A milestone in the field of composition, Writing about Writing continues to be the only textbook to provide an approach that makes writing studies the center of the introductory writing course. Based on Wardle and Downs’s research and organized around major threshold concepts of writing, this groundbreaking book empowers students in all majors by showing them how to draw on what they know and engage with ongoing conversations about writing and literacy. The accessible writing studies research in Writing about Writing includes foundational research by scholars such as Nancy Sommers and Donald Murray, popular commentary on writing by authors such as Malcolm X and Anne Lamott, and emerging research from both scholars and student writers. Accessible explanations, scaffolded activities, and thoughtful questions help students connect to the readings and transfer their writing-related skills from first-year composition to writing situations in other college courses, work, and their everyday lives.
The third edition makes studying writing even more accessible and teachable, with a new overview of rhetoric, a stronger focus on key threshold concepts, scaffolded reading guidance for challenging selections, and a new section in the instructor's manual with responses to frequently asked questions.
The conversation on writing about writing continues on the authors' blog, Write On: Notes on Writing about Writing (a channel on Bedford Bits, the Bedford/St. Martin's blog for teachers of writing).
Author(s): Elizabeth Wardle, Douglas Downs
Edition: Third Edition
Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 935
Cover......Page 1
Want help with the readings in Writing about Writing?......Page 2
Halftitle Page......Page 4
Title Page......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Writing about Writing engages students’ own areas of expertise.......Page 7
FRAMED AROUND THRESHOLD CONCEPTS ABOUT WRITING......Page 8
REAL STUDENT WRITING......Page 10
SCAFFOLDED SUPPORT FOR LEARNING......Page 11
DIVERSE AND RELEVANT NEW READINGS......Page 12
AN UPDATED GLOSSARY......Page 13
MORE SUPPORT IN THE INSTRUCTOR’S EDITION OF WRITING ABOUT WRITING......Page 14
Acknowledgments......Page 15
With Bedford/St. Martin’s, You Get More......Page 17
LaunchPad Solo for Readers and Writers......Page 18
Instructor’s Manual for Writing about Writing, Third Edition,......Page 19
ABOUT THE AUTHORS......Page 21
CONTENTS......Page 23
CHAPTER 1 THRESHOLD CONCEPTS: Why Do Your Ideas about Writing Matter?......Page 31
Introduction to the Conversation......Page 33
WHY STUDY WRITING?......Page 34
TWO STORIES ABOUT WRITING......Page 36
CONCEPTIONS: WITH OUR THOUGHTS WE MAKE THE WORLD......Page 39
Threshold Concepts of Writing......Page 41
WRITING IS NOT JUST SOMETHING PEOPLE DO, BUT SOMETHING PEOPLE STUDY......Page 43
Threshold Concepts That Assist Academic Reading and Writing......Page 53
TC Genres: Writing Responds to Repeating Situations through Recognizable Forms......Page 55
GENRE FEATURES OF SCHOLARLY ARTICLES: JOHN SWALES’S “CREATE A RESEARCH SPACE” (CARS) MODEL OF RESEARCH INTRODUCTIONS......Page 60
A Different Kind of Research, Argument, and Reading......Page 70
Getting Ready to Read......Page 71
ENTERING THE CONVERSATION......Page 74
FRAMING AS A CRITICAL STRATEGY FOR WRITING, READING, AND DOING RESEARCH......Page 76
CONCLUSION: WRITING RESEARCHED ARGUMENTS......Page 80
Getting Ready to Read......Page 82
HOW SHOULD YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF AS A RESPONDER?......Page 83
HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?......Page 84
HOW TO SOUND?......Page 85
HOW TO PRESENT YOUR COMMENTS?......Page 86
HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU BE INFLUENCED BY WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE WRITER?......Page 87
SHARING IDEAS......Page 91
Using This Book......Page 92
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR READINGS......Page 93
GENRE CUES......Page 95
READING CUES......Page 97
Reflecting on the Ideas of Chapter 1......Page 100
