Guidelines for Text Selection: First-Year Writing

Spring 2012

Guidelines for Text Selection: First-Year Writing

Back to The First Year Writing Program - for Faculty
Text Selection Process:
Book order forms should be submitted to Phyllis Brooks for review. Do not complete book orders online. Submit all book order forms, even if they are for courses other than the first-year writing courses. A director will contact you if there are questions or problems. If you would like to talk over book order selections, you can do so in person or over e-mail.

To get a desk copy of a recommended book, please see Phyllis. We order a number of extra copies and are happy to give them out until we run out. If we don't have your text, please contact the representative directly. You can have your copy sent directly to your home, which may be more convenient. A complete list of representatives is at the bottom of this page.
Please submit book orders by June 1, 2011.

Guidelines:
Our practice is to recommend a range of texts. If you would like to use an alternate text that is not on our list, review course criteria carefully and then be sure to attach a brief description (web page is fine) of your alternative text.
The Textbook Review Committee has worked diligently and impressively to review existing and new texts; their recommendations were made to the directors who have put together the final list based on those recommendations. As always, the teacher survey on the texts has been very useful in informing these guidelines. We remove unpopular texts from the recommended list. Thank you to all who participated, and particularly to the Textbook Committee members: Ena Harris, Aaron McClendon, Sasha Troyan and Sally Sevcik, with Barbara Hamilton as chair.

Price information (net price) comes from the publisher, and these prices will be raised by the bookstore. If the edition is at least one year old the bookstore will also have used books, which generally are about 20 to 25 percent lower than the new price. Price is important, we believe, though it's not the only consideration. If you are torn between two texts, please choose the less expensive one.

ENWR100 Introduction to Writing
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference, 7th edition, Montclair State University edition.
This is the only option for a handbook.) ISBN 10:1-4576-08967-9/ ISBN-13: 978-1-4576-0897-1. However, if you choose to package with another reader by the same publisher (see below), use the ISBN listed with the individual text.
Please note that this is a new version – of the handbook and the Montclair-specific material.  The text should be available in mid-July.
Made with Words. 
Custom-published book; put together by Emily Isaacs, Maria Giura, Catherine Keohane, Tom Kitchen, Lauralee Lubrano, and Jennifer Maloy. ISBN-13 478-0-312-69869-0.

ENWR105 College Writing I: Intellectual Prose

Required:
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference, 7th edition, Montclair State University edition.
This is the only option for a handbook. ISBN 10:1-4576-08967-9/ ISBN-13: 978-1-4576-0897-1. However, if you choose to package with another reader by the same publisher (see below), use the ISBN listed with the individual text.
Please note that this is a new version – of the handbook and the Montclair-specific material.  The text should be available in mid-July.

Recommended 105 Readers:
In addition to the handbook, ENWR105 students need a reader that requires students to read intellectually engaging essays (not fiction) about other issues of the day. As a reminder, in choosing a text it is important to remember that the following additional course aim: "To develop as a writer is to become an active participant in the intellectual discourse of our culture and to cease to be a passive recipient of information and ideology. College Writing I: Intellectual Prose asks students to explore, amongst other issues, issues of marginalization—an experience that many of our students have already encountered or participated in, even if they are not aware of it. By increasing students’ awareness of their own subject positions and enabling them to find an entry point to such discussions, this course helps students to develop the ability for critical reflection and discursive agency." (Proposal for College Writing I)

Greene, Stuart, and April Lidinsky. From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader, 2nd edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012.
The most popular among faculty this fall, this reader is focused on reading and writing arguments which, as teachers know, is also the focus of the course. If an instructor wants to really have the class reader help with teaching students to write arguments, then this is a good choice. There’s a lot to help students practice the skills of writing arguments, and teachers would do well to use some of the pedagogical materials as homework or in-class work. The readings are arranged topically, and they are about important, current topics and arguments in our culture. The readings are good models for students in that they are not primarily first-person narratives and they demonstrate careful argumentation. There’s good coverage of various points of view on each issue covered – fairer, more thorough, than most. Faculty survey comments reflect that students generally praise this text on student evaluations. The 2012 version looks exciting and interesting, with new thematic units on the environment, international relations, and biology. The media studies section has been revamped. Students will find these choices more appealing than those of the previous edition. The opening section on writing is a bit overbearing (almost 1/3 of the text). The 2nd edition will not be available in hard copy until July, although we have 4 sets of page proofs in the office, and the Table of Contents is available on the Bedford St. Martin’s website.
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-60141-6. Net Price: $55.00. For fall adoption, consider packaging with the handbook so students can save 10% on both: ISBN-13: 978-1-4576-1037-0.  Web Support at: www.bedfordstmartins.com/frominquiry. 

Miller, James S. Acting out Culture: Reading and Writing, 2nd edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012.
This book is described as “the first thematic composition reader to focus students’ attention beyond what rules and norms govern their everyday behavior to how the rules themselves have been shaped over time. The author, James Miller, has drawn on his cutting-edge expertise in cultural analysis to help students inquire into those social norms and respond with writing that positions them as citizens making informed decisions about their world” (Bedford/St.Martin’s site). If you like the premise of Signs of Life in the USA, then you will probably want to consider this reader. The readings run on the short side, so you can assign more readings per unit than with Inquiry. Students have access to the publisher’s site, Re:Writing.
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-62429-3.. Net Price: $ 48.50. For fall adoption, please consider packaging with the handbook so students can save 10% on both: ISBN-13: 978-1-4576-1036-3

Barrios, Barclay. Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers, 1st ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 464 pp.
The overall theme reflects students’ role as emerging writers and as emerging global citizens. This text has challenging, provocative, new readings which are fresh and interesting. The readings are long in a way that makes sense, but which means students will be able to read about three readings per unit. Rather than group the readings by theme, Barrios arranges readings alphabetically, providing sample assignment sequences that provide many different ways to approach the essays and various keyword “tags” to signal ways of combining them. Faculty will have to figure out units, and also essay questions on their own. Nonetheless, the instructor’s edition includes a detailed guide to teaching providing support to beginning faculty with sample syllabi, assignments, and classroom exercises to encourage writing and revision through various drafts.. The overall theme reflects students’ role as emerging writers and as emerging global citizens; it is a useful way to promote the applicability of a writing course to students’ lives. The introduction stresses the universal relevance of critical thinking and thoughtful communication, and the questions at the end of each reading are solidly geared toward connective thinking.  Although it does not include detailed writing instruction for students, they have free access to the publisher’s site Re:Writing.
ISBN: 978-0-312-47444-7. Net price: $ 48.50. For fall adoption, please consider packaging with the required handbook so students can save 10% on both: ISBN-13: 978-1-4576-1035-6.

Schwab, Jerome, and Amy Love, Changing Society: Readings for the Engaged Writer, 1st ed. New York: Pearson, 2010.
As the title suggests, this text is geared toward civic engagement and current issues and it complements our other choices well. The text includes a brief but solid introductory section on reading and writing stressing an argument-based, critical approach. One reviewer found the questions at the end of each reading “geared more toward comprehension than larger connections or inquiry, although the choice of material in the sections calls out for connective thinking,” while another thought the questions were “nicely thought-provoking.”  Although the readings are short (3-7 pages) and drawn mostly from major newspapers and magazines, there are a few book excerpts and journal articles. Many of the selections are loaded with data, statistics, references to experts (mostly cited, and many with end references) rather than mere opinion. The text offers something completely different in its emphasis on theory and praxis rather than just theoretical consideration of issues. Teachers will need to accommodate for the shortness of the essays – either by providing some other longer essays or by assigning a greater number of readings.
ISBN 13: 978-0-213-237940-3. Net Price: $ 55.20.

ENWR106 College Writing II: Writing and Literary Study
Required: a multicultural fiction/poetry/short story reader.

College Writing II is a continuation of College Writing I (with its emphasis on the process of writing including attention to revision, drafting, and instructor and peer feedback on writing) with a focus on literary study. In this regard, the course aims to teach students a range of interpretive techniques and approaches that will enable them to further their skills of analysis, while also coming to an understanding of some of the particular qualities of poetry, fiction and drama and to address larger questions about the purpose and function of literature. The course is not a survey that attempts to cover a period or offer "greatest hits."

Recommended 106 Readers:

Schilb, John and John Clifford. Making Literature Matter with MLA/APA update. 4th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.
This text raises questions about the role of literature in society (as the course proposal expects), includes a brief section on critical response, and has appropriate text selection: multi-cultural, predominantly but not exclusively American and British 19th and 20th century texts. Included are units on individual literary texts placed with secondary source materials that might be useful for the documented essay. The teaching apparatus is reasonable (though extensive) and in keeping with the new direction of the course. This book is very popular, even more so than the one below. It might be true that the assignments generated for this book are getting pretty familiar, which is to say that there may be more plagiarism associated with this text. A sample syllabus is available for this text on the main web site.  Students have free access to the publisher’s site ReWriting for Literature.
ISBN-13: 978-0-3126-7730-5. NET Price: $62.00 Web support at http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/makinglitmatter. Special ISBNs: Making Literature Matter + free Literactive CD-ROM: ISBN 0-312-54545-2; Making Literature Matter + free i-claim CD-ROM: ISBN 0-312-54548-7.

