A Guide to College Writing, MLA Update
Published on 30. January 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-13-467941-9 (ISBN)
Description
For courses in First-Year Composition - Rhetoric.
This version of A Guide to Writing in College has been updated to reflect the 8th Edition of the MLA Handbook (April 2016)*
Helps students navigate the challenges of writing in all college-level courses
A Guide to College Writing is both an excellent introduction to college writing for composition courses that emphasize writing across the curriculum (WAC) and a writing guide for use in any college course. Scholar and former CWPA president Chris Anson brings his research on and knowledge of WAC, threshold concepts, and transference to this first-year writing text.
Anson offers a refreshing new choice to faculty seeking support in teaching the features and forms of other disciplines. The text does not teach any one form, but rather how to observe, analyze, and reproduce the forms and intellectual strategies of whatever the students might be asked to read and write. Students are walked through the writing process, beginning with shorter, lower-stakes "microtheme" assignments and scaffolding toward longer, sustained formal projects typical of their discipline. Throughout, students learn how to use writing as a learning tool.
* The 8th Edition introduces sweeping changes to the philosophy and details of MLA works cited entries. Responding to the "increasing mobility of texts," MLA now encourages writers to focus on the process of crafting the citation, beginning with the same questions for any source. These changes, then, align with current best practices in the teaching of writing which privilege inquiry and critical thinking over rote recall and rule-following.
This version of A Guide to Writing in College has been updated to reflect the 8th Edition of the MLA Handbook (April 2016)*
Helps students navigate the challenges of writing in all college-level courses
A Guide to College Writing is both an excellent introduction to college writing for composition courses that emphasize writing across the curriculum (WAC) and a writing guide for use in any college course. Scholar and former CWPA president Chris Anson brings his research on and knowledge of WAC, threshold concepts, and transference to this first-year writing text.
Anson offers a refreshing new choice to faculty seeking support in teaching the features and forms of other disciplines. The text does not teach any one form, but rather how to observe, analyze, and reproduce the forms and intellectual strategies of whatever the students might be asked to read and write. Students are walked through the writing process, beginning with shorter, lower-stakes "microtheme" assignments and scaffolding toward longer, sustained formal projects typical of their discipline. Throughout, students learn how to use writing as a learning tool.
* The 8th Edition introduces sweeping changes to the philosophy and details of MLA works cited entries. Responding to the "increasing mobility of texts," MLA now encourages writers to focus on the process of crafting the citation, beginning with the same questions for any source. These changes, then, align with current best practices in the teaching of writing which privilege inquiry and critical thinking over rote recall and rule-following.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 188 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
304 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-13-467941-9 (9780134679419)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Chris Anson
Guide to College Writing, A
Book
02/2016
Pearson
€67.23
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Chris Anson is Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Campus Writing and Speaking Program at North Carolina State University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in language, composition, and literacy and works with faculty across the curriculum to reform undergraduate education in the areas of writing and speaking. Before moving to NCSU in 1999, he spent fifteen years at the University of Minnesota, where he directed the Program in Composition from 1988-96 and was Professor of English and Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor. He received his Ph.D. and second M.A. in English with a specialization in composition studies from Indiana University, and his B.A. and first M.A. in English from Syracuse University.
Chris has received numerous awards, including the North Carolina State University Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor Award, the State of Minnesota Higher Education Teaching Excellence Award, the Morse-Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, and the Governor's Star Service Award for his service-learning work at Minnesota. He was an NCTE Promising Researcher Award Finalist and has received or participated as a co-principal investigator in over $1.8 million in grants.
An avid writer, Chris has published 15 books and over 110 journal articles and book chapters and is on the editorial or reader's boards of ten journals, including College Composition and Communication, College English, Research in the Teaching of English, Across the Disciplines, Written Communication, Assessing Writing, and The Journal of Writing Assessment. He is currently working on research exploring the effect of teachers' oral screencast responses on students' understanding and improvement of their writing.
Chris has given over 550 conference papers, keynote addresses, and invited lectures and faculty workshops across the U.S. and in 29 other countries.
