{"data":[{"id":45,"title":"Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing Vol. I","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2010,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Volumes in Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing offer multiple perspectives on a wide-range of topics about writing, much like the modelmade famous by Wendy Bishop's “The Subject Is . . .” series. In eachchapter, authors present their unique views, insights, and strategies forwriting by addressing the undergraduate reader directly. Drawing ontheir own experiences, these teachers-as-writers invite students to joinin the larger conversation about developing nearly every aspect of thecraft of writing. Consequently, each essay functions as a standalonetext that can easily complement other selected readings in writing orwriting-intensive courses across the disciplines at any level. Topics in Volume 1 of the series include academic writing, how to interpret writing assignments, motives for writing, rhetorical analysis, revision, invention, writing centers, argumentation, narrative, reflective writing, Wikipedia, patchwriting, collaboration, and genres.","contributors":[{"id":2015,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":"Dr","first_name":"Charlie","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Lowe","location":"Grand Valley State University","background_text":"Dr. Charlie Lowe is an assistant professor in the Department of Writing at Grand Valley State University where he teaches first year composition, professional writing, and web design, and he is a strong advocate of open source software adoption and open access publishing."},{"id":2016,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":"Dr","first_name":"Pavel","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Zemliansky","location":"James Madison University","background_text":"Dr. Pavel Zemliansky is an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication at James Madison University where he teaches courses in composition, rhetoric, and professional communication."}],"subjects":[{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":33,"name":"Literature, Rhetoric, and Poetry","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"PE1408","visible_textbooks_count":124,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/literature-rhetoric-and-poetry"}],"publishers":[{"id":203,"url":"https://wac.colostate.edu/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:38.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-07-24T16:41:36.000-05:00","name":"WAC Clearinghouse"}],"formats":[{"id":373,"type":"PDF","url":"https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces/writingspaces1/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":18,"reviews":[{"id":100,"first_name":"Linda","last_name":"Haynes","position":"Assistant Director of Introductory Composition","institution_name":"Purdue University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers most of the topics that are important in a first-semester composition course. The principles of rhetoric that students need to understand and practice to write well in their college courses are presented with accessible language. The authors of the articles define terms well and explain why the material is important to learn (in college and beyond). Topics covered include how to do an effective peer review (with a strong example), writing and working in a group, and identifying and writing in genres (with excellent examples). The three chapters on invention seemed a bit redundant, but I found myself wanting to see more material like the articles on writing in the first person and writing reflection and revision (again, with excellent examples provided). I also appreciated the article on using the Writing Center. The index is comprehensive, but this book includes no glossary (which would be a helpful addition). In the introduction to \"Composing the Anthology: An Exercise in Patchwriting\" the author suggests that he will discuss the risks associated with patchwriting, but we don't get that information in this article. I would like to have seen a following article about using proper attribution. Many native speakers do not understand the benefits of working with multilingual writers, so another helpful chapter would have covered writers whose second language is English working collaboratively (or in peer reviews) with writers whose primary language is English.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The articles within this book appear to be accurate and unbiased.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book is a collection of articles, a format which allows it to be easily updated as needed; I don't see obsolescence as being an issue. Future editions can easily include articles that cover current technologies that are being developed. As written, the articles are up-to-date.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The accessible prose in the articles of this book make it most attractive to me as an instructor. Getting students to read what I've assigned can be challenging when prose is perceived to be turgid. In this book students will find only inviting and interesting articles with introductions that pull them into the text, often with an explanation as to WHY they should continue to read the article. At the end of each article, students will find discussion questions, but these articles are interesting enough that I envision a good deal of open discussion without need for these prompts. All jargon and potentially unfamiliar terminology is defined. The authors offer accessible examples to further explain concepts.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Many composition textbooks (and most instructors) may refer to the same concepts using different terms, and a few authors in this book used terms I don't usually use; however, I did not find this to be a problem in this book. These authors all define terms so well that I could use this perceived inconsistency as a way to discuss language's flexibility and the importance of defining terms for our readers.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Chapters (articles) within this book could easily be assigned in any order depending on the needs of the curriculum and the needs of the students.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of the book as a whole makes perfect sense, and readings could be assigned in the order the articles are presented. Each article does have a natural flow into the next. However, the articles could also be assigned independently--in any order depending on students' needs.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I viewed this book in Preview, and the graphics were a little fuzzy. Those included were helpful to enhance students' understanding of the texts. Navigating the book from a .pdf file was clunky. Again, I was viewing in Preview which students could also be using. (Not everyone has access to Acrobat Pro.) If instructors assign the articles in the order they are published, students could simply bookmark the readings as they go. Otherwise, students must go to the Table of Contents, note the page number and add 15 (to account for the cover and all introductory front pages that are included in the preview's pages), then select Contact Sheet from the View drop down menu, scroll to find the article they are assigned (page number + 15) and double click on that. Perhaps this is easier in Acrobat Pro, but having hyperlinks from the Table of Contents directly to the articles would be helpful. Another work-around would be to have students access the chapters/articles directly from the Parlor Press website where the Table of Contents does include hyperlinks to the individual chapters.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The articles in this book are well revised and proofread. I noticed no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I noticed nothing culturally insensitive or offensive. However, I would have liked to see an article specifically about writers and cultural sensitivity, especially when students are writing collaboratively or working through peer reviews.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"For the Fall 2014 semester, I will ask my mentor group of eight new composition instructors to use the articles in Writing Spaces, Volume 1 as supplemental readings in their First-Year Composition courses. I expect this book to help them immensely by replacing lectures with interesting readings that can be discussed in class. The instructors may then focus more on creating interactive writing exercises and assignments that relate to these readings. / / In addition, I will assign some of the articles for my Advanced Composition students as review material.","created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":116,"first_name":"Melanie","last_name":"Senn","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"California Polytechnic State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The first thing I noticed about Writing Spaces was the comprehensive table of contents and the varied authors. I have been teaching a first-year writing course titled Writing and Rhetoric for almost a decade, and Lowe and Zemliansky have included pieces on every aspect of writing I touch on in my own classes--everything from using the first person (Ch. 12: I Need You to Say \"I\": Why First Person is Important in College Writing by Kate McKinney Maddalena) to utilizing the University Writing and Rhetoric Center (Ch. 10: Why Visit Your Campus Writing Center? by Ben Rafoth), which I require, to collaborating digitally in groups, another requirement in my class (Ch. 16: Collaborating Online: Digital Strategies for Group Work by Anthony T. Atkins). One particular chapter (Ch. 4: The Inspired Writer vs. the Real Writer by Sarah Allen) would be a perfect fit for anyone who does a Writer's History kind of assignment.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found the text to be accurate and error-free with no discernible bias.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text seems both timeless in the chapters that discuss the writing process (that never really changes, does it?) and other more contemporary chapters, such as a terrific chapter on the usefulness of Wikipedia (Ch. 14: Wikipedia Is Good for You!? by James P. Purdy). The text feels well-organized and seems like it would be easy to update.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I think most first-year writing students would find the prose and voice of the chapters accessible, yet intelligent and insightful.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The chapters seem consistent.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text covers a wide range of topics without too much overlap or redundancy.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book seems well-organized.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I found no problems with the interface; the articles are mostly writing, and in fact, my only concern with the text is that it is so much text, with so little visual media. But in that way the chapters themselves may serve as models for the students for the kind of writing they do in their writing classes.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text didn't have anything offensive that I could find. However, I'm not sure the text provides much variety in terms of race, ethnicities and backgrounds.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This text would be a good supplement in a writing class.","created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":133,"first_name":"Sunyoung","last_name":"Kim","position":"E-campus Korean Instructor","institution_name":"Oregon State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers many areas of challenges and questions that the first year college students might encounter in writing at higher education.The text is written in narrative essay style which makes easy to read, yet the contents are informative. This textbook provides 17 chapters written by 17 different respective writers, which bring many aspects of subjects in writing. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The text provides external link to clarify the accuracy of each term ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text is written in a way to update/modify the content easily and straightforward to implement. The table of content leads student to each chapter for brief description and allows students to downloads the full PDF file for the text. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text provides external links for each academic terms for accuracy and clarity, which makes resourceful for online textbook, ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is internally consistent in terms of framework in general ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text is easily divisible into each chapter for the link to download or to browse description of each chapter. However, it would have been better to make hyperlink on external sources or citations for advanced search. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is presented in a consistent flow","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The text is mostly free of interface issues except for external sources. ","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The text is peer reviewed and presented in narrative style,yet no significant grammatical errors found. ","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"The text doesn't necessary provides examples that are inclusive of cultural diversity.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":155,"first_name":"Chris ","last_name":"Edison","position":"Graduate Assistant","institution_name":"University of Oklahoma","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook presents complex rhetorical concepts in a language students would likely find approachable.  This approachability is very attractive to me as an instructor.  I especially appreciated how the book's chapters are scaffolded, beginning by asking students to think about \"What is Academic Writing\" (Ch. 2) and progressing to explore rhetorical analysis, audience awareness, the downfalls of treating argument as \"war,\" making strategic use of Wikipedia, etc...  Many of the chapters, besides offering students an accessible presentation of rhetorical concepts, also include suggested activities that would push students to develop procedural knowledge of the writing practices that work best for them (though I wish there were more of these activities).  For example, chapter five pushes students to analyze rhetoric at work in the media by encouraging them to think, as Peter Elbow would have it, that argument is everywhere.  As far as the index is concerned, I would imagine teachers could integrate indexed texts into their own lesson plans, and students would have a wide range of research options at the ready.  That being said, I would like to have seen more attention paid to genres, perhaps another essay on that subject replacing one of the 'invention' chapters.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I found no issues with the book's accuracy, though I do wonder if, at times, the casual language might encourage inaccurate readings on the part of some students.  I wonder if the strategic informality of this book's style might result in students adopting an informal approach to their composition classes and the work produced therein.  This is not to say that the more casual style of this book is without merit (finding approachable material is a \"must\" in composition classes), only that I would like to see the book, at times, set higher expectations for the students who will read it.  I usually found the book's language more problematic when it seemed unsupported by research - something I found to be problematic in chapter four, for example, where the argument about the inspired writer (vs. the real writer) is supported primarily by examples from the author's personal experience.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book meets students where they are at in terms of  students in today's world.  If needed, individual chapters could be updated and/or replaced without affecting the organization of the book as a whole.  There are a few instances where pop-cultural references will need to be updated, but I view this need as inevitable when finding concepts and examples to which students can relate.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book's clarity is one of its strongest attributes.  Terms are always defined.  Students will no doubt find the book's language accessible - though I do think the book could be improved by including some essays that do more to challenge our students with more difficult readings.  However, if teachers do wish to complement the book's content with more difficult reading material, many of the sources listed in the book's index would provide exactly that.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This book's terminology and framework are consistent.  Ideas and concepts such as 'audience' are repeated in several chapters, a consistency that would push students to adapt their understanding of them to new contexts and arguments.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Modularity is not a problem with Writing Spaces.  Chapters and even sections of chapters could be introduced at the instructor's discretion, depending on the scaffolding of lesson plans and student needs.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The topics in this book are ideally organized.  Students are first familiarized with academic writing and the expectations associated with it and then progress to learn about - and practice - various stages of the writing process, from invention to self-reflection.  I do wish the book included more questions at the end of chapters, as well as more procedural activities that push students to develop their own content/knowledge.   To be clear, I do think the activities and questions already present in the book are helpful; but I would appreciate more focus on procedural activities and more extensive lists of questions. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I had no problems with the book's interface, and the option to download to scannable pdf files is a godsend (this would give students the ability to practice active reading techniques such as highlighting, underlining, marginal notes, etc.. electronically).  I do wish hyperlinks within the text were \"functional,\" as I had to copy and paste links to my browser in order to view them.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no grammar mistakes while reading Writing Spaces.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I did not find any examples of cultural insensitivity in the book.  I would, however, like to see more content devoted to exploring how cultural insensitivities are maintained and even generated by the prestige often attached to \"educated\" forms of writing.   ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2015-01-12T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2015-01-12T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":177,"first_name":"Karolyn","last_name":"Redoutey","position":"Senior Academic Advisor/Instructor","institution_name":"University of Minnesota","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Instructors who might adopt this text need more organization in the Table of Contents. Here are some suggestions:\r\nPre-writing: Bunn 71/Charleton 122/ Exploratory writing: (Reid3/Ramsdell 270/ perhaps Boyd) Essay Writing: Krause 71/ DasBender 37/ SAvini 52/Corcoran 24 /Kahn 175/Lynch 286  Reserach Driscoll 153/Haller 193/Rosenberg 210/ McClure 221/Stedman 242/ Walker 257 TEchnology and Research (Alex Reid 302, Barton-Klint 320 Group work Ingalls\r\n\r\nEven though this is a modular text, you can see from the above suggestions, that what is offered is somewhat uneven. I believe there was only one essay that touched on peer review at all, important in any kind of writing.  Some of the essays that are exploratory about how to write or get started don't connect well necessarily with how to do research.  Is research writing the primary aim of this text?  It is hard to know, since the text seems to lack identity right now as to its audience and the connections it needs to make from pre-writing to storytelling (?) essay writing (?) research writing (?)  These are very different kinds of writing. Mastering one doesn't necessarily lead to proficiency in another.  More connection of concepts from selection to selection might be needed.  \r\nAlso, what kind of audience is this book for?  What kind of level of student?  It seemed to be all over the place.  ,. Perhaps less could be more in this regard, or better connections/organization.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I did not find any glaring inaccuracies. Since the text is not heavy on technology, and is more about applications of theoretical theories of writing, it is more a question of how the various styles affect communication.   On p. 104, for example, I found he statement: \"First-year writing is about making stuff up.\" This is an example of how some of the authors, especially,Reid, Corcoran, Kahn and Rosenberg write for a perceived audience that is adolescent, and I am not sure this is successful. It leads to interpretations of writing that aren't necessarily well-thought out. I thought this is the author attempting to appeal to students who didn't want to write. Co-incidentally, these authors also had long sentences, or meandering personal thoughts that really didn't add to the text. If you compare this kind of writing to  the polished  work of Ingalls  and Krause, you see how much more comprehensively written the latter are ( and the offerings later in the text in general).   I guess I am addressing the accuracy and acuity that comes through well thought-out approaches to instruction","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Except for a few of the entries that are based in technology, the text could last quite a long time.  Hopefully, Google Docs and other programs will be with us for a while.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"I found some examples of writers stumbling over their sentences, as if the text was written pretty quickly and the deadline was nearing.  This at times made the text less effective.  I found this to be true especially of Reid, Corcoran and Kahn.  With Reid's essay, to use as an example, the  reliance on parenthesis and dashes made me feel as if she hadn't really done the final draft.  The address to the student audience seemed rushed and made a lot of assumptions, as it did with Corcoran and Kahn.  \"Trading rules for freedom\" (109) is not exactly how the student works in a research environment, and while I see the need for freedom, there needs to be some  bridging essay that would help students go from free-writing to more polished writing.  This is always a challenge, of course,\r\nOn the other hand, Ingalls, Krause, Walker, and Lynch wrote essays that were beautifully clear and could be easily understood, since they had taken more time to think through steps and processes, and had a respectful, and considerate understanding of their audience ( not an imagined one). ","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"As I have said, the writing largely in the first half of the text needs considerable re-writing.  I found that that the essays on research were written more carefully generally. The essays on how to write, or how to generate writing,seemed to be less carefully written.  The style was free and easy, but this often led to less effective paragraphs, lack of cohesion, and less effective writing models. \r\nSome of the authors were relying on the theories of composition gurus like Wendy Bishop, and others were relying more on their own ideas.  The lack of consistency between the interpretations of other's work and writers who could really own their ideas  often showed in the writing itself. Some of the essays seemed only  half instructive, as if the author was not really grounded in what he or she was writing about.\r\nAgain, it gets back to the purpose of the book, and its lack of big picture organization which could be resolved through better organization of overall contents","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"Yes, I see that this is a modular book, and I realize that any essay might be extracted at any time and fit into a course.   Why, though, was a storytelling essay (270) and an essay on the essay ( 286)inserted  into a grouping of essays on sources, MLA,  and other research-related material toward  the end of the text ?.  These were well-written essays, but they would seem to relate to other kinds of writing offered in the text.  Given how the text is organized, I would think composition instructors or any instructor would like some direction on how the text might be used.  This book might be adopted, and/or adapted, more easily if it offered some bridging or direction, as I suggested in #1. ","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"I think I have addressed the over- all structure and flow in #1; improvements could be made.  Another problem in the book is not only the content, but the kind of student it attempts to address. Sometimes I felt authors were addressing students who perceived writing as \"hard' or uncool, and the authors were trying to show how cool writing really was.  Authors talked about their own difficulties, which I am not sure helped their work.  Use of FYW and RLW, or whatever, were used to mimic texting mentality, I guess.  So, part of the uneven  flow at the sentence and paragraph level come from writers who are writing for a perceived audience who do not like writing.  There are many examples that might be found here, but p. 184 is illustrative of this . This approach falls away later when writers write about research techniques. These writers seem more grounded toward a more mature audience.  Again, there is a problem with identification of  the kind of student the text is really addressing and why.  Students who complete the essays on free-writing and essay writing aren't magically going to become more mature later, so some bridging or re-thinking might help this. An instructors can supply gaps in instruction, up to a point. More could be done with this in the text.. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"All the charts, etc, seem fine.  I could not access the last essay (Beyond Black and White)","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I found one typo on p. 45, ironically when the author was talking about modeling good writing. \r\n Most of the problems were related to style and revision, particularly long, drawn-out sentences where ideas sometimes stumbled over each other, and also problems with address. Some examples:\r\np 63 could use some re-writing\r\np 78 inconsistency in direct address\r\np 87 referent in last paragraph\r\np 88-90 had jargon and needed re-writing","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"An inference was made that President Obama is \"divisive\" figure on p.73. This is not the best way to characterize him, unless you also say that Congress is divisive too....  I did not like the inference there..\r\nI found Paul Lynch's inclusion of Asian essays nice, in addition to his description of Montaigne.\r\nI found some of Savini's writing uneven, but I liked her inclusion of the picture of the woman from Nicaragua and her concern about how this might be perceived. \r\nCertainly more writers of color, topics relating to social justice, writers with disabilities who could present their own experience is much needed in this text.  \r\nMore welcoming could be extended to writers with diverse experience.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"I have taught writing  over a span of 30 years or so, and I can see how many of these individual offering might be useful. In its current condition, I would hesitate to use it.   I think this text is one in a series.  In the future, more care might be paid to creating a better contents page, an introduction on best applications, etc., even for seasoned instructors.  \r\n\r\nThere may be permission problems, and other supplementary material that might be helpful for instructors to know, for instance,  the Annie Dillard essay was missing from Das Bender's essay, and so this made the points less effective.\r\n\r\nSome of the work, as I mentioned above, however, was well worth using.","created_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":196,"first_name":"Ben","last_name":"McCorkle","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"The Ohio State University at Marion","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing Spaces is a fairly comprehensive collection of essays covering a variety of topics germane to the topic of writing and writing development in higher ed. Individual contributions to the collection cover topics ranging from: utilizing sources, incorporating informal web-surfing habits and strategies into research skills, collaborating with other writers, document design and formatting, developing brainstorming techniques, and cultivating critical thinking skills, among others. As a collection, it does a good job of covering most of the bases when it comes to writing: invention, arrangement, style, delivery. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"This category is not entirely applicable, since many of the essays herein offer reflective, opinion-based takes on the role of writing in higher education. Nonetheless, it contains a lot of practical advice based on current best practices in composition studies pedagogy. Nothing in this strikes me as collection strikes me as irresponsible or badly conceived in terms of offering advice and instruction to students.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"It seems to me that there are two basic categories of essay here: 1) the “time-proof” essays that deal with durable rhetorical concepts (strategies for brainstorming, cultivating the critical thinking practice of antithesis, promoting collaboration); 2) the essays that deal with ways of utilizing technology (searching for sources, using collaboration-enabling software). The latter category strikes me as a problem for longevity, although the focus on skills and strategies rather than the particular software makes them more valuable. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Absolutely. The goal of this volume (as well as its companion volume) is to write for an audience of undergraduates. Consequently, the language is overwhelmingly clear and concise, but not patronizing or condescending. In some cases, the selections have elements of humor/snark that I find refreshing (Stedman, Walker), and I imagine that students would also find many of these voices compelling, as models for emulation as well as voices of authority. As a collection, it makes a compelling case to students about the importance of writing in general, as well as the need to improve, means and methods by which that improvement occurs, and practical advice for students to develop writing skills regardless of discipline.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The collection has a consistency of voice throughout and does a good job of reaching undergraduate audience as intended. Overall design/layout of text is professional and functional. Given the nature of the volume (a collection of variously authored essays), each writer is drawing upon different terminologies and field-specific backgrounds (e.g., classical rhetoric, digital media studies, ethnographic concentrations, etc.). This works, as the overall goal of the collection is ultimately to situate writing studies within the broader context of college-level education, so multiple viewpoints and voices helps reinforce this underlying message. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Highlight: the text, as well as volume 1, are explicitly designed as modular collection: obviously, the essays are stand-alone pieces on their own right (written by different authors on distinct topics, with no real cross-talk referencing the other essays), and users have the option of either downloading the entire volume as a single PDF or downloading individual chapters as needed to supplement curriculum. For example, if I were teaching a composition course that highlighted classical rhetorical approaches to writing, I might download Krause’s “On the Other Hand: The Role of Antithetical Writing in First Year Composition Courses,” Charleton’s “The Complexity of Simplicity: Invention Potentials for Writing Students,” and DasBender’s “Critical Thinking in College Writing: From the Personal to the Academic.” Alternatively, if I were teaching a technology-focused course, excerpts by McClure, Reid, and Barton and Klint would be more suitable. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"This category isn’t exactly applicable, in that this resource is a collection of essays by different authors on distinct writing-specific topics. Still, one criticism that one might levy is that certain topics could be clustered--for example, the volume includes a couple of essays that deal with collaboration that might be sequenced more closely together; the same might be said of the technology-focused essays. This didn’t strike me as an immediately pressing problem, though, as the collection lends itself to modularity (i.e., chapters can be downloaded separately).","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"WC exists as a free PDF (or in print form at a price of XXX). Users have the option of downloading the entire volume as a single PDF (with hyperlinked TOC), or individual chapters. The latter option is particularly helpful for those instructors who might wish to incorporate selected excerpts into their own writing curriculum. PDFs travel well across a variety of devices and platforms, so that makes the collection potentially more accessible, although the file format does limit the “expressive regime” that the text might otherwise employ (e.g., animations and other multimedia content). ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Few to none. (Looking over the entire collection *relatively* closely, I don’t recall noticing any.) ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Certainly. Sensitivity with respect to identity politics is endemic to writing studies as a field--this collection reflects that sensitivity. In several instances in the collection, references to different ethnic and racial backgrounds are made in several spots throughout the volume. The majority of references point to racial/ethnic identity (i.e., no references to LGBQT, etc.).","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Writing Spaces vol 2 is a valuable collection in its own right, but should be considered alonside the other WS products (vol. 1, the Web Writing Style Guide, and forthcoming volumes). Taken together, they offer a comprehensive body of work on cutting-edge writing studies pedagogy, as well as practical instruction for students writing in a variety of disciplinary contexts and media forms.","created_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":272,"first_name":"Brian ","last_name":"Hull","position":"Adjunct Professor Liberal Arts/Interdisciplinary Studies","institution_name":"Colorado State University, Fort Collins","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"As anyone who as ever taught composition at the university level knows, teaching this subject matter is extraordinarily complex. Writing Spaces does an excellent job of covering the subject matter from multiple angles. From the nuts and bolts level of effective organization and writing according to MLA style guidelines to the more abstract, yet essential, questions of how to address questions of audience and purpose. The book rightly emphasizes that good writing in an academic setting hinges upon understanding an instructors guidelines and knowing what it is that needs to be achieved. Whether it's addressing creating a debatable thesis that serves as a paper's foundation or whether addressing the subtle nuances of when it's a appropriate to use the first person I when writing academically, Writing Spaces covers a lot of ground and provides a valuable source for academic writers.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Because this book is written in a flexible manner that takes into account the possibility that each instructor will come with his/her personal take, it succeeds in accurately describing the challenges faced by newcomers to academic writing. By describing possible scenarios such as writing a philosophy paper on ethics or a biology paper on genes, Writing Spaces does an excellent job of showing the malleable approach required in order to meet the unique demands that writing, in different genres and subject matters, places on writers. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Arranged in chapters that alternatively address the basics of composition or the more nuanced questions of style and taking ownership of one's intellectual ideas by breaking interdictions of using the personal I in writing, I'm convinced that Writing Spaces will remain an up-to-date and compelling sources for writers. If there are any chapters that are deemed less useful for a particular instructor, it would be easy to forego them or to add new information as an instructor sees fit. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Writing Spaces is very accessible and writing in a lively prose that is personable and addresses the writer as a living, thinking and emotional being who will undoubtedly face challenges, writer's block and all the uncertainty that goes along with the writing process. Rather than just glossing over these challenges Writing Spaces dares to address writing in a holistic manner that is both practical and psychologically relevant. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent in the sense that it acknowledges that a writer has to approach writing like a battlefield on multiple fronts that engage students intellectually, creatively and emotionally. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is definitely \"readymade\" for teaching a freshman level composition class with sections that would be manageable to tackle in one or multiple class sessions. It is well organized and proceeds in logical manner. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The flow proceeds naturally from the basics of writing to more challenging aesthetic questions. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The books interface is simple and straightforward. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is grammatically sound.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Writing Spaces addresses the challenges of entering into an \"alien discourse\" that of academia. It acknowledges that it's a language that many writers will have to learn. Sarah Allen, when speaking about this new discourse, suggests that learning to write well will demand that students dive into subject matters like ethnicity, Marxism, gender etc. with openness and a willingness to learn about heterogenous perspectives. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"As a professor who strives to raise the bar on writing for my own students, I'm glad to know that Writing Spaces is available as a source. It's pithy and full of valuable reminders of what it takes to write well.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":329,"first_name":"Leane","last_name":"Flynn","position":"English Instructor","institution_name":"Central Lakes College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The first volume of Writing Spaces covers many topics that are essential to a first-year writing student's education, including an explication of academic writing, the writing process, and argumentation.  The essays within the text dispel common myths about writers and writing, as well as offer practical strategies for students on topics like how to interpret a writing assignment.  \n\nWriting Spaces is not entirely comprehensive, however, as it largely ignores grammar and punctuation—areas in which first-year college writing students typically need support.  Furthermore, an essay with special considerations for ELL students would be a helpful addition, as would an essay containing a discussion of specific rhetorical modes of development. \n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did not notice any inaccuracies.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"For the most part, Writing Spaces is built upon rhetorical principles that are not likely to change in the near future. However, essays containing references to technology could become outdated at some point. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Many of the essays within Writing Spaces use a personal tone that is largely geared toward college students.  Complex terms are often defined for the reader, and relevant examples are used when appropriate.  Overall, I believe students will find the essays accessible, useful, and relatively easy to read.  ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The textbook is consistent in terms of how it uses rhetorical concepts as well as its inclusion of discussion questions at the end of each essay.  ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I like that the essays can be downloaded individually or as a collection and that they can easily be assigned in an order that aligns with course objectives and student needs.  ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization is fine. As I mentioned, an instructor can easily make adjustments to the order of the essays as needed. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I had to enlarge a cartoon that was used in the Jones article in order to see it properly. Other than that, I did not experience any significant interface problems.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no obvious grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"It would be helpful to include an essay that addresses ELL student concerns. Beyond that, I see no evidence of cultural insensitivity.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":336,"first_name":"Brandy","last_name":"Hoffmann","position":"English Faculty","institution_name":"Central Lakes College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"\r\n\tThis text speaks to student writers in essay form rather than in the drier mode of a traditional, skills-based textbook. Writing Spaces offers practical advice, but, more importantly, it invites students into the conversation on common writing challenges, demystifying rather than merely presenting composition strategies. Some may find the discussions belabored, and sometimes they are, but mostly the essays shed new light on the academic writing experience. These essays seek to clear the air as well as help students write more effectively. I would assign several of these as readings--to complement other skills-based resources--in various first year writing courses that I teach. This text offers an index and table of contents.\r\n\r\n\tHere is a summary of what I found useful/problematic, essay by essay (in order):\r\n\r\n\tIntroduction: The introduction almost feels like it’s written for an instructor, though it is supposedly geared to students. It would be more appropriate as a briefer prologue, or perhaps there should be a brief “how to use this textbook” letter written to instructors. It begins with an awkward multiple choice meant to engage students, but it didn’t quite make sense/work.\r\n\r\n\tWhat is “Academic” Writing?: I appreciated the brief discussion of writing myths, and the overview of the “critical essay” writing commonly expected in college courses—the emphasis on these essays as “literary tasks” (focus on analysis and argumentation) rather than mere assignments or summaries was appreciated.\r\n\r\n\tSo You’ve Got a Writing Assignment: I would use the model walk-through of how to analyze an assignment with one of my own introductory writing assignments. We as instructors often assume students know how to read an assignment sheet—it seems obvious to us. But students struggle, and it would be worth spending time on this basic concept in a first year writing course (the chart on p. 26 is useful along with the series of questions students should ask themselves about an assignment, such as “Do I need an argument?”). I appreciated the essay’s discussion of writing anxiety, but I wish it would have more clearly addressed the fact that instructors have differing expectations (and that this can be frustrating), just to prepare them for this balancing act and to help them see that it’s all part of adapting to different writing situations.\r\n\r\n\tThe Inspired Writer vs. the Real Writer: Great concept, but the analysis is too thorough, with not enough practical application for students—perhaps written too much for composition/rhetoric peers rather than for a student audience; I appreciated the comp/rhet references, but I’m not sure my students would.\r\n\r\n\tBackpacks vs. Briefcases: This essay, which addresses rhetorical analysis strategies, would have been more effective if it had offered more suggestions for writing a rhetorical analysis toward the end of the essay—along with more focus on applying techniques to the analysis of articles (that may be used for research, etc.).\r\n\r\n\tFrom Topic to Presentation: Although the choice of subject matter (Nadya Suleman/fertility choices) is questionable, the model of the writing process and how to respond to feedback is helpful and thorough. The drafting discussion, including the emphasis on the “zero” draft, is effective.\r\n\r\n\tTaking Flight: The discussion of writing identity (as individual and collective) is overall effective, as it addresses a common problem with students--connecting to topics (whether assigned or self-selected). The essay addresses the dilemma of writing for/with self and for/with others—particularly within academia; furthermore, interesting exercises are offered for getting students to come up with fresh research/writing topics. This piece loses me a little with its references to prayer, meditation, crystals, and role-playing, but students may find these suggestions refreshing. I enjoyed the sections on creativity/play, anxiety/procrastination, and working with (not against) distractions. Overall, great and varied ideas to address writer’s block.\r\n\r\n\tReinvention Invention: Students need loads of instruction on invention, and this essay provides strategies as well as context. A comment like “Learning to reimagine writing as an opportunity to create something original rather than as a duty to respond predictably can be challenging” should resonate with many students. The activity described on p. 121 for “Refining Topics for Research,” although elaborate, offers a practical series of steps for helping students with a common struggle—refining a topic idea into a more sophisticated research question/project. Overall, this essay offers a nice discussion on the importance of pre-writing, brainstorming, and taking time to incubate and evolve a topic.\r\n\r\n\t“Finding Your Way In”: Offers an effective discussion of critical freewriting, flexible outlining, and bulleting strategies for invention. This essay complements the one that came before it in the text.\r\n\r\n\tWhy Visit your Campus Writing Center: The Web MD reference on pp. 151-52 seems awkward as a way to introduce the anxiety involved in visiting a tutor, but overall effective discussion in this essay for why to use tutors/how to use the service/what to be aware of. Maybe this essay should be placed at the end of the text? I appreciated short bullet list summary at the essay’s end but a set of numerical steps for “how to prepare” for an effective writing tutor experience would be a nice addition.\r\n\r\n\tFinding the Good Argument: This essay offers a much needed discussion on the complexity of argumentation, yet it does so in a practical/usable way, unlike many in-depth argumentative writing textbooks that tend to complicate argumentation unnecessarily for first year writing students. I like the Jon Stewart clip and correlating activity. Great to see the caution against pro-con arguments. Argument is “multiple and complex”… yes. Inductive/deductive discussion is decent. The explanation of Toulmin is effective; the charting out of an argument on p. 171 provides a nice visual for students. The discussion of pragma-dialectics seems overly pedantic, not practical/applicable for many students--good concept but could be adapted to audience better or perhaps should be left out.\r\n\r\n\t“I need you to say I’”: I really appreciated the extensive discussion of “I-less-ness” and using “I” in academic writing--a much needed discussion. I appreciated the use of examples to also show its acceptance in varying academic disciplines. The discussion of when to avoid “I” could perhaps be expanded, maybe commenting more so on the unnecessary “I believe/I feel/I think” often overused in student writing.\r\n\r\n\tReflective Writing and the Revision Process: A refreshing discussion (hard to find) on the importance of reflective writing as it relates to the writing process (especially revision). Nice examples of a reflective letter assignment. The essay could be broken down with more checklists/bullets instead of heavy paragraphing. I like the “How It Helps Me (the instructor) Help You” section and the emphasis on revision. Wikipedia is good for you!?: Interesting focus on\r\n\r\n\tWikipedia, which is likely a smart choice since it’s the “go-to” for many students, but I would clarify immediately that the suggestion is to NOT use it as a source but as a lead. Overall, the essay does a nice job of using Wikipedia to demonstrate the writing process, including illuminating the practice of peer review, with references such as “like a successful Wikipedian” you should…\r\n\r\n\tComposing the Anthology: An Exercise in Patchwriting: Although an interesting article, it seems more appropriately geared to writing instructors--not students.\r\n\t\r\n\tCollaborating Online: This essay seems too specialized to be included in this compilation; maybe this would be better as a collaborative writing chapter with a section of it on online collaboration and tools. As is, I didn’t find it useful; however, I do not teach fully online writing courses at this time--an online instructor might find this essay more applicable.\r\n\t\r\n\tNavigating Genres: This essay offers an important definition of genre, and in a playful way (with references to country music, humor writing, and a practice exercise with a ransom note), helping students to understand what the term means and how to apply it.\r\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"\r\n\tAs a whole, I find the text to be accurate. I have commented on certain content concerns in my commentary on each essay, above.\r\n","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"\r\n\tMany of the strategies and concepts addressed in this text are timeless, so the essays should be usable for some time. Some pop culture or current events references seem outdated, such as the sample with Nadya Suleman in “From Topic to Presentation.” The directive in “Finding the Good Argument” to “Think back to the coverage of the last major election cycle in 2008” (p. 157) seems like an outdated reference as well.\r\n","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"\r\n\tIt is hard to comment on clarity, as each essay is written in a different voice. Some essays are definitely more clearly written for a student reader. Overall, each piece is fairly well-written, but a few of the voices feel out of sync with the work as a whole and could use editing for readability and appropriateness to a first year writing classroom. I comment on some specifics in the grammar section and above.\r\n","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"\r\n\tPerhaps a consistent documentation style should be used throughout the textbook? Unless the intention was to show different methods side by side. Overall, the message and themes were consistent, although the voices varied. It seemed like a similar writing philosophy and pedagogy drove the principles and strategies offered in this text.\r\n\r\n\tp. 150: it seems a comma after “says” would be more accurate, to introduce quotation. In next paragraph, past tense is used to introduce quote. Perhaps this is intentional, or maybe it should be more consistent?\r\n","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"\r\n\tYes, the text is written to be easily divisible for the most part. There are times when paragraphing and idea development seem heavy, but overall headings and subheadings were used effectively. Furthermore, the introduction reminds student readers that they can go to the website for a keyword search. The introduction seems a bit overly self-referential, which is why it should perhaps be a prologue or letter to intructors rather than an overt discussion fo the OER. The introduction isn't really an introduction to the text; it's an introduction to OER.\r\n","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"\r\n\tEffective repeat of title and author names at tops/bottoms of each page (title at top/author bottom). Although at first I found myself wanting chapter numbers, I realized that the lack of chapter numbers is likely intentional to allow more flexibility with the use of this OER--it makes it easily adaptable, etc.\r\n\r\n\tI would have the “Finding Your way In” essay be more clearly titled in a way that highlights its effective discussion of planning/outlining/organizing, to distinguish it more so from the other invention essay in this text.\r\n","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"\r\n\tOverall, very easy-to-nagivate text. I noticed no problems with display features.\r\n","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"\r\n\tp. 14: free means there is no need to for you to either\r\n\tp. 18: reference to “turn your nose” doesn’t quite fit\r\n\tp. 19 (wordy): We will start by clearing up some of those wild misconceptions people often arrive at college possessing..\r\n\tp. 21 (Awkward prose): When we speak, we inhabit the communication situation bodily in three dimensions0\r\n\tp. 24: italicize discuss in “interpret the word discuss in one way” (and other verbs when referencing directy throughout this chapter)\r\n\tp.35 (word choice/agonistic): It’s more of an agonistic kind of thing.\r\n\tp. 36 (akward reference): reference to “virtual MLK, Jr.”\r\n\tp. 65: As the example topics show, some them were\r\n\tp. 67 (akward wording): This essay’s goal is to support the position that exploiting multiple children harms them by skewing their experience of family and emotionally harming them.\r\n\tp. 129: To be consistent with MLA/APA suggestions, I would italicize New York Times.\r\n\tp. 135 (wordy): Critical freewriting encourages recursive thinking that enables you to create a body of ideas and to further decide which ones might be worth researching and which themes might work together in constructing a coherent, yet flexible pattern of ideas.\r\n\tP. 154: the mission states--use comma instead of colon to introduce quote.\r\n\tP/ 161: Paying more addition to the details of (should be paying more attention).\r\n\tp. 171: use of “others” seems awkward in paragraph under chart.\r\n","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"\r\n\tExamples overall could be more inclusive and varied. Although it wasn’t personally offensive to me, the suggestion toward prayer and meditation as a way to cope with writing anxiety seemed a bit off, in “Taking Flight.”\r\n\tIn \"The Inspired Writer,\" pp. 35-36 reference to “virtual MLK, Jr” seems off.\r\n","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"\r\n\tOverall, a high quality OER with lots of potential for use in the first year writing classroom.\r\n","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":442,"first_name":"Stacey","last_name":"Foster","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Pine Technical and Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text includes both theoretical discussions, on topics such as rhetorical strategy and plagiarism, and practical suggestions, on topics such as invention and reflection, for teachers of writing and students of writing to consider. The essays addressed other helpful topics including the possible differences between writing in high school and writing in college, the importance of visiting the writing center, strategies for understanding writing assignments, tactics to determine writing topics, ways to consider and incorporate peer review, and suggestions for working in groups – from assessing the assignment to presenting the assignment. Essays on documentation and more on specific genres may have been helpful. The contents page and index are useful and well organized. There is not a glossary. The different voices of the writers kept the reading engaging; however, some of the essays seemed to be geared toward an instructor as audience as compared to a student as audience.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I did not find any specific issues with content accuracy; although, the shift in intended audience at times made me wonder who the book is really for – students or instructors.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"There are many concepts within the text that seem timeless: writing process, invention, peer review, writing centers, etc. I did wonder if the specific technologies noted in the essay on group work will be perpetual. Some of the examples are already dated, such as the Nadya Suleman one in “From Topic to Presentation” essay. The structure of the text, though, allows for easy update with future editions.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Overall, the different writings come through with clarity. Some of the essays included a conversational tone that students will find approachable. The use of specific examples throughout helps to bring the ideas beyond concepts and into a practical realm. There were only a couple of essays where clarity may be a concern: “Composing the Anthology” – it seemed questions remained unanswered as to the benefits in a first-year writing class – and “Wikipedia is Good for You?” – while I understood the concept, I’d steer away from using this in fear students may misinterpret.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Even though each essay comes through with a different voice and intended audience, there was consistency with terminology and framework. Taken as a whole, the text works to provide a foundation for writing concepts and theory and to take away some of the anxiousness associated with writing.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Because the text is comprised of individual essays written by different authors, there is automatic modularity. The text can be downloaded as a whole or as individual essays. The search feature of the pdf file and the index also provide easy access to specific concepts found within the differing essays – creating an opportunity to create ‘modules’ by combining parts of essays.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I might consider a reorganization of the essays to begin with theoretical concepts and funnel down to practical applications; however, the fact that each essay can be downloaded individually provides opportunity to create the desired order. The difference in intended audience also seemed to affect flow.  The consistency of the ‘discussion questions’ at the end of the essays was appreciated.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I had no issues with the interface. The opening the options of pdf as a full text and as individual chapters occurred with ease. I appreciate that there are also softcover and e-book options.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Very, very few grammar or mechanic concerns.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text did not appear to be culturally insensitive. More examples of cultures and social backgrounds could be included.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I look forward to incorporating many of the essays to balance the mode-based text I already use.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":493,"first_name":"Lin","last_name":"Guo","position":"English Language Specialist","institution_name":"Miami University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing Spaces (Volume 1) covers a wide range of topics suitable for freshmen composition. The first noticeable characteristic is that the text directly addresses first-year college students, which draws the students into the text. Secondly, the text explains complex rhetorical concepts in a style that is easy to capture. For example, the first essay of “What is Academic Writing” by L. Lennie Irvin provides a good introduction to the basic terms such as academic writing situation and the format,  a synopsis of the key skills required for the freshmen composition, and an illustration of college writing assignments. The third point worth mentioning is the discussion activities at the end of each essay, which provoke deep critical thinking by making connections, comparison and contrast and giving scenarios for students to practice writing. Last but not least, the text includes essays that pinpoint the issues that are often overlooked by students. For example, in “Taking Flight”, Susan E. Antlitz points out the importance of positioning one’s identity in the public context and gives practice advice with detailed examples on the invention process, which is applicable to the college students. However, I did not see texts that address the writing issues and challenges faced by ESL writers. I used Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” in my ENG109 class and it resonated well with non-native speakers. Also, future editions could add texts focusing on multimodal writing and visualizing texts. College students frequently have to complete digital projects, so it could be necessary to add these chapters.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is informative based on the practices and pedagogy. The explanation of the technical terms is accurate and expressed in a clear way. For example, the chart of Toulmin Model and the definition of the technical terms by Rebecca Jones are effective.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Most of the articles deal with writing concepts, key terms, models and strategies will last for a long time. However, the articles on technology such as online collaboration tools might be updated later.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Speaking directly to the students, most writers express their ideas clearly and write in a style that is approachable. In addition, some article such as “So you’ve got a writing assignment” gives thorough directions on how to interpret college writing assignments; “Taking flight: The discussion of writing identity” provides explicit strategies to combat writing anxiety; “Finding your way in” offers clear, effective methods for invention. However, some of the essays do not provide guidance on how to write the essay beyond the techniques, or the discussion is too detailed to drown the readers.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text has a consistent voice addressing the undergraduate students as the audience. Also, it provides a platform for writers to express their opinions from different perspectives and invites students to join the academic conversation with the awareness of multiple viewpoints. But the underlying theme of preparing students to transit from high school to college writing orchestrates the articles into a symphony.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter in Volume 1 could be used separately as a unit. Moreover, the website provides options of downloading the whole book or individual chapters, which makes it easier for teachers to reorganize the articles and form modules based on their course emphasis. Because I teach ENG109 freshman composition and rhetoric, I would like to begin with the “What is academic writing?” and “So you’ve got a writing assignment”, “From topic to presentation” as the introduction module of the basic terms in college writing, followed by the module of rhetorical analysis “Backpacks vs. Briefcases”, and then the module of argumentation “Finding the good argument”, the module of revision “Reflective writing and the revision process” and finally the module of using technology in writing “Wikipedia” and “Collaborative online”.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The overall organization of Wring Spaces is clear and well-structured from basic understanding of academic writing, assignments, writing process to more complex issues such as revision and technology. However, to improve the flow of ideas, certain chapters could be grouped together, such as “Taking flight: The discussion of writing identity” and “I need you to say I” that address the personal identity and voice. “Why visit your campus writing center” could be clustered with “Reflective writing and the revision process” that focuses on the stages of revising. The last chapter of “Navigating genres” could be put at the beginning as the basic introduction of college writing. The structure of most essays is clear with headings, subheadings, list and bullet points. The discussion questions reinforce the content of each chapter, but it would be better if some questions focus on essay structure, the specific steps to complete the writing assignment and ways to apply the strategies.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The overall interface is user-friendly, but it would be easier for students to locate a specific chapter if a hyperlink is inserted in the index.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not see significant grammar errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Writing Spaces has demonstrated cultural sensitivity throughout the volume. Several articles have referred to race, gender and ethnicity. More writers of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds will add strength to the volume. Especially the articles address the issues faced by multilingual college writers are in need.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Writing Spaces vol. 1 is a good supplemental reading book for college students in different disciplines. It gives students a clear picture of the basics in academic writing and also gives students explicit instruction as well as practical strategies to deal with a variety of issues. The accessibility of this book makes it a valuable resource for freshman writers.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":516,"first_name":"Zian","last_name":"Butler","position":"English Instructor","institution_name":"Kansas State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Comprehensiveness\nOverall, this book could work to compliment other source material necessary for a variety of classroom settings. The text covers all areas an ideas necessary in order to be appropriate for the subject in question as well as provides an adequate index and glossary. The chapters are also helpful in providing works cited and questions for further analysis.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Accuracy\nAs with any piece of writing, the author brings to it their own bias depending on their choice of language and experiences. However, there appears to be no highly inaccurate content that stands out as inappropriate or highly unethical. Overall, good choices in the content itself - looks to be helpful to instructors and students alike.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Relevance/Longevity\nThe content is on writing techniques that have been proven, time after time, to be efficient and they are presented by different perspectives as well and that keeps the relevance varied and interesting for the reader. Also, the chapters that tackle the importance of Wikipedia and the direction of Digital Collaborations help to keep the book relevant and informed on the different directions that the Humanities are headed into.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Clarity\nThe prose, even though it seems to be written more towards the teacher/instructor, is accessible for a variety of readers. The text does a good job of providing the necessary context when introducing certain technical terms and it aims to engage the students to analyze their own writing techniques and how they can continually improve on them.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Consistency\nThe chapters all play a role investigating different writing techniques and examples of language choice and styles. Overall it is excellent that each chapter has the opportunity to stand alone and be used by the instructor to teach varying levels of understanding/comprehension within classroom settings. Also, depending on the nature of the classroom the text can be used as a pedagogical tool for writers / educators at a higher level setting or classroom in order to help structure daily lesson plans and the like.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Modularity\nAs mentioned before, the readily divisible sections make it so that chapters can be assigned at different points during a busy semester. The book works well to complement other reading assignments, examples, and activities.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"Organization/Structure/Flow\nThe text is clear enough in structure and the organization doesn't detract from an overall full grasp on the subject of writing. However, it is my opinion that the chapters on the Writing Center, Digital Emphasis, and Collaborations should have been last, instead of interspersed within the book. Usually, a first year writing class will focus on the \"Do's\" and \"Don'ts\" of academic writing, as well as the main objectives that need to be met in order to successfully complete an assignment and therefore won't cover much on the collaborative projects or digital work until the end (if at all). I would have more emphasis placed on the importance of peer workshops and the help of writing centers though in order to help students find extra motivation to reach outside of their own eyes and know that usually writing is a collaborative effort that takes more time than they realize.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Interface\nThis digital book seems to work very well in regards to visibility, legibility, and overall scanning consistencies when moving from page to page. It is free of distracting interface issues or fonts. There are no major navigation issues or any distortions to the chapters or images.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"Grammar\nOverall, the book has some minor grammatical errors, but nothing big that will distract from the reading experience or change the context of the ideas being presented within.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Cultural Relevance\nI would say that this text is culturally relevant to college educators and the students in first year writing classes. The examples or authors could have been more varies in order to meet a more diverse view and different challenges of writing outside of the usual but it doesn't offer any insensitive or offensive remarks.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, I do believe that this volume could work very well as a companion to other source  material within a writing class at a university level. It has a clear purpose that attempts to engage the student reader and writer in a different way through the choice of techniques and writing structures that they are already familiar with. However, I cannot see this book as a stand-alone text in a writing classroom that also has to find time to present the necessary material for students to understand a range of terminology, activities, and examples in order to meet the assignment guidelines throughout any given semester.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1399,"first_name":"Laurel","last_name":"Smith","position":"Part-Time, Temporary Instructor","institution_name":"Century College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text is striving for comprehensiveness. It is attempting to cover a lot of composition ground in 262 pages; however, because it is trying to cover so many topics, it does not go as in-depth as it could. It begins by addressing a first-year composition student entering a composition classroom on the first day of college. Many of the essays imagine this scenario, yet some of the later essays appear to address an advanced audience without covering enough of the middle ground needed to help them advance. The book contains a table of contents and a good index. More content is needed that focuses on the intermediate stages of writing.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The essays collected in this book are largely subjective. Numerous essays are opinion-based works about assignments or strategies that have worked for the authors as writers. These essays appear to be accurate. Some essays present information about inductive and deductive reasoning or argument structure, and the content of these essays is accurate.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Most of the information seems to have relevance and longevity. Occasionally, a dated phrase will appear, such as “on the WWW” (111), but this happens in most textbooks. The screenshots in the essay entitled “Collaborating Online: Digital Strategies for Group Work” may need to be updated over time.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Overall, the book needs more clarity as to its purpose and audience. Sometimes, it is writing to students, and sometimes it is writing to teachers. This is an issue that would affect first-year writers greatly because sometimes the advice given is really for instructors. For example, students would probably not know what they are supposed to do with “classroom activities” such as are discussed in “Reinventing Invention.” Another example is “Wikipedia Is Good for You!?” While it’s an interesting idea for instructors to assign students to write a Wikipedia article, this isn’t something the first-semester composition student is likely to undertake alone. This division of purpose and audience creates a lack of clarity in the authors’ sentences and language that might cause a first-year composition student to struggle.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"This category is my biggest complaint with this book. The tone is inconsistent over the book and within the essays themselves. Many textbooks provide instructor materials. This book seems to be trying to avoid providing instructor materials by including them in the essays that are written towards students. This creates a dual audience, one that the authors switch between. This might not be clear to a first-year composition audience. For example, in “Reinventing Invention,” there is a section that reads like a case study of a classroom activity (112-116), which is labeled “Classroom Activity 1.” It seems almost as though it was originally written as a portion of an article. A student in a first-year composition course would have no control over the classroom activities conducted therein, and it reads like it was written for an instructor. Then the labels switch to “Group Activity 2” and then back to “Classroom Activity 3.” This is one example of several throughout the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Since there is no connective material between the essays, the book itself is very modular. Each essay tackles a specific topic, and there are few references among the essays within the book. The essays also have subheadings, so they could be assigned as smaller sections.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The essays could have been arranged more effectively. There is a block of three essays about invention that possibly should have come earlier. I also question some of the content’s effectiveness for a first-year composition student. Some of these essays are good ideas for instructors of first-year composition courses, but they couldn’t be assigned to first-year students. Some of these essays that seem more like idea-building for instructors are clearly addressed to students, though.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I used the PDF version, and I had no issues with reading any of the materials. The interface is excellent.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"There are some small spelling errors, and these vary depending on the essay since each essay is written by a different author. Examples include you vs. your or important vs. importance. These are small oversights.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"More work needs to be done with diversity and inclusive examples in this text. There are some small nods to cultural diversity, but it is mostly overlooked. I wouldn’t label any material offensive.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"While I can see myself using a chapter or two, such as “What Is ‘Academic’ Writing?” this book cannot replace my current textbooks. I could use portions of it, but I couldn’t use it in its entirety. It doesn’t cover the subject of first-year composition comprehensively enough, nor does it offer enough hands-on, practical knowledge for students. It also cannot replace the “readings” portion of my current textbook which uses academic articles for building context around assigned paper topics. This book does provide some good essays for helping first-year students understand what college-level academic writing is, and it offers good context essays for specific assignments that a composition instructor might give students. Some of the essays that relate specifically to assignments I give could be valuable to my students when assigned outside of the overall book as individual modules. \n\nThis book also has potential value as a guide for composition course instructors in relation to assignment ideas and course instruction strategies. \n\nOverall, the book needs to determine its audience—possibly provide resources for instructors in a separate section—and work from there, separating what is useful for students in a first-semester composition course, what is useful for instructors of a first-semester composition course, and what is useful for more advanced students. There is a lot of good material here that could be useful to each of these three categories of people, but it needs to be divided and re-shaped around specific audiences and purposes.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2450,"first_name":"Jeff","last_name":"Pruchnic","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Wayne State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing Spaces is a collection of chapters by various authors on a diverse range of topics (e.g., rhetorical analysis, inquiry-based writing, reflective writing, invention strategies). While what counts as \"comprehensive\" in a writing course is likely to vary by instructor and approach, this text does a wonderful job of including the standard topics you would expect to see in a quality first-year writing text as well several topics not as common (but welcome additions for at least this reviewer). The arrangement of the text as as series of topic-based chapters written by different authors has the advantage of including both a diversity of perspective as well as the option of assigning chapters out-of-order.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"While some chapters take a strong perspective on writing-relevant issue (e.g., James Purdy's \"Wikipedia is Good for You!\"), the text is free of any clear bias and accurate to contemporary research on best practices in writing instruction.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text (now about eight years past its initial publication) reads as relevant today. The arrangement of the chapters would also make it quite easy to skip or supplement any chapters that might age poorly in coming years.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"While there are nineteen individual authors contributing to this text, all do a wonderful job of keeping the prose of the text accessible for a first-year writing class audience. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"As this text is written by a number of authors and with chapters functioning as (generally) independent units (rather than components of a scaffolded or scaled series of readings), consistency of terminology and approach does vary a little more than that of a single-author textbook written in a more traditional format. That said, I did not find they variations to be contradictory or problematic in any way and do not expect them to lead to confusion on behalf of students.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"A key feature of this book is the modularity of its chapters. In my first-year course, for instance, I have used one chapter (\"Backpacks vs. Briefcases\") without any of the accompanying chapters or context of the book as a whole. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Organization is not is not as much of an issues for this text as the chapters move through different topics as opposed to each chapter building on or directly complementing earlier ones. That said, the organization works very well give this approach.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is very easy to navigate.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not detect any errors in grammar.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"While the text does not show explicit attention to presenting a particularly diverse range of examples from different cultures, I would consider it on par or superior to most textbooks in this regard and it does not show any insensitivity in this area.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I think most first-year-writing instructors would find at least several of the chapters of *Writing Spaces* useful for their course and the structure of the text makes is very easy to choose whichever chapters might be best for your purposes without having to commit to using the entirety of the text.","created_at":"2018-12-07T15:30:08.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-12-07T15:30:08.000-06:00"},{"id":2573,"first_name":"Leigh","last_name":"Graziano ","position":"Assistant Professor of English; Director of First-Year Writing","institution_name":"Western Oregon University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Comprehensiveness is hard to define and is likely variable, but this text includes chapters on a wide range of writing topics that are very relevant to the first-year writing classroom, especially. Chapters include campus resources like the writing center and how to use them, reflective writing, collaborative writing, invention strategies, and genre. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The chapters reflect current knowledge and best practices in the field of composition. There is no apparent bias. The chapters themselves make clear arguments supported with evidence and have the potential for good classroom discussion about students' own prior writing experiences. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This textbook is nine years old, but the content of its chapters is no less relevant today. I still assign these chapters regularly in my classes. Because the textbook is organized by chapters written by different authors, it would also be easy to just substitute a single chapter in the event that it was no longer relevant. It wouldn't require throwing out the entire textbook. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"One of the key benefits of this textbook is that it translates composition theory into accessible language for students. The chapter on genre, for example, covers Bitzer's rhetorical situation and Devitt's theories about genre but in a way that students can access and follow. The examples within the chapters are current and specific, which helps make the concepts easy to follow. All disciplinary terms are defined and again given really clear illustrations. These are usually some of my students' favorite readings.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Unlike a traditional textbook written by a single author, there is some variation in approach, terminology, etc. because each chapter is written by a different author. I do think that the tone of the chapters remains consistent throughout; they are written for students, they talk to students, and they are very accessible for beginning college students. The small degree of difference between chapters has never been a problem for me or my students because this isn't a textbook that requires reading all the chapters, so the chapters you choose to assign can be really tailored to your course. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"One of the benefits of this textbook is that each chapter is written by a different author and therefore meant to be read on its own. The textbook doesn't reference itself, so it gives teachers maximum freedom to assign the chapters that are most relevant to their course and the particular kinds of writing they're asking students to complete. Chapters can be assigned in any order and integrated into different stages of the course. ","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"There is no obvious design in the organization of the chapters. Each chapter covers a different topic related to writing, but there is no justification for the particular arrangement of chapters. This isn't a hinderance in how teachers can use this textbook, but it does differ from common classroom textbooks that have a very clear beginning and build from there. Those textbooks do require, however, that students mostly read the textbook in that order. The flexible organization of Writing Spaces lets teachers assign the chapters in any order that makes sense for their course. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There are no interface issues that I have ever encountered with this text. One benefit is that students can download each chapter individually as a PDF so that they can highlight and annotate as they read. All the chapters are hyperlinked so that students can go straight to the chapter they are assigned. They don't have to scroll through the entire book to find what they're looking for. My own experience using this text is that students are rarely confused with how to access the material. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No obvious errors. ","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"I don't believe there is any material in the text that is insensitive or offensive, but it's also not super multicultural. It gives great instruction on writing in a variety of topics, but it might not be the most appealing for international students. Many of the examples are grounded in American culture. I hope future volumes will expand in this direction. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is a great cost effective alternative to more expensive first-year writing textbooks. It grants a lot of freedom to the instructor to organize the course and their assignments in a way that makes sense and supplement with additional material that is relevant to the course. I've used many of these readings in a range of writing courses that I've taught. I highly recommend it. ","created_at":"2019-02-19T15:53:45.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-02-19T15:53:45.000-06:00"},{"id":2845,"first_name":"Kevin","last_name":"O'Donnell","position":"Professor","institution_name":"East Tennessee State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book covers a lot of ground and brings a fresh approach to topics that most instructors will want to address in a first year college writing course.  The general index is thorough and helpful.  The 16 chapters/ essays here, taken as a whole, emphasize writing process and invention.  There are excellent essays on wikipedia and on genre, respectively.  However, some importatnt writing topics don't get discussed much, including structure/ organization.  To be fair, it's hard to be \"comprehensive\" when the topic is writing.  I plan on using this text, but will probably supplement it with select chapters from other texts in the open textbook network. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is well edited, and I didn't  see any errors or problems in the 16 chapters/ essays which constitute the body of the text.  I do have a few quibbles, though.  I am confused about the title:  This is \"Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing Volume 1.\"  I can't tell how this is different from \"Volume 2.\"  Usually, you should be able to tell from the title or subtitle what the different volumes are about.  Perhaps Volume 2 is just \"MORE Readings on Writing\"?  Also, the short introduction starts out unpromisingly with a confusing list of 11 bullet points in front of phrases that are not grammatically parallel. Throughout the rest of the text, though, the editing is very good. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"It's almost 10 years old, but the text feels up to date.  The chapters on Wikipedia and on genre still feel up-to-date. The chapter entitled \"Collaborating Online\" still works well -- apparently, Google Docs hasn't changed much over the past 10 years.  ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The clarity of the writing is a strength of this textbook.  ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"It's a bit uneven across chapters.  I would guess that at least a few of the 16 chapters/ essays included here were first written for other composition instructors, or even for comp theorists and academics, and then were revised for an audience of first-year college writing students.  That's evident in the fact that a few of the chapters have residual academic/ pedagogic terminology.  Nonetheless, the writing is clear throughout, and strongly edited from chapter to chapter, and I don't think college students need to be shielded from a smattering of pedagogical terminology.  I also kind of like the idea that the students will get a glimpse into what their teachers are thinking.  ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is very modular.  Each chapter stands on its own.  ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I was never really able to glom on to the principle behind the overall arrangement of the 16 chapters/ essays.  But since each stands on its own, you can assign the chapters in any order, so I don't see this as a problem. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This is a 288 page pdf that prints out on 8-1/2\" x 11\" paper.  The typography and layout are clear and appealing.  No problems.  ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Except for one single grammatical misfire -- that bullet-pointed list on page 2 of the intro -- the text is well edited, with no other grammatical errors that I saw. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not notice any instances of cultural insensitivity.  The examples drawn from literature and culture are reasonably inclusive throughout. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I appreciate the emphasis on process and invention.  The genre approach feels fresh to me.  The writing throughout is clear and thus serves as a model for good writing.  I plan to adopt this text in Fall 2019 for a first-year composition class.  I will supplement it with some more practical \"how-to\" readings about organization and revising for style and editing. ","created_at":"2019-04-26T13:22:15.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-26T13:22:15.000-05:00"},{"id":4508,"first_name":"Jacqueline","last_name":"Cason","position":"Professor of Writing","institution_name":"University of Alaska Anchorage","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The collection of essays offer a comprehensive range of options for supporting the work of college-level writers. It begins by exploring the open text movement explicitly; supports students in academic settings with help in breaking down their assignments; encourages writers to come to terms with their identity, the use of \"I\", and the interaction between self and sources when composing. I was delighted to see three essays focused on invention, which is where writing begins. Additionally, the volume includes articles on the value of Wikipedia, the role of digital spaces, and the nature of genres.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The authors of individual essays are respected teacher-scholars in the field who cite writing research but never lose sight of the need to communicate disciplinary wisdom in accessible language.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The collection of essays integrate theory and practice by using narrative techniques and exercises to bring the theory to life in the classroom. They elevate writing to a position worthy of close study, but always with an eye toward applied knowledge that puts writing into practice. .","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Extremely accessible in language and concept. Both instructors and students will learn from the research and wisdom of these teacher-scholars and should be able to use the readings to engage in further inquiry into how writing begins, unfolds, and reaches out to audiences.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"While not every essay is equally useful to my particular teaching needs, I would say that the quality of each essay is high caliber. The length, citation to authority, lively examples of writing at work in the classroom and beyond, and the narrative framework that invites readings in--all of these qualities are ingrained in each chapter.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"While the collection as a whole provides a cumulative value, the individual essays could stand alone. This first volume is complemented by the second volume, and instructors could easily pick and choose the essays that best fit their classroom needs.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The essays proceed from a broad scope toward more focused and specific writing issues. That could lend itself to a linear reading of chapters, but that is not necessary. For example, although the Dirks essay on navigating genres is positioned last, it might work very well early in a semester to communicate a core threshold concept that characterizes genre as a form of social action, providing exigence and a habituated relationship between author and audience.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I appreciated the publication information and permissions for distribution right up front. The design of the documents lends itself to modularity and selective use.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Free of error.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Not culturally offensive, though not particularly rich in cultural content and context. It reflects mainstream academic context but could be complemented by additional readings that do address language barriers on our campuses.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I find the collection versatile. While the readings are accessible for freshman students, without dumbing down or condescending, I can imagine using selections for more advanced writing classes.","created_at":"2021-01-03T01:13:22.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-10T15:57:23.000-06:00"},{"id":35143,"first_name":"Katie","last_name":"Fuller","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Mount Wachusett Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"A comprehensive collection of readings with a thoughtful range of topics that cover all aspects of the writing process; from drafting to seeking resources on campuses. These texts teach students to write better but also to empower themselves through their writing choices.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The collection has held up in academic circles; and draws upon contemporary scholarship to maintain accuracy.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Practice-based advice and activities for students make this book's collection super relevant for instructors wondering not just what to teach, but what to do in their classes.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Layouts of articles, bulleting, etc. make user-friendly.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Tone of articles is cohesive and conversational. Students and instructors should not feel \"shut out\" by overly technical jargon. Take for example, the laid-back tone of the Dirk article-- a favorite in my experience.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Yes, bulleted ideas within these articles translate easily to slides, other tech layouts.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Thoughtful ordering of articles to mimic steps of writing process.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No interface issues.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors of note.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Not insensitive, though a collection that doesn't necessarily speak to particular connections to under-represented or under-served communities.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"A great collection!","created_at":"2024-06-27T11:43:35.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-06-27T11:43:35.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/writing-spaces-readings-on-writing-vol-i","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:02:03.000-06:00"},{"id":53,"title":"Writing for Success","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2015,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Writing for Success is a text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition. Beginning with the sentence and its essential elements, this book addresses each concept with clear, concise and effective examples that are immediately reinforced with exercises and opportunities to demonstrate, and reinforce, learning. Each chapter allows your students to demonstrate mastery of the principles of quality writing. With its incremental approach, it can address a range of writing levels and abilities, helping each student in your course prepare for their next writing or university course. Constant reinforcement is provided through examples and exercises, and the text involves students in the learning process through reading, problem-solving, practicing, listening, and experiencing the writing process. Each chapter also has integrated examples that unify the discussion and form a common, easy-to-understand basis for discussion and exploration. This will put your students at ease, and allow for greater absorption of the material. Tips for effective writing are included in every chapter, as well. Thought-provoking scenarios provide challenges and opportunities for collaboration and interaction. These exercises are especially helpful if you incorporate group work in your course. Clear exercises teach sentence and paragraph writing skills that lead to common English composition and research essays. Features: Exercises are integrated in each segment. Each concept is immediately reinforced as soon as it is introduced to keep students on track. Exercises are designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration. This allows for peer-peer engagement, development of interpersonal skills, and promotion of critical thinking skills. Exercises that involve self-editing and collaborative writing are featured. This feature develops and promotes student interest in the areas and content. There are clear internal summaries and effective displays of information. This contributes to ease of access to information and increases the ability of your students to locate desired content. Rule explanations are simplified with clear, relevant, and theme-based examples. This feature provides context that will facilitate learning and increase knowledge retention. There is an obvious structure to the chapter and segment level. This allows for easy adaptation to your existing and changing course needs or assessment outcomes.","contributors":[],"subjects":[{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":33,"name":"Literature, Rhetoric, and Poetry","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"PE1408","visible_textbooks_count":124,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/literature-rhetoric-and-poetry"},{"id":10,"name":"Student Success","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":"LB1062.6","visible_textbooks_count":65,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/student-success"}],"publishers":[{"id":199,"url":"https://www.lib.umn.edu/publishing","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","name":"University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing"}],"formats":[{"id":365,"type":"Online","url":"https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Composition/Introductory_Composition/Writing_for_Success_(McLean)","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1733,"type":"PDF","url":"https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Composition/Introductory_Composition/Writing_for_Success_(McLean)","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1734,"type":"eBook","url":"https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":2270,"type":"XML","url":"https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":2271,"type":"ODF","url":"https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4.5","textbook_reviews_count":53,"reviews":[{"id":110,"first_name":"Kari","last_name":"Steinbach","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"University of Northwestern - St. Paul","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers some helpful elements of a first college writing course, such as an overview of several genres of writing assignments, some grammar and usage issues, use of peer review and collaboration in writing, and research strategies. Some may consider the addition of the study strategy and reading strategy material to be too basic--even for a first year writing course. Without a clear table of contents or index, the organization was difficult to decipher and required paging back and forth throughout the book.