Meyer, Michael. Literature to Go. 1st ed., 2011, Bedford/St. Martin’s.
This is a well-priced and compact text.   Although it is organized by genre rather than theme, and is a little weak pedagogically, the table of contents provides brief sketches of the short fiction and drama to allow easier thematic sequencing.  In addition to canonical drama (Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Glaspell), Meyer includes several short, newer plays that would be easy to read through or act out in class.  He compares a selection from a romance novel to the less formulaic Gail Godwin, and an excerpt from Seinfeld is included in the drama section. Most of his choices, though, are old chestnuts, and additional readings may be required.  He includes an accessible glossary of literary terms in the text, but not information on critical approaches.  In another program, this could be used as an old “intro to lit” text as it lacks much cultural studies awareness, which is a weakness.  Also, because of its generic organization, it might be a bit difficult for someone unfamiliar with newer authors to design a thematic syllabus quickly.  Students have free access to the publisher’s site ReWriting for Literature.
ISBN-13: 978-0-3126-2412-5.  Net Price: $42.00. 

Schakel, Peter, and Jack Ridl.  Approaching Literature: Writing + Reading + Thinking, 2nd ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.
The text provides good value for the money.  The front matter on reading, writing, and thinking is just enough to supplement the handbook, focusing more on writing argument about literature. The selections are a mix of contemporary and canonical (mostly post-1950 in the short fiction section), with a wide mix of writers and viewpoints. The drama section is strong, with a casebook on August Wilson’s Fences. The editors include some graphic fiction and many emerging writers to balance the more traditional.  Like the Meyer text, this one is organized by genre rather than theme, with useful, accessible guidance on how to read fiction, poetry, and drama at the start of each section.  The last section is on Approaching Literary Research; this paired with the amount of current literary selections is the text’s strength. It includes a segment on Reading Critical Essays, Finding Sources and Creating a Working Bibliography, Incorporating Sources, and Preparing a Works Cited page.  There is a comprehensible 30 page guide to Approaching Critical Theory.  Instructors will need to figure out how to develop a theme-based course as this isn’t the way the book is organized (a weakness).  Students have free access to the publisher’s site ReWriting for Literature. 
ISBN 13- 978-0-3125-4397-6. Net Price: $44.00.   Web support at: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/approachinglit2e/

Howells, Elizabeth, Literature: Reading to Write. Pearson, 2011.
This is more than a reader; in fact, the interspersed supplemental material on focused free-writing, prewriting, critical contexts, questions, approaches to writing, and input from 4 previous English majors on the writing process doesn’t save much space for a wide selection of literature, especially drama (3 choices, 1 only 2 pages long). The text can be supplemented with access to Pearson’s My Literature Lab containing more selections of older, mostly public-domain drama from which to choose.  Howells has a wide definition of literature and includes sections on Spoken Word, Song Lyrics, and Comedy. Her choice of material might appeal to Montclair students and she groups literary works in a teachable way. It is lacking in contemporary short fiction, though the text has an interesting section on Experimental Literature. The last section of the text (90 pages) focuses on Research for Writing.  The most different of all the new texts we surveyed, this text purports specifically targets the capabilities of students similar to our own.   Howells uses a fresh approach, organizes her material thematically, and provides more than enough ancillary suggestions and guidelines.
ISBN13: Net Price: $44.10. ISBN-13:  9780205834303.

A Note on the handbook:
Remember that you need to use the handbook in class. Very briefly, here are a few ways they can be used.
--You may require students to bring the handbook to class when you are having an editing workshop (every two weeks or so), and at those times you can demonstrate how to use the index to look up a challenging issue (e.g., effect/affect or that/which).
--It is also useful to assign sections for review when commenting on papers; instructors may also want to selectively send students to accompanying website.
--When students come for a conference, pulling out the handbook to answer a question models how the handbook--not just a teacher--can help out with usage, grammatical, and mechanical problems.
--This handbook has a section on ESL that teachers should read, and to which teachers can refer ESL students.
--Finally, in 105 faculty need to point students to the MLA section and make sure students know how to read those pages so that they cite appropriately, first in unit papers (using the class text) and second in the documented essay.
The special preface is designed for the benefit of teachers as well as students. Most of the information provided in it is descriptive rather than prescriptive; it is there to function as a guide for you as you plan your courses and write your syllabi. It will also allow you to greatly shorten your syllabi!

While the aim is to provide consistency for the program, it is also true that faculty like the text and support it.  Survey results this spring were as follows:

It will be necessary for you to interpret this material, and to communicate it to your students using terms and language that best reflect your own teaching style. As always, if you have any questions about the program or a particular course, you should not hesitate to contact one of the directors.

Publisher Reps:
Pearson:Longman, Prentice-Hall, McGraw-Hill: Laura Kennedy, Laura.Kennedy@pearson.com
Cengage Learning, Ulana Campbell, Ulana.Campbell@cengage.com
Bedford/St. Martin: Kathryn Treadway, KTreadway@bfwpub.com
Norton: Wamiq Jawaid, wjawaid@wwnorton.com

May 3, 2011