For courses in Argument and Research.
This version of Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, Concise has been updated the reflect the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook (April 2016) *
Teach students to read arguments critically and to produce effective arguments
Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, Concise Edition, Seventh Edition integrates four different approaches to argument: the enthymeme as a logical structure, the classical concepts of logos, pathos, and ethos, the Toulmin system, and stasis theory. Focusing on argument as dialogue in search of solutions instead of a pro-con debate with winners and losers, it is consistently praised for teaching the critical-thinking skills needed for writing arguments. Major assignment chapters each focus on one or two classical stases (e.g. definition, resemblance, causal, evaluation, and policy). Each concept is immediately reinforced with discussion prompts, and each chapter ends with multiple comprehensive writing assignments. This concise version contains all of chapters in the Brief Edition, but excludes some sections and exercises to increase savings. Also available in a Comprehensive version (032190673X) and a Brief version (0321964276).
*The 8th edition introduces sweeping changes to the philosophy and details of MLA works cited entries. Responding to the “increasing mobility of texts,” MLA now encourages writers to focus on the process of crafting the citation, beginning with the same questions for any source. These changes, then, align with current best practices in the teaching of writing which privilege inquiry and critical thinking over rote recall and rule-following.
John C. Bean is an emeritus professor of English at Seattle University, where he held the title of “Consulting Professor of Writing and Assessment.” He has an undergraduate degree from Stanford (1965) and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington (1972). He is the author of Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom, 2nd edition (Jossey-Bass, 2011). He is also the co-author of three widely-used composition textbooks–Writing Arguments, The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing, and Reading Rhetorically. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on writing in the disciplines as well as on literary subjects. His current research interests focus on pedagogical strategies for teaching undergraduate research including quantitative literacy, disciplinary methods of inquiry and argument, and the problem of “transfer of learning” as students move through and across a curriculum. He has delivered lectures and conducted workshops on writing-across-the-curriculum throughout the United States and Canada as well as for universities in Germany, Bangladesh, and Ghana. In 2010 his article “Messy Problems and Lay Audiences: Teaching Critical Thinking within the Finance Curriculum” (co-authored with colleagues from finance and economics) won the 2009 McGraw-Hill — Magna Publications Award for the year’s best “scholarly work on teaching and learning.”