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book appears to be free from any obvious errors. Because of the rapid changes in databases, electronic research strategies, and documentation styles, it is likely that updates will need to be made--but this is the case for any text dealing with research and documentation.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Aside from requiring updates due to documentation and research changes, there may need to be an update of sample essays that have subject matter that may become outdated. Examples of cited sources may become outdated--especially in fields that change quickly.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The use of flow charts to help students understand grammar concepts is helpful. A better use of white space, illustration, font changes, bullets, and color in the design would make the text more visually fluid and more readable. The addition of full text student sample papers to show formatting is very helpful. I also appreciated the list of objectives at the beginning of each chapter.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text appears to be consistent in terms of terminology and framework.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"It would be helpful for the rhetorical mode section to be split into separate chapters, with each genre given more individual emphasis and examples of the strategies required for that genre.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"My preference would be to teach grammatical concepts as they come up within the course of writing assignments. I would prefer a text that had grammar covered in an appendix that could be referred to throughout the course and as the issues came up during the writing assignments. I would not teach grammar independent of the writing assignment.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"There is a need for a clear table of contents and index.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no obvious issues with the book's grammar.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"There are no obvious issues of cultural insensitivity in the text.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":111,"first_name":"Tanya","last_name":"Grosz","position":"Assistant Professor of English \u0026 Director of Undergraduate Pathways","institution_name":"University of Northwestern - St. Paul","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"I was surprised at just how comprehensive this book was. It covers everything from study strategies to prewriting to editing and punctuation and research writing. Also, it includes writing strategies for ELL students which is very helpful. While I would have liked to have seen more full-text essays woven throughout the text, there are several in the final chapter, there are links to others, and there are a few throughout the book.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I have taught writing for 20 years, and I find this text to be both accurate and helpful. I find that students, regardless of age, struggle most with essay organization, and this text devotes the appropriate amount of time to organizing a paragraph and essay.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Updates could be made in a straightforward and easy fashion; many of the principles are solid and timeless. The MLA/APA part can be easily updated as can the essay examples.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The tone is extremely accessible. As I read through chapters 1 - 3, I was concerned that the text was almost too basic to be used with college freshmen, but as I reflected upon this, it dawned upon me that I cover some of the same concepts in the first week of class based on a writing and editing assessment. A teacher could easily extract those components that aren't necessary. Ultimately, this book is clear and readable.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter has a framework that is consistent; there is review at the end that is helpful and exercises for the student who wishes to practice what has been covered in the chapter.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I could easily see myself extracting certain elements of various chapters and using some chapters but not others. The book lends itself to easily using some chapters and not others and certain parts of a chapter without the entirety.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"This is a difficult question because no one would likely organize a textbook the same way as someone else. I found the Refining Writing chapter (Chapter 7) a little oddly placed, but it certainly was not a deal-breaker, and because of its excellent modularity, one could easily organize the presentation differently. The topics are definitely presented clearly and logically.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The charts and graphs did not present very clearly on my screen, but I'm not sure if that's the text or my computer. While it wasn't distracting, the graphs were a bit pixelated and fuzzy. The essay samples were clear. Navigation was easy.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I thought the grammar, sentence flow, punctuation, etc. was excellent.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I wish I had access to the chapter for ELL students 20 years ago! I found nothing offensive in the text and found helpful chapters for college-bound high school students, freshmen or sophomore college students, and adult learners.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I find this book to be pragmatic, helpful, clear, straightforward, and well done. I am going to recommend it to my department for review. I think there should be a Learning Style quiz embedded or linked to when discussing learning styles for students. The writing tips and advice given were accurate and relevant. Literally, the only piece I would have liked to have seen addressed but did not was how to be an effective peer editor, but the tips for editing one's own paper could easily be applied to editing a peer's essay. While I would likely not use the chapter on presenting with my own class, I found it to be helpful. I do have one question about the formatting of the essays in chapter 12 at the end of the book: Why were the paragraphs not indented? I know of no composition instructors who allow block formatting for submitted essays. I recommend reviewing this book!","created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":112,"first_name":"Jonathan","last_name":"Carlson","position":"Instructor, Composition","institution_name":"University of Northwestern - St. Paul","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The first chapter covers many \"first year\" or \"freshmen\" tips, best practices ideas and how-to info. Probably good material for the group using this book, but not essential. Table 1.2 is valuable to a student's overall understanding of writing. Table 8.1 is great! The outline checklist on 301 and 302 is good info. I like the discussion of thesis statements on page 341. It points out significant errors. I appreciate the section on plagiarism. This is such a key issue today, with so much research done online with text that is so easy to copy and paste. I like that the book notes that there is intentional and unintentional plagiarism. I think the reading examples in chapter 15 could be stronger. The compare and contrast essay is quite brief, and it is not organized for easy reading (one massive paragraph and one short paragraph). The cause and effect essay is rather short. I would like to see 3 to 5 page examples - approximations of what I will be expecting my Comp 1 students to write. I feel the persuasive essay is much too brief to be persuasive. Universal health care coverage is a massive and nuanced topic, and to serve it up in two pages seems almost offensive. By the by, the linked essays seems very good. I just think the book needs better, stronger examples of student essays. Overall, I think this is perhaps the most comprehensive writing textbook I've seen. However, the sample writings included in the text need to be expanded and off \"better quality\"--closer to what a student would turn in for a Comp I course.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Pg 319: \"Generally speaking, write your introduction and conclusion last, after you have fleshed out the body paragraphs.\" This is dangerous advice. While I don't think it means to, I feel it downplays the importance of a thesis and/or mapping statement/plan of coherence. Without such a guide directly in front of them, many students will go off course. I feel the discussion/instruction of the thesis statement should occur in the outlining and drafting segment. It can and should be revisited later, but to wait to this point could be detrimental to the paper. Section 11.4: Accurate and essential. Students really need to know how to evaluate source material. From page 435: Questionable sources: free online encyclopedias. Thank you! From page 438: \"Think ahead to a moment a few weeks from now, when you've written your research paper and are almost ready to submit it for a grade. There is just one task left - writing your list of sources.\" I've always thought it wise to have students created their references page as they write the paper. They can delete a source they don't end up including, and if they wait to the end, they are more likely to forget a source. Page 570: The chart should probably be labeled \"Winter Olympic Medal Standings since 1924.\" If the combined total is calculated, the US has more than double our closest competitor, the Soviet Union. Also, the URL included in the text does not work. On the whole, the info is accurate and will be very helpful to students.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Not much in the book seems dated. Not much background is given for the fictional students in the book, and no pictures of them are provided. While this does increase the longevity of the book, it also decreases the chances of a real student identifying with the students in the textbook. The sample student writing on 361 is or will be dated, but if you're writing about tech, it's going to be. Beyond the Hype: Evaluating Low-Carb Diets from page 455. This is quite dated. After the myth that Atkins died from heart issues circulated, the low carb movement died with him. The process that this paper goes through is structured well. And I think that the teaching done by it is very relevant. So...I don't think that it's relevance as a fad should necessarily be considered. But if the book gets updated in 5 to 10 years, I'd recommend a different topic. The annotated essay portion on page 470 looks like it was created on an old-school typewriter. Ding! Page 531: The discussion of the URL vs. DOI is timely but may become irrelevant. I'm glad to see it's in here, but it may become irrelevant in the future.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"All the language seems clear to me. However, I have a Master's in Writing. It's difficult to take that filter off and think as a college freshman would. For example, page 327 uses the phrase \"formal English.\" I have a strong context for that, but would most college freshman. I honestly am not sure. It might be helpful to have a few early college students review the textbook.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Yes, it is internally consistent. The book uses similar language throughout and references previous and upcoming chapters frequently.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The textbook seems appropriately modular. An instructor could use portions he/she wanted or needed and leave out non-applicable content such as the \"freshman seminar\" type sections. Nearly half the book is grammar, punctuation and \"college wisdom\" content, which makes modularity especially important if the book is being exclusively used a Composition I textbook. And I do think its modularity is designed well and designed well enough to function in that way. The text does references previous and upcoming chapters frequently, but I think this still works fine.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"There is no table of contents at the front. The portions about Crystal, while they are related thematically to the text, still seem out of place. I've used another textbook with a similar element (a group of first-year students who share their struggles and successes). In the textbook I used, there were pictures of the students, and their comments and insight were set off in colorful textbooks. While it seemed a bit cheesy, as does this, the concept is helpful to students, I think. Setting off this element in sidebar allows the text to flow more smoothly and helps to identify the comments as such. Some of the tables are broken at the page breaks in segments that make them hard to follow. For example, if they were broken between rows instead of in the middle of them, that would make them easier to follow. Exercise 2 on page 544/545 is an example of a terrible table break. The overview of sections on page 38 is very confusing. This info should be included mainly in a table of contents or a chapter introduction. The Choosing Specific, Appropriate Words section on page 327-328 could be set off with a different color or the like. It seems odd simply being part of the flow of text. Something to consider: This textbook is set up in something of a narrative structure. It might be more effective if set up as an owner's manual, considering our current generation of learners' aversion to lengthy text. 9.1 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement Chapter 9 is covering developing a thesis, but chapter 8 looks at writing the draft. The instructions on the thesis need to come before instructions on writing the draft. Consider adding table 8.1 to page 354. Finally, there is no index, glossary or works cited sections at the end. The overall organization is good, quite functional, but some of the \"accessories\" are missing.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The color scheme is too muted. Various sections are \"highlighted\" in light gray. More distinct colors would give the reader clearer clues about how the text is organized. Also, some sort of picture or icon would help to recognize certain segments. For example, the \"Writing at Work\" segments could have a small picture of a person at an office desk (preferably Dwight Schrute). I really like the charts on page 49 and 51, 54.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found a few punctuation errors, but they're all essentially the same: missing spaces. This may have happened when the document was converted to PDF. Orunless on page 52.\r\n\"athesis\" on page 338.\r\nFencessymbolize on page 340.\r\nseeChapter 6 on page 368.\r\nFrom page 392: \"Writers are particularly prone to such trappings in cause-and-effect arguments \"Shouldn't it be \"traps\" instead of \"trapping\"?\r\nManual published from page 424\r\nTable 11.1 on 423 and 424 uses two fonts inconsistently.\r\nasSmithsonian Magazine orNature from page 434\r\nathttp://www.apa.org and athttp://owl.english.purdue.edu on page 492.\r\nFrom page 521: \"byperiods.\"\r\nFrom page 516: \"inand\"","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I didn't find much that was necessarily inclusive, other than the names of the fictional students. There were some sample essays (linked) that included non-white authors, which is certainly inclusive. However, I don't think any of the examples or articles were exclusive. Being a \"white\" male myself, I have a filter that is difficult to remove. I would hope that you could find some non-white reviewers to give you their opinion of this element.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Very, very comprehensive. I actually felt all the grammar and \"freshmen seminar\" elements took up too much of the textbook, but since it's free and the modularity works well, that's fine. Please add stronger student sample essays, a table of contents, glossary, index and works cited sections. And make the color scheme bolder. Thanks for the opportunity to review this textbook!","created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":209,"first_name":"Sara","last_name":"Crickenberger","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Virginia Tech","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The pdf of the textbook does not provide a table of contents or an index/glossary. It opens with a Preface then jumps right into Chapter 1. These omissions are inconvenient for planning and for both students and instructors trying to locate specific material in the 613-page book. However, the textbook covers a wide breadth of material relevant to a first-year writing class, ranging from basic discussion and tips to help students succeed as college-level readers and writers to sample essays employing a variety of rhetorical modes. I likely would not use everything in this textbook, but it contains a great deal of material that I would find useful. \r\n\r\n ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content appears to be accurate and unbiased. I did not find any factual errors or inconsistencies. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The material in the textbook is up-to-date and relevant. Some examples use historical references, which are essentially timeless. A couple of the sample essays discuss topics such as universal health care and low-carbohydrate diets that may be front page news one day and off the public radar the next, but the material was not dated in a way that made it less valuable as a resource for students. The sample essays are in the last chapter in the book, which could easily be updated with newer essays. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is easy to read and clearly speaks to college writing students. The language is accessible, explanations are clear, and instructions are easy to follow. The author defines terms that are specific to the study of language and writing and gives examples illustrating how they are used. After each section students are asked to demonstrate their understanding of the material by completing exercises based on their reading. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book uses a consistent framework that includes learning objectives for each section, discussion/explanation of the material, exercises that allow students to practice what they have been reading/learning, tips to make difficult ideas more accessible or reinforce messages, key takeaways to reinforce the learning objectives for each section, and a writing application. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is divided nicely into numbered chapters and sections that work well as self-contained units. Each section has clear learning objects, examples, exercises, and a writing application. It would be easy to assign a chapter or section within a chapter with the accompanying examples and exercises for students to compete.  ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The chapter on Writing for English Language Learners seems a bit oddly placed. Since that material is relevant for only a segment of the student population, I probably would have moved that chapter toward the back of the book with the more specialized content on documentation and presentations rather than between the chapters on word choice and shaping content. However, the content in the ELL chapter does relate closely to word choice and sentence structure, so another instructor might think this is the perfect place for this material.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The biggest problem with navigation in this textbook is the lack of a table of contents and index is. However, I had one other problem with the formatting. The text is double spaced, but paragraphs are not indented and there are no blank lines between paragraphs, so it is difficult to tell where paragraphs break. This is an issue in terms of ease of reading, and it sets a poor example for students who are learning the conventions of mechanics and formatting.\r\n\r\nThere are a few spacing issues. In some places subheads butt directly against body copy or tables, for instance. And some page breaks cause awkward breaks in exercises, tables, and charts. These are small issues that don't significantly affect the readability or usability. ","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I found few errors in the book. One issue that I did notice is a problem that is common among my students, so I was especially disappointed to see the error in the text. The author uses \"where\" in reference to something other than place: \"...establish a buddy system where you check in with a friend about school projects\" (25). \r\n\r\nThe text has a few other issues, such as bullet points that don't use parallel verb structures, some use of \"to be\" constructions that could easily be revised to more active/vivid sentence structures, and some typographical errors, such as \"accuratelydid\" (92) and \"ascrawny\" (149). These errors are relatively rare but start to get annoying after a couple of hundred pages.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book does not contain references that are culturally insensitive or offensive. The author switches between male and female names in examples/exercises and uses names that are reflective of a diverse population. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I am planning to use this book as one of my texts in a first-year writing class next fall. I likely will adapt it a bit by adding a table of contents, indenting paragraphs, correcting mechanical errors, etc. so that it is more functional and serves as a model of the writing and formatting I expect from students. I actually like the double spacing, which most publishers don't use because of space/cost issues. It provides plenty of room for students to annotate the text electronically or on print copies. I am not sure I am up for undertaking indexing.   ","created_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":291,"first_name":"Kelsea","last_name":"Jones","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Treasure Valley Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"McLean's text is surprisingly comprehensive, covering topics from reading and study strategies, to grammar, to writing paragraphs and essays, to research. While some of this material would be spot-on for first year composition, I feel as though most of the strategies are more appropriate for developmental composition courses (like WR 115: Intro to College Writing in the Oregon system). \r\n\r\nThe major downside of this text is that there is no Table of Contents or index for this 600+ page book. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The information in the text appears to accurate, unbiased, and very detailed. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text makes use of sentence and essay examples that are relevant and that will not have to be constantly updated. The main pieces of information in this text that would need to be updated are the APA and MLA style guides; however, both guides follow the most recent editions. Otherwise, the links provided in the text, such as those to the Purdue OWL, may need the most monitoring and updating. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing style of this text is accessible and conversational. Terms are introduced with examples, including some excellent graphic organizers, before they are used in the text, and the terminology is consistent throughout. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"There is a consistent framework in each chapter: learning objectives are listed, information is presented with tips and examples, and the information is summarized in a \"Key Takeaways\" box. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into chapters and sub-sections that could be divided into smaller reading sections or reorganized to fit individual course needs. Instructors could take or leave any of the content without confusing their students. ","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The text is organized so that students can build upon their skills, from reading and studying all the way to researching and making presentations; in that way, it is a clearly organized and structured text. However, this organization is what makes the text more appropriate for developmental writing courses than first year composition courses. The reading, studying, and grammar sections of the text could easily be organized into appendices at the back of the book to act as supplemental material rather than the meat of the text.","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"There are a few confusing interface issues with this version of the text: 1) None of the paragraphs are indented, which makes skimming the text difficult. 2) The learning objectives and tips in the text are set off in a light gray color that is easy to miss while scrolling through the pages; the blue and green colors chosen for the exercises and key takeaways are much easier to see and read. 3) Several headings for sections, tables, and figures are cut off from the information they introduce. 4) There are no clickable links in the text, table of contents, or index to aid navigation. 5) There is no title page for the text!","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no apparent grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"There was no content that was culturally offensive, but I also did not find the text to be particularly inclusive. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Overall, I found this text to be a good Open Educational Resource that offers a real wealth of information about college writing. For all of its interface problems, the text would be easy enough to adapt to either developmental composition courses or first year comp courses. I would recommend this text to instructors interested in using OERs in their classes.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":300,"first_name":"Shawn","last_name":"Osborne","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text clearly covers all areas and ideas of the subject at this level and is well organized. A nice addition is that each chapter opens with Learning Objectives and closes with Key Takeaways.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found the content to be accurate, error-free, and unbiased.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is up-to-date and relevant. It is arranged in such a way that any necessary updates should be quite easy to implement.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is straight forward and clear. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The terminology and framework of the text is consistent. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text can be divided into smaller reading sections easily.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear way. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There are no interface issues. The images/charts and other display features are well placed and bring clarity to the\nlearning point. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no grammatical errors in the text. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is culturally relevant. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Chapter 5: Help for English Language Learners and Chapter 14: Creating Presentations are useful additions to the text. I also appreciate the links to further readings in Chapter 15 and believe this will be very beneficial for students.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":305,"first_name":"Fran","last_name":"Bozarth","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book really covers it all so long as there is no need to address reading fiction - in fact, it has way more than I would be able to use in a term!   However, it appears to be appropriate for a semester course, or for two terms of quarter-length courses.\n\nSubjects are covered appropriately, although I don't know that students would find all of it particularly engaging - use of this material would be VERY reliant upon an effective, engaging instructor.\n\nAt our college we have the additional course goal of requiring some understanding of reading fiction, and an instructor utilizing this book would need to supplement for it.\n\nWhile the Table of Contents is very clear, there is no index or glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content in this book is consistent with the goals of most Reading/Writing/Study Skills/College Success courses I have encountered.  It seems to be error-free, and the author did a particularly good job of projecting no biases that I could detect.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content related to this text has remained fairly static for decades, though there have been some developments in the past few decades regarding holding students more accountable for knowing their learning styles, and for constructing meaning with connections to their own experiences. This book addresses the  basic, standard content, and nicely brings in opportunities for students to better understand themselves as learners.  Again, this will depend heavily upon the instructor and their ability to engage students.\n\nSome of the exercises and examples may become obsolete if there are any major technological changes in our society (for example, if email is suddenly abandoned in favor of something else.) However, I believe that such updates would be quite easy to implement given the use of a simple \"Find \u0026amp;  Replace\" feature.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Clarity is a strong suit for this text.   I did not locate any portion of the book that lacked clarity.   Context was provided for examples of poor writing as well as for strong writing.  Context was also provided for any specialized language.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is extremely consistent in terms of terminology and framework.    \n\nThe framework utilizes a \"here is what you will learn\" type of bulleted list, followed by sections that match the bulleted list, with examples where appropriate, and exercises at the end of the chapter.  The end of the book includes not only a full-text example of each type of essay, but also provides links to additional examples written by often well-known and well-regarded authors.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"The structure of the overall text is appropriate, and logical.  I really appreciate that exercises aren't just randomly thrown in, as many published textbooks often do.\n\nThe text is easily readable, but I find that the layout of the pages can cause the text  and sections to run together.   More effective use of headings and subheadings would make this easier for students to follow.   Additionally, there isn't an easily discernible break between chapters/sections.   I would very much like to see more solid page breaks (title pages perhaps?) at the beginning of each chapter/section.    Given the learning styles assessment at the beginning of the book, it would be appropriate to at least include some icons that match each section - for example the \"Key Take Aways \"  could have a key icon.  Some suggestions for students regarding how they can apply this using their unique learning styles might be helpful as well.  Otherwise, that learning style information seems to be unrelated from the students' point of view.\n\nThe links in the PDF did not seem to work.   I don't know if I need to consider looking at this material in a different format in order to use the in-text links.  (In other words, I don't know if it's me or if it's the text or the technology or what....) ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics in the text are presented in a very appropriate fashion, with concepts building in a logical way, one upon the next.  Very nicely scaffolded!","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface seemed to be working correctly.  I was able to read everything, and things seemed to be correctly placed.   I was not sure if the blue text was supposed to be linked.  I was unable to click it and go to any links (which were typically references to other chapters within the text, so it wouldn't be impossible to locate those items - just tedious.)","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text appears to have been impeccably edited.  All of the writing lesson content was modeled within the text.  Items that were incorrect were clearly labeled as being examples of poor writing, or were clearly used for the purpose of applying identification and editing skills.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"This text appears to be quite sterile when it comes to cultural sensitivity.  Given the audience, the examples are typically American with some culturally diverse names thrown in. The examples given weren't particularly indicative of one race, ethnicity or background or another.   In some ways, I am thankful for the lack of contrived cultural sensitivity. I didn't note anything that would create a barrier to culturally diverse populations, other than the assumptions that are made based upon american culture (such as the notion that we have all had a job at one time or another, or at least have some understanding of the concept of employment.)","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This book has much to offer. The authors did an excellent job of including the content that is consistent with standard reading/writing/study skill content.   I think it will be very workable and pliable for use by instructors who chose it.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":320,"first_name":"Kimberly","last_name":"Gutierrez","position":"Assistant Professor of English","institution_name":"Bismarck State College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"One of the classes I teach is a freshman composition writing lab that focuses on sentence level errors and sentence clarity.  This is a super resource for that type of class.  The book contains all sentence, grammar and mechanics concepts that are essential to teaching students to recognize and repair sentence-level errors.  The Table of Contents clearly outlines all of the all of the component of the book.  As far as being the main source for a first semester freshman composition class, if I used it, I would certainly supplement it with more readings, but for freshman composition sentence level instruction, this book is very thorough.  My comprehensive rating reflects that particular focus.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The descriptions of the concepts are very detailed, and these descriptions are very accurate, explaining the concept with correct sample sentences.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Since the primary focus of this book is the grammatical concepts that impact sentence issues, the text will not necessarily need updating.  Of course, MLA formatting guidelines do change, so these changes will will need to be updated within the book, but the general sentence concepts presented in the majority of the book will not soon become obsolete. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"All portions of the book are very clearly presented.  Grammar can be confusing to first semester freshman composition students, but the explanations are clearly presented.  Examples are clearly connected to the grammar explanations.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Terminology is consistent within the text.  Within the framework of a composition lab class, this text is consistent, covering all essential components covered in the course scope.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The clarity with how the concepts are presented in the Table of Contents allows instructors to pick and choose which the  concepts will be presented and the order of presentation. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book has a clear organizational flow (considering that I would use this book for a composition lab that has a sentence practice focus).  The sentence concepts build logically on each other.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No interface issues occur when accessing the chapters, and there are no display features that distract the reader.  The lessons are presented very clearly, and the practice exercises are easy to follow.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The grammar lessons are error free.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The practice sentences do not contain an culturally biased material.  ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This is a text that I would consider using for a composition lab course (sentence practice focus).  I would also consider using the text for first semester freshman composition, but using the text for that type of course would require finding supplemental readings.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":327,"first_name":"Brandy","last_name":"Hoffmann","position":"English Instructor","institution_name":"Central Lakes College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing for Success offers a variety of sections that could be extracted as resources/readings for a first year writing course. In other words, despite some weaknesses, this text serves the function of an OER, and parts of it could be utilized widely. Overall, I would not feel comfortable using this as a primary text to teach rhetorical modes, including argumentative research writing, but I would use it as a supplementary text.\n\nStrengths: I found the coverage of the following subjects to be generally effective: the overall writing process; the revision process (with exercises, p. 470); the editing process (with exercises, p. 476); thesis development (with samples of weak/strong, Chapter 9); paragraphing and topic sentences (with models of different types of paragraphs--summary/analysis/synthesis/evaluation, Chapter 6); sentence fluency and variety (with exercises throughout Chapters 2 and 7); preliminary research and research proposals (Chapter 11); outlining (with samples, Chapter 8), and basic MLA and APA documentation, including an effective discussion of in-text citations on pp. 501-503.\n\nI want to point out the overall usefulness of the exercises offered throughout this text (adding value to the text, since practical exercises for college writing instruction can be hard to come by). I also appreciated the beginnings of chapters, which effectively addressed the questioning student and established the context.\n\nWeaknesses: Viewed as a whole, the text struggles in terms of audience and purpose, organization of content, and content selection and emphasis. The text emphasizes some extraneous subjects while understating other topics that would be important to many composition courses. For example, for a composition course built on rhetorical modes—narration, description, illustration, argumentation, etc.--this textbook offers only a short overview of each. It also offers a few models and links to outside readings, but it doesn't include anything on composing annotated bibliographies, rhetorical analysis essays, critical reviews, or literature reviews. There is an overview on how to write a research paper, but the discussion on how to integrate sources effectively - quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing - is somewhat weak, and the discussion of plagiarism is limited.\r\n\nThe text offers an extensive section on study skills (in chapter 1), which seemed misplaced in this text - unless it was modified to address study strategies for a writing course, specifically (for example, rather than models of lecture \"note taking,\" how about models of research note-taking in chapter 11; and instead of comparing general high school and college assignments, compare writing assignments specifically). I would recommend an overall reorganization of the text, moving chapter 8 (writing process) toward the front, for example, while moving chapters 2 (sentences), 3 (punctuation), 4 (words), and 5 (ELL) toward the end--to emphasize higher order concerns, first; lower order concerns, second.\n\nI appreciate the attempt to address workplace writing as well as academic or in-school writing, but I found the brief \"Writing at Work\" sidebars a bit forced, possibly distracting, and unnecessary (e.g. pp. 224-225; p. 348). The attempt to include a pseudo student to shed light on the subject is sometimes helpful (Mariah, Chapter 8) but sometimes forced and not developed enough to be useful (Crystal, Chapter 1). The brief bits on \"collaboration\" throughout the text could be deleted- not developed enough to be useful. There is no index or glossary, and in the PDF I was using there was no table of contents, though this is available elsewhere. Despite these weaknesses, there are many reasons to use this text, as outlined under \"Strengths\" above.\r\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Overall, this is an accurate and unbiased text. There will always be subjectivity in the delivery of academic writing advice because of varying preferences and changing ideas about what is appropriate or inappropriate. I tend to disagree with the following suggestions or omissions offered in this text: suggestion (through models that indicate 3 points to support a thesis) that a 5-paragraph essay is still the go-to formula for college writing in (Chapter 9); suggestion that a thesis is always one sentence; suggestion that it's a good idea to search for a random quote for your introduction online (p. 361); omitting any reference to intentional sentence fragments; omitting idea that contractions can be used in academic writing (in certain instances); omitting clear attribution and documentation in the summary on p. 220 apart from the opening signal phrase--not the best summary sample; the suggestion that a topic sentence begins an essay or article (p. 233), which seems misleading.\r\n","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Writing advice tends to be timeless, to an extent, so there aren't big concerns that the content will become outdated. The author avoided pop culture and current event references, which was smart. The only suggestion would be to modify the text to better address new challenges and innovations in writing genres/writing instruction - perhaps including a chapter on multimodal writing and online writing toward the end of the text. (The use of \"trade books\" in Chapter 1 seems outdated, not fully defined.)","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Overall, I found the writing to be very effective - definitely student-friendly yet not patronizing and still sophisticated. The writer avoided convoluted, wordy prose, and wrote in a tone appropriately formal yet conversational and relatable.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Yes, despite the overall issues with content organization and selection, which I address elsewhere, I found the text to be internally conistent with terminology and framework.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Yes, this text is easily divisible into smaller reading assignment, given the breakdown of subsectios within each chapter and the inclusion of exercise sections, etc. There are some issues with headers/interface, depending on the version of the text used, addressed in interface section.The text did not seem self-referential.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"As stated above, I would recommend an overall reorganization of the text, moving chapter 8 (writing process) toward the front, for example, while moving chapters 2 (sentences), 3 (punctuation), 4 (words), and 5 (ELL) toward the end--to emphasize higher order concerns, first; lower order concerns, second.\n\nIncluding Learning Objectives at the beginning of each chapter is helpful, allowing easy alignment with course objectives; the \"key takeaways\" at the end of each chapter are also helpful.\n\nPlease note: I was evaluating a downloaded PDF version of the text, so experience may be different in a different mode. Throughout the text, headings/labels can be difficult to distinguish from one another, making it challenging to follow the hierarchy/logic of the text. The organization of the \"Reading Strategies\" section in Chapter 1 was a bit confusing, listing the \"three broad categories\" of strategies but then failing to organize section headings that aligned. On p. 10, I would recommend moving \"Ask and answer questions\" before \"Summarize.\"\n\nFor the \"tips\" offered throughout the text, it would be helpful if they were labeled in some way (e.g. \"Tips: Succeeding in Timed Writings,\" p. 34). I would suggest eliminating the \"Writing at Work\" sidebars but turning some of these into tips (e.g. \"Tips: Emailing Your Professor,\" p. 17). The paragraph on p. 38 that lists all chapters seems unnecessary and overwhelming. In the discussion of the SQ3R Strategy on p. 12, it seems like these steps should be handled separately with headings. The four academic purposes in Chapter 6 should be obviously highlighted at the beginning of the section rather than listed in the middle of the paragraph without emphasis (p. 217). On p. 230, \"6.12\" is referenced but does not exist? Use of \"for this assignment\" on p. 461 seems misleading.\n\nAlso, the font size, heading placement, spacing, indenting, and bullet formatting are all a bit awkward throughout; the text could be cleaned up for improved design and readability, though these issues do not detract largely from the text's usability.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Please note: I was evaluating a downloaded PDF version of the text, so experience may be different in a different mode. I located a few interface issues in my reading of the text: On p. 238+ the text keeps referring to underlined topic sentences, but they are not underlined. On p. 244 the text refers to underlined transitional words, but they are also not underlined.\n\nCertain references to other sections in the text are colored in a way that makes them seem as if you could click on a link and be carried to a different section of the text, but this didn’t function, at least not in the PDF that I had downloaded (such as “see Chapter 12 ‘Writing a Research Paper’” on p. 10).\r\n\nIt would be helpful if there was a repeat of the chapter title on the top of each page of the text.\n\nI located the following dead links in the PDF that I downloaded:\n\nhttp://www.sunywcc.edu/LIBRARY/research/MLA_APA_08.03.10.pdf\r\nhttp://www.writing.ku.edu/guides\r\np. 546\r\n\nhttp://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/132320728102659810/lib/132320728102659810/_files/Alexie,_Sherman_-_Indian_Education_TEXT.rtf\r\nhttp://www.pfeonyx.com/alliance/IndianCollection/Alexie2.pdf\r\np. 596\n\nhttp://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/mcunningham/grapes/mother%20tounge.pdf http://learning.swc.hccs.edu/members/donna.gordon/sum-2010-engl-1301-5-wk-crn-33454/1301-reading-block-crn-33454/Tan_Mother%20Tongue.pdf http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2000/on_the_internet_theres_no_place_to_hide\r\np. 602\n\r\nhttp://api.ning.com/files/-3HiJ651xE-rSj4Q4WeH-*f0NQJGyoXgI8AR*3Rat-AyxVuVAgEE bfbuyGbTu9gpi7z3gT4jqd52W3fBsDRfFGgEgLxB5wO4/GetItRight.PrivatizeExecutionsArthurMiller.pdf\r\np. 605\n\r\nhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everythingsanargument4e/content/cat_020/Brady_I_Want_a_Wife.pdf\r\nhttp://www.usd305.com/212720101692451310/lib/212720101692451310/20100429123836146.pdf\r\np. 607\n\nhttp://eec.edc.org/cwis_docs/NEWS_ARTICLES_JOURNALS/Laird_Ellen.pdf\r\nhttp://depedia.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=I%27m_your_teacher%2C_not_your_Internet-Service_Provider\r\np. 609\n\r\nhttp://depedia.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=I%27m_your_teacher%2C_not_your_Internet-Service_Provider\r\nhttp://www.alandershowitz.com/publications/docs/torturewarrants.html\r\np. 613\n\r\nThe title and link has changed for article p. 598: should be http://www.newsweek.com/dark-side-web-fame-93505 List of \"Sources\" on p. 568 awkward too... not sure links are directing to intended spot.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I located a few mechanical/sentence-level errors:\np. 2 in Preface, 2nd paragraph, the list with \"instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical...\" could use semicolons for clearer listing/separation of items.\np. 166 wording issue: \"jargon a type\" p. 202, 213, 275, 340, 366 spacing errors: \"errors within, at and on\"; \"butit\"; \"thanswimming\"; \"Fencessymoblize\"; \"Writingis\"; p. 208 lack of consistent periods at end of phrases in Table 5.16\np. 300 words/punctuation missing: \"For example, for every Roman numeral I, there must be a For every A, there must be a B.\"","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text did not seem culturally insensitive or offensive and seemed usable by a wide audience of students.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I plan on using segments of this text in future writing courses, and I am grateful for the availability of OER texts like this one. So, despite any weaknesses addressed, this is still a valuable resource for faculty who are trying to lower the barriers to student success in their classrooms through the adoption of OER resources. I recommend the text, but study it carefully to determine how it will be used in your specific writing courses. It is probably best used as a supplementary text.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":349,"first_name":"Michelle","last_name":"Cristiani","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"What I look for in a writing text at this level is flow from simple to complex: word placement and part of speech up through essays.  This text follows that format beautifully.  \nOne glaring omission is fragment and run-on work.  This is such a common issue at this level. I would also want to see more transition from sentence to paragraph, not just paragraph to essay.\nThere are a couple of underdeveloped sections as the topics grow in detail: for example, nine rhetorical modes are discussed, which is a wide array, but within each section there is not much elaboration or examples. But overall, there are appropriate exercises after concepts are introduced.  The text provides a solid framework for instructors to build upon as they see fit.\nThe table of contents are easy to navigate and generally well-organized.  I do find chapter 8 misplaced, though – it is titled ‘how do I begin.’  Because it describes the writing process from prewrite to edit it seems sensible to place it closer to the beginning.  \nI especially appreciate the inclusion of research and citation – it is well-done.\n\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The lessons and examples are true to the field.  The structure mirrors most other texts in organization and usage.  The research and citation sections are more-or-less current.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Longevity is easy to attain with this discipline because grammar/writing rules are tried and true...but the organization of this text makes it a true 'open' resource.  One could update or mold portions into a larger discussion on grammar concepts like punctuation, or writing for description. \nThe APA and MLA sections are vague enough as to not need much updates as the rules change. The links work. I see at least one MLA rule that has changed since 2009, but it's relatively minor, and easily updated.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Grammar-heavy texts can be tricky for students because there are so many labels, like 'rhetorical mode,' that they know the definitions of, but have not heard the terms themselves.  This text keeps that jargon to a minimum, so that students can focus on the concept and not the vocabulary.  Subject-verb agreement is the least accessible, but that is often difficult to explain for any text, and the exercises support the instruction. Parallelism could be defined more cleanly. The research section is quite clear. The learning objectives are clear enough as to be useful tools themselves.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Exercises are often post-concept and always post-chapter. Learning objectives are defined at the beginning of each section. Each section resembles the others, and for that reason can be easily modulated  - but there are no clear cumulative assignments.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"These chapters can stand alone quite easily. This works especially well for instructors like myself who teach grammar concepts side-by-side with writing concepts - they will pair closely in this model. The end-of-chapter exercises could easily be used as pretests as well as post-tests.\nChapter 13 on research documentation is slightly self-referential, but the sections are unlikely to be taught separately and it doesn't feel overdone.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"As previously mentioned, chapter 8 on getting started might be moved forward. Ideally the text would pair the writing process stages directly with modes, as they do change given the purpose...but since this might made the text less modular I understand the vision behind its generality.\nThe reading examples might be closer to the chapter on modes, instead of at the end after research.\nWithin chapters, flow is sensible and straightforward.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The layout and structure is simple and clean. Charts keep their shape even when window size is minimized. The clear table of contents is navigable by both scroll and click.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Grammar texts especially need to be spotless; I spotted no errors. Most importantly, there is consistency in structure and punctuation, for example in learning objectives from chapter to chapter.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Most important in this volume are the sample essay readings.  Linked and cited authors include various time periods and controversial yet not sensitive topics.  The text is to be commended for inclusion of essays from at least five different races and a variety of worldviews.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"A solid framework and foundation for essay writing.  The book could be used for a class specifically about writing, or as a companion to another course.  Modules on research and citation are of specific relevance to a variety of content areas, and the extra essays in the final chapter can inspire debate and argument both in writing and verbal discussion.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":352,"first_name":"Mary","last_name":"Sylwester","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook is amazingly comprehensive--probably more than any teacher actually wants. It covers strategies for success in college, reading, grammar, spelling, drafting, revising, thesis statements, and various rhetorical modes. Unfortunately, it does not include an index. The table of contents is fairly detailed, however.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate: rules for spelling and punctuation and general rhetorical content are presented as any writing instructor would expect. More explanation about rules for grammar and punctuation would be nice: for example, the explanation of the dash is \"to set off information in a sentence for emphasis.\" This is accurate, but not the whole story.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The main portions of this text will not become outdated. The section on readings, however, is already problematic. The book offers one reading example per mode, and then others as links. Just in a quick survey of links in two of the rhetorical modes, I found five that were no longer operational. To be fair, the book does try to get around that problem with multiple link sources for the same essay, but I found this strategy confusing, as it tends to look as if there are more readings available than actually are present. In the future, as with any textbook including readings, there will be a need to provide up-to-date topics.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I found the book very readable. There is little or no jargon. This book would be appropriate for a freshman in college.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The page design is consistent: examples and exercises are similarly formatted and easy to locate. The author uses fictional student names to illustrate how some principles might be applied in real life. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"In the \"Exercise\" sections, the book does refer the studen to other parts of the chapters. All the examples I found, however, referred the student to sections within the same chapter and not out to other chapters of the book. For example, in the Exercises for Ch. 8, the instructions say: \"Working in a peer-review group of four, go to Section 8.3 “Drafting” and reread the draft of the first two body paragraphs . . . .\"","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"This book starts with strategies for success, which seems reasonable, but then has a giant section about sentence grammar \u0026amp; spelling before even getting to writing paragraphs. \"Refining Your Writing\" comes before \"How Do I Begin?\" which seems backwards. The topic of thesis statements does not come up until Chapter 9, which seems terribly late. If I were teaching from this text, I would probably skip from Chapter 1 to Chapter 6, and use Chapters 2-5 (grammar and spelling) as references.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The display seems fine: I read it online rather than downloading. One benefit to the online format is the search window at the top, which offers a kind of substitute for indexing. \n\nThe only problem I ran into was that several links to the readings in Chapter 15 were nonfunctional.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Student example names used seem to cover a variety of ethnic backgrounds, but most are women's names. Readings cover a wide spectrum of ethnicities. For example, links to readings in the \"Narrative Essay\" section include Chicano, Russian Jewish, and Native American.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is generally a well written textbook. However, there are two problems that instructors will encounter in using it: (1) it is not organized pedagogically, so instructors will need to consider the order of readings carefully, and not just move chapter by chapter through the book. (2) many links to readings are not functional, so instructors will need to be aware of that and either find new links or provide their own readings.\n\nFinally, I have grave reservations about the ethics of using weblinks for essentially all the current readings in a textbook. I understand that using links in an online class for one-time readings is fine, but many of these links (especially those that remain functional) are to publications that have paying subscribers, such as The New Yorker. I would feel better about using a textbook that actually had permission to use other writers' work as a permanent fixture of the book.\n\n","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":360,"first_name":"Laura","last_name":"Sanders","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers a range of topics students might need while building reading, critical thinking, research, and writing skills in developmental to upper division courses.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I see no evidence of inaccurate, erroneous, or biased content.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I believe it is safe to say that this book will be useful for a long time. While APA and MLA style may change and grammar rules may soften or transform, this book would be easy to update.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is accessible to students entering a course with various levels of academic preparation and experience.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter begins with learning objectives and ends with takeaways. Throughout each chapter, there are charts and exercises to clarify and emphasize key content.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Clearly marked sections focus on student success strategies, grammar and punctuation, and approaches to composition. Instructors could easily select the chapters most relevant to individual reading and writing courses at all levels.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is structured very well. It begins with reading strategies and helping students transition from a high school to college learning environment. It moves into sentence-level techniques, including specific areas for English language learners. The text also includes sections on the writing process, rhetoric, research, documentation, and presentation.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is easy to navigate.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I do not see any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"While I do not see anything I consider offensive, I do believe few of my students would \"see themselves\" in this text. The sample names (like \"Steve\" and \"Jones\") and sample essay topics (baseball, video game addiction) do not suggest a recognition of the broad cultural diversity instructors encounter in college classrooms today. For me, this lack of inclusiveness marks the main weakness of this text.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I enjoyed reviewing the text and plan to assign a few chapters to my online writing students.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":368,"first_name":"Amy ","last_name":"Forester","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Clackamas Community College and Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is very comprehensive. There are sections that are useful for many different writing levels, from students in need of grammar and punctuation instruction to research writing. Also, each section is nicely developed with examples, explanations, and exercises.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is very accurate. It gives clear and easy-to-read instruction on many topics.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This text has great longevity. I can imagine using it for many years because the examples are not time-sensitive. This is a great book to accompany a reading list or anthology.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This is one of the first things I noticed about the text. I really like the tone and style of the writing. It is clear and does not over-complicate ideas. The author clearly has experience with first-year writing students because it is written in a clear, accessible way. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I appreciate the consistency of this text. The terminology is direct and logical, and students will find it easy to get a broader understanding of a topic because the text provides links to other parts of the text where the term is mentioned. Also, the chapter organization is perfect for first-year students who do not want long, meandering chapters.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I will be using this book in modules for different writing classes. For example, it is easy to teach the grammar and punctuation sections in a remedial course and leave them out in research writing courses. Each section is very well developed.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics are nicely organized in this text. Each chapter has the same features, so students know what to expect. I am particularly impressed with the section Writing at Work, which gives students a sense for how each strategy is used in the workplace.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Overall, the interface is very easy to read. The one improvement that should be made is, at least in my screen view, the student writing samples are hard to read because they are small and in a difficult font.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"It is grammatically correct.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is not culturally insensitive. It seems inclusive in its examples.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I am particularly impressed with the grammar and punctuation chapters. I have used many different books to teach these topics, and have found that they are often explained in complicated, technical language. I will definitely use these chapters in my classes.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":374,"first_name":"Michelle","last_name":"Robbins","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing for Success includes all the topics I cover in a developmental writing class, plus a large chunk on research papers. It covers grammar and constructing paragraphs and essays in a comprehensive manner. \n\nFor developmental writing, I did find that Chapter 2 was a bit light on the parts of speech. For instance, in one exercise students must identify adverbs and adjectives, but there is no real explanation of them first. However, the sentence practice in regard to subjects, verbs, and independent clauses was solid.\n\nChapter 6 on purpose, tone, audience, and content was excellent. I haven't seen those elements addressed in quite the same way (sometimes barely at all) in other textbooks I have used.\n\nI was also pleased with the links to articles and essays. (More on this in relevance and cultural relevance.)\n\n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. The author includes a variety of links to additional readings and does an excellent job of covering different sides of an issue. For instance, he is sure to link to articles arguing both for and against the use of torture.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Because grammar, language, and writing change fairly slowly, the content here is relevant and lasting. Some articles may become dated, but those are easy to change. Many of them won't need to be replaced anyway because, regardless of their dates, they are still good examples (and, obviously, in writing and literature older works are critical to examine). One of the sample essays was written in 1994. Certainly our outlooks on the material has changed (the role of wives), but the piece is still a good (and creative) example of a definition essay--and fodder for discussion.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is clear and accessible for upper-level remedial students and still works for 100-level courses. The student examples are useful, but a few of them were not especially compelling or strong examples and could be replaced.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"It is consistent. I thought the repetition of sections such as \"writing at work\" and \"key takeaways\" were helpful for students absorbing a lot of information.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The organization of sections made the text easy to follow. At first I thought it would be better organized by integrating the writing samples in the last chapter into the instructional chapters, but ultimately, I found that grouping the types of content (grammar in one area, writing instruction in one, samples in another, and so on) made accessing content easier--especially because they are also cross-referenced within the chapters.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Much of the time, I want my students to access different topics simultaneously, so I found the organization here to work fine. The chapters and sub-sections are clear, so it is easy to move between them.\n\nI found the cross-referencing of sub-sections to be particularly helpful, as in the chapter on coordination: it refers back to the section on semi-colons and vice versa.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"All worked well for me. All graphics were clear, and it was key to be able to magnify the student samples for better readability.\n\nOne significant issue is that many of the links to essay examples in Chapter 15 are dead. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The links to outside sources included cultural variety (and were quite interesting!). Perhaps the examples within the text itself might show more variety.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I was especially impressed by the links to Chapter 15 examples (those that worked); there were blogs, poems, and magazine articles. The variety of source types and authors was excellent, and the pieces themselves were compelling.\n\nOverall, Writing for Success was clearly written, useful, and fairly comprehensive. I would definitely use it in my developmental Writing 90 course. I can also envision using many sections for Writing 80.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":386,"first_name":"Katie","last_name":"McCurdie","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The comprehensiveness of this text is very impressive.  At 600 pages, it covers so many aspects of college writing, from grammar to essay writing to creating presentations, that pieces of this text would surely be useful for a wide variety of courses, but it is probably best suited to a first-year composition course.  The first chapter provides a good introduction to writing in college, which includes a comparison to writing assignments in high school, along with more general advice on succeeding in college.  This would be useful for just about any student entering an American university.  It would also aid international students in understanding the expectations surrounding reading and writing as they transition from schools in their home country, where expectations, amount of coursework, and types of assessments can be drastically different.  The next four chapters focus on sentence-level language issues: sentence structure, punctuation, vocabulary, and a whole grammar chapter for English language learners.  These chapters could provide a great introduction to or review of the basics of English grammar, as well as the metalanguage needed to talk about grammar.  In fact, I could see all four of the chapters begin useful for English language learners at intermediate and advanced levels.  Chapters six through thirteen cover writing, from paragraphs to research papers, and fourteen focuses on presentations.  Short exercises immediately reinforce the content in a variety of ways, such as by editing, completing sentences, and identifying and labeling grammar items.  The amount of exercises might be enough for relatively advanced users of English, but those at a lower level would likely need additional exercises from another source.  The “Writing Application” exercises at the end of most chapter sections provide opportunities for students to use what they’ve learned in short writing activities.  In addition, there are end-of-chapter exercises for more practice.\n\nThroughout the text, there is a combined focus on writing for academic purposes and writing in the real world.  Examples and exercises reinforce this with work emails, business letters, job descriptions, cover letters, advertisements, and personal narratives and essays.  This should send the message to students that the skills they are learning will be applied to all areas of their lives.  \n\nAlthough this text hasn’t reinvented the wheel in terms of writing instruction, it does present some novel ways to approach certain topics.  For instance, there is a section in Chapter 2 on identifying and correcting fragments and run-ons that would potentially be very helpful for both native and non-native writers.  It includes flow charts that students could use on their own to aid them in finding and fixing these all too common sentence structure errors in their own writing – an excellent tool to help students move towards becoming independent writers.\n\nThe table of contents is detailed and descriptive, but is not included in the pdf version.\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I found the content to be mostly accurate.  However, there are a couple places where the labeling of grammar items seemed incorrect or inconsistent to me.  For instance, in Chapter 2, the text introduces some sentence structure basics including prepositional phrases (“At night,” “In the beginning,” etc.).  However, when discussing how to fix fragments that begin with prepositional phrases a few pages later, the example sentences do not actually contain them; instead, they begin with adverb clauses or phrases (“After walking all day…”).  For a native writer, distinguishing between these two different structures might not be crucial since the point here is fixing the fragment error.  If using this text with English language learners, however, the discrepancy could cause confusion.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Information and example essays seem relevant and up-to-date although the chapter on MLA and APA documentation will have to be updated in the future.  Updates should be easy to perform due to the text’s modularity. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The language used in the text is very easy to understand and approachable.  Examples mostly consist of everyday language and situations or general academic vocabulary.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text seems consistent to me except for the grammar terminology error I mentioned above.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This text seems made to be divided into smaller parts to be covered individually or even in a different order.  Although the text does refer to itself at times, it does not rely on these references to convey information clearly and completely.  Therefore, I noticed some sections of the text that necessarily repeat information from previous sections so as to stand alone as an independent lesson.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I appreciate how the book is organized, beginning with the introduction to college writing, which orients students to what they’ll be doing and why.  I think it was a good choice to then put the grammar chapters next, before getting into the writing chapters.  Writing books I’ve used tend to stick the grammar instruction at the end of the text or even hide it away in an appendix, but this text encourages students to become proficient writers from the sentence level up.  The only part that seems oddly placed to me is Chapter 7, “Refining Your Writing,” which covers sentence variety, coordination and subordination, and parallelism.  Also, I agree with another reviewer who said that it would be better if each rhetorical mode were given its own chapter.  I never teach nine different modes in one course (maybe two or three), so the modularity would be better if each mode could be separate.  On the other hand, I like how research writing is divided into two chapters and covered in detail.  This type of writing is so difficult for most students, so it’s nice to have that comprehensive instruction.  It’s also great to have the additional chapter at the end with example essays.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface is user-friendly with clear headings and sub-headings, logical use of bold text, numbered and bulleted lists, and blocks of subtle color to set off certain pieces of text from the main text.  When suitable, information is presented in chart form or inside boxes.  The font is highly readable and not distracting.  Each chapter has a few main sections that are consistent throughout the text: “Learning Objectives” at the beginning, “Exercises” sprinkled throughout the chapter, and “Key Takeaways” at the end.  There are also small boxes labeled “Tips,” which give advice on succeeding academically, and “Writing at Work,” which offers suggestions on how to use writing in real communication situations.  As a result, the set-up of each chapter is predictable, which would theoretically allow teachers and students to fall into a comfortable routine.  \n\nOne problem I found with the interface is that sometimes the margin sizes are not consistent from one page to the next.  For instance, an indented list that begins on one page and continues on the next may not be indented on the second page.  This is a small issue and may just be in the pdf version of the text.  \n\nI also noticed some navigation mistakes, when the text refers the reader to another part of the text, but it’s not the intended part.  For example, in the section on fixing run-ons, it says, “For more information on semicolons, see Section 2.4.2 ‘Capitalize Proper Nouns’.  However, there is nothing about semicolons in this section; this would most likely be in Chapter 3, which covers punctuation.\n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not see any errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not notice anything culturally insensitive, and there are some inclusive examples.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Overall, I find this text to be thoughtfully written, and I’d definitely consider using it for upper level writing \u0026amp; grammar-focused courses in the Intensive English Program. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":387,"first_name":"Kirk","last_name":"Perry","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College - Cascade ","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook aspires to be a combined grammar book and reader. It covers all the appropriate areas, but the coverage is a bit thin when it comes to examples.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"As far as I can tell.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The instructional content is very plain and basic; it will be sure to bore students for decades to come.\n\nThe readings (links) are good quality and likely to be useful for a decade or so.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Very clear and plain language--but again, not enough examples.\n\nIf anything, this text could be more technical. I think it is unhelpful to describe subordinating conjunctions as \"dependent words.\" This strikes me as vague and misleading.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Yes, quite consistent.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Yes, it is effectively modular. Helpful subheadings and sections. There are lists and diagrams, but some sections can be a bit too text-y (dense paragraphs).","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"Yes: overview \u0026gt; grammar \u0026gt; process \u0026gt; writing modes \u0026gt; research \u0026gt; citation. \n\nHowever, the example essays for the modes come in the final chapter. There is no good reason why \"Chapter 10: Modes\" could not be merged with \"Chapter 15: Readings: Examples of Essays\"--particularly because most of the examples are links.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Appears good.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Didn't notice any problems.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The example essay links provide a variety of ethnic/cultural perspectives.\n\n","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This book is helpful but tries to do a bit too much--being both a grammar and a reader. It needs more examples of everything: run-on sentences, sense details, example essays, etc.\n\nTo adopt this for a course such as WR 115 or WR 121, I would have to provide many supplemental readings.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":409,"first_name":"Annie","last_name":"Knepler","position":"University Studies Writing Coordinator","institution_name":"Portland State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing for Success is quite thorough. It covers everything from sentence structure to the writing process. It has additional sections on creating effective presentations and concludes with sample essays. I could see how instructors could use various elements of the text and adapt it to their course.\n\nAt the same time, it often felt a little too comprehensive, and sometimes seemed to aim for breadth over depth. For example, not much space is devoted to integrating sources and ideas. Learning how to apply sources, and develop your own ideas based on research, is such an important element of college writing. Paraphrasing and integrating source material is complex, and takes a lot of practice. Otherwise, students tend to let the sources speak for them instead of truly conversing with the sources (which is what I would begin to expect of college level students). The text leaves the impression that integrating sources is a straightforward task as opposed to one that involves critical thinking and analytic skills. Overall, I found the research section fairly weak.\n\nI have looked at and worked with several writing texts, and I’m used to ones that either focus on a specific aspect of writing (such as research writing) or have a specific approach. This text tries to be a more general writing text, and it,  perhaps, tries to cover too much.\n","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"The book strikes me as accurate, thorough, and generally without bias. At the same time, I don’t fully agree with the approach it takes to writing and grammar. The text does a really nice job of explaining certain grammatical elements and providing several examples to demonstrate the idea. However, the text generally treats grammar as rules rather than conventions. These conventions often change or shift over time, just as writing conventions change over time.\n\nSimilarly, whereas I appreciated the texts emphasis on writing as a process, Writing for Success does not really highlight the idea that writing can also be a process of discovery for the student. To me, this is an important concept for both learning and writing, and it helps get students excited about the possibilities for college writing. For example, when discussing thesis statements, the book indicates that a writer might end up revising a working thesis to broaden or narrow down their thesis. However, it does not present the possibility that students’ ideas may shift in significant ways as they write, research, and discover ideas. I allow my students to leave themselves open to the idea that their working thesis could change in significant ways as they write.\n\nOverall, for me, it does not adequately emphasize the idea that writing should be both dynamic and purposeful.\n","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The book is designed in a way that makes it easy to update specific details and examples. In general, many of the concepts it covers, such as specific issues students should pay attention to as they edit and revise (such as wordiness, transitions, etc.), will likely remain consistent.\n\nHowever, I would not characterize the text as particularly relevant given the current conversations in the field of composition and composition pedagogy. In recent years, there has been a much stronger focus on purpose, audience, and genre in relation to writing, and although these concepts are addressed, they are not really emphasized or approached with the degree of complexity I would expect out of a college-level writing course. Writing for Success seems to encourage an expanded version of the five paragraph essay rather than providing students with the tools to recognize multiple approaches to writing. It approaches writing with a step-by-step approach, rather than as a complex task that involves continual critical thinking and problem solving.\n\nAlthough the text encourages students to apply these ideas to other writing tasks (something I really appreciated about the text), it often implies that the writing they will do in their writing class may not have a clear context or purpose. It even states that students’ “college composition courses will focus on writing for its own sake.”\n","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The writing in the text is very clear and straightforward. It would be helpful for the authors to more clearly define the audience for the book. It strikes me as a text that would be too basic for many first-year college writing courses.\n\nI also found some of the organizational decisions confusing (I address this below under organization/flow).\n","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"\nThe chapters follow a fairly consistent structure in terms of content. They all start by stating objectives, explain the main concepts, review the concepts, and provide exercises. The text also fairly consistently encourages active learning by posing questions for students/readers to consider as they delve into a topic.\n\nTo my eyes, there are some inconsistencies in terms of the framework and the message of the text. For example, it opens by framing writing as a challenge, and I was prepared for it to address several of the complexities of college writing. Instead, it goes on to take a fairly formulaic approach to writing, and even implies at times that the five-paragraph essay is a common form for college writing.\n","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text is broken into clear sections. I’m not sure how well the text would work if assigned from start to finish, but I can see how instructors might select specific chapters for a specific purpose. I usually have a select group of students that might struggle with a certain issue and I would, for example, direct a student that is struggling with commas to that specific section.\n\nI also appreciate the way the is designed to work with other classes that a student might be taking. The exercises often direct students to apply the ideas they’re learning to a piece of writing that they are already working on for another class or to a task they have been assigned in their job.\n","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The structure of the text was, at times, a little confusing. For example, the fact that tone, audience, and purpose are first discussed under a chapter on paragraphs was a little disorienting. Though these elements clearly relate to paragraphs and paragraph structure, they are really a central element of the larger structure and purpose of an essay or paper. Beyond that, in this section the author clearly explains different types of paragraphs, and provides a clear and detailed description of concepts such as analysis and evaluation.\n\nThere were a few other choices that did not make sense to me. For example, why are signal phrases and verbs discussed in the section on formatting as opposed to the section on integrating material into texts? That doesn’t really make sense.\n\nMy main concern is with the larger structure of the book. It starts by breaking down sentences structure and explaining the parts of the sentence. It seems like these chapters would make more sense in connection to editing since these are issues students should explore as they are editing their work. Most research shows that students more successfully learn grammar and sentence structure when it’s addressed in a specific context (such as their own work). The structure of the book implies that students can “learn” elements of a sentence and then easily apply that to their work.\n","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I read the text in iBook, and the formatting did not always functioned properly. Some of the tables/columns were hard to read, and there were instances where the text referred to underlined sections of the examples, but there was no underline in my version.\n\nI did look at the PDF version, and this did not seem to be an issue.\n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is generally free of errors. I looked at some of the previous reviews, and it seems as though some of the specific errors people noted have already been edited out of the text. I did find one clear typo on page 408 where the word “Thesis” in a title is written “ThesIs.”\n","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The book did not make any statements that were insensitive or inoffensive. At the same time, it also did not address issues of language that relate to culture or gender. So it essentially avoids the topic, which is insensitive in its own way. For instance, it does not deal with issues of language and gender, and in the chapter on pronouns it does not examine the increasingly common use of the singular “they.”\n\nI appreciated the section for English language learners, but was a little confused about it’s overall purpose. It did not in any ways address some of the rhetorical issues that multilingual and international students often struggle with, and instead seemed to want to take the place of an English language course. In other words, it seemed as though it was well meant, but not sufficient or clear.\n","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"I appreciate that the text encourages students to be not only active readers and writers, but also active students. It emphasizes that they should seek help if they need it, and demonstrates ways to engage with reading.\n\nThe lists of words, such as transitional words, were very helpful. My experience is that students benefit greatly from these types of examples. The section on presentation skills was also useful and provided some good tips concerning tone, voice, and connecting with your audience.\n\nI also appreciate the use of examples in the text, and these were generally very helpful. The sample essays at the end were helpful, and I really appreciated all the links to model readings available on the web. Despite the examples, while reading the text, it often feels like there’s a little too much telling students how to write rather than showing. \n\nMy main concern is that it wouldn’t work well for a more theme or genre-based writing course, one that worked to place student writing in a specific context. At our university, writing instruction is integrated into yearlong, theme-based courses for first-year students. When I taught composition at a university with a more traditional first-year writing sequence, the courses were theme-based, and students were encouraged to think of their writing as contextualized and purposeful. Writing for Success often seems to assume that writing courses function more as isolated courses where students focus on the structures and processes of putting together expository writing.\n\nAs I note above, I think it would be helpful to better define the specific audience for this textbook. It’s certainly not appropriate for the college writing classes I’ve taught or worked with, and it could be that it has a different purpose. A college writing course should introduce students to more complex ways to approach their writing, and get them excited about the possibilities for communicating their ideas. I’m not sure that this text would achieve that goal.\n","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":425,"first_name":"William","last_name":"Wells","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Metropolitan State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book covers all the topics I would normally cover in a first year composition course and more. I would like to see an effective, preferably interactive, Table of Contents and a glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is extremely accurate and well-articulated.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book will likely be useful until we communicate exclusively with emoticons. Necessary updates should be fairly easy to integrate.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Clear and well-written for its audience.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text is generally consistent in tone and framework and uniformly consistent in terminology.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text appears as of it would be easily adaptable as modules.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Some of the topics seem slightly out of place, but it has a clear structure.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The text appears to have several broken links, particularly in the beginning, in the .pdf version.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I had some questions about word usage--particularly the heading of \"Dos\" and \"Don'ts\" which, to my eye, looks funny. I would probably go with \"Do's and Dont's.\"","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text does not seem culturally insensitive and makes an overt attempt to accommodate those students with differences in learning styles.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I will be giving it a try in my next class.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":449,"first_name":"Paul","last_name":"Carney","position":"English Instructor","institution_name":"Minnesota State Community and Technical College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers all the essentials of college composition, from the writing process and mechanics to rhetorical modes and the research paper. The material devoted to grammar, punctuation and usage is well organized and fairly thorough. While very brief, the sub-divided units on punctuation could be more developed. That said, too much textual explanation and not enough modeling can be a real turn off for students struggling with these mechanical issues. One cannot defer to the text for teaching. The rhetorical modes are equitably covered, though persuasion might welcome more attention and development. For a basic college composition text, this text certainly suffices.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The information is accurate and consistent with language arts standards for bias and equity. However, the example essays in the back could be more reflective of cultural and class diversity.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The writer does a fine job of using examples (exercises, models, examples, etc.) relevant to students in the near future. With supplemental readings and other OERs, this text will withstand expiration of content for at least three years.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book's clarity is, perhaps, its greatest strength. The writer is keenly aware of his/her audience, college students who approach writing with an array of aptitudes and attitudes. Chapter 1, for instance, \"Introduction to Writing,\" begins a foundational conversation with the reader, a conversation suitable to and supportive of most college students. The sentence complexity is appropriate for the audience. Also, student readers will appreciate the inclusion of \"Tips\" for building clarity.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in terms of utilizing and referencing terminology and other sections of the book.. The writer consistently uses and revisits key concepts and terminology (grammar, sentence structure, paragraph development, unity, etc.), reminding the reader that writing is a recursive process involving strategic \"layering\" of ideas and skills.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Each chapter in Writing for Success can \"stand alone\" if necessary. Oftentimes, in the interest of responding to differentiated learning styles, instructors must isolate and prescribe content for students' individual writing challenges. This text lends itself to easy access to subheadings for particular reference and reinforcement. \n\nI do appreciate the inclusion of exercises at the end of chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The text's organizational format may be its greatest and only notable weakness. The book begins with a thorough, thoughtful introduction to the writing process by citing fears and misconceptions commonly held by college students. This section of the book is critical to establishing a casual but accurate understanding of the writing process. Then, rather abruptly, succeeding chapters  shift to local writing issues relating to writing basics - fragments, punctuation, sentence fluency. Typically, and I would argue more logically and appropriately, these localized writing matters should appear in the back of the text for easy access and reference. Logically, the chapter(s) following the discussion of the writing process should launch the student into the writing process itself.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I had initially downloaded the pdf version of the text, thinking that was the one and only interface for accessing, reading and utilizing the text. However, in a later attempt I was able to access a digital version that is quite easy to navigate. I like the ever-present position of the table of contents for easy point-and-click navigation. The chapters line up sequentially and the display is reader-friendly.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The style and mechanics reflect mastery of grammar and usage.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Again, I would point to the example essays as evidence of shallow (not necessarily insensitive) attention to cultural and class diversity. Were I to use this text, I would supplement the example essays with models reflective of wider cultural experiences (class, gender, race, LGBT).","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Writing for Success is what it says it is, a book that  provides essential instruction in how to approach and embark on the writing process. It provides a basic review of grammar and usage that probably would require additional instruction and opportunities for practice. A college writing instructor who usually defaults to his or her favorite and reliable \"bag of tricks\" would find this open text very useful for foundational instruction. \n\nThanks for this opportunity to review an open text in the Creative Commons. \n\nPaul Carney","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":452,"first_name":"Jennifer","last_name":"von Ammon","position":"Full-time faculty","institution_name":"Lane Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is primarily focused on grammar review and would be an appropriate text for a development writing course. Although there are several chapters dedicated to mechanics, there are limited essay assignment options, so an instructor would need to craft engaging essay assignments to supplement the lessons.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book appears accurate and unbiased.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Content seems fairly up-to-date though some of the suggested topics were somewhat overused (abortion, legal drinking age). Inclusion of different learning styles (visual, verbal, auditory, kinesthetic) is relevant.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written clearly and has helpful headings/subheadings to organize material. Incorporating more images/illustrations could have enhanced the text.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent in tone and structure.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text could be assigned into smaller reading sections. I appreciated the \"key takeaways\" at the close of each chapter.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Though I appreciated the comprehensive coverage of grammar/sentence structure/mechanics, I would have liked to have seen the text incorporate writing assignments earlier in the text.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The text is clearly presented with headings/subheadings, but including more images may make the text more engaging for students.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text appears to have no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"I did not find the text insensitive or offensive though some of the topics and references seemed somewhat outdated (MTV).","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":458,"first_name":"Laura","last_name":"Funke","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Inver Hills Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is almost too comprehensive—trying to cover writing, reading, and study skills strategies.  Within writing, it covers grammar, mechanics, paragraph writing, essay writing, ELL troublespots, and even documentation.   Although an instructor could easily focus on specific chapters based on the level of the class and needs of the students, the effort to be comprehensive led some areas to be overly simplistic and basic.  For example, in the section on writing introductions, there is a list of strategies for starting the essay (the hook or attention grabber) but not much direct instruction or modeling.  