A Brief Guide to Arguing about Literature

by John Schilb

More and more, first- year writing courses foreground skills of critical analysis and argumentation. In response, A Brief Guide to Arguing about Literature first hones students’ analytical skills through instruction in close critical reading of texts; then, it shows them how to turn their reading into well-supported and rhetorically effective argumentative writing. For instructors who prefer to aggregate their own anthology of readings and literary works for their literature-based composition courses, A Brief Guide to Arguing about Literature comprises only the writing-guide chapters of John Schilb and John Clifford’s admired Arguing about Literature: Guide and Reader. In response to reviewer suggestions, this new edition of A Brief Guide to Arguing about Literature includes even more instruction in the key skills of argumentation, critical reading, and research than its predecessor.

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014