Reading and Writing Successfully in College: A Guide for Students [Revised Edition]

Reviewed by Brynn Miller, Adjunct Professor, Radford University on 8/23/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book is comprehensive and easy to read, as well as clearly organized so that students can understand the process of and intention behind the activities. Some technical ideas are a bit beyond the reach of most of my first and second year students (such as Bloom’s taxonomy), but the overall messages are clear.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The research behind methods of college writing are is strong, and the finer points of reading, writing, revising, and citing are particularly helpful. I see no obvious bias on the side of the author, but there is always a little bit of the author in every text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is relevant to college-level writing with particular emphasis on writing as a process. It advocates writing as a skill that can be learned and honed. The content is not so specific that it will require constant updates, but it should be easy to update when current trends or new information/research becomes available.

Clarity rating: 5

The content is well-written and easy to follow. All of the material is accessible for users and clearly delineated in the Table of Contents. The use of visuals is helpful and not distracting. In fact, it’s so clear that ESL learners should have little to no trouble comprehending the material (barring the occasional particular jargon use). There is a pleasant tone throughout the book – almost as if the author was speaking to the reader. I believe that students will find that both calming and helpful, reducing the anxiety they feel about learning to write at a higher level.

Consistency rating: 5

The entire book is well-structured and follows the Table of Contents. All chapters are concise, yet thorough, following a simple, consistent framework overall.

Modularity rating: 5

The material is broken down into small, logically-organized components that students should be able to follow without becoming overwhelmed. Each section is easy to read with plenty of examples, helpful visuals, and consistent organization.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics covered within this book are organized well, following the Table of Contents’ outline. All of the information is well-written, sound, easy to understand, and the ideas follow a logical progression. The entire book flows from one idea to another in an easily-digestible manner.

Interface rating: 5

The book is well-formatted and fairly easy to navigate. The interface is pretty accessible and easy to use. However, not all students begin first-year college writing with any amount of technical expertise regarding digital resources – this is not quite as intuitive as I would hope, but once you’ve grasped the proper interactions, it is quickly adaptable.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not catch any glaring errors. It is so well-written and easy to follow that I was quickly enveloped in the concepts, rather than the physical text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book is not culturally insensitive or offensive. There is little cultural reference to even be relevant, as the topics covered in the book are strictly academic. There was a Land Acknowledgement, which brings attention to a cultural minority.

Comments

There are bits of advice for learners, the text is easy, and the activities and examples are fantastic! I will most likely be using this book as a supplement for my Principles of College Composition classes – not as a requirement this semester, but probably in the future. I am so glad that I chose to read this.

Reviewed by Carol Lambert, Adjunct instructor, Worcester State University on 6/15/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book is easy to read and organized so that students can understand the logic and intention of the assignments, rather than confuse them with technical information and terms.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Simplistic language and straightforward instruction is used and clear approaches to college writing are demonstrated. It does not seem to have any bias and the content
seems to be error-free.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I have been teaching College Writing and research techniques for many years, and the content aligns with my methods. I foresee this material and approaches suggested to continue for successful outcomes for students for much time to come.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is very clear and comprehensible for students of most, if not all, English language abilities. Second Language learners should be able to follow the suggestions and terminology that is used throughout the material.

Consistency rating: 5

If the students stay with the readings and follow the author's suggestions, I see no reason for them not to be able to frame and complete a reasonably decent composition. The instructions are clear and concise, and if the instructor clearly backs up the material, I can foresee the students being very engaged in the assignments.

Modularity rating: 5

The organization of the material is broken down in easily readable and logical components that students should be able to manage without feeling overwhelmed.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

There is an easy flow to the material, one that is almost as if the author is speaking to each person individually. It should make the students want to read on for successful information in completing writing assignments as well as take some of the anxiety out of writing them in a timely and accurate fashion.

Interface rating: 4

Not all students have the technical expertise that is required when entering first year writing, and the material is clear and easy to follow. The explanation of the issues is quite clear and concise. It may be that some of the students (and faculty, at times) will need further assistance with these issues. This is usually solved with IT assistance from the university.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any errors, but nobody's perfect, even AI!

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This a difficult one to answer, but there seems to be no evidence of cultural improprieties in the text.

Comments

I was quite excited to see that the material quite closely aligns with my own teaching style. The text spells it out in clear and concise language. I will definitely be using this text to enhance my classes in the fall semester.

Reviewed by Zana Combiths, Instructor, Radford University on 10/23/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The Writing Process is covered well. I would like more on grammar and practice with common grammar problems and punctuation errors.
I would also like to see more on argument strategies in the main text (without so much clicking around).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

As far as I can tell, the author is unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The publishers seem to invite others to add to the text. I don't think I would take my time to do that.

Clarity rating: 3

I found too much jargon that would be above the grasp of my typical students in introductory composition courses. For example, the "cognitive process" and coverage of Bloom's Taxonomy would be out of reach for my students.

Consistency rating: 3

The textbook is consistent; however, some sections seem out of place in order of importance.

Modularity rating: 4

Yes, I believe some sections would be useful at times during the courses and could be easily found by using the contents bar. I found that the text is somewhat overly self-referential, and students would most likely not be reading for that much time.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

I think students are not interested in Bloom's Taxonomy in my courses. Shorter versions of how we read and comprehend would suit my needs better.
The order works for the most part.

Interface rating: 4

The use of the highlighted activities and key points in boxes works well. Sometimes, I believe I would recommend to students that they pay special attention to those boxes.
I had no problem navigating once I had the entire publication uploaded. The navigation bars at the bottom of the pages were particularly helpful to me.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any errors in grammar. I would prefer if an author of a textbook stayed out of the text. For example, leave out "I" when explaining.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not see any cultural references at all, but I am not sure that the readings and the commentary throughout would be accessible to my students. The level of information and wording is often above their backgrounds in education.

Comments

I am interested in the Open Education access to books on Composition, but I would like to see less text - my students do not read! More examples and activities would be useful. The activities that you do have would work for my students sometimes.

Reviewed by Rhonda Italiano, Professor, North Hennepin Community College on 5/31/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers all areas of reading strategies from pre-reading to annotation and note-taking. That information is then tied to writing strategies and how they will help students become better writers.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Content was very accurate. All references were noted. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for a teacher to write a completely unbiased text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Examples were relevant and timely, yet not so specific that they will need to be revised every year or two.

Clarity rating: 5

Well done. The Zone of Proximal Development is explained in the beginning of the text and broken down for the reader. That trend continues throughout the text.

Consistency rating: 5

Author used terms and examples consistently throughout the entire text.

Modularity rating: 5

The author definitely took their own advice here. Chunking was well done. Sections were broken into concise sections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I appreciated the topics and the logic that was used to arrange them in the text.

Interface rating: 5

Charts were well placed. No navigational issues noted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

There were a few typos in the beginning of the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Well done. I especially appreciated the attention paid to Indigenous Peoples and the land acknowledgement at the beginning of the text.

Comments

I was impressed that the author had her text tested by colleagues and former students. All angles were covered.
The text included words of advice to students and invitations to pause and react to the material they were reading. This will be a great resource to college reading and writing instructors everywhere.

Reviewed by Angelica Rivera, Director, Northeastern Illinois University on 5/4/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook entitled "Reading and Writing Successfully in College: A Guide for Students" is comprehensive in nature and is well organized. It is divided into 3 Parts: I. Successful College Reading: Reading effectively, creating an optimal setting for reading, examining a sample assignment, using pre-reading strategies, annotating and note taking II. Doing Intellectual work: Understanding Bloom’s Taxonomy, understanding writing assignments as intellectual work, examining sample assignments and III. Writing Process in College, which consists of Thinking about the Writing Process, Pre-writing and Drafting and getting feedback and IV. Writing with Sources: Understanding source types, Finding and Evaluating sources, paraphrasing and quoting, and citing sources.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The “Reading and Writing Successfully in College: A Guide for Students" textbook is well-researched and provides accurate details on how to read, write, revise, and cite.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is relevant to college writing, shows that writing is a process, and is a skill that all students can learn if they focus on how to read, write and revise. This book can be updated to include changing trends and current information.

Clarity rating: 5

The textbook is well-written and easy to use. The material is accessible for students, and the Table of Contents and book is well organized and detailed. Students have great visuals, such as pictures and graphics, to keep the reader interested.

Consistency rating: 5

The structure of the book is easy to follow, the chapters are brief and to the point and are consistent with the Table of Contents.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook is broken into sections that are easy to read with student profiles, examples, charts/graphics and pictures. The author does this consistently throughout the book.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics and chapters are well organized throughout the book. Once again, the Table of Contents does an excellent job of outlining the sections and topics. The information is clearly written, logical, and flows throughout the book. The end of the book provides detailed information on how to cite sources correctly and give authors their due credit.

Interface rating: 5

The textbook is well done and easy to navigate. It has no issues with the interface and is accessible and easy to use.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The textbook entitled, “Reading and Writing Successfully in College: A Guide for Students" textbook is well written and I did not identify any visible grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book is culturally relevant as it includes a Land Acknowledgement, which includes the Native tribe that resides in this region and has students from diverse backgrounds who have provided feedback on assignments. It makes students from different backgrounds feel seen and included.

Comments

Given the accessible nature of this book and how intentional the author of this book has been in sharing and revising their best writing practices, I feel compelled to use this book during the Fall semester for the Academic Seminar that I teach. I would also like my students to use it as a reference and guide as they transition from high school to college.