writing guide pdf coursework

Prof. Jeffrey walks students through the various necessary steps of the writing process, not just telling them what to do, but showing them how to do it. These very brief chapters give an almost oversimplified structure. The authors that she cites for the citation examples are frequently authors of color when you google them. Visually, it is clear. This book does not chase each thread to the deepest and most satisfying conclusion, but it doesn’t feel like it was ever designed to be a behemoth of endless information. Overall, this is a usable freshman composition textbook that could easily be employed in the classroom and allows the instructor the ability to bring in outside material to easily flow with the text. Actually terminology is appropriate but there are so many chapters that consist of a paragraph or two, it doesn't invite comprehensive reading or careful attention from the student. While a change in delivery may be needed (With so many great critical thinking and guiding questions, why not make the textbook more interactive?) The text is generally quite clear, although the section on revising, which contains much more discussion than other portions of the text, almost seems a little too sophisticated for underclassmen--especially since it does not relate the ideas to a sample essay. Used that way, it provides basic information, if a bit brief in several places, for anyone looking for a reference guide or a place to start lesson planning. There is a cultural neutrality to the text. The textual interface is clear and focused. I would never ask students to read chunks of this on their own; it is much more a supplement to other readings and materials I would need to provide. While there were a few areas that I would like to see more developed, this is a well thought out text that I would like to implement in my own classroom. The check lists were very appropriate in asking questions that will help students in developing research, in composing and revising. The beauty of the organization of this text is that it can be used as a whole or divided into parts as needed. Otherwise, most of the book’s interface presentation supports an adequate user (student) experience, printability, and accessibility per ADA and general disability (e.g., visually impaired learners) protocols—but requires solid improvement in the update to better exemplify the best practices and research-grounded principles of universal information design. I am an ESL instructor and I teach an ESL bridge class for students transitioning into college and are taking a college course along with my course. It is a quick and accessible read which is a key feature in a handbook since students need to be able to either quickly look up particular information or read a complete section for a fuller sense of a topic. There are also no readings. An ideal manual for first year freshmen and ESL students who may have questions that they are too shy to ask their instructors about in class. While the book covers many fantastic topics, some topics would benefit from fuller attention. About Writing: A Guide is comprehensive in that it covers each of the five elements of Aristotle’s canon to a significant degree; however, this book is not satisfactorily comprehensive as a stand alone text for a semester of college composition. This is not a great fit for a genre-based class or one that looks more modes or one that defines style differently than this. I found nothing confusing or inconsistent. The author uses a lot of jargon and technical terms for parts of speech, but then they don’t fully explain what those terms mean. Some extra explanation and examples could make this book much better. I appreciate the flow charts in the grammatical sentences section. The organization of this text is one of its strengths. As they are assigned fiction in literature courses, perhaps starting there, to then be followed by poetry, plays, journals, etc. The book is organized around the writing process from composing to research, editing, and revision. This is refreshing, especially in a genre that very frequently uses pretty clear “white” names in example sentences (e.g. Grammar is explained and demonstrated by examples. Additionally, the text does not include an index or glossary, though the online version is interactive, and allows one to go directly to sections of the text listed on the table of contents. The content is accurate. A few more examples could be included with the questions... So, as a reader, I have to stop here, adjust the magnification, then read on, and then readjust the magnification when done (awkward). Most of the chapters are extremely brief, with some consisting only of a paragraph or two of text or just a list of bullet points or questions. The index is helpful, yet a... I have made a few suggestions about such an update and offer to assist Robin Jeffrey (gratis and pro bono) in correcting and improving the APA material and example contrast/readability concerns should my collaboration be desired. The conjugating of verbs in the grammar section makes sense to a student who also speaks another language. Cultural Relevance read more. I'm the kind of teacher that likes to "bounce around" in a textbook to keep students on their toes and to facilitate a less linear and more "Choose Your Own Adventure" format. The text uses the old version of MLA, however (not the 2016 update). The end chapter on Revising is also surprisingly dense, given that the rest of the book is very shallow. Reviewed by Jessica Parker, Director of First Year Writing/Associate Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 5/13/19, This is a basic handbook. One other concern one would have, but easily addressed, is to revise the Style Guides section for latest editions. Reviewed by Cheryl McKearin, Lecturer, University of Illinois at Chicago on 1/7/20, This textbook covers a lot of the basics of writing, but this is a short handbook meant to be referenced. and a distinction between summary and paraphrase, would be useful to help students understand those concepts. read more. There were no display issues or navigation problems. Reviewed by Claudia Hutchison, Adjunct Professor, Portland Community College on 6/20/17, About Writing: A Guide introduces the basic concepts that one would expect in a first year college writing class. Nevertheless, chapter one is entitled “Types of Writing Styles;” however, the chapter covers what I would call purposes for writing, not styles. The book is comprehensive, yes, but where it has breadth, it lacks depth. It is not culturally insensitive or offensive but there are no examples given. I do think a section on WHAT IS and also a summary section would be nice, but those could be added or even created by students. In addition to addressing drafting and crafting an essay, sentence structure and grammar are also included. Again, not a fragment. The Table of Contents clearly identifies where to find information, and you can easily use the sections of the book in a way that makes the most sense for how your course is organized. The text is consistent in tone and information. Other details, however, change rapidly, such as the rules of MLA documentation. As a quick, go-to guide for instructors in disciplines other than writing, this suffices for most needs with some deficits, noted above. I would love to see an updated MLA section to make this a bit more "plug and play. Writing instructors will find themselves needing to expand most sections, however, with additional explanations, examples, and exercises. If an instructor decided to use the information in _About Writing_ to help inform class activities and homework, I think they'd find it helpful. The MLA section is out of date, which would be easily fixable. The text is relatively free of visual interface problems. Clearly organised, the course explains the writing process from start to finish. Parts range from “Composing” and “Researching” to citation, grammar, and revising. Back to page 49, the section heading bothers me; it says, “Summaries (Paraphrasing),” as if summary and paraphrasing both are the same thing –clearly, they are not. The terminology and way the book is structured flows very nicely. The topics listed in the book are quite relevant for students of academic writing. However, if divided into smaller reading sections, the material covered would be scant (again, because of lack of examples), and thus does not lend itself to being read in smaller sections. In my review, I did not encounter any errors or bias. It does this, but as mentioned above, could include more construction of shared cultural capital and acknowledging the importance of (by including sections on how to write) other genres as artifacts of writing. But About Writing seems more suited to English Composition class, and in some sections, such as the section on Rhetorical Concepts, more appropriate for the Advanced Writing course. 1628 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<38018BB239D9C34B9D56F44746038CB5>]/Index[1608 49]/Info 1607 0 R/Length 104/Prev 882914/Root 1609 0 R/Size 1657/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream I didn't find any part of the text offensive. There is a Table of Contents (TOC) in the beginning, but there seems to be no connection between the little chapters in the book. The section on subject-verb agreement focused mostly on tense and I would have loved to see more on difficult situations like when there are many prepositional phrases that separate subject from verb, or when the subject is compound, or when the subject is an indefinite pronoun. Grammar Troublespots: A guide for Student Writers by A. Raimes (Cambridge University Press, 2004). The text is easily divisible and assignable according to topic and theme. I also think that the oversimplification of some of the topics leaves the reader with a really skewed sense of what good writing can look like. In the range of material covered, this text is comprehensive for an introductory-level college composition course, but it is extremely superficial, and thus not truly comprehensive. The book is written in a clear, accessible way, that makes it suitable for undergraduates students. The information is provided in a logical flow that easily aligns with most freshman composition courses. 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