english composition and creative writing

What Is Composition? Definition, Types, and Examples

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An Introduction to Punctuation
Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
B.A., English, State University of New York

In the literary sense, a composition (from the Latin "to put together") is the way a writer assembles words and sentences to create a coherent and meaningful work. Composition can also mean the activity of writing, the nature of the subject of a piece of writing, the piece of writing itself, and the name of a college course assigned to a student. This essay focuses on practicing how people write.

Key Takeaways

In writing, composition refers to the way a writer structures a piece of writing.
The four modes of composition, which were codified in the late 19th century, are description, narration, exposition, and argumentation.
Good writing can include elements of multiple modes of composition.

Composition Definition

Just like a musician and an artist, a writer sets the tone of a composition to his or her purpose, making decisions about what that tone should be to form a structure. A writer might express anything from the point of view of cool logic to impassioned anger. A composition might use clean and simple prose, flowery, descriptive passages, or analytical nomenclature.

Since the 19th century, English writers and teachers have been grappling with ways to classify forms and modes of writing so beginner writers can have a place to start. After decades of struggle, rhetoricians ended up with four categories of writing that still make up the mainstream of Composition 101 college classes: Description, Narration , Exposition , and Argumentation .

Types of Composition Writing

The four classical types of composition (description, narration, exposition, and argumentation) are not categories, per se. They would almost never stand alone in a piece of writing, but rather are best-considered modes of writing, pieces of writing styles that can be combined and used to create a whole. That is to say, they can inform a piece of writing, and they are good starting points for understanding how to put a piece of writing together.

Examples for each of the following composition types are based on the American poet Gertrude Stein's famous quote from " Sacred Emily ," her 1913 poem: "A rose is a rose is a rose."

Description

A description, or descriptive writing, is a statement or account that describes something or someone, listing characteristic features and significant details to provide a reader with a portrayal in words. Descriptions are set in the concrete, in the reality, or solidity of an object as a representation of a person, place, or thing in time. They provide the look and feel of objects, a simultaneous whole, with as many details as you'd like.

A description of a rose might include the color of the petals, the aroma of its perfume, where it exists in your garden, whether it is in a plain terracotta pot or a hothouse in the city.

A description of "Sacred Emily" might talk about the length of the poem and the facts of when it was written and published. It might list the images that Stein uses or mention her use of repetition and alliteration.

A narration, or narrative writing, is a personal account , a story that the writer tells his or her reader. It can be an account of a series of facts or events, given in order and establishing connections between the steps. It can even be dramatic, in which case you can present each individual scene with actions and dialog. The chronology could be in strict order, or you could include flashbacks.

A narration about a rose might describe how you first came across it, how it came to be in your garden, or why you went to the greenhouse that day.

A narration about "Sacred Emily" might be about how you came across the poem, whether it was in a class or in a book lent by a friend, or if you were simply curious about where the phrase "a rose is a rose" came from and found it on the internet.

Exposition, or expository writing , is the act of expounding or explaining a person, place, thing, or event. Your purpose is not to just describe something, but to give it a reality, an interpretation, your ideas on what that thing means. In some respects, you are laying out a proposition to explain a general notion or abstract idea of your subject.

An exposition on a rose might include its taxonomy, what its scientific and common names are, who developed it, what the impact was when it was announced to the public, and/or how was it distributed.

An exposition on "Sacred Emily" could include the environment in which Stein wrote, where she was living, what her influences were, and what the impact was on reviewers.

Argumentation

Also called argumentative writing , an argumentation is basically an exercise in comparing and contrasting. It is the methodological presentation of both sides of an argument using logical or formal reasoning. The end result is formulated to persuade why thing A is better than thing B. What you mean by "better" makes up the content of your arguments.

Argumentation applied to a rose might be why one particular rose is better than another, why you prefer roses over daisies, or vice versa.

Argumentation over "Sacred Emily" could compare it to Stein's other poems or to another poem covering the same general topic.

The Value of Composition

A great deal of debate enlivened college theoretical rhetoric in the 1970s and 1980s, with scholars attempting to throw off what they saw were the confining strictures of these four writing styles. Despite that, they remain the mainstay of some college composition classes.

What these four classical modes do is provide beginner writers a way to purposefully direct their writings, a structure on which to form an idea. However, they can also be limiting. Use the traditional modes of composition as tools to gain practice and direction in your writing, but remember that they should be considered starting points rather than rigid requirements.

Bishop, Wendy. "Keywords in Creative Writing." David Starkey, Utah State University Press, University Press of Colorado, 2006.
Conners, Professor Robert J. "Composition-Rhetoric: Backgrounds, Theory, and Pedagogy." Pittsburgh Series in Composition, Literacy, and Culture, Hardcover, New ed. Edition, University of Pittsburgh Press, June 1, 1997.
D'Angelo, Frank. "Nineteenth-Century Forms/Modes of Discourse: A Critical Inquiry." Vol. 35, No. 1, National Council of Teachers of English, February 1984.
Hintikka, Jaakko. "Strategic Thinking in Argumentation and Argumentation Theory." Vol. 50, No. 196 (2), Revue Internationale de Philosophie, 1996.
Perron, Jack. "Composition and Cognition." English Education, The Writing Teacher: A New Professionalism, Vol. 10, No. 3, National Council of Teachers of English, February 1979.
Stein, Gertrude. "Sacred Emily." Geography and Plays, Letters of Note, 1922.
What Is Expository Writing?
AP English Exam: 101 Key Terms
Focusing in Composition
Description in Rhetoric and Composition
Topical Organization Essay
Modes of Discourse (Composition)
The Writer's Voice in Literature and Rhetoric
Understanding Organization in Composition and Speech
A Guide to All Types of Narration, With Examples
Moving Past the Five Paragraph Essay
Paragraph Length in Compositions and Reports
Composition Type: Problem-Solution Essays
Development in Composition: Building an Essay
Definition and Examples of Analysis in Composition
How to Write a Narrative Essay or Speech
Definition and Examples of a Transition in Composition

ENGL001: English Composition I

If English is your second or third language and you are looking to improve your English language skills, you may consider completing our "English as a Second Language" courses first. You can find those here: sylr.org/ESL

Course Introduction

Time: 32 hours
Free Certificate

Because this course is designed specifically for students in a university setting, the second unit will focus on academic writing. We will learn how to respond to an assignment or test question by using the "PWR-Writing" or "Power-Writing" Method (PWR: prewrite, write, revise) while learning the ins and outs of building a solid thesis and supporting that thesis with evidence. The remaining units will focus on good writing practices, from style to proper citation.

Course Syllabus

First, read the course syllabus. Then, enroll in the course by clicking "Enroll me". Click Unit 1 to read its introduction and learning outcomes. You will then see the learning materials and instructions on how to use them.

Unit 1: What is College-Level Writing?

We begin this course by refining our ideas about what we are doing when we write. Let's begin by acknowledging that writing is a difficult, complex process. It does not come easily; it takes quite a bit of work and thought. Writing is more than words on a page, but a way to communicate ideas.

In college-level writing, we say written communication is rhetorical , which means our rhetorical situation (the purpose and audience of our writing) and our use of rhetorical appeals, such as ethos , logos , and pathos , determine our writing decisions. We define these terms in this unit, discuss how to identify them as you read, and discuss how to incorporate them into your own writing.

Writing is a process, rather than a product. You often need to write your ideas down to organize and clarify what you think about a subject. We discuss ways to use this process to manage your writing, develop your ideas, and make the task of drafting an essay seem less overwhelming.

Throughout Unit 1, we ask you to complete several activities that will culminate in an essay writing assignment. The topic for these activities and the essay is what it takes to succeed in an Internet-based college course. As you develop your response, come up with at least three activities you should do, or characteristics you should employ, to succeed in this and other courses.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 9 hours.

Unit 2: What Makes Academic Writing Unique?

University students need to know how to write an effective academic essay. At its core, any academic essay is essentially an argument. This does not mean you are penning a series of aggressive verbal attacks; rather, you are using language to persuade someone to adopt a certain perspective.

For example, you may be asked to write an essay on how the revolution changed the culture in your country. Your response is an argument, in which you try to persuade your audience that the war changed cultural norms in three or four specific ways. As you create your argument, think about your writing as a conversation between yourself and an audience.

The way you choose to build and support your argument has a great deal to do with how you see yourself as part of the conversation. If you envision your work as a response to an existing prompt, the reader with whom you are "speaking" should shape the way you write.

For example, imagine someone asks you why a politician acted in a certain way. You will probably respond in one way if the questioner is your five-year-old cousin, another way if they are a friend who is your same age, and yet another if they are your boss. You should approach every writing project with this same awareness of audience. Keep these ideas about argument and conversation in mind as we explore how to develop an academic essay.

The rhetorical situation we discussed in Unit 1 should influence the argument you choose, the type of essay you write, and the way you organize your ideas. In Unit 2 we review these issues in detail and discuss a highly-structured approach to writing an argument. By the end of this unit, you should be ready to write an academic essay.

Throughout Unit 2 we ask you to complete a number of activities which will culminate in writing an argumentative essay. Choose one point you promoted in your Unit 1 essay topic and develop it further. The assigned topic for the Unit 2 activities and the essay is how your selected activity or characteristic affects success in an Internet-based college course.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 11 hours.

Unit 3: How Do I Use Sources?

A well-placed reference, quotation, or paraphrase from an outside expert can make all the difference when you are making an argument. In fact, many academic writing assignments require you to include these types of supporting arguments to support your case. These supporting arguments can convince your reader that other respected, intelligent individuals share your perspective; it can argue your point with winning style or rhetorical power; and it can prop up your argument where you may need help.

