Exploring Composition Studies: Sites, Issues, Perspectives

by Kelly Ritter

Kelly Ritter and Paul Kei Matsuda have created an essential introduction to the field of composition studies for graduate students and instructors new to the study of writing. The book offers a careful exploration of this diverse field, focusing specifically on scholarship of writing and composing. Within this territory, the authors draw the boundaries broadly, to include allied sites of research such as professional and technical writing, writing across the curriculum programs, writing centers, and writing program administration. Importantly, they represent composition as a dynamic, eclectic field, influenced by factors both within the academy and without. The editors and their sixteen seasoned contributors have created a comprehensive and thoughtful exploration of composition studies as it stands in the early twenty-first century. Given the rapid growth of this field and the evolution of it research and pedagogical agendas over even the last ten years, this multi-vocal introduction is long overdue.

Genres: Nonfiction, Academic

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Becky Filipek · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is pretty much writings centered around researching writing about writing. Very academic and research oriented, it talked around the issue of teaching composition without really talking about teaching composition. In other words, it would only be interesting to those who really like to read about how researching the field of composition studies needs more research, but not very useful if you would like to learn more about how best to teach composition. Notice how I described this book in very circular ways?

As a non-traditional teacher (homeschooler), I found this book to be almost entirely unhelpful. Maybe if I were an experienced college composition instructor who loved her field and talking about research in composition studies, I could have gotten something out of it. But for someone with no experience in teaching composition, but needing to understand how best to teach composition, I was bored and lost while reading this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An overarching survey of a complex field that poses some interesting provocations (without really suggesting prescriptive directions) for the future. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to understand where the history of writing instruction comes from, and where it might be headed.