Sample Textbook Precis

Lunsford, Andrea A., John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Everything's an Argument: With Readings. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. Print.

Our textbook for this year is Everything’s an Argument: With Readings. I’ve chosen this book because it goes into great detail about different types of writing and the elements of rhetoric. In each of the chapters, which are centered around rhetorical principles such as inductive and deductive reasoning or around types of argumentative essays, there are specific examples that can be used as a model for us to analyze in class. There are also collected essays on various topical subjects such as cultural differences in America that illustrate the rhetorical principles in a “real life” setting.

We have a variety of writing activities planned for the year that will help you to build on the foundation of your previous years in Language Arts classrooms, and that will add knowledge to your repertoire of literacy. Some examples of writing activities that we will do are: regular writing in your journals, to include reflections on articles or stories that we read in class as well as responses to specific questions related to the things that we read. When we read The Hunger Games, you will respond to each chapter in various ways. Another example of writing that we will do is to have you find a newspaper article that is arguing a specific position and form a rebuttal, and when we read Romeo & Juliet you will write a 2-3 page argument about a change that a character undergoes in the play. You will use as many logical fallacies (which we will learn about in class) to write the essay as you can possibly fit into it. Once you’ve finished that, you’ll exchange papers with a classmate and identify each logical fallacy and a possible way to correct it. We’re really working on responsive writing as well as argumentative writing, and I know that you’re going to wow me, and yourselves!