WRITING ABOUT THRESHOLD CONCEPTS: MAJOR WRITING ASSIGNMENT......Page 102
CHALLENGING AND EXPLORING YOUR CONCEPTIONS ABOUT WRITING, READING, AND RESEARCH......Page 103
CHAPTER 2 LITERACIES: How Is Writing Impacted by Our Prior Experiences?......Page 105
CHAPTER GOALS......Page 109
Tagged Reading......Page 110
Getting Ready to Read......Page 112
SPONSORSHIP......Page 116
SPONSORSHIP AND ACCESS......Page 118
SPONSORSHIP AND THE RISE IN LITERACY STANDARDS......Page 122
SPONSORSHIP AND APPROPRIATION IN LITERACY LEARNING......Page 128
TEACHING AND THE DYNAMICS OF SPONSORSHIP......Page 133
Getting Ready to Read......Page 139
Learning to Read......Page 144
Getting Ready to Read......Page 145
Excerpt from Bootstraps: From an American Academic of Color......Page 153
Getting Ready to Read......Page 155
Challenging Our Labels......Page 165
Getting Ready to Read......Page 167
WHY DID WE FEEL REMEDIAL WHEN WE WERE NOT IN A REMEDIAL COURSE?......Page 169
AND THEN WE SHOWED UP FOR OUR FIRST “NOT-REMEDIAL REMEDIAL” ENGLISH CLASS......Page 172
WE DID RESEARCH ON LABELS AND REMEDIATION AND BECAME EVEN MORE CONFUSED......Page 174
OUR REBELLION......Page 177
“Nah, We Straight”......Page 182
Getting Ready to Read......Page 183
PART I: THE PROBLEM OF LINGUISTIC DOUBLE CONSCIOUSNESS......Page 185
PART II: CODE MESHING, NOT CODE SWITCHING......Page 190
POST SCRIPT: RETURN TO OBAMA......Page 197
Getting Ready to Read......Page 203
Notes toward a Theory of Prior Knowledge......Page 214
Getting Ready to Read......Page 216
MODELS OF TRANSFER......Page 217
WHERE MANY STUDENTS BEGIN: ABSENT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE......Page 220
A TYPOLOGY OF PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, TYPE ONE: ASSEMBLAGE......Page 223
TYPE TWO: REMIX......Page 226
CRITICAL INCIDENTS: MOTIVATING NEW CONCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF COMPOSING......Page 229
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS......Page 233
I Stand Here Writing......Page 239
Getting Ready to Read......Page 240
All Writing Is Autobiography......Page 250
Getting Ready to Read......Page 252
Getting Ready to Read......Page 263
LUCAS PASQUALIN AND THE SORCERER’S STONE......Page 265
BUSBOY......Page 266
THE DEBATE TEAM AND THE ART OF WAR......Page 267
DON’T PANIC......Page 268
Revisualizing Composition......Page 271
Getting Ready to Read......Page 273
ABOUT THE SURVEY......Page 274
SECTION 1: WHAT ARE STUDENTS WRITING IN AND OUT OF SCHOOL?......Page 275
SECTION 2: HOW DO STUDENTS VALUE THE WRITING THEY DO?......Page 277
SECTION 3: DO STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT INSTITUTION TYPES COMPOSE AND VALUE DIFFERENT KINDS OF WRITING?......Page 279
SECTION 4: WHY DO PARTICIPANTS WRITE WHAT THEY WRITE?......Page 280
SECTION 5: WHAT ARE PARTICIPANTS WRITING WITH PARTICULAR TECHNOLOGIES?......Page 281
SECTION 6: WITH WHOM ARE PARTICIPANTS WRITING?......Page 282
METHODOLOGY......Page 283
WRITING ABOUT LITERACIES: WRITING ASSIGNMENTS......Page 288
LITERACY NARRATIVE......Page 289
GROUP ANALYSIS OF LITERACY HISTORY......Page 292
LINGUISTIC OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS......Page 295
CHAPTER 3 INDIVIDUAL IN COMMUNITY: How Does Writing Help People Get Things Done?......Page 299
CHAPTER GOALS......Page 304
Tagged Reading......Page 305
Getting Ready to Read......Page 308
Learning to Serve......Page 328
Getting Ready to Read......Page 330
LITERACY AND CONTEMPORARY THEORY......Page 332
METHODOLOGY......Page 333
THE MENU......Page 334
CONCLUSION......Page 341
Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice......Page 346
Getting Ready to Read......Page 348
COMMUNITIES AND MEMBERSHIP......Page 350
COMMUNITY CONFLICTS AND DIVERSITY......Page 358
Learning the Language......Page 368
Getting Ready to Read......Page 369
A Stranger in Strange Lands......Page 374
Getting Ready to Read......Page 377
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY......Page 378
METHODS......Page 379
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......Page 385
DISCUSSION......Page 399