Chris has served as Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (2011-14; Chair, 2013) and as President of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (2002-2005) and spent seven additional years on the WPA Executive Board. He has also served on the CCCC Executive Committee (1993-96 and 2011-14) and 11 other CCCC committees, as well as several NCTE committees. He chaired the NCTE Assembly for Research in 1992-3 and was program co-chair of the NCTE Global Conference on Language and Literacy in Utrecht, Netherlands. He chaired the WPA Task Force on Plagiarism and the WPA Task Force on Internationalization, and formed the MMLA's Writing-Across-the-Curriculum section.
Chris has received numerous awards, including the North Carolina State University Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor Award, the State of Minnesota Higher Education Teaching Excellence Award, the Morse-Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, and the Governor's Star Service Award for his service-learning work at Minnesota. He was an NCTE Promising Researcher Award Finalist and has received or participated as a co-principal investigator in over $1.8 million in grants.
An avid writer, Chris has published 15 books and over 110 journal articles and book chapters and is on the editorial or reader's boards of ten journals, including College Composition and Communication, College English, Research in the Teaching of English, Across the Disciplines, Written Communication, Assessing Writing, and The Journal of Writing Assessment. He is currently working on research exploring the effect of teachers' oral screencast responses on students' understanding and improvement of their writing.
Chris has given over 550 conference papers, keynote addresses, and invited lectures and faculty workshops across the U.S. and in 29 other countries.
Chris has served as Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (2011-14; Chair, 2013) and as President of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (2002-2005) and spent seven additional years on the WPA Executive Board. He has also served on the CCCC Executive Committee (1993-96 and 2011-14) and 11 other CCCC committees, as well as several NCTE committees. He chaired the NCTE Assembly for Research in 1992-3 and was program co-chair of the NCTE Global Conference on Language and Literacy in Utrecht, Netherlands. He chaired the WPA Task Force on Plagiarism and the WPA Task Force on Internationalization, and formed the MMLA's Writing-Across-the-Curriculum section.
Content
Introduction
Writing to Learn, Learning to Write
Why This Book?
What's In This Book
1. Writing Across the Curriculum-and Why You Should Care
Writing in College
Writing Across the Curriculum and in the Disciplines
Encountering New Writing Contexts
Meta-Knowledge
Working in Different Communities of Practice
Teachers' Use of the Instructional Design Model
Putting It into Practice
2. Low-Stakes Writing and Why Should You Take It Seriously
What Is Writing to Learn?
Low Stakes and High Stakes Writing
Academic Journals or Learning Blogs
How to Use Academic Journals or Learning Blogs
Forums and Dialogues
Putting It into Practice
3. Microthemes and Why They're So Powerful as Tools for Learning
What's a Microtheme?
Unpacking the Microtheme and Other Short Assignments
What's the Form?
What's the Purpose or Goal?
What's the Level of Formality?
Who's the Audience?
The "Structure of Activity"
Critical Thinking
It All Starts with Facts: The Power of Description
Taking Things Apart: Analysis
Putting It All Together: Synthesis
Reaching Informed Judgments: Evaluation
What Does It Mean?: Interpretation
Varieties of Microthemes
Putting It into Practice
4. Higher-Stakes Projects: Getting from Ideas to Text
What Changes with Larger and Higher-Stakes Projects?
What's Transfer, and Why Practice It?
What About Far-Transfer Situations?
Exploring Your Subject
Finding the Heart of the Matter: The Thesis
Looking for Organizational Patterns
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: Creating a Rough Draft
Putting It Into Practice
5. It's All About Revision
What Does Revision Really Mean?
Revising Using Yourself as Reader
Top-Down Revision: Content
Structure
Introductions and Conclusions
Spit and Polish
A Grain of Salt
Revising Using Your Peers as Readers
What's Peer Review?