In this unit, we explore how to leverage the work of others to strengthen your argument, while you ensure that you (and not the individual you reference) take the spotlight. We also address plagiarism and the steps you can take to avoid it.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 7 hours.

Unit 4: Finishing Touches

Your writing style refers to the way you write a sentence and how you assemble your arguments within a sequence of sentences so they make sense to your audience. A "sound" writing style is not a luxury; it is necessary to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively. For example, you may write with perfect grammar, but if your style needs work, your audience may not understand what you are trying to convey.

While opinions on the best type of writing style is inherently subjective and may even be based on cultural standards or preferences, in this unit we provide you with some guidelines that are most academics generally agree upon. Our first goal is to learn how to write as clearly, persuasively, and elegantly as possible. Our second goal is to apply these skills and learn how to revise and edit our work. Revision and editing are important stages of the writing process. It allows you to fine-tune your ideas so your reader can easily follow your argument.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.

Study Guide

This study guide will help you get ready for the final exam. It discusses the key topics in each unit, walks through the learning outcomes, and lists important vocabulary terms. It is not meant to replace the course materials!

Course Feedback Survey

Please take a few minutes to give us feedback about this course. We appreciate your feedback, whether you completed the whole course or even just a few resources. Your feedback will help us make our courses better, and we use your feedback each time we make updates to our courses.

If you come across any urgent problems, email [email protected].

Certificate Final Exam

Take this exam if you want to earn a free Course Completion Certificate.

To receive a free Course Completion Certificate, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on this final exam. Your grade for the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you can take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt.

Once you pass this final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate .

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If you can't find something through CSU+, you can request it through InterLibrary Loan .

Databases, Articles, and Websites

For creative writers, much information about writing is available through books ( see box below ), but articles on writing can also be found in widely varying places. A few are given below. If more extended searching is needed, please email me through the link below my profile for individual consultation.

MLA International Bibliography Covers language, literature, humanities, folklore, drama, and criticism, indexing over 3,000 international journals, series, monographs, working papers, conference proceedings, bibliographies and more from 1963 to the present. MLA International Bibliography tutorials: a complete list (https://www.mla.org/Publications/MLA-International-Bibliography/Tutorial-Videos). Choose "ProQuest platform" versions. more... less... MLA International Bibliography tutorials: a complete list (https://www.mla.org/Publications/MLA-International-Bibliography/Tutorial-Videos )
Academic Search Complete It offers multidisciplinary, scholarly abstracts and articles for nearly every academic field of study, including writing.
Glossary of Poetic Terms From the Poetry Foundation
Creative Writing, the OWL at Purdue This page of the Online Writing Lab at Purdue covers the basics.
Creative Writing Prompts Look here for ideas to get your creative juices flowing. This site was named one of the 101 Best Writing websites for 2006 and 2007 by Writer's Digest Magazine.
Ultimate Fiction Writing Resource Guide General resources that address writer’s block, introduce story development tools, inform about writing scams, and other elements
PEN American Center "For the last 90 years, PEN American Center has been working to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to make it possible for everyone to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others." Check our their "Resource Library" tab.
Kenyon Review / KR Online This site offers high quality material and features different authors weekly, usually on the weekend.
Jeffrey Levine's webpage/blog Jeffrey Levine is the editor of Tupelo Press and publishes interesting articles on poetry.

Books About Creative Writing

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English Composition I (Lumen)

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Lumen Learning

English Composition I covers all of the essential content about the writing process, rhetorical styles, and writing successfully for college. Students will learn about critical thinking, analysis, argumentation, reflection, and making sound rhetorical choices to write effective academic essays. Students will also learn about techniques for reading, interpreting, and utilizing a variety of sources in their writing. The course design encourages students to master concepts and skills in small bites, through engaging practice activities and frequent questioning with targeted feedback. The course content also covers key grammatical concepts, multimodal writing, collaboration, research skills, and proper documentation.

Let's Get Writing!

(18 reviews)

Elizabeth Browning

Kirsten DeVries

Kathy Boylan

Jenifer Kurtz

Katelyn Burton

Publisher: Virginia Western Community College

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Kelly Clasen, Professor of English, Hutchinson Community College on 12/20/21

The text presents standard composition content in language that is accessible to its target audience, and key concepts are arranged in a logical fashion. The book contains sufficient information, along with supplemental exercises and links to... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book's content is on par with that of other traditionally published composition textbooks; the authors' experience in the field is clear. The text also appears to have been carefully edited for clarity, flow, and concision. While there is some unusual spacing in article title links, these links appear work consistently.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

While the text takes a rather traditional approach to teaching composition, it includes links to a nice range of still-relevant articles and essays, some of which I have seen appear in print composition textbooks published within the last decade. The MLA content in the text will need to be edited to reflect the most recent style guide changes, yet this is the case with any MLA resource used in a composition class.

Clarity rating: 5

The book's prose is appropriate to its college-writing audience and generally void of jargon. In general, even subject-specific terms are explained using direct, accessible language. The authors do an especially nice job of explaining rhetorical terms (pathos, egos, logos, kairos, etc.) in everyday language and via modern examples. While the chapter on argument tends to run a bit long, helpful images help exemplify various logical fallacies. Additionally, the "tiered" approach to evaluating sources is a thoughtful way of helping students categorize different types of articles and (hopefully) make the best selections for their research assignments.

Consistency rating: 4

Helpful graphics, visual aids, and links invigorate the first half of the book or so, yet these drop off somewhat by Ch. 6. The book becomes more text-heavy toward the end and less visually engaging. Various grammatical topics are only briefly addressed, and I think adding in more supplemental materials--visual aids and/or links to additional practice exercises or handouts, for example--would add some depth to the final chapters and bring those more in balance with the detailed, visually lively opening chapters.

Modularity rating: 3

While the overall layout of the book is logical, I felt overwhelmed by the inclusion of eight rhetorical modes in a single chapter (Ch. 5). I believe that if each rhetorical mode is not going to be explored in its own chapter, these modes should at least be separately linked in the overall course content menu. Adding subtopic links to the "Writing Basics" and "Punctuation" chapters in the content menu would also improve ease of access.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I especially like the inclusion of the first chapter on "Critical Reading," which is clearly geared toward students transitioning into a college learning environment. Other topics/chapters flow logically from that point on, introducing students to standard composition ideas--the rhetorical triangle and writing process, for example--and moving into an overview of various rhetorical modes, how to locate and evaluate sources, citation methods, and mechanics.

Interface rating: 4

I think the overall content menu could be more robust to help offset the navigational challenges associated with some of the longer chapters, and especially Ch. 5, "Rhetorical Modes." Additionally, Ch. 6, "Finding and Using Outside Sources," and Ch. 7, "How and Why to Cite," link frequently to college-specific library and documentation resources. Faculty at other institutions would likely need to redirect students to their own school's databases and other resources or perhaps create supplemental research guides for use with these chapters.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any grammatical errors; however, the language on pronouns (Ch. 8) is very general and could be edited to use the increasingly accepted singular "they"--or to at least acknowledge the important historical evolution of pronouns.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text links to example articles and essays from a diverse body of writers. As noted, the only culturally insensitive aspects appear in the chapter on "Writing Basics," which seems outdated in its approach to pronouns. In general, the approach to "Writing Basics" seems outdated as many books have started to include sections highlighting the importance of inclusive language.

Thank you for making this content accessible to the public.

Reviewed by Julia Cafritz, Adjunct Professor, Holyoke Community College on 6/29/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Let's Get Writing! is the typical freshman composition textbook, covering all the basics in a methodical but lively way. Some chapters feel long, particularly Chapters 2 - Rhetorical Analysis and Chapter 3- Argument. It's all good material but I think they could have been broken up in more digestible way. While there are plenty of useful writing exercises throughout, the actual discussion of the Writing Process doesn't happen until Chapter 4. Let's Get Writing...in a bit... after we go over the whole Western history of rhetoric and argument first.

The book seems accurate and error-free, other than a few broken hyperlinks. Content sources clearly identified and made available.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

This book is very similar to, and in some ways better (lots of interesting and up to date periodical readings) than the current equivalent expensive textbook company Freshman Comp texts. It covers all the basics.

The text is easy to read and follow: terms are defined, examples are provided, readings are interesting and well-chosen, and writing assignments are clear. The use of text boxes, tables, charts, and infographics break up the pages and make it more readable.

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework; chapters follow a similar format.

Modularity rating: 5

Easily broken up into more manageable reading and homework assignments.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

The order of the chapters could be rearranged. I'd separate the Rhetorical Analysis and Argument chapters because they're a lot to wade through one after the other.

Navigating through the text is easy and straightforward. The graphics aren't particularly sophisticated or visually pleasing, but they are clear, for the most part. Most , but not all, of the hyperlinks worked/were easily accessed.

I spotted no grammatical errors .

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

While there is some attempt to make the linked readings culturally diverse, the textbook itself is very rooted in white, Western, mostly American, values, examples and perspectives. There is no discussion of non-standard English or anti racist writing practices. Instead, we get lost in the weeds of the Rogerian v. Toulmin argumentative models. Nothing offensive but the omissions are notable. Just because this is pretty typical of the category, doesn't mean it's acceptable.

