, "schools reward well-roundedness, but so many of the most successful people have brains that are rather specialized." The dyslexic business leaders profiled in the Fortune magazine article by Betsy Morris all say that children should be allowed to specialize. For instance, Charles Schwab says foreign language requirements should be abandoned and Paul Orfalea says so should trigonometry. What do you think? How much of the basic curriculum should be modified to suit individual learners' needs?
16			Paul Orfalea recalls that as he was growing up his mother used to console him by saying that in the long run "the A students work for the B students, the C students run the businesses, and the D students dedicate the buildings." What is your opinion?
17			Researchers used to think that far more boys than girls were dyslexic. Ten years ago schools identified four times as many boys as girls as dyslexic. A long-term Yale study of Connecticut schoolchildren appears to indicate that the incidence is about equal. Girls are likely to be undetected because they generally behave better in school. Our current educational system places a great deal of emphasis on good grades and high test scores to the disadvantage of the dyslexic. Do you think the emphasis should be changed?

The Art of Writing (page 52)

In a brief essay, respond to the item below:

18			David Boies, in addition to being dyslexic himself, has two dyslexic boys. One of his sons graduated from Yale Law School despite childhood testing that indicated he would not be able to accomplish very much. Boies thinks our current educational climate does not allow for late-bloomers. "In this environment," he says, "you get children who think they are masters of the universe, and children who think they are failures, when they're 10 years old. They're both wrong. And neither is well served by that misconception." Write a few paragraphs discussing this issue.

In Your Own Words (page 63)

19			What is the main idea of this poem? How does the poem relate to the previous selection? Walk around feeling like a leaf Know you could tumble any second. Then decide what to do with your time. --Naomi Shihab Nye

The Art of Writing (page 63)

In a brief essay, respond to the item below:

20			Find something in your life that you feel needs improvement. Think about how you could go about making this improvement. Identify three specific things you could do that would move you toward your goal. For example: Your goal might be to lose 15 pounds. Your three specific actions might be (1) to go running three times a week, (2) to allow yourself no fast food on weekends, and (3) to substitute diet sodas for regular sodas. Decide how long you're going to stick to your three specific actions.

OLC Extra! Reflections on Reading and Study Skills

These Reflections on Reading and Study Skills exercises provide an opportunity for you to think about the skills you learned in the textbook. To complete these exercises and e-mail them to your instructor, type your response in the blank provided here or type your response in a word-processing program and copy and paste it here. Next, edit and proofread your answer carefully. Then insert your instructor's e-mail address in the "to" line and hit "send."

21			Which reading or study skill in this chapter has historically caused you the most difficulty? Identify one or two skills, and write about how you can use them to improve your academic performance. Marking, Highlighting, Annotating Time Lines Spelling Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Vocabulary: Words in Context SQ3R Study Method Avoiding Procrastination Preparing for Tests