Teaching Autoethnography: Personal Writing in the Classroom

Reviewed by Eleanor Binnings, Adjunct faculty, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 3/23/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I find the book comprehensive for as Tombro points out in the Introduction: "We can combine writing intensive assignments with community engagement and analysis of positionality to create a holistic education model." Holistic education gives the student responsibility for their own learning, which is essential for strong writing skills. She notes that autoethnographic writing helps build community as students have the opportunity to read each other's points of view and build the concept of audience. Peer review is a major part of the process -- with always the question: "Who cares?" that gets students thinking more deeply about their stories. She offers prompts for assignments, discussions, and classroom activities. She provides several dozen student works that 1) let us see what's possible, and 2) provide examples for our students. Teaching Autoethnography is for instructors, not a textbook for students, and she provides the pedagogy of qualitative research and how autoethnography relates to phenomenological studies in addition to composition studies.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Tombro shows her own thorough research into autoethnography in the classroom and provides numerous sources and resources that we can further investigate. If any bias, that would be her own classroom experience.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

More relevant today than ever with the advance of AI writing! Autoethnographic writing eliminates plagiarism as well. Students must write from their own experiences and observations. This helps students develop their own voices. She provides her own experiences in the classroom and in her past, such as when she learned to interview effectively, an important feature for qualitative research.

Clarity rating: 5

As various sources are discussed, any jargon is clarified. Prose is lucid and accessible. She clearly explains her rules for peer review, provides methods, and explains how students benefit, not just as the receiver of peer review but as the reviewer. It would be quite easy to utilize her prompts.

Consistency rating: 5

Tombo remains consistent throughout the book. She discusses her sources and lays out the book so that instructors can easily follow her model.

Modularity rating: 5

Assignments and other prompts can easily be accessed and excerpted for class in any order and can be modified. Or we can utilize her format laid out for a 15-week course. Where self-reflection is involved, she furthers our understanding of the benefits of autoethnography.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Quite logical. We begin with a discussion of the topic complete with sources and moves toward incorporation in the classroom. We can utilize her week-by-week layout for a 15-week course with clear understanding of the process and goals.

Interface rating: 5

Easy to read. The prompts and peer review guidelines use a colored background to make them stand out. No charts or images included.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No errors detected.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is never culturally insensitive or offensive. Rather, the effort with autoethnography helps build cultural awareness. The student essays enhance student backgrounds and build community in the classroom.

Comments

The many student essay examples show the success of autoethnographic writing. I like how she points out how students may feel unconfident and hesitant yet move on to finding personal meaning, not only in their own writing but in their classmates' writing. From the "character" and point of view to the environment and developing detail, students find their own subcultures and awareness that everyday life is actually more than something to take for granted. The writing can take the author from subjective experience to objective awareness. Students become prepared for ethnographic research.

Reviewed by Miriam Gershow, Senior Instructor II, University of Oregon on 9/2/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The comprehensiveness of this text is its strength. It offers an abundance of resources for teachers and students, including a background of autoethnography in composition studies, a clear and comprehensive explanation/rationale of how Tombro teaches autoethnography in the classroom over a semester, and then over 200 pages of student examples of each writing assignment. As a creative writer who has been teaching composition for 20 years, the resources in this book make me want to integrate autoethnography into my classroom even without a specific ethnography background myself. Tombro has made a strong case for the value of autoethnography and also has made the resources accessible. It's been a long time (ever?) since reading a textbook has made me want to rethink my classroom approach so thoroughly.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Tombro takes pains to locate autoethnography accurately in composition studies, including the naysayers. The remainder of the book focuses on her specific experience in an in-person semester-long classroom in New York City.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I'm reading the book seven years after it was published and none of the information seems dated. Smartly, Tombro references the readings she assigned students, but did not include them here. She leaves it up to teachers to find the most relevant readings for their community.

Clarity rating: 5

Again, as someone outside of the field of autoethnography, the whole concept was explained well and thoroughly to me. I have taught a lot of descriptive writing and personal argument, and I can see how those could fit within autoethnography, something I hadn't previously considered.

Consistency rating: 5

Terminology, framework, and design are all consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

Assignments can be lifted out, as can student examples of each assignment. What remains is essentially a teacher's guide, and a helpful one at that.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Well organized between the introduction that situates autoethnography in composition, then a move through the fifteen weeks' of Tombro's pedagogy, then 200+ pages of student work within that pedagogy.

Interface rating: 5

No interface problems.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Text is error free.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The very idea of autoethnography is broadly inclusive of classroom diversity. The student examples offer a broad swatch of race, culture, and class experience.

Comments

I cannot overstate the strength of this book. Tombro makes such a convincing case for students considering themselves within their communities via writing autoethnography. The program I teach in has long embraced personal argument and is moving toward literacy narratives. Autoethnography seems to take the goals of each of those assignments - personal investment in a topic, self-reflection, critical analysis of self in the world - and elevate those. I'm excited to think about how to adapt Tombro's ideas to my teaching: remote classes in a quarter system on a campus that has more constraints around "field sites" than New York City.

Reviewed by Matthew Chelf, Adjunct Instructor, Portland Community College on 6/12/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I found this text comprehensive in its treatment of autoethnography, writing about the ‘self’ through diverse narrative techniques, research, and a cultural lens. The text provides readings, prompts, and assignments designed to get students to reflect on their lives in a cultural context. Group work, such as peer review, helps students understand their own lives and the lives of others through this broader cultural lens and facilitates cultural awareness and conversation. The latter sections in the book provide numerous student writing samples followed by discussion questions, which is great for modeling and conversation.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text is well situated and researched. In the introduction, Tombro takes care to situate us in a broader context of where autoethnography stands in the current academic environment. Peppered throughout the text are excellent quotes that illuminate the text’s core goal. For example, “We need to imagine ways of using experience critically: experience should motivate us to care about another’s differences and should disrupt the material conditions that have given rise to it” (Min-Zhan Lu “Reading and Writing Differences: The Problematic of Experience”). Tombro also pulls from a rich well of personal experience in the classroom as well as student writing. I also really appreciated the Phillip Lopate discussion of turning oneself into a character, a hallmark of creative nonfiction.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This is one way to teach critical theory and cultural awareness in the composition classroom. By prioritizing student writing and student experience, students should feel more connected to their work and to classmates. Tombro’s work participates in a history of personal writing pedagogy and makes a worthy contribution to it.

Clarity rating: 5

I found Tombro’s writing and organization lucid and clear.

Consistency rating: 5

Tombro builds upon the main ideas stated in the introduction through research, example, exercise, and elaboration. The text is cohesive. The larger sections do a great job of delineating topics. The student writing samples connect back to the pedagogical discussions.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is composed of seven different sections. The first of which is directed to teachers and how to teach autoethnography. The rest are student writings on particular topics and subjects. These latter six sections include discussion questions. They provide great examples to model student writing. It would be easy and fun to assign discrete readings from these sections for students.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Very good! (Related to the text’s modularity).

Interface rating: 5

You can download the text as PDF or Ebook. You can read it online as HTML, which is what I did. The text flows in a top-down fashion. White background, black text. Sections will appear in friendly, disrupting colors.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This writing project is designed to get students to think about themselves and their cultural position in a creative, inviting way. It does so in a sensitive, safe fashion that makes difficult topics accessible.

Comments

If you’re wondering what ethnography is, the author provides this definition in the introduction: “autoethnography is treated as personal writing in which the subjectivity of the writer is highlighted and experiences are understood through narrative exploration and storytelling, incorporating other voices, observation, participation, and larger cultural ideas.”

I will certainly try this approach in a first-year writing course!

Reviewed by Tommy Ender, Assistant Professor, Rhode Island College on 12/3/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Excellent!

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Excellent!

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Excellent!

Clarity rating: 5

Excellent!

Consistency rating: 5

Excellent!

Modularity rating: 5

Excellent!

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Excellent!

Interface rating: 5

Excellent!

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Excellent!

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Excellent!

Comments

This book is an excellent introduction to the world of autoethnography. The book allows the reader to consider the self, space, and memory as integral parts in developing and writing an autoethnography. The book would serve well students in Education, English, Social Work, Anthropology, Sociology, and Cultural Studies courses at the higher education level. It would also serve students at the secondary education level.