Reviewed by Ashley Ott, Adjunct Assistant Professor, College of DuPage on 4/23/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Let's Get Writing! offers a standard menu of first-year writing topics, presented in 10 discrete chapters. Instructors and students will universally benefit from the canonical rhetorical situation discussion and the book's homage to critical reading. These authors balance text-heavy chapters with multimodal features that engage their readers: frequent infographics, linked materials, student exercises, and "Tip" boxes allow for quick navigation of this online educational resource.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The content of this textbook is mostly accurate, although I would like to see some added content on discourse communities (under the rhetorical situation chapter) and some awareness of inclusive and anti-racist writing practices/strategies that may be easily accommodated in the "Writing Basics" or "Working with Words" chapters. I am happy these authors have included live links, but some of them do not work (cf. the External Links section on page 134-135).

The examples provided have universal qualities, though there are active links that are no longer working. Where I teach there has been a push to move toward multimodal assignments that overlay traditional essay genres, an emphasis that is beyond the scope of this book, but an area nonetheless, that may be easily addressed and/or developed in this text's future instantiations.

Terminology is often clarified and/or elaborated upon so that key concepts become familiar in many different settings. For example, on page 13, Browning explains that "Your instructor may use the term“main point” interchangeably with other terms, such as thesis, main argument, main focus, or core concept." A key terms and concepts index and/or glossary (missing from this book) would benefit this audience.

Consistency rating: 3

Font and color schemes are uniform across chapters, although there needs to be more consistency of form in terms of chapter organization (from one chapter to the next). The variation of placement and inclusion of text content, images, links, "Tip "boxes, "Key Takaways," exercises, and example writing are inconsistent across chapters, hindering user accessibility.

This book is easily divisible into smaller reading sections as each of the 10 chapters (in addition to the forward and introduction) are linked from the Contents menu.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

This book offers a clear organization scheme that works from conceptual thinking (critical reading and rhetorical analysis) to the technical aspects of reading and writing (reading research, writing with clarity and precision). I do suggest revising the placement of the "Rhetorical Modes" (chapter 5) so that it follows directly from chapter 3, "Rhetorical Analysis." Currently, these two chapters are separated by "The Writing Process" (chapter 4).

Interface rating: 3

There are many small interface issues, especially with linked (tinyURL) material. There are also areas where page breaks divide content mid-section. For example, the material discussing Brian Williams appears on page 24, but his portrait is placed aside content that discusses Marilee Jones at the beginning of page 25, which may cause confusion.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I would like to see more consistency of audience in this book. Generally this writing is addressed to a student, the second person "you," but at other times this address encompasses "we" (the writers of this book), "us" (writers more generally?), and "the student" (aimed at an instructor audience).

This text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way, although there is much wanting in the way of inclusive readings and examples from a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Again, there must be some discussion and awareness of inclusive and anti-racist writing practices/strategies.

Thank you for using and acknowledging the beautiful cover art from student Noah Sutphin!

Reviewed by Cara Miller, Associate Professor of English, Anderson University on 3/18/21

The book is excellent in its beginning chapters about reading critically, understanding the rhetorical situation, analyzing arguments, and working through the writing process. These chapters provide a lot of depth in terms of key terms, underlying strategies, and connections to student writing. For instance, the chapters on reading discuss important concepts and strategies that can be applied to writing tasks. I also appreciated that the chapters drill down into specifics of things like context cues and language indicators. On the other hand, the chapters that deal with research (particularly chapter 6 on outside sources) seem a little thin, especially when compared to the depth in the other chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content of the book is accurate. It is helpful that the authors provide links to their sources and examples.

This book is very relevant for freshmen in first-year composition. The chapters relate directly to key rhetorical concepts and drafting strategies to help students meet their writing goals. Again, the depth of terms and the connections to specific reading and writing tasks add value to the text and make it even more relevant for first-year students who struggle with these same concepts.

Clarity is a strength for the text. It is written in a way that is accessible for college students. It defines key terms and also includes tips and explanations of underlying conventions or assumptions that instructors may fail to make explicit. It also provides a list of key takeaways at the end of each section, links to worksheets and sample essays, and helpful graphics.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 4

The text is easily divided into small readings. Each chapter has several sections with their own headings. However, individual sections and chapters are scaffolded in such a way that it would be difficult to read them out of order and have the same level of understanding.

The book begins with basic reading and rhetorical concepts and then moves into writing strategies that stem from this foundation. The book is organized in a top-down way, beginning with more fundamental concepts of genre, structure, and idea development and then ending with sentence-level issues related to grammar, punctuation, and formatting. This mirrors the writing process itself and seems like a logical organization for the book.

The navigation is effective. Internal links on the Table of Contents page as well as at the top of each chapter make it easy to navigate the textbook. I noted a few minor issue with graphics that went off the page or white space that seemed excessive.

I didn't notice any grammatical errors.

There isn't a big focus on students from different racial or ethnic backgrounds, which might have added nuance and a level of sensitivity. For instance, the chapter on sentence basics is really helpful, but doesn't acknowledge the different ways of writing and speaking for people from non-mainstream cultures and backgrounds. While the book might have provided more sensitivity or focus on these issue, it certainly isn't offensive. In fact, its tone is very respectful of students and their writing abilities. It also provides transcripts of videos to enhance access.

We've adopted this book for our first-year composition students next year, and I'm excited to use it. There are lots of clear explanations as well as interesting and helpful activities that I can utilize in class and as homework.

Reviewed by Zaragoza Maricela, English Adjunct Instructor, California State University, Dominguez Hills on 8/13/20

The text provides key information on Critical Reading, The Writing Process, Rhetoric, Citing Sources, and Grammar with appropriate examples and illustrations. This book is convenient in that it is concise but to the point, which is very convenient... read more

This text provides an unbiased view of the material, especially when it comes to the examples of argumentation. Many textbooks rely on political illustrations to provide examples of the material, but this text doesn't, which is a relief for many instructors who want to shy away from controversial topics.

The material is up-to-date and relevant, which makes the text relatable to both the instructor and the students.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is clear and to the point; it does not drag out the material in order to fill pages like many other textbooks. The authors use technical terminology and explain/define each term in a manner that is understandable to students who have not come across this material.

The way in which the textbook is framed is consistent as it follows a consistent format of the introduction of terminology with a clear explanation, followed by an of the illustration of the terminology by way of both textual and visual examples.

The organization of the content is what drew me in since the text is organized by main topics which are then divided into respective smaller topics. Each chapter can be divided into its own sub-sections that are organized in a logical manner because each topic builds upon the information from the previous sections.

The organization of the text is quite logical, except for the arrangement of the chapters on "Rhetorical Analysis" (Chapter 2) and "Argument" (Chapter 30) come before the chapter on "The Writing Process" (Chapter 4) seem a bit off considering that the first chapter focuses on "Critical Reading."

The interface between the user and the textbook is a manageable one, but there might be some issues depending on the platform the user is viewing the text. I downloaded the PDF version of the text in order to have less interference with the text, but if instructors or students are using an online version that is not provided by the Publisher, Pressbooks, the user can face some display issues.

The text contains no grammatical errors and is easy to understand and follow.

For the most part the text stays away from culturally and politically sensitive issues, but it should include examples that are more culturally diverse since most of the examples pertain to American life and culture.

This book is very easy to follow since it is concise and to the point. It makes using instructor's own materials on the subjects covered easy to integrate.

Reviewed by Mandy Geddes, Faculty, Community College of Aurora on 8/10/20

The text covers foundational topics such as writing process and rhetorical analysis really well. There are excellent explanations and visual examples to help students make sense of each of the main ideas. The information about how and why to use sources is a little sparse. I'd like to see more nuance in how to integrate quotations, when to quote, and how/when to paraphrase. The text covers a few basic rhetorical modes (Narrative, Description, Process Analysis, Illustration and Exemplification, Cause and Effect, Comparison and Contrast, Definition, and Classification). It covers Narrative and Description well. The other modes aren't covered as extensively. The handbook information (which word is right and punctuation) are covered thoroughly.

I didn't see errors anywhere. I think the writers took care to edit and to make sure that their information was accurate.

The only place I can see the text needing updating is in the MLA section, and really, who can ever keep up with MLA changes. The links out to sources and videos might be a problem in the future, but I actually think those links are a strength in this text. Rhetoric and the writing process don't change a whole lot, so the information will likely stay relevant.

I really appreciate the visuals that accompany the text. There are lots of infographics, charts, and visual aids to build meaning in non-textual ways. More difficult concepts (such as rhetorical appeals and logical fallacies) are thoroughly explained and have plenty of examples to help students make sense of and apply the ideas.

Again, I think the author's took great care in editing and maintaining accuracy and consistency. There is also consistency in formatting, which is helpful in navigation.

The chapters are LONG and cover a lot of information (for example, all of the rhetorical modes are in one chapter). However, those long chapters are broken into sections and there are links at the beginning of each chapter to "jump" students to the section they want to access. Students cannot use the table of contents to navigate to those sections, though, which makes the use of specific pieces of each module more difficult.

The text begins with foundations (Writing Process and Rhetorical Analysis/Argumentation), then moves to Rhetorical Modes and source use, and then finishes with stylistic/editing issues.

The visual elements are integrated really well. I wish the links to examples (videos and outside readings) were more prominent because those are really some of the strengths of this text. I stated before that the chapters are LONG and the only way to navigate to the separate parts of the chapter are through the links at the top of each chapter. It would be nice to be able to navigate using the table of contents. Overall, though, the user features are logical and intuitive.

I didn't see any errors. The writing is clear and reader friendly.

