Joe's Textbook Review

Joe’s Textbook Reviews

I. Rosenwasser, David and Jill Stephen. Writing Analytically, 4th Edition. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.

Overall, this is a good practical text. Most of what it describes/prescribes agrees with my ideas on writing, critical reading, analysis; its ideas are generally memorable and easy to apply to a variety of texts. The book includes examples of analysis of visual arguments (paintings), poems, movies, history texts, etc. Other topics of writing samples include sports issues and gender inequality; example papers include literary analysis, research analysis, and scientific writing.

The basic elements used by the text (especially its analysis method) are repeated throughout the book; generally there’s a sense of things carrying over, of chapters building on each other, of continued relevance of what you learned earlier. I like this self-reinforcing; for someone learning concepts, repetition is good. The book is structured loosely enough so that one could use the chapters out of order and not suffer unduly; terms are often briefly redefined for the reader. The general applicability of the content would probably allow it to fit with most course designs and paper topics, and it’s short enough that you could use most or all of the text without much problem. I especially admire its focus on analyzing and writing before acquiring a thesis, and letting the thesis grow from what’s learned in early stages of analysis and writing.

Contents: Seeing better: the analytical habit of mind
What is analysis and how does it work?
Putting analysis to work Reading: how to do it and what to do with it
Linking evidence and claims
Making a thesis evolve
Recognizing and fixing weak thesis statements
Introductions and conclusions
Organizations
Style: choosing words
Style: shaping sentences and cutting the fat
Writing the researched paper
Finding and citing sources (includes electronic research)
Nine basic writing errors and how to fix them

Chapter Format:
Quick Take: a preview of major elements from the chapter; some good summary language here. Within each chapter (with one exception) are 2-4 major elements; within each element are several subheadings. Usually there are 4-5 “Try This” sections sprinkled throughout to illustrate and provide practice for the concepts; some of these would work well as in-class activities, and some are more appropriate as homework assignments. There’s usually at least one “assignment” which could be used either as a short, preparatory writing, an element in a paper assignment, or a paper assignment in its own right. The chapter concludes with a “Guidelines” section marked off in green, recapitulating the key points of each section. The highlight boxes, sidebars, and frequent bullet-point outlining make it easy to follow and (comparatively) visually interesting.

Highlights: key points offset in grey; recap of central points at end of chapter; good sample writing in the text; numerous and generally useful “Try This” examples, suggesting practical applications of chapter concepts. Some are best suited for homework, and some work very well in class. “Voices Across the Curriculum” sidebars contain valuable information from non-English professors regarding what they look for in writing. Chapter 8 (Introductions and Conclusions) seems especially useful and practical, as is most of the material on critical analysis, which is very practical and memorable.

Problems: occasionally the language is a little dry, though it’s usually straightforward and memorable; considering the amount of good content, the instructor would probably need to help students prioritize their reading. Some chapters seem a bit large to address in a single 50-minute class, especially if you use the “Try This” sections. To get the most out of the book, you’d need to spend a lot of time on it, but I think it would be very useful to students who aren’t used to analytic writing. The book does not include citation style, though it does include a chapter on common writing errors; if you can find a citation style guide online, you may not need a separate style manual. Sections on argument itself seem rushed and less easy to acquire.

There’s also a version with readings: more fully formed examples of arguments than are presented in the main text.

Price: $45.95, more expensive than I remembered. There are a number of 1000 instructors who use this text, so there should be used copies around for students. Its usefulness for other writing fields makes it more of a keeper for students than Everything’s an Argument. 384 pages.

II. Lunsford, Andrea, John J. Ruskiewicz, Keith Walters. Everything’s an Argument with Readings. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2007.

It’s forward thinking, though maybe not as much as Compose Design Advocate. From my non-hardcore rhet-comp perspective, it looks like a good book for a hardcore rhet-comper.

Includes basic elements of argument (pathos, ethos, logos),
How to write arguments (Toulmin-style, fact, definition, evaluation, causal, proposal),
Style and presentation (writing style, use of humor, visual argument, multimedia and web presentation),
Conventions (evidence, fallacies, intellectual property and plagiarism, use of sources, documentation using MLA and APA style).

The last 400-odd pages contain samples of arguments (visual included) on different topics: body image, ethnic/cultural stereotypes, controversies in sports, bilingual culture and education in the U.S., language and identity, religion and public life, diversity in higher education, how Americans are perceived abroad.
Recurring “Not Just Words” section in each chapter highlights visual argument. Another recurring sidebar is called “If Everything’s an Argument...” and invites students to question the book itself.

Highlights: packed with visual argument, including some very striking, even disturbing images. Content is very timely. I think the book will definitely force students to think outside of their assumptions, and will encourage them to see everything as an argument. The book includes MLA and APA citation style.

Problems: it’s over 1000 pages long. Effort to stay very timely may mean frequent revision of the text. It’s very complete, so it might be difficult to get to everything with additional paper assignments; if you use this book, you’d probably want to structure the entire course around it, especially the version with readings. The sheer amount of content verges on overwhelming. The textual material itself is presented in a straightforward manner and is understandable, though the visual presentation of the text isn’t as easy to follow as Writing Analytically. The book doesn’t really include any nuts-and-bolts stuff; no treatment of introductions or conclusions, for example. Also there’s a lot of white space, though some of you may like that.

Price: $61.95 with readings
Online support: Instructor’s Notes (to print out), Course Management Solutions (online) – suggests for class plans, etc. Packages: can also get i-Cite, a CD-ROM on citing new media texts, evaluating visual sources including TV, websites. The CD also includes tutorials, exercises on evaluating and incorporating sources from new media.