Reviewed by David Stringham, Associate Professor, James Madison University on 7/31/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

In context of its purpose (“to present a unified approach to using personal writing and qualitative inquiry, specifically autoethnography, in the first-year writing classroom”), this text seems comprehensive. (I offer that assessment with the caveat that I don’t teach first-year writing.) Readers who wish to explore a particular topic in greater detail could certainly do so through sources listed in the works cited list, or the “Additional Readings on Autoethnography” on p. 67. I particularly appreciated the range of material in this text (e.g., assignment prompts, peer review materials, discussion prompts, classroom workshop activities) and varied examples of student work. The text included a works cited list, but not an index or glossary; I felt that terms that might be unfamiliar to some readers were sufficiently contextualized in the text. I didn’t find myself missing a glossary or index.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I am not a subject matter expert, but the text seems grounded in existing scholarly literature, other authors’ works, and this author’s practice as a college writing instructor. I did not sense biases other than those that might naturally occur from sharing from one’s own experiences.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content of this text felt up-to-date, with a number of sources from recent years. These newer sources seemed nicely balanced with work from established sources and well-known authors. The text seems to be constructed in a way that would allow updates to specific sections (e.g., “Brief History of Personal Writing in Composition Studies,” “Defining Autoethnography”) should elements become out of date.

Clarity rating: 5

I found the writing clear and approachable throughout. I have some training in qualitative research, but limited experience in teaching writing; I did not find any jargon or technical terminology that felt inadequately contextualized.

Consistency rating: 5

I found the text internally consistent in terms of both its terminology and framework. Additionally, I found the consistency of assignment presentation and discussion (e.g., green-shaded text boxes) throughout the text helpful.

Modularity rating: 5

This text is particularly well constructed in this regard. The various assignments could certainly be used for a complete course in the “Sample Class Schedule”; they could also be used individually (with or without student writing examples) in a more piecemeal fashion within any course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I found the organization clear and the sequential presentation of assignments that might unfold over a semester to be useful. I could see many of these assignments and other activities (e.g., class workshops) to be useful independently as well as in the sequence prescribed in the text.

Interface rating: 5

I read the book as a PDF on an iPad and experienced no interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any grammatical errors while reading this text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find this text to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. To the extent I was able to tell as a reader, the book used a variety of examples from published authors, scholars, and students; these seemed to reflect diverse backgrounds (that may or may not include diversity of races and ethnicities).

Comments

I enjoyed the opportunity to review this book, and anticipate using several of these assignments/activities in my work with pre-service teachers. I appreciated that the author both provides readings that have worked in her classes, AND encourages the reader to choose readings appropriate to their student populations. Additionally, the author helpfully addressed the range of thorny issues that might arise in personal writing projects (e.g., abuse, sexual violence, survivor groups, illegal drug use) and shared her experiences of talking students through these issues—including professional support resources—while leaving final decisions to the student.

Reviewed by Debra Hagan, Visiting Lecturer, Massachusetts College of Art and Design on 6/25/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This textbook is aimed at the liberal arts/English professor who is developing a writing course for students who will be analyzing and researching “the self” through a cultural lens. Tombro explains how lifestyle, culture, and belief systems impact an individual’s attitudes and behaviors. Through various prompts and lessons, students learn to write personal stories that reveal individual views and concerns. As students read each other’s work, they see how beliefs and behaviors can be traced back to cultural roots. As students become more familiar with one another, they grow in cultural understanding and empathy. The text contains step-by-step instructions in developing such a course, which includes introductory writing prompts, activities, discussion questions, writing exercises, workshops, and ultimately a final project. The text thoroughly covers this subject and includes reading suggestions and detailed assignments. It would have been nice if the textbook included some, if not all, of the readings, so instructors could easily copy and distribute them to students. However, there is a handy bibliography at the end of the textbook.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Throughout the textbook, Tombro’s advice and direction consistency feels accurate and based on solid teaching experience. She addresses how to handle some of the more difficult complications that arise in first-person writing, particularly students over-sharing or presenting material that might be sensitive or embarrassing. Also, she discusses how to handle critiques and grading of personal writing so that qualitative feedback can be given without making students feel that their personal experiences are being judged and/or criticized.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

As classrooms become more culturally mixed and educators strive harder to create more inclusive and diverse learning environments, the relevancy and importance of this course and its textbook only increases.

Clarity rating: 5

The tone throughout is clear and conversational--no jargon or dense passages.