Cultural Relevance rating: 1

This is a weakness of the text. The images of people (though few) are primarily white. The text examples are also primarily white. There are links out to some more diverse readings (Amy Tan, Sherman Alexie, and Sandra Cisneros), but those are not prominent in the text, nor are they integrated into any textual discussion; they are 'extras'. The text is also focused heavily on white values in writing (there are three chapters on "standard" language usage and only 1 chapter on rhetorical modes, and even that chapter isn't terribly focused on student experience or voice).

I can see using some chapters of this text as part of a more complete collection of OER to teach composition, but I wouldn't use this as a primary text because it isn't Culturally Responsive.

Reviewed by Rachel Hawley, Adjunct Professor, Community College of Aurora on 7/17/20

This book is fairly comprehensive. It includes sections on reading, argument, the writing process, revision and research and citation. It has the most extensive section on logical fallacies I have ever encountered. The only thing missing is really... read more

The book is accurate and through. There were a few typos here and there, but nothing outlandish. Definitely seems to be unbiased.

The content is up-to-date other than the lack of a section devoted to visual argument, which is more and more relevant these days. Text is not likely to become obsolete, but it would be helpful to supplement it.

Text is very accessible. There are a lot of images and graphs to help explain concepts. Most students should be able to comprehend and learn from the information.

This text is very consistent. Each chapter is both iterative and moves the concepts along to deeper consideration.

There are good divisions provided, but some of the chapters are overly long and cover a bit too much. It would certainly be simple enough to assign page numbers, rather than chapters, but the chapter on argument, for example, could really have constituted 3-4 chapters of more easily digestible text that can be broken up in different ways based on the way the class is structured.

The structure is very logical and clear. It moves from reading to analyzing to arguing and finally to revising in a seamless manner.

Interface rating: 5

No noted interface issues.

Grammar is great.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

This is the one area that scores low. While there is nothing overtly offensive, its use of examples are very VERY white. There is diversity in the sense of inclusion of some very gender-conscious writing, but race/ethnicity is rarely represented.

Reviewed by Patrick Lochelt, Adjunct Professor, Middlesex Community College on 6/28/20

This book covers a great amount of information on writing in a small amount of space. It is very comprehensive in getting through a number of different styles and techniques needed for college success as a writer, and would serve as an effective... read more

The content of the book appears to be accurate in regards to current standard practices of writing at the college level. I don't personally believe that all college writing must stem from or revolve around an argument, as the book seems to suggest, but argumentative writing is certainly at the core of most writing assignments, and this book accurately details different techniques to help navigate those prompts.

This book uses both new and tried-and-true techniques that are unlikely to become outdated or irrelevant in any college classroom any time soon. The author is able to take many well-worn types of writing assignments and styles and presents them in ways that make them fresh and interesting for students.

This text is clear all throughout and uses easy to follow and concise wording and instruction for students regarding topics that many can find difficult or simply uninteresting. The language used makes the topics very accessible for students of all writing backgrounds and is effective all throughout.

This text offers a number of different styles and ideas for becoming a better writer, and it consistently builds upon the tasks it sets for students in each chapter. The framework uses consistent infographics and imagery to help make concepts more concrete and understandable.

The book is organized well, moving through conceptual topics into details within each topic and offering examples and accessible specifics. Some sections could be designed a bit better to navigate through, for instance the section on fallacies of argument, which provides great information, but it reads a bit like a wall of text without visual divisions between each of the fallacies. There are a few sections of the book that could do with even some bullet points or visual elements would help with the flow and understanding of the ideas.

The fashion in which the chapters are organized is well thought out, scaffolding ideas and concepts upon each other and building towards more complex writing styles and assignments. A student who reads through this book linearly will receive a fantastic pathway and framework for becoming a much better writer.

As noted in the "Modularity" section, some areas could use some graphic design elements to help separate ideas/topics, but overall, this text reads well and the graphics that are utilized are effective visual representations of the ideas being conveyed.

In reading through the book, I saw no errors in the text, which is especially important considering the textbook's topic and subject.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text appears evenhanded in its treatment of topics and diversity.

Overall, this book shines as a great modern text to help college students find their way through the trials and tribulations of writing for higher education.

Reviewed by Emily Doherty, Adjunct Faculty, Northern Essex Community College on 5/28/20

Let's Get Writing! offers a comprehensive textbook for teaching introductory college writing. Instructors and students will find chapters containing the main elements in learning composition. Particularly useful is the Argument chapter which explores all aspects of writing effective and thoughtful persuasive essays. Other chapters include Critical Reading and Rhetorical Analysis which will not only be useful in a college composition course but also help students navigate the entirety of their college curriculum. There is a contents page but no index.

The content of this textbook is accurate and applicable for first year college students. Starting with critical reading skills, and moving through citation, punctuation, and grammar, this textbook covers all the basics. In addition, informative links, connecting students to resources, are provided throughout the text.

The text is relevant and up-to-date. The examples provided aim to be universal and can easily be revised as time goes on in order to stay current.

This textbook is clear, concise, and easy to read. Students will appreciate the use of bold face for key words and take aways. Shaded boxes with "Tips" will also help students navigate the text effectively.

The text uses consistent terminology and framework for the subject matter of critical thinking, writing, and researching.

The layout of the text is well-organized and easily divisible into smaller teachable sections.

There are ten chapters in the text. They are presented in a logical and purposeful order. Critical reading comes first while sentence structure, punctuation, and word choice are available at the end. This makes sense as it is important to get students interested and involved in the writing process before reviewing technical aspects of composition.

The interface is free of any noticeable issues. The text is easy to navigate and images and charts are simple and easy to discern.

There are no grammatical errors.

The text successfully represents a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Examples are sensitive and free of stereotypes.

Let's Get Writing! promotes "coherent, cohesive, credible, and correct" writing accessible to instructors and students alike. Informative and colorful charts, resourceful links, and engaging examples all add to this comprehensive textbook which makes Let's Get Writing! an excellent choice for the 21st Century student.

Reviewed by Christopher Chandler, Instructor of English and Literature, NTCC on 4/27/20

Let's Get Writing is a terrific text for teaching introductory college writing. The content is comprehensive and the writing is concise. There are no unclear terms and links are provided for further reading. There is no index, but the table of... read more

There are only a few external links to narratives in Chapter 5 that do not work, but an additional link of scanned text is provided for each. I appreciate the writers' anticipating that links may change and providing alternate links to the readings.

The text is relevant and up to date with MLA standards. The examples provided are up to date and universal.

Jargon is minimized in favor of exact but understandable and relatable language. I appreciate the effort that went into showing the readers, instead of just telling them, and doing so in exact, concise language. Word choice is effective.

Key terms are often reinforced, and the terminology is consistent.

The text is presented in well-organized sections, using easily discernible standard headers and color coded text blocks. Readers should have no problem understanding the difference of topics and subtopics. Key terms and ideas are emphasized by word order in sentences, and ideas are reinforced with consistent color coded sections. As a technical writer, I find the format pleasing.

The topics are arranged in logical order. If I were to use the text, I might change the order of topics from beginning with argument to starting with rhetorical strategies.

The interface is simple, yet effective. There are no instances of image distortions. Images generally represent the ideas well. Only a couple of images might be replaced in instances of unusual photoshopping.

There are no grammatical or mechanical errors.

Cultural varieties are well represented in example texts. No discernible stereotypes or exclusions are noticed.

Lets Get Writing is an effective textbook for teaching introductory college writing. I especially appreciate the acknowledgement by the writers on the importance of teaching students about writing across the curriculum. The effort that was placed on grammar and mechanics is commendable. Reviewing grammar and mechanics for a beginning college student is usually needed, and this textbook provides essential basics for instructor reference and student practice. I like this textbook.

Reviewed by Stephanie Walker, Instructor, Marshall University on 3/12/20

This textbook is very comprehensive and easy to navigate. It provides excellent coverage of the main elements of writing academic essays, and includes chapters on Rhetoric and well as Research. There is no evident index or glossary, which I feel... read more

Not only is the content accurate, error-free, and up-to-date, but it's obvious that the authors make a great effort to be inclusive of all people and maintain an unbiased approach to the lessons and examples.

This text makes it clear that it knows its audience. It discusses the different expectation that students are faced with in high school versus college, and also gives relevant examples using up-to-date mediums, such as Tweets. It also utilizes bullet points and hand-written examples, which will be easy to update over time when these examples are no longer relevant.

This is an easy text for the student to read. It provides context for jargon and gives numerous examples of practice. The exercises are within the chapters (not at the end), which provide additional opportunities to understand the material being presented. “Key Takeaways” at the end of each chapter help sum up the main points for the students to review.

The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework. The terminology and framework of the text is consistent for the subject matter on writing, researching, and critical thinking.

The layout of the text is well-organized and makes it easy to break into appropriate teaching modules. These could easily be shifted if the instructor wanted to without creating disruption for the readers.

The arrangement of the text is easy to follow. I appreciate the emphasis on rhetoric and research intertwined with the writing process. The "Writing Basics" and "Punctuation" instruction is towards the end of the book, which I think is better than presenting them at the beginning.

No noticeable interface issues. Text is very easy to navigate and no images were distorted or confusing.

Excellent. No issues.

The text is culturally sensitive and is successful in being inclusive to different types of learners. For example, they recognize that students may be either "readers" or "listeners," which is very inclusive of students with learning or hearing disabilities.

What I like most about this text is how clear the writing is. I think students will find this textbook easy to follow, yet challenging enough to help them grasp the rhetorical, research, and writing concepts and processes.

