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Writing about Writing: A College Reader
When Doug Downs and Elizabeth Wardle published their article “Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions” in June 2007, they challenged the field to imagine a new approach to first-year composition. Their groundbreaking new reader, Writing About Writing , does exactly that, by encouraging students to draw on what they know in order to contribute to ongoing conversations about writing and literacy.
Class-tested by thousands of students, Writing about Writing presents accessible writing studies research by authors such as Donald Murray, Mike Rose, and Deborah Brandt, together with popular texts by authors such as Malcolm X, Sherman Alexie, and Junot Díaz. Throughout the book, friendly explanations and scaffolded questions help students connect to readings and — even more important — develop knowledge about writing they can use at work, in their everyday lives, and in college.
The conversation on writing about writing continues on the authors' blog, Write Notes on Writing about Writing (a channel on Bedford Bits , Bedford/St.Martin's blog for teachers of writing).
Class-tested by thousands of students, Writing about Writing presents accessible writing studies research by authors such as Donald Murray, Mike Rose, and Deborah Brandt, together with popular texts by authors such as Malcolm X, Sherman Alexie, and Junot Díaz. Throughout the book, friendly explanations and scaffolded questions help students connect to readings and — even more important — develop knowledge about writing they can use at work, in their everyday lives, and in college.
The conversation on writing about writing continues on the authors' blog, Write Notes on Writing about Writing (a channel on Bedford Bits , Bedford/St.Martin's blog for teachers of writing).
688 pages, Paperback
First published December 28, 2010
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277 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 30, 2019
I’ve been working with the third edition of this anthology in a sophomore/ junior level course, Intro to Writing Studies.
It’s hard for me to imagine using this text in a more general, introductory writing course, since it is not only tightly focused on a particular subfield of English (comp/rhet), but weighted quite heavily toward work done in the 1980s in that field. If you’re interested in studying or teaching Comp, then great, there are a lot of classic pieces here for you to read. But if you happen to be some unlucky 18-year-old in a freshman comp course that uses this as a text—well, you might find yourself wishing you were in your roommate’s section that’s reading Moby Dick.
But, again, I am using the text in a more advanced course that’s clearly marked Writing Studies, so, fair warning to all. The students have for the most part seemed to enjoy and connect with the (somewhat dated) readings, although none of them has found the elaborate apparatus—editor’s intros to and questions about reading, overlong and over-detailed writing assignments—very useful. And the book is itself heavy, way too long, cumbersome, expensive, and, well, ugly. I had to pick up this course on short notice. If I teach it again, I’ll assign a few of the pieces that appear in this book (they’re all on JSTOR), and some brief books on writing that are acually fun.
It’s hard for me to imagine using this text in a more general, introductory writing course, since it is not only tightly focused on a particular subfield of English (comp/rhet), but weighted quite heavily toward work done in the 1980s in that field. If you’re interested in studying or teaching Comp, then great, there are a lot of classic pieces here for you to read. But if you happen to be some unlucky 18-year-old in a freshman comp course that uses this as a text—well, you might find yourself wishing you were in your roommate’s section that’s reading Moby Dick.
But, again, I am using the text in a more advanced course that’s clearly marked Writing Studies, so, fair warning to all. The students have for the most part seemed to enjoy and connect with the (somewhat dated) readings, although none of them has found the elaborate apparatus—editor’s intros to and questions about reading, overlong and over-detailed writing assignments—very useful. And the book is itself heavy, way too long, cumbersome, expensive, and, well, ugly. I had to pick up this course on short notice. If I teach it again, I’ll assign a few of the pieces that appear in this book (they’re all on JSTOR), and some brief books on writing that are acually fun.
December 22, 2011
Disclaimer: I am required to teach from this text, as I work in a department lead by its lead author.
That said, I drank the Kool-Aid and appreciate this approach to composition. It's challenging for teachers, and even more challenging for students, but in a way that respects both them and the field in which they are working.
The text provides a helpful tone when addressing the student directly and works to make the articles within more accessible. The teacher's edition supplements (written by my coordinator, to continue the disclaimer) balance a sense of teacher independence with a determination to emphasize and achieve important outcomes. It, like the surrounding text, is helpful yet respectful of the intelligence of the teacher.
I recommend this text for college-level composition courses that want to go from "what did you do over summer vacation?" to "here's how we study things in the field of Writing Studies." It gets the job done and helps you do the same.