Consistency rating: 5

The author uses the term “autoethnography” to discuss how students explore and write about themselves and the ways culture has shaped and impacted them. This term is used consistency throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

This textbook is easy-to-use and adaptable. Chapters are short. Most of the writing prompts and assignments can be excerpted and modified for various purposes.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

It is well-organized and easy to use. After the introduction and overview, the text is set up like a week-by-week planning manual with assignments, prompts, workshops, and a final project.

Interface rating: 5

The text is easy to navigate. Each section is clearly marked.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

While the text is professionally written and the author adheres to grammar rules, I did find a number of typographical errors in the main text (not the student writing).

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The goal of the course, for which this textbook is written, is to broaden students’ awareness of varying cultural differences in traditions, views, and belief systems. Therefore, the text is sensitive to students of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Comments

I’m inspired by this textbook, particularly Tombro's practical advice and sensitivity. She presents a number of ideas I'd like to try in my own classroom.

Reviewed by Roxanne Bourque, Senior Instructor, ULL on 11/9/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

In this textbook, M. Tombro presents the practice of teaching personal writing in the classroom as one way to motivate students to explore qualitative inquiry. This book can be used as a comprehensive guide to practice ethnographic and autoethnographic writing that is student immersive. Each chapter covers relevant English Language Arts content, methods of teaching, and strategies designed to engage college students in writing through the lens of qualitative study. There is an authenticity to note within documentation of experience and the art of culturally responsive understanding to make relevant human connections with course content for students. An index and/or glossary may be an added component for clarity of content for those who intend to use the book outside of the English Language Arts content areas.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Authenticity of expertise defines accuracy as the author takes the audience through her professional and personal accounts of practice as a writing professor. Tombro takes the “anecdote is not evidence factor’ to a shift of mindful understanding and support that one cannot quantify learning within human interaction. She addresses bias towards qualitative study, or areas of negativity towards first person writing as outdated and judgmental. There is a need to see the importance of documenting oral histories and personal narratives for the simple reason that living content makes human connections. Although it may not be widely accepted in academia and easy to measure, there is much to gain and learn from collecting qualitative data.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content relevance of this text is not questionable, nor will it ever become obsolete within time. There is much relevance to writing personal narratives in college coursework. There is also a need for college students to break into a comfort level of writing for future synthesis and response to academia and research in designated career pathways. This textbook offers exercises that may be used partially or in full within many content areas as enrichment writing exercises for college classes. The exercises are straightforward enough to be adapted through a method of qualitative study. One way to utilize this text is through the discovery of self-knowledge. Writing narratives leads to practice, exercises designed to work on writing “chops”, or discovery of voice, point of view, perception of events, and decision making. Interviews bring oral history to life to engage and invest learners in deeper understanding of purpose, life, and being.

Clarity rating: 5

This textbook may be adapted or modified within any higher education content area where undergraduate research inquiry is supported. Qualitative studies are one way to provide students an opportunity to respond to context while finding a voice in specific professional arenas. M. Tombro provides a wide range of collaboration of ideas and thought process through writing strategies, personal experience, and approaches designed to unify an easy to follow text for a first-year writing classroom. Her approach integrates a multiple translation to qualitative inquiry with ethnographic pedagogical practice in a scholarly way. She refers this textbook as one way to introduce translations or use as a “field guide and blueprint” to reframe the conversation that points one to decision making issues of life experience. Her point is that personal life has real connection to scholarly life, to introduce multiple methods of producing knowledge as students learn to document experience as participant-observers in community life. Therefore, the text is written through experiential knowledge to offer a lucid, accessible prose, to provide adequate context for adaptation in many college courses.

Consistency rating: 5

When reading this textbook, it is obvious that M. Tombro shares and guides the reader through her personal/professional experience as a writing professor. From the first day of class to choosing topics for auto-ethnography, she provides guidelines for exercises, readings for support, and possible results for review. Textbook chapters are laid out to be easy to follow, through a step-by-step process to unpack critical inquiry and the thinking process. Terminology flows from understanding of self, how self fits into the “big picture” to how to write and respond to essays and peer reviews. Author recommendations for exercises follow a semester syllabus lead within a university course. A sample class schedule is provided within the text and additional resources. An appendix of class examples and student work with specific inquiry are offered to follow the chapters to support ideas and pedagogical practice.