How to Get and Give Feedback Face to Face
How to Get and Give Feedback Digitally
Oral Response
Revising Using your Teacher as Reader
Revising with the Help of a Tutor
Getting the Most from Evaluation Criteria
Getting the Most from Online Resources
Putting It into Practice
6. In Search of Research
It All Starts With a Question
Finding the Best Sources and Getting the Most From Them
The Promise and Perils of Research
Background Reading (Learning the Waters)
Locating the Most Useful Sources (the Treacheries of the Internet)
Thinking About Your Subject Headings (Deciding Where to Fish)
From Subject Headings to Working Bibliography (Casting Your Net)
Reading Like a Researcher (Examining What You've Netted)
Primary vs. Secondary Research
Defining Your Question
Keeping a Log
Reflecting and Analyzing
Writing the Research-Based Paper
The "Default" Audience
Using Your Sources in Your Paper
Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation
A Few Matters of Form
Documentation (Another Exciting Page or Two)
Putting It into Practice
7. The Comparative Anatomy of Texts and Contexts
Species of Writing
Basic Anatomy: A Guide
Rhetorical Environments
Dissecting a Text
Two Rhetorical Dissections
Putting It into Practice
Appendix: Definitions of Key Concepts
Index
Writing to Learn, Learning to Write
Why This Book?
What's In This Book
1. Writing Across the Curriculum-and Why You Should Care
Writing in College
Writing Across the Curriculum and in the Disciplines
Encountering New Writing Contexts
Meta-Knowledge
Working in Different Communities of Practice
Teachers' Use of the Instructional Design Model
Putting It into Practice
2. Low-Stakes Writing and Why Should You Take It Seriously
What Is Writing to Learn?
Low Stakes and High Stakes Writing
Academic Journals or Learning Blogs
How to Use Academic Journals or Learning Blogs
Forums and Dialogues
Putting It into Practice
3. Microthemes and Why They're So Powerful as Tools for Learning
What's a Microtheme?
Unpacking the Microtheme and Other Short Assignments
What's the Form?
What's the Purpose or Goal?
What's the Level of Formality?
Who's the Audience?
The "Structure of Activity"
Critical Thinking
It All Starts with Facts: The Power of Description
Taking Things Apart: Analysis
Putting It All Together: Synthesis
Reaching Informed Judgments: Evaluation
What Does It Mean?: Interpretation
Varieties of Microthemes
Putting It into Practice
4. Higher-Stakes Projects: Getting from Ideas to Text
What Changes with Larger and Higher-Stakes Projects?
What's Transfer, and Why Practice It?
What About Far-Transfer Situations?
Exploring Your Subject
Finding the Heart of the Matter: The Thesis
Looking for Organizational Patterns
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: Creating a Rough Draft
Putting It Into Practice
5. It's All About Revision
What Does Revision Really Mean?
Revising Using Yourself as Reader
Top-Down Revision: Content
Structure
Introductions and Conclusions
Spit and Polish
A Grain of Salt
Revising Using Your Peers as Readers
What's Peer Review?
How to Get and Give Feedback Face to Face
How to Get and Give Feedback Digitally
Oral Response
Revising Using your Teacher as Reader
Revising with the Help of a Tutor
Getting the Most from Evaluation Criteria
Getting the Most from Online Resources
Putting It into Practice
6. In Search of Research
It All Starts With a Question
Finding the Best Sources and Getting the Most From Them
The Promise and Perils of Research
Background Reading (Learning the Waters)
Locating the Most Useful Sources (the Treacheries of the Internet)
Thinking About Your Subject Headings (Deciding Where to Fish)
From Subject Headings to Working Bibliography (Casting Your Net)
Reading Like a Researcher (Examining What You've Netted)
Primary vs. Secondary Research
Defining Your Question
Keeping a Log
Reflecting and Analyzing
Writing the Research-Based Paper
The "Default" Audience
Using Your Sources in Your Paper
Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation
A Few Matters of Form
Documentation (Another Exciting Page or Two)
Putting It into Practice
7. The Comparative Anatomy of Texts and Contexts
Species of Writing
Basic Anatomy: A Guide
Rhetorical Environments
Dissecting a Text
Two Rhetorical Dissections
Putting It into Practice
Appendix: Definitions of Key Concepts
Index