In other words, quality was sometimes sacrificed for quantity.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"From my experience, the content of the book was accurate in most areas, but some advice was simplistic.  For example, telling English language learners to avoid slang and idioms is wrong.  What often makes ELLs’ writing awkward is the lack of idioms.  The advice to avoid slang might be better for a chapter for native English speakers.  In the same ELL section, the author stated that simple present is used  “when actions take place now”  but that is not the case.  Present progressive verbs are used for the current moment (“Right now, I am writing a review.”)  These inaccuracies happened on occasion, but in general, the advice and information given by the writer was accurate.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The text can be easily updated because of the modular organization.  The topics used for examples or exercises would benefit from regular updating.  Some topics are engaging for students, but others would not be for most students (such as ‘the hardiness of the kangaroo rat’).","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is written in using clear, accessible language that is appropriate to first year college students.  New terms are explained clearly and put in bold letters.  It might be helpful to put key terms and definitions in margins, as many textbooks do, or at least consider an index and glossary at the end of the book.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I didn’t notice any inconsistencies in framework or terminology.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is structured in such a way that instructors and students can pick and choose among relevant chapters.  There are references to prior chapters, but the text doesn't assume that students have read the text from front to back.  Students can easily refer back to prior chapters when more background is needed or if additional follow-up instruction is needed.  One recommendation would be to include the chapter and section number on each page in a footer or header.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The information flows logically for the most part.  The book begins with a broad overview of writing and student success strategies.  Then it moves from sentences, to paragraphs, to essays, to research papers.  One section that seemed out of place was to include 'purpose, audience, and tone' in the chapter on paragraph writing.  It would seem to be a topic that could use its own chapter.  I also felt that chapter 7 on sentence variety was misplaced after paragraph writing.  Still, I appreciated that the author circled back to some topics briefly even if they were covered in more detail in another chapter.  For example, the author discusses wordiness and word choice in the chapter on revision even though those topics were discussed in an earlier chapter.  Imbedding some sentence-level concerns into the chapters on paragraph or essay writing helps students to see the relevance of the sentence-level instruction.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Occasionally an informal font is used to show student examples of writing. This playful font is difficult to read (see p. 233).  It would be better to use a standard font like Times New Roman to make the text easier to read.  Also, the book is very text-heavy.  There are few to no engaging photographs or images for readers. Even though it is clearly organized with headings, subheadings, bold words, and other organizational devices which are very helpful, it is not visually engaging.  There is a nice use of internal links.\n  \nIn one section, chapter 6.2 p. 247-248), the directions prior to three model paragraphs said “The topic sentence is underlined for you” but I didn’t see any underlining.  I don’t know if that is an error in the text or a problem with my own computer.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I noticed no grammatical errors when reviewing the text.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The text is not culturally insensitive.  However, I wouldn’t say that the writing samples are particularly engaging or daring in terms of challenging the status quo.  Most of the topics are standard examples: “How to grow tomatoes from a Seedling,” “Effects of Video Game Addiction” and “Comparing and Contrasting London and Washington D.C.”  I would like to see more creative and engaging course readings in the text, readings that address the interests and backgrounds of culturally- and linguistically-diverse students.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"The practice exercises are often very engaging and creative.  For example, p. 287 the author explains an exercise in which students rewrite children stories (written using simple prose) with more complex syntactical structures to practice sentence complexity and variety.  Most all exercises are practical and student-friendly.  The text doesn’t get bogged down with excessive use of exercises; instead, students’ own writing is often the basis of the exercises, making them relevant to developing their own writing skills.  \n\nThough I appreciate the author’s efforts at comprehensiveness and detail, I found the text quite dry.  With more visuals, updated course readings, and perhaps an updated format that isn’t so text-heavy, the text would be more engaging for students.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":498,"first_name":"Olga","last_name":"Filatova","position":"Visiting Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Miami University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"I was surprised by how much useful content the book has. It covers everything I would need to teach in a first year college composition writing class. The text gives overview of reading and writing strategies, and covers everything from grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, sentence structure, elements of composition and writing process, to rhetorical modes and elements of research. It has so much material, that it can be adjusted to a wide range of students' needs and writing abilities. Parts of the book can be used as a reference. The book is very much in line with my course goals, and is particularly effective in helping students with writing in a variety of genres, introducing a clear thesis statement and sustaining it throughout the paper with support and evidence. It also has good tips for reading, writing and editing.  However, I didn't find the section for language learners helpful. I teach composition to international students, and would definitely skip the chapter. The concepts in the chapter are not well-explained and application exercises are  insufficient. This chapter can be used as a reference for instructors who don't usually work with LLs.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate. I didn't find the readings particularly engaging, but they are good for structure analysis. The links to additional essays provide opportunities to choose more engaging reading material.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Writing foundation principles are solid. MLA and APA citation and formatting would need most often updates. The link to Purdue OWL solves this problem.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is written in a very clear manner. However, some of the explanation might be too long and lack sufficient examples.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is very consistent. I would rearrange the chapters and start with the writing process. Grammar, vocabulary and punctuation can be in a reference section of the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into chapters and sections. Each of the chapters follows the same structure. The chapters have clear learning objectives, subtitles and exercises for practical application. The main points are summarized at the end. Students would have no trouble navigating the content.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The topics are presented in a logical way. As I mentioned above, I would rearrange the chapters in the book. The way the chapters are arranged now puts the emphasis on developmental writing vs rhetorical practices.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The books interface is very good.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is excellently written. I didn't see any grammar errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book is culturally relevant. It focuses on American culture. It lacks elements of global cultural awareness, but it is good enough for the purposes.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Thank you for the book. It is very good. I will use it with my students next semester!","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":624,"first_name":"Anna","last_name":"Erwert","position":"Adjunct faculty","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is extremely comprehensive. If a college works on a 10-week quarter, it's unlikely a student would use the whole book. However, I personally like this completeness because it allows flexibility. Whole class, we could use the chapter on the writing process, and then after essay 1, I could assess writers and assign them portions of the sentence level and grammar sections as needed. Also the most common writing errors, like comma splices and frags, are covered and include exercises.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"With a decade plus teaching college Writing and Reading, I feel the book is accurate in the sense that it covers what students actually need. I did not see bias. It is very concise and matter-of-fact.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"It's relevant eternally, but one caveat: most colleges are moving toward supporting Reading and Writing in one class. Integration of reading skills would be a way to keep this book fresh.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Very little jargon. Everything is well defined, though I do think more examples and samples would be nice. However: this is an easy section for the individual instructor to augment.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Very consistent.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This is my favorite part of the book. It is way more inclusive than we could use in one quarter, but I could assign grammar or sentence level stuff with flexibility, as needed. I could also do the whole book in reverse (sometimes I like to start big, then move to smaller concerns)or present only the Research section for a Reading class.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Very logical but also easy to manipulate logically","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"There isn't anything confusing about it. I don't think it is the most engaging, exciting design in the world, but perhaps that is not the goal here. More pictures though, sorry- it is a visual age- would be welcome. Still, instructors could add in pics, slides, video, etc.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I saw no errors","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book is geared more to the college student, not the particular culture or gender. In some ways this is a relief to me, as I am trying to work with topics that bring us together, like say, the cost of college, as opposed to those that fragment us, like racial profiling. In a ten week course in one of the most diverse campuses in the PCC system, this is becoming very important. In this sense, the book fits.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Super useful framework. Teachers will augment with samples, interactive activities, visual aids, etc., but that makes it better for your specific audience anyway.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":752,"first_name":"Sherri","last_name":"Kurczewski","position":"Instructor ","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":1,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book has sections that I would cover in my class.  It is a basic writing tool for beginner writers in college.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Overall the book is accurate.  It goes over the basic differences of high school vs. college writing with additional grammar explanations and exercises.  ","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"This book is for a basic writing class for students who are underprepared for college level writing.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book was written very direct to the beginning college writer. The tables help explain the differences in high school vs. college writing.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The consistency of the book was good. There was not a lot of terminology that would be over the students understanding.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book is good at putting each section together.  There are small, yet informative grammar sections.  An instructor may skip over some chapters without confusing the student.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization of the book seems fine.  It has the basic ideas of writing and then leads to grammar.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There were no issues with navigation of this file.  ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not see any errors in grammar.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"This is a straightforward book without many examples. I did not see any issues.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I would definitely use this book in my basic writing class.  It is a quick read and I could easily pull out sections to use and compare.","created_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":915,"first_name":"Jennie","last_name":"Harrop","position":"Chair, Department of Professional Studies","institution_name":"George Fox University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing for Success is admirably comprehensive, but maybe a little too much so. While some professors will find the one-source stop helpful in reducing textbook costs, many students will be overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of information. Because the text attempts to cover so much in a single volume, much of the information is offered at a surface level without the depth necessary for the content to become memorable and meaningful. Two key components that are missing in this text because of its surface-level scope are the WHY (why is this information relevant?) and the HOW (how do I apply this?).","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Most information is accurate, although some is not thorough enough. When explaining the dash or parentheses, for example, it might be helpful for students to hear when and why these punctuation marks are most effectively used. If a student masters the use of parentheses as described in section 3.6, should he or she pepper an essay with lots of parenthetical asides? If not, why not?\n\nIn the section on APA formatting, the title page running heads are not correct.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The key information in the text will not become outdated, although the examples and the sample texts will. The book would benefit from consistent updates to ensure that the examples are culturally sensitive and generationally appropriate. The APA and MLA sections will also need consistent updates.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The prose is clear, but the information covered is not always. In section 5.2 titled \"Negative Statements,\" for example, students are told that negative statements are the opposite of positive statements, but the text does not explain why this information is worth considering. In section 5.6 titled \"Modal Auxiliaries,\" the text moves immediately to examples and exercises without an explanation of why this information might be pertinent or useful.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The terminology and framework presented are consistent throughout. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text is consistently broken into individual chunks of information rather than meandering prose, which can be enormously helpful for students. Some sections jump directly into the modular chunks of examples and exercises without bothering with any explanatory sections at all, however. In those cases, students need some kind of explanation of why the information presented is important and relevant.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text's organization is consistent and easy to navigate. The information is presented in divisions familiar to most writing texts: (1) mechanics, (2) writing process, and (3) sample essays.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The Table of Contents is a helpful feature, allowing one to skip through topics easily. I was unable to download this text in a way that would allow me to highlight or make notes.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The grammar is correct throughout.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"The examples used are culturally sensitive but mostly bland in a way that makes them forgettable and unimpactful. If cultural relevance means that we whitewash, this text is successful; if it means that we step into the controversy, then the examples in this book need to be more forthright and genuine.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I have used this book in a basic writing course, and I found the students informed but uninspired. I will continue to require this text as a reference books for all students in our program, but I will seek a more lively text for future writing courses in order to keep students engaged, enthusiastic, and forward-thinking.","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":967,"first_name":"Timothy","last_name":"VanSlyke","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Chemeketa Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Although there is no index or glossary, I feel that the text is very comprehensive in its coverage of developmental writing. The text clearly walks the student through the writing process and introduces the major rhetorical styles students will face in college. It is clear that the author has worked extensively with the population(s) likely to have need of this course and has planned a comprehensive curriculum to serve them. Having worked extensively with students needing to develop their academic writing skills, I found it very straightforward to adopt the text and align it with my course outcomes. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Content is definitely error free and unbiased. I haven't found any errors or content that struck me as biased or inaccurate.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I think this book will be relevant for quite some time as the need for students to communicate effectively in writing is not going to change. The organization of the text lends itself to updating quite well. For example, the sections devoted to grammar and mechanics, the writing process, and rhetorical styles may need little or no updating, while over time, the sections devoted to research writing (e.g. MLA style) might need more revision. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Given that this book is intended for developing writers, I feel clarity is essential. Too  much jargon would scare away students who may already feel overwhelmed. This book strikes an excellent balance between communicating important concepts and terms without being overly technical. Good examples of this can be found in the sections on grammar and mechanics as well as in the rhetorical modes section.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The organization of the book easily lends itself to easy navigation, chapters are divided into logical sections (e.g. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) and each section follows a consistent format. There are recurring sections that are color coded (exercises in blue boxes, \"key takeaways\" in green boxes) and the numbering system is clear and logical. The only downside is that the downloadable PDF version of the book doesn't have a table of contents, but I found that if your pdf reader can show bookmarks, there are bookmarks to each of the sections.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book is very modular. Each chapter is divided into sub-sections (chapter 1.1, 1.2, etc) and the sections are logically divided and lend themselves to easy be assigned as separate readings. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The structure of the text is logical and clear, but what I like most is that the chapters are not overly dependent on a linear flow, which allows me to assign chapters out of sequence without worrying that it will be disruptive to students.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I would describe the interface as quite user friendly. A quick skim of the online Table of Contents is all that is needed to understand the organization of the text and its major sections. Accessing each section is quite easy with the links provided. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"One standout in this area is a complete chapter devoted to second language learners, which is quite useful for this population. Otherwise, I have found this to be an excellent resource that introduced students to the academic culture.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Overall I am very pleased with this text, and excited that I can offer my students a book of this quality completely for free!","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1021,"first_name":"Leann","last_name":"Gertsma","position":"Adjunct English Instructor","institution_name":"Minnesota West Community \u0026 Technical College ","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I was surprised to find this textbook to be a very comprehensive writing handbook.  It not only covers grammar and sentence structure, but also devotes a lot of time to the topics of college writing, the writing process, writing techniques, and essay types.  All the sections are clearly labeled with useful exercises to guide students through the material.  I appreciated the hyperlinks throughout to navigate to other related sections.  One area that seemed to be lacking was the table of contents in each new chapter.  These pages were not enabled with hyperlinks and failed to have page numbers associated with them. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I felt this text was accurate.   It contains good information for first year writing students.  I did not see any bias or errors throughout.  ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"While I did find most of the information current and very relevant to writing students, some of the links in the last chapter did not work.  As websites continually change, these would need to be updated on a regular basis.  The research chapters would also need to be updated on a regular basis as these materials change frequently.  ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I found the textbook to be clear.  The prose was adequate for first year composition students.  There are many examples in the chapters that are relevant to the readers and help put the concepts into practical application.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This textbook is consistent in language, tone, and structure. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The textbook is arranged in an easy to use fashion.  The chapters have easy to follow headings, and the key concepts are highlighted.  All the chapters are arranged in a similar manner with objectives, lessons, examples, exercises, and key takeaways.  Instructors can easily assign specific sections or chapters, while skipping others without confusion.   I think the APA and MLA chapter should be split into two chapters to avoid confusion.  ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The topics are arranged in a clear structure throughout the text.  I would have liked to see the chapters arranged in a different format, but this is a minor problem as the instructor can assign the chapters in a different order than they are presented.  \n\n","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This textbook was easy to navigate.   The only concern I saw with this was the several of hyperlinks in the final chapter did not work anymore.  ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any errors in the text. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not see any insensitive or offensive language in the text.     ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I liked the example papers in the text.  However, I wish there were more of them.  I also found the chapter on APA and MLA a bit confusing.  Students often struggle with these concepts so I think they should have been presented differently.  The two styles should not be lumped together in one chapter. They should be separated.  ","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1072,"first_name":"Elizabeth","last_name":"Sandell","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Minnesota State University, Mankato","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Provides instruction in steps and sections; builds writing, reading, and critical thinking; and combines comprehensive grammar review with paragraph writing and composition. Provides a range of discussion ideas, examples, and exercises. Serves both students and instructors. 600+ pages -- very comprehensive.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Quite accurate in terms of the information provided. Uses sources that we use in my writing-intensive classes, so the book is addressing real needs in the classroom. Suggestions reinforce the concepts and practices that our librarians share with students and instructors.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Thought-provoking scenarios provides opportunities for collaboration and interaction. The exercises are especially useful for working with groups of students, which is how I organize workshops and discussions in my classes. Tips for effective writing are included in every chapter. It's nice to have positive examples of how to write, rather than dwelling on negative examples of how not to write. Addresses each concept with clear, concise,and effective examples that are reinforced with opportunities to demonstrate learning. This textbook will be useful for students throughout their academic studies.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Very clear. Clear exercises teach sentence and paragraph writing skills that I already try to emphasize in my classes. I will use many of the exercises, but base them on the content of my course curriculum, instead of generic assignments.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Provides consistent and constant reinforcement through examples and exercises about writing. Involves students in the learning process through reading, problem-solving, practicing, and experiences in the processes of writing.","modularity_rating":2,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is stand-alone and easy to read on-line or to print and read off-line. Each chapter has examples that organize the discussion and form a common basis for learning.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall, the organization, structure, and flow is fine. Textbook is more than 600 pages, which makes it more of a reference / resource book. I will pull materials that I need for my specific writing-intensive course.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Presents comfortable, easy-to-read material with simple graphics and helpful charts. The Table of Contents does not allow the reader to jump directly to the chapter or section.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no grammatical errors that I found... If there had been a few mistakes, I would still use the text as a resource.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I am starting to use the idea of the academy as a culture. So, in the writing-intensive course I teach about human relations in a multicultural society, I emphasize how student writing in college must be qualitatively different than writing in secondary schools. I am delighted that this text begins with an introduction to that very idea.\n\nWord choices in the text imply inclusion of a variety of ethnic groups and audience backgrounds (e.g., Malik, Miguel, Elizabeth).","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I will use this book in a second-year general education writing-intensive course. This resource is useful and friendly, although it is very long. With its incremental approach, the text addresses a wide range of writing levels and abilities. I think students will appreciate it as a resource that they can use throughout their academic life.\n\nThe text would also be valuable in a first-year intro-to-college course (we call it First Year Experience), because it teaches many useful academic study practices. For first-generation college students, this text introduces many strategies about how to \"do college\" with which their families may not be familiar.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1094,"first_name":"Genevieve","last_name":"Halkett","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Chemeketa Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is extremely comprehensive, beginning with the concept of college writing, moving on to writing basics such as sentence structure, punctuation, and paragraph structure. it provides a good guide to essays; it includes basic structure, rhetorical modes, research and documentation and ten different  types of model essays.\n\nThe index is complete and easy to follow.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"There are a few typographical errors but the majority of the 607-page resource was accurate.\n\nThere was no real bias though I would like to see more cultural variety in the literary excerpts and situations used in  the exercises.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Most of the resource focuses on writing and grammatical structure; there may be small changes that need to be made as the use of the English language evolves; however, this will be negligible. I anticipate this text requiring very few changes in years to come.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"it is well laid-out and easy to follow. The explanations, examples, and directions are clear and concise. It is also written with both native and English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) speakers in mind; the word choice and structure reflect this.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text's framework and terminology are consistent; I did not see any examples of inconsistency.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This resource lends itself to a modular approach; it would be easy for an instructor to relevant chapters that reflect student needs, course time constraints, or changes within a curriculum.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The resource's is consistent overall; each chapter begins with learning objectives, explanation, examples, exercises, and key takeaways. It is a good resource for students since they are quickly able to anticipate and follow each chapter.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"This resource was quite simply designed; there are no charts or images that would lead to confusion. Enough space is given so that blocks of text are read without difficulty and it is free of distraction.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Since it is a writing textbook, I was gratified to find that the grammatical structure and use was very accurate.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"I would definitely have like to have seen more examples of the races, ethnicities, and backgrounds I encounter in class; most of the examples used were extremely neutral and reflected a very narrow  strata of society. For me, this was the weakest part of the text.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is an excellent resource-well structured, user friendly and easily adaptable. My main concern-the lack of cultural relevance- can be balanced by providing supplementary materials reflective of the learners' cultures and backgrounds.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1213,"first_name":"Emily","last_name":"Aucoin","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"River Parishes Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook effectively covers the writing process and addresses mechanical and grammatical concerns. While the chapter devoted to rhetorical modes is not terribly in depth, it does an adequate job of introducing and explaining each type of writing assignment. The research section of the text is effective, but the MLA references are dated. There also is a detailed table of contents but no glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The textbook's content seems accurate, error-free, and unbiased.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"For the most part, the content seems relevant and long-standing. The main area in need of updating is MLA, but linking to an outside website could quickly remedy this problem.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is written in a straight-forward, clear manner that should be readily understood by most freshmen-level students. The embedded exercises and tips also are accessible.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The included terminology is clear and consistent, as well as appropriate for the subject matter. The chapters also follow a logical framework and reinforce material through exercises and relevant examples.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The textbook easily can be divided into smaller, stand-alone reading sections. Instructors should be able to readily assign portions of the text to meet their course learning outcomes and objectives.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall, the textbook is well organized; it effectively addresses key elements of grammar and mechanics, walks students through the writing process, and details various types of writing. While I would like to see Chapter 10 (Rhetorical Modes) divided into separate, better detailed chapters, on the whole, the textbook's organization is logical.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The textbook was easy to follow, particularly because of the detailed table of contents and chapter outlines. Some links also were included throughout to help readers more easily navigate the text.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text seems free of grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text does not seem culturally insensitive or offensive. Some of the linked essays in Chapter 15, for example, provide students with readings that are culturally diverse.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"On the whole, this is an effective, comprehensive resource that could be of use in any freshman-level composition course.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1217,"first_name":"William","last_name":"Broussard","position":"Assistant Professor, English","institution_name":"Southern University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covers the writing process, several essay styles, as well as grammar and syntax exercises thoroughly without being intimidating, and is excellently paced. Particularly impressive is the amount of detail given to the sentence, paragraph, punctuation, and the particulars of the writing process.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book accurately describes, in great detail, all elements of the writing process. Combines all elements of a traditional handbook with specific reference to the rhetorics of several essay styles, and does so in an encouraging manner. Aim is clearly to encourage non-English/Writing majors.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Content appears up-to-date, and of note is a section on presentations and visual rhetorics which will be useful and likely interesting to contemporary students. Book is light on visual imagery, making it less appealing to contemporary/millennial students, but its structure seems amenable to relatively easy updating, and all links were accurate.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is clear and provides many examples of student writing to explain the application of material discussed in each chapter.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book moves along at a predictable pace and begins with building blocks of writing (sentence and paragraph style, punctuation, process) before moving on to more complex assignments. By Chapter 15, which focuses on a number of essay styles, the student has had individual chapters to prepare each step of building an essay, ensuring mastery before taking on more complex projects.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"It is simple to imagine this textbook divided into two parts so as to encompass an English 1 and English 2 textbook, and to imagine teaching the introductory elements while interspersing major assignments from Chapter 15 alternatingly.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Well-organized, and as mentioned previously, it is excellently paced with each ensuing chapter building logically upon the previous one.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The book is lacking only in this area. The pdf version features noticeably few visual images and pictures, and very few links for students to interact with supplementary materials to the text. However, the author provides a link for the submission materials which shows an openness to addressing it. However, what is included is accurate and appropriate.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No perceived grammatical or spelling errors. Simple and clear writing style.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Text is inoffensive, but lack of visual texts or discussion of more challenging contemporary topics (the book does not include any sample texts by contemporary authors on challenging issues).","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"An excellent choice for introductory writing courses.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1286,"first_name":"R.A.Q.","last_name":"Jenkins","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Southern University and A\u0026M College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"One of this text's advantages is its comprehensiveness. However, I find that too much emphasis was placed on writing basics, which in fact, comprises the bulk of the text. While this portion is extensive, I found the chapter on rhetorical modes lacking. For example, Narration was covered in four pages. I would have preferred more emphasis on basic features of each mode, guided writing practice, and illustrations/visuals (annotated sample essays). The text does not include a glossary or index, which are additional disadvantages. Overall, however, I find this text effective.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content appears accurate and error-free.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The overall content is foundational, so relevance is not an issue. Formatting and style guides, URLs, and sample essays can be readily updated as needed.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Besides its comprehensiveness, a highlight of the text is its clarity. The writing directly addresses the student much more so than other texts I have used. The conversational tone, especially in the early chapters, should engage even the most reluctant writer. Many of the tips and advice provided serve to assist students beyond the composition course into the whole of their academic career and the workplace. This is definitely a student-friendly text.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Chapters are consistently organized throughout and feature learning objectives, exercises, collaborative activities, and key takeaways, which should be particularly helpful for students. Several of the exercises require students to revisit and revise a previous exercise, as new skills and knowledge are acquired.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This text is suitable for modules, which would allow instructors to organize chapters according to the demands of the course and student's needs. Much of this text's early chapters would serve as much needed review and guided practice for students, since more so than other texts I have used, this one provides in-depth coverage of basic writing skills. Chapters 10-15 should meet the needs of most first year writing programs.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is well-organized. However, the sample essays (ch. 15) would have been better placed after the rhetorical modes chapter (ch. 10). The strength of the text's organization are the chapters on writing a research paper and visual presentations.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I downloaded the PDF version and had no significant problems with the interface. The only issue I did have was after clicking a hyperlink then attempting to return to the text, I was redirected to the beginning. This may be an inconvenience for some.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text refrains from cultural insensitivity. Several of the examples, grammar exercises, and sample readings were inclusive of various kinds of diversity. In particular, a text's sample essays plays a crucial role in my overall satisfaction, as I expect to see culturally relevant essays that may resonate with my students. This text included commonly used standbys, such as King's \"Letter from Birmingham Jail and Alexie's Indian Education.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1295,"first_name":"Rachel","last_name":"Wilson","position":"Adult Education Instructor","institution_name":"Bossier Parish Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers all its bases, from success and study skills for new college students to draft, revising, writing, and presenting a research paper. Chapters 1 through 5 cover the basics of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice, and these chapters cover only that which is most important to writing without getting into unnecessary grammar review. The text provides relevant exercises to go along with each chapter and its individual sections. In chapter 6, the  author discusses paragraphing, while in chapter 7, he provides the student tips on improving writing at a sentence level. Chapter 8 covers the writing process, providing ample information on pre-writing strategies and revision and editing techniques. The text also effectively walks the student through the process of writing an essay in chapter 9 and discusses the rhetorical modes in depth in chapter 10. The last chapters (11-15) are dedicated to researching, writing research papers, presenting those papers,0 documenting sources, and providing sample essays in the different rhetorical modes. While the author does a good job covering the basics of documenting sources, I would still have to send my students to their writing handbook or the OWL at Purdue for comprehensive coverage of the source citation formats.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"This text is, as far as I can see, both accurate and error-free, though, as stated above, there are a few sections (mostly with documentation) where outside sources would have to be consulted for in depth discussions of the topics.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The only area I feel could use a little updating would be the documentation chapter, though for just an overview, it does its job adequately. The text is set up in a way that seems to allow for easy updates as necessary, and the information contained within is timeless enough to withstand possible changes in writing instruction.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is written in easily understandable prose and defines its particular terms in an accessible way for students.","consistency_rating":2,"consistency_review":"The text maintains consistency and follows a well-organized framework.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"This text is organized in such a way that makes it easy to assign small readings to students without having to jump back and forth between chapters or different parts of the book in general.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text builds on itself, from having the necessary study skills to understanding basic grammar and sentence structure to navigating the writing process. It then transitions from the writing process to the essay, the types of essays, and research papers. It ends with documentation and presentation of research. I would suggest, though, including chapter 15 (readings on the rhetorical modes) in the chapter on rhetorical modes (chapter 10)  or distinguishing it as an appendix rather than a chapter of its own at the end.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The features of the textbook within the text itself are easily navigated, especially with hyperlinks to jump to specific parts of the book. However, while the book does have a short section index at the beginning of each chapter, a comprehensive table of contents at the beginning, or even an index at the end, of the book would go a long way in making this work more easily accessible to the everyday user. As it currently stands, a user must scroll through the entire document to find what the book covers. While an instructor can direct his or her students to specific sections with the appropriate PDF page number, the student user would not be able to discover specific information in the text efficiently right off hand.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"With having read through the text, and to the best of my grammar knowledge, I see no major errors or typos.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"The text is appropriately inclusive and culturally sensitive.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"As an Adult Education Instructor without access to textbooks in the classroom for my students, it is especially helpful to have access to a college level textbook that discusses the basics of grammar and writing my students will need very soon. Instead of having to make copies that will get thrown away or lost, I can give my students the link to this text and assign them specific sections to read before each lesson. As I will soon be teaching a college-level English 101 as well, I am excited to have this text as a supplement to the department-required text.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1509,"first_name":"Davida","last_name":"Jordan","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Extremely comprehensive, clocking in at over 600 pages, this book is an excellent grammar reference for writing students.  It includes practical exercises that can be used to strengthen work writing or academic writing.  It would appeal to a wide variety of students, from beginning to advanced and is arranged in order of increasing difficulty.  Besides giving practical information about grammar and writing, the text includes helpful suggestions on organization, time management, and study skills.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"There are some small typos such as missing letters or words.  Overall, the book is mainly error-free, but for a good grammar and writing textbook, it really should be 100% accurate.  The tone is unbiased and in fact is encouraging and fair.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book addresses the complexities of writing in the twenty-first century and guides students through carefully choosing their online resources and verifying their validity.\n\nI appreciated the additional examples of different rhetorical styles at the very end of the book; however, many of the links were broken.   This is an easy-to-remedy problem, though.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text uses encouraging languages and easy-to-understand metaphors to illustrate abstract concepts.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework from chapter to chapter.  There is a reliable pattern that each chapter follows.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Most of the time, it's easy to pick out the different sections of the book because they are color-coded or similarly marked.  For example, nearly all of the Key Takeaways are in a green box.  All of the Tips for Writing at Work are in a grey box.  All of the Learning Objectives are in a black box.\n\nIt's possible to click on writing examples and view them in a larger version in a new window.\n\nAlthough the book builds in terms of levels of difficulty, it would be very easy to use a chapter out of order to suit the instructor's needs.  Each chapter can stand alone even though some pieces of writing are carried through as examples from chapter to chapter.  This gives the book cohesiveness but doesn't impede its modularity.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text is logical and clear.  Grammatical concepts are explained thoroughly, and the writing process is taken apart step-by-step for the students.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"There are several parts where an underlined sentence is referred to, but it's not actually underlined in the text.  It's possible this is only a problem in the PDF version.  Overall, the formatting is clear and easy to follow.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Seeing as it's a grammar and writing textbook, the grammatical errors are minimal.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text includes great excerpts from diverse authors such as Amy Tan, Sherman Alexie, Sandra Cisneros, Gary Shteyngart, and MLK.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"In the opening chapters, some grammatical concepts were addressed superficially but then were returned to in more detail in later chapters, which was reassuring.  Chapter 5 focuses on English language learners, the students I teach.  However, the entire book could be useful to both native and non-native English speakers.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1920,"first_name":"Catherine","last_name":"Batsche","position":"Associate Dean","institution_name":"University of South Florida","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text provides a comprehensive overview of writing.  The text covers basic writing skills, organizational skills, and the writing process.  There are even chapters on writing research papers and various types of essays. It could be used as a text for a writing course or as a reference book for students who need to work on selected problem areas to improve their writing.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text provided accurate information, good examples, and several activities to reinforce the major points in each chapter. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book contains basic information about writing that should continue to be relevant over time.  ","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The writing style of the book is extremely clear and easy to follow.  ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The framework for this book is applied consistently across chapters and sections.  Each chapter begins with clearly stated learning objectives, exercises, learning tips, and key takeaways. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book can easily be used as stand-alone chapters, entire sections, or the book as a whole.  I plan to use several chapters in workshops to train teaching assistants who will grade assignments in writing-intensive courses.  The teaching assistants will then use the entire book as a reference book when providing feedback to students.  ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text is well organized and flows in a clear, logical fashion.  Some chapters may be less useful for some classes depending on the purpose of the class.  For example, the first few chapters on study skills seems out of place in relation to the remainder of the text.  Likewise, the chapters on APA and MLA style are too condensed to provide more than an overview and will need to be supplemented with other material.  However, these chapters do not detract from the overall quality of the book.  ","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The presentation of the book does not have as much visual appeal as some other online books.  It is text-heavy but well organized. I had no problem navigating the book. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I have not found any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I have not found any examples that might be offensive.  However, I have not yet used the book in its entirety so I will learn more about this aspect as I begin to use it with students. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Many undergraduate students need to improve their writing skills but don't know how to get the help they need.  This book provides a valuable resource for students who need to learn more about the writing process as well as those who need to improve in specific areas such as grammar and punctuation.   I plan to use the text to train teaching assistants how to provide feedback to students who are taking courses that have major writing assignments.  This is an excellent book that can be used as a stand-alone text or as a supplemental reference in any course that has major writing assignments.    ","created_at":"2018-03-27T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-03-27T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2052,"first_name":"Dhipinder ","last_name":"Walia","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"Lehman College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers all structural and technical concepts in Standard American English using succinct tutorials and relevant examples. Additionally, there are several sections that may guide student writers towards major writing assignments like the research paper, the narrative essay, and the expository essay. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate and error-free. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The instructional material is up to date and will not easily become out of date. The only portion that I found less than timely is the APA/MLA portion as well as the visual chapter. The aesthetics of charting and presentations has already changed since this publication.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"There is no jargon here. Everything is intended for a beginner writer. It is also easy for instructors to layer on difficult concepts during lecture if students are up for it. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The tone is consistent as is the emphasis on the writer and their process.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"I didn't find the organization to be effective. Traditionally, in a composition course, I am not going to assign a student to read chapters on mechanics. Rather, I would assign a type of writing alongside a reading alongside a particular concept. It might be interesting to readjust the organization to show the way grammar, structure, and content work together rather than apart. ","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"As mentioned above, I don't think the flow works as an instructional tool for a first year writing course. I think it works better as a supplementary resource for a student writer. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There were no interface issues.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"This text contained no grammatical errors","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text is not insensitive though the readings are political in nature.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is a useful text for composition instructors to have, particularly when teaching an online course. I could easily copy and paste tutorials into my feedback for students. Should the structure of this text change, I may consider using it as a text.","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2641,"first_name":"James","last_name":"Gapinski","position":"Instructional Specialist","institution_name":"Chemeketa Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"WRITING FOR SUCCESS has extensive depth and breadth. It is over 600 pages in the PDF format, but it doesn’t contain much redundant or extraneous information. The book starts with some discussion of how college writing is different from other forms of writing—setting up that distinction provides realistic expectations and contextualization for beginning college-level writers. The book moves into a discussion of reading strategies, emphasizing the importance of comprehending and exploring college readings before diving into writing assignments. I like how these pre-writing discussions frame the entire book, moving naturally toward more technical chapters on grammar and usage, revision, research, and documentation styles. This book is a beast, containing just about anything a writing teacher might need for introductory composition students.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This book is accurate and thorough. I do not notice errors in fact.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"WRITING FOR SUCCESS contains useful information that is likely relevant on many college campuses. It is current, but it is not necessarily forward-thinking in its scope. Within the state of Oregon—and more broadly on the national stage—college-level writing is moving toward multimodal composition. This book covers the classic writing assignments found in a typical college classroom, but it does not dive as explicitly into emerging forms of writing. In coming years, outcomes and assessments will likely focus on multiple expressive modes within the composition process. Shifts toward new modes of writing will render the book obsolete if it is not amended or updated. Moreover, there are some missed opportunities in this book for embedding more URLs that prompt additional research and intertextual learning. There are some chapters that incorporate links to online writings by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., links to online library resources, and so on, but these are few and far between in WRITING FOR SUCCESS. A broader focus on new media could greatly improve this book’s long-term relevance.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook is clear and accessible. Whenever new terminology is introduced, definitions are readily provided and explained. It scaffolds information meaningfully and thoughtfully.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This book features consistent formatting and organization. After students have read one or two chapters, they will expect some charts and tables that help define concepts, quick tips in each chapter, and regular exercises to practice what they’ve learned. These learning tools are provided in predictable ways, so students are not caught off-guard by new content.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"WRITING FOR SUCCESS breaks information into recognizable modules. Chapters are clearly organized around core themes, and they could be easily assigned piecemeal or out-of-sequence. Additionally, within each chapter, information is presented in bite-sized pieces, with clear headings for navigation and reference. Overall, navigation is clear, and this textbook’s format allows instructors to pick and choose which topics they want students to read. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Topics follow a logical order. The book starts with an introduction to college writing, moves into writing basics, and ends with discussion of formal research writing. The section on English Language Learners felt out of sequence, as if it were placed into the book at random. The ELL chapter is extremely valuable and should remain in the book, but on a macro level, it does not flow with the surrounding chapters. Still, that is only one hiccup in an otherwise well-organized book.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is clean, and this book is offered in multiple formats for ease of access. I personally read the PDF format, and it was easy to navigate. The informational boxes with tips and exercises were eye-catching, and the text itself is formatted well.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any glaring grammatical problems.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"WRITING FOR SUCCESS draws from examples and recommends additional readings across several cultural contexts, so it earns some kudos for that. Moreover, the book is aware of its own textual inferences; when the book presents students with hypothetical examples, the fictitious students are not exclusively given Indo-European names. However, some problems arise elsewhere in the text. For example, there is a sample exercise that talks about “gay marriage” being legal in six states. Not only is “marriage equality” a more inclusive term, but the exercise itself is outdated and does not reflect the fact that marriage equality is now recognized on the federal level. In another example, the narrative essay section directs students to several pieces written by Sherman Alexie. While its important to include native authors in textbooks, Sherman Alexie has been publicly accused of sexual misconduct. In the #MeToo era, perhaps Natalie Diaz or Louise Erdrich are more appropriate native writers to highlight. While these are just two isolated examples, I found several other microaggressions and culturally insensitive missteps in this book. It feels out-of-touch in key moments. These problems could be addressed through some surgical revisions, but this aspect of the text is problematic in its current form.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, this is a comprehensive book with many valuable chapters. It has some shortcomings, and I would be hesitant to adopt the book in its entirety. However, its incredible breadth and thoughtful modularity allows instructors to pick and choose which chapters best fit their learning goals.","created_at":"2019-03-08T17:57:33.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-03-08T17:57:33.000-06:00"},{"id":2667,"first_name":"Bradley","last_name":"Hartsell","position":"Adjunct English Instructor","institution_name":"Emory \u0026 Henry College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"With 600+ pages, this textbook really builds college writing from the ground up, starting with 'sentence writing' and 'subject-verb agreement' all the way up to writing a research paper and examples of 10 different kinds of essay. In between, the textbook is thorough in its explanations and rife with exercises concerning grammar-related instruction and essay construction. I'm not left feeling an aspect I teach in my courses is ignored or goes underserved.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"The textbook's explanation of grammar and sentence construction certainly seem correct, as does their advanced lessons such as developing and revising a thesis statement. However, I did errors on pg. 44 and pg. 49 (\"Computers are tool\" has a missing word; \"The entire family overslept Because because we lost power\" and \"He has been seeing a physical therapist Since since his accident\" seem indicate that those are correct sentences as written, failing to account for the repeated and incorrectly capitalized word). Regarding biases, on pg. 359, in strengthening a working thesis about teenage girls becoming too sexualized, the authors take some editorial liberties asserting that \"It is true that some young women in today's society are more sexualized...\"; it seems distracting for them to comment on this topic at all, at least without any providing any couched language, like \"While the writer of this thesis may feel this way, he or she should also consider X, Y, and Z...\"; for example, the authors suggest this 'student' should ask themselves the following questions, including \"What constitutes 'too sexualized?'\" which is an instructive question for the 'student' to ask themselves but the authors should also be operating within those same parameters, or better yet, abstaining from any comment on female sexuality at all. Also, their example sentences/questions seem conspicuously politically-charged (e.g. \"The welfare system is a joke\" pg. 358; \"Despite his promises during his campaign, President Kennedy took few executive measures to support civil rights legislation.\" pg. 357; \"Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration.\" pg. 355). And lastly, there are unnecessary editorial uses (i.e. not instruction sentences, examples, etc.) of gendered pronouns ('He' being a bad storyteller, pg. 353).","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"English grammar and college writing have the convenience of not really going out of date; APA/MLA formatting can easily be updated accordingly.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook does a good job of putting grammatical jargon, like independent clauses, in plain terms so that anyone can understand it. Even as an English instructor, I don't always readily recall the correct terms and exact definitions, even if I know how to use them in practice, so Writing for Success does a nice job of stripping away heightened language and providing plenty of right/wrong examples, therefore making something otherwise pedantic fairly accessible.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Throughout the comprehensive span of the textbook, I see no departure in the terminology or the fairly conversational style of communicating information. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This textbook is formatted and coherently layered in a way that is easy to visualize and process, with properly sectioned-off section introductions, lesson 'tips,' examples, and exercises. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The textbook flows in a logical, linear fashion, beginning with simple 'subject-verb agreement' and each section linearly building from the one that came before it, until now-grammatically correct sentence structure can be built into more complex sentences, and thus drafting a college essay (and so on).","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is fluid; it's convenient that it goes to desired page upon click in the table of contents; places to enter answers prompt a text bar to allow you to write into.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"See above--there are no major errors that I can tell, but I did see careless mistakes on pg. 44 and pg. 49.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"I find this textbook greatly lacking here. Exercise 1 on pg. 355 asks students to make a student for, in part, 'abortion' and 'racism.' Why? The former is especially charged. Elsewhere, the authors can be clumsy when addressing femininity, race, and politics. Again, why include charged examples? Yes, most language is mostly inoffensive (e.g. \"My mother freezed the remaining tomatoes from her garden so that she could use them during the winter), but be it editorial or 'student' examples, they needlessly make allusions to divisive topics. Allow me to restate from above: on pg. 359, in strengthening a working thesis about teenage girls becoming too sexualized, the authors take some editorial liberties asserting that \"It is true that some young women in today's society are more sexualized...\"; it seems distracting for them to comment on this topic at all, at least without any providing any couched language, like \"While the writer of this thesis may feel this way, he or she should also consider X, Y, and Z...\"; for example, the authors suggest this 'student' should ask themselves the following questions, including \"What constitutes 'too sexualized?'\" which is an instructive question for the 'student' to ask themselves but the authors should also be operating within those same parameters, or better yet, abstaining from any comment on female sexuality at all. Also, their example sentences/questions seem conspicuously politically-charged (e.g. \"The welfare system is a joke\" pg. 358; \"Despite his promises during his campaign, President Kennedy took few executive measures to support civil rights legislation.\" pg. 357; \"Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration.\" pg. 355). And lastly, there are unnecessary editorial uses (i.e. not instruction sentences, examples, etc.) of gendered pronouns ('He' being a bad storyteller, pg. 353). Regardless of the authors' politics, left or right, it seems relatively easy to use language and examples without allusions to politics--socially, bodily, or otherwise.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The idea and general execution of this textbook is everything I want in an English textbook--free for my students to use and comprehensive enough to cover any reasonable topic to expect in my composition classes. For me, the variety in my class calls for some students needing very basic attention paid to grammar (check), while others ace grammar and need thesis strengthening or outlining of research topics (check). There are a couple of grammar mistakes I've noted (which suggests there could be more that I've missed), and I strongly believe some (many?) editorial decisions need to be shelved, namely that of the authors' inclusion of politically-adjacent (or even politically-charged) language and examples. Students in a first-year writing course shouldn't be asked to develop a thesis statement about abortion, or read the authors imply something of a referendum on an assassinated president.","created_at":"2019-03-13T16:04:58.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-03-13T16:04:58.000-05:00"},{"id":2920,"first_name":"Candace","last_name":"Hoes","position":"Adjunct Lecturer","institution_name":"LAGCC","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook begins at the basics of writing, such as grammar, word choice, and constructing sentences, and then builds to more complex concepts such as creating a thesis in a research paper.  There are adequate stepping stones along the way, with examples of strong and weak theses that gradually build upon each other.  I could see using this textbook for both an intro composition course and several building levels.  There are examples of several types of essays both within the text itself and hyperlinked to outside websites.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The instructional matter of this textbook seems consistent with basic composition courses.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"I wish that instead of links, the textbook provided a few examples of parenthetical citations of commonly used types of sources.  I can see the advantage to providing links is that it more or less places the burden on those websites to stay up to date with the MLA's stipulations instead of updating the textbook itself.  However, in my experience, students don't always follow links and would probably ask the professor directly instead.  The websites that are linked, such as Purdue Owl, are very robust, but beginning composition students have difficulty navigating those websites to find their answers.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook avoids jargon when explaining concepts and breaks down concepts that can easily confuse a beginning composition student, such as the main idea versus a controlling idea.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This textbook uses the same terminology throughout.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The textbook is highly modular.  For example, in my composition course, I would assign brief, five-minute presentations to the students on grammar and punctuation as a review.  The sections on word choice and additional help for English language learners would be good as individual readings or to refer students to on a case by case basis if I noticed errors in their essays.  The sections that discuss essay types are very in-depth, so I would use them as the backbone for a lesson delivered during the class and assign them as reading as reinforcement.  They could be used to open up a unit that culminates in that type of essay.  I would focus on one skill in particular in each unit, such as a strong thesis, body paragraphs, introductions and conclusions, etc.  \r\n\r\nHowever, the example I gave drew from several different areas of the textbook.  It's designed in such a way that it's easy to pick and choose what you need.  You wouldn't have to adhere to their organization or go \"straight down the list\" in order to make sense and use of the textbook.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I appreciate that the learning objectives are separated out into boxes at the beginning of each sub-unit to make it easier for the instructor to scan for individual lessons.  The organization of subjects are designed build upon each other from the smallest building blocks of writing to more complex assignments.  Key takeaways and exercises are included at the close of each section as well.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text itself is well formatted in an easy to read typeface and font.  \r\n\r\nThe table of contents on the PDF is easy to use and has internal links to pages, which eliminates the need for searching for page numbers.  Each subsection is also linked, which comes in hand because the chapters themselves have been broken down into such discreet sections that it's easy to find just the lesson that's needed rather than search an entire chapter.  \r\n\r\nSome of the external hyperlinks are no longer working.\r\n\r\nI wish that some of the images and charts were easier to read in the PDF, but they can be clicked on and printed for handouts.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any glaring grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"In the lesson on developing a thesis, the textbook asks students to write a thesis on, \"Texting while driving; The legal drinking age in the United States; Steroid use among professional athletes; Abortion; Racism.\" While these are topics that students are likely to have strong opinions on and therefore it's easy for them to create an \"argument,\" I do not find that beginning compositions students have the finesse to address abortion and racism delicately.  That could easily spiral into a hurtful and insensitive writing exercise.\r\n\r\nThe examples of essays included in the textbook themselves seem pretty homogeneous from a cultural perspective.  There are external links to essays from more culturally diverse perspectives, but unfortunately some of them are no longer active.\r\n\r\n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall this is a very robust and useful textbook.","created_at":"2019-05-17T08:41:41.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-17T08:41:41.000-05:00"},{"id":2933,"first_name":"Joseph","last_name":"Amdahl","position":"Adjunct","institution_name":"Chemeketa Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This category might indicate one of the downsides of this particular textbook -- the text covers quite a bit of ground, coming in at a mere 645 pages. Having said that, a lot of the page includes examples, exercises, and their \"Key Takeaways\" section -- so the page count doesn't come across as overwhelming as it might seem. Overall, thorough/useful text that would work well for a composition course. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"There were no glaring issues with the book regarding accuracy. Writing comes across as objective. A few minor aspects -- for example, the author writes: \"A good paragraph contains three distinct components: a topic sentence, body, and concluding sentence.\" Would have liked more regarding paragraph transitions and implementation of both topic sentence and paragraph transition sentences for students. Overall, book seems accurate and with low bias. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The first half of the text will hold up well, -given that it covers less malleable material like grammar/usage/etc. The essay/writing exercises could be useful in the second half - though not totally inspiring. Given that MLA/APA format evolves/changes, the last section of the textbook will probably go out of date within the next few years. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The material in the textbook is fairly clear. One of the downsides of this text is how much ground is covered. Would probably be more clear if the book was split into two books -- one on grammar/usage and one on the writing process and the elements of an essay. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text seems consistent regarding both terminology and framework. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Given the page count of this textbook, it might be difficult to cover this much material in a 10-week term. The \"Key Takeaways\" sections of the chapters were useful and a neat way to add clarity to the intention of each section. Again, given the white space on the page, the text doesn't come across as overwhelming -- though it could have been split into two books in order to add clarity. Would be easy for an instructor to assign sections here (one per week might be manageable). ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The layout of the textbook makes sense. From the building blocks of language/grammar/usage to the writing process, essay assignments, editing, and finally formatting. Again, could probably split into two textbooks -- one that covers grammar/usage/format and one that covers the writing process \u0026 essay assignments. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text has no glaring interface issues; however, a few of the pages had quite a bit of white space. For example, page 460 ends after a short paragraph, followed by mostly white space, and then some boxes containing information on pg. 461. Organization like this was probably an attempt to make the content as clear as possible. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no glaring grammatical errors. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I didn't notice anything offensive or culturally insensitive within the textbook. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This textbook would be useful to a range of students. The exercises, on a variety of grammar/usage topics, are clear and thorough. The one downside is just that this textbook covers quite a bit of ground.  ","created_at":"2019-05-21T18:18:38.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-21T18:18:38.000-05:00"},{"id":3687,"first_name":"Christy","last_name":"Moore","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Marian University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is VERY comprehensive. I believe it would be difficult to get all the way through the text in one semester. It covers the most basic writing processes early and then eases the student into a more complex understanding of what he/she needs to know to write effectively for the assignments normally given at the college level.  The Key Takeaways sections and End of the Chapter exercises really provide teachers a way to continuously assess student understanding throughout the semester.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate and all of the exercises that I tried, that are provided to test student understanding, were written correctly as well.  Each section is very specific and accurately instructs on certain skills and topics essential for quality writing.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Based on the fact that this text covers English grammar and writing at an acceptable level for a college student, the material is very relevant and should remain that way quite easily.  Any student that did not have the opportunity to have a strong grammar/writing class in high school will learn so much from the material provided in the text.  As technology grows and changes, there may be a place for additions to different formats for student writing.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I believe the text to be clear, concise and to the point.  All of the exercises provided throughout the text allow for students to check their own clarity and understanding of the material as well. The writing and grammar terminology used in the text is clear and specific in both definition and organization.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The consistency of the terminology and framework is more than adequate.  One thing that this text provides that I think is essential for the student just entering college is predictability.  All of the chapters follow a similar framework that can really provide much needed continuity for a student just getting started a college level reader and writer.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Depending on pre-assessment of students in the course, I believe that this text is set up for easy reorganization of material.  There will be some sections that students should be able to test out of due to more than adequate prior knowledge.  For those though that need a more step by step approach to topics, the content is divided into very manageable sections that will not be overwhelming to a novice to the writing process.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The structure of the text is logical and clear.  The text is formatted in a way where an instructor can jump back and forth to meet the needs of specific students for the writing assignment at hand.  I would like to see some writing assignments earlier in the text which could help incorporate a student's understanding of the grammar and mechanics that he/she just learned.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book's interface had no issues.  I navigated the chapters and sub-sections very easily and viewed many of the quality charts, graphs and examples provided throughout the text. I liked the bolded vocabulary terms and links provided that take you back and forth to chapters that supplement one another.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find the text to be culturally insensitive or offensive.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I wish all of the students that I have in my Reading and Writing in the Content Areas course would have the opportunity to utilize this book in an entry level writing class on campus.  It would give me the peace of mind that they have all been introduced to the material that is essential to develop good writers and that they can move on to teach writing appropriately in their future secondary classrooms.","created_at":"2020-03-27T17:55:54.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-03-27T17:55:54.000-05:00"},{"id":3910,"first_name":"Eileen","last_name":"Feldman","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Bunker Hill Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book presents traditional aspect of writing: grammar, sentence construction, paragraph development, essays, research.  It raises the bar by adding  chapters directed to  novices transitioning into college, to English Language Learners, and to making oral presentations.  There is a Table of Contents but no index","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The material and grammar/spelling showed no errors","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The relevance is written for longevity.  Contemporary technology is referred to and can be added to by interested readers.  The topics suggested for writing exercises are timeless but could also be expanded by the Creative Commons agreement.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is clear in language, font, and format.  There are so graphics , but charts and blue shading  for tips help focus attention.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The framework of this book is consistent.  Each chapter contains purpose statements, tips to help students, workplace writing situations, key takeaway summaries, and end of chapter quizzes. There are student paragraphs and essay to demonstrate each concept.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each section can be separated and used as students' needs are assessed.  The order of chapters can be changed at teacher's discretion.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is clear and logical. The  entire Appendix of student sample essays of each rhetorical style appeared rather surprisingly and could be incorporated with those preceding sections.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"There are no interface problems, but neither are there many charts or images.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"THere are no glaring grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The topics suggested are  of American  interest and might not resonate with a variety of cultures in the class.  Likewise the sample student essay might be intimidating or irrelevant to some readers.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The two outstanding contributions added to this rhetoric are1) the lengthy socioemotional introduction to college level work and challenges and 2)the concern with incorporation of these wkills into workplace environment.","created_at":"2020-06-04T08:01:09.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-04T08:01:09.000-05:00"},{"id":3943,"first_name":"Dr. Deborah","last_name":"Bradford","position":"Part-time Professor","institution_name":"Bridgewater State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book is very complete, but does not have an index or glossary. It does have a Table of Contents. It might be the most extensive book I have encountered for the topics that are covered.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This book is accurate and unbiased with no errors.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Writing for Success is timeless in its content. I don't see anything that would make it obsolete. If any updates were needed, I'm sure they could be made easily.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Writing for Success is very clearly written which is especially helpful for beginning writers. The examples given are also very clear followed by exercises that reinforce the material. I did not find any outstanding (in a negative way) technical terminology.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is very consistent regarding terminology and framework. One can expect to always find the same headings/subheadings in each chapter such as Learning Objectives, Exercises, Tips, Writing at Work, Key Takeaways, etc. My additional comments about organization (which is very close to the meaning of framework) are below.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Writing for Success is a huge book that covers just about everything a professor would want for any level writer. There really is no way the book could or should be used in its entirety during one semester. It definitely can be easily broken up and reorganized into smaller sections according to what is needed at different points in the semester.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This book is very well-organized. When one becomes familiar with how the material is presented after the first chapter or so, it is comforting to see this same format followed throughout, making the information easier to read and comprehend.\r\nThe headings and subheadings are clearly marked and bolded and the information that is in a box (Learning Objectives, Tips, etc.) in one chapter is consistently in a box in the other chapters.\r\nHowever, chapters 2-5 (or at least chapters 2-3) might be better placed nearer the end of the book, after the rhetorical mode essay examples or in an appendix. After reading chapter 1, I was surprised to suddenly be thrust into chapters on grammar and punctuation when I would have preferred continuing to read about the elements of writing that are discussed after chapter 5. However, the sequence of chapters can be changed according to the needs of the particular class (as noted in the Modularity section above).","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I did not encounter any interface issues.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find the book to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This book is great and I would recommend it to any professor who is teaching a beginning or even intermediate writing course. I especially like the sections entitled Tips and Key Takeaways which serve as very helpful and concise information/reminders of what to keep in mind for good writing. I was so happy to also see the section entitled Writing at Work included, as I have not seen similar content in many writing books. It is so important to include, as I always want to have my students make a connection between their school work and the outside world, i.e. their real world professional work -- a connection that is sometimes difficult for them to make, especially for the traditional college-aged students.","created_at":"2020-06-11T10:58:03.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-11T10:58:03.000-05:00"},{"id":4044,"first_name":"Brenda","last_name":"Williams","position":"Faculty","institution_name":"Lane Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"It is complete and accurate. It covers a lot of material.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"No errors and it is unbiased.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"It is very relevant. It will help college students adjust to the college environment and expectations.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is direct and clear. An easy read.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"It is consistent throughout each chapter and easy to navigate.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"It does cover alot of material but that could make it easier to break up into smaller assignments.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"It flows and is organized. It can be taught in a different order though which can be helpful.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I had no issues. Things were easy to find and navigate.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I didn't find anything insensitive or offensive.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"It was written well.","created_at":"2020-06-23T12:18:44.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-23T12:18:44.000-05:00"},{"id":4199,"first_name":"Holly","last_name":"Armstrong","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Middlesex Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing for Success thoroughly covers all aspects of writing. Beginning with the basics of vocabulary, the text progresses through word order, paragraph development, sentence variety and clarity, then moves on to beginning an essay through to research writing. For first year students, including English language learners, the textbook provides clear and thorough descriptions of the writing process and provides examples of completed essays for review as well.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content of the text is accurate and error-free. While the text covers more topics than I would use in my Reading, Writing, and Reasoning course, the review of vocabulary development, word order, sentence variety, grammar, and paragraph writing are crucial for my students.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Instructional material in Writing for Success is up-to-date and not likely to go out of date since the focus is on the very basics of introductory writing through to essay formats.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Writing for Success is easy to read and appropriate for first year students. While lengthy, the overall review of vocabulary, word order, sentence writing, paragraph development, including help for English learners especially regarding word choice and sentence order, provide clear and concise information.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Tone used is consistent throughout the text. Examples and exercises for each covered topic are easily found and clearly labeled.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Writing for Success covers all aspects of reading and writing, while also incorporating grammar review, and providing help for English learners. While the text is long, instructors can pick relevant material to use and students have a resource that can be used as a reference tool for later courses as well.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Writing for Success follows a logical flow for introducing writing to first year students. The text has a detailed table of contents and each section is clearly labeled and easy to follow. However, there is no index or glossary as part of the text, and this feature is one that could be added for greater ease of use.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I read Writing for Success online and did not have any issues. I was able to navigate the text easily.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contained no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text was not culturally insensitive. Perhaps the readings included can be updated to include more relevant and timely topics.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Writing for Success is a thorough text encompassing all aspects of the writing process. For first year students, it provides a complete grammar review as well as clearly organized and detailed instruction for essay writing, including model essays. Throughout the text, clear and thorough explanations of concepts are given. Although the text contains limited images, it is well organized and easy to follow. While some students may not need such a thorough review before beginning essay writing, a text that can meet the needs of all learners in my introductory course is welcome.","created_at":"2020-06-30T18:29:16.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-30T18:29:16.000-05:00"},{"id":4475,"first_name":"Christian","last_name":"Aguiar","position":"Asst Professor of English","institution_name":"The University of the District of Columbia","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text provides extensive coverage of all of the content areas typically covered in first-year composition courses at community colleges. It includes chapters on paragraph structure, the writing process, rhetorical modes, research, MLA and APA documentation, sentence structure, punctuation, mechanics, revision, and even designing presentations. Individual chapters include check-in questions and, in most cases, suggested activities for students to complete as they read. There is also a selection of sample essays that follow the rhetorical modes. Finally, hyperlinks have been strategically placed to help students review important concepts by referring them back directly to the chapter where that concept was first introduced. This makes for a richly layered reading experience while also facilitating modular usage of the text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text generally follows the established approach to teaching writing, so its discussion of research writing, for example, includes sections on topic selection, planning, conducting research, organizing ideas, drafting and revising.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Wisely, the authors have avoided over-embellishing their work with examples that might become dated. Those examples critical to student learning tend to focus on general, enduring topics. Some of the suggested topics and activities may not age quite as well - for example, one activity asks students to complete an idea map to analyze the impact of “social networking,” which may already be a somewhat dated concept for students. Since the activities are clearly set apart in lightly-shaded boxes, it’s easy for users to update these activities as needed. It must be said that the included student examples are pretty generic; I’ve never used them.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"In a nod to digital reading habits, the authors have kept paragraphs mercifully short - typically 2-3 sentences, rarely any more. Sub-headings are used judiciously. Each chapter section introduces learning objectives at the top of the page and “takeaways” at the bottom. The authors don’t attempt to over-simplify the writing styles, so the readability score is relatively high, in the 10th-12th grade or college range. This makes the text ideal for a first-year writing course, though it may prove somewhat challenging when used as part of development coursework, such as in a corequisite course.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The design of the text is clear and lucid. There are fifteen chapters, each divided into several sections covering individual topics. Each topic begins with clear learning objectives and concludes with one or more key points. All chapters feature built-in comprehension questions, short writing activities, and/or writing tips. The visual design is crisp; it makes use of white space and a consistent color palette to improve readability.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The organization of the text makes it very easy to assign a single chapter, or section of a chapter, at a time. Each section has its own URL that can be embedded in an LMS to bring students directly to the desired reading. The use of hyperlinks to refer back to ideas covered in “previous” chapters makes it easier to take the text out of order, as students are able to readily access concepts.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"See consistency","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The digital interface is clean, consistent, and easy to navigate. The text does not generally make use of images, though there are frequent tables, charts and organizers that read clearly on Chrome and Firefox.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"In two years of teaching with the text, I have found no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text is culturally competent in the sense of being quite generic and inoffensive; it does not necessarily engage a range of experiences or voices. I haven't found this a problem because the text does not include any embedded readings - it is strictly focused on writing content, so I supplement it with short stories, essays, and films that I have selected. This makes the text readily adaptable to varied cultural contexts. The student sample essays included at the end of the text do embody a white, middle-class aesthetic, though: one describes baseball, “America’ pastime,” while another compares London and Washington, D.C.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I’ve used this book as a core text for my first-year writing course for two years, and I find it generally does everything the standard first-year writing textbook does with the added benefits of being clearer, more concise, editable and, of course, free. It is designed to support process- or modes-based courses, but it can also be easily used in smaller chunks to support other approaches to first-year writing.","created_at":"2020-12-21T14:35:27.000-06:00","updated_at":"2020-12-21T14:35:27.000-06:00"},{"id":4476,"first_name":"Pam","last_name":"Whitfield","position":"English faculty","institution_name":"Rochester Community \u0026 Technical College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Pretty accessible for students. Maybe a bit simple for freshman writing, but I would consider using it in a comp 101 course and supplementing with my own materials. I am most likely to use it for a “higher level” developmental writing course.\r\nGrammar comes first in the table of contents. That’s fine with me as it makes accessing those sections easy, but I would not teach these chapters chronologically. I would pick and choose, reordering chapters for my students to teach more holistically, so comp methodology has grammar embedded in it.\r\n\r\nNo glossary or index. This is a large omission and could be easily corrected: hire a grad student to do it as a summer project.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content and examples are accurate overall.\r\nCh 6 replaces persona/speaker/writer with tone in the rhetorical triangle. I find that reductionist or overly simplistic. But the chapter as a whole is superbly geared toward the dev ed writers I typically teach. I would use it in a class for students who missed the testing placement cut off for freshman composition.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I'd call its approach pretty classic in terms of comp pedagogy. It will not become obsolete in the near future. Updates should focus on new media and digital sources/examples.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Highly readable for students.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Yes, it's a text that provides a great overview but does not go deep into any one area or skill set.