Coaches Can Read, Too......Page 405
GOAL-FOCUSED COACHING......Page 406
CONFIDENCE IN COACHING......Page 407
METHODS......Page 408
RESULTS......Page 409
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR COACHES......Page 413
Activity Theory: An Introduction for the Writing Classroom......Page 415
Getting Ready to Read......Page 417
WHAT ARE ACTIVITY SYSTEMS?......Page 418
HOW ARE PARTS OF AN ACTIVITY SYSTEM RELATED?......Page 419
HOW DO ACTIVITY SYSTEMS CHANGE?......Page 421
HOW CAN YOU USE ACTIVITY THEORY TO ANALYZE TEXTS?......Page 422
Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces......Page 426
Getting Ready to Read......Page 427
IDENTITY......Page 429
AUTHORITY......Page 431
LEARNING TO WRITE IN A NEW WORKPLACE: ALAN’S STORY......Page 432
DISCUSSION......Page 436
The Genres of Chi Omega......Page 442
Getting Ready to Read......Page 443
METHODS......Page 445
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......Page 446
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS......Page 451
WRITING ABOUT INDIVIDUALS IN COMMUNITY: WRITING ASSIGNMENTS......Page 455
ANALYSIS OF GEE’S CLAIMS......Page 456
DISCOURSE COMMUNITY ETHNOGRAPHY REPORT......Page 458
ACTIVITY ANALYSIS......Page 461
REFLECTION ON GAINING AUTHORITY IN NEW DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES......Page 464
CHAPTER 4 RHETORIC: How Is Meaning Constructed in Context?......Page 466
Overview of Rhetorical Principles......Page 468
MEANING DEPENDS ON CONTEXT......Page 471
MEANING-MAKING IS PURPOSEFUL AND MOTIVATED......Page 473
READERS AND WRITERS INTERACT TO MAKE MEANING......Page 474
READERS AND WRITERS MAKE KNOWLEDGE......Page 475
RHETORIC IS SHAPED BY TECHNOLOGY......Page 476
“GOOD” WRITING AND COMMUNICATION IS CONTINGENT......Page 477
Why Study Rhetoric?......Page 479
CHAPTER GOALS......Page 480
Rhetoric: Making Sense of Human Interaction and Meaning-Making......Page 482
Getting Ready to Read......Page 484
WHAT DOES THE TERM “RHETORIC” APPLY TO?......Page 485
BEGINNING WITH BODIES......Page 486
A RHETORICAL GUIDE TO HUMAN INTERACTION......Page 489
Tagged Reading......Page 504
Getting Ready to Read......Page 508
EXIGENCE – THE MATTER AND MOTIVATION OF THE DISCOURSE......Page 512
RHETOR(S) – THOSE PEOPLE, REAL OR IMAGINED, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DISCOURSE AND ITS AUTHORIAL VOICE......Page 516
AUDIENCE – THOSE PEOPLE, REAL OR IMAGINED, WITH WHOM RHETORS NEGOTIATE THROUGH DISCOURSE TO ACHIEVE THE RHETORICAL OBJECTIVES......Page 517
CONSTRAINTS – FACTORS IN THE SITUATION’S CONTEXT THAT MAY AFFECT THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE RHETORICAL OBJECTIVES......Page 519
Composing for Recomposition......Page 531
Getting Ready to Read......Page 534
COMPOSING FOR RECOMPOSITION: RHETORICAL VELOCITY AND DELIVERY......Page 535
REMIX, APPROPRIATION, AND COMPOSITION......Page 536
DELIVERY: RHETORIC HISTORY AND THEORY......Page 540
DELIVERY: CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITION STUDIES......Page 541
RHETORICAL VELOCITY AND THE AMPLIFICATION EFFECT......Page 546
RHETORICAL VELOCITY......Page 548
COMPOSING FOR THE FUTURE AND TEACHING RHETORICAL VELOCITY......Page 551
Intertextuality and the Discourse Community......Page 559
Getting Ready to Read......Page 561
THE PRESENCE OF INTERTEXT......Page 563
THE POWER OF DISCOURSE COMMUNITY......Page 565
THE PEDAGOGY OF INTERTEXTUALITY......Page 567
CODA......Page 569
Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning......Page 575
Getting Ready to Read......Page 578
WHAT IS “GOOD READING”?......Page 581
STRATEGIES FOR CONSTRUCTING MEANING......Page 585
THE ROLE OF RHETORICAL READING......Page 590
Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively......Page 594
Getting Ready to Read......Page 597
Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love......Page 613
1......Page 615
3......Page 617
4......Page 618
5......Page 620
6......Page 621
7......Page 622
8......Page 623
9......Page 624
10......Page 627
Impression Management on Facebook and Twitter......Page 629
