Another Textbook Review

I think I forgot to post it before. Better late...

The College Writer. A Guide to Thinking, Writing, and Researching, 2/e, 2007 VanderMey, Verne Meyer, John Van Rys, Patrick Sebranek

The textbook has colorful design, which makes easier looking for the different sections in it. It offers a good step-by-step approach to writing based on close reading and analysis of essays. There is a good choice of essays wrote by the authors of ficition, journalisis and students on the different controversial topics such as gender, environment, language, health etc. The chapter called “One Writer’s Process” is very detailed in showing the process of brainstorming, drafting, revision and proofreading, which is very helpful for a student. The textbook has a chapter dedicated to conducting Internet research. It also touches the topic of visual argument in the introduction though, in general, does not go beyond the methods of textual rhetoric.

The weaknesses I see are the confusing grammar reference and too many hyperlinks inside the book. On some pages, there is too much color and the valuable information is not on the brightest part of the page.

The Confident Writer, by Carol C. Canar. 3/e 2006.

This textbook also has an approach of step-by-step following through all the stages of a writing process. Much attention is given to the basics of critical thinking and different strategies of starting he paper (brainstorming, freewriting etc.) The latter one is very helpful because to start an essay is sometimes the most difficult thing to do. The book has clear explanations, and each chapter is based on the analysis of an essay or an article. These materials are quite interesting, and many of them are dedicated to the different kinds of intercultural experience. The handbook is very detailed though it contains some theoretical information that seems to be unnecessary for the mechanics of writing. I also see the disadvantages of The Confident Writer in its lack of attention to any kind of visual rhetoric or new technologies. It is a very traditional approach, and a student may be bored with it.