\r\nFor ex, Chapter 5 for ELL students is just a start. Or perhaps it’s a jumping off place for teacher’s own pedagogy and materials. The slang and idioms lists are very short, for instance. They are just a starting point. This chapter could be an effective review for a competent ELL student or allow the instructor to assign one section/topic as needed to individual students.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I like the amount of sectioning; it reads in bite sized pieces for students.\r\nThis is a long book—over 600 pages. It could be intimidating to dev ed and ELL students.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"What helps make this text more organized and user friendly:\r\n key takeaways list at end of each chapter.\r\ncharts and lists for quick reference by students.\r\nquick tips in text boxes.\r\n“writing at work” tips that help students connect the usefulness of what they’re learning in the classroom to the workplace.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"There are a few poor design choices. \r\nFor ex, student examples are displayed in italic font (as if the student were writing cursive). Italic font slows reading speed on the page and increases eye fatigue. Never put more than one sentence total into italics. \r\nThe PDF version really needs a way to \"tag\" or jump to each chapter directly. Better yet, to jump to each section in the chapter by using a hyperlink or similar tool in the table of contents.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Everything I read was clean.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"There is some variety. I would not term this a standout or obvious strength of the text.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I would test drive it for one semester in dev ed first, then consider adapting and supplementing it for my first year comp students.","created_at":"2020-12-21T15:38:05.000-06:00","updated_at":"2020-12-21T15:38:05.000-06:00"},{"id":33372,"first_name":"Seo","last_name":"Lee","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"University of Wisconsin - Superior","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"comprehensive book to adopt effective writing strategies for college students","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"it was very accurate and clear, such as the basics of vocabulary, paragraph development, and introduction of essay paper.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"since I do not have a lot of writing assignments for the class, this book is not relevant to my course work","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"this book is very easy to follow through the context of book, very organized that need to college students","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"very structured and well-organized content","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Yes. it help to write essay paper, the learn the process of writing","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"well-organized content","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"easy to follow, introduce the basic elements of writing for college students","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"I do not see grammatical errors","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"did not involve the cultural contexts.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-08-21T08:46:56.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-08-21T08:46:56.000-05:00"},{"id":33980,"first_name":"Jiale","last_name":"Hu","position":"Assistant Professor｜Director of Research and Global Outreach","institution_name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"It is a comprehensive book introducing writing skills. This book covers all the necessary writing basics, from words, sentences, and paragraphs to the whole essay. The authors also provide detailed instructions on the steps of writing.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Although some references need to be updated, the contents are accurate. The book provides error-free and unbiased content on writing.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book is very helpful for students or even junior faculty who want to improve their writing skills.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"As it is a book introducing academic writing skills, the authors did a fantastic job of writing this book in a clear way.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I appreciate that the authors structure all the chapters and sections in a consistent way. It makes reading and navigation more efficiently.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book uses multiple strategies to break the contents into smaller reading sections. There are no enormous blocks of text without subheadings.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The contents of this book are well organized. Each chapter has multiple subchapters. Each subchapter has multiple sections to present the contents and topics in a logical, clear fashion. The authors have learning objectives at the beginning of each subchapter and key takeaways at the end of each subchapter.   Major headings and subheadings are clear. All the further explanations or clarifications and examples or exercises have been put in the boxes for easy navigation.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This book provides five formats, including online, pdf, ebook, XML, and ODF. Each format looks great! I did not experience any interface issues. I did not find any navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse readers.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"After I read the book thoroughly, I did not notice any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book has a chapter for English language learners. This is greatly appreciated. I did not see any text culturally insensitive or offensive. The essays in the final chapter also include a variety of examples.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"My favorite chapter is Chapter 8: The Writing Process: How Do I Begin? This chapter provides detailed steps of the writing process: Prewriting, Outlining the structure of ideas, Writing a rough draft, Revising, and Editing. Especially in the chapter on outlining, the authors provide great examples showing different ways of organizing ideas and constructing outlines.","created_at":"2022-08-10T08:58:27.000-05:00","updated_at":"2022-08-10T08:58:27.000-05:00"},{"id":34442,"first_name":"Alicia","last_name":"Andre","position":"Faculty","institution_name":"Century College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing for Success is a good text for an intro-college writing and grammar text. There are 15 chapters, and each chapter is well-organized and includes some sample essays and grammar exercises. What I like about this text, is that you can pick which topics will fit your course design. The beginning of the book has a comparison/contrast on the expectations of high school and college. This is a good way to start a college composition course because students often do not understand the demands of college writing. It also starts with reading strategies, and this is also helpful because many students today do not read carefully, and this can be a problem when they start to write a paper that asks them to analyze a reading. There is a lot to pick and choose from in this 600-page book.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The authors did an excellent job in this area as there were not any errors that I could see.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The chapters are relevant for any college composition course. The only concern is that the MLA/APA chapter may need to be updated. It might be a good idea to have a link to the Purdue Owl English web page in this chapter as the rules of MLA and APA often change over the years. Some of the readings and links might need to be updated as well.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I thought the organization and content were clear and easy to follow. I like that the “objectives” are included at the top of each chapter as this can be a nice way to see how course objectives link to the textbook chapters.  Also, there are “tips” to help learners along the way.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"There is clear consistency and it is easy to follow. The terminology seems accurate as well.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The modules are comprehensive and topics that I use in my college composition courses. The writing text that I am using now, has these topics embedded in units, but this text has similar topics in separate chapters which can be easy for the instructor and the student to locate.  For instance, if I want to go over “understanding purpose in writing”, I can find information in the introduction. If I want to go over sentence boundaries, I can go to Chapter 2 or Chapter 6 depending on which one is a better way to explain the importance of using cohesive devices in writing. There is also a chapter on study skills that I would use at the start of the semester.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I suppose it isn’t easy to decide which chapter should go first to last. I looked at the organization of chapters and I would say Chapter 8 on “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin” should be after “Chapter 1: Introduction to Writing”, but since many teachers will simply assign certain chapters at different times, this isn’t a big problem. I like that the textbook included a chapter specifically designed for English Language Learners (ELL) since that is my subject area.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I think it is good, but I would like to see more visuals like graphs, pictures, and sample essays with edits. There are some good aspects though as the text has boxed information with samples. For instance, in the chapter on punctuation, the boxed information shows how the punctuation is used in the sentence.  The text also includes some practice exercises in “blue” boxes. This is helpful because I can scan for those exercises and have students do those as homework. One concern I have is that some of the sample essays (i.e., Page 235) have small print and is difficult to read.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No errors that I can tell.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I think for the most part it is good in terms of being inclusive. The readings in the unit on narration included readings from Sandra Cisneros and Sherman Alexie. Some of the readings might include some sensitive topics related to race and abortion that could be problematic. However, I think that if I use this textbook, I can just pick and choose which topic best fits my students' needs.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I think this is an excellent book for a college composition course.","created_at":"2023-03-08T19:42:36.000-06:00","updated_at":"2023-03-08T19:42:36.000-06:00"},{"id":34638,"first_name":"Tonya","last_name":"Rickman","position":"Adjunct Instructor English Department","institution_name":"Old Dominion University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The content presented in this book is quite appropriate for college students, especially those students who are new to college and/or struggling with the rigors of reading and writing assignments required at the post-secondary level. The text is comprehensive as it encompasses a wide range of topics and strategies related to reading, writing, and academic work at the post-secondary level, making it a valuable resource for students and instructors alike. There is a glossary that includes key terminology – much of the language included in the book is straightforward (one does not need an extensive knowledge of English terminology to understand this book).","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text appears to be error free. There were a few examples provided in the grammar section (beginning on page 51), where the author discusses editing fragments that begin with prepositions. In those examples there appears to be a word repeated (e.g., when, When). However, it quickly becomes apparent to the reader that the repeated word “when” is not a typo, but it’s the format used to demonstrate a common error.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Even though the text was published in 2015 the information is still relevant and aligned with most of the reading and writing learning outcomes expected in a freshman and/or sophomore English course as well as other disciplines. Based on the current cultural climate in academia and shifting cultural norms in the broader society, the author might update examples in the book to convey a bit more of a feel of cultural inclusivity as well as a broader sense of technological advances (AI). That said, the systematic academic styles and simplistic tone certainly puts the reader at ease, especially when reading grammar rules that students might find confusing when presented in a more complex resource. Additionally, the exercises used to provide the reader with practice (i.e., Writing at Work) are not only a thoughtful way to help the reader make connections with the content of the text, but also useful in expanding the reader’s thinking beyond the use of a particular skill for academic purpose to a real-world application (i.e., the workplace).","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Readers of this book have likely encountered the vast majority of terms used in the book at other times throughout their time in academia. The author actually described grammar and punctuation in a way that is understandable (i.e., short descriptions, rudimentary examples).","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The format pretty much remains the same throughout the text – the author consistently articulates learning objectives, concepts, strategies, practice, and key takeaways. Additionally, visuals and links to external resources are regularly available to aid readers in gaining a deeper understanding of ideas. There is a logical progression of ideas as the reader moves forward in the text. For example, the reader is introduced to strategies for time management and study skills before learning strategies for conducting research.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Absolutely, this text can be read in sequential order (i.e., chapter one, two, three…), or the reader could refer to any chapter of interest based on his/her learning needs. As an English instructor, who has directed students to a variety of grammar resources online, I could see the benefit of directing students to a page in this text instead of several different online resources. Based on the quality of content in this text, it’s an efficient and effective way put a useful resource in the hands of students.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The sequential order of topics in the text is sensible – the structure enables the reader to know what’s coming next. The concepts in the text become increasingly complex as the reader progresses through each section of the text. The end of the text gives the reader the opportunity to apply understanding of concepts discussed earlier in the text. The progression in the complexity of skills is most notable in the steps for completion of a research paper – here the reader is challenged to apply several skills discussed earlier in the text (e.g., identifying the scope and sequence, considering steps in writing process, managing time).","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The majority of hypertext links are useful in navigating to other sections of the text and many of the links to external sources are still active (e.g., Library of Congress Subject Headings link). After visiting the external website, the reader is able to easily navigate back to the original text. The actual images (e.g., charts and tables) in the text are appropriately displayed – the color, spacing, and fonts are visually pleasing.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"A huge part of the text is dedicated to the use of grammar – there don’t seem to be issues with grammar.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text feels a bit culturally neutral - most of the examples are pretty generic. The reader likely feels the author is most concerned with providing examples for the purpose of highlighting development of essential skills that are part of the reading and writing process. For example, while there are multiple examples that spotlight contemporary issues (e.g., mortgage crisis, low-carb diets), the style and tone of writing feel appropriate for an academic text – you feel the examples are provide for academic purposes not to convey any views or positions on any of the issues.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I would recommend this book to English teachers for use with secondary and post-secondary students.","created_at":"2023-07-25T12:55:48.000-05:00","updated_at":"2023-07-25T12:55:48.000-05:00"},{"id":34654,"first_name":"Tracy","last_name":"Peterson","position":"Adjunct Writing Instructor","institution_name":"Southwestern Oregon Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Index is highly comprehensive. It includes the title of chapters as well as each subsection that can be linked directly from the index to the page within the document itself. Chapters include all major areas of study within my WR90 course.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Information is accurate and well thought out. \nIt would be great to have PDFs of exercises given in the book. As it is, I’m not sure how usable the exercises are in the digital only format. I do, however, appreciate the focus on sentence skills. These are greatly needed among my Wr 090 students.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Content is pretty timeless, and I don’t believe updates will need to be made often.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Text is clear, though perhaps a bit hard to access for many of my Writing 090 students. Terms such as “Rhetorical Modes”, for example, would not be understood. Simpler language would be more useful in a lower-level course. The occasional flowchart is useful; I would love to see more diagrams and/or images and less heavy text. While examples are given (generally one or two per concept), more would always be helpful.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is very consistent with the way ideas are presented, giving tips and highlights, key factors, examples, exercises, learning objectives, etc. All of these things are reproduced in each section and within each chapter in the same way, making them easy to find and identify.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Chapters may be easily separated and rearranged according to the needs of the instructor. Subsections within each chapter are able to be completed independently.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of the text is logical and rational. It begins with an introduction to writing, moves on to sentence skills, refining writing technique, the writing process, writing an essay, different rhetorical modes of essay writing, research and citations, presentations, and example essays.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Title page could be a little more appealing. \nThere are quite a lot of formatting issues, large oversized text boxes with writing in bottom quarter only throughout the entire text (Ex: pg 5), strange front sizes, and too much space on page (Ex: pg 72).","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no grammatical errors. It was well worded and well written.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text is pretty neutral. I would appreciate bringing in a little more cultural relevance into the text: images of multi-racial students, etc. However, the text does includes a section for English Language Learners which I greatly appreciate. These subsections could be added throughout the course, or done as a single unit.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall it is a well-made text. I personally would rather see a more project based textbook, but not finding any like that, I think this text creates a good jumping off point, from which the instructor can create and deliver more project based assignments.","created_at":"2023-08-16T15:08:06.000-05:00","updated_at":"2023-08-16T15:08:06.000-05:00"},{"id":35625,"first_name":"Amanda","last_name":"Miller","position":"Adjunct - Business Dept.","institution_name":"Central Oregon Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Even though the interface is very basic, the overall content is somewhat comprehensive, and each section provides a multitude of examples. The chapters also provide hands-on exercises, however, the lack of an answer key was frustrating. The APA and MLA chapter was missing, and some of the technical topics were not thoroughly demonstrated. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content was accurate, but some of the sections were a little outdated. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Most of the content is current and straightforward for a writing text. It is simple, direct, and would be a decent supplemental text for a communications course or business course that wants to provide a brief overview of basic writing mechanics. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This was a concise and direct text, however, it would have benefited from a little more detailed explanations of the material and topics. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The structure of the text is appropriate and covers what would be expected for a basic writing textbook. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The modularity is basic and easy to navigate with a simple table of contents section that can be accessed throughout the sections, giving this text the ability to break down seamlessly to fit different approaches and reorganization. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization is intuitive and basic. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The end-user experience is very basic, but it is easily maneuverable and text-driven. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"This text seemed to be free of errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"In the context of this text and topic, and I do not think there were any offenses to be discussed. However, the references and some examples were slightly outdated in terms of perspectives and inclusive environments. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This text would be a good supplement to provide a basic overview of writing skills for a class with heavy writing deliverables, or, as a suggested free text to provide additional examples to certain topics covered in writing courses. ","created_at":"2025-09-12T12:19:27.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-09-12T12:19:34.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/writing-for-success","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:26:27.000-06:00"},{"id":54,"title":"An Introduction to Formal Logic","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2012,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"forall x is an introduction to sentential logic and first-order predicate logic with identity, logical systems that significantly influenced twentieth-century analytic philosophy. After working through the material in this book, a student should be able to understand most quantified expressions that arise in their philosophical reading. This books treats symbolization, formal semantics, and proof theory for each language. The discussion of formal semantics is more direct than in many introductory texts. Although forall x does not contain proofs of soundness and completeness, it lays the groundwork for understanding why these are things that need to be proven. Throughout the book, I have tried to highlight the choices involved in developing sentential and predicate logic. Students should realize that these two are not the only possible formal languages. In translating to a formal language, we simplify and profit in clarity. The simplification comes at a cost, and different formal languages are suited to translating different parts of natural language. The book is designed to provide a semester's worth of material for an introductory college course. It would be possible to use the book only for sentential logic, by skipping chapters 4-5 and parts of chapter 6.","contributors":[{"id":2167,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"P.D.","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Magnus","location":"University of Albany, State University of New York","background_text":"P.D. Magnus - In addition to loving wisdom, I am a philosopher by vocation. I am an associate professor at the University at Albany, State University of New York. I previously taught at UC San Diego (where I received my PhD) and at Bowdoin College. My primary research is in the philosophy of science, motivated broadly by a falliblist but non-sceptical conception of scientific knowledge. I have written a lot on the underdetermination of theory by data, and my recent work is on natural kinds."}],"subjects":[{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":34,"name":"Philosophy","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"B72","visible_textbooks_count":40,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/philosophy"}],"publishers":[{"id":49,"url":"http://www.fecundity.com/logic/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:36.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:36.000-05:00","name":"Fecundity"}],"formats":[{"id":57,"type":"PDF","url":"https://www.fecundity.com/codex/forallx.pdf","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":58,"type":"Hardcopy","url":"http://www.lulu.com/shop/pd-magnus/forall-x-an-introduction-to-formal-logic/paperback/product-23469365.html","price":{"cents":850,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1956,"type":"LaTeX","url":"https://github.com/OpenLogicProject/forallx","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4.5","textbook_reviews_count":9,"reviews":[{"id":445,"first_name":"Matthew","last_name":"Knachel","position":"Senior Lecturer","institution_name":"University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Though concise, the book is comprehensive: it covers all the topics one would normally discuss in an introductory logic course, with both sentential and quantificational logic--syntax and semantics, truth tables, natural deduction.\n\nThe book has no index, but the table of contents should suffice. Key terms are defined at the end of each chapter.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"No errors. The proof system is, in fact, both sound and complete, for example.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This is elementary logic; the basics will not change. Obsolescence is not an issue.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is very clearly written, and admirable for its concision. Technical terms tend to be introduced less formally at first, with rigorous necessary-and-sufficient conditions provided later; this is a nice way to ease the student in.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book maintains the same notational conventions consistently throughout (and those conventions are helpfully summarized in an appendix).","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The content could easily be shuffled around to suit individual instructors' preferences. For instance, the book covers semantics (informally) for sentential and quantificational logics before covering those languages' syntax; but the syntactic sections are clearly separated, and so could be presented first, if that were the instructors' preference. In addition, natural deduction is covered last, in Chapter 6, after a full chapter on formal semantics. Instructors could easily reverse the order.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is well-organized. Different people may prefer to introduce topics in a different order, but that can be accommodated.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No issues.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No errors that I saw.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"No issues here. References to Batman and Lemmy (RIP), e.g., don't seem problematic to me.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The book's main attractions are its lucidity and brevity. Almost all logic books, in my experience, are too long; they encourage the illusion that anyone can pick up the relevant understanding and skills autodidactically. But only a very small group of high-aptitude people can do that; the rest need the help of an instructor. That this book is brief, then, is an advantage: students who (ill-advisedly) re-read many times at least won't waste too much time doing so. (Also,  what they're reading is admirably clear, so that helps.)\n\nBut the brevity does place a burden on the instructor--to supplement, sometimes heavily, succinct explanations in the text. For example, a discussion of \"Proof Strategy\" in section 6.6 takes up less than one and a half pages--and that's meant to cover natural deduction for both sentential and quantificational logic. Any experienced instructor knows that much more discussion of strategy will be required in the classroom. in general, there are few fully worked-out (and walked-through) examples of, e.g., truth-tables and proofs in the body of the text. Instructors will have to supply their own. No examples of translations of sentences with multiple connectives are given in the body of the text.\n\nOccasionally the text is arguably too brief. The description of Aristotelian logic in Chapter 1 strikes me as too condensed to be informative. I would like to have seen more discussion of the inevitability (given the constraints of bivalence and the definitions of other operators) of considering material conditionals with false antecedents to be true. The presentation, in section 3.4, of the \"partial\" truth-table method lacks consideration of its ability to discover facts (about validity, equivalence, etc.); instead, it's presented as a way merely of confirming what is already known (that an argument is invalid, e.g.). And in Chapter 4, difficult cases in quantificational logic are often passed over very rapidly: it is simply asserted that 'If anyone can play guitar, then Lemmy can' should be paraphrased such that the antecedent is existential (why not universal?); later, it is simply asserted, with no explanation, that \"?xGx ? Gl means the same thing as ?x(Gx ? Gl), and ?x(Gx ? Gl) means the same thing as ?xGx ? Gl.\" Those are not intuitive equivalences.\n\nThe book also moves very quickly. No practice on computing the truth-values of compound sentences under a single truth-value assignment is given before moving to full truth-tables. Multiply quantified sentences get really hairy, very fast--culminating with 'There is someone who likes everyone who likes everyone that he likes.' This could be a virtue or a vice, depending on the aptitude of one's students.\n\nThe fifth chapter, on formal semantics, is in my view only suitable for high-aptitude students. It presents full model-theoretic semantics, with all the Tarkian bells and whistles. I do not present this material in my introductory logic course.\n\nOther difficult material--sections on ambiguous predicates, empty terms, Russell's theory of descriptions--is also unusual for an introductory course. But its inclusion meets the author's stated aim for the text, viz. to give students the ability to \"be able to understand most quantified expressions that arise in their philosophical reading.\" This is a very good book if one's students are philosophy majors. The sections mentioned, and the structure and speed of the book, are appropriate for that audience. Some sections are exemplary: 6.8 beautifully shows how proof theory and formal semantics complement one another, and nicely sets the stage for proofs of soundness and completeness.\n\nHowever, if one's introductory logic class is populated mainly with non-majors (as ours is; it fulfills a university-wide formal reasoning requirement), then this book is not perfectly suitable.\n\nThat said: the price is right! Properly supplemented, this book could be used for any introductory logic course.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":529,"first_name":"Diane","last_name":"Steinberg","position":"Associate Professor Emerita and Part-Time Instructor","institution_name":"Cleveland State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers propositional logic (symbolization, truth tables and proofs) and predicate logic (symbolization, semantics, and proofs).  There is a short appendix on alternate symbolizations (including Polish notation), and another which gives answers to selected exercises.  There is also a \"Quick Reference\" section giving definitions of the basic sentence operators, symbolic expressions for standard natural language forms, and all the rules of inference.\nIt doesn't contain any \"extras\" (material on definition, fallacies, etc.)but all the basics of formal logic are there.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book contains few errors.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content of elementary formal logic does not change.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is as clear as many others.  In my experience students generally need the course instructor to \"interpret\" text material in logic.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is internally consistent.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into 6 chapters:  basic logical concepts; symbolization in propositional logic; truth table; symbolization in predicate logic; semantic theory for predicate logic; proofs.  Chapter 6 on proofs first presents proofs in propositional logic, so it would be possible to proceed from truth tables (chapter 3) directly to proofs in propositional logic (secs. 1-3 of chapter 6).","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of the text is fine.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found no interface issues.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find any racist or sexist examples, or any others offensive to me.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Overall, this is a very satisfactory text--especially considering the cost of commercially published texts.  One thing to be aware of, however, is that the instructor generally will need to supplement the homework exercises.  There are not enough exercises, and they tend not to be presented in graduated levels of difficulty.  This is especially true in the chapter on proofs.  This chapter (on proofs) is also a very terse presentation and could use more development with examples and discussion.  \n\nOn the other hand, there are some very good thought exercises, particularly in the earlier chapters.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":547,"first_name":"Corey","last_name":"Maley","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"University of Kansas","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book is a comprehensive introduction to formal logic. Although it does not have an index, the table of contents is sufficient to provide the reader with an idea of where to find various topics. This book would be useful for a one-semester course in introductory logic, and should allow students to become comfortable with metatheory in later classes.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found no errors in the textbook, although there were some points where some might disagree--or at least have questions--about the author's descriptions and exercises. For example, when asked to translate \"Of course the Duchess is lying!\" using D to stand for \"The Duchess is lying\", one might wonder whether the original expression is translatable. Is \"Of course\" truth-functional? Perhaps, but there is room for discussion. That may be the author's intent, but it is not clear. Overall, however, the content is free of errors.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Logic is, almost by definition, timeless, so this book will be useful for some time. Any updates should be easy to incorporate.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"There are some places where I found the books clarity somewhat lacking, particularly for the novice student.\n\nOne example is when the author discusses metatheory. I found the discussion potentially confusing for some students. The notions of an object language and a metalanguage are familiar enough to philosophers, but not necessarily to beginning logic students. On pages 29 and 30, the discussion is quite compressed, and the wording might be confusing to some. For example, the author states that the metalanguage will be \"mathematical English,\" but what that refers to is not made clear. The author then uses bold, stylized A and B for metavariables, which I will write in this review as @ and %, given that I cannot reproduce the font here. So the author states the following:\n\n\"It is important here that @ is not the sentence letter A. Rather, it is a variable that stands in for any wff at all. Notice that this variable @ is not a symbol of SL, so ¬@ is not an expression of SL.\"\n\nThen later:\n\n\"For instance, if @ and % are wffs of SL, then (@ \u0026amp; %) is a wff of SL.\"\n\nThis is a subtle discussion in general, and difficult to explain well in any textbook. I fear that this discussion would be confusing to some students.\n\nThere are other small, but potentially problematic, areas where the book could be more clear. For example, the author switches from using T and F to stand for \"true\" and \"false\" in the second chapter, to 1 and 0 afterwards. The explanation given is that these are just arbitrary symbols, so it doesn't matter what one uses. That indicates to me that 1 and 0 should have been used from the beginning.\n\nAnother example is where the author discusses truth-functional connectives on p. 38. Rather than list some clear examples of truth-functional connectives, the author immediately discusses examples of connectives that are not truth functional, and then mentions the diamond operator in modal logic (a topic that is not discussed in any detail within the book). This is an unnecessary tangent.\n\nA third example is on p. 49. The first example of quantified predicate logic the author discusses is one that ends up being translatable and valid in sentential logic, so predicate logic ends up being unnecessary. That seems like a bad choice for the very first example, since this is not usually the case when one is using predicate logic. Furthermore, the author does not clearly discuss why this particular example is translatable using only sentential logic.\n\nThe final example I will mention is found on p. 51. The discussion of definite descriptions is interesting, but seems a bit out of place. The author notes that there is much philosophical discussion of issues regarding singular terms, proper names, and definite descriptions. But it seems to me that this is presenting a lot of information that is potentially confusing before we have yet encountered some simple examples.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book is largely consistent, except for the change from using T and F to 1 and 0.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is as modular as a text in introductory logic can be. I would imagine that students who have some familiarity with sentential logic, for example, would have no trouble going straight into the later sections. However, the very nature of this kind of material makes complete modularity nearly impossible.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The books overall structure is quite good. I have only two comments. First, some people might prefer proofs to come in a slightly different order. For example, some might prefer that, after introducing sentential logic, proofs in sentential logic are covered. Then, after predicate logic, proofs in predicate logic are covered. The author chooses to present proofs in one chapter. There is nothing wrong with this choice, but it may be easier for some students to have proofs broken up into more than one chapter.\n\nSecond, as mentioned above, there are some points where the \"flow\" of the book is interrupted by what I take to be unnecessary tangents, or at the very least, discussions that should come later in the text.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface of this book has no problems whatsoever.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book is culturally sensitive. My only comment here is that some students may not be familiar with what \"a standard deck of cards\" refers to (which occurs in one of the translation problems). However, knowledge of that is not necessary to complete the problem (it might just seem very odd).","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The problems and exercises in this book are very good, and go beyond what is normally found in introductory logic books. I think that some of these problems would be especially useful for students who are interested in going on to more advanced logic courses. For example, rather than just translations and proofs, the author includes questions that ask students to think about logic (implicitly, at least) at a metatheoretic level.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":931,"first_name":"Ashley","last_name":"Shew","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Virginia Tech","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook is very good at covering the basics one would expect to find an an introductory logic course that focuses on deductive logic. It lays things out very clearly and offers concise explanations that I think students would appreciate. It is a traditional formal logic text and would serve as well as any of the well-known logic texts that are similarly aimed. This book does what it does in a way that students would find straightforward. \n\nAs it stands, I usually end up pulling from several texts and sources (both open source and traditional) for teaching a logic course. This volume would not get rid of the need for multiple resources for how I teach intro logic. There are topics that are not covered here that I end up teaching in a course on logic, particularly about inductive logic, scientific reasoning, and Mill's Methods, that are not present in this volume. There are also approaches to logic that students find engaging - like courtroom examples and logical fallacies - that are not covered. The author is pretty frank on this point: \"We will not be interested in inductive arguments in this book\" (page 10). \n\nI'm rating the book at 5 on comprehensiveness because it fulfills its goals, but it's important to note that teachers who include inductive reasoning as part of their logic courses might only use this volume as one resource and not the only class text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did not observe any errors, but I did not work every problem as I looked through this book.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Introductory formal logic shouldn't change rapidly, and this book covers many of the basic topics in deductive logic. It should have a very long life. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is clear and introduces many concepts in a succinct manner. Students will appreciate the author's approach.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Terms are consistent, and the structure really works.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"One of the best things about this book is that someone could \"remix\" the order of the book and not confuse students. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of this volume is easy to follow. One of the other reviewers lamented that there wasn't an index, but an index isn't needed for a PDF where one can use the \"find\" feature to find whatever keyword you hope to search for. This is actually one feature that makes the PDF version stronger than a printed version for students hoping to find what they want easily.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I was surprised at how convenient the PDF was to manage. I think it's great that the textbook is concise, which lends itself to easier flipping and searching. I thought I would hate it, but actually found it more convenient than a traditional text. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any errors in grammar.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find any culturally insensitive text in this textbook. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I would highly recommend inclusion of this text as a replacement for many formal logic books. Its brevity would be appreciated by students.","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1544,"first_name":"Ioan","last_name":"Muntean","position":"Research Professor","institution_name":"UNC Asheville","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covers most of the topics needed for an introduction to logic class. In sections 6.9 a glimpse into metalogic is offered. The book does not suggest nevertheless any connection to informal logic (other textbooks in logic abound in this area). It would be useful to relate logic to critical thinking","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is accurate. Some typos exist, but it is clear that the author is willing to correct them.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book reflects the state of the art in sentential and predicate logic with natural deduction. A chapter or a section could mention other methods such as tableaux and offer an alternative. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing of the author is exceptionally clear. Sometimes it may look dry and formal, but the book is clear and the language is not ambiguous. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"As a textbook in logic this textbook excels in consistency. Notation is consistent, language is consistent. The author makes some attempts to show alternative notations.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"The text is modular but the reader finds fewer references to other textbooks or to the very rich history of logic.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall it is good. But some students may find problems in transitioning from sentential to predicate logic. The book does not attempt to show the extreme importance of predicate (QL) logic for science, philosophy etc. The book should explain why logic is important outside ordinary language. \nAnd examples for other areas than everyday language would be beneficial","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The text flows fine, but there are no hyperlinks from chapter to chapters. Navigation is sometimes awkward.\n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Nothing to add: excellent grammar and structure of sentences.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Logic and critical thinking are both national deficits, to paraphrase a bumper sticker. This text should be present in any college -- or i am wrong-- probably in every high school in USA.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall it is good. But some students may find problems in transitioning from sentential to predicate logic. The book does not attempt to show the extreme importance of predicate (QL) logic for science, philosophy etc. The book should explain why logic is important outside ordinary language. \nAnd examples for other areas than everyday language would be beneficial","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":2005,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Shikiar","position":"Adjunct Intructor","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This concise text accomplishes what it sets out to achieve. It manages to cover the material of sentential logic up through quantificational logic right up to the point of setting up the problem of completeness. It does not include independent treatments of categorical logic, informal fallacies, or inductive logic, let alone other topics, but it is not designed to treat those topics. As it stands, it is suitable for a one-semester course on sentential and quantificational logic.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is highly accurate and precise, particularly in the author’s discussions of translating from English into quantificational logic. Whereas many textbooks more or less confine themselves to providing specimens of translations and then counsel the student to “get the feel” for it, this textbook goes into detailed discussions justifying the standard choices. As such, ‘Chapter 4’ alone would serve admirably as a supplement to another textbook or as a replacement for the topic of translations. Be warned, however, that the author elects to the use the term “sentence” to designate what many textbooks designate with the term “statement.” This choice also affects the value that the book might otherwise have as part of a general educational program that would complement a course in logic with another in general grammar and rhetoric.\n\nSome other details might be mentioned. For example, on page 6, the author offers exceedingly brief lists of premise and conclusion indicators. The instructor might feel the need to amplify these lists one way or the other. Further, on page 6, the author states that the conclusion comes at the end of the series of sentences that compose it. While this is obviously true for any argument that has been reworked so as to conform to the standard form, it is obviously not true of many arguments that appear in ordinary language contexts.\n\nOn page 9, the author introduces the concept of a “good” argument without mentioning that of sound or cogent arguments. Minimally, one would expect some mention of soundness at least in this connection, as the book is a text on deductive logic.\n","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book contains material highly relevant to the study of sentential and quantificational logic. The brief treatments of models and natural deduction are very helpful in how the author interrelates the two topics. His approach of introducing n-tuple predicate relations prior to quantifiers is refreshing and, I think, potentially helpful to the student. One cannot envision the text becoming quickly outmoded or obsolete.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The author’s prose is as clear as it could be. Indeed, his writing is so clear and concise at points that one can anticipate undergraduates new to the subject to struggle with learning directly from the text, as no, or very few, concessions are made to the kind of muddy thinking that often characterizes a person’s first study of this subject. As is true of many logic textbooks, one must already be a rather clear thinker in order to learn from it. However, it falls on the teacher to make the material more accessible during class discussion, albeit accessible to that degree that inherently difficult material permits.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The books is wholly internally consistent in terms of terminology and its framework.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is broken down into six chapters and thirty-four sections. It is highly adaptable to a variety of pedagogical plans. Each chapter, however, does build on the preceding.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics of this text follow an excellent and, in my experience, a partially original design. The author moves back and forth between sentential and quantificational logic when this suits his presentation and the overall movement of the book is towards a comprehensiveness that does not leave any threads hanging.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There are no problems with images, charts, symbolism, etc. All is in fact remarkably clear.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There seems to be an error on the top of page 116, where the word 'define' seems out of place. There is one typo on page 80, where 'specific' presumably should be 'specify' and another of page 72 where 'if' should be 'is.' Other than these instances, the grammar is impeccable.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is of universal relevance as it treats of some of the basic forms of reasoning. As such, it is relevant in any cultural context.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The book will be particularly useful for philosophy majors who need a textbook geared towards equipping them with a knowledge of some of the formal machinery of quantificational logic. \n\nIt is worth noting that 'Chapter 6' presents natural deduction in systemic fashion, laying out introduction and elimination rules relative to each of the basic operators before presenting derivative rules (modus ponens, hyp. syll., etc.). The text does not bother with some oft used forms, such as constructive dilemma and exportation. ","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2021,"first_name":"Kenneth","last_name":"Boyce","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"University of Missouri","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook is a comprehensive overview of sentential logic and first order quantified logic.  It begins by introducing basic notions such as the nature of arguments and deductive validity.  It continues by introducing the language of sentential logic and then truth tables.  It proceeds with a discussion of the language of quantified logic, and then follows this with a discussion of formal semantics.  The book concludes by introducing a system for natural deduction.  Along the way it provides a number of practice problems with solutions to selected problems found in the back of the book.  It also contains a helpful appendix giving an overview of logical symbols.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found the book to be accurate and the explanations to be clear and helpful. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"As this is a more or less standard sort of textbook on propositional logic and predicate logic, there is not much danger that its content will become outdated.  Where textbooks like this sometimes seem dated is in the kinds of English sentences they use for translation exercises.  But this textbook avoids using such potentially datable examples and updates to it could be made easily.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is remarkably clear and accessible to individuals with no previous background in logic.  In fact, I would rate it as giving the most lucid explanations of the concepts it covers that I have found to date.  I was especially impressed with how clearly it managed to explain basic formal semantics. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I have no concerns about the book’s consistency.  Basic terminology and notation is introduced and then consistently adhered to throughout.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"For the most part, the book is about as modular as a logic textbook can be (the nature of the subject matter does constrain the order of presentation to some extent).  It is clearly divided into chapters and sections with a helpful table of contents.  One could use the textbook even if one wanted to present things in a different order than did the author.  For example, though the author introduces formal semantics before discussing natural deduction, it would not be too difficult to use this textbook while reversing that order.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book is organized well and the concepts it introduces build on one another.  In some places, the author makes different choices about the order of presentation than I would make (e.g. the author introduces formal semantics before natural deduction).  But such choices have to be made and other instructors may prefer how the author made them.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found no difficulties with the book’s interface.  The chapters and section headings are well laid out and the typeset is clear.\n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I find no issues with the book’s grammar.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"As far as I am able to discern, the textbook is not culturally biased.  The examples it contains are generic enough to be accessible to people of a variety of backgrounds and the book is free of racist, sexist, and classist language.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Frankly, I think this is an excellent logic textbook.  I highly recommend it.","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2156,"first_name":"Philip","last_name":"Robbins","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"University of Missouri","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is a fairly standard treatment of first-order logic (sentential and predicate calculus). It covers all the usual bases. A number of more peripheral topics (e.g., metatheory) are touched on but not discussed in depth, but those topics are rarely covered in introductory courses on elementary symbolic logic. There is no index, but there is an appendix on alternate notation, which is a handy addition.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The presentation of the material is careful and accurate.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content of the book is more or less perennial: first-order classical logic has been with us for a long time, and it will remain with us for a long time to come. The linguistic examples used in the book are fairly generic and will not require significant updating.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is written in a very clear, concise, and readable style. Technical terms (of which there are many) are well explained.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"There are no significant consistency issues, either conceptually or notationally. The author systematically lays out the semantics and syntax of sentential and quantificational logic (SL and QL) and develops a system of proof using natural deduction. There are no alarms and no surprises, which is as it should be.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is chunked into six chapters, none of which is inordinately long. Each chapter is divided into multiple sections, affording instructors the possibility of assigning part of a chapter rather than the whole chapter at one go. Given the nature of the topic, the material is cumulative, so there is a limit to which the chapters could be presented in a different order than the one established by the text. But this should in no way be considered a fault of the book — it's a feature, not a bug.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of the book is clear and coherent, and the text as a whole flows well, both within and across chapters.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"This issue of interfacing does not really apply here, since the book contains no graphics apart from the occasional chart. However, the book would benefit from the addition of more visual elements.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The writing in the book is relatively free of grammatical or other mechanical writing errors. The prose is highly polished.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"There is nothing in the text to offend readers. There are examples of sentences with culturally diverse content, but there could be more. Given that this is a text on formal logic, the main currency of which is expressions in formal (rather than natural) languages, this can't be considered a significant drawback.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is a crisp, clear, and concise introduction to first-order classical logic, suitable for undergraduate students in philosophy, linguistics, and allied fields. It contains a minimum of jargon, and what jargon there is, is explained in an accessible way. The author's minimalist approach to the topic makes the book an appealing choice as an introductory text.","created_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":4661,"first_name":"Matt","last_name":"Carlson","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Wabash College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covers the standard material for a first course in formal logic: central logical concepts (validity, consistency, etc.), symbolization in sentential logic and FOL with identity, truth tables, formal semantics (employing set-theoretic models), and a Fitch-style natural deduction system. It also contains several useful appendices and reference pages, as well as many good exercises (some of which also have solutions in the back of the book, which is welcome).","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is accurate. I especially appreciate the clear definitions of logical notions in terms of the formal semantics, e.g. a tautology is defined as a sentence (of the formal language) which is true in every model. Definitions like this make possible rigorous, informal reasoning from definitions; e.g. one can informally prove that a sentence is a tautology by employing the given model-theoretic definitions. I think this is good practice for students, and I appreciate the clear and accurate definitions given in the book that make this possible.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"It doesn't contain any high tech new material in logic, but it covers the basics admirably. Since those basics are unlikely to change anytime soon, the book will continue to be relevant long into the future.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is very clear. Numerous good examples are given to explicate concepts along the way. As I remarked above, the definitions given are excellent, and this really enhances the overall clarity of the book.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book uses consistent terminology and notation. The notation is the standard \"West Coast\" notation with one exception:  corner, wedge, arrow, and double arrow are used, as well as \u0026 for conjunction (why not caret?). Quantifier symbols are upside-down A and backwards E, and atomic sentences of predicate logic are in the format Rab. Script capital letters are employed for metatheoretic schemata. 1 and 0 are used as truth-values in truth tables. The book helpfully includes an appendix on alternate notational conventions.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I wish I could rate this a 6 or higher. This is *the* major strength of this book, which is already excellent in many other ways. In addition to PDF format, the LaTeX source is available, which makes it relatively easy to \"remix\" the book to one's liking. Many remixes of this book already exist (in particular, I really like the Calgary Remix), and of course it is possible to make your own. This makes it possible to really tailor the book to the precise way in which you want to teach your course, removing extraneous material, and adding and rearranging material as needed (on this point, see my next comment).","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is well-organized, though it is not organized in the way that I would do it. Proof theory is saved for the last chapter, after formal semantics for FOL have already been introduced, and long after sentential logic is introduced. Personally, I prefer to introduce proof theory much sooner, and to split it into a module on sentential logic, and a module on FOL. I don't think either is necessarily better or worse; it's just a difference in approach. But, because the book is so modular (see previous), it is easy for me to simply rearrange the material to my liking.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The typesetting is nothing fancy, but it is clear and readable.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is well-written.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I found nothing objectionable in the book. A variety of examples are given, and when names are used, there seems to be a variety.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This book is part of the Open Logic Project, which I cannot recommend highly enough. For the reasons I explain above, books in this project are, frankly, just better than commercially available logic textbooks. I would not even consider asking my students to pay for a logic textbook when freely available, modular logic textbooks of this quality exist.","created_at":"2021-02-28T08:56:17.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-02-28T08:56:17.000-06:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/an-introduction-to-formal-logic","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:01:26.000-06:00"},{"id":65,"title":"Business English for Success","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2011,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Business English for Success is a creative solution to a common challenge across Business Communication courses: Business English or Business Presentations? Some classes place an equal emphasis on oral and written communication. If that's the case for you check out our text Business Communication for Success. If, however, your class places the emphasis squarely on written communication and writing proficiency, then Business English for Success is for you. Business English for Success provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition. This step-by-step approach provides a clear path to student-centered learning. A wide range of writing levels and abilities are addressed, helping each student prepare for the next writing or university course. The text opens with a discussion on the sentence and then breaks it down into its elemental components, before reconstructing them into effective sentences, paragraphs, and larger assignments. Then, starting in Chapter 9: Effective Business Writing, the discussion applies lessons learned from the previous foundational chapters into common business issues and applications. From paraphrasing and plagiarism to style to the research process, the expectations increase as several common business documents are presented, including text messages and e-mail, memorandums and letters, the business proposal, business report, resume, and the sales message. This textbook has been used in classes at:Arizona Western College, Hostos Community College, Virginia State University, Truckee Meadows Community College, San Jose State University, Concordia University - Irvine, University New Brunswick - Fredericton, Cerritos College, University of Houston - Downtown, Flat World Knowledge University, A-C Central High School, University of The People, Truckee Meadows Community College, Danville Community High School","contributors":[{"id":2812,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Scott","middle_name":null,"last_name":"McLean","location":"Arizona Western College","background_text":"Scott McLean is an Associate Professor of Communication, including Journalism and English, at Arizona Western College in a combined campus partnership with the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University-Yuma. He also served as the 2007-2011 Shadle-EdgeCombe Endowed Faculty Chair. Scott is the author of “The Basics of Speech Communication” and “The Basics of Interpersonal Communication,” both currently published by Allyn \u0026 Bacon. He is also the author of “Business Communication for Success,” “Writing for Success” and “Business English for Success” with Flat World Knowledge, and has published in peer-reviewed journals, classic car magazines, and newspapers. From his experience working with students at the community college and undergraduate level, including English 95 (development), 100 (college prep), 101 (composition and argumentation), 102 (literature and analysis), and 350 (business communication), he has learned the importance of clear, concise learning resources with scaffolding, frequent opportunities for engagement and demonstration of skill mastery, and the importance of the first English course on overall academic success for many students. He has taught at AWC/San Luis on the US/Mexican Border, for Central Oregon Community College’s Branch Campus on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, and for Universidad San Sebastian in Concepcion, Chile. Scott studied at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, at Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communication, and at Northern Arizona University-Flagstaff’s Department of English in the area of Professional Writing."}],"subjects":[{"id":2,"name":"Business","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":"HF5001","visible_textbooks_count":144,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/business"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":33,"name":"Literature, Rhetoric, and Poetry","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"PE1408","visible_textbooks_count":124,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/literature-rhetoric-and-poetry"},{"id":10,"name":"Student Success","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":"LB1062.6","visible_textbooks_count":65,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/student-success"}],"publishers":[{"id":104,"url":"http://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Business%20English%20for%20Success.pdf","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","name":"Saylor Foundation"}],"formats":[{"id":236,"type":"PDF","url":"http://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Business%20English%20for%20Success.pdf","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":237,"type":"Online","url":"https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_business-english-for-success/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4.5","textbook_reviews_count":8,"reviews":[{"id":256,"first_name":"Christine ","last_name":"Discoe","position":"Faculty ","institution_name":"Colorado State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Business English for Success is a comprehensive beginning college or upper division high-school level book which delves deeply into not only writing basics, but also how to write in a business context.  This book would be suitable for beginning-level writers who need to develop understanding of how good writing skills apply to business writing. There are 14 chapters; the first nine chapters are about basic writing topics--sentence structure, commonly misused words, grammar, verb tense--and include excellent exercises to reinforce the topics, as well as writing prompts (there is also an excellent and useful chapter specifically for Language Learners). Additionally, each of these chapters have a brief section that relates to business writing, so the student builds up a deep sense of how basic writing skills are related to clear, concise business writing. Chapters 10-14 focus on Business writing, including sections on research, ethics, texting, formatting and plagiarism. The final chapters progress from planning to write, research, how to write a thesis to finally, proper use of APA and MLA citations Each chapter has examples and writing prompts that aid understanding the topics. Additionally, there are excellent lists of helpful websites for each section; for example, links showing various formats for business proposals, reviews of \"netiquette\" and proofreading website help. The chapters in this textbook are easy to follow and similarly formatted throughout. Business English teachers would find the examples and prompts especially useful.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Business English for Success is up-to-date and relevant for today's business students. One problem was found: throughout the book, there are short paragraphs where specific aspects are highlighted, and according to the text, these sections are \"underlined\". However, the text does not show underlining at all, so occasionally, the text is hard to follow, particularly in the section about topic sentences. \r\nExcept this omission, the book is error-free.\r\n","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The textbook relates directly to today's business students, particularly in the sections about formatting, analyzing validity of web sources, the importance of texting and \"netiquette\". In addition, the textbook gives timeless and straightforward tips and explanation of basic good writing. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Business Writing for Success is easy to read, and would be easy to teach from. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Business Writing for Success follows a similar format throughout its 600 pages, including exercises for each section, writing prompts, connection to Business writing as well as a summary \"Key Takeaways\" for each chapter. This would make an easy and accessible study guide for students. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Most of the textbook could be assigned at different points within a course, although some chapters are written without too many subheadings. This doesn't mean that the text is hard to read. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Business English for Success is easy to follow and delves deep into many topics important to students of writing. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Some example texts are difficult to read (the font size is light colored) and some charts are set too small. These problems are few. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors found. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Business English for Success employes excellent, varied and culturally sensitive examples. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Business English for Success is deeply comprehensive--covering a wide range of topics, such as writers block, thinking about reading, and common mistakes in writing, and so is interesting and useful beyond the standard business writing textbook. Business English for Success covers the A-Z of how to write, and would be an asset to most writing teachers, or specifically to Business Writing teachers.  ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":513,"first_name":"Rebekah","last_name":"Dodson","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Klamath Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Table of contents is easy to follows and logically organized.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Book is accurate, error free, and unbiased.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Content is up to date on grammar and composition as well as workplace writing including a brief section on e-mail writing, but would like more technical information on workplace writing.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Jargon and technical terminology are applied in a clear and concise manner, without pretentious tone. Impressed with the level of student-friendly language, which is a fresh approach considering the dense verbal information of most academic textbooks.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book uses consistent terminology for grammar and phrases throughout.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book could easily be used for four or five writing courses. The sections are easily broken into grammar, composition, and technical communication in the workplace.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Information is presented logically, starting with simple grammar instruction that progresses to composition and workplace writing.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book has tables that demonstrate grammatical issues but does not distract from the interface.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammar errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text did not seem offensive in any way, however, it is clearly written from an American standpoint with the issues of grammar and workplace writing.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This book would be good for developmental English or as a supplement to a lower level of English composition. I would be interested in using this book for a level 100 intro to technical communication course that covers grammar and building workplace communication like letters, emails, and memos. Don't let the title Business English fool you, this book is a comprehensive guide to English both in and out of the workplace.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1092,"first_name":"Laura","last_name":"Foss","position":"Faculty","institution_name":"Minnesota State College Southeast","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Business English for Success covers topics from punctuation to complete sentences, from the writing process to effective business writing, and everything in between. It is a great fit for basic college writing course or business communications course.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Content is accurate and error-free.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"English rules and writing principles presented in this text align with the academic and business world and are relevant in today’s classrooms and workplaces as well as those of tomorrow.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Text is written in an unassuming voice and provides clarity through introductions, definitions, explanations, and examples.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Consistent framework throughout.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is broken down into multiple sub-topics. Instructors can easily pick and choose specific chapters or topics to cover.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Each chapter/topic begins with an objective followed by definitions and explanations, excellent examples, tips, exercises, and takeaways. Consistent flow throughout book.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"PDF and Online versions available. The PDF allows students to download the text directly to their computer to access anytime and allows for electronic highlighting. The online version provides additional navigation features allowing the reader to move swiftly from chapter to chapter and back to table of contents.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Employs the proper English and grammar it teaches; error-free.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Chapter 4, Help for English Language Learners, is a worthwhile section in this textbook providing non-native speaking/writing students additional help when learning to use standard, formal English.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Overall, Business English for Success is a text that would work well as stand alone textbook or as support material in a college writing or business writing/communications course. Today’s business-world requires top-notch business communication for effectiveness and efficiency. Lessons taught in this text can be used to improve the skillset of those pursuing a future in the business world.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1181,"first_name":"Rosemary","last_name":"Golini","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Business English for Success is a very comprehensive textbook for the expansive content that it covers and the logical\nsequence that it follows.  Beginning chapters deal with constructing sentences and paragraphs - basic units of any \npiece of writing such as essays and business documents.  Other subjects covered include punctuation, grammar, and \nusing words correctly - basic components of clear and accurate writing.  Subsequent chapters build on these basic\nelements of writing.  Students are offered many strategies and techniques to make their writing more effective.  These\ninclude variation of style and syntax and parallelism.  Activities and exercises throughout the chapters are designed to translate theory into practice.  They are very student-centered, giving students the opportunity to be active participants\nin their own learning.  Moreover, each chapter has a \"Writing at Work\" section that connects the content of the chapter to issues of written communication in the workplace.  The chapter on Writing as a Process is very useful to students of all writing levels.  Approaching writing not just as a product but as a process underscores the connection between \ncritical thinking and writing.  Stages such as outlining, drafting, revising, and editing teach students valuable strategies for producing an effective piece of writing.  Also, the chapter on English Language Learners illustrates the usefulness\nof the text to diverse learners and their needs.  A strength of this textbook is the chapter dealing with effective business writing - from its features and qualities to its documents and formats.  The text presents a very concrete\noverview  - including strategies, skills, and tips for becoming an effective business writer.   The chapter on research strategies (including documentation and formatting) is very useful and relevant in connection with workplace documents such as proposals and reports.  Business English for Success is well-suited to a Business Writing course or a Professional Writing course.  It can accommodate the needs of different writing levels, from students who need basic instruction to those who are good writers; and aspire to be even more effective.\n\n.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The instructional content of this textbook is very concrete and accurate.  Grammar, punctuation, and word choice \npresentations conform to rules and practices of standard English.  Content presented on communication strategies\nand skills in business are very reflective of those found in the workplace.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content of this text is very relevant to the type of knowledge and set of strategies and techniques needed to be a successful business writer in today's workplace.  The text is designed and arranged in such a way that any updates could be easily\nimplemented.  For example, this might be the case with issues of technology such as computer-supported collaboration and various\nelectronic communication in the workplace.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook is written in a very clear manner.  Learning objectives are presented in each chapter, giving direction to the \n  subjects being covered.  The language used is contemporary, easy to understand, and accessible.  It is definitely directed \n  toward the needs and understanding of its student audience.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This text is internally consistent in terms of how chapters and subchapters are arranged.  Content is presented in a very coherent\n way.  The text also contains several consistent patterns in each chapter.  Consistent patterns of various mechanical devices and\n boldface typography contribute to the readability and emphasis of the chapters.  Each chapter also has sections on Learning\n Objectives, Exercises, and Key Takeaways.  These appear consistently in each chapter.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter of this textbook is divided into numbered and labeled subheadings.  The content of the subheadings is divided\n into several reading sections.  Each subheading is followed by Learning Objectives which give meaning and direction to the \n content of the chapter.  Each chapter also contains Exercises which are designed to engage students in various activities\n and projects related to the material of the chapter.  The smaller reading sections of the chapters could be assigned at \n different points within the course. The Exercises could constitute various homework assignments, or a project over time.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics in this textbook are presented in a logical sequence - starting with the writing basics and moving to information,\nstrategies, and skills necessary for essay writing and effective business writing.  Each section of the text has a logical connection\nto the next, and ideas flow smoothly.  The consistent structure of each chapter adds to the textbook's clarity.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The textbook is easy to navigate - both within chapters and from one chapter to another.  Tables and Figures are used in \n    chapters.  They enhance key points in a visually appealing way (color, design) and add to overall meaning.  Variation of \n    typography and mechanical devices are used effectively for clarity and emphasis.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Grammatical errors were not found in the textbook.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook uses a variety of examples and scenarios throughout the chapters and exercises.  They are culturally sensitive\n   and relevant.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Business English for Success is a very effective textbook.  Its content contains topics designed to meet the writing needs of its\n  users.  Teachers will find the logically sequenced content very adaptable to meeting class objectives and student needs.  \n  Students will find the text easy to read, the tips very useful, and the exercises very interesting.  The variety of exercises and \n  their connection to the workplace and real world communication issues is very relevant.  In many of these exercises, students\n  can collaborate with their peers.  The skills and strategies learned in regard to writing can be easily transferred to the workplace.\n  In this sense, this textbook is very relevant.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2304,"first_name":"Diane","last_name":"Shingledecker","position":"Full Time Computer Applications Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book does not contain an index or a glossary.  It does contain well-defined chapter sections which are helpful.  I couldn’t find a way to search the text in the Saylor online reader which was frustrating.  I had to download the text as a PDF and search by pulling it up in Adobe Acrobat.\n\nThe text contains many of the subjects covered in our Business English course that includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, and proofreading.  It includes only sparse information on noun plurals and possessives.  It does not include rules for numbers, money, numbers in dates, related numbers in a sentence, numbers used with nouns and abbreviations, weights \u0026amp; measure, or percentages.  It does not contain an extensive list of spelling words, but it does include 19 confused words, 10 confusing homonyms, and tips for improving spelling.\n\nOn the more positive side, it does include a section on how to determine whether to use a text message, email message, fax, memo, letter, report, or proposal in business.  This is a very valuable section that I have not seen in other similar textbooks.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is written in a clear, straight-forward style that is accurate and easy to understand.  The grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules that we teach in our Business Editing class are accurately stated here.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text is up-to-date in its examples, resources, and references.  However, a few of the additional resources that provide web addresses are already out of date (I got a website not found or other error when I clicked on the link). References to current books, movies, and world events should continue to be relevant in the near future, but may need to be updated periodically. This does not include the rules of grammar, punctuation, etc. that do not change frequently, but rather the stories and examples that flesh out the rules.  Some references are timeless such as references to the Wizard of OZ and, I suspect, Harry Potter; but references to the Twilight movies and 9/11 may become outdated.\n\nThere is also a section on slang and idioms that will need to be updated over time.\n\nThe book is written in easy to manage sections which would allow rules and examples to be added, updated, or deleted.  It would be a little more time consuming to review all the “secondary text” of stories and examples to see what had become dated and needed to be updated.  \n\nThere are separate sections for additional resources that should be reviewed regularly to check for updated websites – and to add more up-to-date sources.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is written in prose that is easy to understand.  Sometimes, however, I found that it was a little sparse, and I would have liked a beefed up explanation or additional example.  This could clearly be supplemented through in-class teaching or additional online materials.\n\nFor example, I use proofreading marks extensively in my class; and while the text refers to using these marks in proofreading and even asks students to use them in an assignment in the text, it does not include a list of them within the proofreading section or in an appendix at the end of the book.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text does a good job of using consistent terminology and layout.  It would be easy for students to follow the format/framework of the text from section to section and chapter to chapter.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I compared the book’s layout/sections to the topics I teach in my course outline and list of grammar rules, and it would be easy to break the book down into sections to use with the way I have presented the class in the past.  (I teach with a separate reference book, HOW, and it looked like the combination of the two would work well – and the two would actually complement each other.) It looked like I could easily even eliminate sections I don’t teach in my course and re-organize it a bit to better fit the order I teach topics.  Adding missing topics such as punctuation in numbers seemed to be straight forward since the layout \u0026amp; framework was consistent and easy to build on.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"Overall, the book’s organization/structure/flow seemed logical. That said – I had to piece together the words I would use for spelling from several places – one section on confused words \u0026amp; another section on confusing homonyms.  I also teach a lesson on using reference materials, and I found references to using dictionaries and other reference materials scattered throughout the text.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface did not have any image distortion or other significant issues.  As stated earlier, it did lack an easy way to look up information on a specific topic since it did not have a Search option, index or glossary.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any grammatical errors in this text as would be expected in a text about grammar, punctuation, etc.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book incorporates a wide variety of diverse names and examples that were inclusive of races, gender, ethnicities, and backgrounds.  The examples of business situations, documents, etc. were up-to-date and inclusive.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"The exercises throughout the book instructed students to “copy each sentence onto your own piece of paper” or “Copy onto notebook paper”.  This just won’t work in a classroom in 2018!  Students, and teachers, expect assignments like this to be electronic through a fillable form or some other vehicle that would facilitate students’ completing the exercises online or on a computer.\n\nThe book did not come with any answer keys or ancillary resources within the text itself on the Saylor website.  I did try to contact the author, but I have not heard back about this.","created_at":"2018-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2868,"first_name":"Austin","last_name":"Bennett","position":"Writing Faculty","institution_name":"Montana State University – Billings","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Of the textbook's 14 chapters, only five (9-13) are specific to business writing. Hence, it acts as a limited survey. The first eight chapters, reproduced from Mclean's Writing for Success, seem more pertinent to a remedial writing course with topics such as grammar, punctuation, writing paragraphs, and so on. (Undoubtedly some of these topics are reviewed within a 100 level business writing class, but to a lesser extent.) With that said, both the online and PDF formats have table of contents, but no index or glossary for terms--even though many terms are underlined or boldfaced. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Overall, the content is accurate and error-free. If there is a bias, the content leans toward a rhetorician's background. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"As mentioned in other reviews, the content is fairly up-to-date, but some of the examples (i.e. Twilight, Tony Hawk, etc.) will age quickly. More importantly, it is obvious when the textbook's audience changes from a student of business writing to one of composition. This creates a general disconnect that the instructor must navigate.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Though the text utilizes plain language and defines technical terms, it is sometimes either too fragmented (beginning chapters) or too dense (later chapters). This might cause some accessibility issues.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Overall, the textbook utilizes a strong framework per chapter: learning objectives, definition and explanation, examples, exercises, and takeaways. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter contains several sections: anywhere from three to nine. Later chapters contain sections that can easily support individual lesson plans.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The textbook builds upon itself from basic concepts universal to any writing situation (i.e. grammar) to more complex and subject specific concepts (i.e. the principles of good business writing). Though the hierarchical structure can be questioned, the logical flow is fairly coherent and is rather strong for chapters 10-12 (\"Writing Preparation,\" \"Writing,\" and \"Revising and Presenting Your Writing\"). Unlike many textbooks that touch upon the writing process and move on to the next topic, Mclean uses three separate chapters to integrate and contextualize the writing process specific to business writing. To me, this is the strength of this textbook.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The PDF version has a stronger interface than the online version; even though its table of contents is hidden within the bookmarks button. The online version has accessibility issues (i.e. font size, broken hyperlinks, pseudo-hyperlinks, unreadable diagrams, etc.) and footnote issues: the full reference appears in-text.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Besides a few typos, there are no grammar errors observed.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Neutral. One chapter is dedicated to English Language Learners. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"First, Saylor Academy published this textbook along with Mclean's other textbooks. Hence, it has a gatekeeper. Second, it is robust and could easily be used for both remediation and a 100 level college course (think co-requisite model). Third, Mclean tries to limit prescriptive advice. Hence, practical advice is limited. Fourth, this textbook cannot stand alone--at least not for a 100 level college business writing course. If adopted, instructors will need to add a considerable amount of supplemental material.","created_at":"2019-04-30T00:30:16.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-30T00:30:16.000-05:00"},{"id":4844,"first_name":"Michael","last_name":"Tsai","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Kapiolani Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Business English for Success is comprehensive in its coverage of writing fundamentals, the writing process, and principles of good writing. The lessons are clear, concise and relevant to student-level writers in a variety of writing situations. However, the book may not be sufficient as a primary text in a business writing class due to limited content specific to the principles, purposes, conventions and assumptions of workplace writing. The text correctly highlights how its lessons may be generally applied to business writing but eight of the fourteen chapters are geared for more general writing instruction. Just one chapter — “Business Writing in Action” – provides direct instruction on the major types of business documents and formats. There is no substantive instruction on the underlying principles of business writing or specific strategies for business writing situations.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is consistent with standard English instruction and in keeping with established business writing principles.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text provides useful instruction on the best ways to use the most typical modes of electronic business communication – email and text – but does not substantively address any other electronic media or platforms. Given fast and continual advances in technology, this will keep the text from becoming quickly obsolete. However, a section addressing business communication via established social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter would have been a nice inclusion.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written in clear, accessible language. Technical terms are clearly explained and elaborated upon with relevant examples as necessary. The semi-formal/informal tone is particularly well suited for undergraduate students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Strong organizational cohesion provides for great consistency in presentation throughout the book. Students will be able work within the structure of concise, well-defined lessons and exercises with growing familiarity and comfort.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is structured for cumulative effect yet its suitability of its individual chapters and sections for use as standalone lessons of its primary strengths. The grammar and punctuation lessons and exercises can be referenced for students needing remedial help in introductory and advanced college-level courses. The business-writing sections can also be assigned out of sequence to align with existing business writing curricula either as a primary text or supplemental material.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The proportion of remedial English instruction to content that is specific to busines writing notwithstanding, the overall content logically builds upon itself, making it easy for students to clarify understandings by working backwards. Learning objectives are clearly stated and exercises are offered at appropriate intervals. As the initial chapter devoted to business writing, however, Ch. 9 seems to restart the process by addressing written communication and principles of good writing in general (material that might be better presented in earlier chapters) rather than introducing business writing as a discrete area of composition and drawing a distinction between it and other forms of written communication.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The web version is easy to navigate although text on the flowcharts is very small and requires the reader to zoom in to read properly. These charts would be difficult to view on a smartphone, as some students do. It would also be helpful to have a search function.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text and accompanying graphics are grammatically accurate and virtually error-free.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text does not reflect any specific effort to be broadly representative of different races, ethnicities, backgrounds, etc., but it also does not contain any material that might be construed as insensitive or offensive with regard to culture, race, gender, socio-economic status or other demographic.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-04-23T19:52:52.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-04-23T19:52:52.000-05:00"},{"id":33477,"first_name":"Sumeeta","last_name":"Patnaik","position":"English Language Program Manager","institution_name":"Marshall University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Business English for Success covers all aspects of business writing discussed in the classroom. The book is available in PDF and Online in the web browser. I preferred the online web browser because the table of contents had clickable links. This will allow students to click on the pages they would need to work on for that assignment. At the top of the page, there are clickable links for the student can click to the next section or go back to the table of contents. Each section has learning objectives and each point is reinforced by charts and tables.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate, error-free and unbiased. In the preface, the authors provide a link to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab to allow students to have more practice on the grammar and mechanical rules discussed in the book. There were no content or grammatical errors that I could find. Finally, there was no cultural bias toward any specific group that I could find. The content and supporting exercises provide students, from any background, with practices that focus on business writing.