Modularity rating: 5

Tombro offers a self-referential application within multiple models of writing exercises to support personal engagement of learners within the writing process. There is a great need to fill the gap of how to facilitate students into a deeper understanding of how personal writing might serve as the foundation for scholarly application, composition scholarship, and teacher training. This multi-use text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections. Tombro provides content within subheadings of the text that can be used in a university classroom in its entirety or sections/chapters may be selected to suit needs of individual course use.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This textbook is presented in a logical and clear fashion as an informative and user-friendly way to approach first-person research. There is a need to explore student’s interests in this first-person approach to research in order to analyze the “why” of our very human existence with decision-making and interests. What a refreshing way to offer a uniquely designed college textbook to share professional experience and support for research possibilities? Tombro’s offering is not only interesting, it is quite engaging as her writing motivates the reader with a self-actualized approach to research design through autoethnographic study. She provides clear examples of student work to support her ideas and methodology. There is a need to motivate, engage, and invest in personal experiences in order to support interests, talents, and discovery in multiple research pathways.

Interface rating: 5

The text appears free of significant interface issues; it’s easy to navigate as a whole or in parts. There are no images or charts that may distract or confuse the reader. It is easy to follow for content and application in whole or divided into subparts.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Within a through review, the book appears well written, edited, and free of grammatical error.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

When one utilizes a methodology for theorizing personal experience, it is difficult to find that a personal accounting of existence is offensive, for this is how one perceives life as it is lived. It is important and culturally responsive to find ways to allow students to relate and measure (assess) personal experience and ownership of learning and growth in college courses. Documentation of social events, life as it is perceived and lived in communities is as important as existing—within race, ethnicity, and cultural events. There is a need to be authentic in voice, to use personal writing, narratives to inspire creative expression, voice, language/lexicon, within a specific culture. Authenticity of content and self-identity are critical and necessary to preserve the authenticity of life as one lives—through qualitative inquiry methods, creative writing, performance studies, interpretive self-reflection of cultural influences, and narrative composition. This is how one documents living, through writing, storytelling, and experiencing life.

Comments

M. Tombro offers a refreshing approach to open the possibilities of incorporating autoethnographic studies into a cross-curricular approach to viewing the content and requirements of college courses. Benefits gained from this textbook out speak the discourse or bias towards qualitative studies.

Reviewed by Jocelyn Wenona Armes, Graduate Part-time Instructor, CU Boulder on 7/1/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This text is intended as a teaching aid for instructors of college students to learn how to use autoethnographic composition in writing and research. To the extent that it is not a textbook for teaching qualitative methodology, or directed toward a student audience, it is moderately successful in conveying approaches to teaching ethnographic writing. Given that the audience is intended to be the instructors of such courses, more time could be spent addressing the epistemological/ontological positions inherent in this form of inquiry.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Content is appropriate for the aims of this text. The assignments at the end of each chapter/topic are helpful, practical exercises for instructors to implement. The examples of student writing provided at the end of the book are very helpful.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

This topic is -- like many humanities texts -- not likely to become outdated in content.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written in accessible prose; the author seemingly intends to present material conversationally. This tone advances the purpose of the text: to utilize personal experiences in improving writing and communication skills.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is not specifically about conducting ethnographic/autoethnographic research. It is about instruction using these methodologies as vehicles for improving composition. The text is consistently situated in this framework.

Modularity rating: 4

The chapters are small and divided into consistent subheadings. The student examples are grouped separately from the main text, and in their own units.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics are presented in a a logical order; beginning with the internal structures of a course that might incorporate these techniques, then moving toward specific/practical exercises.

Interface rating: 4

N/A -- purely text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammatical errors were not observed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The student work examples feature a diverse array of perspectives, identities, and experiences. These thoughtfully curated exemplars render the text a culturally sensitive and inoffensive resource.

Reviewed by Abram Himelstein, Professor of Practice, University of New Orleans on 5/21/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book feels like a manual on how to run this kind of workshop for students- and it feels complete in this effort. I would say that it is comprehensive, anticipating the questions that will arise as teachers and students wrestle with the concept of autoethnography. The greatest strength of this text is the inclusion of many student-written exemplars. These bring the work into focus for the teachers and for students moving through the material.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This book is an act of advocacy- that autoethnography deserves time and focus in college writing courses. As a manual, it is well-thought through. As an act of advocacy, it is persuasive.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book feels like it will be relevant for years to come.