Reviewed by Cheryl McKearin, Lecturer, University of Illinois at Chicago on 1/8/20

This book covers many different writing topics at great depth. For students new to college composition classes, it's a strong primer to college writing. The rhetorical modes chapter (5) is lengthy and well done. This would be an adequate textbook to use if you would like to avoid having students pay for a textbook. I will argue, however, that some chapters and even passages might feel too long for the average composition student.

I found the textbook to be accurate and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

I think that the authors made it a point to try to be relevant - there are many memes and references to social media. Many of the cultural references, however, date back 3-10 years. For some students just starting college and reading about a pop culture reference, they would have been 8 years old at the height of its popularity. I think some of those examples and references would have to be updated every few years.

I really liked how the book breaks down rhetoric - it's a great intro for students who are new to rhetoric. I would consider using that chapter to teach my students.

The book has several authors, so sometimes the depth, the tone, and the examples vary widely across chapters. I felt it took away from the book's cohesiveness, but I don't think students would realize it.

The text can definitely be divided into smaller reading sections. I did, however, find that the text tended to refer to itself many times throughout the book - I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing.

I really liked how the book was organized. Well done.

Interface rating: 1

I downloaded the PDF so that I could view the book offline - this creates significant distortion of images, charts, basically all visual aids. All images force a new page to start, so there are many pages that are ¼ to ¾ blank. There are many broken links; some links refer to newspaper articles that need a paid subscription. These definitely should be addressed. Students will most likely want to use the online version.

I found the text to be generally error-free grammatically.

The text is not culturally insensitive, but I didn't think it made a significant effort to be inclusive.

I think the textbook itself is valuable - I was not a fan of all the links to other open sources that have been already removed. I think that detracts from the actual text - perhaps that would be more valuable in a teacher's resource or separate appendix for the instructor. I would recommend using parts of it (chapters and activities) to supplement other readings in your class.

Reviewed by Amanda O'Sullivan, Adjunct Faculty, Community College of Denver on 12/9/19

The content of the text is very applicable to first-semester college students, especially students in need of more guidance. Chapter 1: Critical Reading sets the stage for the text, as it shows students how to approach a text before they start writing about it, which is a skill many first-semester students are lacking. In addition to providing practical strategies, the chapter also shows students what to expect in composition course, highlighting the differences between college-level writing and high school writing. The transparency on college instructors’ expectations can help students more easily transition into the course, and can ultimately help with student success. The section on Critical Reading also does a great job outlining the different types of writing that students may encounter in other college courses, and shows how composition courses help students transfer gained knowledge beyond the realm of academia. After the first chapter, the text becomes more focused on writing in particular genres. The text is centered around the idea that all writing is an argument, and therefore, it focuses heavily on defining rhetoric, examining the rhetorical situation, and creating academic arguments. As with the Critical Reading chapter, Chapter 2: Rhetorical Analysis and Chapter 3: Argument do a great job explaining the WHY to students. These sections show students the value and impact writing of writing and the consequences of not using rhetoric effectively.The chapters on rhetoric and argument provide excellent explanations, pertinent key terms, practical examples, and engaging activities.

Content is accurate and unbiased.

The examples and activities are current and mostly relevant to younger students; for example, one activity asks students to examine and critique tweets posted on social media. Providing activities that are familiar and relevant to students make the material more approachable and comprehensible. In addition to providing examples from outlets the students are likely to engage with, the text also acknowledges that students will primarily researching online, and thus, Chapters 6: Finding and Using Outside Sources and Chapter 7: How and Why to Cite provide useful information on understanding plagiarism, evaluating credibility, and working with sources. While the text as a whole is relevant to a generation that heavily relies on the internet, it could provide more examples and references that are more culturally diverse.

The text is well written and easy to understand.

While the first three chapters are consistent and valuable, Chapter 4: The Writing Process and Chapter 5: Rhetorical Modes are very basic and underwhelming; however, these sections may be a useful base for instructors who want to develop more unique assignments.

Rather than collaborating on each chapter, the authors were responsible for writing different chapters. Because of this there is a slight difference in style and tone, and some chapters are stronger than others.

The first three chapters are organized appropriately. However, I do question the placement of Chapter 4: The Writing Process. It seems like Chapter 4 should be swapped with Chapter 5.

The text is mostly intuitive and easy to follow.

The text is well written.

The text is not culturally insensitive; however, more examples could be used that are inclusive to different races, ethnicity, and backgrounds.

Overall, I found the text to be relevant, useful, clearly written, and void of error.

Reviewed by Travis McDonald, Adjunct Instructor , Colorado State Board of Higher Education on 11/29/19

I thought the textbook was very comprehensive in terms of dealing with all of the pertinent aspects of composition including critical reading, rhetorical analysis, citation, punctuation and much more. It covers all of the basics of the main... read more

Accuracy was good, for the most part. I particularly appreciated the accuracy of the Punctuation section, which was helpful.

It was obvious that the writers wanted this text to feel contemporary. They included examples from social media as well as classic literature which I found to be a very smart move.

Clarity rating: 3

At times, some of the concepts could have been maybe a little easier to comprehend, but mostly I thought it was well-done and accesible.

I found the consistency to be consistent and terms were explained and used throughout the text.

Some sections were a little long, but mostly I thought it could be broken up into easily digestible sections.

I thought the book was clear in its major sections and the information included in the major sections were broken up into sub-sections which was helpful.

I did not notice any interface issues.

I did not notice many, if any, grammatical mistakes.

I did not think there was anything offensive about the content, though maybe they could have done a slightly better job of speaking to more races and backgrounds.

Overall, a successful textbook that I would be happy to implement into the first-year composition classroom. Many of the subjects discussed are ones that I have on a regular basis with my students, and I think the authors did a good job of explaining these concepts in a clear and mostly engaging way.

Reviewed by Neecee Matthews-Bradshaw, CCD Writing Zone Coordinator, Colorado State Board of Higher Education on 11/29/19

Let’s Get Writing offers a great overview of material for the first-year writing student. Many introductory texts for academic writing struggle to cover the breadth and depth of possible scenarios instructors want to present to their classes. This text, however, successfully addresses a wide range of writing contexts for students, grounded in a sense of purposefulness that touches on both academic and workplace scenarios. While the text is searchable, and the table of contents links to each chapter, readers may find it difficult to navigate beyond the layout of the text. There are no subcategories in the TOC, and the index is present but not populated. The lack of indexed categories (or glossary) might also present new users with some difficulty in searching terms beyond using find functions (like CTRL-F). At the same time, there are numerous links within each of the chapters, connecting students to resources like heuristics for critical reading, online samples of genres, and more.

Finally, the PDF version of the text demonstrates some inconsistent spacing between text and figures; in some instances, there are large gaps between the reference to an image and the image itself.

Let’s Get Writing offers accurate content, providing students with a variety of examples of rhetorical elements from modes, to appeals, to an up-to-date listing of logical fallacies. Whether instructors choose to emphasize modes of writing or contexts for rhetoric in the workplace, the authors have done a fine job of providing options for students and teachers alike to delve into what writing looks like in a number of different scenarios. Readers can find one great example in the attention the authors pay to a fourth rhetorical element, one sometimes left out of the composition equation, kairos; however, it would be nice to see a brief discussion on the choice to capitalize kairos while leave the other rhetorical appeals lower-cased.

Let’s Get Writing offers relevant, contemporary content, providing students with a variety of examples of rhetorical elements from modes, to appeals, to an up-to-date listing of logical fallacies. Whether instructors choose to emphasize modes of writing, contexts for rhetoric in the workplace, or a glance at the influence of rhetoric in social media, the authors have done a fine job of providing options for student to explore writing across a number of boundaries.

The text uses a voice to which students will easily relate. It will not leave students frustrated with both their writing assignments and the tools they might use to complete those assignments. For example, when sections of the text cross-reference with other sections that are yet to come or have been reviewed already, the authors provide links to those parts of the text, allowing students to navigate to those related subjects. Another great addition here is that the authors provide one of the clearest discussions of both the Rogerian and Toulmin arguments readers will find in composition textbooks.

The text uses a balance in tone and exploration that is consistent throughout. The attention the authors give to each category of the text will help students successfully navigate the terrain of academic writing. Further, the layout for each chapter presents the elements of the text in a way that readers will come to recognize quickly. The text introduces major categories up front, with each section separated into a set of explanations, scenarios, applications, and key terms to follow.

Each chapter of the text lends itself to a clearly outlined unit of learning in the average composition class. The text seems to integrate into many instructors’ approaches to teaching first-year composition. Within each chapter, the authors address a clearly defined element of writing and then offer ways to practice what the chapter introduces. Furthermore, the clear setup for each chapter makes it easy to move around the text in a more personalized way. Diagrams, writing tips, concise writing, and clearly sub-headed sections provide readers with realistic, user-friendly ways to digest the subjects the text addresses.

The text will easily follow the basic order of the first-year writing course. There is a logical progression of topics, from the basics of critical reading and rhetorical elements, to the process of writing, researching, and polishing one’s writing. Instructors and students both should be able to integrate the text into the work they find themselves doing in the first-year composition classroom.

The online interface and downloadable PDF versions of this text are clear and easy to navigate when moving from chapter to chapter. Navigating within the chapters is a little more complicated in that one cannot navigate to subsections of the text easily without using the bookmarking features of one’s reading platform (a browser or PDF reader, for example).

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Let’s Get Writing presents its content in clear, concise language that students will find easy to read. It provides well-crafted explanations of material that most students will already find new and unfamiliar. Minor issues in capitalization of the “Tip” sections are present only in the PDF version of the text.