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The content is up-to-date except for the business writing in action (Chapter 13) and APA and MLA documentation and formatting (Chapter 14). As this book was published in 2012, there have been updates to the APA style guide and business writing has evolved to meet the needs of a digital format. In addition, if I was using this book, I would include a supplemental section on using multimedia in business writing.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written in Standard American English. While there may be specific words that are difficult for students, like memorandums and resumes, most of the language is accessible for students with English proficiency at the intermediate and advanced levels.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text in the textbook is consistent and the framework makes it easy for students to be able to find their content and assignments.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The textbook is well-organized and within the text, there are references to different sections that provide support for the student.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics in the text are well-organized. Each topic begins with a learning outcome, then the content explanation, following by a table or chart or graph that breaks down the information and finally, students will have a choice of exercises to practice the outcomes.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There is no significant interface issues within the textbook.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no grammatical errors in this textbook.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"There was no culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I plan to use this textbook for the Career Education course that I will be teaching in 2022. I will be supplementing chapter 13 and Chapter 14.","created_at":"2021-11-22T12:43:38.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-11-22T12:43:38.000-06:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/business-english-for-success","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:01:49.000-06:00"},{"id":68,"title":"Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2011,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"The reason why Randall Fallows wrote Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis is simple: to help give students a better understanding of how to discover, develop, and revise an analytical essay. Here is how his 5 chapter book goes about doing just that: The first two chapters focus on the nature of an analysis and what's involved in writing an analytical essay. Randall shows that analysis consists of a balance of assertions (statements which present their viewpoints or launch an exploration of their concerns), examples (specific passages/scenes/events which inspire these views), explanations (statements that reveal how the examples support the assertions), and significance (statements which reveal the importance of their study to personal and/or cultural issues). After showing why each feature should be present throughout an essay, he reveals how to \"set the stage\" for producing one of their own. He first helps students to evaluate their own views on a subject and to examine how these views emerge from their own experiences, values and judgments. He, then, shows them how to research what others have said about the subject and provides suggestions for evaluating and incorporating this research into their own perspectives. Finally, Randall discusses the nature of writing, not as a linear procedure, but as a recursive process where the discovery and clarification of a concept occur simultaneously. The remaining three chapters reveal more specific advice on how to develop an analytical essay. Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis by Randall Fallows is a great text to prepare any student to write analytical essays for the argument and persuasion courses.","contributors":[{"id":1922,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Randall","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Fallows","location":"University of California Los Angeles","background_text":"Randall Fallows is a lecturer and writing two coordinator for the Department of Writing Programs at the University of California, Los Angeles. He holds an M.A in Rhetoric and Composition from San Diego State University and a Ph.D. in Literature and Cultural Studies from the University of California, San Diego. He has published articles on composition theory, popular culture, literature and philosophy in The Journal of Popular Culture, Rhetoric Review, The Journal of Popular Film and Television, American Drama, Americana, and contributed to the books Conversation: Theory and Practice, Taking South Park Seriously, and Americana: Readings in American Culture. Since 1982, he has been teaching courses in writing, composition pedagogy, literature, and American Culture at SDSU, UCSD, and UCLA. He also spent two years teaching at ELTE University in Budapest, Hungary. When he’s not teaching or writing articles, he participates in both standup and improvisational comedy at various venues throughout Los Angeles, and likes to spend his summer traveling with his wife, Tamar Christensen."}],"subjects":[{"id":5,"name":"Education","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":"L7","visible_textbooks_count":144,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/education"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":33,"name":"Literature, Rhetoric, and Poetry","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"PE1408","visible_textbooks_count":124,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/literature-rhetoric-and-poetry"}],"publishers":[{"id":25,"url":"http://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Exploring%20Perspectives%20-%20A%20Concise%20Guide%20to%20Analysis.pdf","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:36.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:36.000-05:00","name":"Saylor Foundation"}],"formats":[{"id":250,"type":"PDF","url":"http://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Exploring%20Perspectives%20-%20A%20Concise%20Guide%20to%20Analysis.pdf","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":251,"type":"Online","url":"https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_exploring-perspectives-a-concise-guide-to-analysis/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":16,"reviews":[{"id":95,"first_name":"Jennifer L","last_name":"Foray","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Purdue University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book provides a thorough, far-reaching introduction for students in various disciplines, at different stages of their academic careers; the discussions and gudelines contained in this work are specific enough to be helpful yet broad enough for students to adapt them for their own purposes. The book does not contain an index or glossary, and I would have especially liked to see the former, especially as this is an electronic book. Perhaps a summarizing checklist of ideas, strategies, and terms used in the book (such as \"assertion\" and \"working thesis\") could be included in a glossary or appendix.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content itself is largely accurate and clearly-presented. However, there are numerous formatting errors and typos that detract from the text. Spaces between words are missing, and some sentences appear twice (see, for instance, the text after the checklist on page 102). These are not especially egregious but, in the aggregate, they are distracting. Further, I think that, if we implore students to review, self-edit, and proofread their work (as this text rightly does), we need to be especially certain that our own work is free of such issues. On a much more minor note: in his extended discussion of the Wizard of Oz, the author repeatedly refers to the Good Witch as \"Glenda,\" which is incorrect. Her name is \"Glinda.\"","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The discussions of analytical reasoning and writing are excellent, and I do not believe they will prove obsolute anytime soon. However, the author frequently cites popular culture references and ideas, and these do run the risk of becoming dated. For instance, today's students will likely be unfamiliar with the Coke and Pepsi slogans discussed on pages 35-36. I imagine that I'd have to explain to my students some of these examples and references.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This book is written in exceptionally lucid, cogent prose; the author avoids jargon and explains all other terminology, ideas, and theories he references. However, I found some of the end-of-chapter excercises to be too abstract and generalized, and, with their overweening focus on feelings and experiences, they veer too far from the realm of academic writing. If students cannot think of a relevant experience or topic from their own lives, they may just ignore the excercise entirely. I'd have liked to have seen excercises that present a particular idea or claim to be discussed so that students can jump right into the task at hand.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text consistently employs terminology and a clear structure; this is an easy-to-follow text, with each chapter building upon the ideas contained in the previous chapter(s).","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"I could easily assign sections of this work, although the large size of each chapter, plus the multiiple sections in each chapter, make the chapters appear far more unwieldy than they actually are. The formatting (what appears to be 1 1/2 spaced text) and layout also creates the illusion of larger, bulky chapters; single spaced text would allow more compact, modular chapters and clear divides between sections and chapters.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The text's organization of ideas and topics should pose no problems for students, although, again, the layout and present size of each chapter impedes flow. Some of the examples could be condensed, too, in order to present a more cohesive, concise narrative structure. I'm not sure why the footnotes to cited sources appear at the end of a section, not the chapter as a whole. It's confusing and distracting.","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"See above comments regarding typos and formatting issues; the lack of an index and glossary; and layout. The book is not as user-friendly as I would have expected from an electronic book.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text does not contain grammatical errors other than what I presume to be typying/formatting errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I do not find any examples or discussions to be offensive or exclusionary, although, as noted above, some of them are dated and will presumably become even more so. Students may not understand the references contained in the book.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"In sum, this is a comprehensive, valuable text that demystifies analytical thinking and writing. I plan to assign this book--whether in whole or in part--in my undergraduate courses in history, where it will effectively complement history-specific writing guides and pedagogies. I am confident that the text will help students understand how to craft arguments, formulate assertations, and employ relevant details and examples.","created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":105,"first_name":"Angelica","last_name":"Duran","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Purdue University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text was insufficiently comprehensive for me to adopt, although i am interested in seeing it in a future state, so that I can. There was no title page, Table of Contents, glossary, or hyperlinks to navigate readily through the document, which I would need for any text of this type that I would use for the classroom. The text too could use some (but NOT lots) of work of consistency. For example, one of my comments on page 3 is \"It would be good to add the titles earlier when mentioning Chapters 1 and 2 above, and final chapter later in this paragraph \"It would be good to add the titles earlier when mentioning Chapters 1 and 2 above, and final chapter later in this paragraph.\"","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"The content and organization are very strong. The author uses examples from various media, like books, films, popular culture. The grammatical and syntactical errors as well as plain problems that could be resolved with proofreading need attending to. As for proofreading one comment from page 2 is \"earlier use of the singular reader and here the use of singular purpose and audience reflects a set of assumptions I try to avoid\" and I noted on page 22 the typo of \"Mary Shelly's  Frankenstein\" (it is Shelley). I am unable to adopt this book because it reflects the sufficiently high level of errors that I want my students to avoid. I would like the text to define its audience a bit more. One comment I wrote at the bottom of page 6 is that I have a \"concern regarding grammatical skill of splitting infinitives which is often confusing for non-native speakers. Also see typo in last sentence of this page and later in paragraph.\"","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I very much like the scope of this text and on page 4 wrote \"I like this aim of two weeks.\" Following up on my comment above, the author refers to literary and visual works that have Western cultural endurance. The author also uses pedagogical techniques that will remain important, and he sufficiently shows their foundations.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Expanding upon a comment above, at the top of page 14, one comment was \"limited-perspective cultural assumption, as is use of 'American' business paragraph.\" US universities have more and more international students and even native speakers would benefit from reading texts that model global rhetoric, so this text might benefit immensely from a few changes.The author might be willing to do so as the author does a great job illuminating biases in the pages 31-32 section.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The author's use of sub-titles and repeated sections at the end of chapters is excellent.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"I answer this question by referring to page 6. One section that might be added to the beginning of each section or chapter might be tips that may seem obvious but are not, like reading the assignment, asking the instructor about use of formal or informal tone, active peer-reviewing. This could and should be done in brief because one of the very positive points of this text is its brevity.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The author did an excellent job organizing the text, and maintaining the brevity. No easy task.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"This does seem relevant overall to this text. However, I did mention above that adding a ToC and glossary that could be linked onto so that it could jump to the appropriate section would be welcome.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"There are some that seem due to lack of proofreading or sufficiently carefully editing.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Indeed, this book is not culturally insensitive or offensive, although i do not find it \"global\" -- not that it should be, but I repeat that the preface should address this more. The author might also add or modify the Exercise sections so that instructors and readers can benefit from the global representation they might have, without disaffecting or being unuseful to classrooms that do not have wide global representation","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I am very interested in seeing this book revised/improved and would be willing to share my sticky-note marked chapter to provide more details. This text has great potential to be used by many instructors who teach liberal arts classes that do not have much time to focus on the kinds of matters that this text addresses, but could advise students to review it in brief and bring in completed Exercises to office hours electively or even as required assignments.","created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":120,"first_name":"Amy","last_name":"Wiley","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"California Polytechnic State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers a number of areas of analytical writing comparable to many other for-sale textbooks. The areas into which the text is divided suggest tremendous usefulness, and I applaud the intent of the book to concentrate on analysis specifically, as that is an area that students in lower- and upper-division courses find especially difficult to perform with any kind of conscious methodology or understanding. They often resort to a kind dart-board approach in which they lob shots at \"meaning\" without necessarily appreciating the steps required to get to meaningful claims. Unfortunately, I found that, while this text provides a great deal of discourse on the subject and offers many models that could prove useful with the aid of--ironically?--further analysis in a classroom discussion or via exercises, the text lacks fundamental guidance and precision that would help students to replicate the process of analyzing texts, data, or other artifacts. For example, somewhere in the introduction or first few chapters, I would expect to see the term \"analysis\" explicitly defined, and perhaps discussed in terms of etymology, as understanding the definition and perhaps having some concrete examples of the concept in a variety of contexts would help students to better engage in actual analysis themselves. This text seems geared toward introductory, general composition courses. As such, it appears comparable to many other closed-source texts available and would function as a suitable replacement to many other fore-sale texts of its kind. The fact that it discusses analysis without attempting to provide catchy, current, or not-button readings/sample issues means instructors can supplement readings as they choose, and that flexibility may offset its lack of rigor or explicit, technical treatment of analysis.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"There are a few typos--missing spaces, for example--and some usage errors (that/which confusion). In terms of the content, the text did not seem to me to be wrong so much as lacking in rigor.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The content seems general enough that it should not seem dated any time soon. The organization and simplicity of the objectives should make updates relatively simple to implement.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The book is simply written, aimed toward lower-division students, and seems largely free of technical terminology. Given the topic, however, I'm not sure that's a plus.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book seems very consistent in content and layout.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book is very well-organized in terms of modularity.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"To my way of thinking, although the modules included do flow logically, the book seems to start a bit in medias res.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The layout and organization are simple in a pleasing, useful way, especially for reading via PDF/electronically.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The text contains some typos and a few imprecise usage errors (that/which, etc).","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"I think this text would prove useful in introduction to composition courses--variants of English 101--more than in a designated critical thinking course or a course in reasoning and argumentation. The book seems most appropriate for those in search of a general composition textbook that would aid students in providing more detail in their essays.","created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":123,"first_name":"Sari","last_name":"Pinto","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"California Polytechnic State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text primarily explores analysis of literary and cinematic texts but also, to a lesser extent, some discussion of other objects of analysis: personal, cultural or fictional events and personal or political decisions or policies. Some discussion of close-reading techniques, the composition process, modes of development, finding and using sources and effective use of detailed evidence are included. The importance of prewriting/thinking to allow for depth of analysis is emphasized, and the text encourages research on the topic itself but also on the cultural context in order to explore significance. Analysis is carefully distinguished from other genres of writing such as review, summary, description or tangential response. Each chapter provides learning objectives, examples of student work, an exercise or exercises and key takeaways. No table of contents, index or glossary are provided. Ideally, instructors would assign this text or portions of it during the first two weeks of literature or film course.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Content is accurate and free of errors and demonstrates minimal theoretical or political bias.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"Examples are drawn from classical and contemporary texts such as The Wizard of Oz, Office Space, Family Guy and The Tempest, making the concepts accessible to most readers, both faculty and students, but not necessarily immediately relevant to a young twenty-first century audience. No blogs, music videos or other online texts are discussed, and the most current musical reference involves Lennon and McCartney. Updating the discussion with more current examples would require some effort on the teacher's part.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Informal, conversational tone is likely to engage students. Minimal jargon appears in the prose, and ideas are clearly expressed. Some highly abstract content, such as the nature of significance or the distinction between assertion and interpretation, may prove difficult for students without the addition of concrete examples.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Content is theoretically and pedagogically consistent throughout.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"Subsections are clearly marked, so content can be assigned in sections, but focus within sections is occasionally inconsistent (see below, #7). Much of the later portion of the text, especially the last chapter on FAQs--is self-referential, so using the content out of its published sequence could present some challenges.","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"Chapters and sections are numbered. Content could be more logically organized. Some subsections lack consistent focus and contain content that logically should be placed elsewhere. For example, an argument justifying the study of analysis appears at the end of the composition process section, a survey of the ubiquity of analytical thinking is placed in the section on close reading, and of brainstorming or clustering strategies are explained in the chapter on significance.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"No particular problems with layout or display, but the text looks a little like a 1970s textbook: minimal graphic elements such as text boxes, diagrams or illustrations are provided.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Examples are drawn from mostly dead white male authors such as Frank Baum, Mark Twain, Shakespeare, although a few examples from more contemporary white male authors such as Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) or Mike Judge (Office Space). The author tends to use his own writing and personal thoughts or experiences frequently throughout the text, limiting the appeal for some audiences.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":254,"first_name":"Erica","last_name":"Parker","position":"Instrutor ","institution_name":"Colorado State University ","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Fallows uses a conversational tone to share a stirring range of helpful insights. He frames each chapter with objectives and takeaways while offering examples to highlight his points throughout the middle. There is no index or glossary. However, while an index would be helpful, Fallows defines his central language (either directly or through example(s) or both), so I see the lack of a glossary as an opportunity for students to create their own glossaries. Depending on the type of class, student-created glossaries could be a wonderful way to increase comprehension and study for quizzes and exams; additionally, these glossaries might be employed by teachers to monitor which students read. The appropriateness of this text is dependent on the type of class. For example, I could see this text as wonderfully appropriate for the literature classes I teach, but, across the board, it falls short of the depth required for a composition class. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"While Fallows is just one speaker representing one person’s views on subjects that can be interpreted and applied in many ways, there was nothing major about the content itself that weakened his authority in my eyes. His tone is relatable, and his insights are often more than sound. Still, a bit more concision and proofreading would advance his ethos.  ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Some examples are more timeless than others. The textual excerpts and models are timeless because students can review for themselves the techniques that Fallows highlights; in contrast, references may become outdated or prove too narrow for a wide audience, which is one of the most common difficulties for any text like this one. Still, Fallows selects references that are more universal than niche.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"A relatable, flowing voice is one of the strengths of this textbook. At times, Fallows could clarifying terms and context in more detail, but, on the whole, he does this quite well. Additionally, this book is a better match for a lower-division course because the terminology and concepts can deepen from here. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Chapters are consistently presented and content builds on itself.  ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"While there are a number of visual cues (like colored boxes) and a consistent use of headings, since the flow of the author's voice is one of the leading organizational tools, chapters may resist being broken into parts. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Easy to follow and reference.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Nothing about the interface confused this reader, but there are no images or charts, which might be nice additions.  ","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"While the text never becomes unreadable, punctuation and sentence clarity do cause some stumbles. As an instructor in an English department, I do not want to put a textbook in front of my students that does not model consistent and clean sentences at a level they should aim for. ","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Topics and language do not sway into the offensive, and the tone of the text is inclusive and friendly – inviting all readers to think and learn. However, the vast majority of examples represent Western cultural as embodied largely by its white (and predominantly male) members (Alfred Hitchcock, Vincent Van Gogh, Woody Allen, Mark Twain, and Tori Amos, just to name a few). Additionally, I wonder about the demographic nature of audiences for media like Office Space and Family Guy, but it is a daunting task to find media that has a true appeal for an enormous audience (perhaps a movie like Cloud Atlas would at least encourage students to consider at least some elements of diversity more directly). On the whole, this textbook could do more to appeal to the rich diversity of American students, the realities of our histories and its contributors, and our expanding global context.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":397,"first_name":"Andrea","last_name":"Hills","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College Portland, Oregon","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This is an engaging text that clearly covers the the purpose, strategies, and writing process for an analysis assignment for a variety of disciplines. The most comprehensive sections of the text are the descriptions and examples of various aspects of the writing process. The sections that cover analysis are less detailed and sometimes skim over important concepts. As a result of the uneven coverage, it is somewhat difficult to pinpoint the student audience for the text. For example, some of the detailed discussion of the writing process would work well for a lower level class, but the instructor would need to supplement/expand some of the analysis concepts. For a higher level class, some of the extensive examples about general writing strategies like creating an introduction might be repetitive, but the analysis sections would offer enough information. However, the text is consistently formatted and sections are clearly labeled, so instructors could pick and choose which sections are most relevant to their courses.\nThe text does not have an index or a glossary, and a table of contents would be a helpful addition. There is an appendix of FAQs about analysis, but it is a somewhat confusing mixture of odds and ends.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate, and the author clearly and completely cites all references to outside sources. The author does have a bias concerning the use of first-person and the ability to achieve objectivity, but he is up front about his positions. It will be up to each instructor to decide how comfortable they are with some of the author's statements on these issues. The text does have a number of distracting editing errors.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The content rests on a solid foundation of writing and analysis strategies and principles that will remain relevant. In fact, the author does an excellent job discussing often-tread writing concepts such as thesis statements in a refreshing manner, bringing new life to established concepts. The one element of the text that runs the risk of becoming dated is the reliance on pop culture references. In the case of the extended use of the film Office Space in Chapter 3, the reference might be hard to update; however, most references, such as the use of South Park, are brief examples that could be quickly replaced with more current examples. Note: Most of the music examples have already passed their expiration date and should be updated in the next revision.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The clarity of the text is definitely a strong point. The author is skilled at drawing the reader into the text and providing engaging descriptions of the various writing and analysis concepts. For example, in the section on conclusions in Chapter 5, the author does not just repeat the old adage to avoid starting a conclusion with the phrase \"in conclusion\"; instead, he offers a full paragraph describing how this phrase limits the possibilities of the conclusion. The author is at his strongest when discussing writing principles, and offers clear explanations and effective examples. In other parts of the text, namely Chapters 2 and 3, discussions of some of the more academic concepts such as researching and gauging an argument's effectiveness get a bit thin, and too many concepts are covered in large sections of text. The author does offer a plethora of examples and definitions for most ideas in the text. The most effective ones are those that are briefly woven into the flow of the text such as the quick definition of stock phrases in Chapter 3. Other examples, especially long, narrative examples such as the issue dialogue on page 36, are less effective as they get lost in too much detail and sometimes seem too personal and simplistic to be useful for an academic course. There could be increased attention to various learning styles as the book is quite text heavy with just one visual in Chapter 4. For example, adding visuals to the AXES and pentad heuristics discussions would help clarify these ideas for all students, but particularly for visual learners.\n","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"As a whole, the text is consistent in terms of tone, approach and formatting. The one section that stands out as lacking consistency is 3.2. All other sections open with an appealing introduction that engages the reader with a hypothetical scenario or some real life situation that leads the reader into the focus of the chapter. However, section 3.2 has a brief, abrupt introduction, and the rest of the section is not as cohesive and examples are not as fully integrated as in other chapters of the text.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Chapters, sections and sub-headings are clearly and consistently labeled throughout the text, so assigning specific portions of the text is feasible. One drawback is that some chapters such as Chapter 2, which opens with Kenneth Burke's parlor parable, and Chapter 4, which opens with a extended focus on The Wizard of Oz, refer to the opening examples throughout the chapter, so assigning individual parts of these chapters could be confusing if the opening of the chapter is not also assigned. Additionally, the first few pages of Chapter 5 refers back to concepts and examples from Chapter 1, but most of this chapter could easily be assigned independently from other parts of the text.","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"While the interface and modularity of the text are strong, the organization of ideas is somewhat uneven. The author is adept at explaining different parts of the writing process, but the elements of the writing process are scattered across Chapters 2 - 5. For example, Chapter 2 describes how to approach the general writing process, but additional pre-writing strategies such as brainstorming and clustering are not brought up until Chapter 4. It is also unclear what the function of the Appendix is. Some of the responses to the FAQs seem like they could be integrated into Chapters 1 - 5. For example, the response to the question about \"good\" questions seems like it could be worked into Chapter 2. Within chapters, the flow of ideas is excellent, with smooth transitions from paragraph to paragraph, but the chapters themselves are unevenly structured. For example, Chapter 5 offers extended discussion and examples for composing parts of the paper such as the introduction, yet parts of Chapter 3 skim quickly through more complex issues like evaluating arguments and logical fallacies. Condensing or deleting some of the long, extended examples (esp. those that are heavily narrative/personal) would leave more room for dividing some of the longer chapter sections into smaller, more focused sections with more academic depth added to the discussion.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is clear and easy to navigate. Consistency in formatting chapters is strong with all chapters set up in the same format and sections of chapters (learning objectives, exercises, etc.) clearly labeled and arranged in the same order in each chapter. There is only one image (see response to Clarity), but it comes through clearly.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"With a few minor exceptions, the grammar throughout the book is correct; however, the book could use some additional proofreading. Some examples of minor grammar corrections to note include the use of plural \"students\" when the singular is needed (page 100, Appendix), and the need to use \"shown\" vs. \"show\" in the first paragraph on page 46. The more pressing issue is the need for additional proofreading to fix a number of minor but distracting errors such spacing between words, correcting repeated text (page 102, Appendix), and double-checking that the correct spelling and forms of specific names and ideas are correct. For example, it seems that Kenneth Burke's pentad heuristic is generally not capitalized. Additional editing would be a quick fix that would reduce distractions for the reader and increase the overall credibility of the text.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"There are no overtly offensive elements of the text, and the writing is quite reader-friendly and inviting. However, the examples used often rely heavily on pop culture references to movies and television shows, so some students may have trouble fully understanding the references if they are not familiar with current American culture due to their cultural background or age. Some of these pop culture examples may also quickly become dated. While examples are generally engaging, most are heavily dominated by white males, and wider variety of voices and perspectives would be a welcome revision. Additionally, the text could accommodate a wider range of learning styles by adding in visuals and hyperlinks (see suggestions in the Clarity response). The author's extensive use of his own experience works well when he is relating his experiences in the classroom, but the approach is less successful when there are long descriptions of the author's own writing process or his personal life such as trips to the gym.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"With some revisions, I would consider using all or parts of this text in my courses. The tone and approach is similar to other texts I have chosen, and I find the conversational, descriptive style effective in holding students' attention. However, this text errs too far on the side of personal vs. academic. A number of the examples are quite long and based on personal experience/response (either the author's or the reader's), and this approach is reflected in the exercises at the end of each chapter, creating a gap between personal response and the academic approach required in many courses. Refining some of the organization, reducing/replacing extended sections that focus on a personal approach with more academic examples and depth, and revamping the exercises so that a variety of exercises are inserted throughout the chapters to practice or reinforce the writing and analysis concepts would strengthen this text.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":414,"first_name":"Stephen","last_name":"Walton","position":"Assistant Professor of French","institution_name":"Portland State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook gives a thorough presentation of the process and steps involved in writing an analytical essay. It provides a general but systematic method for students to use in approaching writing assignments in a number of areas (especially literature, film, media studies) and thoroughly explains the different steps involved in developing a written analysis for a college course, from beginning to end.\n\nIt lacks an index, and it even lacks a table of contents. The latter would be helpful for readers and for instructors using it in a class, and would be relatively easy to provide using standard pdf features. The instructor is left to develop his/her own table of contents by going through the book and noting the page numbers of each of the six chapters, and their sub-sections and sub-headings. Fortunately, the book is clearly organized and easy to navigate one's way through, thanks to the chapter titles, sub-headings of major sections, and sub-titles within major sections of each chapter.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The author presents his own approach to teaching analysis and essay writing, so the terms  \"accurate\" or \"inaccurate\" are not the best. However, based on my own experience dealing with student writing and my knowledge of current approaches to writing and composition, this book seems to be well-informed in its approach. The author's assertions are well-illustrated and based on many years of experience in the field.\n\nI would not say that the text is \"unbiased\" either, but since the author does not pretend to objectivity and does not think that student writers can or should be \"objective\", this is not an issue. I would say the author is clear about his own positions, and supports them well. ","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The content is more or less up-to-date. The author makes many references to popular culture and current technology, and some of the references to television shows such as \"Family Guy\" or \"Friends\" are already dated or soon will be, and others may also be dated in a few years. Nevertheless, even if some of the references are not salient for students in a few years, the author provides enough context to make them understandable. It remains to be seen whether in 2020 or afterward students will relate to the cultural content, however.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Very clearly written, as one would expect and hope for in a book about writing by an English professor. The style seems to me attractive and friendly, and very approachable. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Very consistent in terms of its approach, its use of terminology and its organization. The author presents a set of elements that belong in any written analysis, and provides a useful mnemonic for these four elements (AXES: assertions, examples, explanations, significance). (This is all clearly presented initially in the overview in the preface.) Then, in chapters devoted to each one, he explains their importance and presents ways students can approach these elements, and the stages involved in developing them.\n\nOne feature of analysis and the writing process that the author emphasizes throughout the text is the recursive nature of writing, and this is a useful theme, as it continually reminds students that the writing process is rarely linear, and prepares them for the real nature of the process.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"As stated above, chapters are clearly organized and broken up into sub-sections, which are further broken into subunits with subtitles. Each chapter section states the main topics of that section in outline form at the head of the section and then graphically highlights the key ideas of the section at the end of the section. The graphical layout is simple and uses contrasting color and text boxes effectively: it is easy to follow the structure of each chapter as one progresses through it.\n\nAgain, it would be nice if there a table of contents that laid out chapter titles, subsections and their page numbers at the beginning of the book. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Organization is very clear and logical.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Very simple presentation, clear and unobtrusive. Use of html (hyperlinks from a table of contents to each chapter, section and subsection) would make it easier to navigate.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Very well written (again, as one would expect from an English professor). \n\nThere are a few typographical errors, and several instances (10-20 of them) where the space that should separate two words is missing, but these are easily deciphered.\n\nThere is one section where three paragraphs are repeated (page 102).","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Quite relevant. The author shows how analysis is a useful practice to develop in college, but also in one's profession and one's life. The examples he makes use of deal with a variety of personal, political, environmental, social and cultural concerns, and a realistic understanding of the features of college student life pervade the book (e.g., procrastination, boredom, relationships, the role of popular culture). I found these elements to be meaningful and interesting, but it remains to be seen whether students would have the same reaction as the 60-year old academic who is writing these comments.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I found this to be a useful, interesting read. I appreciate the author's organization and his ability to explain his ideas clearly--in short his effective use of the very principles he puts forth for students to follow when they write. There is an openness to his discussion of how to approach writing that is refreshing, and that I believe students would appreciate. He is firm regarding his principles but not dogmatic, and he justifies his assertions in a way that students would, I believe (hope?) find convincing.\n\nThere is also a certain level of personal honesty that is refreshing: the teacher in this book is someone that students will get to know to a certain degree, and that seems as if it would be appealing to student readers.\n\nI have not yet decided how I might incorporate this book into my French literature and French composition classes, but there is a great deal of useful material concerning methods and approach to writing that I would like to provide to my students, one way or another.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":603,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Bockoven","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Lane Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"The first two chapters show the most promise in discussing the concept of analysis, but the development is very thin.  In later chapters, I was hoping to see more of a pay off from this initial promise.  Instead, it seems to devolve into a typical composition textbook in terms of \"how to write an essay.\"  An example of what I am talking about comes in Chapter Two: In the first section of Chapter Two, Fallows endeavors to explore the effect of personal circumstances on one’s opinions, but he merely scratches the surface here.  He doesn’t really show how a student might deal with this in any kind of depth.  I'm wondering if the author was so focused on being concise that he sacrificed other aspects of the topic?\n\nThe book does not contain an index or glossary.  In the on-line version of the text, some of the terms are given a hyperlinked definition, but the application of this feature seemed inconsistent (not all instances of these words throughout the later chapters are given this link).  In the .pdf version of the text, there's no table of contents.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I found much of Fallows's advice to be sound.  When Fallows writes in his Appendix of Frequently Asked Questions “analysis is not an objective process. You cannot necessarily uncover the author’s intentions or reveal the one correct conclusion just by thoroughly understanding specific relevant facts,” I think he is correct and also providing students a helpful way of thinking about analysis.  Other helpful nuggets of advice: “A good analysis starts with the right questions. To uncover your point of view, you need to identify the dilemma or confusion in the scenario. And then you need to ask a question that requires more than a summary or objective answer.”  In Chapter One, he writes, “Though you need to provide examples, you should select and discuss only those details that shed the most light on your points of view. “ In Chapter Two’s description of the writing process, I agree with his assessment that writing is not necessarily a linear process, but more recursive.  “Remember that the goal is not to come up with an answer to the question ‘what’s THE meaning of the piece?’ But rather to explore dimensions of the subject that do not have definitive answers, allowing us to consider our own subjectivities.”  Chapter Three.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"Fallows makes an effort to bring in a discussion of non-academic topics, such as students' potential career choices, to demonstrate how analysis is a life-long skill that can be used in many different contexts.  This comes across most clearly in the Appendix of Frequently Asked Questions.  The content seems almost timeless to me as this pattern of thought has been around for a long time.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Mostly very good, I think.  Fallows really makes an effort to explain his concepts in a very basic way so that any first year student should be able to understand these concepts.  Potential exceptions include \"heuristics\" and \"rhetorical choices.\"  In the on-line version of the text, there is a hyperlinked definition for heuristics (but only the first time he uses this idea).  I thought his use of the acronym AXES (assertion, examples, explanations, significance) was clever, and he shows how the plural form of both \"axis\" and \"axe\" apply well to the notion of analysis.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"The exact purpose of the book feels inconsistent to me.  Is it mostly a book on academic analysis or on the writing process.  Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive, but it did feel like the book was attempting to be all things to all people.  This criticism applies specifically to the \"framework\" of the book in a conceptual sense.  In terms of its use of terminology and its references, it is very consistent.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The concise nature of the text makes it easy to adapt to different contexts.  Helpful features of the text (Learning Objectives and Key Takeaways) are also useful in this regard.  There are a few moments where the text does seem self-referential.  Sometimes the use of hyperlinks (in the on-line version of the text) direct readers back to relevant sections, but this is not always applied.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book has a strong sense of continuity.  Again, its concise nature aids in achieving this quality.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The use of hyperlinked definitions of key terms in the on-line version of the text were helpful, but their use was inconsistent.  Usually only the first instance of a word had the hyperlinked definition.  If a teacher were using sections of the book out of order, then this practice would not be helpful.  Sometimes, I wondered if words really needed this definition: such as \"examples\" (do some people really not know what an example is?)  Another problem with the hyperlinked definitions was that they were the exact same wording as the text.  If the term is being defined in the text, then why the need for the hyperlink?","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I found two errors: “a students was inspired” in Appendix and Chapter Three: “The best way to begin your analysis is with an attentive, open mind; something that is more difficult than most of us care to admit. “ semi-colon usage?  The text is inconsistent about coordinating quotation marks with other punctuation (does period go inside or outside?).","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive, but it also feels very \"white bread\" to me.  Text does make an effort to achieve a sense of gender balance.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"I wish that he would have followed his own advice in Chapter Three: “ it is almost always better to write ‘a lot about a little’ than ‘a little about a lot.’ “  In trying to tackle the writing process as well as analysis, the book ends up saying a little about a lot.  At the same time, there is a lot of helpful information about the process of analysis (and his discussion of the writing process is not bad--it just seems to detract from the book's focus).  I'm almost wondering if the material on analysis wouldn't work better as an essay rather than an entire book?  As I was reading the book, I felt that it was really an extended essay.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1169,"first_name":"Rosalind","last_name":"Sibielski","position":"Assiatant Professor of English and Film Studies","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The strength of this book is that it is limited to exploring one very specific type of academic writing: the analytical essay. Over the five chapters included in the book, it provides students with a step-by-step breakdown of the process of analyzing texts, formulating theses, compiling examples, and organizing the analysis into a coherent essay that provides consideration of the significance of the approach to the analysis within the context of the larger body of scholarship surrounding the topic. It also provides students with in-depth examples--and, what is perhaps more helpful, for each example, an explanation connecting it back to the sections of the book outlining the analysis and writing processes. It also gives consideration to how these steps to analyzing texts can be applied to a wide range of types of texts, from literature, to film, to advertisements.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate and error-free. It does draw heavily from the authors own experience in teaching analytical writing to college students, but that bias in relation to the books' topic is arguably a strength rather than a weakness in terms of the trustworthiness of the information provided.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book is relevant in terms of the pedagogical approach it advocates when it comes to both scholarly analysis and scholarly writing in the college classroom. The examples used in the book (both the sample writings and the examples used to explain the analysis process and the writing process) are likely to remain accessible to students for some time. The book also provides useful background explanation for students not familiar with the examples. So, for example, when the film The Wizard of Oz is used to provide an example of how to analyze a text, the author includes a plot summary for students who have not seen the film.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is very accessible for undergraduate students, steers clear of jargon for the most part, and when rhetoric/composition jargon is used, explanations are provided to make clear the concepts behind what those terms refer to.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent all the way through in terms of both the use of specialized terminology and its framework.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book follows a step-by-step process for how to analyze and write about a variety of texts. Each chapter focuses on a different part of the analysis and writing processes. Chapters are also broken up into sub-sections based on specific steps in analyzing and writing. This makes it very easy to divide the book up into modules for a syllabus. The book is not as easily switched around to align with a teaching approach that follows a slightly different order in terms of these steps, since each chapter (and each sub-section within each chapter) builds on a skill and on context examined in the previous chapter.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is very clearly and logically organized. It is easy to follow the flow of information from one section to the next and one chapter to the next. Again, this is a plus for use in undergraduate writing courses (or other courses where analyzing texts is a key component).","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I read part of the book as a PDF downloaded to my computer, part of it in a web browser on my computer, and part of it on a web browser on my tablet. The interface in all three versions was intuitive and easy to navigate.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive. It uses a variety of examples and a variety of approaches to analysis that include examinations of ideological analysis around issues of race and gender. It also avoids the use of the \"universal\" male pronoun when discussing hypothetical readers or students.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I teach both first year writing in an English department and a variety of film analysis courses in a film studies program. I would definitely use this book for both first year writing and for my intro to film course. In fact, I will be adopting it for both next year.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1312,"first_name":"Lisa","last_name":"Jensen","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Saint Paul College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book focuses on analysis and breaks the subject into easy-to-use chapters. While not deep or entirely comprehensive, the book does provide a baseline explanation that instructors can add to as needed. I could see using my own examples, for instance, or easily applying his concepts to my particular assignments. As other reviewers have noted, the book touches on the most important aspects of analysis both in composition and literature/film. I particularly like the section on moving from interpretations to analysis. This chapter identifies key aspects of argument, thesis statements, and analysis that are helpful in a variety of writing situations. I also like the organization within each chapter. Each section and chapter begins with learning objectives that are explained in the chapter, illustrated through examples, tested with exercises, and enforced with the \"key takeaways\" box. This varied approach to learning styles works with different students and different assignments. Finally, the appendix, which highlights student questions, puts writing in a larger perspective which in turns shows students that writing skills and analysis with benefit them beyond the assignment or class.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Fallows deals accurately with the major aspects of analysis. While I think the examples are geared more toward  a literature course, overall the book provides a strong base for all analytic writing situations.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The explanation of analysis is up-to-date and the content is arranged in such a way as to make updates easy and straightforward.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is clearly written and Fallows has an accessible, conversational style. The online version has hover links for definitions to enforce key terms.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Chapters are consistent and content builds from one chapter to the next. If I were to change anything, I would suggest moving the chapter on using sources to later in the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Because each chapter builds on the previous, I imagine instructors would teach the book in the order presented. Later chapters often reference terms or ideas presented earlier. In the online version, quick links between chapters would be helpful so students, when reading about brainstorming techniques in chapter 4, for example, could quickly link back to the first description of this practice in chapter 2.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Topics are presented in a clear and logical fashion. As noted earlier and in other reviews, the organization of each chapter is quite useful.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I read the book both in PDF form and in its online form and found no problems with the interface. Chapters were easy to navigate. The PDF version has a note to teachers while the online version has links to definitions and other content. Neither version has a glossy or index, and the PDF version does not have a table of contents. In the online version, links between chapters would be helpful to remind students of key concepts.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No glaring grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The examples Fallows uses are not culturally offensive or insensitive, but the book would be more appealing with a wider variety of cultural examples. The Wizard of Oz, Tori Amos, Office Space, and the Beatles could be replaced with a wider variety of cultural representations that more accurately reflect our students.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1851,"first_name":"Virginia","last_name":"Garnett","position":"Lecturer of English","institution_name":"UNC Pembroke","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Fallows does not purport to offer a complete handbook and in fact states that this volume would be most useful as supplemental reading assigned during the first two weeks of a semester. That said, it successfully covers a wide range of topics central to the writing classroom, including source selection, notetaking, responsible source use, pre-writing strategies, reverse outlining, among others. Additionally, the FAQ section, appearing at the end of the volume, addresses a variety of student concerns, namely the transferability of the analytical skills introduced in the volume. This edition does not contain an index (and only the online edition contains a table of contents), so readers might find the interface frustrating when looking for a quick reference.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The information presented in this volume is reliable, and the advice offered should prove useful to students at various levels of writing proficiency. Fallows is careful to avoid offering too prescriptive a guide to writing, recognizing that different rhetorical situations require different approaches and strives instead to offer guidelines that could be easily transferred across disciplines. His discussion of the potential effects (good and bad) of employing first-person pronouns in academic writing, for example, is accurate and prepares students to adopt a voice appropriate to a given situation.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"Fallows’s strategies for writing are consistent with many process-based handbooks and so should prove relevant for the foreseeable future. His references to Twain, Shakespeare, Plato, among others, should likewise stand the test of time. His pop culture references, on the other hand, will likely appear dated to current college students, as references to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Don McLean, Beavis and Butthead, and Office Space, for examples, are not likely to reflect their interests.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Perhaps one of the biggest strengths of Fallows’s book is his conversational tone, and he provides numerous analogies and personal examples to clarify his points in a style readily accessible to freshmen readers. His use of the acronym “AXES” (“making assertions, “including examples,” “explaining the examples,” and “extending the significance”) to help students remember the four components of analysis is clever and easy to follow. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Fallows seems focused on breaking students out of potentially limiting and/or outdated forms of composition to help them view writing as a process of inquiry and discovery. Each section of the book works toward this end, offering students new strategies to adopt and adapt to suit their future writing needs.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Exploring Perspectives is designed to be read as a linear work, as Fallows builds on previously-discussed skills and examples in each subsequent chapter. That said, his chapters are broken into manageable sections, and instructors would face little difficulty in assigning them in a different order to suit the needs of the class, so long as they were prepared to explain a few recurring concepts like the Burkean parlor. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of Fallows’s book is strong, with each chapter beginning with clear objectives and ending with exercises and a list of “key takeaways” for review. The book, as indicated by the table of contents (which, as noted previously, appears only in the online version), moves from concept to application, thereby progressing in a logical manner.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The textbook is easy to follow whether reading online or downloaded as a PDF, though at least one internal link in the online version is broken (between chapters 3 and 1). The online version includes a number of highlighted words over which readers can hover and view a definition. These hover boxes work, though their value is questionable, as many of the definitions offered are almost the same as those given in the body of the text. See “freewriting” and “brainstorming,” for examples (chapters 2 and 4, respectively).","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The book contains only a few minor grammatical errors, though the most common problems throughout the volume are inconsistent capitalization and missing spaces between words. The most glaring editorial error is the repetition of the same paragraph on page 102.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Fallows works to offer examples from a variety of fields—literature, film, philosophy, political science, history, among others—and should likewise be accessible to a variety of readers. While nothing about his discussion, references, or writing style appears offensive, I do wonder at how culturally inclusive his work will appear to students for whom his pop culture references fall flat. See \"Relevance/Longevity.\" ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, Exploring Perspectives would serve as a useful supplement to a writing-intensive course in which students are assumed to have some proficiency in writing at the college level (i. e. they have already taken first-year writing). A first-year writing course would require a more comprehensive resource, but this text, particularly with its examples of underdeveloped analysis, would likely prove useful to students in a literature survey, for example, or other general education courses. ","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1870,"first_name":"John","last_name":"Wallace","position":"Senior Lecturer","institution_name":"University of California at Berkeley","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The scope of this book is to provide a basic approach for writing an analytic essay for college students unfamiliar with the practice. In that it never forgets its audience and takes care to provide structure and advice for \"beginning\" students to write analytic essays, its coverage is excellent. It does not, however, explore more advanced analytic essay style.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This book is fully accurate except for a very limited number of places where spaces between words are missing or font is non-standard. There might be 5-10 of these occurrences in the entire work. These are in the PDF version only. The web-based version of the text is perfect as best as I can determine.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Many of the fundamentals of analytic thinking are, indeed, enduring. But the portions of this book devoted to research need better attention to digital resources. The word \"internet\" appears only three times in the entire volume. Some comments feel dated. For example, \"And thanks to the Internet, I do not even have to leave the house, but can do a Google search for up to the minute news or visit any number of academic websites to see what my fellow scholars have written about my subject.\"","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Clarity is one of the outstanding successes of this work. It has excellent structure, clear and clean prose, ample examples, useful callout boxes, and conceptual rigor. The book reads quickly and easily and would be easy to navigate, too, should one need to go back and locate a certain topic that was discussed.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This book has been well-conceived and reconsidered and rewritten with care, affording a strong sense of an \"organic whole\" to the project of teaching how to build a good analytic essay from the inception of the ideas to the submission of the work. The key concepts are kept alive and effective everywhere. There is no sense that the topic or argument is shifting or slipping at any point.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book has struck an excellent balance between the full explanation of a concept and the packaging of it in a module of a size that would be comfortable for undergraduates.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The author has a vision of how an analytic essay gets started and grows into its final form. After a chapter that establishes his definition of analysis, its four key components, and the need to maintain a balance among them, then a much longer chapter that argues for the necessity to think of analysis as an act of a thinking subject embedded in contexts that affect the direction of analysis, he takes up each of his three phases of development: establishing key perspectives / theses, explaining the origins and implications of them, and structuring the essay argument. This 5-chapter approach offers a logical progression of ideas that significantly improve the chances that undergraduates unfamiliar with writing analytic essays can develop a writing path that will work for them.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The web-based version of this book is well designed, with a table of contents listing hyper-linked chapters and chapter sections. Many of the key terms have useful pop-up definitions associated with them. As with many web-based books, the chapters require a considerable amount of scrolling to navigate. \n\nThe PDF version seems more like an afterthought. There is not even a title page or table of contents.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"This book keeps its sentence structure simple and clear. There are times when I felt that the tone was just slightly condescending because of its simplicity. On the other hand, as a textbook for those not strong in reading, or in a hurry, or for non-native students, this approach is understandable, perhaps even laudable.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"There is some narrowness in its cultural terrain, in my opinion. For example, the author writes, \"Jeff is not happy. His clock shows 2 a.m., but his computer screen shows nothing. For the last four hours he has tried to get started on an essay on William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, but he just doesn’t know where to begin. 'It’s Professor Johnson’s fault I’m in this mess,' he thinks to himself.\" To my ear, \"Jeff\" and \"Johnson\" — although I understand the wish to be generic and broadly approachable — seem a bit too exclusively of a certain cultural background. Also, the text feels just slightly \"old\" to me in this way. Again, when discussing argument in advertising, the example used, as if recent, is \"things go better with Coke\" — a 1960s phrase. This just evokes a certain America to me.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This work is most appropriate for lower-division undergraduates or college students of any level who have not had much training in analytic essay writing. While I wouldn't be able to use it in my lower-division literature classes in its entirety, there are portions  definitely worth sharing. For example, the coverage of basic errors is something I feel could be repackaged and offer welcome guidance. I am glad to have read it. Some of its observations may well find a place in my teaching plans.\n\nAs a final note, some of the author's arguments seem just a little too simple. But perhaps avoiding those complexities is one of the strengths of this basic textbook.","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":3152,"first_name":"Jennifer","last_name":"Schaupp","position":"Adjunct Professer","institution_name":"Point Park University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book claims to be a concise guide to a specific style of writing–the analytical essay–and that it does. In its conciseness, the book actually attempts to cover multiple aspects of the writing, researching, revising, and idea generating process. I think the book makes for a handy reference rather than an exhaustive treatment of the subject.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This book acknowledges the existence of bias in writing and, obviously, the author writes from his own experiences in teaching and writing, including an example of one of his own published essays, which demonstrates the process he discusses in this book. Overall, the author creates an objective template, if you will, to guide the subjective undertaking of analytical writing. \r\n","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Close reading and analytical writing have been around for years and continue to be a part of many college English courses. While classes, universities, and teachers vary, especially over time, the expectations remain similar and reference material like this one will come in handy. In the book, a few references to current social media forms may need to be updated in the future depending on technological advancements, and a few pop culture references, while applicable to most teachers' generations, feel a little out of touch with the current students' generation. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Aside from a few jargon words, like heuristic, the book is easy to read and accessible to readers given the author's informal style and personal examples. In a world of online bullet-point reading material, this book provides an easy-to-remember acronym (AXES) for the four main components of analytical writing and clearly-labeled takeaways at the end of each chapter.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The main purpose of the book is present in each chapter. The author does not lose sight of his focus, and the consistent layout of the beginning and end of each chapter provides reliable visual cues to the readers.\r\n","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The chapters consistently start with learning objectives and end with key takeaways and also consist of exercises that allow students to practice main ideas. Depending on where they are on the writing process, students can refer to specific chapters or subchapters for guidance.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This book strives to take its own advice, following the order a student would take in developing ideas for, writing, and revising an analytical essay. Each chapter refers back to something the author already discussed, showing both the importance of connections/transitions but also the non-linear nature of the writing process. Additionally, the FAQ chapter at the end acknowledges common student concerns about analytical writing and looks at the value of analytical writing for students of all majors.\r\n","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I did not observe any interface issues with the PDF or online version of this book.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"There are a few errors in Chapter 6 (the PDF version) that could be easily corrected with another round of proofing.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book excellently draws on a variety of forms that likely require analysis—from books to music to advertisements. However, the author tends to rely on examples of famous white men, including John Lennon, Vincent van Gogh, and Shakespeare, as well as pre-2000 references. The examples could use a bit more generational, racial, and other forms of diversity.\r\n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I taught Introduction to Literary Studies last semester to students generally stuck on the traditional five-paragraph essay model with a specific prompt from their teacher. When I asked the students to generate their own ideas about the books we read in class, they were often stumped. I created guidelines for them to brainstorm, draw from personal experiences, and create theses that passed the so what? test. This book would have been a handy resource for those first few weeks of class (and throughout the semester) when the students were trying to figure out the best way to tackle the writing, revising, and even the peer reviewing of their analytical essays!","created_at":"2019-08-18T16:13:43.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-08-18T16:13:43.000-05:00"},{"id":33448,"first_name":"Heidi","last_name":"Hamilton","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Emporia State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book focuses particularly on the analytical essay, and in that regard, provides a comprehensive covering of what goes into the conceiving and writing of this type of essay. While I expected more attention to building support for your analysis, the book seems more focused on a personal analysis type of essay. While this may make it useful for beginning composition courses, the applicability to courses in other fields, as the author intends, is more limited.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Writing principles seem accurate, although geared more for English composition and literature courses. Use of term “assertion” to represent one’s claim is not universal in other fields, and “argument” might be better term, given an assertion generally suggests a claim that is unsupported.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The basic principles of analysis and writing remain relevant despite the publishing date. The popular culture examples used in the book, however, are likely less well known to today’s students. While it’s possible (questionably) that they still view Office Space, a Tori Amos song would resonate with few of them. An instructor may need to supplement to provide further application examples.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The author’s style makes this book easily accessible to an undergraduate student. Fallows writes very “casually” at times, particularly when relating personal experiences, but this may aid some students’ understanding. Overall, terms are defined.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"While the book begins as an introduction to how to write an analytical essay, some chapters focus more on writing mechanics, while others focus on the type of essay purported to be the book’s focus. This lends itself to some inconsistency in the framework and purpose of the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The chapters easily could be used separately, depending upon what you want students to learn. Chapters are subdivided as well. I can see only assigning what is useful to my course without any problems.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Middle portions of book that discuss aspects of writing such as language and style seem to flow less logically. If book’s focus is on writing analytical essay, then it would make sense for chapters to build on how to support and develop your points or arguments, rather than discussing writing mechanics. More positively, each chapter flows well with clear learning objectives stated at the start of each section, then the material presented, and ending with exercises and key takeaways.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No interface problems were detected with either the pdf or the online version.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"A few errors but not significant to disrupt the flow or readability of the book. The pdf version contains some copyediting issues, such as text being repeated.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Nothing in the text appears culturally insensitive or offensive. That being said, the examples, especially the popular culture examples, provide a narrow representation of race, ethnicity, and background, as most of them refer to white, middle-class U.S. citizens.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"For someone, like myself, who does not teach composition classes but assigns analytical essays to upper-level students, this text both delivers and disappoints. I definitely could assign the first chapter which explains an analytical essay and nicely lays out common errors in writing these. The appendix section at the end also answers common questions. Middle chapters, however, would be more useful for an instructor focused on teaching writing skills, rather than an instructor using analytical essays for assignments and hoping to use this text to improve students’ understanding of this type of writing.","created_at":"2021-11-05T12:34:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-11-05T12:34:00.000-05:00"},{"id":35370,"first_name":"Karen","last_name":"Pleasant","position":"Humanities Instructor","institution_name":"Rogue Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook provides a great overview from developing to revising an analytical essay.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book presented information in an accurate and unbiased fashion.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book will appeal to college-aged students and had many examples that they will be able to relate to via stories and exercises.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The textbook is written in clear and concise language.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is organized well and each chapter starts with learning objectives and ends with exercises and key takeaways.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is organized so that readers progress through the stages of writing an analytical paper.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is well organized and flows well from one chapter to the next.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"It is easy to navigate through the book and there are no distracting images,","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No errors that I noticed.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The material is presented in an unbiased way.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I am looking for a book to use in my research paper writing courses.  This one is the best OER textbook I've found so far.  I will try it in my course this upcoming term and see how it works.","created_at":"2024-12-20T14:50:29.000-06:00","updated_at":"2024-12-20T14:50:29.000-06:00"},{"id":35574,"first_name":"Abigail","last_name":"Dutcher","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"University of Saint Francis","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis provides a solid, foundational overview of analytical writing with an emphasis on critical thinking, subjectivity, and writing as a recursive process. The text thoroughly addresses the key components of analysis: assertions, examples, explanations, and significance using the AXES framework. It covers the stages of analytical writing, including forming a perspective, conducting research, engaging with multiple viewpoints, and structuring essays effectively.\n\nThe early chapters introduce essential concepts such as subjectivity in interpretation, the role of cultural background, and the importance of research, while later chapters guide students through developing and refining analytical theses and producing full essays. Each chapter includes objectives, real-world examples, and practical exercises that support student engagement and skill development.\n\nHowever, the textbook lacks an index or glossary, which may hinder quick reference or navigation, especially for students new to analytical writing. While the chapter objectives and headings are clear, the absence of a glossary limits the accessibility of key terms and concepts after initial exposure. Instructors may need to supplement with a vocabulary guide or create one collaboratively with students.\n\nOverall, the text is comprehensive in content and well-scaffolded in structure, but would benefit from the addition of an index and glossary for enhanced usability.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content in Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis is accurate, well-researched, and presented in a manner consistent with current best practices in writing instruction.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content in Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis is both timely and enduring, emphasizing core analytical and rhetorical skills that remain relevant across disciplines and time periods. The text avoids reliance on rapidly changing examples or technologies, instead grounding its instruction in flexible frameworks like AXES and recursive writing processes that are unlikely to become outdated.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written in clear, conversational, and accessible prose that effectively engages student readers without oversimplifying complex ideas. Concepts such as subjectivity, recursive writing, and analytical frameworks are introduced with ample explanation and relatable examples, including narratives like “Jeff’s struggle with The Tempest” that humanize academic challenges. When technical terms or rhetorical concepts (e.g., “assertions,” “significance,” “heuristics,” “close reading”) are introduced, they are thoroughly defined and contextualized through both explanation and practical application. This clarity supports a wide range of learners, including those new to analytical writing or unfamiliar with composition terminology, making it an excellent resource for both entry-level college students and adult learners.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis maintains strong internal consistency in both terminology and instructional framework.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into several small sections.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics flow in a logical progression.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is free of interface issues. There are minimal images/charts, which could be a future area of improvement.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Error free.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is thoughtful and respectful in its treatment of culture and perspective, frequently encouraging students to reflect on their own subjectivity and the influence of cultural, social, and personal contexts in shaping their interpretations. It makes a deliberate effort to highlight that meaning is not fixed and promotes the inclusion of diverse viewpoints in analysis.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis is a valuable and pedagogically sound resource for introducing students to analytical thinking and academic writing. Its conversational tone, clear structure, and recursive approach to writing make it especially effective for first-year college students or those new to composition. The AXES framework offers a flexible and memorable guide for developing arguments, and the focus on student voice and subjectivity helps demystify analysis as a rigid, impersonal task. While the lack of a glossary, limited cultural range in examples, and minimal visual support may require some supplemental materials, these are minor trade-offs for a text that is open-licensed, adaptable, and thoughtfully designed. I plan to use selected chapters in my own course to support lessons on analysis, drafting, and revision, especially during the early weeks of the semester. Its emphasis on thinking critically and writing to discover ideas aligns well with the goals of reflective, inquiry-based instruction.","created_at":"2025-07-10T22:55:45.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-07-10T22:55:45.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/exploring-perspectives-a-concise-guide-to-analysis","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:01:50.000-06:00"},{"id":77,"title":"Stand up, Speak out - The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2016,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking features two key themes. First it focuses on helping students become more seasoned and polished public speakers, and second is its emphasis on ethics in communication. It is this practical approach and integrated ethical coverage that setsStand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speakingapart from the other texts in this market.","contributors":[],"subjects":[{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":33,"name":"Literature, Rhetoric, and Poetry","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"PE1408","visible_textbooks_count":124,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/literature-rhetoric-and-poetry"},{"id":16,"name":"Journalism, Media Studies \u0026 Communications","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":"P91.3","visible_textbooks_count":57,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/journalism-media-studies-communications"}],"publishers":[{"id":332,"url":"http://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/","year":2023,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:39.000-05:00","updated_at":"2023-08-22T22:24:53.000-05:00","name":"University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing"}],"formats":[{"id":530,"type":"Online","url":"https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":529,"type":"PDF","url":"https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1737,"type":"eBook","url":"https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":2274,"type":"XML","url":"https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":2275,"type":"ODF","url":"https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4.5","textbook_reviews_count":59,"reviews":[{"id":125,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Askay","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"California Polytechnic State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook provides a comprehensive discussion of topics related to public speaking, including focused chapters on commonly assigned informative, persuasive, and entertaining speeches. Content is consistent with other textbooks with chapters devoted to ethics, listening, research, outlining, organizing, and language. One topic that is not included is discussion of small group communication. While many public speaking courses do not cover this material, those teaching a hybrid class will need to find supplementary material. That said, a hybrid class may benefit greatly from using this textbook to cover public speaking, while turning to other resources for other topics (e.g., interpersonal, organizational, small group communication, etc.). Lacking from the text is a index, which may limit the ability of students to efficiently look up and review certain topics. While adding an index would be beneficial, it is worth noting that the entire textbook is searchable.","accuracy_rating":2,"accuracy_review":"The textbook provides an accurate introduction to public speaking. I did note that while sources are clearly cited in-text, a comprehensive bibliography is not provided at the end. This could be useful not only for providing examples of citations for students, but also for aiding them in finding referenced material.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Public speaking has been largely taught with the same concepts for thousands of years. While there tends not to be huge revisions or additions to public speaking, the greater challenge that many instructors find it reaching the contemporary audience. This text includes references to timely and engaging examples (e.g., Avenue Q, TED Talks, Randy Pausch's \"Last Lecture\"), to which students in my classes have responded favorably. Also included are hyperlinks to online references that students may find useful for developing their speeches and finding examples.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The writing of the textbook comes across as clear and straightforward, even humorous at times. Chapters begin with learning objectives. Jargon is well described, but not appearing in the text are the familiar bold definitions that many students may be accustomed to. Contemporary examples are often referenced when introducing new terms, which helps to situate the knowledge. Each chapter also concludes with key takeaways, exercises, and assessments to aid students in testing their understanding.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Chapters are presented in a logical order that builds on previous chapters.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is divided into effectively smaller sections, which allows for tailoring of reading assignments. Paragraphs, headings and subheadings are used extensively and effectively. When self-references to the text are made, a hyperlink is provided to guide students to this area. While each chapter is divided into topics, there is no of table of contents at the beginning. Additionally, there is no list of sub-sections within each chapter. This may impede the ability to both students and instructors to quickly find and assign relevant sections of the book. Stronger chapter outlining, table of contents, and page numbers would be a welcome addition to this text.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Topics are presenting in a logical order that builds on each other. Chapters begin with learning objectives and introduce the need to understand the material. Subheadings help to guide the reader through topics and make clear visible delineations of the content. As mentioned before, a more detailed table of contents for the book and each chapter would aid in the organization.","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"The interface of the textbook is readable, but the lack of a professional typeset is evident. At times, font sizes and types are inconsistent and spacing between sections could be enhanced. The formatting of tables are barebones, sometimes extending beyond single page. The spacing of table headings likewise extend beyond a single line. Paragraphs tend not to be indented and spacing between paragraphs is small, leading to a squished appearance. This can be distracting and sometimes difficult to read. While the content is good, the design does leave something to be desired.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The textbook comes across as straightforward and contains only occasional typos or grammatical errors","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook explicitly covers cultural dimensions of public speaking and audience analysis. Examples are inclusive of various political orientations, races, cultures, and ethnicities, although","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":129,"first_name":"Michelle","last_name":"Lutz","position":"Adjunct English and Communication Professor","institution_name":"University of Northwestern - St. Paul","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This wonderful book goes well beyond any communication text I have read or used as a professor. In addition to covering the basics, it includes well-developed insights, ideas, and examples for how to create and deliver ethical and quality speeches in a meaningful format. There are 18 chapters that deal with everything from \"The Importance of Listening\" to \"Supporting Ideas and Building Arguments\" to \"Concluding with Power\" and so much more. Learning objective sections are included at the beginning of each chapter, and each chapter ends with \"Key Take Aways\" sections that summarize the main points just covered. These are key features that students will greatly appreciate as they process through the content. Numerous online sources are referenced and made available with just a click of a link. Additionally, each chapter includes optional exercises, end of chapter assessments, and answer keys. This is a very comprehensive text that includes a broad spectrum of speech topics.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is current and accurate. Moreover, the text actually taught the importance of using up-to-date and credible sources when researching and preparing for a speech. For example, I appreciated the teaching on the \"Ethical Pyramid\" (end, mean and intent) which was thoroughly explained in a way that showed the value and importance of being truly honest with both content and delivery. I appreciated the precision that was used throughout the text--such as including key questions for helping students to find a topic and steps for how to find current academic data. I also found the high quality techniques for how to avoid plagiarism and properly cite sources, and the multiple approaches for writing an ethical speech from beginning to end to be valuable.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text covers tried and true speech techniques and approaches, but it is not dry, and the authors' insights and analogies are refreshing. I appreciated how they covered areas that are frequently skimmed over in other textbooks. For example, they discussed dimensions where your communication takes places such as temporal, physical and social-psychological dimensions. On p. 15 they say, \"You have to know the types of people in your audience and how they react to a wide range of messages.\" I found the points made in this section exceptionally relevant for students who often miss their audience. I also really liked the section on communication apprehension (stage fright), and how they intelligently explained away the myths of those who suffer from speech anxiety and then offered helpful tips for how to overcome it. Stage fright is something many students struggle with, and this section is just one great example of how this text has enormous validity and permanency. As time goes on, this text will inevitably need up-date various websites, but other than that, I don't see any changes that will be needed for quite a while.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This text is clearly written with solid illustrations and examples. I believe students will find it much more engaging than the average textbook because the analogies are interesting - not bland like other textbooks I've reviewed. The authors defer (and rightly so) to the NCA Credo on Ethical Communication for guiding the study of communication and ethical principles. This further assists in creating a clear foundation that will help show students how honesty can be integrated into the research, writing, and giving of their speeches.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The lay-out and structure of the text is consistent and perfect for classroom use. I plan to incorporate some of the exercises and end of chapter assessments into my future class discussions. I also appreciate the fact that throughout the text, they refer to ideas that will be explored in future chapters such as \"We will discuss these fallacies in more detail in Chapter 8 - 'Supporting Ideas and Building Arguments'.\" This was helpful because if you wanted to skip ahead and read more about fallacies (or whatever topic was being discussed), you knew right where to find it.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The design of the text clearly shows the beginning and end of each chapter. It is easily dividable, and you can pick and choose which chapters or sections to use or not to use. I like that it is broken down into four broader categories: why public speaking is relevant, how to mentally and physically prepare for giving a speech, how to design and structure a speech, and how to present a quality speech in an ethical fashion.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is arranged in a consistent and highly organized way that helps the reader stay interested and yet focused on the objectives and topics at hand. Each chapter flows nicely from one topic to the next and ends with a summary and some valuable exercises before moving onto the next.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I did not experience any interface issues, and nor did I notice anything that might be confusing to students. The images and graphs were colorful and visually appealing. The font styles and sizes used worked well, and there was not anything that distracted me from the text.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I did find a few places where a comma should have been used and where words were squished together and a space was necessary (perhaps this is an interface issue - not sure). However, overall, the text is well written both style-wise and mechanically.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find the text to be insensitive or culturally offensive in any way. In fact there is an entire section devoted to using inclusive language, and they discuss the National Council of Teachers of guidelines for using gender-fair language that not only helps one convey what he/she means but helps audience members feel included in the speech giver's message. I also appreciated that in the final chapter, they have links to youtube clips of famous people giving speeches for various occasions. By clicking on the link, students can see a roast of President George W. Bush done by Stephen Colbert, a eulogy for the late Rosa Parks by Barack Obama, and Derek Jeter's farewell to Yankee Stadium to name a few. Students know these famous people and appreciate the opportunity to see them give speeches because they are part of their current culture.