Easy to use, flexible, and a great value― The Norton Field Guide to Writing is the most successful new rhetoric in a generation. Now in a second edition. With just enough detail ― and color-coded links that send students to more detail if they need it ― this is the rhetoric that tells students what they need to know and resists the temptation to tell them everything there is to know. The first rhetoric for easy reference, like a handbook―with menus, directories, and a glossary/index that make it easy to use―in a format that’s as user-friendly as the best handbooks.
This is a fieldguide. It doesn't go into detail. It merely scratches the surface. At least it is a textbook that I can use with my students. However, I have to supplement it a lot because it doesn't hav enough information to provide much help. I teach intro to writing and hope that we will use a different book next year.
This book was assigned reading for a masters degree class in creative nonfiction writing. Personally, I feel that using a book clearly intended for high school students or, at best, college freshman was a bad choice for a masters level course. It does not teach much of anything that post graduate students should already know.
Though it is a textbook this was one that I could not have done without. I kept the book as it was so useful I would like to reference it in the future.