This text is culturally relevant in that provides no offensive scenarios that can isolate students from a variety of backgrounds. The authors present a text that diverse students will find both useful and approachable.

Reviewed by Candice Marshall, English Language Learning Instructor, Earlham College on 11/25/19

The book attempts to cover a lot of subjects related to writing, and does so in a sense. However, since degree of comprehensiveness is subjective, it is up to the reader to decide. For my purposes, this book was comprehensive in areas I did not need it to be, and cursory in areas where I thought more detail was needed. More about the actual writing process would have been helpful.

While all of the content is relevant to writing, from the title one would expect a more interactive type of text geared towards actually getting students immersed in the act of writing. It doesn't live up to this expectation. While there are exercises, they occupy a small portion of the text. Some of the content is similar to what I would use, but other parts (the ones I consider most vital) differ significantly from the expectations I have for my students' writing, such that I would not use them (i.e. thesis statements).

The content is somewhat up to date, for a rhetoric text. They haven't quite gone over to the genre-analysis camp yet, for which I am grateful, but their description of rhetorical modes and how to actually write an essay leave something to be desired. They only briefly touch on specific citation styles, but these are the areas where change is most often going to occur and require revision. In this sense, they won't be outdated too quickly since they don't go into specific detail.

This book is somewhat verbose and jargon heavy. While they do provide sections with key vocabulary for each chapter, some chapters are extremely, and somewhat unnecessarily, dense.

For the most part, the book seems consistent in their phrasing and language used to describe concepts. There are links connecting ideas between chapters.

There are headings and subheadings for sections which can be assigned separately, but I feel as though some of the chapters should have been divided into multiple chapters. They tried to do too much at once, especially in chapter 3.

I understand the choice to start the text with the reading chapter, but waiting until chapter 4 to actually discuss the writing process was a poor choice.

PDF version: I was not fond of the size of some of the images that cause huge gaps in spacing between paragraphs. The shifting sizes of highlighted boxes that didn't align with each other was also rather messy looking and hard to navigate in the PDF form. ONLINE version: This format was cleaner and had less spacing issues. The disconnect between the font types and sizes used in the charts, figures, and images was rather inconsistent and looked a bit sloppy at times.

There didn't appear to be any glaring issues with grammar that I detected, although on closer examination these might become apparent. There were some inconsistencies with bolding text in words though (in some cases only part of the word was bolded).

Some of the memes used for logical fallacies, while they are there for a reason, may be considered culturally insensitive for some populations. The text only really acknowledges an American lens of writing, culture, and values.

This text might be suitable for a homogenous, American English composition type of class, but some of the American cultural references would not make sense to writers with other cultural backgrounds. Also, more emphasis on the actual writing process would be helpful.

Reviewed by Patrick Gilligan, Associate Professor, Aims Community College on 7/31/19

While this textbook addresses all the main areas and ideas surrounding an entry-level composition course, I find the different sections to be uneven. For example, Chapter One: Critical Reading, contains a lengthy section on annotation, yet only brief nods to “Why do You Read Critically”? Also, perhaps in a book entitled Let’s get Writing, we should do just that. The Writing Process doesn’t begin until chapter four? There are a number of useful links and practice possibilities, but none were necessarily very novel.

Content is relatively accurate and error free. The problem here is not the accuracy of the information, but rather the delivery. There’s an attempt to cover absolutely everything and, as a result, most of the content is cursory and limited. Difficult concepts are often ignored or explained in a glancing way, such as rules regarding comma usage, whereas alternatively there is an entire section on subject and verb identification.

Content is, again, relatively up to date. Sections like those on Greek rhetorical terms get bogged down with somewhat arcane definitions. ‘Kairotic appeals’ might be a bit much at this stage if we are still concerned with understanding simpler concepts. I am not entirely sure how efficiently this text could seamlessly incorporate relevant updates. The text appears to have one foot in the past, and one in the present, but not an eye toward the future.

Sometimes, it seems as though the authors are writing for students and sometimes for other educators. Some simple terms and concepts are explained (e.g. text, what is a statement?) while other more complex ideas are left mysteriously wanting. A focused approach regarding audience and main objectives might be more effective.

The text is internally consistent, however, the manner in which subjects are discussed is not always very visually appealing or easily accessible. Long lists of bullet points or otherwise choppy sections are somewhat distracting from the main ideas.

Modularity rating: 2

The text contains numerous smaller divisions within each major sub heading but are often counterintuitive or confusing. Finding and Using Outside Sources has a whole section dedicated to topic selection.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

The authors clearly made intentional choices regarding organizational structure, including the introduction of some rudimentary grammar and writing skills. I do not believe, however, that it very effective in its layout and flow for all the previously mentioned reasons. All the parts are there, but it is somewhat like Frankenstein's monster.

All charts appear accurate if somewhat rudimentary and not altogether entirely accessible. They often seem to be rather large and not particularly informative. I experienced no interface issues.

To my eyes, the text is fairly wholly free of grammatical errors. This is largely due to relatively simple sentence construction, which may be more universally understandable, but occasionally falls prey to over simplification.

The text is not overtly insensitive or offensive, nor is it particularly inclusive. There’s been an effort made to have generic examples, but that is about it.

Overall, a lack of focus, general organization and presentation issues, and uneven delivery, plague this very well intentioned, but ultimately unsuccessful attempt of a basic composition textbook. There are numerous other texts, including OTL and OER resources, which tackle this task far more effectively.

Reviewed by Roberto Forns-Broggi, Professor of Spanish, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 7/17/19

This book attempts to cover basically key rhetorical aspects of writing and basic tools as a start point. Each chapter covers a key component in a way that includes basic notions, tips, key takeaways, exercises, assignments, and useful external links to videos and/or readings that expand and motivates writing. Because of this rhetorical focus, instead of using exclusively literature or films references—something that it is common and useful for composition classes—it encourages to build on solid argument, logical assemblage, linguistic clarity with a variety of external links and types of texts. This articulated goal of academic writing is ideal for developing writing skills that are necessary to think. Previous to the study of a particular discipline such as literary studies, the basic themes of the book stimulate the reading habit embodied in a deep desire to go beyond the surface. It is an effective way to build an indivisible and dynamic practice of reading/writing.

Even though the definitions and examples are short, in general the whole book presents a solid coherence around the idea of writing as a way of thinking through contexts and purpose. I appreciate the directness of the whole craft approach. You might miss an artistic perspective in the scope of the chapters in the sense of working with non-instrumentalised lines of thinking that disrupt prevailing norms (if you look for an inclusive creative writing activities). The stress of the collection of chapters goes to a learning process of reading and writing to persuade, to think in order to explain, to learn how to do research to expand and consolidate in the academic life of the college student.

Every chapter is open to incorporate new subjects to illustrate or deepen the involved writing aspects. Most exercises and assignments focus on the writing process, and they are practical and basic. Don’t expect notorious inspirational elements that lie outside the realm of technique and strategy, which is something that I miss throughout this book because I’ve been teaching a Spanish creative writing class for some years now. Since reading is an important component of a writing course, reading for wonder would complement the important driving force of critical thinking skills. Nevertheless I appreciate the way each chapter is organized, because its practicality invites me to consider its use in my Spanish creative writing class. Its concise structure may last many years to come.

All the chapters are concise and in a very ordered disposition. Instead of long paragraphs, the general tone is articulated in short sentences. I like that aspect because it gives the instructor more freedom to accommodate and adapt the exercises and assignments to student’s actual level.

I like the heading, organization, and presentation of each chapter. Always to the point. Because the chapters are written by different authors, you might expect some discrepancies or bigger differences. But each chapter has its own merit and gifts, plus it is always explicitly connected to other chapters of the book with concrete links and suggestions. At the beginning the authors clarify the premise of the whole book: the guiding features are foundations of a discipline, at the same time the driving force of learning to study through writing and reading in any college career. So you can check the core premises of “Let’s Get Writing” in few words: “Every good piece of writing is an argument; every worth reading and writing begins with a specific question; improving skills takes practice, feedback, and re-thinking, redoing, revising.”

I like the way the explanations, exercises and assignments are out lined through interesting key areas of studying: rhetorical approach (Chap. 1 Critical Reading; , Chap. 2 Rhetorical Analysis; Chap. 3 Argument; Chap. 4 The Writing Process; Chap. 5 Rhetorical Modes), research skills (Chap. 6 Finding and Using Outside Sources; chap. 7 How and Why to Cite), and pragmatic language basics (Chap. 8 Writing Basics: What makes a good sentence?; Chap. 9 Punctuation; Chap. 10 working with words: which word is right? Word choice and Vocabulary-building strategies). The proposed work for students is not overwhelmingly extensive or difficult, to the contrary, I would say that the instructor may take as an advantage to substitute or add additional homework.

The way each chapter is design seems very simple, but that could be apparent, because you should keep in mind that the whole book keeps its coherence very well. There are very basic skills in play that are also weave to a complex design that is not so evident. In that sense, the structure of each chapter allows the reader to get advantage of a non-linear approach that encourages an associative way of thinking, which makes reading and writing more dynamic and alive.

Each part is designed to directly practice the main notions of the subject. It carefully uses exercises and links that allow the student to absorb and develop a potential fruitful dialogue between the student and the matter to study. It allows a smooth navigation through its entire length.

I did not locate a single grammatical error. This text looks very professional.