That said, I drank the Kool-Aid and appreciate this approach to composition. It's challenging for teachers, and even more challenging for students, but in a way that respects both them and the field in which they are working.
The text provides a helpful tone when addressing the student directly and works to make the articles within more accessible. The teacher's edition supplements (written by my coordinator, to continue the disclaimer) balance a sense of teacher independence with a determination to emphasize and achieve important outcomes. It, like the surrounding text, is helpful yet respectful of the intelligence of the teacher.
I recommend this text for college-level composition courses that want to go from "what did you do over summer vacation?" to "here's how we study things in the field of Writing Studies." It gets the job done and helps you do the same.
December 5, 2022
There were parts where it was a little challenging to read, but I really enjoyed it overall. I will definitely keep in mind what I learnt from this text as I'm writing in the future
December 11, 2021
It's very rare to encounter an educational text/resource that truly reshapes your thinking. I feel exploded. So many concepts, approaches, terms, etc. that have broken my brain and then replaced it with something that I think is ultimately better. Exciting too. I didn't realize how badly I need that.
January 11, 2025
never want to see this book again #haunted
May 13, 2022
Yikes. I'm only a chapter in, I really don't like it. Have to read it for a class.
For starters, the authors *for no reason* make some crazy statements about who you are and identity, like "We are all always an accumulation of everything we have experienced and done." I have no clue what sort of worldview shapes a statement like that, but it isn't mine and I don't appreciate it posed as fact.
The digital version of the book was made with laze. If you click on a term, it will jump you a thousand pages away to the glossary. It's up to you to figure out where you were. In any decent digital textbook, it will just pop up a little definition on the same page you're viewing.
The first chapter reads like it's written for middle schoolers. They start with making a strawman that believes that good writing is just following grammatical rules, and then say that's what most high school graduates have learned. They go on to blame your teachers and the SAT I don't really care about all that, I just read like 2 pages for absolutely nothing. The whole chapter is like that though, here's a snippet:
"In this research-based story, avoiding errors that get in the way of
the readers’ understanding is only one small part of writing. Writing is
about communicating in ways that work, that do something in the
world. Writing is much more than grammar, and it’s also much more
than the final text you create; writing is the whole process of creating
that text. In this story, there is not one universal set of rules for
writing correctly, but rather many sets of habits adopted by groups of
people using particular texts to accomplish particular ends or
activities. For example, the habits and conventions of engineers’
writing are vastly different than the habits and conventions of
lawyers’ writing or your writing for your history class. That means
there is no easily transferable set of rules from one writing situation
to another. What transfers is not how to write, but what to ask and
observe about writing.
This second, alternative story about writing is one you have also
been exposed to, but maybe not in school. When you text your
friends, for example, you already know that what you say and how
you say it matter, and that the text will be successful if your friend
reads it and understands it and responds somehow. If your friend
ignores it or finds it insulting or can’t quite decipher the new
shorthand you devised, then it’s not “good writing.” You also know
that when you write an essay in your history class, you can’t write
the same way you do when you are texting your friends. You know
these things even if no one has ever told them to you directly."
Here's how I think it should have been written:
"In this research-based story, "good writing" depends on the context, there is no universal set of rules for "good writing.""
I'm not 12. Treat me like an adult.
If you are an instructor teaching with this book: Please for the love of God don't make your students read it. Come up with different instruction. Make slides or something.
For starters, the authors *for no reason* make some crazy statements about who you are and identity, like "We are all always an accumulation of everything we have experienced and done." I have no clue what sort of worldview shapes a statement like that, but it isn't mine and I don't appreciate it posed as fact.
The digital version of the book was made with laze. If you click on a term, it will jump you a thousand pages away to the glossary. It's up to you to figure out where you were. In any decent digital textbook, it will just pop up a little definition on the same page you're viewing.
The first chapter reads like it's written for middle schoolers. They start with making a strawman that believes that good writing is just following grammatical rules, and then say that's what most high school graduates have learned. They go on to blame your teachers and the SAT I don't really care about all that, I just read like 2 pages for absolutely nothing. The whole chapter is like that though, here's a snippet:
"In this research-based story, avoiding errors that get in the way of
the readers’ understanding is only one small part of writing. Writing is
about communicating in ways that work, that do something in the
world. Writing is much more than grammar, and it’s also much more
than the final text you create; writing is the whole process of creating
that text. In this story, there is not one universal set of rules for
writing correctly, but rather many sets of habits adopted by groups of
people using particular texts to accomplish particular ends or
activities. For example, the habits and conventions of engineers’
writing are vastly different than the habits and conventions of
lawyers’ writing or your writing for your history class. That means
there is no easily transferable set of rules from one writing situation
to another. What transfers is not how to write, but what to ask and
observe about writing.
