An innovative, class-tested approach to teaching writing. Writing About Writing builds on what students already know about writing and enables them to transfer what they learn. By asking students to investigate their own questions about writing, and reflect on their processes, the text helps students develop writing practices that they can use in any context.
Carefully selected readings that make writing relevant. Readings from both scholarly and popular sources invite students directly into ongoing conversations about how writing works and why it matters.
- Sondra Perl's “The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers” encourages students to investigate the writing strategies that work for them and the pitfalls that hold them back.
- Tony Mirabelli's “Learning to Serve” explores the multiliteracies of food service workers who need to read the menu and the customer.
- Stephen King, Junot Díaz, and Anne Lamott, among others, reflect on what works - and what doesn't -- in their own writing.
Scaffolded support for reading, writing, and research. Because working with scholarly texts can be challenging, clear explanations and activities build throughout the chapters to help students move from reading to research.
- The book's introduction provides an accessible framework for working with academic texts.
- Chapter introductions and headnotes frame key concepts in everyday terms.
- Questions before and after selections help students establish a context for reading, reflect on their experience as writers, and apply ideas.
- Detailed end-of-chapter writing assignments guide students through the process of researching and developing their own projects.
Inspiring examples of student writing in progress. Ten student papers show just how much student writers can accomplish as they respond to the readings and assignments in the book. Annotations highlight questions about the papers' strengths and weaknesses.