You might find this book in the formalist tradition that establish craft principles based on a disciplinary anxiety use, as you can see clearly and provocatively explained by Janelle Adsit in her book Toward an Inclusive Creative Writing : Threshold Concepts to Guide the Literary Writing Curriculum (Bloomsbury, 2017). But as a teacher of writing, we need to balance this formalist approach with contextualized and inspirational subjects—I would say, it depends on how you expand the key matter of purpose. If you belief that writing is more than a necessary communication skill, more than skillful management of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, probably you need more advanced materials to use in your class. But a shocking reality will be out of your hands and in front of your eyes: the unreadable page, the skipped participation, the unwanted task of writing for your class. For me this book incites me to think in more innovative ways to address the blind spots that we all have in our respective bubbles without silencing student voices. To the contrary, this book makes me to encourage our students to keep going in their academic route with the wonderful and powerful tool of reading and writing.

I like to use this book in my Spanish creative class, but adapting it in a context of profound diverse cultural context. “Let’s Get Writing” gave me more useful ideas to apply in the design of the writing component in my other Spanish classes as well. It can be also useful to complement what you want to develop in your class, because it is very basic. We are missing in our classes the basic tools for creating a space of learning, of personal growth, and of healing. So this open textbook might be in your sight. But I am not sure if I will use it in its entire length because I am interested to develop a sense of discovering the other (to bring up a wide variety of texts that are not included in the book) and to challenge my students in front of diverse contingencies that register cross-cultural awareness and creative zeal. Even though you might find bigger limitations, I like this simplicity and focus of each chapter. You might use it for one of your sub-graduate classes as well.

Chapter 1 - Critical Reading
Chapter 2 - Rhetorical Analysis
Chapter 3 - Argument
Chapter 4 - The Writing Process
Chapter 5 - Rhetorical Modes
Chapter 6 - Finding and Using Outside Sources
Chapter 7 - How and Why to Cite
Chapter 8 - Writing Basics: What Makes a Good Sentence?
Chapter 9 - Punctuation
Chapter 10 - Working With Words: Which Word is Right?

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This introduction is designed to exemplify how writers think about and produce text. The guiding features are the following:

Every good piece of writing is an argument.
Everything worth writing and reading begins with a specific question.
Improving skills takes practice, feedback, and re-thinking, redoing, revising.

The layout of our book implies there is a beginning, middle, and end to a writing course, but because writing is both an art and a skill, people will find their own processes for learning, improving, and using these skills. Writing processes differ because we are each looking for a workable schemata that fits our way of thinking. Try out a variety of writing processes and strategies, and find what works for you. If you are not uncomfortable on this journey, you simply are not stretching yet. Learning is prickly, awkward, and risky, so if it does not feel a bit unnerving, push harder and farther.

About the Contributors

Contribute to this page.

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11 English & Writing Composition

Book Collections & Textbooks

Copy(write): Intellectual Property in the Writing Classroom : “The essays in the collection identify and describe a wide range of pedagogical strategies, consider theories, present research, explore approaches, and offer both cautionary tales and local and contextual successes that can further inform the ways in which we situate and address intellectual property issues in our teaching.” ; Part I: The Law, the Landscape, Part II: The Tools, Part III: The Pedagogy
Why Writing Works: Disciplinary Approaches to Composing Texts : Why Writing Works: Disciplinary Approaches to Composing Texts is an open-access, online textbook resource operating under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License . This text was created by professors at Southwest Minnesota State University for their second-year writing class called “Writing in the Professions,” which introduces students to writing in their disciplines. This class teaches students about writing in their academic field.
The Word on College Reading and Writing : An interactive, multimedia text that introduces students to reading and writing at the college level.
English Composition : designed for students to learn the foundational concepts for first-year college composition courses; textbook content aimed at helping students meet these learning objectives: success skills for college learning and intellectual growth, the writing process, essay structure, types of essays, and research skills.
You, Writing! A Guide to College Composition : Intended for use in any first year College Composition class or as a general guide to college writing. The book focuses on writing as a process, not a product. “The goal is to help students discover their own writing process, trying out different methods and strategies to find what works best for them.”

Repositories & Research

ENG 121: English Composition I : Curated English guide from Colorado Community College System (CCCS)/ CCCOnline; Materials have been librarian-curated from a variety of sources and vetted for content and alignment by subject matter experts.
Style for Students Online : A guide for planning a paper, running a grammar check, completing a report, composing an email, puzzling over a usage or grammar issue, or writing a resume or online portfolio
Excelsior Online Writing Lab : An open education resource offering multimedia support for writing and reading. CC BY
ENG122 English Composition II : Curated English guide from Colorado Community College System (CCCS)/ CCCOnline; Materials have been librarian-curated from a variety of sources and vetted for content and alignment by subject matter experts.
Creative Writing Commons : The Digital Commons Network provides free access to full-text scholarly articles and other research from hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide. Curated by university librarians and their supporting institutions, this dynamic research tool includes peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, conference proceedings, and other original scholarly work.

OER SPOTLIGHT: ENGLISH & WRITING

Excelsior Online Writing Lab : a writing platform to support college writers as they begin the process of writing in their courses and transition to writing outside of their introductory writing classes or programs; offers multimedia support for writing and reading including interactive multimedia activities, quizzes, videos, and interactive PDFs – all designed to help writers understand important concepts about writing CC BY

Open Courseware & Learning

Boundless Writing : By Lumen Learning includes chapters on Writing an Effective Paper, The Research Process, Writing Effective Sentences, Writing Across Disciplines, and more.
Introduction to University Writing Course Package : a self-paced writing skills course will assist students to build academic writing skills required at the university/college level. Incorporated in this skill set is the ability to use critical thinking skills to acquire and analyze information and develop knowledge in new areas.
Khan Academy Grammar : Short video clips for explaining: nouns, verbs, pronouns, modifiers, conjunctions, commas, apostrophes; Standard American English.
TEDx Talks-Writing : Life Lessons and College Adventures in College Essay Writing ; Can we really teach writing? ; Look deeper — write — the wonders of writing ; Write well. Start writing now. ; Everything you need to write a poem (and how it can save a life) ; Creative Writing for the Classroom ; The Moral of the Story: What Creative Writing Teaches You ; Writing Into Literacy

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What can dialogue and internal thoughts often tell the reader?
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What does it mean to refer to the "voice" in a piece of literature?
Is it correct to say that historical fiction can not occur in the present?
Why would you use synonyms in your writing?
In a Christmas Carol, why did the first spirit visit Scrooge?
How are dynamic characters different from static characters?
How should you fill in the blank in the following sentence? "The children are playing #ul(color(white)("xxxxxxx"))# the park".
A haiku has how many lines?
Question #c8b39
If a story is told by a character in the story, from which point of view is it written?
Question #35b6a
Question #9e988
Does this paragraph need any changes and are there any errors?
When writing dialogue, with what type of speech would you be most likely to use slang?
Question #19d32
Question #c0c02
Question #71ad5
Question #0fbb5
What is the role of diction in writing?
What are some good ways of improving poetry analysis?
Question #ea2aa

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Creative Writing Core Requirements (12 Hours)

Poetry (12 hours).

ENGL 3150A - Introduction to Creative Writing - Poetry 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3150C - Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry, Fiction, & Creative Nonfiction 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3170 - Poetic Techniques 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3180A - Contemporary Poetry 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4310A - Senior Seminar: Workshop in Poetry-CTW 3 Credit Hours

Fiction (12 Hours)

ENGL 3150B - Introduction to Creative Writing - Fiction 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3160 - Narrative Techniques 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3180B - Contemporary Fiction Craft 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4310B - Senior Seminar: Workshop in Fiction-CTW 3 Credit Hours

Methods: Select one course from Literature Studies Area 1 (3 Hours)

ENGL 3040 - Introduction to Literary Studies 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3105 - Practical Grammar 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3210 - Advanced Grammar 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3220 - History of the English Language 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3225 - The History and Future of the Book 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3230 - History of Literary and Cultural Theory 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3250 - Topics in Contemporary Theory 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3260 - Theories of Popular Culture 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3995 - Feminist Literary Criticism 3 Credit Hours
FOLK 3100 - Folklore and Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4204 - Special Topics: Literature, Criticism, and Theory 3 Credit Hours

Literature before 1800: Select one class from Literature Studies Area 2 (3 Hours)

ENGL 3280 - English Drama before 1800 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3290 - English Fiction before 1800 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3300 - Medieval English Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3310 - Old English 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3350 - Literature and War 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3400 - Courtiers, Clergy, and Poets 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3410 - Seduction, Revolution, and the Rise of Science 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3420 - Mythology 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3500 - Restoration and Earlier Eighteenth-Century English Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3510 - Later Eighteenth-Century English Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3520 - Life Writing 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3550 - Early Indigenous Literatures 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3800 - Early American Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3915 - Literature of the Early South 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3980 - Women’s Literature before 1800 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4110 - Chaucer 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4130 - Shakespeare, Earlier Works 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4140 - Shakespeare, Later Works 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4150 - Milton 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4100 - Study of a Single Author before 1800 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4201 - Special Topics before 1800 3 Credit Hours

Literature after 1800: Select one course from Literature Studies Area 3 (3 Hours)

ENGL 3605 - Late Romanticism 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3610 - Love and Death in Victorian Poetry 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3620 - Victorian Novels 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3630 - Haunted Texts 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3695 - LGBTQ Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3700 - Early Twentieth-Century British Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3710 - Late Twentieth-Century British Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3720 - Twentieth-Century English Poetry 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3810 - American Romantics 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3820 - Realism and Naturalism 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3830 - American Modernisms 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3840 - Postmodern American Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3850 - American Poetry 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3860 - American Drama 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3865 - The Short Story 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3875 - Science Fiction 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3885 - Contemporary Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3895 - Comics and the Graphic Novel 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3900 - Irish Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3905 - Jewish Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3910 - The Tradition of Children’s and Young Adults’ Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3920 - Southern Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3930 - Modern Drama 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3940 - Postcolonial Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3945 - Literature and Global Conflict 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3950 - African-American Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3960 - African-American Literature by Women 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3965 - African Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3970 - Caribbean Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3975 - Later Indigenous Literatures 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3990 - Women’s Literature after 1800 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4010 - Topics in African American Culture 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4020 - Advanced Study in Indigenous Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4030 - Literature and the City 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4040 - Religion and Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4050 - Transnational Literature 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4101 - Study of a Single Author after 1800 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 4202 - Special Topics after 1800 3 Credit Hours

4000-level Literature Elective: Select one 4000-level course from Literature Studies Area 2 or Area 3 (3 Hours)

Creative writing, literature, rhetoric and composition, folklore, pre-education in english electives (6 hours).