Clarity rating: 5

This book builds out a language for using autoethnography, and, as such, is very accessible and welcoming. The use of students' writing brings home the concepts laid out in the chapters.

Consistency rating: 5

This work is internally consistent, and builds a language and a practice that is useful and accessible.

Modularity rating: 4

The author has sequenced the work to build on past assignments, so excerpting parts could be problematic. The presentation of exemplar work from students, however, makes it possible to adopt particular assignments, and this increases the modularity of the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics of this book build upon each other, and seem to be well-organized. Whether this works with my students remains to be seen, but the author has made a persuasive case by including the work of her students in this.

Interface rating: 5

The book is easy to use, and easy to navigate. I was accessing it on a Mac computer, and many of my students use tablet devices, but the PDF version was clean and very clear.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammar was standard, not distracting.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The greatest strength of this book is that is very very culturally relevant. The focus on autoethnography allows students to make this course multicultural, and almost assures that there will be more points of view represented than most of the courses taught at the university level (this might not be true if your university is very homogenous). The main idea of this methodology is to put students at the center of the curriculum, and in this process, begin to undo the colonial aspects of many university educations.

Comments

This is a valuable manual for professors to use as they begin to approach asking students to produce autoethnographies.

Reviewed by Joni Schwartz, Associate Professor, City University of New York - LaGuardia on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Very comprehensive - beginning with ideas and suggestions for the first day of meeting with writing students to a well-thought out progression of instruction. Defining of terms and placing personal narrative and the "I" squarely in the context of qualitative research - ethnography and specifically autoethnography is smart and effective. A well laid out case for personal writing as an academic pursuit.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Cited the best in the field of autoethnography and the author clearly draws on her own experience in the writing classroom. The reader gets a sense that this author knows her students, has practiced her craft and that this book is a "lived experience."

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

I would think that updating would be quite easy for this text as new samples, updated assignments and new research in the field could be easily included without losing the theme and structure of the text. For anyone who has worked with marginalized populations the relevance "rings true." I will consider using this text with a prison writing group in the months to come. Only wondering about its relevance for racially diverse populations - not sure as yet.

Clarity rating: 5

Very clear -- concepts defined, assignments and suggestions for teachers laid out in a clear step by step progression. The context of the field of autoethnography is helpful.

Consistency rating: 5

Yes, internal consistent with a authoethnographic approach and framework - terminology consistent with that perspective and positionality on writing and research.

Modularity rating: 5

This is what I particularly like about this text-- easy to pull out assignments, sections, chapters that are relevant at a particular time or for a particular set of students. Chapters and sub-headings make sense and can be used in isolation as needed.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Yes, this was highlighted in Question 4

Interface rating: 5

No major interface issues are apparent.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammatical errors not apparent

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

Not certain that the examples are diverse in terms of race.

Comments

I intend to use it for a prison writing group -- will use parts of it this winter and depending on how it goes, may use it this summer as a full text for the prison writers.

Reviewed by Priya Kapoor, Associate Professor, Portland State University on 2/15/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Teaching Autoethnography is a comprehensive book. The author is very familiar with extant and historical debates in the field of pedagogy (of writing) and qualitative research (ethnography and auto-ethnography in particular). Melissa Tombro is able to guide the reader in a way that the reader (most likely a college based instructor) can then design a writing class, or a course with a significant writing component, quite easily. She includes a sample syllabus. Given that writing is a requirement across curricula in all disciplines, this book provides the impetus to discrete disciplines to start examining their reasons for requiring certain forms of non-personal writing. Not all disciplines require self-examination in the process of writing but this work seems to ask the question—why not?

The student samples of individual autoethnography included in the text demonstrate that the task is indeed possible. These examples are well arranged and useful for designing one’s own assignments.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I believe the work is accurate. It forwards clear arguments and presents evidence to support those arguments. This book on auto-ethnography provides important insight and instruction to university instructors on how to value the pedagogy of inserting the “self” or “I” in student writing such that it does not become narcissistic, or a way to consume “the other,” in the highly materialistic society we live in.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The myriad examples of assignments and student writing that touch upon several different scenarios make the book relevant and current for a long time to come. This work examines the assumptions of research writing in academia and therefore it will remain cutting edge.

