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Read more about Writing Guide with Handbook

Writing Guide with Handbook

(11 reviews)

Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Spelman College

Maria Jerskey, City University of New York

Toby Fulwiller, University of Vermont

Copyright Year: 2021

ISBN 13: 9781951693473

Publisher: OpenStax

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of Use

Attribution Attribution
CC BY

Reviews

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Reviewed by Sarah Summers, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Franklin College on 1/8/24

The text does a nice job of covering both rhetorical theory and various genres common in first-year writing, including personal essays, a variety of analytical genres, and research essays. There is also a strong focus on process. The handbook is... read more

Reviewed by Justin Young, Associate Professor of English, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 12/8/23

The text effectively covers all of genres that are commonly assigned in first-year college writing courses. read more

Reviewed by Jason Meier, English Instructor, Rochester Community & Technical College on 6/26/23

Writing Guide is very comprehensive, comparable to expensive texts with combined reader, rhetoric, and handbook. This text contains all of the assignments I currently use in my college composition class (narrative, problem-solution, rhetorical... read more

Reviewed by Alicia Conroy, Faculty of English, Normandale Community College on 4/2/23

As a book primarily focused on genre-specific writing situations for well-prepared college students, this book is very comprehensive, offering 12 genres plus additional chapters related to research-supported writing and the handbook component.... read more

Reviewed by Aimee Taylor, Assistant Professor, Clarke University on 1/9/23

This guide is appropriately comprehensive for first year and developing college writers. It covers, most importantly, the writing process. It also engages students in thought work about rhetorical effectiveness, information literacy, and... read more

Reviewed by Sarah Lacy, Lecturer, Old Dominion University on 1/6/23

There are lessons on rhetoric, research, portfolios, as well as genre specific readings which does make this a relatively comprehensive Rhetoric and Composition text. I believe the title, "Writing Guide with Handbook" does not do the... read more

Reviewed by Lisa Kern-Lipscomb, Instructor, Tidewater Community College on 12/30/22

OED offers a free textbook that covers the writing process, vocabulary building, practices for writers, and many instructive lessons. Writing Guide with Handbook is a comprehensive textbook that aligns with my course syllabus throughout the... read more

Reviewed by Lisa Whalen, Professor, North Hennepin Community College on 12/7/22

I was thrilled to find this textbook because I've been looking for an OER that covers how to write a narrative, profile, visual evaluation, and rhetorical analysis of argument, and I hadn't seen one anywhere. This one covers each module I teach in... read more

Reviewed by Patricia Jordan, Academic Director, Online Training and Technology, Spartanburg Community College on 9/22/22

There are a lot of great ideas for classroom activities, but it doesn’t really cover the concepts of writing. The handbook portion is better but could be expanded. The table of contents is good. The index is confusing. Word like “Caesar,”... read more

Reviewed by Tara Montague, Part-time instructor, Portland Community College on 7/1/22

This text, Writing Guide with Handbook, is comprehensive. It includes more content than I could cover in one term; I can see using it to cover both a pre-transfer-level course and a basic transfer-level course. Though it is guided by a writing to... read more

Reviewed by Brenda Coston, Assistant Professor, Honolulu Community College on 2/2/22

The Writing Guide with Handbook, is a text for writers who are beyond the basics of essay structure and who wish to develop more with writing in terms of culture and rhetoric for real life situations. read more

Table of Contents

  • Unit 1  The Things We Carry: Experience, Culture, and Language
    • Chapter 1  The Digital World: Building on What You Already Know to Respond Critically
    • Chapter 2  Language, Identity, and Culture: Exploring, Employing, Embracing
    • Chapter 3  Literacy Narrative: Building Bridges, Bridging Gaps
  • Unit 2  Bridging the Divide Between Personal Identity and Academia
    • Chapter 4  Memoir or Personal Narrative: Learning Lessons from the Personal
    • Chapter 5  Profile: Telling a Rich and Compelling Story
    • Chapter 6  Proposal: Writing About Problems and Solutions
    • Chapter 7  Evaluation or Review: Would You Recommend It?
    • Chapter 8  Analytical Report: Writing from Facts
    • Chapter 9  Rhetorical Analysis: Interpreting the Art of Rhetoric
    • Chapter 10  Position Argument: Practicing the Art of Rhetoric
    • Chapter 11  Reasoning Strategies: Improving Critical Thinking
    • Chapter 12  Argumentative Research: Enhancing the Art of Rhetoric with Evidence
    • Chapter 13  Research Process: Accessing and Recording Information
    • Chapter 14  Annotated Bibliography: Gathering, Evaluating, and Documenting Sources
    • Chapter 15  Case Study Profile: What One Person Says About All
  • Unit 3  Navigating Rhetoric in Real Life
    • Chapter 16  Print or Textual Analysis: What You Read
    • Chapter 17  Image Analysis: What You See
    • Chapter 18  Multimodal and Online Writing: Creative Interaction between Text and Image
    • Chapter 19  Scripting for the Public Forum: Writing to Speak
    • Chapter 20  Portfolio Reflection: Your Growth as a Writer