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I highly recommend this text, and I plan to use it in a debate class that I teach. I like that it covers the basics (but in a refreshing way) and yet so much more. The material is current, intelligent, and well-researched, and it includes an abundance of sources, exercises to use in class and a great deal of helpful and insightful advice on how to approach researching, writing, and giving an ethically sound speech.","created_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2014-07-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":214,"first_name":"Mike","last_name":"Baxter-Kauf","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"University of Minnesota","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text does a nice job covering the mechanics of constructing a speech and has a very thorough explanation of the goals, ethics and other \"preliminary questions\" that go into the process. The section on speech delivery (contained entirely in one chapter of just under 40 pages) is somewhat small in comparison to the rest of the text. There are three types of specific speeches covered (speaking to persuade, inform or entertain) and while each is dealt with in a good amount of detail, some may want more of these \"specific speeches\" included. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Of course, the questions here are going to be less about the literal accuracy of facts/figures and more about the way the text aligns with one's own opinions of what constitutes a valid and well composed speech. Overall, I think the text is unlikely to substantially contradict anyone's instructional claims. Take, as an example, the section on \"the purposes of speaking.\" While there may be more detail in terms of breaking down the purposes than any given instructor would mention in class, the overall questions of purpose (why do we speak?) and the importance of purpose (both in terms of audience relationship and the analysis of a given speaker) are both general and still very useful. I did not feel any particular bias (besides one to the importance and relevance of speech making, which I would expect from any such textbook) while reading the book. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"There is nothing that will make the text become obsolete or useless at any point in the immediate future. Examples are relatively timeless and will be easily updatable with little need to change much of the underlying text. Many examples are related to the regular occurrences of college life (class, roommates, homework, social events) and others to political questions unlikely to disappear in the near future (health care, immigration, popular trust/distrust of politicians). The book does an excellent job maintaining a balance of \"up to date\" and \"will  soon be out of date.\"","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Even very late in the text, there is very little jargon that would interfere with a student's ability to read and understand. This is especially useful since so many courses would likely not use the text from beginning to end directly, but likely jump around or include sections on informative or persuasive speaking when those first come up in class (even though they are at the end of the text). The writing style is very clear, if anything, it could be criticized for remaining too simplistic with a very basic but certainly very clear sentence structure. Since public speaking courses are often introductory level for beginning undergraduates, this is not much of a problem. There is a clear difference between the way most of the speeches are written (with more advanced and intricate prose) and the way the instruction itself appears (basic and straightforward). That could be considered good or bad, I found it mostly neutral. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I did not find any instances within the text where there was inconsistency in the terminology or framework of the text. The tone is continually instructive, it retains a solid dialogic and pedagogical relationship with the reader. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The large-scale chapters are well  divided and easy to use. While the chapters build well on one another, I think there would be little to no confusion caused by jumping around the book. There are smaller chapter divisions (which are somewhat hard to find without a more explicit table of context or index) but which could probably be used in much the same way if someone cared to define reading assignments that precisely. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"It is hard to determine where chapters about specific speeches should fall within an overall text. The authors of this book have chosen to place them at the end, which may make sense, but probably makes it difficult to assign the book in order, since likely some of these speeches need to come earlier on. The progression of the chapters makes logical sense beyond that, moving from the pre-requisites of speaking, to the process of topic selection, audience analysis, speech construction and delivery. Some increased discussion of ways the text could be used may be helpful to guide instructors and make their adoption of the book for their course more seamless. ","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"There are no substantial issues that make anything unusable or unreadable. I was not distracted. The text, however, does not feel like a traditionally published text book, it feels notably lacking in images, color and typesetting. These are minor issues for me, in comparison to its usability, intelligence and cost, but should be noted. I cannot imagine it confusing the reader, but it may engage them less if they are students not used to the extreme \"textually-centric\" notion of the book. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Any grammatical issues were extremely minor. I did not notice anything routine or systematic. At no point did the grammar interfere with my ability to understand the meaning of the text. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I did not find any actively offensive issues in the book. There seemed to be little discussion of questions including gender, race, class, sex, ability in a way that could be productive. The text seems to take a traditionally \"neutral\" stance by not addressing these issues and trying not to alienate any readers of the \"public speaking advice.\"\r\n\r\nThe book does make good decisions regarding the use of inclusive language and the examples do seem to use individuals with traditionally gender-diverse names. The examples of famous speeches do include non-white speakers, but again, often speaking on relatively innocuous questions. It is not retrogressive, it is not revolutionary. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":270,"first_name":"Sarah","last_name":"Zwick-Tapley","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Colorado State University","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book is an excellent introduction to public speaking.  I especially appreciate that ethics is covered in addition to standard public speaking information.  This book does not however have a table of contents, index, glossary or \"search\" feature.  As a result, it is very difficult to locate specific topics quickly.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"All of the information and examples given are, to the best of my knowledge, accurate.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"With one exception, the book is up-to-date and should be relevant for the next ten years.  There is one reference to The Colbert Report.  Since the publication of this book, that television show has gone off the air.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook is extremely easy to read.  Jargon is immediately defined.  High school and college students would not have any problems in understanding the text.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The terminology and framework are consistent throughout the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"All chapters are broken down into easily divisible subsections.  It would be very easy to change the order of some chapters without creating confusion among the students.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics in this textbook are arranged in a very clear and logical order.","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"My main complaint of this textbook is its lack of a table of contents, index, glossary and \"search\" feature.  It would be very difficult for students to quickly find specific information.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no grammatical errors.  I did, however, find a number of spacing typos (pgs. 7, 73, 76, 108, 113, 359 and 600).  I am not sure if this is a result of an error on my personal computer or an error on the part of the authors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This textbook does an excellent job of reflecting diversity in our society.  The examples used include different backgrounds, genders, races and ages.  Inclusivity is one of the topics covered in this book.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"It is a shame that this book has no table of contents, index, glossary or \"search\" feature.  Otherwise, it is a very accessible, comprehensive and well-organized text.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":307,"first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Estrella","position":"Dept. Chair/ Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covered many of the essential elements of a public speaking textbook. It has a thorough overview of ethics and public speaking, communication apprehension, organizing/outlining, informative speaking, visuals aids, persuasive speaking and the relavnce/importance of public speaking throughout. One foundational aspect of public speaking was missing in this book. In my review I noticed that there was little reference to the classical roots of public speaking, rhetoric and the canons of rhetoric. There was some mention of ethos, pathos and logos but these were minimal. Also the section on credibility was limited. I found the chapter on researching to be on the long side. I understand this is an important part of a speech however most public speaking classes have some sort of writing prerequisite which covers rearching themes. The part on attention getters could include more strategies. ","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"There are many mentions of relevant communication theories which many books don't cover. The myths about communication apprehension I found to be accurate and overall the book covers many of the things I cover in my classes. I found the ethics pyramid to be a nice touch. The part on researching accurately explained how there is much more than just google as well as some of the limitations of such searches. The coverage of communication beyond public speaking was great too. Since there was little to no mention about rhetoric, I find that as a big inaccuracy since rhetoric is the foundation to this area of study. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The coverage on visual aids was very up-to-date as well as examples throughout. Some of the examples could be seen as too current and may be obsolete in a few years but periodic updating should allievate any of these concerns. I like the coverage on technological difficulties because that would always be relevant. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This book was very easy to follow and understand. Any jargon from the discipline was explained and didn't assume the student would know. Some typos here and there. I like the inclusion of theories especially theories of persuasion (ELM). ","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"Yes, but from a very communication science basis. I would have liked to see more from rhetoric. ","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"Yes, but I would have to reorganize it according to how I present the information in my class.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"I liked how the content of a speech came before delivery but when it got to organization it was disorganized. The sections on organization seemed disorganized and jumped around a lot and could come across as confusing. I would like to see more coherence to the sections on organization. I might have to switch things around if I were to use this book. The part about Informative Speeches could have been presented earlier. ","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"I don't know if there is another was to view the book other than pdf but I had trouble accessing the tables/figures. Also, there is no index nor table of contents in the pdf version. I know you have to access the TOC through another site but all versions of the text should have this.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Some typos. No grammatical errors noticed. ","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"It came across to me as mostly culturally void. Most of the text read as if there was no reference to culture. There were a few examples here and there but I would have liked to see more. Some books I've reviewed have chapters dedicated to culture and how to reach your diverse audience members. It would be fine to mention cultural specifics from diverse backgrounds. ","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"Overall, I liked this book and see myself as potentially adopting it. I liked how it had an extensive coverage of the basics of public speaking and relates many themes/ concepts back to the foundational ideas (i.e., audience analysis). There is also coverage of many things I don't see in many public speaking texts such as, dialogic theory, NCA Credo for Ethical Communication, free speech, myth about communication apprehension, oral and written style of communication, listening, tips on using notecards, using animals as visual aids (I've been asked this), public speaking pyramid and communication theories. There was, however, little to no mention about rhetoric nor credibility (I would have to supplement this information). I liked how the author included personal examples (nervousness about giving a speech). Conclusion, I would consider using this text if a few tweaks were made. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":313,"first_name":"Jonna","last_name":"Ziniel","position":"Department Chair","institution_name":"Valley City State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers all major components of public speaking in general. However, there are some major components missing that you will most likely need to supplement. There is not a section on group presentations, group dynamics, or leadership. If you tend to cover communication theories in class, such as broad areas of communication, there is not a clear section for that either.  It DOES cover the different models of communication, so there is some theoretical discussion in the book, but it does seem to be lacking. This is easily supplemented, but if you choose to use this book, you should plan to supplement in those key areas. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is clear and easy to read. It is student- friendly and has a minimal number of errors. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"the book contains the standard approach to public speaking, and covers relevant topics. I think there could be some updates that include giving speeches digitally, but otherwise it does seem like a book that can last for many years without many updates. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing style is very accessible to students and easy to follow. The language used is vivid and descriptive. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book uses the correct terminology and is consistent in the terms it chooses to use. ","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"I wish the book had chapter headings on the top of each page for ease in finding each chapter. It is difficult to find a certain chapter while scrolling through the entire book, so it could be much more user friendly. The units and subunits themselves were clear and easy to understand, but the use of those units and subunits were at times difficult to follow. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The flow is fantastic and easy to follow. Students will enjoy how each chapter builds upon the previous chapter, and the class is able to move in a logical fashion by following the chapters of the book. ","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Navigation for the text could be much better. It is not easy to navigate through the text, and having an interactive menu would be extremely helpful. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The grammar used in the book is good. There are few spelling and grammatical errors. The key terms you would present to a public speaking class are present. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I wish the book would speak more to diversity and public speaking. It does cover SOME aspects, but this area could have been much richer and more well-defined. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This is a fantastic supplement to the classroom, and easy to use whether you are brand new to teaching the class or a seasoned professional. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":341,"first_name":"Kari","last_name":"Frisch","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Central Lakes College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook actually covered more than what I was anticipating.  I falsely thought it was going to be more of a handbook or guide, something I'd use supplementaly. The actual pdf version does not start with a chapter page of contents, nor does it end with a glossary. I think the page of contents would be useful as it would help outline the content as well as help students navigate to topics more easily.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Each textbook takes a slightly different approach to communication topics. This is no exception but is more comprehensive than I anticipated.  For the most part the content seems accurate and error-free. There are some numbering errors (in end-of-chapter assessments) and the occasional word misspelled (more of a spacing issue as in on page 168 \"afinding\").  It seemed to address some issues with cultural sensitivity (e.g. ethical language choices that include member identification/labels) and exercises that state unbiased examples like \"one audience will consist of business men and women...\".","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"Some of the content and statistics are dated. Even in the book's description there is evidence that updating might need to be done very soon: \"Currently, the amount of information available to people doubles every 18 months and is expected to double weekly by 2015.\" This is then later contradicted in chapter one, \"Researcher Norman W. Edmund estimates that by 2020 the amount of knowledge in the world will double every seventy- three days\".  One study referenced was from 1975--maybe there is a more current study that could be used instead?\n\nThere were other references to pop culture, some newer than others, which could also help engage students but at the same time risk it being dated (Stephen Colbert Report, House). However, at other points they are referenced more statistically so perhaps it gives it a little more longevity.  The latest date reference is 2011 so that's already setting it up to be a bit outdated already. There are also several links and that can be dangerous for a live site as those are beyond the authors’ scope to keep active. I noticed several broken links already (mostly with the document links).\n","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"I think the language used in this textbook is very accessible. This is one of the strengths of this particular resource. There's not very many graphics but the text is clear. It is something that college students should be able to read easily.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The framework for the resource seemed to be consistent for the most part with learning objectives identified in the sub-headings and the key takeaways listed at the end. Exercises seemed to end each sub-unit and an end-of-chapter exercise (assessment) ended each chapter.  So yes, I think there was consistency in the framework.\n\nOne thought that came to me after going through the rest of these questions is the fact that the text did not highlight any terms like some textbooks do.  This is sometimes a nice visual for students.\n","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"There are 19 chapters, not 18 as stated in the description. Most chapters seem to have logical groupings. They are usually broken down into sub-headings which break up the reading into more manageable chunks.  Note: Chapter 19 is not a typical chapter, it is more of a summary. The authors at one point refer to it as an appendix.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"It was helpful that the text laid out the learning objectives at the start of each sub-unit heading. That helped set the framework for what followed. Likewise, the \"key takeaways\" at the end of units were also helpful.\n\nThe \"end-of-chapter assessments\" were a bit confusing and messy, especially the first time it was encountered as the heading was \"chapter exercises\" and it directly followed the same colored highlighted section titled \"exercises\". Perhaps if this had been highlighted in a different color it would have helped.  There were numbering and spacing issues as well.  There was only one number in the text and there were two answers in the following answer key. So that wasn't very clear either. \n\nI also thought chapter 19, was a bit confusing with the chapter written as an introduction, \"In this appendix, we have introduced you to the basics of effective public speaking...All the concepts discussed in this appendix will be more fully discussed in the other chapters in this book.\"\n\nAs mentioned, I would have liked to a content guide included in the online resource itself.  I think this helps students see the overall outline of the resource as well as helps them navigate to specific content more quickly through the use of page number references. \n\nAlso, having just studied some ADA best practices, I wonder about the left-justifications of the margins without spacing between paragraphs.  That makes the screen very text heavy on the left side without any breaks.  The line spacing however does seem wide enough to meet recommendations, but I just wonder if the left alignment would be distracting to some learners. There’s also not a lot of breaks for supplemental graphics which could also appeal to your visual learners.\n\nThere's also the issue that this font is not ADA compliant.  Sans-serif fonts are less distracting for those with visual impairments. The headings appear to be in a different font as they are sans serif along with the text in those highlighted areas such as the \"key takeaways\" and exercises, but \"sidebars\" (like NCA Credo on page 24) were back to a serif font. So there seems to be some inconsistency there with ADA best practices.\n","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"In the beginning the links I tried seemed to work, however, when attempting to get back to the text, the reader is sent to page one, which could be a hard adjustment for students as they then have to scroll back to find where they were at in the chapter. Closing the window closes out the whole resource (linked site and textbook pdf). So perhaps as instructors it might be helpful to suggest students copy links into a new browser window to avoid these frustrations as I don't know if anything else can be done by the publishers that would be similar to what many of us can do in an LMS or learning management system (e.g. having links open automatically in a new window). Again, I wonder about the ability of screen readers to navigate the URLS (descriptive caption verses full link address) and the need to scroll back to last spot in text.\n\nLater I found links that were not active and would bring up error messages. For example, I could not access 4/5 templates provided in table 7.3. The issue seemed to occur more often with accessing documents versus live websites but instructors do just need to be aware of this, and try all active links you want to use if choosing this OER.\n\nThere are also times when spacing is used before subheadings and other times it does not appear to be used which can make reading more difficult. (Page 8, 13, 21, 30, 37 etc.)\n\nAs mentioned before there are numeration issues with the end-of-chapter assessments. There are also issues with spacing/indentation in those areas as well, at least when viewed on a mac. Only the first question is numbered and the spacing for answer options aren't in alignment so that's distracting. This occurs also in other parts of the text with chapter sub-units (e.g. page 198 where the only sub-point that has an indentation is \"a\".)\n\nIt was also very confusing in chapter 6 knowing where the written speech example started and stopped. There was no differentiation in the text, font, spacing, colored highlighting (i.e. text box), or alignment which indicating it was the referenced speech. I found that extremely confusing, especially when asked to go back and compare one speech to the other.\n","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I did not find significant issues here.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The unit on audience analysis touches on cultural variables but could have gone into a little more depth. This would be an area I think that would need some supplemental material.  For example, \"group membership\" did not go much further than academic major. However, I also appreciated that gender and race weren't discussed in stereotypical terms in this unit. Again, I think this is where instructors would need to add some additional discussion/resources.  \n\nThe text also discusses insensitive humor, which is also an important topic.\n","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"The textbook bills itself as one combining \"practicality and ethics\".  I was anticipating that it would be more of a handbook or supplemental resource and it was much more textbook-like, if I may, than I anticipated.  It covers more than the basics. There weren't many self-assessments, what was included was practical. For example, I appreciated the public speaking ethics checklist on pages 37-38. There are also some suggested exercises that could be used as good assignments or just for student reference.\n\nI also liked that some of the exercises directly related to issues relevant to campuses.  For example, the exercise on page 41 asks students to find their campus code on free speech. Keeping students engaged to their content and their context is important to me.\n\nI do have some reservations about using this textbook from an ADA standpoint. Besides the font, links, and spacing issues mentioned already, some tables are sub-divided (as in table 9.2) which is not best practice as I understand it and can be confusing when used with a screen reader. So those ADA issues concern me. But I do have to say that doing this review changed my opinion of whether or not this OER could replace a current textbook. To be honest I thought this would be something I'd consider more as a supplemental resource.  However, now, if the ADA issues were resolved I would consider using it in place of a current hardcopy textbook and add some additional resources in as supplemental to accompany this particular resource instead of vice-versa.\n","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":344,"first_name":"Kathryn","last_name":"Black Lance","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Central Lakes Community and Technical College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook covers all of the necessary topics included in your typical Public Speaking Introductory course to include audience analysis, ethics, listening, organization, outlining, research, language, and topic selection.  It has specific chapters devoted solely to informative, persuasive, and entertaining speeches.  It also had specific chapters devoted just to the Introduction and Conclusion which provided nice emphasis on the bookends of a strong speech. The only topic that was not covered in this text that is covered in my current text is Group speaking.  I don't see this as a deal breaker with selecting this text, it just means that additional content would need to be added if an instructor wanted that component included. Most topics were adequately or thoroughly covered. The text needs a Table of Contents and / or an index as a part of the document.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Most information seems very accurate, unbiased, and free of factual errors. Credibility could be added to the textbook by adding background information on the authors and comprehensive reference information at the end of the textbook.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content of Public Speaking is rather timeless, but finding examples that multiple generations are familiar with is the challenge. This is a strength of the text.  It includes up to date references to include TED Talks, YouTube, and statistical predictions for 2020.  It also includes live links to relevant speeches in each of the Entertainment speech (Ch 18) categories such as Tiger Wood's apology speech, Colbert's Roast of George W. Bush, and a Speech of Presentation gone wrong with Taylor Swift and Kanye West.  Most of the references used throughout are still household names, but should be replaced as similar examples occur in the future.  Replacing these events would be rather simple.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is very clear and easy to understand.  It uses a reading level and vocabulary that will be appropriate for your typical beginning speech course at community and technical colleges as well as four year Universities. All jargon was appropriately explained or illustrated with timely examples or illustrations.  I would like to see clearer and more complete illustrations of the Models of Communication.  I prefer the traditional Transactional Model of Communication where it also includes Context, Noise, Channels, Message and illustrates the back and forth motion.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"The overall feel, reading level, and conversational style of the text seemed to be consistent throughout.  Visually, there seemed to be some inconsistency.  My training on textbook selection encouraged us to look for a nice balance of words, pictures, and white space.  I would have liked to see more illustrations in the book.  There also seemed to be little white space in the text and inconsistent spacing. There was a lack of spacing between paragraphs throughout most of the book except in Chapters 6 and 7 (spacing was better in these chapters).  White space offers students a psychological break and indicates a change in topics.  I am not sure if it is an interface issue, but I saw this as inconsistent. I also would like to see key terms  in bold or italics. I only noticed this occuring in Chapter 5 (Italics).  I would like to see this occur throughout the text. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"This text can easily be divided and assigned out of order or in sections. As mentioned earlier, a Table of Contents and an Index would improve the modularity of the book so students are able to find the various topics of study.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Topics are presented in a relatively logical flow.  It seems that authors always struggle where to place the chapters on the specific types of speeches. It seems awkward to wait until the end, but yet there does not seem to be a natural place to insert them without breaking up the foundational skills of speech writing. These authors placed them at the end which is similar to the book I use now. I think it works, but does require that I assign a later chapter earlier in the semester in order to spread the speeches out throughout the semester.  I am not sure if there is a way around that.  One thing that I recommend is using varying Font size and indentation to add clarity to the organization of the individual sections (Ex. on page 92 the heading above says \"6 Ways to Improve Your Critical Listening\" and the subsections listing these six things use the same font, font size, and indentation so there is no differentiation between the heading and the smaller sections. Another example is on page 116.)","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Most of the interface is very good.  The charts and assessments are fantastic.  The only interface that was off was found in several chapter assessments.  It would have numbering for the first question (1.) and then the second question would be indented with no numbering.  The only other question was whether the squished text was a spacing issue or an interface issue.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any glaring grammatical issues other than the errors mentioned with the end of the chapter assessments.  There were a few instances where a sentence seemed rather long, but for the most part, it was very strong grammatically.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook does a good job of addressing the different facets of inclusive language, ethnic identity, and audience analysis.  I was surprised that socioeconomic status was not included in one of the discussed categories in audience analysis (it is listed at the beginning but not expanded on).  The textbook incorporates a good variety of ethnicities in it's examples and illustrations.  I found the incorporation of the term Chronocentrism very good.  It demonstrates strong cultural competence on the part of the authors.  It is hard to find that term incorporated in an intercultural text much less a Public Speaking book.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Unless another text would sweep me off my feet, I am very interested in adopting this text for my course.  While there are imperfections, the strengths of the book and the cost savings far outweigh the areas for improvement.  The strengths that I see that have not been mentioned yet include: 1. a fantastic chapter on Ethics that incorporates the NCA Code of Ethics and strongly addresses plagiarism, 2. an important discussion on Powerless vs. powerful speech, 3. practical questionnaires and checklists that help students understand things like Who is an expert?, Is a source biased?, attributes of a strong Thesis, and the components of Monroe's Motivated Sequence., 4. Valuable links and resources (see chapters 6, 7, \u0026amp; 8 especially). 5. Links to actual speeches that can be used for analysis. 6. A list of objectives at the beginning of each chapter and take-aways and assessments at the end of each chapter.  The only other thing that would sweeten this deal is if there was a test bank for this text.   I look forward to implementing this zero cost, relevant, and engaging text into my public speaking classroom. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":359,"first_name":"Stacie","last_name":"Williams","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text stands up very well against many popular public speaking textbooks from large publishing houses that I've used. There are well written chapters for all of the concepts covered in a 100/200 level public speaking course.  In terms of content, I only have three problems. First, there is no table of contents or index. Second, there is no glossary for students to reference. And lastly, the chapter on persuasive speaking (chapter 17) is lacking some essential information about argumentation. Namely steps to constructing an argument, identifying logical fallacies, and ethos, pathos, logos appeals. I would add to the persuasion chapter before teaching from this text. In terms of content, the persuasive speaking chapter is the weakest point of this text. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The information presented in the text seems very timely. The first chapter includes information about speaking in the 21st century via media like vlogs and TEDTalks.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":" Theories and concepts presented in the text are very foundational to public speaking. The examples presented of these concepts and theories were timely/contemporary and are integrated in a way that would make them easy to update in the future. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Appropriate language for the level of the audience is used. The chapters were easy to read and used discipline specific language when necessary.  ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The format of each chapter is consistent and sets a tone of predictability in layout/design. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Some of the earlier chapters contain larger blocks of text that could benefit from being broken up. Starting in chapter 6 the examples are more clearly identified/highlighted through paragraph dates and indents. The chapters would be easy to assign in any order, or having the numbering changed to reflect the order in which readings would be assigned. The only caution is chapters are renumbered is that within the text of come chapters there are references to find more details in other chapters. Those references have the chapters numbered, so do a word find on the document to consistently replace all chapter number references. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text was relatively easy to navigate. If each chapter had a listing of the subsections that would be easier for students to navigate. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Each chapter is broken into smaller sections. From a layout standpoint it would be nice to have a listing of all chapter subsection numbers and names to follow. It would act as a preview of what's to come in the chapter. Some of the exercises at the end of the chapters have some display problems (pdf version). There are multiple choice questions in the exercise section that are not numbered, or the response options are not presented in a consistent manner. Something that could be easily fixed in the MS Word version. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There did not appear to be any grammatical errors in the text. There were some font inconsistencies. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The section on language use did a nice job of addressing cultural relevance and sensitivity to diversity. The audience analysis chapter is inline with other industry textbooks, though I think there is room to more fully address cultural relevance and diversity. The psychographic section of the textbook could explore this topic more fully. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This textbook isn't \"perfect\", but I've never taught from one that provided all of the information I wanted my students to learn. What I like about this text is that it's inline with many other industry textbooks and it provides me the opportunity to customize the text by adding or removing content. I believe that it provides a great framework for instructors to build their course upon. The lack of materials like a glossary, index, or even a test bank might be a problem for a new instructor. But, if you've taught public speaking for even a year you should be able to use this text without making significant changes to your curriculum. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":402,"first_name":"Shannon","last_name":"Crawford Barniskis","position":"Instructor, Doctoral Candidate, Consultant","institution_name":"University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is quite comprehensive, and covers similar materials to other public speaking texts. Where it stands out is in its excellent and clear advice for the students. The advice on dealing with nervousness, analyzing one’s audience and adapting the speech to them, selecting and narrowing a topic, research, building arguments, creating speeches that unroll in effective stages, building credibility, persuasion, and the physical presentation of a speech was all quite strong. \n\nThe information about different listening styles will be useful for people throughout their lives, not simply in the context of public speaking, but it will definitely help those who wonder if their audience is paying attention.\nThe book even includes information on citation styles and research tools. It addresses a very wide variety of speaking circumstances, including key notes and toasts. I would have loved to see a specific section aimed at presenting a poster—there is little available on this topic and posters are being used more in university and academic settings. This is a type of public presentation that is challenging but rewarding if done well, since it is so interactive. When done poorly, it is a waste of everyone’s time. \n\nSome of the less effective information centered on specific presentation aids such as slideshows—students would be better served to integrate this text with other texts for this topic, such as Duarte’s Slideology. \n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The book is largely accurate and unbiased. There is one area in which the content is uneven, however. The ethics discussion is sometimes thin to the point of being misleading.\n\n\nFor example, he book says, “One option for assessing intent is to talk with others about how ethical they think a behavior is; if you get a variety of answers, it might be a sign that the behavior is not ethical and should be avoided” (p. 19),  are highly problematic from an ethical theory perspective. Issues that have a variety of ethical answers should not be avoided, but engaged with thoughtfully and using ethical frameworks to analyze. And polling one’s acquaintances about a behavior doesn’t determine its ethical basis, merely your acquaintances perspectives/cultural ideologies. Statements like this made me question this book’s aim to teach “ethical” public speaking. In addition, the discussion about means-ends is so oversimplified as to be deceptive. \n\n\nHowever, the thorough look at the National Communication Association Credo for Ethical Communication redeemed this section. While the authors’ discussion of ethical theory is problematic, the information they give regarding information honesty, acceptance of diverse perspectives, and other parts of this credo, is sound.\nThe checklist of ethical considerations the authors provide is particularly useful. The end-of-chapter ethical questions are interesting, and provide scenarios that offer good fodder for ethical conversations.\n","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book is relevant, and uses up-to-date terminology and examples, most of which will not swiftly become dated. Some references, such as to the TV show \"The Office\" will become dated.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Clear writing, easy to understand. The book is often funny. The examples are clear and demonstrate the points the authors intended. \n\n\n","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent, clear, authoritative, and well-researched and supported. It builds in a logical fashion, so that by the end of the book, the students will have a clear understanding of what it takes to be a good public speaker.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is easily teachable, with clearly demarcated sections that can be used separately or cumulatively. Good use of learning objectives to highlight key ideas, “key takeaways” do a wonderful job of synthesizing the information.\n\nThe exercises occasionally look like busy work, but many are quite helpful. They would be particularly useful in a class focused entirely on speaking. In a class that merely incorporates speaking as part of the learning competencies, the exercises are less important than the excellent advice on speaking. However, the book offers such a clear and compelling of the process of argumentation that I could see it being used in a writing course, or in the context of many other courses that ask students to create arguments in papers, speeches, posters, or other presentations.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics in the text are organized well. There are some topics I would not expect to see highlighted in a text of this nature, such as \"librarians are your friends\" and information on how to research a topic. These topics are so welcome and helpful that these parts of the text could be assigned in a wide variety of classes that require a research project. This really made the book stand out for me.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The book's formatting and interface are largely clear and easy to use and understand. I do find the lack of indents or spaces separating paragraphs or blockquotes, and the many other spacing errors distracting. Formatting issues signal laziness to me. I read the pdf, which should not have exhibited such formatting errors in the way a converted ebook format could.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't see any grammatical errors in the text.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The books is culturally relevant in that is makes students aware of sensitive topics, ways to present them, and it challenges assumption about cultural superiority. \nMore importantly, the book teaches sensitivity by explaining how and why students should listen ethically and be open minded. It presents audience  analysis less as profiling than as ensuring the speaker is meeting the audience on respectful and sincere terms.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I teach applied public speaking in an Information Technology Ethics class, and I was intrigued by the promise of “ethics” in the title. It seemed a perfect confluence of topics to assign as a guide for my students as they prepared their speeches. While public speaking is not the main focus of this class, it is a critical skill to be learned by all of my students. Students will be wrestling with challenging ethical issues in their careers, and often have to persuade or inform their colleagues about ethical problems. I will be assigning parts of this book for future sections of this ethics class. One of the competencies for this class involves being able to communicate ethics issues clearly and convincingly. To that end, I want to ensure my students understand their ethical duty in the midst of that communication process: they must acknowledge any of their biases when possible, and seek to present as many sides of the issue as possible. The books does a particularly good job of describing exactly this process.\n\nI have been a consultant for 14 years, and have read and used a variety of public speaking texts in my work. This book is relevant to real-world public speaking needs, while also being useful in a classroom setting.\n\nThe book provides a solid theoretical basis for the public speaking, from Shannon \u0026amp; Weaver’s signal/noise information theory to Bakhtin. Da Vito’s theoretical framework is a great basis for speakers to consider. Good historical grounding as well—the book notes ancient Greek and Latin speech types, for example. Later in the book, the authors usefully talk about cognitive dissonance theory and other theory that makes it difficult to persuade listeners to one’s perspective.\n\nHIGHLIGHTS: ethical checklists, research tips, active listening and assessments of the audience.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":407,"first_name":"Richard","last_name":"Schutta","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"University of Wisconsin- Stout","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This is by the best text book on public speaking that I have seen recently in terms of the overall content. What I would like to see is a better glossary of key terms. Yet, what makes this a great text is the break down of key takeaways and more importantly the end of section exercises that I find lacking in other public speaking texts. \n\nThe thoroughness of the text is what really has captured me. The text doesn't skim over key concepts, but instead really provides a detailed explanation with numerous references to scholarly supporting material  for students. The use of in-text sources provides a great illustration of the comprehensiveness of the text. This book really does a great job in touching on concepts like attention span or stages of listening that I have not seen in other public speaking books or developed out like this text. ","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"I would have liked to see a reference or works cited page included. In this age of information I strongly encourage my students to cite all their sources. I think it should be important for a text book, especially open textbooks to include a reference page. In addition, this would help the students understand how to prepare a reference page. More importantly,  also if a student wanted to look at another (s)more in-depth they would have a detailed list to refer to. \n\nOtherwise, overall the information is accurate and students will get a wealth of information on public speaking from this text. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book is update. In a topic like public speaking, the key concepts and methods do not change all that often, or at all. I like the various references to more current speeches (Obama) with more classic speeches (MLK's \"I Have a Dream\"). Often texts will update and remove \"older\" references, this text has found the perfect balance. \n\n","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I loved that this text took the terminology of public speaking and made it understandable and easy to read at the same time. I actually found reading this text incredibly enjoyable. There isn't an overload of technical terminology without an easy to understand description to follow. Students will find this text more enjoyable to read than the \"guidebooks\" that are on the market. \n\n","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Everything in the text flows consistently from section to section and chapter to chapter. Concepts clearly build off each other. The writing is consistent as are the use of examples and sources throughout. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I really liked the book is divided. When I teach my courses, I don't start at page one and work all the way through, I like to jump around, so the way this text is divided is perfect! More ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I thought the text was consistent in organization with other texts. However, I would maybe put speaker apprehension before the chapter on ethics. Ethics is certainly important, most students coming into a public speaking class are going to be nervous and really dreading it, so I think focusing on speaking apprehension in the first or second chapter makes the most sense. This way too, the ethics chapter can lead off developing speeches. \n\nI would also suggest a table of content be included in the PDF version that way a student can quickly find the start of a chapter or section and go directly to it. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found no issues with the interface. Everything appeared properly and even printed clean if a student needed to print a page or pages. All the images were clean without issue. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found a few places where spaces were missed between, but nothing else of major significance. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text does a good job of incorporating cultural relevance into the content (e.g. Chapter 5) and provides clear examples of some words to use or not use. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, I would highly recommend this book to my university and others teaching public speaking. It is by far the most comprehensive book that I personally have seen. It is easy to read, students will not get bored reading this text and it provides great examples and resources for the students and any instructor. \n\nI would only suggest inclusion of a reference page, a glossary, and a table of contents. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":416,"first_name":"Karen","last_name":"Krumrey-Fulks","position":"Lead Faculty","institution_name":"Lane Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook is backed with current research and great examples making it an interesting and informative read.  It reaches out to students by providing relevant stories and illustrations along with bibliographic footnotes.  Unfortunately, those footnotes lead to nothing.  There is no bibliography or index or glossary of any sort.  There is nothing at the end of the chapter, nor at the end of the book to indicate reference sources.  Student who want to learn more, or to check their secondary references (as encouraged in Chapter 7 on researching the topic) are out of luck.  And for those interested in chapter topics, there is no table of contents list either.\n\nStudents looking for bold-faced vocabulary words will have to highlight them on their own.  The words DO exist, and are very easily understood, but the book doesn't provide that common study help that many students rely on.  What is helpful though, is that each chapter section does provide a learning objectives box,and key takeaways box plus useful exercises and/or self-quizzes to test knowledge.  There are also additional links to resources on the web that I am sure students and instructors will find very helpful.\n\nIn the bigger picture, this textbook might not have all of the stylistic conventions that students and instructors have learned to appreciate in a textbook, but the content covers all that I would require in a public speaking textbook and more.  I was pleasantly surprised at the scope and the depth of this book.  Content-wise it can stand up to anything that's out there.\n\n","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"The research for the book appears to be accurate, but without the bibliography it's hard to judge with certainty.  In my reading there wasn't any information that drew red flags for being incorrect or biased.  What did stand out was the lack of proof-reading.  There were numerous places where words ran together without spacing.  In the outline section, which is typically the most difficult thing for my students to learn, the formatting was horrendous.  Yes, it is often difficult to get computers to format outlines correctly because of auto-correct, but students rely HEAVILY on the text when creating their own outlines, and what is shown is NOT what I want any student emulating!  There needs to be some serious work done in the formatting of this chapter for the examples to be acceptable.  Proofreading could move what is a good book to a desirable book.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Public speaking is not a subject that changes quickly as the generations go by.  Much of what does change is stylistic or technological in nature and we just adapt the basics to the changes.  It's not likely that this text will become obsolete in a short period of time.  The text and chapter arrangement is relatively timeless.  Even the examples that are used are explained in such a way that they will be relevant for the decade to come.\n\nA great way to ensure relevance and longevity would be to improve the readability.  If students are reading the text electronically, paragraphs need to be indented or delineated clearly.  Having everything flush left, makes for a confusing read at best.  When looking at screen after screen of dense wording becomes difficult for the eyes and will discourage students from spending much time with the chapters.  Indenting paragraphs, creative use of \"white\" space, and illustrations will lengthen the amount of time a student spends with the content.  As it says in chapter 15 (Presentation Aids: Design and Usage), \"presenting [is] much more than just a collection of words and ideas.\"  (pg. 473)","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I found the prose of the book to be very readable and interesting.  There were many vocabulary terms that were defined in such a way that I often appreciated the clarity of the definition.  The examples were clear, current, and relevant.  Much of the book was easy to relate to and invited the reader into the topic.  \n\nThe only aspect of the book that wasn't clear was why chapter 19 (Your First Speech) exists.  It's in a different typeface, and seems to be an afterthought, or maybe a conclusion to the book, because it summarizes much of what the previous chapters covered.  I suspect that a simple checklist in an appendix would be a good substitution.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Moving from chapter to chapter, or even section to section within a chapter, was smooth and easy to follow.  There were not any consistency issues that caused any problems for me.  The authors referred back to specific sections at times to keep the topic relevant, and when checked, the references all were correct.  The web links all worked as well.\n","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"In general, the modularity was effective.  As I was reading, it was easy to figure out which sections or which chapters could be eliminated for my student needs without losing the integrity of the book.  I liked the ways that the subheadings were labeled with numerals so that a continuity was established making it easier to realign as needed.  The outline chapter uses some lengthy examples that could possibly be shortened, but overall, the modularity is stellar.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization of the chapters (excluding 19) makes sense and is fairly typical of most public speaking books.  It's logical and follows a linear fashion from the rational of public speaking to the completion of the speech.  I appreciated the review of the fundamentals of the communication process and listening at the beginning to the discussion of language choice and delivery near the end.  \n\nThe structure and flow of the book could be improved for readers by proofreading and stylistic devices.  Students need a bibliography and index.  Bold vocabulary terms help student know what's important.  Indented or other stylistic devices to delineate paragraphs.  Use of white space and/or illustrations to break up the huge blocks of words.  \n\nJust as giving a speech is not just about the message, an effective book is not just getting the words on the page.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"In general, the navigation throughout the book is easy.  With the exception of the lack of a table of context, index, and bibliography, it is fairly easy to navigate throughout the book.  The links to the web are easy to follow and working.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were a few grammatical errors and run-on words.  A good proofreader can fix these problems easily.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the written of this book.  As I was reading though it, I was always thinking of ways to make it work for our public speaking classes.  There are some things that I would change, and I certainly would do some proofreading and stylistic revisions, but this is a solid book that is engagingly written.  I believe that with a little tweaking here and there--plus an instructors \"unique\" classroom presence--students would find this book appealing and useful.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the written of this book.  As I was reading though it, I was always thinking of ways to make it work for our public speaking classes.  There are some things that I would change, and I certainly would do some proofreading and stylistic revisions, but this is a solid book that is engagingly written.  I believe that with a little tweaking here and there--plus an instructors \"unique\" classroom presence--students would find this book appealing and useful.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":430,"first_name":"Leslie","last_name":"Harris","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"This is a good basic public speaking textbook. It covers the main topics that one would expect in a public speaking textbook and includes plenty of practical advice. The sections on ethics and organization are particularly helpful, and the writing is generally light and engaging.\n\nDepending on how an instructor is using the book, a potential weakness is a lack of rhetorical theory. My preference would be that the authors use rhetorical theory to explain why students may be making particular choices in their speeches. The audience, argument, and persuasive sections are particularly weak in this respect. For example, I would have liked to see not only an understanding of the audience and its demographics, but also a consideration of ways in which an audience can be constructed by the speaker. Important elements of persuasion such as framing and identification are absent. The authors do list figures of speech, but there is little consideration of what those figures do or how they may work in public speaking. \n\nA more serious issue is the lack of table of contents, index, glossary, foot/endnotes, and bibliography. The lack of an index, table of contents, and glossary can make it difficult for students to use the book. The absence of notes and bibliography is particularly problematic when we are attempting to teach students to responsibly cite sources. There are markers of notes in the text of the book, but I have been unable to locate any actual notes to correspond to those markers at the end of the pages, chapters, or the book as a whole. My best guess is that the notes were lost in formatting,  or perhaps the problem is unique to the pdf version that I read. Nonetheless, these elements need to be present in every version of the book.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I don't see any major problems with accuracy. However, the absence of a bibliography and/or notes is a problem.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Some of the examples could use updating, but I don't see any major issues. There are many web links in the text. I did not check if all of those links are still active, but instructors will need to check the links if they are expecting students use them.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The writing is generally clear and accessible. The learning objectives are clearly stated, and there are good summaries at the end of each section. Some of the checklists also seem very helpful. Clarity could be improved by pulling out definitions into a separate box or glossary. Some of the spacing and formatting issues may also introduce confusion.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is generally consistent. I didn't see any major shifts in terminology or anything else that would make me concerned about consistency.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The chapters and subsections are generally clear, and there is an appropriate amount of self referencing. A clear and detailed table of contents would make it easier to assign specific sections and navigate.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization of the chapters are clear and similar to other public speaking textbooks. However, Chapter 19 was strange. It seemed like a general summary of the overall book, and at at least one place the book called the chapter an appendix. The chapter seemed disconnected and didn't seem to add much to the overall text.","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"The book was, at times, difficult to read, and the formatting seemed sloppy. There are no spaces or indents between paragraphs. Throughout the text there are additional spaces or missing spaces between words (such as \"anidiom\" instead of \"an idiom\"). Some of the figures are missing (such as 17.1 in my pdf version), and some tables are formatted in a potentially confusing way. The font occasionally changes. There is no easy way to navigate between chapters and because there isn't a table of contents with page numbers, the reader has to scroll through the book to find a particular section or chapter. However, there are not indicators, like chapter titles, at the top of pages to aid navigation. There are also places where sample speeches are not distinguished from the text, so it can be difficult to see where the text ends and the sample speech begins.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not see any serious grammar issues.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"There is nothing clearly insensitive or offensive in the book, but there also was not a comprehensive treatment of culture. Culture and related issues of power are important to public speaking, and I was disappointed to see only a cursory treatment of these issues.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"This book includes practical advice and contains much of what an instructor would expect in a public speaking textbook. I could see the book functioning as a good supplement to a public speaking course. The interface/formatting issues are a problem. Perhaps there are different versions of the book, but all versions need to have notes and bibliography.  I am also disappointed by the absence of rhetorical theory. It's impossible to include the content that will satisfy every instructor. However, most public speaking textbooks include at least some rhetorical theory, which I see as important to (1) explaining why we are asking students to make specific decisions and (2) creating a framework for more advanced communication courses.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":440,"first_name":"Katie","last_name":"Trombley","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"M State Community and Technical College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook was one of the most comprehensive public speaking textbooks I have viewed. However, I found it to be lacking in critical thinking skills, such as identifying fallacies. There was no index, glossary, bibliography, or bold keywords throughout text.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The majority of the content is accurate. I would like to see \"noise\" added to The Transactional Model of Communication. The speech outline did not follow the pattern of outlining I use with students. It started with Roman Numerals and then numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. rather than capital letters. A space is needed between “should” and “do” on page 519. The table of contents needs to be updated to include Chapter 19 – Your First Speech.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The overall material is not likely to change in the next few years. MLA and APA guidelines were up-to-date. The biggest drawback in this category is a lot of research cited was over 10 years old.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The authors used a friendly style in their writing that I think would keep students’ attention.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The theme of ethics was seen throughout the book. It was not in every chapter, but some material relates to ethical issues better than other material.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I would have no trouble teaching chapters or sections of chapters out of order from the way they appear in the textbook. There was an appropriate amount of subheadings.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics are presented logically. I did not like how the thesis statement was with the introducing a speech chapter. I like to teach thesis statement with the specific purpose.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Very poor. There was very little use of color, pictures, and other graphics.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This textbook did an excellent job of appealing to college students’ interests such as O, The Oprah Magazine, Ted Talks, and popular television shows. It lacked material on international culture.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"There were useful checklists/questions for students, such as the “Public Speaking Ethics” checklist and “Who is an Expert” questions. The text also included learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter, summaries throughout each chapter, and assessment questions at the end of each chapter. There were numerous websites to provide students with extra resources on a wide variety of topics.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":464,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Edwards","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"South Central College, Faribault campus","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"All the topics one would expect in a public speaking course are included. They reflect the standard topics found in almost all mainstream public speaking textbooks. There are no topics missing.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"No inaccuracies found in book, although a couple of the links did not work. No bias found, and it appears the authors are careful to work diversity into the book, both in the names, examples, and samples included.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Book is very up-to-date, which means it would likely need to be updated just as frequently as a printed version for several reasons. Many of the examples and samples provided are current topics or well-known people. In a few years, those will be out-of-date and will need to be updated. One suggestion is to use the word \"summary\" instead of \"key takeaways\" at the end of each section/chapter. \"Key takeaways\" is really a current buzzword in the business world, which will likely not be known by students and won't be used after the \"freshness of the term\" has worn off.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Book is written using simple, down-to-earth, language. It is very conversational and easy to understand. Public speaking is not an overly-difficult subject to understand, so this really reflects the simplicity of the subject matter.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Book is consistent in terms of terminology and framework (which I am assuming refers to the \"look\" or layout of the book). Each chapter begins with objectives and ends with a summary and some sample exercises/questions. When chapters have subdivisions, those subdivisions also are consistently laid out.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"Text is divided into appropriate chapters and sub-divisions of chapters. However, the book is simply way too long (622 pages!!!) and each page is quite difficult to read due to the fact that each paragraph is NOT separated by a space. This gives each page the appearance of one gigantic paragraph. This makes it a daunting task to read through a page, much less a full chapter (which is very long). This is the reason I wouldn't use this text in my course, although I might use parts of some chapters as supplements to what I currently use.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"While all of the chapters seem appropriate, I'd suggest moving a couple of them. First, chapter 4 and chapter 14 should be switched with each other. Chapter 4 deals with delivery and needs to be discussed before the construction of a speech, not after. Second, chapter 15 should come right after chapter 8. Chapter 15 deals with visual aids, which should be discussed at the end of the support chapter (since visual aids are a form of support). While it's true that an instructor can order the chapters in any way he/she wants, I think these two changes will be the most logical order.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Didn't see any interface issues or navigation problems except for a few links that didn't work. To be honest, there were not very many pictures, graphics, or features. Tables were frequently used, perhaps too much as it doesn't look much different than the rest of the block paragraphs of text. Perhaps, more visual variety needed in book.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"Grammar is fine, but an important note about mechanics is mentioned above and will be repeated here. The book is simply way too long (622 pages!!!) and each page is quite difficult to read due to the fact that each paragraph is NOT separated by a space. This gives each page the appearance of one gigantic paragraph. This makes it a daunting task to read through a page, much less a full chapter (which is very long). This is the reason I wouldn't use this text in my course, although I might use parts of some chapters as supplements to what I currently use.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Like all current textbooks, it appears that the authors have made a concerted effort to use names, examples, and samples that reflect various cultures. Sometimes, it seems forced.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Thanks for giving me the opportunity to review this book.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":569,"first_name":"Kathleen","last_name":"German","position":"Full Professor","institution_name":"Miami University -- Oxford, Ohio","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Stand up, Speak--The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking is a relatively comprehensive textbook, although it’s longer than many commercial textbooks which accounts for some of its breadth of coverage. It is highly suitable for an introductory course in public speaking that is taught from a communication theory/sciences perspective.   It combines the best features of an introductory workbook such as interactive checklists and extended examples with strong features of a textbook.  Among the most thorough treatments in this textbook are the ethics features (Chapter 2) which are woven throughout the book and concrete suggestions for the implementation of ethical choices in speaking.  The weakest topics which might be supplemented, depending on the course emphasis, are:\n\n*\tThe several stress management techniques (Chapter 3), such as systematic desensitization and cognitive restructure, which are described but not in enough detail to offer viable alternatives to students.  In addition, such techniques are not usually undertaken without professional guidance.\n*\tStudents are not provided with practical, immediate suggestions for anxiety reduction.\n*       Argumentation, its development and critique, is also very rudimentary.\n*       Persuasion is introduced but not well developed.\n*\tCritical analysis of argumentation and persuasion are also very limited with no mention of fallacious reasoning etc.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"There is strong treatment of contemporary behavioral theories such as cognitive dissonance, consistency theory, elaboration likelihood model, etc., but very limited recognition of rhetorical theory.  If you are looking for a textbook that is well grounded in rhetorical principles, this is not it.  In some cases, new language such as “temporal dimension” (p. 13) could be recognized as the traditional rhetorical “kairos” although there is no clear link.  In at least one instance (p. 73), the interpretation of Aristotelian categories of speaking as three types of listeners is misleading, or at best, confusing.  The historical claim that citizenship was determined by property ownership and that all property owners were prosperous is not credible (p. 73).\n\nThe use of interpersonal research and models as they are adapted to public speaking is useful.  Some of this informs the development of purposes for public speaking, models of dialogic communication and principles of critical listening (p. 91).  Description of various types of “noise” in listening is particularly good (p. 80) and well rooted in strong research in interpersonal communication and listening.\n\nWhy is there no permission included for Monroe’s Motivated Sequence (pp. 572+)?  To my knowledge this is copyrighted information and the authors are incorrect when they write that it is included in most textbooks.  It is featured only in the Monroe, Ehninger, et al. textbooks because it was developed by Alan Monroe as part of his original army officer’s training manual.  Permission must be obtained from Routlege to use this model.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"There are many examples, especially in the last 2/3s of the textbook.  These examples are derived from contemporary issues and many of these issues such as the military “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on sexual orientation will eventually become dated.  Other examples and check sheets that ask students to review their hobbies, favorite books, classes, etc. for speech topic ideas etc. will remain viable for much longer.  As always with examples from contemporary political and business speaking (Obama’s speech citations, for example) will become quickly dated.  Within another 4-8 years, the typical college student will not likely remember events/leaders from their elementary and middle school years.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This textbook has an average concept load of approximately 4-6 ideas/chapter.  There are many lists which appear to expand the load, but these are usually just checklists of options such as types of introductions or conclusions rather than new ideas.  Often, practices such as informative speaking or types of transition are illustrated in multiple ways which is especially effective for students.\n\nThe reading level for the textbook is quite low.  Most high school and college level students will have very little difficulty with it–sentences are relatively short, vocabulary is not challenging, and sentence structure is straightforward.  \n\nOne difficulty in the textbook is that new vocabulary/concepts are not consistently defined clearly or in the context of the discussion.  For example, “transactional” and “interactional” are used interchangeably at one point although they were established as separate concepts.  The problem is further complicated as “dialogic” is introduced into the discussion.  At other times, however, such as in the discussion of primary and secondary research (p. 190), the definitions are outstanding.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This textbook is both consistent with most other commercial textbooks on the market and internally consistent in its approach to teaching public speaking.  The topics replicate topics covered in most other public speaking textbooks except perhaps if you are looking for more fully developed treatment of argumentation or persuasion or you want to present outlining or demonstration speaking to students.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Instructors and students will find this textbook very easy to use as distinct units or as it is presented from beginning to end.  It appears to be very easy to rearrange the chapters without confusing students.  In fact, I would personally use several of the later chapters much earlier in the semester and perhaps not use the extensive, although excellent, discussion of special occasion speaking at all.  This textbook seems designed for such rearrangement.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The template for each chapter is consistent throughout the textbook.  There are clearly delineated learning objectives, take-aways, and assessment questions for each chapter.  Headings for chapters and subheadings are clear and easy to navigate.  Overall, the chronology of the chapters follows the development of most public speaking courses from “why should we learn public speaking” to the steps for your first speech, to more advanced forms of speaking such as informative, persuasive, and special occasion speaking.  Most commercial textbooks follow a similar formula.\n\nSeveral minor problems interrupt the flow of an otherwise well-organized textbook.  For example, the list of librarians and the etiquette for interacting with them is both odd and strangely placed at the beginning of the research chapter (p. 185).  I’m also wondering why “Speech Preparation Time” is included in the midst of a discussion of research (p. 197) and why the statistics oriented website information is included in Chapter 8 on argumentation rather than in the previous chapter on supporting material.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Students are invited to interact with the textbook through checklists and student-friendly examples.  These are well integrated into the development of stages of speech development.  Infrequent diagrams and models provide additional support for concept development.  Occasionally, summaries describing how lists of topics such as temporal, spatial etc. elements (Chapter 1) relate to the transaction diagram might be helpful for students who will have difficulty making these connections on their own.\n\nThe small units with key objectives listed after each one is probably helpful for students.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Occasionally words are run together such as “inlistening” (p. 73) or “shoulddo” (p. 523) although this may be the result of formatting issues while downloading. \n\nMinor stylistic problems occur occasionally such as “hearer, that”–“hearer who” is more grammatically correct.  Most of my students probably wouldn’t notice.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Many public speaking textbooks achieve the appearance of inclusion through illustrations that feature various ethnic groups, individuals using wheelchairs etc.  This textbook does not have that luxury because there are no photographs other than the cover image.  There is an attempt to create the facade of inclusion through the use of names such as “Jose,” “Pablo,” “Ursula,” “Fatima,” “Yukhi,” and “Juanita.”  This is rather superficial.  There are several examples that also use Native American culture and others.  This helps recognize the potential diversity of readers and audiences.\n\nHowever, the most genuine attempt to stress inclusiveness occurs in the discussion of language and audience analysis.  This is quite good.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This is a solid, low-level textbook that would be appropriate for either advanced high school students or entry-level college students.  It represents a communication theory/sciences perspective and, although there are a few references to Aristotle, it does not represent a rhetorical approach to teaching public speaking.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":605,"first_name":"Rosemarie","last_name":"Tillman","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Lane Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"I love how thoroughly this textbook covers thesis statements. I think the Chapter Exercises and Key Takeaways are especially useful for this element of a speech's introduction. I find students are often stymied by the differences between thesis statements and specific purposes, and consequently develop one or the other, but never develop very strong statements. I think it might be more comprehensive to directly deal with the five elements of orienting material rather than simply referring to five or six things that should happen within the introduction.\n\nI did not see either an index or a glossary. Both of these features would be a benefit to this book. Many students rely heavily upon these features with the traditional textbook, most notably when they have not set aside time to complete the assigned readings. I think students' reading habits will transfer to open textbooks, and without an index or glossary, many students will be frustrated and deem the open textbook less helpful, even less user friendly.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"There is no index or bibliography, so there is no way to determine research accuracy other than your personal knowledge base. Students do not usually have a very extensive knowledge base. Students might also think because the text does not offer a reference list or bibliography that they do not have to offer one with their work products.  \n\nAlso the chapter on Outlining does not accurately cover outlining principles. The three major sections (introduction, body, conclusion) are not covered with the four levels (Roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numerals, lowercase letters) working within. Neither does the significance of indentations to the flow and consistency of information that constitutes the message seem to be apparent.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I believe the content of the text is up-to-date and will remain so for a while. The fundamentals of public speaking do not readily change. Perhaps rearrangement of chapter order to that more similar to the speech making process might increase relevance. Clarifications of formatting might make technological updates easier to implement, thereby increasing longevity.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is understandably written. There is no restricted code that is not defined or explained. All explanations provide clarification suitable for the typical undergraduate.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"The text does not consistently use APA's style format. When explaining oral as well as written documentation of sources for student use there seems to be adherence to APA's 6th edition. However the authors' citation of sources does not consistently or correctly offer direct in-text quotations. The citations offered in text are more appropriate for bibliographies and reference pages than chapter content. The in-text citations also misuse punctuation and provide some information that does not belong and leaves out other information that does belong. Additionally some citations provide redundant information.\n\nThen there is inconsistency with labeling. For example, Elspeth Tilley's Ethics Pyramid is also labeled and occasionally referred to as the Ethical Pyramid.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I found the modularity effective. It seems as though customization would be effortless, particularly with the subheadings provided for each chapter. Plus if I decided to reincorporate some reading I did not assign, it appears as though that would be a naturally easy adaptation.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"For the most part the layout of the text follows the speech making process. It is an easily understandable guide to being effective throughout the process. If the desire is to have the text's information flow as logically as the speech making process does rearranging the chapters so that Outlining follows Finding a Purpose and Selecting a Topic, and Creating the Body of a Speech follows Supporting Ideas and Building Arguments would set up a structure that is more similar to effective design, research, development, and practice of a speech.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Navigation is straightforward. Navigation could be more fluid with the addition of a glossary, index, and bibliography. It is refreshing that the embedded Internet links actually work and without additional navigation at a site. You are taken directly to the video, web page, blog entry, etc. referenced without needing to figure out how to access the referred resource.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"More proofreading is needed. There are spacing, typographical, outlining, and grammatical errors. There needs to be some revising and editing in the formatting of the examples, citations, and outlines. Additional proofreading could easily eliminate aspects that instructors will see as distractions and clarify aspects that students may find confusing.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I think this text is culturally relevant in ways that matter to both students and instructors. Students like examples that connect to their personal lives, media, current events, and entertainment. Offering links to celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, and other news makers engaging in public speaking episodes helps students see how the skills and strategies they are learning are relevant and useful. For instructors I believe the chapter on The Importance of Language will be appreciated. It can be challenging to assist students in using and acknowledging the impact of inclusive language. Instructors' use of this chapter can meaningfully encourage students to say what they mean in ways that engage audience members and have listeners feel included in the message.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This is a solid textbook. My current institution has just implemented a prescribed traditional textbook for all of its public speaking courses. In our next review of the public speaking course, if the few issues I noted are remedied, I plan on recommending this open textbook for adoption.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":613,"first_name":"Paul","last_name":"Vinelli","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"As I was reading through the text, I considered whether it effectively complemented my lesson plans - and altogether, I feel it succeeded.  The book goes into great depth in each of its major chapters, and offers students tips on how to tackle particular challenges.  I can use the text as a general framework for introducing content and terminology, but ultimately the in-class exercises I’ve developed over time will be necessary to move students towards next steps.\n\nThe PDF version lacks a glossary and easily navigable Table of Contents, which is to its detriment.  I’d encourage students to use the GitHub site if possible - though introducing the navigation aspects might take up valuable class time.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Altogether, I found the content to be straightforward and sensitive to a range of audiences.  The authors are extremely thorough in their use of citations in the online version, but unfortunately some of these do not translate directly into the PDF.  I find that they are consistently strong in attributions, offer objective examples, outline strong ethical behaviors and pose interesting questions for the reader.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Most of the text will be useful for the long-run.  For instance, tips on how to grapple with anxiety or brainstorm original topics are fairly timeless.  However, the authors will have to regularly add modern examples of political speech (e.g. updating for who’s in office) and cultural touchstones.  The writers must be vigilant in maintaining active links - I found several “dead URLs” throughout the text, most of which direct to individually-maintained academic websites.  It’s critical to keep these fresh to maintain the text’s credibility in the eyes of students and faculty.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is written in a clear and accessible style for students.  At times, the authors overelaborate on certain points, but on the overall they do a nice job explaining topics.  I feel the “Key Takeaways” are strong and straightforward - my opinion is that they could be used as models to retroactively edit several chapters in the interest of brevity.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The authors methodically define terms and explain concepts.  In addition, they regularly signal what’s coming next, and do a nice job walking students through the transition from ideation to execution.  The text has an even-keeled, encouraging and conversational tone, which helps keep the reader consistently engaged.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The authors do a nice job utilizing headings, subheadings and chapter designations.  This was far more evident in the “online” version, where I was able to quickly jump within chapters via the Table of Contents and “Next Section” buttons.  As per other textbooks I’ve used in the past, I will choose to present topics in an order I find most meaningful to my classroom.  This book is organized in a way that makes this possible.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book is capably modeled to tackle many of the fundamental topics in public speaking.  I had little trouble following the authors’ arguments and ideas, and they effectively preview and review.  I would prefer to see the outlining chapter introduced earlier, as this is a fundamental skill that we practice before thinking about major speech construction (often through reverse outlining).  I believe that thinking broadly about speech framework before content creation is key - but that’s a personal teaching preference.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Because the text is 622 pages, I found the PDF version to be difficult to navigate on a personal computer - especially if I wanted to backtrack to a particular section.  Nevertheless, the type is sufficiently large, and I can assign students chapters accordingly.  Unfortunately, I cannot readily convert this to a printed text for students who prefer their readings in book form.\n\nI believe the “online” version is far more usable. I could readily jump throughout the table of contents, and the authors did a nice job adding intra-text links.  However, the plain text occasionally has formatting issues with citations.  I’d suggest making the two versions consistent.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any significant grammatical errors in the book.  There were some formatting issues with spacing, but I did not find these to be too distracting.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Given that the subject is Public Speaking, I feel the authors do a solid job clinically distinguishing between inclusionary and exclusionary language.  However, I’d like to see more culturally engaging examples.  For example, the “Presentation Aids” chapter could have used visuals representing arts and humanities in addition to the primarily scientific examples.\n\nI feel the authors could have included more examples of speech along the lines of Paulette Kelly’s “I Got Flowers Today” (page 367).  It would be wonderful to use a compelling poem to demonstrate an assortment of rhetorical devices…\n\nOne section I found off-putting was the example of the “entertainment speech” in Chapter 6.  The speech uses an obscene acronym to create a “fictional university” that is insulting to residents of Harlem - an inappropriate and decidedly unamusing attempt at a joke.  I believe the authors should choose a different speech and delete this one from the text.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I appreciate how the authors emphasized how to work with and correspond with librarians in the chapter on research.  I often encourage students to begin building relationships with librarians - whether in person or virtually.  It’s clear that they’ve done their due diligence in surveying experts, and I plan to reinforce this message of engagement.\n\nWhile I found the research section to be authoritative, at times it turned into a bit of an information dump.  It’s wonderful to see plenty of resources listed, but mentioning 9 different databases in one paragraph can be a bit excessive.    Odds are my students don’t need a list of 11 major publishers in the Communication field.\n\nHowever, I will say that I welcome the authors’ inclusion of full tables of citations in both MLA and APA style.  I often send my students to Purdue’s “The OWL” website, and these tables serve as a strong counterpart.\n\nAltogether, I can see myself using this book in the classroom.  I was glad to see references to thinkers like Bakhtin, but I would also like to see greater attention paid to rhetorical theory.  I feel that Richard Toye’s “Rhetoric: A Very Short Introduction” would be a good complement to this textbook for an additional scholarly perspective.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":615,"first_name":"Suzanne","last_name":"Burdick","position":"Community College Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text was very comprehensive.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"This textbook was mostly accurate, except that it did not practice what it preached by being overly wordy, rather than concise, which was ironic since brevity is a foundational trait of effective public speaking.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book was relevant to today's students.","clarity_rating":2,"clarity_review":"The wordiness and unnecessary length of the text detracted from its clarity.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text was internally consistent.","modularity_rating":1,"modularity_review":"Again, this text was unnecessarily long and cumbersome to use.","organization_rating":1,"organization_review":"See above.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"No comment.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Fine.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Fine.","overall_rating":6,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":762,"first_name":"Patria","last_name":"Lawton","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Inver Hills Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text is a comprehensive guide to the many aspects of public speaking.  So often to save money for the students, Instructors have relied on a pocket guide style of public speaking book. This is a nice option if you want to include the thorough information found in the first 140 pages of the book, which is centered on more general communication theories and principles that aren’t exclusive to Public Speaking, but rather the communication discipline as a whole. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Information presented in the book is accurate for the most part.  A more accurate section on outlining should be included with full sentence, properly formatted sample outlines. This is an area where beginning students typically struggle and seeing the formatting be incomplete on the included outlines in this text is a cause for concern as students will often simply “copy” what they see in the text. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Public speaking principles haven’t changed much over the years, so the longevity of the information is solid. That being said, some of the examples are already showing their age – the text included references from 2006, 2010, etc. -  that doesn’t seem like that long ago for some of us, but I would prefer to see examples, especially in an online text, that are less than 10 years old. I would imagine that it will take some work to make sure the links are all up-to-date throughout the text because they are so numerous. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Concepts were clearly defined using clear examples for the reader.  The text was easily digestible for a student in a 100 level speech course. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The layout of the book was extremely consistent. Each chapter begins with learning objectives and ends with review activities. The sections were arranged in a logical order. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The clear division of the chapters makes it easy for the reader to know where concepts begin and end. It is set up in a way that allows instructors to pick and choose the content in a different order than it is presented. It is also organized in a way that would work if an instructor wanted to work through the material in a sequential order. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"A table of contents would provide a roadmap for the reader, which is extremely helpful in a text that is 600+ pages. The parallelism in the chapters is beneficial for the reader as they know when each chapter starts and stops, as well as being able to view outcomes and practice those outcomes at the end of each chapter. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Most of the text was nicely presented. The lack of a reference section as well as the lack of a clickable table of contents in the PDF version made it difficult to navigate – that may have simply been a feature of the PDF version. ","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"There are multiple instances of spacing issues throughout the text. There were also issues in which excerpts from speeches weren’t separated appropriately from the larger text. There are a few places where outlines are referenced, but formatted completely incorrectly (such as the “outline” on page 617). ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text has a section devoted to considering the audience’s diversity which discusses respecting diversity and avoiding stereotypes in your speeches in the ethical speaking section. I thought the speeches referenced by the text were culturally relevant and diverse. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This book would be a great substitute to a traditional public speaking textbook. Although many instructors tend to use the pocket style guides to teach public speaking to keep costs down, those often aren't extensive enough. The few things that are irksome about this book, such as a lack of clickable navigation on the PDF version and the failure to incude any reasonable outline examples can easily be remedied with supplemental material. ","created_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":789,"first_name":"Gregory","last_name":"Epps","position":"Associate Clinical Professor","institution_name":"West Virginia University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covered all of the areas associated with the subject matter.  This was a major strength of the book.  I did not see a glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I don't think that the book was biased as was accurate.  I think other professional speakers may differ on a few points.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book basically perpetuates the known facts and information regarding public speaking.  The information is straight forward and user friendly. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This book is very clear.  It presents information, provides practical examples, and provides good reviews. The writing is easy to follow.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"For the most part the is consistent with the information it provides.  There was, what I consider, some differentiation regarding the topic of memorizing speeches.  ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book did an excellent job dividing topics into sections and sub sections.  It was divided appropriately and systematically. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The flow of the book and the structure are very good.  The organization likely works well with students, however some of the information seemed to fall later in the book than I would have anticipated. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There were no significant interface issues.  The images and other displays were simplistic and colorful.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"I noticed no grammatical errors.  However, I did find it interesting that there was not a space between paragraphs.  I also noticed a few other spacing issues.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"There were no issues with cultural relevance.  All examples were appropriate an non offensive.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This was a very comprehensive book that covered all of the necessary components of public speaking.  There were ample opportunities for review and reinforcement.\n\nThe book was somewhat long and I wonder how it was used along with classroom teaching and if everything gets covered thoroughly.","created_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1530,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Sours","position":"Humanities Instructor","institution_name":"Rogue Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book’s discussion is generally thorough, explaining concepts clearly, illustrating their importance to the speech development process, and providing concrete examples.  Particularly excellent are the discussions of ethics (especially plagiarism issues), listening critically, and audience analysis.  Also good are the sections on how to select a speech topic and purpose, research and citing sources, developing main points and supporting evidence, common organization patterns and outlining techniques, and constructing arguments.  Practice, delivery, presentation aids--all of the topics common to college public speaking courses are included in sufficient detail to make this a very useful text.\n\nThe section on communication anxiety and how to address it is unremarkable in that it covers similar terrain to most other public speaking texts without shedding new light on the subject.  It will nevertheless be useful for many students.\n\nThe text has no glossary or index; however the table of contents is interactive and easily accessible from any page, making it easy to hunt down topics of interest.  There is an effective search tool as well.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The authors write with precision about all aspects of the public speaking process.  They explain concepts clearly, and provide excellent historical and contemporary illustrations.  They are meticulous about citing sources.  Claims and supporting material appear to be accurate and carefully considered.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Although the text was originally published in 2011, at no time does the content seem to be out of date or irrelevant to our current political or social climate.  Because many of the conceptual illustrations are drawn from history, they have a timeless quality.  But even the more recent examples will remain useful to speech students for some time, such as a reference to the 2010 debate over the Affordable Care Act. Regardless of changes that may be made in our health care laws, the authors' point should still be relevant for the foreseeable future.\n\nIn a number of instances, the authors make effective use of academic forecasts which should continue to have relevance for the foreseeable future.  Following is one example, found in section 1.1:  \n\n“Researcher Norman W. Edmund estimates that by 2020 the amount of knowledge in the world will double every seventy-three days (Edmund, 2005). Because we live in a world where we are overwhelmed with content, communicating information in a way that is accessible to others is more important today than ever before.”","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is engaging because of the use of specific and highly relevant examples, word precision, and the use of direct language to draw in the reader (e.g., through the use of direct pronouns).  The authors have a highly organized style, making frequent use of previews, transitions, and summaries to maintain reader focus.  Terminology is explained clearly and rendered useful through the use of examples that the student reader should be able to relate to.\n\nAlso, the authors appear to have many years of experience behind this, and to have given careful thought to some of areas that often can be quite confusing to inexperienced student speakers.  For example, their discussion of speech purposes in section 6.1 includes a brief but illuminating analysis of why many people become confused about the difference between informing and persuading.  To some, this may seem a minor point, but it can actually lead to significant problems in speech focus and preparation.  The authors explain this and other many other issues with great clarity.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Key terms are used with consistency throughout the text.  As explained below under Organization, the progression of ideas should make sense to the overwhelming majority of readers, moving from a general conceptual framework in the early chapters to more specific applications and “nuts and bolts” of speech preparation in the later chapters.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Chapter headings are clear, and so are subheadings.  Most of the sections of this text can be used as standalone readings.  The sequence of topics in the text, while logical, needn’t be followed.  The sections are self-explanatory enough that it should be easy for an instructor to re-order the topics as needed.  Students who have a particular need to know should be able to zero in on a topic of interest without reading everything that came before it.  This text, without a doubt, will work in a modular fashion if that is needed.\n\nWhile the authors do make use of cross references to other sections of the text, these are primarily provided to make it easy to check back and forth using the hyperlinks which are included.  Most readers will appreciate this feature.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The first five chapters address general principles of public speaking such as the overall speech process, ethics, audience analysis, and managing anxiety.  Later chapters take these principles and apply them more specifically, zeroing in on how to identify an appropriate topic, how to develop an audience-appropriate focus (specific purpose), how to conduct research, etc.  These later chapters furnish excellent examples from student speeches—of purpose and thesis statements, introductions, bodies, conclusions, etc.  Many hyperlinks to videos and audios are also furnished for further illustration.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"This was an easy-to-use online text.  Finding terms using the search tool was a breeze; the sidebar table of contents, found on each page, is very helpful.  Most—though not all—of the hyperlinks work.    Illustrations are attractive and appropriate, though not particularly imaginative (many appear to be public domain clip art).  \n\nOne minor font issue concerns key words which are highlighted in blue—the same as hyperlinks.  Another minor issue involves the subheadings. There are subheadings and there are what could be called “sub-sub-headings” where a large topic is broken into subtopics which occasionally are broken down still further.  Because all the subheadings use the same font and point size, this can lead to confusion over what topic is being addressed, slowing down comprehension.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found only two typos and one missing word.  The grammar is not a problem in this text.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"At no time does this text use any language that I would question.  Numerous examples are given featuring different races, religions, ethnicities, etc.  The authors’ discussion of audience analysis, in particular, is a good lesson on the diversity found in the typical college classroom—even one where most of the students appear to be from a similar ethnic or racial background.  As they state in section 5.2:   “Not all cultural membership is visibly obvious. For example, people in German American and Italian American families have widely different sets of values and practices, yet others may not be able to differentiate members of these groups. Differences are what make each group interesting and are important sources of knowledge, perspectives, and creativity.”","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The authors include some excellent discussion questions at the end of each section, as well as chapter activities and short assessments.  These should provide excellent opportunities for partner, small group, and whole class investigations and discussions.  Also provided are frequent checklists to help students assess their own progress.\n\nOne section I was particularly glad to see—section 6.3—is called “Drawing a  Blank.”  It does an excellent job of addressing one of the big issues that many inexperienced speakers face—the feeling that they have nothing of interest to talk about.  This section offers numerous helpful strategies for getting these students on the right track.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1688,"first_name":"Morgan","last_name":"Hess","position":"Instructor of Record","institution_name":"University of Maryland","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers all areas and ideas of the subject appropriately, some with more originality than others. The ethics approach is interesting, and provides for many discussion starting points. The practical how-tos (speaking anxiety, visual aids, etc.) are less exciting, but sufficient overall.\n\nThere is not an effective index and/or glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I didn't see any bias or errors. Lots of citations for curious or unconvinced students.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book basically perpetuates the known facts and information regarding public speaking. It's not particularly culturally relevant, so take that as you will. The information is straight forward and user friendly.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"SO clear! any undergraduate can easily read and understand it. The examples are especially clear.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The progression of ideas make sense, moving from a general conceptual framework in the early chapters to more specific applications later on. Terms were consistently defined and used.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Divided easing into assigned readings.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"As mentioned above, the structure was logical. I won't have to mis up chapters on my syllabus, which is nice.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Simple, colorful, easy to see.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't notice anything!","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"It's not insensitive or unethical (haha!) in any way. It's not particularly \"culturally relevant\" in the examples it uses, but If this question is asking about its accessibility its perfectly adequate. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I like it! Puts a different spin on public speaking for an intro class, and definitely worth pulling from.","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1900,"first_name":"Narissra","last_name":"Punyanunt-Carter","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Texas Tech University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This is the BEST public speaking book on the market. It covers every major and essential aspect of public speaking.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The information is completely accurate and unbiased. Students love using this book!","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book provides several examples that help make the public speaking easier to comprehend and retain. The information is straightforward and very relatable.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is clear and concise!","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The terms in this book are consistent with other text books on the market.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The author(s) do a great job confining and reiterating information so that students can truly learn the information.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of this book is logical, straightforward, and clear. I love how this book is organized. It helps making a speech easier and effective.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book provides great visual features so that it makes learning fun and exciting.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors. It is written very well!","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This book is perfect for all classes on public speaking. It is inclusive of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I've reviewed a lot of public speaking textbooks in my career. This book is by far the most thorough and most comprehensive books on public speaking. My students truly enjoy learning from this book. And I adore using this book to teach public speaking. If instructors need a public speaking textbook, then they should definitely use this book. I would require it for all my public speaking courses.","created_at":"2018-03-27T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-03-27T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2121,"first_name":"Brian","last_name":"Timm","position":"Professor","institution_name":"North Hennepin Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text addresses key concepts appropriate for an introductory level public speaking course. The content is extensive and larger courses may not have the time to address all of the material included. It would be nice to see more coverage about how to effectively present in group contexts. No glossary, but the online search function is user friendly. Coverage of ethics in public speaking would create opportunities for class discussions.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Content is accurate, arranged in a useful manner. It appears to be free from overt bias.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content appears to be up to date, though some of the examples may require more context in the future.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Textbook is written clearly and accessible for an introductory college level course.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Terms are used consistently and in an accessible format. The end of chapter exercises allow students to reflect on the content learned in each chapter.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is presented in a way that would make it easily adaptable to different course structures or schedules. The content does not rely on being presented in a specific order.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The structure of the content in the text is logical. Presenting the introduction, body, and conclusion content in separate chapters allows for more time to focus on each rather than having them lumped together.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is easily searchable for terms both online and in PDF format. The online version makes moving between chapters easy with the navigation menu.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No major grammatical errors or typos.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text does not appear overtly culturally insensitive. Given the emphasis on speaker ethics, this makes sense.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The outlining section could offer more examples, but overall this is a solid introduction to public speaking textbook.","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2160,"first_name":"Lisa","last_name":"Hoopis","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book was very easy to understand and comprehend. I plan on using this with my peer education group who has to do public speaking.  This text was perfect in covering the basics and giving them a good foundation.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book was accurate and up to date. I like that the information was supported by research and examples.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The basics of public speaking were covered here and relevant examples were used.  I feel it would have to be updated regularly to keep it up to date but that can easily be done with current examples.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book seemed straight forward, relevant and to the point and covered all of the basics I would expect it to cover.  I like that it clearly discusses issues around plagiarism and freedom of speech and was divided into 4 clear areas.  In this day of political turmoil I feel it is helpful for speech writing and also having thoughtful, meaningful challenging conversations.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book was consistent in format and layout and was the framework was laid out with objectives and references which I think is important.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I did not see any issues with the layout. I like how the information was presented and repeated for comprehension.  I liked objectives were clearly laid out and there was a table of contents that organized everything nicely.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I really enjoyed the layout of this and flow throughout the book.  I think it would be easy to assign students sections of this book although it is difficult to navigate to sections without going through the entire book.  I like that it starts students at the beginning gaining confidence, considering audience d then creating and delivering the speech.  I would have also liked to see something on seeking and accepting feedback and journaling the experience at the end.  I liked the way the chapters were laid out and organized.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"It is difficult to find a particular section without going through the entire book.  I would like to see clickable tabs on the side that would take you to where you need to go rather than just the errors to the next section.  I liked the visual features and the tips it offered.  Some of the links did not work which was frustrating especially if students want to get more information.  I liked how it provided objectives at he start of the chapter and a review of the info. for comprehension.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I would have liked to see more on this area.  I do feel it was a little weak in this area and would recommend adding something around mention of privilege and presenting to communities you are not a part of and being culturally aware and sensitive and using inclusive language is important.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I would have liked to see more on preparing for controversy at the conclusion and responding to difficult questions.  Overall I feel this text did a fantastic job at covering the basics and I am considering using this text with my peer educators.","created_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2200,"first_name":"Ruth","last_name":"Fairchild","position":"Instrucotr","institution_name":"Ridgewater College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Stand Up, Speak Out covers public speaking effectively, providing clear explanations of the content. As the title says, both the practical and ethical aspects are included. The sections on audience-centered speech design, research, and evaluation of sources are especially thorough. One area that some instructors may expect, but will not find, is the history of public speaking; fortunately that could be supplemented easily with material from other sources.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content is presented fairly and accurately. Examples within the text show a broad range of contexts and applications for public speaking. The visual components of the text vividly enhance reader understanding. Two of the images in Chapter 15 do not match the correlating text, but otherwise the figures are well chosen and explained.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Much in public speaking stays the same over the years, but this text emphasizes the relevance of the field and the related skills in the 21st century. In several chapters, this point is made through a “why” section: why public speaking, why analyze the audience, why outline. Throughout the text examples draw from current affairs and social media, as well as from contemporary students. As the text ages, these examples may need to be updated since many are from before 2010.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text excels in clarity and ease of reading. Key words are shown in blue letters and are explained within the text itself. A glossary or lists of key words by chapter would be useful and eventually may be available through the shared supplemental materials.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The structure is consistent throughout. Headings are in bold and are clearly spaced. The inclusion of learning objectives at the beginning of each section and of the coordinating key takeaways at the end reinforce the focus of the section. After the initial chapter on ethics, the end-of-chapter “Speaking Ethically” exercises tie the content together nicely.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The division of the chapters and sections would make it easy to assign them according to a variety of schemes. A different organization of the text would not detract from its cohesive feel. When a concept is referred to in a later section, a reference to the previous coverage of it is given. However, more such references could be given in earlier sections to highlight that further coverage of certain concepts is available in another section. For example, Chapter 9 refers to Chapter 6, but 6 does not refer to 9. In short, more cross-text references would be welcome.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Even though the chapters and sections could be assigned in varied orders, the overall organization of the text is coherent and cohesive. It matches common structures of public speaking texts, moving from foundational topics to speech design and delivery, and then to types of speeches.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Readers can navigate the text smoothly from one part to another using the pull-down table of contents. Images display nicely online and look the same in the PDF version. I did not try the mobile versions but would expect them to work well, too.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The textbook contains minimal typographical or grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The images and examples in the text provide diversity. Since there are no sections overtly related to cultural variations in public speaking or to diverse students’ challenges with it, instructors would need to cover that with supplemental materials.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Although I currently use the online Public Speaking Project textbook and find it effective, I would be likely to try Stand Up, Speak Out because it is a bit more streamlined.","created_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2274,"first_name":"Kristen","last_name":"Hungerford","position":"Visiting Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Miami University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers all areas and ideas that are typically discussed in an introduction to public speaking book.  However, the textbook is missing an index or glossary of terms that would be important for students to refer to and learn from, either placed at the beginning or end of each chapter or at the end of the textbook. Also, in my printed version of the text, the table of contents states that there should be appendices at the end of the book. However, there were none located at the end of my printed version of the text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is accurate in its explanation of relevant course content on the fundamentals of public speaking. The author provides a wide variety of examples from many different cultural sources.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is up-to-date. Other then maybe sharing more popular or widely known examples, content in public speaking textbooks does not dramatically change. Really the only updates that continue to change are in regards to media/technology and public speaking and maybe more current examples of ethics in public speaking.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is accessible for all reading levels. The only drawback I noticed in the textbook is the lack of citing enough or any references as in-text citations throughout the chapter or at the end of the chapter. It is typical to see more direct citations from ancient and modern rhetoric and communication sources listed throughout the chapters of public speaking textbooks. This task also reinforces to students the importance of conducting research and properly citing sources.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework that is standard for a textbook on public speaking.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text is easily presented into smaller reading sections that may help students retain information. However, in comparison to other public speaking textbooks, I think that having some of the smaller reading sections in the textbook makes it too choppy. I would prefer to view a more continuous stream of thought on some of the topics in some of the chapters with listed subheadings of course, as I have seen done more effectively in other public speaking textbooks.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics follow the typical arrangement of course content on public speaking for this kind of text. The topics provide a natural progression for students learning about speech preparation.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The printed version of this textbook does not contain any page numbers. Page numbers are only listed in the table of contents in the printed version. The lack of page numbers in the printed version would make it very hard for an instructor to use during class time. It would make it nearly impossible to direct students toward certain page numbers for course content and examples.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text seems to contain no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"As previously stated, the textbook uses a variety of cultural examples of public speaking situations. The only drawback that I notice is that the examples are not famous or popular ones that students might relate to more when reading the book. In other public speaking textbooks, I tend to see copyrighted examples of really popular public speakers - such as from national politicians or entertainers, etc. However, I understand that it might cost more to acquire the rights to those really popular public speaking examples.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The biggest drawbacks included not enough listed references, no listed glossary of key terms, no listed page numbers in the printed copy of the text, and a lack of popular examples from public speeches. Other than those areas, I think a reader would be more engaged with reading a textbook with more eye catching, fancier headings and other aesthetics, including more images, graphics, and charts to further explain key concepts.","created_at":"2018-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2318,"first_name":"Ben","last_name":"Walker","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Southwest Minnesota State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text has everything you'd expect in an introduction to public speaking book. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"All the information is accurate and in line with the discipline as a whole.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The authors have done a nice job making sure the content is relevant. Nothing is significantly dated.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing and flow of the book is easy to understand and terms are explained well. The visual aspect of the text also makes it appealing. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent throughout, with no major issues. Everything is unified in the approach to teach public speaking.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"All the chapters make sense. They are separated in a similar fashion as most public speaking textbooks.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics are organized in a similar fashion as most public speaking textbooks. The topics build skills from foundational to more advanced. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Visually, the book is pleasing to the eye and does not distract from the content.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No major grammatical errors that I saw.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This text is not insensitive, but it does approach public speaking in a very ethnocentric way. American academia is rooted in whiteness and so is it's traditions. The textbook is appropriate for introduction courses because it is similar to what most textbooks offer. That being said, what most texts offer is based on a public speaking tradition that is a bit stale and focused on traditional Western/white oratory. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Solid text. I am happy there is something of this quality for free.","created_at":"2018-09-25T09:20:58.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-09-25T09:20:58.000-05:00"},{"id":2547,"first_name":"Rachel","last_name":"Davidson","position":"Assistant Professor of Communication","institution_name":"Hanover College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covers every necessary aspect that students need to know for an introductory public speaking course. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Not a heavy emphasis on a rhetorical approach to public speaking but I think that is ok for an introductory class who may not fully understand the rhetorical tradition. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Some examples are likely to be dated soon but that is to be expected with any textbook. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The language used to convey the ideas is appropriate for a student reader. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent with other public speaking textbooks and uses consistent language throughout. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Students will appreciate how easily the book can be navigated by section/topic. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Organizationally, the book reads well and seems to chronologically follow the speechmaking process. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Navigation is clear and straightforward. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't notice grammatical errors. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Text is not insensitive or offensive though is written from an implied Western framework that privileges American expectations in effective public speaking--not a detriment to the book, just an observation. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-01-25T07:42:16.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-01-25T07:42:16.000-06:00"},{"id":2617,"first_name":"Carrie","last_name":"Tomko","position":"Senior Lecturer","institution_name":"OhioLink","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"From start to finish, Stand Up Speak Out (SUSO) contains a comprehensive collection of topics on public speaking, ideal for the college classroom.  There is nothing lacking in this online resource.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"No issues with accuracy.  ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The textbook is set in a timeless fashion, without reference to current pop culture that might fade over time, as are other textbooks available.  Therefore, this one will stand the test of time.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"OUTSTANDING clarity in presentation of topics and subtopics, with step-by-step choices and advice in constructing a speech, for example.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The format of the book's verbiage consistently presents information to the student in a way that is parsed and absorbed easily.  Headlines and sub-headlines add to this easy.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Easily, this textbook can be referenced in whole, or in partiality.  Whether teaching a semester's worth or a chapter's worth, Stand Up Speak Out (SUSO) provides pockets of information full of details.\r\n\r\n","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"As an educator, I appreciated the practical layout of each chapter, as well as with the collection of chapters that flow naturally and logically, sure to enhance student learning.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No issues in interface.  Nothing distracting or confusing for the reader.\r\n\r\n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no errors with grammar.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook does not offer politically incorrect presentation.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Clearly, this is the best open textbook available for a public speaking course!","created_at":"2019-03-05T13:06:39.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-03-05T13:06:39.000-06:00"},{"id":2665,"first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Green","position":"Assistant Professor of Communication Studies","institution_name":"Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Although the comprehensiveness of this textbook  might be a barrier to some students, and although the market appears to be trending towards minimalist textbooks, the comprehensiveness of this textbook is one of its strongest points. Many commercial textbooks appear to take a \"lean and mean\" approach to the subject in terms of small chapters, efficient textual information, colorful stock art, and online subscription models. I think an apt comparison would be with \"throwaway fashion trends.\" \r\n\r\nThis book, on the other hand, prioritizes comprehensive substance. In fact, I've used this book as a reference to supplement commercial textbooks. For example, I believe that the section on Using Notes Effectively (14.3) is the most-fully principled, conceptualized, and explained account on the subject (let alone among competing open-source texts).\r\n\r\nI take off a point because the book lacks a glossary, index, or a listing of key terms at the start or end of chapters. Moreover, I could easily see how some students might get lost due to the comprehensive and substantive nature of the text. Nonetheless, clearly-labeled learning objectives and exercises should provide some guidance for students and instructors. ","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"Although this textbook generally provides a standard account, you might issue with liberties taken with traditional approaches. \r\nContent is, for the most part, accurate. Concepts are grounded in relevant research literature, and a variety of examples are used to illustrate these concepts. I don't detect any unfair biases.\r\n\r\nHowever, you are likely to find some odd, though minor, deviations. For example, I find issue with how the book models outline symbolization. In this text, subordinate points are listed as Arabic numerals (1., 2., 3.) rather than upper-case capitals (A., B., C.). Although that might not bother those unwed to tradition, I'm not sure why the change is an improvement.  You'll also notice that Main Point II of the sample outline (pp. 329-331) does not meet the rule of division.\r\nFinally, the textbook should correctly model assignments. I would also like to know why APA references are not formatted with hanging indent. Ultimately, I think these are issues that should be addressed in the next installment. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Textbooks on public speaking tend to lag when it comes to technological advances and current events (such popularization of \"fake news\" and conspiracies). Research librarians have developed new guidelines on evaluating the quality of sources, and I hope future updates will incorporate this research. \r\n\r\nNevertheless, I find that many principles of public speaking are timeless, and this book does an adequate job of establishing and explaining the importance of such principles. I often find myself building off of these principles to introduce new developments.\r\n\r\nI appreciate that the text establishes expectations of intellectual rigor.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text offers a substantive, comprehensive account of public speaking balanced by a casual tone. Chapters are clearly organized. Key concepts are in bold, and examples are of sufficient quality and quantity. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I find the tone and style to be consistent throughout the text, which is often a problem with open-source public speaking texts. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I generally find the textbook to be well organized with chapters broken down into key sub-topics. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I find no issue with the organization of the book. It is organized in a logical fashion, and the modularity of the text enables you to organize the sequence of \r\nmaterials as you desire. I do wonder what purpose the appendixes serve. Why not include them in the chapters? \r\n","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I find no issue with the interface of the digital pdf. The hyperlinks to various chapters and sub-sections appear to work, and I can generally navigate the text with minimal effort using the search function.   \r\n","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"I've found minor grammatical/typographical/stylistic issues. E.g. look at where Appendix 1 is listed on the table of contents. I've also found issue with APA formatting, in model student materials and in end-of-chapter references. Students find APA style challenging enough as it is, and the textbook's errant ways will only introduce more confusion.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"As a prior review has mentioned, public speaking is grounded in the western tradition. This book is grounded in that tradition, for better and for worse.\r\n\r\nThere is no explicit chapter on intercultural communication. Important concepts related to culture and diversity are embedded in discussions of audience analysis, ethics, and language choice (among other areas). For a public speaking class, I prefer the embedded approach because it develops a sense of inclusion and diversity as practice. \r\n\r\nMuch has happened over the past two years with respect to diversity and inclusion, so instructors might wish to supplement materials to account for developments. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Although I do find issue with how the book covers some issues, I generally believe that the book offers a comprehensive account of the subject. It is well organized and written in an accessible style. ","created_at":"2019-03-13T15:11:37.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-03-13T15:11:37.000-05:00"},{"id":2695,"first_name":"Doug","last_name":"Marshall","position":"Assistant Professor ","institution_name":"SUNO","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"I find Stand up, Speak out to be a very comprehensive public speaking textbook. I find no major deficiencies with this work and find it to be very comparable to the major players in popular public speaking texts.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I have no real issue with the accuracy of this textbook. Some may have different opinions in regard to the positions and assumptions of the author but this is clearly accurate. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"One of my biggest gripes about popular public speaking texts is that many of them are packed with examples that are relevant for that one particular moment in time. In other words, public speaking texts purposely age themselves so that the author can update with new timely examples and sell more copies. This text is nearly void of popular culture references thus allowing the instructor to make those references his or herself. Excellent! ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"A textbook for an introductory course should not lose the students. This text presented material in a polished, clear way that helpfully unpacked any jargon or technical language that was used. I believe that this text balances the idea of meeting the student where he/she is and inviting them to become part of a bigger conversation. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The structure of this textbook was clear and consistent. Terminology is used consistently.  ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"It is divided up well. I see no issues here. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I question some of their placement of the topics but I would just simply assign the chapters to be read out of order. For instance, the final chapter is preparing students for their first speech. Ideally, they would be covering this early because it is rare to wait until the end of the class to give the first speech. This small problem that I have can be easily addressed by the instructor. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is fairly standard but good. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I admittedly do not have a great eye for grammatical errors (see all examples of my writing) but I found nothing problematic with this text.  ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I found no issues of cultural inappropriateness. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Overall I enjoyed Stand up, Speak out. It has all of the necessary elements that a basic public speaking text should have. It is well written and has made me reconsider these open source texts. ","created_at":"2019-03-25T12:42:53.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-03-25T12:42:53.000-05:00"},{"id":2800,"first_name":"Emily","last_name":"Plec","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Open Oregon Educational Resources - Western Oregon University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The only thing lacking from the book is a good foundation and introduction to the classical study of rhetoric from which contemporary public speaking practice draws. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The text uses some outdated terminology and examples, and demonstrates bias in terms of representation (mostly images of white males, few examples of contemporary speakers who diversify the visual representation). On the whole, though, the content is not overtly objectionable and shortcomings could be acknowledged or discussed in class. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The structure of the text affords a lot of chapter coverage to material that will not need frequent updating. Given the level of detail in the chapters, though, deciding what needs to be updated where might be challenging. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Clear writing but a far cry from compelling, especially for a course that introduces students to elements of style.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I felt this was one of its strengths. There was a lot of useful repetition and high degrees of internal consistency. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I liked the searchable digital PDF version and did not preview other versions of the text. It is suitable for my purposes. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I felt the overview of purposes was unnecessary and feel argumentation needs to be addressed earlier in the text. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found the text very easy to interface with and find that for which I was looking. ","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"Some inelegant phrasing but no glaring grammatical errors in the chapters I read. ","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"This is where the book could be most improved. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-04-17T14:51:55.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-17T14:51:55.000-05:00"},{"id":2843,"first_name":"Sunni","last_name":"Davis","position":"Faculty, Communication Studies","institution_name":"University of Arkansas Cossatot","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text was very complete and covered the essentials for a basic introductory course in public speaking. Giving students a solid base in delivery is a key to giving confidence to beginning speakers, and this text covers the essentials in clear and concise language. I particularly liked the sections on explaining the pros and cons of different speaking formats. End of chapter exercises were nicely done. I missed a glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found the methodology in the book to be in line with most popular textbooks on the subject.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text reflects standard methods of teaching public speaking. Although technology changes, the basic precepts of instruction are adequate and the chapter on research can be easily supplemented to update as needed.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The language is appropriate for beginning speakers. It is clear, concise, casual and avoids overusing passive voice. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Language is consistent and in spite of including multiple authors, is seamless.  Terminology and framework is reflective of standard textbooks. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Nicely divided. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I like to start students speaking early in a course, but this book places relevant information closer to the end of the text. That isn't really a problem as chapter readings can be assigned in any order, and I suppose instructors differ on the best way to teach students. My personal preference would be more integrated materials - the appendices could easily be integrated into chapter sub-topics. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Easy to navigate, no visible distortion of materials.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Nicely written.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Good section on audience analysis, but I would like to see more emphasis on inclusiveness and cultural sensitivity.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Overall, I thought it was a good, basic book that will work well for any beginning public speaking class. I was very happy to see the chapter on ethics and thought the end of chapter exercises for that section were quite appropriate. I also liked the explanation of the different speaking formats. Using pyramids as a visual reinforced the foundational nature of the text. ","created_at":"2019-04-25T22:39:42.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-25T22:39:42.000-05:00"},{"id":2846,"first_name":"Adria","last_name":"Goldman","position":"Assistant Professor of Communication","institution_name":"University of Mary Washington","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book touches on the main topics traditionally covered in a public speaking text/class, ranging from the role of ethics to the different types of speeches (informative, persuasive, entertaining). The text guides readers through the speech process, noting the role of both speakers and audiences.  While I did not find a glossary or index, the table of contents is detailed and helps with navigating through the text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did not note any inaccurate information.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is up-to-date and includes examples and activities to help bring in new, relevant material. I suspect any future necessary updates will be 'relatively easy and straightforward to implement'.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text provides a breakdown of key terms and concepts. The information is clear for college students to follow. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I did not note any inconsistencies in the text. The consistency in the organization is a nice treat that will likely help students follow along (each chapter follows similar format--objectives, content, major takeaways and activities/discussion questions).","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The table of contents in broken into subsections, given users the ability to re-organize the material to fit their course design. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Topics follow a logical order. However, as noted above, the organization and presentation of the book provides users with the opportunity to move things around to fit the course. In addition (as noted above) the organization of the Table of Contents is very user friendly. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Overall, the interface of the text is clear and user-friendly. The table of contents to the side (with appropriate links and redirects to different pages) seems like it would be very useful for students moving through an online text. I did notice a link that didn't work (White House source, section 1.2) but I believe that is a quick fix. It is also helpful that users have the option to make text larger. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not note any grammatical errors. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book does not appear culturally insensitive or offensive. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Some of the images were a tad confusing. Perhaps captions would help. For example, there's a puzzle (with missing piece) for section 11.1 on conclusions. Is this because 'conclusion is the final puzzle piece in the speech'? I assume so, but students may question the relevancy of some photos. I was also unclear on the reference style used. The references appear to be in APA but direct quotes do not include a page or paragraph number with the parenthetical citations. This may be confusing for students who are expected to learn and use APA. Lastly, I think it is great that the book is offered in various formats.","created_at":"2019-04-26T14:23:58.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-26T14:23:58.000-05:00"},{"id":2974,"first_name":"Lori","last_name":"Adair","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Aims Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text book is very inclusive and covers all the typical concepts you would expect to find in a public speaking text with additional hyperlinks to extra content.  The content is explained clearly, and often in a more concise method than many other textbooks. \r\n•\tEach section within each chapter also comes with additional information including: learning objectives, making it clear what students will gain from each chapter, key takeaways, chapter exercises with an answer key.\r\n•\tThe text uses a clean, easy-to-read font with appropriate and appealing free and public domain images\r\n•\tThis textbook does not come with an index or glossary but it does have an effective table-of-contents and search tool. The search tool will lead the reader to a page that includes all the sections where terms or concepts are referenced. However. the reader then has to select “read more” to find the actual term which can be a bit frustrating\r\n•\tThe text did a great job discussing newer technologies and options when presenting computer-based media aids","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"All content is clearly explained and comes with an excellent variety of images given appropriate credit including hyperlinks to the original image content. The content did appear to be as relevant, error-free, and unbiased as any of the numerous public speaking texts I have used over the past 30 years.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book was created in 2011 and utilizes timeless content so that no matter when the reader examines this text, they will find it useful and appropriate though perhaps a bit dated with some images and examples. However, public speaking concepts have remained constant for decades allowing the authors a lot of freedom in their content. Nonetheless, additional resources for presentations and online speaking would enhance the text books. Public speaking is often taken online and it could be helpful to discuss how to gather an audience and use resources to easily record and upload presentations.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is designed much like an actual speech outline. Each section comes with a preview, a body, and a summary, all of which are clear and concise. The authors use ordinary language easily understood by a wide audience without being overly simplistic. The author considers its audience and involves them using pronouns such as us, you and we.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"•\tThe chapters move from general to specific in terms of content and conceptual framework making it easy to follow and understand where concepts are likely to be found. The chapter learning objectives and takeaways present clear objectives for what the reader should learn and what they should understand after reading the content. Each chapter then provides exercises to reinforce the content. \r\n•\tThe text follows a consistent pattern throughout, including bolding key words, and hyperlinking extra content and references. However, they could be more consistent with chapter exercises. Some provide question and answers but some don’t. For example, 15.4 provides an excellent exercise asking the reader to understand what is wrong with a specific slide but they don’t provide an answer. Ideally there would be more examples covering many problems with slides. They could even link to longer quizzes testing the concepts.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This text makes good use of heading design. Each section begins and ends the same and takes advantage of consistent colors to indicate learning objectives (black/gray box), key takeaways (green box) and exercises (blue box). It was very easy to find specific concepts using the contents tab. Information is presented in small, easily digested chunks. The only dissatisfaction I experienced was having to navigate to the next section after a very brief intro to the chapter. Example: Ch 4 The Importance of Learning.  We are provided with 2 brief paragraphs and then a reference. You must navigate to 4.1 to learn more. Students will find it easy to skip the intro sections and go right into the first sections, missing out on valuable information. For this reason, I recommend merging section intros with the content for the first part of each chapter to encourage reading it.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Overall, the topics are presented in a logical order, though they add important information about the first speech in an appendix.  By calling it an appendix, it appears less important. This is highly important! Perhaps make this an entire chapter with full example speeches and slide decks to give the appendix more value. If a different order of material is preferred, it’s easy enough to assign sections in the order desired.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"This text can be viewed online electronically or downloaded into several formats including EPUB, Digital and Print Pdf, allowing an option for any user preference. \r\n•\tFor the online version, the home page provides an excellent table of contents which is hyperlinked allowing the reader to go directly to the desired section.  However, once in the text, navigation is less intuitive. For example, the reader can use the contents to navigate to any sub-section, but once you reach the end of the page, you must select the contents button at the top again to move forward, or, even less intuitive initially, the reader can advance through the content by selecting the next arrow at the bottom right of the page. This is a bit cumbersome, but not too difficult to work with. It would be better if that content tab were locked at the top of the screen while the reader scrolls down to read.\r\n•\tThis text provides a search tool making finding specific topics or terms very easy to find.\r\n•\tReaders are given the option to increase font size for easy reading comfort.\r\n•\tWhile all links worked, some had to be selected a second time to make the connection.\r\n•\tThere are no page numbers for the electronic guide, so if a student downloads a different version, referring to specific pages is not possible.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The text contains a number of minor errors including typos and misspellings. For a text of this size, it’s not overwhelming, but for a professional document, these instances should have been discovered and removed, and doing so would improve this text. These errors include a number of misspelled names such as George in one place and  Geogre in another. Other specific misspellings and typos include but aren't limited to: Atrocitties, Publiclly, noisef, Suprisingly, condominium, opporutunity, Settiing, Aloting, Bilbiography.\r\n\r\nIt could also be a stylistic choice the author made including how commas, dashes and hyphens are used, or more accurately, not incorporated. Examples include using words not identified in a standard dictionary such as nonuseful and nonoffensive. \r\nThe text lacks commas after most introductory elements or between clauses and phrases consistently through the text. \r\nIt also lacks space between words such as (but not limited to) \"orphansin”, order)Author, Laudel’sJournal","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Cultural references were appropriate and up-to-date from my perspective. Images appear to be varied and diverse to make all readers feel represented. When discussing audience diversity, the inclusion of the word chrono-centric surprised and delighted me.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, this OER text is excellent and I will be using it! It's ahead of its time given that it was written in 2011. What I like most is that it provides meaningful content in concise chunks, an approach that seems best-suited to my students these days.","created_at":"2019-06-05T18:16:45.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-06-05T18:16:45.000-05:00"},{"id":3124,"first_name":"James","last_name":"Jarc","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Central Ohio Technical College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text is very thorough and comprehensive for the most part. The content is well organized and clearly presented to the reader. Topics are all relevant to a basic public speaking course, and some of the modules could even be used for professional development or workplace training programs! Each chapter includes a clear introduction as well as learning goals, review points/key takeaways, activities, and citations. While the text does not include an index, the chapter navigation feature is useful and handy. The search function is also quite convenient.  I would have liked to see the authors include some more focused \"key terms\" and definitions, but that does not necessarily take away from the quality of this text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This textbook is quite accurate. The authors do a good job explaining complex concepts and providing support for the main arguments. Citations are clear and come from good source materials. The text is not biased, per say, but it is written in a very colloquial style which lends itself to some editorializing, and sometimes feels less than authoritative.  ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book is as relevant as possible, given the long-standing and historic nature of public speaking content. The book appeals to contemporary readers through the tone of the writing, imagery, examples, and exercises. It also includes more up-to-date information about technology, including references to popular presentation software/services. Some content, of course, will become outdated over time, but this text generally includes content that will age gracefully.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"For the most part, the text is written in a clear, accessible voice. As noted above however, I found that sometimes the writing feels too familiar to the reader, and may not be as clear as it could be. Given the subject matter and the intended audience, however, the non-technical, non-academic writing should be welcome for students in a basic public speaking course.    ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Writing, content, organization, and support are all mostly consistent throughout this book. The authors include visual cues (such as bold words for key terms), and utilize a common formatting schema throughout. Some chapters contain more depth than others, though this is understandable as some topics are more complex than others. Chapter exercises also vary in terms of quality, complexity, and learning objectives.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This text is clearly organized, and presented in manageable sections. Each chapter is divided into subsections for enhanced modularity. Further, each section contains clear headers and succinct paragraphs, with numbers and bullets when appropriate.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"In general, this text contains a clear and reasonable organizational structure. I personally disagree with how the chapters are organized (e.g., informative and persuasive speaking are near the end; introductions and conclusions are separated from delivery), but this is a matter of personal preference. All the information is there, and is formatted so that I could easily assign readings in a different order.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found the design and interface of the text to be clear and user-friendly. The online format works really well. I enjoyed having the chapters and subsections in the sidebar for easy access. The search tool is also helpful.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"There are a handful of grammatical and stylistic issues throughout this text. I did also note some errors with formatting of in-text citations and references as well. None of these issues are overwhelming to the reader, nor to they detract seriously from the usability of the material.   ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This material is generally free from cultural bias, and makes attempts to use inclusive and culturally-sensitive language. I found no instances of offensive or inappropriate content. The book does include some aspects of intercultural communication, but I feel it could go a bit deeper in some places. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, a fine textbook for the basic public speaking course. It's packed with good information, provides solid recommendations for students, and offers great support for educators. The online format is a delight to use! ","created_at":"2019-07-29T09:51:52.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-07-29T09:51:52.000-05:00"},{"id":3146,"first_name":"Jessica","last_name":"Papajcik","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Stark State College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Stand up, Speak out scores well on comprehensiveness.  It's breadth in coverage is what we should expect for a public speaking course.  The table of contents is detailed and covers all subsections within each chapter. However, there is no glossary and this text does not provide sidebars for key terms and/or concepts.  On a positive note, this text includes learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter, \"Key Takeaways\" which is a bulleted summary, and an \"Exercises\" section at the end of each SUB-SECTION in every chapter.  It also contains End-of-Chapter Assessment questions, however, answers are provided directly underneath the questions.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Stand up, Speak out is accurate in terms of content and writing.  It is written objectivity with inclusive language.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Stand up, Speak out is written and arranged in a straight-forward way. Maintaining and updating this text should prove to be simple and easy to implement.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Stand up, Speak out is written clearly with many practical examples.  Key terms are bold within the text and defined accordingly.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Stand up, Speak out uses consistent formatting in terms of chapter layouts, subsection headings, key terms, fonts, and images.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Stand up, Speak out is divided into chapters, which are divided into sections, which are divided by concepts.  The information is \"chunked\" in such a way that smaller reading sections can easily be assigned and students start/stop in the review process.  I am not a fan, however, of the style of the chunking within the subsections. The font used to label each section concept is much too large and there is too much white space above and below the titles.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Instructors disagree on the order of topics within a public speaking course.  This text seems logically organized although I would have preferred the section on argument be moved into the persuasion section near the end of the text rather than put with researching and supporting materials.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Stand up, Speak out works well as an E-text.  It navigates easily and the images and font are not distorted.  The display is easy to follow and use.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Stand up, Speak out is free of grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"While this text is not offensive, it does not adequately incorporate and weave culture through the fabric of the text as I feel it should.  It severely lacks content in terms of the cultural perspective.  As a previous reviewer claimed, this text is \"culturally void.\" ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, this text is a sufficient option for a public speaking course. Most instructors will need to supplement in terms of rhetorical theory, culture, and arguments/reasoning.","created_at":"2019-08-13T10:36:39.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-08-13T10:36:39.000-05:00"},{"id":3206,"first_name":"William","last_name":"Bettler","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Hanover College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"As an experiment, I used this text alongside another general public speaking text in my introductory public speaking class. I consistently found that while the two texts had more similarity than difference, this text had extras. For example, while both texts covered genres of speaking, rhetorical concepts/terms, presentation/visual aids, audience analysis, etc. this text had the extra dimension of integrating ethical considerations into each topic (and this is no small thing--this is a substantive difference). Further, the chapter exercises at the end of each chapter were useful to my students.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This particular criterion doesn't apply as much to a public speaking text--it's hard to label something as \"accurate\" in the context of public speaking pedagogy. Public speaking texts tend to be collections of \"best practices,\" and this text is an especially useful one. I particularly appreciated the chapters on Introductions and Conclusions, which are very detailed and could have easily been mentioned above in my response about \"comprehensiveness.\" In terms of bias, the authors of this text do an excellent job of side-stepping some common pitfalls. For example, the chapter on presentation aids has an example from the Chinese alphabet, avoiding any hint of ethnocentrism. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Staying relevant is a real challenge for public speaking texts. With its emphasis on best practices, an effective speaking text is expected to encompass the history of public address, from the Ancient Greeks to the present day. Consequently, a chapter on Presentation Aids, is particularly challenging to write. This text is laudatory in its attempt to blend timeless wisdom (e.g. clarity and understanding are key goals of using presentation aids) with more timely observations, such as which type of software to use to make audience-grabbing graphics. Table 15.1 in section 15.3 is going to be quite useful to students, as it not only identifies the most popular software packages, but also contains links that enable students to download or purchase the software. While this sort of content is, by nature, time-sensitive, it represents a strength of this text. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This books is accessible and easy to read. It contains a fair amount of specialized language, definitions, and concepts. But it is quite thorough in its explanation and discussion of said content. For example, in section 4.2, the text identifies, defines, and discusses 4 different listening styles. These immediately became vocabulary words, but, at the same time, they are explained and illustrated in such a way that students who face the challenge of public speaking can easily recognize the different types in their potential audience(s) and adapt their speeches to suit the appropriate style(s). Section 5.2, which focuses on different types of audience analysis, is similarly detailed in its use of specialized language and, here again, students are likely to match their speech preparation to the type of audience analysis that suits their particular rhetorical situation. I make a distinction between vocabulary/specialized language--which has a purpose and serves to deepen understanding; and jargon, which is only intended to impress people, on a shallow level. This text is rich in vocabulary and specialized language and mercifully devoid of jargon.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text registers the tension between focusing on the speaker and focusing on the audiences and does an admirably job of demonstrating how they are two sides of the same coin. The 5 Canons of Rhetoric form a sort of shadow-organization for the early chapters, with the above-mentioned emphasis on ethics introduced early on, and integrated throughout. Later chapters use the anatomy of a speech as an organizational structure. The text concludes with consideration of the different genres of public speaking. This is all to the benefit of students. It makes the content seem to unfold logically and demystifies the art and technique of public speaking.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This is one of the real benefits of this text. When I used it in class I was able to portion out particular chapters as individual reading assignments. The emphasis on ethics and the responsibility of the speaker to consider the relationship with, and to the audience, forms the conceptual glue that holds these chapters together. I used the chapters out of order. For example, I like to discuss different genres of speaking fairly early in the term. Also, I like to discuss language and argument in smaller chunks throughout the term. These strategies were all possible with this text. It's quite flexible.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"As mentioned above, this text has a useful flow, as it moves from a set of chapters loosely based on the 5 Canons of Rhetoric, to a set of chapters built around the anatomy of a speech, and, finally, to a set of chapters covering some key genres of public speaking. Introducing \"ethics\" in the 2nd chapter is especially useful.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Interface issues are strong. The figures are easy to read and understand. Navigating is a breeze with not only chapter breaks, but also section links to click on.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is written in a professional style, free of grammatical errors. Nonetheless, it is a highly readable and accessible text, to which my students responded positively.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This text reflects cultural sensitivity and is inclusive. This is reflected in photographic images, illustrative examples, and the general ethical disposition of the text. Section 2.2 contains the NCA Credo for Ethical Communication. This not only familiarizes students with a set of principles reflecting a high ethical standard, but it seems to set the standard for this particular text.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This is a strong text. It has all of the content that other texts have, but with its thoroughness and its consistent integration and discussion of ethics, it gives students something extra, something useful, something important. As I said above, I used this text alongside another, and students routinely preferred this text.","created_at":"2019-10-22T16:24:23.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-10-22T16:24:23.000-05:00"},{"id":3382,"first_name":"Alyssa","last_name":"Harter","position":"Assistant Professor ","institution_name":"Umpqua Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook is very comprehensive in covering relative topics to Public Speaking in an effective manner. The authors provide an index and glossary, in addition to an embedded table of contents to navigate the text. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Free of errors and very unbiased. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book is relevant and echos the tried and true conversations within Public Speaking for decades!","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Any technical terminology is defined using clear definitions and bold font to clarify subject specific terms and concepts. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Yes, consistency is clear. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into smaller sections, in addition to being quickly navigated from the Table of Contents based on the smaller sections within a larger chapter. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I was a major fan of there being larger sections/progressions in speech making. Examples: Topic Selection/Research, Organizing the Speech, Delivering the Speech, and Speech Types. Most Public Speaking textbooks are organized in this manner, which is how logical public speaking courses progress. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The text lacks interface issues. However, the authors should constantly check the embedded links to videos to verify the owner of those videos do not remove/alter them in any way. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"One comment that I received from a student in my Public Speaking class using this textbook is that Ceremonial Speeches listed in Chapter 18 are Anglo-American. This student made note that most of the speeches listed talked about American custom, with little note of how other cultures would approach a speech such as a eulogy. Reviewing the text for myself, I agree with the sentiments this student posed. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Stand up, Speak out is a comprehensive and relevant textbook to adopt in the Public Speaking classroom. The content is easy to use and navigate for students and educators alike! I appreciate the chapter exercises, examples, and charts embedded within the text for students to refer to. Having used various public speaking textbooks, this one ranks highly among other well-revered authors and textbooks within our discipline. ","created_at":"2019-12-16T10:12:21.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-12-16T10:12:21.000-06:00"},{"id":3836,"first_name":"Sherri","last_name":"Raftery-Patton","position":"Adjunct Faculty","institution_name":"North Shore Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking is a practical, comprehensive and complete guide to learn the tools of public speaking. I highly recommend this book, every chapter is valuable, easy to understand, and questions at the end of each chapter offer ways to learn how to review what was read.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The accuracy of this book is on point to the world of public speaking, communicating, and presenting, especially for beginners and those who want to review and rehearse their skills.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The relevance of this book is up to date. Perhaps offering ZOOM and online speaking options in our new age of virtual learning.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This book offers clarity, the words are easy and fluid to understand, and the technical terminology is  appropriate.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The flow and consistency worked and their were references to previous chapters and sections, that were helpful to go back and review.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I think the modularity worked well for this text and this subject matter.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Personally, for my courses, I would like to see these topics sooner in the text rather than later, especially the informative and persuasive speaking because those are required and having students review those early in the semester would be beneficial. \r\nChapter 16: Informative Speaking\r\nChapter 17: Persuasive Speaking\r\nChapter 18: Speaking to Entertain","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface was easily manageable, perfect for online learning courses. The use of charts, graphs, photos were complimentary to the particular topic.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Grammar was appropriate, nothing real stood out.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I found this book to be inclusive, offering cultural differences, and other races, gender identities, and ethnicities certainly adds more welcoming value to a wider audience. Variety of photos and speakers helps all students to feel inclusive and identified.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This is an excellent resource for students who are starting to learn public speaking and presentation skills. The content is worthy and I appreciate how easily and accessible it is. One comment I would recommend is to make it clearer with a button that says either \"open\" or \"access\" book here because it is not clear initially how to open the link. As a professor, I highly recommend Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking. Students will become more confident and knowledgeable by the end of the semester with the help of this text book!","created_at":"2020-05-27T09:14:10.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-05-27T09:14:10.000-05:00"},{"id":3927,"first_name":"Patrick","last_name":"Bartee","position":"Professor of Speech","institution_name":"Valencia College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"In my personal opinion, the book covers the major steps of effective public speaking tips.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I pulled this statement from the books information.  Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speakingfeatures two key themes. First it focuses on helping students become more seasoned and polished public speakers, and second is its emphasis on ethics in communication. It is this practical approach and integrated ethical coverage that setsStand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speakingapart from the other texts in this market.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"This text is very straightforward and totally up to date.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The reading is very clear and very easy to understand.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"It is totally on point with consistency.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This text has everything necessary to help a student understand the flow and steps to effective public speaking.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The structure and flow worked well in my personal opinion.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"There is nothing confusing in the reading and understanding in my opinion.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't find any grammatical errors in the text.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"It appears to be inline with cultural insensitivity.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"No thank you.  The text appears to be inline with methods of the learning pedagogy.  I believe that a student would be able to follow the step-by-step style and flow of this text.","created_at":"2020-06-08T00:38:39.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-08T00:38:39.000-05:00"},{"id":4026,"first_name":"Stef","last_name":"Donev","position":"Adjunct Faculty","institution_name":"Worcester State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"In a time when people routinely talk about “fake news” and “alternative facts” and news agencies such as the Associated Press, CBS, NBC, etc., regularly run “fact checks” on speeches and announcements by politicians, government agencies, large corporations and organizations, the book’s stress on the ethics of public speaking is a welcome addition to the long list of public speaking textbooks. It does this quite well, and clearly and concisely, without detracting from any of the other essential elements of public speaking. \r\nThe book also covers all the components of the speech-creation process, from generating topics and audience analysis to writing, the use of humor, and delivery. While it does not provide a glossary of terms or index, its table of contents lets students know exactly what each chapter and section deals with.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book covers all aspects of speech preparation, writing, and delivery and does so accurately and professionally. It also includes samples and guidance for the standard range of speech types. As an added bonus, the book also offers good examples and advice on using humor in speeches, when and where to use it, good sources of it, how to let it develop and flow organically from the speaker’s topic and research, and how to find the right types of humor for different speeches and audiences.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The only real change in the craft of public speaking over the centuries has been the technology used to deliver it and make it more aurally and visually stimulating. Even though this technology keeps changing, the book offers a look at how to use current technology, covering everything from handouts, chalk board, and flip charts to maps, Power Point, and audio and video clips. If new technology is developed it would be easy to add it without disturbing the flow or structure of the book.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Like a good speech, the book is written clearly and simply. It is easy to follow and tailored to its audience. Even though it does not provide an actual glossary, it does explain the technical terms it uses.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book follows the standard pattern of other public speaking books, hits the same major points that the rest do, and does so with a bit more flair than many others.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is broken down into simple and clear bite-sized chunks, appropriate for people who tend to spend more time reading computer screens than books. The various sections, or modules, are distinctive and the explanations simple and focused.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The use of Learning Objective boxes at the start of each section let students know what is important in the upcoming sections, and the Key Takeways boxes at the end give them a chance to review and make sure they understand the points of what they have just read. It also includes exercises that can be used to test their actual understanding of the material. \r\nAs with most of the speech books I’ve used over the years, explanations, examples, and advice about various types of speeches are at the end of the book even though students will be standing up and speaking long before they go through all the chapters with the information they need to do those speeches well. This means a certain amount of jumping around. It is awkward and confusing, but so is developing the skills to be a good public speaker.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book is easy to navigate, and the paging and art are consistent in the various formats, but, like all books with digital links, there is always the danger of web addresses and URLs vanishing over time.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"A grammarian might quibble over some of the comma placements and the usage of the occasional semicolons, but the text contains no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text talks about culture, cocultures, and subcultures and the importance of recognizing them and dealing with them intelligently and respectfully. It covers the various conditions which shape culture: age, gender, ethnicity, education, group membership, occupation, etc., especially in terms of audience analysis and shaping speeches to fit a specific audience.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Ethics is the second chapter of the book. Since there are times when teachers fail to get all the way through an entire textbook in a class, it is good that it is dealt with up-front, which helps ensure that it is part of every speech the students give.\r\nI will use this book the next time I teach Public Speaking.","created_at":"2020-06-21T15:58:35.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-21T15:58:35.000-05:00"},{"id":4152,"first_name":"Constance","last_name":"Berman","position":"Professor of Communication","institution_name":"Berkshire Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Quite comprehensive - including a chapter on the so important but often neglected topic on LISTENING; all parts of a speech structure covered well - intro; body; conclusion.  Types - informational, persuasive, entertainment.  Keeping learning objectives clear and then following up in sections is thoughtful.  The only section I would recommend be updated is the Visual Aids - needs to be more complete on using Power Point and examples and structural and delivery guidelines. \r\nI am sure there is an index but my reading version did not show it.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is quite accurate - especially in considering various modes of delivery and purpose.  The chapters on research are quite up to date and long reaching","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The fundamentals of public speaking do not change - book definitely follows the \"canon\" of the course with examples that are relevant but not tied to current specifics.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Would be very clear for first and second year college students.  Serious approach with an ear for what kinds of questions students might have - especially in the chapter on dealing with speech anxiety and debunking myths about nervousness and solutions to this pervasive  problem.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Very well organized with theory, practice, learning objectives and exercises and wrap-up for each section.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Easy to find topic subheadings - could be used by the instructor as a resource for different topics and does not need to be used chronologically.  Can be a good resource.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Clear on organization - why and how the student can proceed.  Sub-section headings are very helpful.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Some good illustrations - although could use more - do not seem to have navigation problems.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Certainly written well with good examples that students can follow - asks good questions and then answers them.  Includes a section on humor which is down to earth and respectful and inclusive.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Quite inclusive with a section on what inclusive means when you are speaking in public and furthermore, what it means to be \"ethical\" - in each chapter - and how to use sensitivity towards the speaker's audience.  Good examples of knowing the audience and ways to show that you respect the audience.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"When compared to the industry giant - Lucas' work - this open source book is a very good alternative.\r\nOn Persuasive Speaking - there might be a little more psychological presentation on what moves people and why people do not embrace certain ideas even if presented with great evidence - How to breach this barrier might be interesting to students in today's divisive climate.\r\nI like the Appendices - gives a further look on some topics - short and easy to follow for students.","created_at":"2020-06-29T18:31:40.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-29T18:31:40.000-05:00"},{"id":4180,"first_name":"Lucy","last_name":"McKain","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"Middlesex Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I thought this book covers most of the basics of writing and delivering a speech topic. I was disappointed however that it does not go into how to write a specific objective or purpose and why that is so important in your thinking and planning before the speech. I have found students have a difficult time adapting topics to different audiences. So practice with this is critical to meeting the audiences needs as well as the speechwriters.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I think the many examples and topic comments are helpful to the learner.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Yes the images and illustrations are interesting and well done too.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written clearly and is easy to follow.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The overall design and framework is consistent.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text modularity would not present any disruption to the reader.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Text organization is clear and logical.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is clear and free of distractions.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no grammatical issues of concern.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This text is culturally relevant.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I was hoping to find a linear diagram or model of the process of speech writing. I believe a graphic model for some students, helps to solidify the concepts with an image that is easily recalled.","created_at":"2020-06-30T13:27:43.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-30T13:27:43.000-05:00"},{"id":4322,"first_name":"Shelly","last_name":"Grady","position":"Adjunct Communication Instructor","institution_name":"Community College of Aurora","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The big concern for me was that there was a brief mention of ethos, but no mention of pathos or  logos, and little to no discussion of fallacy. These are vital components of the persuasive speech process, so I was looking for further detail. The information on PSA is a great start, but it doesn't speak to pinpointing the onset of anxiety prior to the speech act, which is something I always try to address. \r\n\r\nOn the other hand, I found the text to be very comprehensive in regards to building the speech introduction, body, and conclusion, as well as in addressing outlining and resources. The analysis tools will be very helpful for students, and the charts do an excellent job of illustrating options.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content is error free, and for the most part it is not biased. I did find some contradictions in how gender is represented that could be viewed as biased. In the beginning, there is a clear warning against heterosexism, but the next time the author speaks to gender it is presented as binary. The author specifically warns against this in the section on using language appropriately, but the gender section itself doesn't acknowledge non-binary people.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The most recent example is from 2011, which in itself is not a concern. However, there are a number of places where the examples are identified as being recent, which can make the book seem somewhat outdated. The biggest concern here is that some of the links are no longer viable. Of these, some will redirect you, but the majority give an \"oops, this page doesn't exist\" style of warning. There are also a few links, such as the one for VSOTD, that require users to pay to access the referenced information. It is clear in the text which sites would incur a fee at the time it was published, but be sure to check the links now and update them as needed.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book does a phenomenal job of breaking down the terms and making them easily understood. There are a number of communication theories addressed throughout, and the supporting examples do an excellent job of illustrating these. Each time a new term is introduced, the definition and supporting examples are offered.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The Speaking Ethically sections do an excellent job of continuing the importance of ethics throughout the entire text. The book does a good job of scaffolding concepts throughout and calling back to previous chapters to build further upon presented information. The only lack of consistency was the previously noted contradiction in how gender is addressed in a binary way in some places but as non-binary in others.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I appreciate that each chapter is broken into subsections, which will make it easy for me to pick and choose which pieces I want and assign them in a different order. The Key Take Aways, Exercises, and Speaking Ethically sections were particularly valuable, and did an excellent job of breaking down the sections in accessible pieces.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text is set up in such a way that you should ideally read all the way through prior to presenting. While this is common among public speaking texts, I do not think it is realistic for the classroom. You will need to rearrange the content unless you are planning to have your students present all of their speeches in the final weeks of the term. Outside of this, it is organized in much the same way that a speech is developed, which is ideal.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"There were a few places where the print appeared to be cut off or a smaller size font at the bottom of the page, but this was very minor. The exercises are listed all numerically, but the answer key provides the letter for the correct response, which can be a bit confusing. Some of the links to external websites are broken, but the majority worked as intended.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors found.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"While I did not find any examples that were offensive, I did not see any representation of non-binary gender. Outside of that, I thought the used examples did an excellent job of incorporating a variety of names. The text also did a good job of addressing the importance of inclusiveness, specifically in language choice and topic selection, as both a speaker and listener.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I will definitely be using large portions of this text in my class moving forward! I really liked how in depth the discussion was in regards to the introduction, conclusion, and transitions, and I will be using the worksheets provided throughout for my students. Many of the reference database websites were still live links, but be sure to check every link to see if it is active and whether or not it will charge, as some of them now do. You will need to find additional resources on the pillars of persuasion and fallacy in arguments, but in the basic construction a speech, the different speech types, and overall presentation, this book is a fabulous resource!  As promised, it really focuses on ethics throughout the text, and the exercises at the end of each chapter should be excellent conversation starters for class discussion. One of my favorite aspects of this text is that it focuses on public speaking as both presenter and audience, which many other texts have lacked in my opinion.","created_at":"2020-08-14T19:51:14.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-08-14T19:51:14.000-05:00"},{"id":4341,"first_name":"Karen","last_name":"Pleasant","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Rogue Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text effectively covers the basics of Public Speaking, but it lacks both a glossary and information about fallacies.  I liked the chart (a student exericse) about ethical issues as well as the comprehensive chapters on Communication Apprehension (myths and how to reduce apprehension in particular) and the chapter on listening.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I didn't notice any errors in the book and the information was presented in an unbiased way to all students with references to \"us\" and \"you.\"","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The information contained in the book is up-to-date.  Each chapter is organized with learning objectives and followed up with exercises and end-of-chapter assessments, so students know the relevance of the information presented and can they assess the knowledge they gained at the end.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Easy to read and the use of supporting illustrations and other visuals was very helpful to get the information across to readers.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Yes, but a glossary would be helpful.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Chapters could be utilized in any order as needed by the instructor.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text logically follows the steps inherent in preparing and delivering a speech.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is fine and the images are clear and easy to read.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't notice any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The use of language chapter addresses gender and ethnicity and more information about using inclusive language.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"While the text covers the basics of public speaking, I have looked at other OER Public Speaking oriented textbooks that are more appealing and user friendly to me.  