Select two 3000-level or 4000-level English or Folklore courses.

When choosing classes from this section, consider how you can use this coursework to increase your professional and/or personal post-graduate options. If your primary interest is writing poetry or fiction, take an additional Creative Writing class or classes (fiction if your sub-concentration is poetry, poetry if your sub-concentration is fiction; ENGL 3205 Special Topics in Creative Writing; ENGL 3190A Introduction to Podcasting; etc.). If you would like the option of entering the workforce directly after graduation, use these elective hours to prepare for a career as a technical or professional writer by enrolling in ENGL 3110 Technical Writing or ENGL 4510 Grant and Proposal Writing. If you’re considering graduate school in Literature, Creative Writing, or a research-and-writing-focused field (Law, Education, etc.), choose an additional Literature or Folklore class. Editing classes, including ENGL 3140 Editing for Publication and ENGL 3200 Introduction to Literary Editing and Publishing, can be useful if you’re interested in launching your own magazine or small press or in entering the workforce as an editor. ENGL 4500 Internship offers a variety of experiences useful for both professional and personal growth.

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A busy beginning to the spring term in the english and creative writing department.

It's been a busy beginning to the spring term, around campus, and in the English and Creative Writing department, with several exciting events already taking place.

Peter Orner and Liniers in conversation with an audience of people.

In the first week of the term, we had several well-attended events in celebration of the 150th birthday of Robert Frost. An article in The Dartmouth covers these lively events held in collaboration with other departments. In the second week of the term, Argentinian Cartoonist Liniers was off-site at Still North in conversation with Professor Peter Orner, and focused on Liniers's new book Optimism Is for the Brave . The conversation was joyous, warm, and humorous while taking a direct look at the state of affairs. A friend of Liniers who attended the event referred to optimism as being Liniers's superpower. Read more about the event here .

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2024 creative writing award winners, april 11, 2024.

Quantá Holden | Duke English | Digital Communication Specialist

The English Department at Duke University is honored to announce the winners of the 2024 Creative Writing Contests and Creative Writing Scholarships. Annually, the department administers creative writing contests to recognize fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry works by English majors and non-major undergraduates.

The English Department is honored to announce the winners of its 2024 writing contests. The department administers writing contests to recognize fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and critical writing by English majors and non-major undergraduates.

Congratulations to all of this year's winners!

Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Fiction Family members and friends of former English student Anne Flexner (1945) established the Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Creative Writing to recognize undergraduates for their work in fiction and poetry.

Makee Gonzalez Anderson ’24 - “Here, in the Past Tense” Second Prize: Emma Huang, ’25 - "ABEL’S PLACE"

Reynolds Price Award for Fiction The Reynolds Price Fiction Award was established in memory of the distinguished novelist, essayist, poet, and public intellectual Reynolds Price, a graduate of Duke and professor in the English Department for over 50 years. Tomas Esber, ’24 - “Ridgewood” Second Prize: Matthew Chen, ’26 - “ABC” & “Chair"

CREATIVE NONFICTION

George P. Lucaci Award for Creative NonFiction This award was created to encourage creative nonfiction writing and honor George P. Lucaci, a former Duke student who has actively supported undergraduate creative writing in the English Department for many years.

Ruby Wang, ’24 - “Blood Orison” Second Prize: Rowan Huang, ’24 - “Arms Outstretched"

Academy of American Poets Prize Founded in 1934 in New York City, the Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization advocating for American poets and poetry.  Its mission is to support American poets at all stages of their careers and foster contemporary poetry appreciation. Nima Babajani-Feremi, ’24 - “Dreams to Persepolis” Honorable Mention: Tyler King, ’25 - "NO QUARTER"

Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Poetry Family members and friends of former English student Anne Flexner (1945) established the Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Creative Writing to recognize undergraduates for their work in fiction and poetry. Jocelyn Chin, 24 - “Endurance” Second Prize: Arielle Stern, ’25 - "The Poem as Event"

Terry Welby Tyler, Jr. Award for Poetry This award was established by the family of Terry Welby Tyler, Jr., who would have graduated with the class of 1997 to recognize and honor outstanding undergraduate poetry. Arim Lim, ’26 - "Archeopteryx"

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Creative Writing Program Director Roy Scranton wins Guggenheim Fellowship

Published: April 11, 2024

Author: Paul Cunningham

Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Program Director Dr. Roy Scranton has been named a 2024 Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation , and awarded a grant supporting his forthcoming book Ethical Pessimism: Climate Change and the Limits of Narrative . Now in its 99th year, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation recognizes & awards monetary prizes to the 2024 class of trail-blazing fellows across 52 fields.

“Humanity faces some profound existential challenges,” said Edward Hirsch, award-winning poet and president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. “The Guggenheim Fellowship is a life-changing recognition. It’s a celebrated investment into the lives and careers of distinguished artists, scholars, scientists, writers and other cultural visionaries who are meeting these challenges head-on and generating new possibilities and pathways across the broader culture as they do so.”

In all, 52 scholarly disciplines and artistic fields, 84 academic institutions, 38 US states and the District of Columbia, and four Canadian provinces are represented in the 2024 class, who range in age from 28 to 89. More than 40 Fellows (roughly 1 out of 4) do not hold a full-time affiliation with a college or university. Many Fellows’ projects directly respond to timely issues such as democracy and politics, identity, disability activism, machine learning, incarceration, climate change and community. Since its founding in 1925, the Foundation has awarded over $400 million in fellowships to more than 19,000 fellows.

Dr. Roy Scranton is an essayist, novelist, literary critic, and climate philosopher, best known for his work on war, war literature, and the Anthropocene. He is the author of five books, and has written widely for publications such as the New York Times , Rolling Stone , MIT Technology Review , the Yale Review , and elsewhere. Dr. Scranton grew up in Oregon, dropped out of college, and spent his early twenties wandering the American West. He served four years in the US Army (2002–2006), including fourteen months in Iraq, then completed his bachelor’s degree and earned a master’s degree at the New School for Social Research, before earning a Ph.D. in English at Princeton. His essay “Learning How to Die in the Anthropocene” was selected for the 2015 Best American Science and Nature Writing . He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences at Rice University, has been awarded a Whiting Fellowship in the Humanities and a Lannan Literary Fellowship for Fiction, and held the inaugural Teaching Lab Fellowship at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study.

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Creative writing events in april feature industry professionals.

April 10, 2024

Colophon, conversations on publishing, is featuring events on April 17 and 19, free and open to the public. The series, part of the Creative Writing Program, places editors, agents, writers, and other publishing insiders, in conversation about literary careers.

April 17: Editor and agent discuss publishing industry Legendary editor Sarah Crichton, and agent Jessica Regel, who represents multiple bestsellers, will be in conversation with Creative Writing Program director Timothy Schaffert, about the publishing industry.

For 15 years, Crichton was the publisher of Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of FSG, where she published such award-winning books as "A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah and "The Silver Linings Playbook" by Matthew Quick. During her time as publisher of Little, Brown, Crichton published Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point," David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest," several books by David Sedaris, and acquired "Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold.

Regel is the founder of Helm Literary. After growing up in Iowa, Regel entered the book industry and became familiar with all components of an author's contract, including foreign, film, and audio rights. She agented Emily Danforth's UNL dissertation, "The Miseducation of Cameron Post." Among her other credits: the bestsellers "Beautiful Little Fools" by Jillian Cantor, "Bad Vibes Only" by Nora McInerny, "All the Ugly and Wonderful Things" by Bryn Greenwood, and many others.

April 19: Literary Editing and Publishing Poetry Drawing from their work as editors, the two poets will reflect on the role of literature in the advancement of intellectual and cultural modernity in Africa and the United States.

A poet, translator, and essayist, Daniel Simon is assistant director and editor in chief of World Literature Today magazine at the University of Oklahoma, where he also serves on the English, International Studies, and Judaic Studies faculty. The author of two previous verse collections, "Cast Off" (2015) and "After Reading Everything" (2016), his third book of poems, "Under a Gathering Sky," is new from Stephen F. Austin State University Press.

Chibueze Darlington Anuonye, a P.hD student in the English Department, is the curator of "Selfies and Signatures: An Afro Anthology of Short Stories," co-editor of "Daybreak: An Anthology of Nigerian Short Fiction" and editor of "Through the Eye of a Needle: Art in the Time of Coronavirus." Anuonye was longlisted for the 2018 Babishai Niwe African Poetry Award. "Unbound," his co-edited anthology of contemporary Nigerian poetry (with Nduka Otiono), is forthcoming.

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