Ancillary Material

  • OpenStax
  • OpenStax
  • About the Book

    Writing Guide with Handbook aligns to the goals, topics, and objectives of many first-year writing and composition courses. It is organized according to relevant genres, and focuses on the writing process, effective writing practices or strategies—including graphic organizers, writing frames, and word banks to support visual learning—and conventions of usage and style. The text includes an editing and documentation handbook, which provides information on grammar and mechanics, common usage errors, and citation styles.

    Writing Guide with Handbook breaks down barriers in the field of composition by offering an inviting and inclusive approach to students of all intersectional identities. To meet this goal, the text creates a reciprocal relationship between everyday rhetoric and the evolving world of academia. Writing Guide with Handbook builds on students’ life experiences and their participation in rhetorical communities within the familiar contexts of personal interaction and social media. The text seeks to extend these existing skills by showing students how to construct a variety of compelling compositions in a variety of formats, situations, and contexts.

    The authors conceived and developed Writing Guide with Handbook in 2020; its content and learning experiences reflect the instructional, societal, and individual challenges students have faced. The authors invite students and instructors to practice invitational, rather than confrontational, discussions even as they engage in verbal and written argument. Instructors will be empowered to emphasize meaning and voice and to teach empathy as a rhetorical strategy. Students will be empowered to negotiate their identities and their cultures through language as they join us in writing, discovering, learning, and creating.

    About the Contributors

    Authors

    Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Spelman College

    Dr. Michelle Bachelor Robinson directs the Comprehensive Writing Program and is an assistant professor of writing and rhetoric at Spelman College. For five weeks each summer, she also serves as faculty for the Middlebury College Bread Loaf School of English, a summer residential graduate program for secondary educators. Her research and teaching focus on community engagement, historiography, African American rhetoric and literacy, composition pedagogy and theory, and student and program assessment. She is the coeditor of the Routledge Reader of African American Rhetoric and has published articles in WPA: Writing Program Administration, Peitho: Journal of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition, the Alabama Humanities Review, and the Journal of Social Work Education. Her early career was spent as a secondary educator, teaching high school students in the subjects of writing, literature, reading, debate, and drama. Dr. Robinson currently serves as the higher-education cochair of the College Board test development committee for the Advanced Placement (AP) English Language Exam, as well as a member of the test development committee for the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) for College Composition. Dr. Robinson also served on the executive committee for the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) from 2017 to 2020 and is still actively involved in that national work.

    Maria Jerskey, City University of New York

    Dr. Maria Jerskey is a professor of education and language acquisition at the City University of New York (CUNY), where she teaches courses in ESL, linguistics, bilingualism, and French to community college students and academic writing to graduate students. She is the founder and director of the Literacy Brokers Program, which supports and promotes the publishing practices of multilingual scholars. Dr. Jerskey has 4 Preface Access for free at openstax.org. published widely and been involved in national professional committees and organizations that focus on bringing current research and scholarship to bear on institutionalized practices that disenfranchise multilingual writers in order to design and implement equitable teaching and learning practices and professional development. She has authored college writing handbooks, including Globalization: A Reader for Writers and, with Ann Raimes, Keys for Writers, 6th edition. In her teaching and professional committee work, Dr. Jerskey problematizes and challenges the value and status of Standard Written English by applying critical research and scholarship in the fields of education, linguistics, and composition. Her current research and activism focus on identifying institutional barriers to linguistic justice and cultivating sustainable practices that recognize, encourage, and value the use of each person’s full linguistic repertoire.

    Toby Fulwiler, Emeritus, University of Vermont

    Dr. Toby Fulwiler is an emeritus professor in the Department of English at the University of Vermont. The author of numerous professional texts, student textbooks, chapters, and articles, Dr. Fulwiler graciously provided The Working Writer as inspiration for Writing Guide with Handbook.

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