Writing, Teaching, Learning : A Sourcebook

Rating:
Summary: A Valuable Sourcebook for Teachers of Writing
Review: In this 4th edition of Rhetoric and Composition, Editor Richard Graves has assembled an insightful and compelling collection of essays on writing, writers, and the teaching of composition. The book's division into six parts permits a categorization of the 32 essays under such topics as "Stories from the Writing Classroom" and "Perspectives 2000." The compositions range from case studies of individuals and classroom writing communities to theories reflecting the power of the written word to promote healing and conscious growth. While each essay speaks on its own merits, the organization of the book presents the material as more of a dialogue with readers than a discourse on composition. The unifying aspect is the authors' mutual concern regarding the direction of composition instruction in the new millennium.

Mary M. Licklider's essay, "Are Today's Students Better Writers?" was affirming in its challenge to the validity of year-to-year comparisons of national writing assessments that rely on holistic scoring techniques. G. Lynn Nelson's "Bringing Language Back to Life," was enlightening in its argument that an overexposure to language in this information and consumer-oriented era is creating a new type of illiteracy, and students bombarded by language have come to view words as meaningless. Other essays are equally profound. Editor Richard Graves tells how he discovered the importance of passion in composing, and Ann Alejandro describes how she teaches the writing process through visual arts. Linda Reif discusses the need to create writers for life, while Anne DiPardo reflects upon inherent challenges in teaching composition to students from other cultures. Patrick Hartwell makes a new plea for the teaching of grammar in the context of composition, as Charles Suhor reflects on our increasing discomfort with silence.

Writing teachers will want to clear a place on the bookshelf so that this volume may be easily retrieved and continually referenced. The book can be read from beginning to end, or selectively, based on essays and topics of interest. Any instructor of composition will benefit from a thorough study of its contents and perspectives.