Getting Ready to Read......Page 631
METHODS......Page 633
RESULTS......Page 634
DISCUSSION......Page 636
CONCLUSION......Page 638
From Pencils to Pixels......Page 641
Getting Ready to Read......Page 643
THE STAGES OF LITERACY TECHNOLOGIES......Page 644
HUMANISTS AND TECHNOLOGY......Page 645
THE TECHNOLOGY OF WRITING......Page 646
WHAT WRITING DOES DIFFERENTLY......Page 648
THE PENCIL AS TECHNOLOGY......Page 649
THOREAU AND PENCIL TECHNOLOGY......Page 650
THE TELEPHONE......Page 652
THE COMPUTER AND THE PATTERN OF LITERACY TECHNOLOGY......Page 654
CONCLUSION......Page 657
Document Design and Social Justice......Page 662
INTRODUCTION......Page 664
DESIGNING DOCUMENTS: USABILITY FRAMEWORKS......Page 665
DESIGNING DOCUMENTS: ACCESSIBILITY FRAMEWORKS......Page 667
DESIGNING DOCUMENTS: UNIVERSAL DESIGN FRAMEWORKS......Page 669
APPLICATION OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR DOCUMENTS (UDD)......Page 672
CONCLUSIONS......Page 675
Digital Literacy and the Making of Meaning......Page 680
Getting Ready to Read......Page 682
LITERATURE REVIEW......Page 684
METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION......Page 687
OVERVIEW OF SEARCH PAGE......Page 688
DISCUSSION......Page 689
CONCLUSION......Page 691
APPENDIX......Page 693
WRITING ABOUT RHETORIC: WRITING ASSIGNMENTS......Page 696
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF A PREVIOUS WRITING EXPERIENCE......Page 697
RHETORICAL READING ANALYSIS: RECONSTRUCTING A TEXT’S CONTEXT, EXIGENCE, MOTIVATIONS, AND AIMS......Page 700
MAPPING A RHETORICAL ECOLOGY......Page 704
ANALYZING RHETORICAL VELOCITY IN SOCIAL MEDIA......Page 709
CHAPTER 5 PROCESSES: How Are Texts Composed?......Page 713
CHAPTER GOALS......Page 720
Coordinating Constant Invention......Page 721
Getting Ready to Read......Page 723
INTRODUCTION......Page 724
DISTRIBUTED WORK, COORDINATION, AND SOCIAL MEDIA......Page 726
RESEARCHING THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN DISTRIBUTED WORK......Page 729
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN MICROLEVEL WORK PRACTICE......Page 730
THE LIFE CYCLE AND FUNCTION OF ONE SOCIAL-MEDIA PROJECT: THE ROLE OF THE FATHERHOOD BLOG......Page 735
SOCIAL MEDIA, COORDINATION, AND ATTENTION STRUCTURES OF DISTRIBUTED WORK......Page 738
CONCLUSION......Page 740
Tagged Reading......Page 746
GOALS OF THE STUDY......Page 748
DESIGN OF THE STUDY......Page 750
DATA ANALYSIS......Page 751
SYNOPSIS OF A CASE STUDY......Page 757
SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS......Page 763
IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND RESEARCH......Page 770
Tug of War......Page 777
Getting Ready to Read......Page 778
METHODS......Page 779
DISCUSSION......Page 781
IMPLICATIONS......Page 786
CONCLUSION......Page 787
Rigid Rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language......Page 789
Getting Ready to Read......Page 792
SELECTED CONCEPTS IN PROBLEM SOLVING: RULES AND PLANS......Page 793
“ALWAYS GRAB YOUR AUDIENCE” — THE BLOCKERS......Page 796
“IF IT WON’T FIT MY WORK, I’LL CHANGE IT” — THE NON-BLOCKERS......Page 798
ANALYZING WRITER’S BLOCK......Page 799
A NOTE ON TREATMENT......Page 801
The Phenomenology of Error......Page 805
Getting Ready to Read......Page 807
Expanding Constraints......Page 825
Getting Ready to Read......Page 826
Response of a Laboratory Rat — or, Being Protocoled......Page 831
Getting Ready to Read......Page 833
Carol Berkenkotter......Page 834
METHODOLOGY......Page 835
RESULTS......Page 837
SUMMARY......Page 842
Getting Ready to Read......Page 851
Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers......Page 857
Getting Ready to Read......Page 859
WRITING ABOUT PROCESSES: WRITING ASSIGNMENTS......Page 871
AUTOETHNOGRAPHY......Page 872
PORTRAIT OF A WRITER......Page 876
WRITER’S PROCESS SEARCH......Page 879
GLOSSARY......Page 886
WORKS CITED......Page 905
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 907
Chapter 4......Page 911
Chapter 5......Page 912
INDEX......Page 913
Did your instructor assign Writer’s Help 2.0?......Page 925