Clarity rating: 5

A strength of this work is that there is very little technical terminology or jargon. Students and faculty would be able to decipher the concepts that the book introduces as those are clearly explained.If there are unfamiliar terms, those are prefaced and explained in detail by the author. This book is written for the practitioner.

Consistency rating: 5

The format of the book and the consistency of the terms provides a familiarity to the reader which makes the book easy to read.

Modularity rating: 5

All chapters are marked and all student work clearly lists the name of the student-author. If I were to use just the introduction or another section of the book, I would be able to do that without the section seeming out of place or incomplete.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book is arranged well into discrete sections. Each of the student examples are marked and the list of questions it answers is included so the reader does not lose their chain of thought. The assignments are arranged according to separate chapters. I find the flow to be smooth and each bit of information is properly placed in its order. The historical and academic context for the book is set in the introductory chapter that underscores the value of autoethnography in a student’s learning, especially research writing. The chapters that follow are clearly organized and explained.

Interface rating: 5

This book is easy to navigate. The typeface is pleasing and the pages scroll easily from top to bottom. There are reasonable gaps within chapters and between chapters that give the eye relief if you are reading on-screen. I think the book will benefit from an index.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

This book is about writing. The author is a faculty member and writing expert in an English program. There are no grammatical problems in this book.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Teaching Autoethnography is about recovering the “I” in writing for academia, and in culture. The book focuses on how to be self-reflexive, and through writing, become a member of the larger global community. Writing autoethnography is about the art of recouping our sense of connectedness with diverse human realities. I believe that the skills and philosophies that Teaching Autoethnography articulates, establishes it as a culturally relevant text. College students in universities around the world are a diverse body. When a college classroom is able to teach students how to articulate the “I” which is a powerful and unique position that questions diversity and marginality as we know it, and insert it in their research, it brings the students’ cultural world into the academy. That is a powerful position to hold for students who generally feel excluded or treated as clients rather than as active participants.

Comments

I recommend Teaching Ethnography to all instructors in the Humanities and Social Sciences who value qualitative methods and research writing in the classroom; and want to make it accessible and relevant to their students’ lives.

Reviewed by Molly Gray, Instructor, Portland State University on 2/8/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Overall, this textbook offers much utility in its approach to teaching thoughtful autoethnography in college-level writing.
The author's approach is rooted and can be applied to many intersectional social identities, which is helpful in using this information to be aware of numerous issues of oppression in writing. The author also provides thorough outlines for a number of in-class writing and other class assignments, and helpful examples of those assignments from multiple perspectives. The questions for consideration under each of the writing samples offer clear examples of drawing forth more thoughtful pedagogical approaches. Overall, there are areas that would have been helpful to draw upon at greater length, such as a deeper exploration of individualized feedback for at least some of the writing samples (rather than the same set of unanswered questions for each sample). However, overall this is a solidly useful guide with much practical course application for first-year writing courses and beyond.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The author presents well-grounded information that represents her rich experience in instructing college-level writing courses and offers best practices for teaching autoethnographic writing. She discusses relevant ethnographic scholars and researchers to provide a framework for his approaches that culminate in an informed and critical teaching practice.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content of this book offers content that is a best practices manual for introductory autoenthnographic writing. It is general enough to provide both applicability for numerous instructional approaches as well as lasting relevance for writing assignments across disciplines and levels. It also aims to encourage greater cultural-reflexivity and competency in writing so as not to rely on racialzed (or other) stereotypes and offers the tools to broach this within the classroom by deeper examination of subjectivity in writing. This goal is both timely within academia and the larger national climate, and is not likely to wane in importance or necessity for this critical intervention.

Clarity rating: 5

The author utilizes language that is accessible and clear in its communication. The introductory chapters offer a useful background discussion of contemporary approaches to autoethnographic writing that provide a context for her instruction approaches and theoretical framework seen within the assignments presented in the rest of the book. The writing and layout of the book is both straightforward and coherent.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent in the presentation and layout of its information. It replicates a pattern of assignments and corresponding writing samples from the same batch of student writers, offering the reader a uniform and helpful example of the applicability and utility of the author's teaching methods.

