14 new essays (5 by students) and 9 new paragraph examples showcase recent writing by well-known and emerging writers -- such as William Least Heat-Moon, Anita Jain, and Pico Iyer -- on topics sure to engage readers. A handful of selections include intriguing images, giving students the opportunity to learn and practice visual literacy skills. Several longer pieces help stretch students' skills to prepare them for their next writing course.
New pieces include the following:
- Amanda Fields finds unexpected comfort in the chaos of an Egyptian subway ride in “Cairo Tunnel.”
- Brandon Griggs implores social networkers to rethink their online posting habits in “The Twelve Most Annoying Types of Facebookers.”
- Barbara Kingsolver presents a novel method for recognizing which fruits and vegetables are in season in “Stalking the Vegetannual.”
3 timely new chapter themes reflect current interests, including travel (“Experiencing New Places”), social networks (“Sorting Friends and Neighbors”), and food culture (“Eating Well”).
Updated advice on reading, writing, and working with sources. An expanded Part One (“A Compact Guide to Reading and Writing”) now features advice on interpreting images and a new chapter on editing.
A fresh new design makes the book more streamlined and easier to use.