This second, alternative story about writing is one you have also
been exposed to, but maybe not in school. When you text your
friends, for example, you already know that what you say and how
you say it matter, and that the text will be successful if your friend
reads it and understands it and responds somehow. If your friend
ignores it or finds it insulting or can’t quite decipher the new
shorthand you devised, then it’s not “good writing.” You also know
that when you write an essay in your history class, you can’t write
the same way you do when you are texting your friends. You know
these things even if no one has ever told them to you directly."
Here's how I think it should have been written:
"In this research-based story, "good writing" depends on the context, there is no universal set of rules for "good writing.""
I'm not 12. Treat me like an adult.
If you are an instructor teaching with this book: Please for the love of God don't make your students read it. Come up with different instruction. Make slides or something.
February 13, 2017
Wow, that was a long one, but I finally finished. I had been wanting to read this book for a while since I am a teacher of writing composition. The concept is that first year writing courses can be about writing rather than some other imposed content. Some of the essays in this anthology are graduate level, but quite a few would be good for a community college audience. I particularly like the selections by Donald Murray, Peter Elbow, and the excerpt from Malcolm X, "How I Learned to Read and Write." This book makes me want to revise my college composition course. I really want my students to have authentic and meaningful writing experiences, and this book supports that idea. I recommend it to any college writing professor, especially those who teach first year writing.
April 29, 2021
I enjoyed this for college learning. It'd helped me improve a few writing skills that were rusty and also given me other skills I hadn't used before. Especially certain. Aspects like, thinking about writing. It sounds simple enough and sure it doesn't sound like anything new but it was a helpful part of the course.
November 16, 2023
This book is the stupidest thing I’ve ever had to read. The only reason I didn’t give it -5 stars is because I couldn’t, and the paper was smooth against my highlighter. As my friends said, “ I would rather slam my tongue in a door and leave it there then read this book again”. I will be burning this book the day school ends burning it.
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May 31, 2025I use this book often in my teaching with class materials and activities, but I never assign entire readings to students—despite that being the authors’ intentions. Some of the readings I believe are critical for students to grasp while others are quite fanciful.
July 6, 2021
There are alot of writers in this book, writing about ? Well not much. Why this is a college textbook is beyond me. There is nothing there to help anyone.
March 11, 2025
Thank you so much Professor Mysti Rudd❤️
August 24, 2014
The university I teach at uses this textbook for their Writing 2 course. This was the first time I've taught Writing 2 or used this textbook, and I found the articles refreshingly academic. As opposed to textbooks that "talk down" to students, the articles in Writing About Writing address issues and debates within the composition community; these are peer-reviewed, academic articles about writing, written in the language we as teachers are trying to get our students to emulate.
That being said, I relied too heavily on the textbook and the students became bogged down in the academic writing. This was my first time teaching this course, and only the second time I've ever taught, so this was undoubtedly my fault. I think students need to be interested in the subject they're writing about in order to produce good writing, and most students aren't interested in writing as a subject. Next semester, I'm going to combine readings from the textbook with student-generated texts and research, and in that way address the technical aspect of writing while also, hopefully, engaging student interest.
That being said, I relied too heavily on the textbook and the students became bogged down in the academic writing. This was my first time teaching this course, and only the second time I've ever taught, so this was undoubtedly my fault. I think students need to be interested in the subject they're writing about in order to produce good writing, and most students aren't interested in writing as a subject. Next semester, I'm going to combine readings from the textbook with student-generated texts and research, and in that way address the technical aspect of writing while also, hopefully, engaging student interest.
May 17, 2016
I was not the target audience for this book due to that I did not found it as helpful as I have hoped. Still I have learned great things from it.
My opinion - Not a good book for freshman college students
My opinion - Not a good book for freshman college students
October 23, 2012
First-year comp reader built around selections of composition theory. Great assignment sequences. Challenging reading for students but very do-able assignments. My current fave FYC textbook.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews