This rhetorical reader emphasizes process by presenting a student essay in each chapter in both its first and final draft. Widely known for George Miller's supportive voice and highly reliable writing assignments, "The Prentice Hall Reader" balances classic and contemporary essays, arranged in increasing level of difficulty in each chapter. Extensive reading, writing, and research instruction and an exceptionally comprehensive instructor manual make this rhetorical reader an effective text for any writing program.
Sometimes I just want to read a good essay, and The Prentice Hall Reader contains a lot of good essays. I got about halfway through and the categories became uninteresting (an essay on the lethal ingredients of toothpaste circa 1985? 1990?). The presumed readers of this book are students, so it's about teaching folks how to write, and I didn't read all the accompanying material.
I just lost interest when the essays became clever but nothing to admire; I'm sure there are other good essays further along, and, after all, the purpose here is to teach students to write; an essay about toothpaste might actually be more helpful for students who might need to write papers for their geology class.
So even though I only read half of it I figure I can take credit for reading it all. (Actually, I read less than 1/4 of it, since I mostly skipped the didactic portions and stuck to the essays themselves.