The Prentice Hall Reader

by George E. Miller (Editor)

This classic, best-selling reader focuses on the modes of writing--offering an abundance of interesting and appealing essays and varied writing assignments to help readers develop skill in using each rhetorical mode. Features 64 readings--organized according to rhetorical mode and level of difficulty--ranging from classic to contemporary selections, and including essays written by women and minority writers. Supporting content includes separate chapters on How to Read an Essay; How to Write an Essay; and Revision; and a section on "Gathering, Using, and Documenting Sources" (including finding, using, and documenting electronic sources). Features examples of revision done by professional writers showing early drafts as well as final versions of their published works, including a case study of a revision that follows an essay from journal entries to published format--with an interview with the author. For anyone interested in gaining writing proficiency in the various rhetorical modes.

Genres: Reference, School

666 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essay "I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady deflected the path of my life in the same way that a NASA spacecraft recently changed the trajectory of an asteroid.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.