Modularity rating: 5

The book offers concise and helpful modularity that can be easily applied throughout the course. It offers a direct path to apply within a course and offers examples of stage-appropriate assignments that build upon one another and increase in difficulty and depth of writing assignment. Conversely, individual sections could also be extracted from the larger set of examples and still have great utility as stand-alone writing assignments.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book presents a logical flow that is both uniform and clear in its organization.

Interface rating: 5

The book's interface is easily-navigabable and offers a straight-forward and consistently-designed format.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book's text did not present either structural or grammatical errors. It is solidly-written and edited.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book's content focuses on approaches to autoethnographic writing that encourages greater awareness for subjectivity within personal writing, and actively works towards the eradication of cultural insensitivity. It is an important topic that is timely and will continue to be a relevant and culturally-necessary intervention in college-level writing.

Reviewed by Jill Zarestky, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University on 12/5/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This text is comprehensive in the sense that it includes everything an instructor would need to know to implement student autoethnographic writing in the classroom, but it is also very narrow and would not appeal to instructors who teach other kinds of writing or use autoethnography for other purposes. There is no index or glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Content is accurate. It largely derives from the author's teaching practice, so as an original work, it is biased in favor of the author's work.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book is very specific to one type of academic writing. It is relevant in that regard, and not likely to become obsolete.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written very clearly, with straightforward descriptions of activities and tasks.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is internally consistent.

Modularity rating: 1

This text is not modular. While an experienced instructor could adapt sections for her or his own use, there is a clear scaffolding and interconnection in the content.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion that aligns with a usual course planning process and progression of complexity through a semester.

Interface rating: 5

The text is free of interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

This book is grammatically correct and free from errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The tasks and assignments described are adaptable to a variety of student backgrounds and cultural environments. The author has included student work samples that appear to reflect a diverse student population.

Comments

This book would best be used as an instructor resource or reference book rather than a course text. Reading the book is worth it for the beautiful examples of student work!

Reviewed by Deborah Thompson, Associate Professor, Colorado State University on 12/5/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text's primary aim is to serve as a guide for instructors teaching "autoethnography" or "personal writing" in the (composition) classroom. In a somewhat dry but thorough introductory literature review, Tombro surveys current conversations concerning personal writing as a valid classroom practice for teaching critical writing and thinking skills. The strength of the book is in its outline of how such a course might be put together, including week-by-week topics and assignments. After each assignment is a discussion of "Results," which gives prospective instructors a preview of what to expect from the class's responses. Finally, the sample papers for each assignment give a range of representations of the possibilities for these assignments. Since the text is meant as an introduction and hands-on guide for instructors, it appropriately covers its subject and gives a useful bibliography for further readings.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text gives an accurate portrayal of the field. It shows a fair representation of the benefits and problems of using personal writing in the classroom.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Since autoethnography and personal writing are increasingly used in composition classes, the book should only gain in relevancy. The assignments have been developed from longer traditions of both ethnographic practice and creative writing instruction, so the text is timely but should wear well.

Clarity rating: 4

Clarity is a particular strength of the main body of the book, but less so for the introduction, which reads more like a literature review than an overview of the key controversies and cornerstones of teaching personal writing. In the main body of the book, the voice is clear and examples are useful. Sample student essays are also vey elucidating.

Consistency rating: 5

Very consistent. The only inconsistency in terminology--"autoethnography" and "personal writing" are sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes not--is an inconsistency in the field itself, and one Tombro takes pains to explain in the introduction.

Modularity rating: 5

This is perhaps the text's greatest strength. It can be used in its entirety, but it also offers individual assignments and modules that can be used separately.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Going hand-in-hand with modularity, its organizational structure is a great strength. Assignments are very nicely designed to build on each other into a final project, even as they have merit if used individually.

Interface rating: 5

No interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text contains no grammatical errors (except the "errors" found in the creative portions that serve the text).

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text offers personal writing as a key way to empower students to explore the richness of their own ethnicities and subcultures, as well as a way to appreciate others. Such inclusion is increasingly a goal in universities, making this project very culturally relevant.

Comments

This book itself offers a useful and welcome auto-ethnographic engagement with classroom practice. It's refreshingly honest in its discussion of classroom misfires as well as successes.