What do you think?
Rate this book
The Curious Writer [with MyWritingLab Access Code]
For courses in First-Year Composition - Rhetoric.
This version of The Curious Writer has been updated to reflect the 8th Edition of the MLA Handbook (April 2016)*
Puts inquiry at the heart of good writing
We write to learn as much as we do to express what we already know. In his remarkably personal and engaging voice, Bruce Ballenger makes that powerful concept central to The Curious Writer.
The Curious Writer doesn't read like a textbook or provide a formula for composing essays. Instead, it encourages students to suspend judgment, to ask questions, and to seek answers much like academics do. Yet it covers a wide range of genres beyond the academic essay--narrative, profile, review, ethnography, argument, and more--all with a distinctive approach and "personality" that is lacking in other texts. It also reinforces the assumption that genres are malleable with a new chapter on repurposing or "re-genre-ing."
Students love that this book helps them learn to write by pursuing their own curiosity. Teachers appreciate that Ballenger gives students ample opportunity to develop the habits of mind necessary to become critical thinkers and curious writers.
* 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.
This version of The Curious Writer has been updated to reflect the 8th Edition of the MLA Handbook (April 2016)*
Puts inquiry at the heart of good writing
We write to learn as much as we do to express what we already know. In his remarkably personal and engaging voice, Bruce Ballenger makes that powerful concept central to The Curious Writer.
The Curious Writer doesn't read like a textbook or provide a formula for composing essays. Instead, it encourages students to suspend judgment, to ask questions, and to seek answers much like academics do. Yet it covers a wide range of genres beyond the academic essay--narrative, profile, review, ethnography, argument, and more--all with a distinctive approach and "personality" that is lacking in other texts. It also reinforces the assumption that genres are malleable with a new chapter on repurposing or "re-genre-ing."
Students love that this book helps them learn to write by pursuing their own curiosity. Teachers appreciate that Ballenger gives students ample opportunity to develop the habits of mind necessary to become critical thinkers and curious writers.
* 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.
- GenresNonfiction
448 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2008
7 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 28, 2017
Used this title in Composition I and II for undergraduates, and it's a good introduction to collegiate writing. It gradually builds to the formal research essay and the type of writing that will be expected of them at this level. It also pairs with Pearson Online "My Writing Lab" which creates weekly exercises for the students. Good for using with lower skill sets, but students with higher skill sets will find the work a bit mundane.
December 29, 2016
I love the essay structures taught in this book, from the profile to the proposal to my favorite of all, the ethnography. Still, the essays Ballenger includes in his superior The Curious Researcher have greater depth and interest for students, so I ended up heavily supplementing this text last semester in freshman composition.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews