In our experience, when students are asked to read and interact with academic scholarly conversations about writing and test their opinions through their own research, they become more engaged with the goals of the writing course and - most important - they learn more about writing. In conventional composition courses, students are too often asked to write about an arbitrary topic unrelated to writing. One of the major goals of the writing course, as we see it, is to move students’ ideas about language and writing from the realm of the automatic and unconscious to the forefront of their thinking.
Writing about Writing engages students in a relevant subject. Here’s why we think Writing about Writing is a smart choice for composition courses. After years of experimenting with readings and assignments, and watching our colleagues do the same, we developed Writing about Writing, a textbook for first-year composition students that presents the subjects of composition, discourse, and literacy as its content. It made far more sense to us to have students really engage with writing in the writing course the best way to do this, we decided, was to adopt a “writing about writing” approach, introducing students directly to what writing researchers have learned about writing and challenging them to respond by writing and doing research of their own. We found ourselves increasingly frustrated, however, teaching traditional composition courses based on topics that had nothing to do with writing. As composition instructors, we have always focused on teaching students how writing works and on helping them develop ways of thinking that would enable them to succeed as writers in college. Writing about Writing is part of a movement that continues to grow. Art acknowledgments and copyrights appear on the same page as the art selections they cover. Martin’s, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 (61)ĪCKNOWLEDGMENTS Text acknowledgments and copyrights appear at the back of the book on pages 903–906, which constitute an extension of the copyright page. Manufactured in the United States of America.įor information, write: Bedford/St. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher. Cover Design: John Callahan Composition: Jouve Printing and Binding: LSC CommunicationsĬopyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 by Bedford/St. Sullivan III Executive Development Manager: Jane Carter Developmental Editor: Leah Rang Production Editor: Pamela Lawson Media Producer: Rand Thomas Production Manager: Joe Ford Executive Marketing Manager: Joy Fisher Williams Project Management: Jouve Text Permissions Researcher: Mark Schaefer Permissions Editor: Kalina Ingham Photo Researcher: Susan Doheny Senior Art Director: Anna Palchik Text Design: Laura Shaw Design, Inc. Henry Senior Publisher for Composition, Business and Technical Writing, Developmental Writing: Leasa BurtonĮxecutive Editor: John E. MARTIN’S Vice President, Editorial, Macmillan Learning Humanities: Edwin Hill Editorial Director, English: Karen S.