I would like to see the inclusion of a chapter about fallacies, although I could add supplemental materials myself to cover the missing information.","created_at":"2020-08-25T17:16:18.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-08-25T17:16:18.000-05:00"},{"id":4531,"first_name":"Michelle","last_name":"Scaman","position":"Term Faculty","institution_name":"University of Alaska Anchorage","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook addresses the basic concepts of public speaking within a scope that is appropriate for 100 and 200 level courses and provides clear examples as well as useful exercises. One notable feature is the appendix which provides prompts that allow for synthesizing the knowledge gained within the chapters by assisting students with their first speech. I do wish that the textbook included more information on rhetorical appeals as well as a discussion on logical fallacies but overall, it provides a solid foundation for learning public speaking.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Theories and models are cited clearly and introduced in a logical manner. Communication scholars are referenced and applied appropriately.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The examples within each chapter help to clarify the concepts introduced but are mostly broad enough that they don't seem dated. The more specific examples that were current at the date of publication, could easily be updated.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Public speaking terminology is clearly defined with examples to reinforce concepts.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter and section featured learning objectives, concepts, terminology, examples, and key takeaways consistently.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Chapter sections are divided into concepts incrementally, making them easy to align with assignments. The learning objectives are easily identifiable within the subsections.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The textbook is clearly organized with each chapter transitioning smoothly to the next. The foundation and framework for the text are established in a logical manner that scaffolds information in an accessible manner. There are clear learning objectives and key takeaways.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The textbook is easy to navigate and images and charts were legible. This was appropriately evident in the 'Visual Aid\" section as the example charts and images could be understood clearly.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not encounter grammatical errors while reviewing this textbook.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Most textbooks fall short in this area of cultural competence. While the language was inclusive and some examples referenced culture, there is room for growth.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-01-07T01:23:33.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-10T15:59:26.000-06:00"},{"id":4577,"first_name":"Lisa","last_name":"Merritt","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Central Oregon Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is well organized and follows a logical progression.  As others have stated, a much-needed Ethics chapter is located prominently at the front of the book as chapter two.  All the traditional items one would expect to find in a public speaking text is present.  However, given the dramatic changes brought about in 2020 it would be useful to have information on best practices of remote delivery.  \r\n\r\nThe is brief contents is easy to read and well organized.  There is not a detailed Table of Contents. It’s not really a problem, but simply an observation. The book is also missing a glossary.  Again, not really a problem given that one can easily do an electronic search of the document instead.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book reads well and includes relatively current pictures and examples.  The writing is unbiased and inclusive.  The content is accurate with useful examples.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text is arranged in a logical progression and can easily be updated.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book follows its own recommendation on clarity (page 105) by \"using words that your audience will understand.\"  While the standard pedagogy is clear and correct, the book is written in a colloquial manner.  It keeps the information from being intimating or more difficult than it needs to be for an introductory course.  It's an enjoyable read.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"There is visual consistency with how the chapters are arranged and presented.  There is also consistency in tone and language.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Reading through the book is pleasurable.  The information is chunked into short sections with clearly stated learning objectives.  While it does make for many pages, I appreciate the spacing and headings.  It's visually pleasing and easy to find concepts that one may be perusing to find.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"While the text is presented in a logical and progressive manner, that doesn't mean one can't easily teach the chapters \"our of order\" so to speak.  For example, I prefer to explain the body of the speech before elaborating on how to develop a tailored introduction and conclusion.  Thus I teach \"out of order\" from the book chapters that proceed from Ch. 9: Introductions Matter;  to Ch. 10: Creating the Body of the Speech and finally; Ch. 11: Concluding with Power.  Nonetheless, the order of the book makes sense and is very practical.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There are no interface errors that I have noticed.  The spacing and allowable white space helps keep this text reader friendly and visually appealing.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There don't appear to be any grammatical errors.  This is a very professionally developed book.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The inherent nature of quality public speaking requires the discussion and inclusion of cultural elements and current practices. This book does a nice job of addressing these concerns.  For example, Chapter 2: Ethics in Public Speaking includes the NCA Credo to Public Speaking which helps set the tone and expectation for inclusiveness and cultural appreciation throughout the text. To be clear, it's not an \"intercultural\" textbook.  But it does address the very basics in regards to helping beginning speakers as they build awareness and understanding of audience analysis.  No small task!","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Having taught out Lucas' \"The Art of Public Speaking\" for two decades, I find Stand up, Speak out to be a nice alternative.  The chapters follow almost the same sequence and information is as comprehensive making it a relatively easy switch for me.  This sounds selfish in a way, but that can be a big challenge when trying to find an OER.  It's nice when you can adopt an OER and not have to completely rework your course!","created_at":"2021-01-14T15:30:57.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-14T15:30:57.000-06:00"},{"id":4702,"first_name":"Daniela","last_name":"Ottati-Reperger","position":"Adjunct Assistant Professor","institution_name":"New York City College of Technology","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text has a table of contents that lists its 18 chapters. In addition, all chapters contain information that perfectly falls under the umbrella of public speaking. I would have liked to see additional chapters on nonverbal communication and intercultural communication, but concepts from those two areas are still covered in other sections of the text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content presented is accurate and unbiased.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content covers the fundamentals of public speaking, and it will, therefore, not become obsolete within a short period of time. The text allows for updates to be made.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is very easy to follow and understand.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"There is consistency in how the text and other elements are presented to readers. There are “learning objectives” at the beginning of a section while “key takeaways” and “exercises” show at the end of each section. Chapter exercises and end-of-chapter assessments are also provided.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The chapters are divided into sections; this makes the content easy to use in case select chapter sections are assigned. There are headings used throughout the text that facilitate the identification of the topics covered.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The information from the text is presented in a logical way that still allows professors to rearrange how they prefer to present the material to learners.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"There is a combination of images and graphics throughout the text. The graphics are of a good quality while the image selection process could improve (see 2.1 drawing and 2.2 black and white picture, for example).","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text does not contain major errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive. It includes discussions regarding diversity and what to do to make sure audiences are not offended. As mentioned before, the text could have benefited from having a stand-alone intercultural communication chapter.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This textbook can be perfectly used in a public speaking course. It is important to always highlight the role of the professor who will be able to choose how to use it and how to fill in any gaps.","created_at":"2021-03-22T18:49:24.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-03-22T18:49:24.000-05:00"},{"id":4826,"first_name":"Christy","last_name":"Takamure","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Leeward Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook covers the major components you will find in other public speaking texts.  Links connect the reader to more information if they are interested in specific examples.  Although the concepts are clearly defined, there is room for more discussion on broader communication concepts, more specifically, in the persuasion and language use chapters.  The information can be supplemented with other resources.  There is no index and/or glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The textbook is written clearly and with no biases.  The authors did a thorough job in citing sources throughout.  The APA and MLA guidelines were to date with good examples.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The information presented is relevant and can be continued for long-term use.  Adding information about presenting speeches digitally will bring this textbook up-to-date especially now when much of the teaching and learning is remote and online.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing style is accessible and easy to follow and understand.  Examples are provided to add clarity.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I like how the textbook is consistently formatted which allows the reader to know what to expect in each chapter.  It is also worded clearly and concisely.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This textbook is easily divided so the different sections can be utilized out of sequence if needed.  It allows flexibility to rearrange or add supplemental information whenever needed.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The textbook is well-organized and clearly formatted.  The consistent structure of the contents makes it easy to read.  The smooth flow of the textbook begins each chapter with an overview and then leads to each section with Learning Objectives to help identify the key points.  Finally, each section ends with “Key Takeaways”.  “Exercises” and end-of-chapter assessments are available to reinforce learning.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Although the organization of the textbook is clear, it would be helpful to add an index and bibliography so that the reader can find information easier.  I would have liked to see more illustrations and photographs which adds interest and appeal.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any significant grammatical or mechanical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The illustrations displayed cultural diversity with various ethnicities, races, and backgrounds represented.  It would have been ideal to include a discussion on cultural relevance whenever it deemed appropriate to expand how culture may influence the communication process.  This inclusion would be more appealing to the population at my campus which includes many minority groups.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Overall, I believe that this textbook does a great job on covering the major components of public speaking.  It is highly suitable for an introductory public speaking course.","created_at":"2021-04-23T04:38:06.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-04-23T04:38:06.000-05:00"},{"id":4911,"first_name":"Jeff","last_name":"Wade","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Northeastern Illinois University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The work is well sourced, and covers most aspects of public speaking with thoroughness. However, it is without a glossary or index. The chapters are well laid however, and the \"Key Takeaways\" and \"Exercises\" at the end of each sections provides clarity. I found the approach to speech anxiety (Ch. 3) especially enlightened. Anxiety is not a one-size fits all; and embracing the uniqueness of individual skill sets is the key for success.\r\nLacking in this book's treatment is even a cursory discussion to the physiology of the voice and vocal production. Admittedly, a course in Voice and Diction is more appropriate for a thorough examination of these techniques. So to that extent, this omission is somewhat understandable. Still, it is surprising that basic physiology (the diaphragm, Larynx, etc.) and its relevance toward the production of full resonance is ignored.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is dispassionate in its examination of passionate topics and difficult techniques.\r\nFurther, it places the material in the proper context(s). I found no errors. All the links in the text seemed to work as well.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Without dwelling on the up-to-the-minute trends in mass media, for example, this book effectively presents timeless content with some basic modern thinking. For example, its focus on ethics is well presented early in the text (Ch. 2). Its use of the Credo for Ethical Communication is an important way to start the critical thinking process. There is a sensitivity to modern nuances and perceptions in this book, which allows the students to critically examine their goals, and those if their audiences.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The prose of this public speaking book is consistently basic, without being vague or boiler plate. Even its approach to \"drier\" topics such as research and outlining are easily accessible.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The framework for topics and issues presented in this text is one of its best features. Topics are laid out before hand and thoroughly recapped. I found the students came to rely on this consistency to help them absorb material ranging from research techniques to subjective speaking styles.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Another attribute of \"Stand Up, Speak Out\" is its organization. Like public speaking itself, there is no one particular order to present material. This book allows the instructor the freedom to effectively \"jump around\" the text as needed. There is no confusion in this, as again, the text is reliably consistent in its presentation. For example, many of the later chapters on giving specific speeches could be sewn into the course as \"speech units\" as each technique is covered.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"While not containing a glossary or index, Stand Up, Speak Out is dependably clear. It relies on basic prose to break down complicated concepts. The best example of this is from Chapter 13 on language, which might be described as a slightly more detailed glossary. The students embrace this fundamental delivery of key terms.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This text could not have been more easy to use.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical or editorial errors were found.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The book might have incorporated a more diverse and expansive look into things like \"Stages of Listening,\" for example (Ch. 4). Is there one way to hear and listen? To whom are we, as a society, not listening? The book addresses the difference between hearing and listening, but seems to miss the most obvious metaphor for it. In fact, this treatment lacks depth in general, regardless of context. In this case, the plain basic approach of the text does not seem to measure up to the topic.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The book was remarkably easy to use and to navigate. Students found its consistency its best feature.","created_at":"2021-05-11T20:34:06.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-05-11T20:34:06.000-05:00"},{"id":4945,"first_name":"Emily Wilkinson","last_name":"Stallings","position":"Faculty Member - Senior Instructor","institution_name":"Virginia Tech","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook has the classic coverage of most Public Speaking textbooks today with an emphasis on ethics.  I do see that cultural identities are missing which would be important when considering the audience (although the demographic information in the audience chapter is covered quite well). And there is a very brief overview of culture on page 26. Also on page 107 there is a discussion of the diversity found in audiences.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"There is a bibliography at the end of each section in the chapters - this is nice in demonstrating the accuracy of materials., e.g. credible sources.\r\nIn chapter 1, section 1.2 under Models of P.S., I am disappointed that the 3 models shown are not detailed enough for me - I will add materials to enhance the understanding of how these models work in relation to P.S.\r\nChapter 2 on ethics is excellent, covered well.\r\nGo to Interface (below) for comments on being unbiased. - I took Accuracy to mean something different, accuracy of the material.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"This book, along with all P.S. books will be around forever.   I do think when \u0026 if revised, there needs to be attention to cultural considerations and to replace some of the illustrations - they seem dated.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The content borders on information overload.  Dense is the word I would use.  Some long paragraphs, a lot of text.  However, the Learning Objectives, Key Takeaways, Exercises, End of the Chapter Assessments help the student pull the main ideas that helps with organizing and remembering material in their minds.\r\nI also like the use of headings and the use of bold for key words.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"There is consistency in the layout of this text. Each chapter is divided into sections.  Each section is clearly labeled and begins with Learning Objectives and ends with Key Takeaways, Exercises, and a bibliography (references). All parts of each section have clear labeling all the way through the chapter.  There is an ethical box connecting the material of that chapter to ethic at the end of each chapter and an end-of-chapter assessment with answer key (wish it didn't have that or the key was placed at the end of the text).","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"As I commented above, yes the material is 'readily divisible into smaller reading sections'.  From my view this is well-done by the author.\r\nI notice a worksheet at the end of Chapter 9, which is positive for students as they work through their introduction to a speech.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"As commented above, the organization is excellent. Students could easily create an outline from the structure on the chapters. Chapters and Sections are logically ordered with consideration to the steps in developing a speech.\r\nThe only chapter that I personally would move earlier in the book, is Chapter 13 on language. I do understand the reasoning of the author's placement.  After writing your outline for the speech, you could then consider language, so the placement can make sense. Personal viewpoint.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Interface is good.\r\nAs I look at pictures, they tend to be of older white men - I do not prefer this as I think it s not a good representation of the population of our country.  Little inclusion of women or people of color. (oops, I am incorrect there is a picture of a woman of color on page 250)\r\nOn page 199 there is a picture of a bibliography that looks distorted [a simple copy from a copy machine] and overwhelming.  Being overwhelming was the purpose , I believe.\r\nIn one area I saw a reference to the Bible used as an example.  I have no problem with this, if other religious texts are also utilized - I have not seen that included.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I have not detected any grammatical or spelling errors. Upon use of the textbook, they would show up more readily if there.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"As I've already stated, this is an area that needs work in this textbook.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I am looking forward to trying out this textbook in my public speaking class this summer.\r\nI am concerned with the density of the book, simply information overload [again, this is my perception].","created_at":"2021-05-19T17:48:52.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-05-19T17:48:52.000-05:00"},{"id":5087,"first_name":"Caleb","last_name":"Lamont","position":"Adjunct Faculty in Communication Studies","institution_name":"Eastern Oregon University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers a wide range of topics, all of which are important for students to be aware of for a public speaking text. I especially liked the section on ethical public speaking, as a lot of other public speaking texts do not touch on this. Content wise, this text really covered everything there is to know about public speaking I feel. While I did feel that some topics could have been given their own entire chapter though, all the major concepts were still touched on. The only additions could be an index and glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"There is no author biases, this was a well written text and had no errors in what was being presented.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Everything is relevant today, and will likely continue to be for some time before edits need to be made. Even when that happens, the overall content will still be accurate, it will only need to be more modernized.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Everything presented in this text is very easy to understand and easy to follow.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter pretty much follows the same format and flow, and has information divided into sections.  Following the same format/structure from chapter to chapter prevents surprises so students know exactly what to expect.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Information is divided into sections, and smaller 'chunks' so it makes reading chapters more bearable and allows students the opportunity to stop reading and pick up right where they left off easily without missing anything that is being presented to them.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Everything is well organized throughout, chapters flow clearly and logically.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Solid all around.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no errors of any kind.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"For the type of class that this text is for, it did a fine job here and was not  insensitive or offensive.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Solid textbook all around and introduces students to public speaking in highly effective ways.","created_at":"2021-06-13T18:47:54.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-06-13T18:47:54.000-05:00"},{"id":5127,"first_name":"Christopher","last_name":"Anderson","position":"Adjunct Faculty","institution_name":"Bristol Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The chapters cover what you hope and expect from an introductory level public speaking textbook.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate, but sometimes ignores the historical birth of the ideas in favor of more recent discussions. While this approach will work well for most avenues of student, students in communication majors would benefit from additional nods to early scholars such as Quintillian, Ciscero, and Aristotle.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"For the most part this text holds up well across each chapter with the possible exemption of chapter 15 concerning presentation aids. The rapidly changing landscape of visual aids makes chapters on them, in any level of communication textbook, difficult to keep relevant. The good news is that anyone choosing to adapt this book for their own course can choose to update this chapter or omit it as they see fit.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The points in each chapter are accessible to introductory scholars. The book may be slightly tedious in upper level courses, but this is clearly a fundamental course book and should only be used as such.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I would need a few semesters of working with the book to be certain, but it does not seem to contradict itself after my first viewing.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"The variety of visuals is both a benefit and a potential issue. Students today are often more prone to need a consistent approach to layouts. The chapters themselves are consistent in their format, but the variety of visual aids could be problematic for some students.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The chapters are organized as you would expect to see in a book used for a 15 week semester. The real strength of the book's organization lies within the way each chapter is laid out in sub-points. A clever instructor might even point this out to their students to push the idea of how well topic organizational patterns work in public speaking.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The variety of ways in which to engage with the book is wonderful, and there seem to be no interface issues with any of them.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is well written.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book's relevance to culture is simplistic, but effective. For anyone adapting this ebook to their own course, a course director could easily add ideas endemic to their local community in a way that would make great sense to their students. Otherwise, the need for specific instances of cultural relevance are less necessary that other items.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-06-21T16:29:25.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-06-21T16:29:25.000-05:00"},{"id":34459,"first_name":"Patricia","last_name":"Walker","position":"Associate Professor in Communication (Adjunct Professor)","institution_name":"Prairie State College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"\"Stand up, Speak out:  The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking\"  is quite  comprehensive.  It covers all of the areas that are specific to my course.  Moreover, it provides an instructor  more substantive information and references  from which to select and chose, if needed.   For example,  the breadth and depth of the open text has information on the following:  the importance of public speaking, why  public speaking  matters, why ethics in public speaking is important,  how to gain  confidence while speaking, the importance of  listening and  the importance of knowing your audience.  It further describes the purpose of public speaking, why research is critical, how speech organization is central to public speaking--(i.e., developing the introduction, body, and conclusion), the  connection between language and delivery to a public speaking.  Moreover, all the chapters have  learning objectives, key takeaways for the chapters and their sections,   brief exercises, pictures, charts  and references--all of which enhance  \"Stand up, Speak out.\"   Lastly,  for each chapter, there is a  quiz that covers the key ideas of the particular sections.   I find  this a good quick assessment the particular chapter.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"From my over 20 years teaching courses in communication,  (especially in the area of Introduction to Communication and/or Public Speaking), this open textbook has accurate content--free from error and is unbiased.  As stated in the previous section, each chapter has references for users to gain additional information for further documentation.  The references of each chapter reinforce its accuracy and information.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Each chapter is up-to-date and relevant.  This open textbook, though copyrighted in 2016, still has useful information.  Professors  can assign  sections that are relevant to their course objectives.  For example, let's use Chapter 7 on how to conduct research for a speech.    The chapter  has  information that can be utilized or not--the instructor determines the range of information to use.   From my experience, students often struggle with  how to do  \"good\" research.  Lastly,  Chapter 7 discusses  what is research, how  to use different research tools,  how to cite sources and  how to avoid plagarism.  It also provides ethical ways  how to support  the speaker's ideas  by  supporting the instructor's lecture, the research librarian's lecture and/or  research workshop,  and by building credibility that fortifies   the speaker's ideas--the criteria for an effective speech.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The textbook's ideas are lucid, clear, and  provides adequate context to the terminology.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"As stated earlier,  the open textbook is quite consistent.  What I mean by consistency is that each chapter has learning objectives, charts and pictures that explain the content.  Likewise, each chapter has key takeaways and questions that cover the main items.  Also, the chapter has a quiz that covers the major ideas of each chapter. It  reinforces how a speech should be developed--i.e., having a well-developed introduction, body, and conclusion that reinforce  how an oral presentation should be constructed and delivered.  Undoubtedly, I especially  like the  \"consistency\" of the open tex.tbook because of its organization and fluidity.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The open textbook has divisible smaller reading sections that reinforce the major ideas and/or key concepts of the chapter; this describes \"modularity.\"  I am drawn to this online textbook because if offers additional information that I have cited during lecture; and even if I am using another textbook, some of the chapter sections provide a different perspective and/or reinforces  the textbook that  I am currently using, thereby helping to achieve a sense of \"flow.\"","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The open text  is highly organized, which  I have previously  mentioned in my critical analysis of  \"Stand up, Speak out.\"  Whether the instructor is a veteran  or a novice in the art and skill of teaching  public speaking, this open  textbook is highly effective and can be streamlined to fit the instructor's goals and/or  course objectives.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Frankly,  this open text  is clear and free of significant interface issues.  There  are no distractions that would confuse the reader.   I have  looked over other open textbooks and found this one best meets my pedagogical needs.  Furthemore, I am really drawn to the images, images, charts, and pictures that  reinforce and/or complement the ideas in \"Speak up, Speak out.\"","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The textbook is error free, well written, and highly organized.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is not offensive to its users.  As stated earlier, there are various  content-related questions that allow users of the textbook an opportunity to select  responses that are related to their cultural interests and ideas.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I highly recommend  \"Stand Up and Speak Out--The Practice  and Ethics of Public Speaking\" as  textbook for two basic reasons:  (1) it can be used as a standalone textbook; (2) it can also be used  as a  possible supplement  to the instructor's  communication textbook.    Lastly, even though the textbook is lengthy, this free  open text  gives  confidence for any individual who desires to be an effective communicator in any public setting.","created_at":"2023-03-14T22:19:26.000-05:00","updated_at":"2023-03-14T22:19:26.000-05:00"},{"id":35043,"first_name":"Donald","last_name":"Ritzenhein","position":"Adjunct professor of communication","institution_name":"The George Washington University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Covers the three main beginning public speaking speeches, and the generally used preparation instructions.  Chapter 5 on audience analysis is especially clear, with specific strategies and suggested assignments students can actually use.  No specific chapter on logic or fallacies.  Bibliography at the end of chapters (limited to 2011 or earlier) but no index or glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Overall many references to research studies that support the authors' advice and claims.  Or, as they point out, in the case of the Motivated Sequence don't support that it's \"better\" at persuasion than other approaches.  As with any textbook, there may be claims that some instructors would disagree with.  For me, using a mirror in rehearsal, for example, puts the emphasis on the speaker rather than the audience (good ideas, though on using practice sessions with fellow students or video taping rehearsals).  Except for \"understand,\" the learning objectives are in fact learning objectives.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"While much of the overall analysis and advice of the text still applies to preparing and delivering speeches, being \"up to date\" is a major drawback of a book initially published 13 years ago (2011) with apparently only minor adjustments when re-published in 2016.  No sources more recent than the original publication date.  Examples, sources, and some language use are dated.  The research chapter is dated given the advances in library search techniques over the past decade.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"A major strength, one of the clearest explanations, logically organized, fully supported with examples.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Consistent tone, terminology, and overall organizational framework.  Each chapter has clear learning objectives, summaries, and end of chapter exercises.  Answer keys are in letters but question options are numbered.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Despite its date (2011) sections from this textbook could be easily extracted and included with other books or as a stand-alone collection.  Some sections may strike instructors as particularly clear and helpful.  Several sections are good prompts for preparing classroom discussions or faculty lectures, even if the examples are not particularly current.  Some excellent discussion questions and cases are at the ends of chapters, and there are several worksheets that students might find helpful in preparing speeches.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Logical organization, very traditional.  The first four chapters are long and while they discuss important topics, if students were assigned to read them in order it would delay their actual speech making and presentations too long.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"All headings are in the same size font so it’s not always obvious which items are sub-items under a major heading.  Several links to online resources are broken.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical issues, but outdated gender references (his and her, “smart guy or gal”) even though the authors do highlight the importance of not assuming all members of an audience are heterosexual (p. 358)","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Use of “he or she” rather than the current preferred “they”.  Link to an inspirational speech (audio not video) is an American Christian self-help author, giving a speech to children at a church service.  A religious focus that some might not find appropriate.  As others have noted, photos of white male and female individuals far outnumber the photos of African Americans (only 4) or other non-white people.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Early chapters on why public speaking, ethics, confidence, and listening are too long to have students read at the very beginning of a basic public speaking course.  It is important to introduce these topics early, but more generally and then develop additional parameters within following assignments.  Originally written 13 years ago, re-published 8 years ago.  No further editions are likely.  Better to consider selecting sections that provide support for specific assignments rather than assigning the book as the overall text for a basic public speaking course.","created_at":"2024-05-15T12:01:08.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-05-15T12:01:08.000-05:00"},{"id":35543,"first_name":"Von","last_name":"Beckford","position":"Visiting Lecturer","institution_name":"Framingham State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text really breaks the processes down step by step, even the steps within the steps! It gives the information in bite-sized nuggets, which is helpful for students who may not have ever taken a speech/presentations class before. The same goes for professors who may not have ever taken or taught such a course before. It also leaves room for professors to be creative with how they want to exemplify the information, or turn the examples into in-class lessons.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I love how \"Reducing Communication Apprehension\" gives examples of how it can be done, including maintaining eye contact, positive thinking and eating well. Perhaps it might help to add another segment reminding students to adhere to any anxiety medications. Mental health issues, including severe anxiety and depression are on the rise, and public speaking/presentation classes can push some students to the edge. If the obstacle goes far beyond anything that positive thinking or visualizations can do, but the class is still required, it might help to just put a reminder in that if your anxiety is to an extreme level that you need medication to control it, remember to take it beforehand.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Like Robert's Rules of Order, this text gives such a well articulated and broken-down template, in this case of knowing what the different kinds of speeches are (entertaining, persuasive, and informative), and how to effectively perform each one. Meanwhile, I don't see speeches changing so drastically in the near future that any of these lessons would be deemed useless anytime soon.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written in a very down-to-earth uncomplicated words, and does consistently explain any unfamiliar terms or concepts such as \"epideictic speaking\" (speaking in a ceremonial context), or \"Caring/Goodwill\" in the context of the three factors of credibility.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I appreciate that each chapter is set up the same way 1) it starts with a breakdown of what the text will cover 2) Then the text itself follows, and is broken up into digestible segments so as not overwhelm the reader, 3) Then it concludes with a summarizing of the takeaways, before providing 2-3 exercises based on the text to put the reading into practice. Meanwhile, certain terms and concepts do repeat, especially the concept of the three types of speeches. The text can't stress enough the three different types of speeches, and knowing your audience within each one.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"One of the highlights of this text is that it is broken up in a modular form, thus allowing the professor to take each segment (whichever ones chosen) step by step. In a class where anxiety can easily derail many students, having the subject matter presented in bite-sized proportions (and uncomplicated wording) can alleviate some of that apprehension. \n\nMeanwhile, with 4-6 sections in each reading, you can also use it to your advantage by breaking the students up into groups and assigning them each one section to review, exemplify, (etc.) whereupon they can then report that to their fellow students in a way THEY can understand even moreso. It gives the students a sense of responsibility and agency through allowing them to teach each other.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Part of me wonders if the section on \"Listening\" should precede the one on \"Speaking Confidently.\" I'm reminded of how in order to be a great writer, one must first be a great reader. In both cases, one must be able to take things in and evaluate accordingly, in order to put good things out. How can they speak well if they aren't listening to and learning from those giving them information? \n\nEmphasizing listening can help prepare students to sit and listen to a speech of any length - which is a major obstacle in a world of laptops, phones, and other mainstream distractions - but it can also reveal to the students who WANT to be listened to, what it is they respond to or don't respond to. All of that can be monumentally useful before parading students up to start talking.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The pictures and text are clear. I didn't notice any navigation issues.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Nothing stood out to me.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Visually, the text exemplifies people of many races including African-American, Caucasian, and Asian (Etc). They also exemplify men and women. However, I didn't notice any specific examples of terms, concepts, (etc) that pertain to people of other identities or specific non-US cultures.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2025-06-23T17:01:55.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-06-23T17:01:55.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/stand-up-speak-out-the-practice-and-ethics-of-public-speaking","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:04:25.000-06:00"},{"id":165,"title":"Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing Vol. II","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2011,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Volumes in Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing offer multiple perspectives on a wide-range of topics about writing. In each chapter, authors present their unique views, insights, and strategies for writing by addressing the undergraduate reader directly. Drawing on their own experiences, these teachers-as-writers invite students to join in the larger conversation about the craft of writing. Consequently, each essay functions as a standalone text that can easily complement other selected readings in writing or writing-intensive courses across the disciplines at any level. Volume 2 continues the tradition of the previous volume with topics, such as the rhetorical situation, collaboration, documentation styles, weblogs, invention, writing assignment interpretation, reading critically, information literacy, ethnography, interviewing, argument, document design, and source integration.","contributors":[{"id":2716,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":"Dr.","first_name":"Charlie","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Lowe","location":"Grand Valley State University","background_text":"Dr. Charlie Lowe is an assistant professor in the Department of Writing at Grand Valley State University where he teaches first year composition, professional writing, and web design, and he is a strong advocate of open source software adoption and open access publishing."},{"id":2717,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":"Dr.","first_name":"Pavel","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Zemliansky","location":"James Madison University","background_text":"Dr. Pavel Zemliansky is an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication at James Madison University where he teaches courses in composition, rhetoric, and professional communication."}],"subjects":[{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":33,"name":"Literature, Rhetoric, and Poetry","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"PE1408","visible_textbooks_count":124,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/literature-rhetoric-and-poetry"}],"publishers":[{"id":90,"url":"https://parlorpress.com/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-07-24T16:34:40.000-05:00","name":"Parlor Press"}],"formats":[{"id":117,"type":"PDF","url":"https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces/writingspaces2/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":15,"reviews":[{"id":253,"first_name":"Alyson","last_name":"Welker","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Colorado State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book follows well with the areas I outline within my first year writing course. There are essays which correspond to all of the major topics that I cover each semester.  There are also essays which inspire new, appropriate subjects to include surrounding technology and multimodal compositions. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did not find any errors or biases in this text.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"I can imagine that the technology in this text will need to be reevaluated at some point, but the references to research, Google, and blogging seem to be fairly stable technologies used by our students at this time.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I feel that the jargon used in most of these essays is designed with the students in mind.  The questions that the article pose and answer help to make this content accessible for the students who need it.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"I found that the articles had overlap in subject and terms, but that consistency of framework shifts among the essays. I appreciated the diversity of topics and information.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This text would be easily divisible.  The overlap among topics would make this a simple task, and I appreciate that I would be able to personalize the reading schedule within my own course curriculum.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I felt that some of the articles could be rearranged for better flow from one essay to the next; however, I do not know that this impact the clarity or logic of the text.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I wish that the images were in color, especially within this platform, but they all appear crisp and readable. I did not encounter navigation issues.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any grammatical errors within this text.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I saw a wide range of cultural topics within the readings, and felt that the information was presented in such a way as to prompt critical dialogue within the classroom. The discussion questions at the end of each essay were also helpful ways for students to join the conversation. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I plan to use many of these essays as supplemental readings in my First-Year Composition course next semester.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":289,"first_name":"Neil","last_name":"FitzPatrick","position":"Special Instructor","institution_name":"Colorado State University ","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book would serve as a decent secondary text in a composition course. The included essays - as outlined in the index - deal with the necessities of a first-year writing course. The book begins with the purpose of such courses, moves to discussions of critical thinking and writing, then to the nuts and bolts of the rhetorical situation, then to researching and using sources, and finally to more complex questions of organization, collaboration, and the personal essay. An instructor might have to supplement this material with essays on best workshop practices and logical fallacies, to name a few, but there is a lot covered here. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This textbook advanced generally good ideas about composition and the practice of rhetoric. The individual essays should be useful to students, and, as writing instructors, all of the authors were quite conscious, of course, of audience. I didn't find anything inaccurate or \"wrong\" suggested by any of the authors. And while I'm sure individual instructors will find issues with some of the examples, metaphors, or language used to express the ideas, nothing was particularly cringeworthy, and the ideas themselves were sound. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I'm sure this book will stay relevant for a long time. There's an essay on the accuracy of research done with Google and Wikipedia that will probably, in ten years, sound antiquated, and then there's the odd reference to President Obama, contemporary mores, and popular culture that will date it, but the ideas about writing expressed herein should continue to be useful for a while. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"No issues with clarity here. This is a book for first-year writing courses written by first-year writing instructors, and is therefore well-written, accessible, etc. If anything, some of the essays (and examples used in those essay) are overly simple. Though by supplementing this text with more complex and challenging readings not about writing and composition, this shortcoming could become a virtue. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Again, there were no issues with consistency. This is a well-edited anthology that could easily be read chronologically. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Despite what I said in the previous section about reading this book chronologically, I suspect most teachers will pull essays from it as it suits their curriculum, and the book lends itself well to such a practice. The essays are in not dependent on each other for comprehension or usefulness. I may even use a one or two in the last several weeks of my current course. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I talked about this in the first section and in the past two about consistency and modularity. Basically, it's organized in a way that makes sense for a first-year writing course to read chronologically, beginning with the purpose of composition and critical reading/thinking/writing, and ending up with more complex meditations on writing practice. I suspect many instructors will recognize the basic structure of their courses in the book's organization. See the index for a clearer idea of what I mean. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The free PDF version of course doesn't contain links to the individual essays, but the book's page in the Open Textbook Library does. Beyond that, I was impressed with the book's quality and consistency of design. It's not going to win any prizes for creativity, but it looks professional, and shouldn't give students any reason to doubt its credibility. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Again, this book was written and edited by writing instructors. Granted I was reading quickly, but I didn't see any glaring grammar errors (or any errors at all, really). ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I didn't take offense with any of the book's essays. Again, they're all about best writing practices and therefore aren't trying to get students to think critically about race, class, or gender, to name just a few of the possible areas of critical examination to which composition courses can (and probably should) introduce students. Instructors will likely have to use a different primary text to expose students to exceptional examples of thinking and writing. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I was impressed with the ability of the authors featured in this book to articulate, in their essays, necessary and simple but sometimes elusive ideas about writing practices. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":294,"first_name":"Karen","last_name":"Embry","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Collection is comprehensive as it offers twenty-one “writings on writing” that cover a wide-range of perspectives on academic writing,offering advice and tips on all aspects of the writing process, primarily geared toward first year composition students. Topics include: the challenges of college writing, idea generation, reading strategies, collaboration techniques, counterargument, integrating sources, conducting primary research, revision, writing for blogs, and document formatting. Many of these pieces are useful for writers well beyond the first year composition classroom. The collection does not include an index, glossary, or any handbook-style rules for usage or grammar.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Information is accurate and represents a wide-range of perspectives on academic writing. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Information feels relevant and contemporary. Most of this advice on college writing is relatively timeless, unlike texts that contain citation details that are subject to frequent updates. Also, in comparison to readers that feature articles on current events or debates on cultural and social issues, this material has greater longevity than most issue-based anthologies. A few of the digitally-focused pieces in the collection risk becoming dated more quickly, such as the essay on blogs and collaborative writing technologies.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"While the essays are clearly written with excellent examples for illustrating points covered, some instructors might not find this format to be the clearest presentation of much of the material. Essays on MLA style, document formation, and integrating sources offer advice that is more traditionally presented in handbook format.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Style of the essays is consistent throughout. While the collection covers a wide-range of topics geared toward the first year college composition student--and the essays themselves do not cross-reference each other in any direct way--the length, tone, and purpose of the pieces creates a clear unity here. Most essays propose specific exercises and assignments for writing—all offer enumerated questions for discussion and reflection immediately following the text.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"As an edited collection of essays, this text lends itself well to mixing and matching with other materials. While the progression of the collection does build a useful scaffold of skills that complement each other by addressing different aspects of the writing process, each essay can stand on its own.  ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Organization makes sense, as the anthology is roughly arranged from pieces that address college writing in general to those that take on specific aspects of the writing and research process, concluding with a focus on digital technologies for writing and collaboration. This sequence reflects how these skills would logically develop throughout an academic course. A few selections feel out of order if literally using their order of appearance for syllabus design, as I might assign “Invention Potentials” and a “Who I am” essay early in the quarter, along with “Document Design and Formatting”—otherwise the order here is logical and helpful for syllabus planning. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No issues with the interface. Structure is straight forward and display is clear. Readability for some images requires zooming in farther than the average level of focus for reading—but this is not an image-heavy text.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Impeccable.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Language feels inclusive and contemporary—nothing stands out as insensitive or outdated in viewpoint.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Overall I love the essays in this collection and will absolutely be working some of them into my composition classroom. What I really like here is that nearly every essay leads seamlessly into a specific type of writing assignment; thus, the collection works well as a basis for structuring a first year composition syllabus. Additionally, information that is often presented in handbook-style “rule” format is couched in essays here (such as tips on integrating sources) and I think this offers depth, reflective engagement, and is a refreshing alternative to bullet-pointed handbook lists. The first essay in the collection sets up the contrast of “rhetoric versus rules,” and this establishes the tone for what follows, as the collection refrains from giving students simplified rules for writing, but instead offers them examples of critical thinking about issues in writing and invites them to think along, rather than memorize a list of rules for academic writing. \r\n\r\nFor me, using the entire collection is unlikely, as I find that students can only handle so much “writing on writing.” While these essays are all ostensibly addressed to students, the subject matter of first year composition makes some of these selections feel more geared toward composition instructors—as I find it hard to believe that most first year students could maintain their enthusiasm throughout twenty-one readings about the nature of college writing. With that in mind, I can imagine adopting this text and pairing it with other readings in which the content goes beyond writing, along with basic handbook material for formatting, grammar, and punctuation review. This collection provides an excellent foundation for a research-heavy course in which students are responsible for gathering their own readings and research that would provide the basis for content beyond these “writings on writing.” Too many outstanding selections here to cover in detail, but a few of my favorite are Catherine Savini's \"Looking for Trouble: Finding Your Way into a Writing Assignment,\" Karen Rosenberg's \"Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources,\" Kyle D. Stedman's \"Annoying Ways People Use Sources,\" and Steven D. Krause's \"On the Other Hand: The Role of Antithetical Writing in First Year Composition Courses.\"\r\n","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":303,"first_name":"Megan","last_name":"Knight","position":"Senior Lecturer","institution_name":"The University of Iowa","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This collection of essays provides comprehensive coverage of key issues in the first-year composition classroom. It addresses core skills––composing as a process, reading as a critical act, writing as a series of rhetorical decisions––elucidating them and breaking them down into more manageable steps for students new to the scholarly community. It introduces crucial rhetorical concepts such as audience awareness, and demystifies the idea of \"academic writing.\" It also offers students excellent guidelines for composing in a digital landscape (blogging, collaborative writing technologies) and for conducting meaningful research (primary, secondary, ethnographic). In addition, each essay is accompanied by a brief apparatus in the form of a series of questions (for writing or discussion) and a set of notes/citations. How great to have a book that uses the kind of citation system we ask our students to employ! The collection lays out a wonderful array of learning tools that students would undoubtedly find useful throughout their college careers and beyond. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The essay collection (both essays and apparatus) accurately covers the arc of the composing process and touches on just the kinds of questions students are likely to have in a first-year composition course: what does a good thesis include? How can I find my way into a challenging writing assignment? What constitutes a scholarly source? Wow can I engage meaningfully with other viewpoints and synthesize a range of ideas? It isn't exactly a *textbook* in the sense of providing neutral information about a subject––it's more a guidebook or rhetoric handbook––but as a collection of perspectives on writing in the academy it's accurate and informative. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Some essays in the collection are relatively timeless, such as Mike Bunn's \"How to Read Like a Writer\" and Gita DasBender's \"Critical Thinking in College Writing: From the Personal to the Academic.\" Other pieces addressing aspects of college-level reading and writing that are likely to be more fast-moving and ephemeral, such as Randall McClure's \"Googlepedia: Turning Information into Research Skills\" and Alex Reid's \"Why Blog? Searching for Writing on the Web,\" may become dated and will likely need to be updated or replaced regularly. (I noticed a few URLs, such as on p. 233 of McClure's piece; those are unlikely to stay current and will need to be updated frequently or replaced with keywords.)\n","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"These essays are written in a prose style that is clear, engaging, and personable. Any jargon or technical terminology is explained in careful detail. I was charmed by the wit and intelligence of the material, which I feel addresses students directly without ever talking down to them, offering tools and motivation that invite readers into the ongoing conversation of humankind. \n","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"While of course there are stylistic distinctions from one essay to the next, as a whole the collection is consistent in terms of composition terminology and concepts. It fits together into a coherent whole in the sense that it puts forward a framework for understanding composition processes and then follows that arc throughout. The text seems flexible enough that it could work well in a range of first-year composition courses. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"As a collection of essays with brief apparatus, the text is of course entirely modular. For less experienced teachers, it follows (as mentioned above) a sensible composition arc, from foundational skills to more specialized issues, so it could be read in order; for more experienced teachers, it would be flexible enough to allow classes to pick and choose the order and kind of essays they read. ","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"While the aforementioned arc of composition skills and concepts the book puts forward is logical, meaning the book's structure is perfectly straightforward, I think some divisions of the material––sections, subcategorizations, indexes?––would increase the collection's utility. For example, if the arc itself were made more visible (since the essay titles themselves don't always explicitly state the essay's pedagogical focus), then the move from foundational skills and concepts (critical reading) to more specialized issues (blogging) would be more visible to both teachers and students. Grouping the essays according to skills might also be useful: Critical Reading, Writing as a Process, Conducting Meaningful Research. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The book's interface (as a PDF) is quite user-friendly: the hyperlinked table of contents is convenient, scrolling is effortless, tables and images are glitch-free, and navigation is quite smooth. It might be nice to have the notes/citations and reading questions at the end of each selection linked/in the table of contents as well, though I don't know how feasible that would be. (Hyperlinking web addresses within the text would be wonderful too––but perhaps that would make the text go out of date more quickly/create a lot of busywork.) ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"These essays and the accompanying apparatus (notes, citations) are clearly written and, as far as I could see, free of grammar errors or sentence-level issues. (I think I spotted one set of questions with quotes that were formatted with the question mark inside the quotation marks, though the question mark wasn't part of the original quote...backtracking I couldn't find the page again.)","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The essay collection is in no way culturally insensitive or offensive––but it also offers little discussion of how identity shapes one's approach/point of entry into academia. As such it doesn't seem to speak to the range of students likely to be present in today's composition classrooms. The essays seem to assume a fairly uniform student body, with a fairly uniform set of skills and expectations (Stedman is one exception), but today's campuses are *global*. More explicit attention to prior knowledge (what do students bring with them? what do they worry they are missing?) would be welcome, as would more discussion of how academic expectations (of prose style/voice, of familiarity with resources like library databases, etc.) are culturally determined. Perhaps the uniformity is a result of all the pieces in the collection being written by educators from one field (or at least scholarly area), who share some commonalities in background and experience? Feels a bit insular. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I enjoyed reading these pieces. As I read I found myself smiling, nodding, wanting to highlight passages. That said, I'd be unlikely to adopt the book as a whole, primarily because it's a lot of reading *about* something that we want our students to be actively *practicing*. (Akin to having students in a cooking course read cookbooks all semester but never enter a kitchen.) This book would work best used in small parts or as an accompaniment to some other text(s)––a trade book and/or a podcast, for example, so that students could put some of these skills and concepts into action interacting with texts that are about something other than composition itself. Also, I kept wondering what these essays were written in response to: a prompt/invitation? A brief introduction that explains how the collection actually came together would provide some useful rhetorical context. Thank you!","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":358,"first_name":"George","last_name":"Zamzow","position":"Instructor, Composition \u0026 Literature","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I'm not sure this book is intended to be a comprehensive look at writing. Rather, it is a compilation of essays that's highly modular and flexible. That said, it does cover writing topics about as comprehensively as is possible for this format.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found this book highly accurate, which is rare for a book of this type. Because so much of the writing process is different for different people and situations, it's challenging to make a book on process that's 'accurate' throughout. This one framed issues in writing in the right way, something that I really like for the composition classroom, where many texts are still in the old mode of talking about 'modes' of writing, rather that 'context' and 'genre,' which is a real strength of this text.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"My comment above on accuracy applies here. The book is written with an awareness of best-practices in composition pedagogy, encouraging students to think about the rhetorical situation, rather than looking at writing as a process of following rigid rules.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"While it varies from essay to essay, the book is overall quite accessible, speaking about complex issues with relevant and easy-to-understand examples. In several essays, I was very impressed with how the writers demystify complex processes; this is exactly what I'm looking for in the comp classroom.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"It feels a little unfair to judge the book on this parameter, as it is a collection of essays. However, as a collection of essays, the book had great unity of purpose and vision, and is arranged in a way that makes it flow well for use in composition classes. While terminology is not always consistent, each essay does a good job of situating the reader and helping to explain complex information. The book is consistent in the way it simplifies complex ideas and processes into plain language with clear examples. It's also consistent in terms of being in-line with current Rhet/Comp theory.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"It's a collection of essays, so it's super modular. Also, the way it's presented in the library makes this even easier--you can grab a pdf of just one essay, or the whole thing, and all the pdfs include links to helps students or instructors find the rest of the book. This is one of my favorite things about it.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Again, it feels a little unfair to evaluate the book on this parameter. However, as a collection of essays, the flow and unity of approach here is excellent. I feel like if I used this book in its entirety, I would probably change the order a lot less than I would with commercially available readers from the big publishers.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Excellent--pdfs are clean \u0026amp; easy to read.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Very well-written. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I did not find anything that was insensitive or offensive here. The examples used are more general or academic. I believe that most comp. instructors will be using readers and/or articles alongside the essays in this text that include a variety of perspectives.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I particularly liked Chapters 1, 5, and 15. I will certainly be using these in my comp. classes. I love how modular the book is, while still having a unified vision and good flow. I love how up-to-date it is in terms of how it talks about the writing process, and how it explains writing in a very accessible way. Overall, this is an excellent collection of essays on writing. I'm so pleased that the authors compiled this into an open resource, and I'm very glad I was exposed to it!","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":383,"first_name":"Jaime","last_name":"Wood","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Clackamas Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing Spaces Vol. II addresses first-year college writing through a series of essays about writing, reading, research, collaboration, publishing, etc. The book has a hyperlinked table of contents that makes it easy to browse around, but there's no index because this book isn't organized into distinct topics, but instead explores a variety of broad writing-related topics in essay form such as how to read like a writer and how to analyze a writing assignment by thinking about the topic as a problem. The book is somewhat comprehensive in that it is an in-depth look at a variety of writing issues that first-year college writers will encounter. However, it doesn't provide guidance around mechanical issues that typical first-year writers experience nor does it discuss some of the more typical pre-writing strategies that students might find useful such as brainstorming, listing, webbing, or outlining, but it makes up for this with several chapters that include creative writing strategies and techniques. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This book has been peer-reviewed, and all the chapters that I read were error free except for one typo, which I often find in traditionally published books, too. Every chapter includes a Works Cited list showing the research the authors did to substantiate their ideas. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I find this book to be quite relevant to my students. I listed eight chapters that I'll be using in my classes next term. Some of the chapters included pop culture references, but they were all described and explained thoroughly so future readers or those who aren't familiar with the references will still understand the context. Most of the information included is relatively timeless and won't need a lot of updating; however, any updating that might be necessary would be easy for the authors to do. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"For the most part, I found the content to be very clear, and many of the chapters had a friendly, conversational tone, which I think students will appreciate. Most chapters include stories and incorporate student work, quotes, and classroom examples that readers will be able to relate to easily. A found a couple of the chapters to be written a little bit over the heads of my students, so I won't be using those. One chapter, for example, mentions the name of a composition theory but doesn't go far enough to explain it so students understand the jargon and how to interpret it in the context of the chapter. This is an exception though. Most of the chapters are easy to read and understand. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is very consistent in terms of content, format, and topics. Readers will easily know what to expect from this book after reading just one chapter because all chapters are set up in a similar format with an introduction (which is often a personal narrative), section headings with detailed information/examples, a conclusion, discussion questions, and a Works Cited list. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Writing Spaces, Vol. II is easily divided up into separate chapters. Each chapter stands alone and doesn't refer back to other chapters. When a reader clicks on a chapter in the table of contents, s/he is taken to a PDF of the chapter that can be saved on the reader's computer or printed out if desired. The PDF has a URL, so it can be hyperlinked in other course materials. Each chapter has headings and subheadings that make the texts easy to skim to find relevant information. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book seems to be organized starting with broad topics like \"Ten Ways To Think about Writing\" and \"How To Read like a Writer\" and then moving into more specific topics like \"Introduction to Primary Research\" and \"Annoying Ways People Use Sources.\" However, that logic doesn't always hold since Chapter 18 is called \"The Sixth Paragraph: A Re-Vision of the Essay,\" which provides a broad and deep examination of what an essay is, where it came from, and different ways to approach essay writing. I'm not sure the order matters all that much since the titles make it clear what easy chapter will discuss and each chapter can stand alone. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface was great for the most part. However, two of the chapters' links were dead: chapters 3 and 21. Everything else looked and worked perfectly. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book's grammar and layout were accurate and professional. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I noticed that the book does a good job of using both male and female pronouns and names from various cultures. The only slightly specific cultural reference that it's possible some readers might not know is an example that uses Jello as a metaphor. It talks about the difference between the plain Jello at the hospital versus the Jello that relatives make with fruit in it. I'd consider this a small issue since most Americans have at least heard of and seen Jello. However, readers from other cultures may be confused by this. Overall, I was impressed by the breadth of examples and metaphors used in a culturally aware way. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I really appreciated the overall depth and tone of the writing in this book. I'm looking forward to trying it out with my students to see how they like it. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":394,"first_name":"Dana ","last_name":"Harker ","position":"Lecturer ","institution_name":"Portland Community College ","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text seemed like a general overview of first year composition and with the exception of the chapters on research, the chapters are simply too broad for the discipline. It’s almost like each chapter is missing the second half. For example, Chapter 6 contains such a rich discussion of rhetoric, but fails to adequately focus the discussion on students writing for academic audiences. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Most the information in this text is accurate—a couple of the sections are a little biased but I actually think that works well considering the context. The author’s take great pains to discuss their own experiences with student writing and often, that is naturally bias but also makes the content a little more accessible to students. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The textbook certainly has the possibility for longevity, but revision would be so daunting since each chapter is written by a different author using their experiences in the classroom to help make their point. Making changes, unless only small, would almost require different classroom experiences and take quite a bit of work. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This book is clear and the personal nature of the author’s experiences with students creates an easy accessible style of prose. ","consistency_rating":1,"consistency_review":"The content in each chapter does match the content in other chapters, but the poor placement of the chapters only makes that consistency accessible if one were to really dig. It should be easy for students to match concepts from one chapter to the other. ","modularity_rating":2,"modularity_review":"The real gems of this text are the chapters regarding research (10, 12-16). Those are put together into a “chunk” that makes sense, but that is the only real obvious unit. The rest of the chapters are scattered and the research information doesn’t outweigh the lack of other workable units, which makes it unlikely that a lot of instructors will adopt it. There is no clear direct logic for laying out the chapters in the order the editors do (with the exception of the research chapters). ","organization_rating":1,"organization_review":"See discussion on Modularity and Consistency. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"My only complaint here is that the footnotes in the chapters do not appear on the page in which the number first appears. A lot of them are not discussed until the en of the chapter and by then the odds are pretty low that students are going to return to the number to figure out what the footnote is referring to. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I would hope that a textbook about college writing would be free of grammatical errors and, thankfully, this one is. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This book is indeed accessible for a universal audience of first year writing students. In fact, the content is so neutral, there is little possibility for offending anyone, which, in my opinion is exactly what a writing textbook should do. The one chapter in which issues of race and gender are discussed (Looking for Trouble…) is well executed and the author frames the experience in such a personal context, that the reader doesn’t feel led. ","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":405,"first_name":"Holly","last_name":"Cullom","position":"English Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Readings cover a wide range of topics that are essential for an introductory composition course, including audience, voice, critical thinking, critical reading, invention, research, and assessing sources.  There was some overlap in readings, with several readings covering the same topics.  Overall, the essays on research strategies, assessing sources, and documentation were much stronger than the essays about the writing process.  Rather than a primary text, I would assume most instructors would use this book in addition to a grammar handbook and other more challenging academic readings. \n\nAt times, it seemed the audience was not adequately taken into account.  For example, “Composition as a Write of Passage” discussed the goals and outcomes of an introductory writing course, and then included an example assignment that the author uses in her classes, which seemed much more suited for an audience of writing instructors than students.  Chapter 11, which covered ethnographic writing, was interesting to me since my students write an ethnography paper in my introductory writing course, but would not likely be a useful reading for students in writing classes that are not engaging in ethnographic writing.\n\nA table of contents is included, though the essays don’t appear to be organized in any logical pattern.\n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The essays appeared to be carefully edited and displayed no errors in grammar or punctuation.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"There were several essays with contemporary cultural references (President Obama, the Iraq War, and TV shows like CSI and 48 Hours) that may become dated after several years.  Otherwise, the content presented should be relatively timeless.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The overall tone of the essays felt a bit on the informal, conversational side, some of which felt more appropriate for high school students than college students.  If anything, it was almost too accessible, falling somewhat below the range of what I would expect college students to be reading.  This could have been balanced by including several more academic selections.  In some of the readings, there was a tendency to use initialisms (e.g. “FYC” for first-year composition or “RLW” for read like a writer) that seemed unnecessary. \n","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text seemed consistent with the framework.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter was a single essay and capable of standing alone.  Chapters could also easily be assigned in any order, with an instructor choosing to use only some of the essays. ","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"The book did not appear to have a very clear organizational structure. It would seem to make sense to cluster essays on the writing process together, placing research and documentation in another section, but the essays seemed to be in somewhat random order.","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"Chapter 3, “Critical Thinking in College Writing: From the Personal to the Academic” and Chapter 21, “Beyond Black on White: Document Design and Formatting in the Writing Classroom” both displayed a “page not found” error message and were not able to be accessed. \n\nIn Chapter 7, “The Complexity of Simplicity: Invention Potentials for Writing Students,” there were a few fuzzy, barely discernible images that didn’t have any clear relation to the text.  For example, one image included a recipe for tattoo ink, but the text was discussing the invention process and how students should determine what topics they should address in their writing.  Another strange image that appeared to be a brick wall with flyers saying “Done” was surrounded by the words “brick flyers” and “phosphorus,” again bearing no relation to the surrounding text.  Other images had text that was fuzzy and too small, making the text illegible.  ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":1,"cultural_review":"There were no clear examples of cultural diversity in the text.  This could be improved.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":746,"first_name":"Kristen","last_name":"Fink","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I would recommend this text for students focused on writing arguments in particular.  The text is a series of stand alone articles related to various acts and processes of the writing process focused on academic writing and with an eye towards thinking about transfer.  Articles cover a range of topics from how to approach a writing assignment to how to conduct primary research to incorporating outside sources via the proper conventions.  As a whole, the text covers a lot of ground; however, there is no glossary or index only a table of contents.  While accessible, the articles may be too advanced for some students. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Each article is well-researched and covers important areas/aspects of the writing process.  The articles do push some of the traditional boundaries of the college composition classroom. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Each stand alone article is relatively free from cultural references instead using examples from student work or analogy to present various tenets and themes related to writing and the writing classroom.  Some of the articles do speak to specific types of write (i.e. ethnography) and concerns with current pedagogy in the writing classroom, but each article delves into fundamental elements of the writing situation--elements which seem to evolve only very slowly. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Again, the text is a series of twenty-one stand alone essays, so each essay has its own focus and its own voice.  At the same time, each essay attempts to speak directly to students (and sometimes, it seems, students and instructors) using accessible language, first person perspective/experience, and strong examples of figurative language. There is a clear sense of the contributors trying to demystify what it means to be writer in a college classroom.   ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The individual essays move consistently from approaching the writing assignment to exploring various types of assignments to discussions on information literacy.  While no essay directly connects to another nor is there an attempt to connect the essays, there is a sense of evolution of the writing process from idea to product. ","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"Each reading is essentially its own module and there is no external structure alerting readers to the topics covered in each reading other than the title of the article itself.  Instructors interested in this text, would be smart to scan the article titles and first pages to get a clearer sense of the aspects of writing covered in each piece.  For this text, there is no real shortcut for identifying which subjects are covered in each piece. ","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"While it's clear the articles were arranged in a deliberate order, there is no external organization to the essays.  The only thing really tying the articles together, would be the reader finding these connection on his/her own. ","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"There are a few images used in a few of the articles. These are not very clear (printed very small) and were more a distraction than helpful.  However, the text itself was clearly presented. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors. ","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Examples in the articles tend to be pretty culturally neutral; however, the student names given, for the most part, do not suggest much cultural diversity and many of the examples provided would relate more to four-year college students than to community college students. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This was a strong and engaging collection of essays though it takes some commitment to make one's way through each article.  I cannot imagine assigning the entire text to a group of students but certainly various articles and exercises would be quite effective .","created_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1168,"first_name":"Sara","last_name":"Reilly","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers a variety of topics commonly found in contemporary first-year writing (FYW) courses: process, rhetorical context (particularly audience and genre), citation, multimodal writing, and collaborative writing, just to name a few. Most of the authors use and cite contemporary scholarship for their essays. It’s a useful text for a FYW course. \n\nThere is no index or glossary.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"With some exceptions, there are no issues of accuracy. Where accuracy fell short were in sections addressing citation style and digital writing. Since 2016, MLA has been in its 8th edition – the text, due to publication date, follows the 7th. However, some chapters, particularly  \"Everything Changes, or Why MLA Isn’t (Always) Right\" by Janice R. Walker, acknowledge that citation style is time-sensitive; therefore, with supplemental materials such as handouts or handbooks, this issue of accuracy is easily rectified.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Though by no means obsolete, as stated above, some discussion feels dated; this is most apparent in the sections discussing the internet and digital writing. In places, however, the text brings attention to this issue, particularly regarding citation style. In the grander scheme, the “shop talk” is current for today’s FYW class. \n\nMore locally, some of the links to websites mentioned in the text are no longer live. They would need to be updated (See pages 263 and 284, for example.)","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"For the most part, the text is easily accessible to its target audience. It includes good definitions of FYW jargon that students will understand and provides good modelling of topical tasks. \n\nWith that said, a handful of chapters feel like they are written to a completely different audience, namely, other instructors. Some read as assignment prompts. Some feel like a justification of a professor’s individual assignment. Students, if assigned these chapters, probably wouldn’t pay attention or would skip the reading altogether.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Although written by various authors from different institutions, the terminology used and approaches to teaching writing taken are all consistent with current practice in the field.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"As this text is made up of individual essays each written by a different author, this text is highly modular.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"As a whole, there’s no particular organization or subheadings, although there appears to be an attempt towards the end to group together chapters on collaborative and digital writing. It may have better served the text to have included groupings of chapters under common themes (e.g. citation, process, collaborative writing); however, it’s something instructors could easily do themselves in their syllabi. \n\nThe essays themselves are internally consistent, coherent, and cohesive.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"It would be more convenient if the library holding had the links to individual chapters instead of just the full pdf. It's not an issue, however, since the holding provides a link to the publisher's site, which does.\n\nThe images in the text were clear, with the exception of those in \"The Complexity of Simplicity: Invention Potentials for Writing Students” by Colin Charlton. I found those images hard to read at 100% (zooming in helped somewhat) and did not understand their connection to the text. Also, on occasion, sometimes formatting changes in terms of font color (like on page 284).","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There’s a single typo—“world-vievvw”—on page 45. Otherwise, I noticed no errors or issues.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"As far as content, nothing stood out as particularly insensitive or offense. Indeed, one chapter – \"Writing 'Eyeball To Eyeball': Building A Successful Collaboration\" by Rebecca Ingalls – makes explicit that some texts may be alienating of racial and/or gender minorities. Otherwise, generally, no explicit mention or attention to cultural sensitivity is made. \n\nHowever, the text does seem to assume one kind of FYW student, one attending a four-year institution. Although the authors are roughly split 50/50  in terms of gender, there is a distinct lack of chapters written by professors at institutions other than 4-year universities. This is not to say that this text is not useful for FYW students at other types of institutions. Indeed, the editors tell readers that \"each essay functions as a standalone text that can easily complement other selected readings in writing or writing-intensive courses across the disciplines at any level.\" And it does. I noticed an explicit assumption about the student only in \"Composition as a Write of Passage\" by Nathalie Singh-Corcoran when she mentions a two-semester writing sequence for FYW students; not all institutions have them. While it does not interfere with the content, accuracy, or clarity, it does, even implicitly, assume a particular experience for the students reading this text. With that said, as another review points out, the Discussion Questions at the end of each chapter are a way of getting the student to include his or her own voice into the discussion.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, the text is successful in what it sets out to do: invite “teachers-as-writers . . .  to join in the larger conversation about the craft of writing,” as the editors write. I was particularly pleased with how often student writing was at the center of each chapter. The use of real student writing, coupled with the first-person, personal essay approach to much of the work here, makes the text accessible and level with its target audience.  \n\nThe softcover edition was very nice quality. It’s a good size and easy to read. The imaging issues I discussed in the “interface\" section clear up here. Interestingly, there is a typo on page 310 (an errant bunch of ‘v’s) that does not appear in the pdf, suggesting the two pull from different versions of the document text. Because I would not personally assign every chapter for my classes, I find the pdf version more economical for classroom use. It’s nice, for those like myself who prefer working off of physical copies, to have the option of the physical book available for both instructors and students.  \n\nI have used two chapters of this book already in class with (I hope) success. The authors provide a good foundation for lecture and provide ample material for in-class activity and assignments.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1504,"first_name":"Debra","last_name":"Shein","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Writing Spaces provides a refreshing alternative to the traditional composition text, and its approach makes it very well suited to the new terrain of open textbooks. Instead of providing the usual monolithic soup-to-nuts introduction to college-level writing, the editors offer a smorgasbord of essays on a variety of writing topics penned by over two dozen different composition instructors. This leaves the instructor who decides to use this text in their class free to assign one or two or more and combine these readings with additional ones from volume I and a variety of other resources. In a world in which costs do not make composition instructors feel forced to assign a singular text that serves as a rhetoric and also often as a handbook and reader, Writing Spaces is quite at home.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The essays contained in the book are authored by a number of distinguished subject-matter experts and as such should be considered to represent an accurate sampling of knowledge in the field.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book is generally free of topical discussions that would limit its longevity; however, there are a couple of essays that because of their subject matter (MLA style, use of technology) have become outdated or may be on the verge of becoming so. The beauty of the volume is that this does not really matter; the instructor could easily select replacement materials, or the editors could choose to update the volume.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The essays in the book are authored by academic writers. Many of them are written in a lively style that should be easily accessible to first-year students, but some are more closely suited to more advanced students or to being published as journal articles designed to be read by the authors' peers. Most could be edited for conciseness.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is not designed to be perfectly consistent, and this is a strong point. Rather than the unified narrative of a textbook by a single-author (or team of authors), it offers a variety of perspectives on the writing process, and this should work well to provide students with a broader view of the field than the one they might more often receive. The variety of perspectives is also likely to be of great interest to the instructor, providing a window into the divergent ways in which their various colleagues think and teach.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book is designed to allow the instructor to select which essays to assign, making it highly modular. However, many of the individual essays are somewhat lengthy. Units of shorter length might be preferred.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The book is presented as a collection to peruse. Its usefulness would be further enhanced if it were organized by topics and/or if it included some commentary by the editors on why they included the selections they did and why they chose to arrange them in the order in which they appear.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"There are no technical problems with the interface. However, it is very text heavy and could make better use of visual rhetoric. This could make it less than ideal for accomplishing the task of engaging today's students, who have become accustomed to textbooks that are more attractively designed and to reading in graphically-oriented online formats.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The essays are well written and have been proofread carefully.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I found nothing offensive, although I would term the text generally more neutral than it might be. More often than not, it avoids examples that are couched in terms of gender, ethnicity, etc.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Despite some drawbacks due to wordiness, length of articles, and graphic presentation, the fresh approach offered by this text makes it well worth a try.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1545,"first_name":"Brian","last_name":"Graves","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"University of North Carolina Asheville","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"It's important to stress that this is volume two in a series that, ostensibly, is not yet finished (though the first two volumes were published in 2010 and 2011, and the planned third and fourth have not yet appeared). In other words, neither volume claims to be comprehensive -- but collectively they are compiling an impressive collection of common or likely topics in first-year composition (FYC) classes. TOPICS: Volume two, like its predecessor, focuses on helping first-year students make the transition to college and college writing (E.S. Reid, DasBender), and echoes or complements several of vol. 1's topics, notably invention strategies across a variety of situations (Savini, Charlton, Krause, Boyd), information literacy and working with secondary sources (Haller, Rosenberg, McClure, Stedman, Walker, Krause), and collaboration (Ingalls, Burton \u0026amp; Klint). It also expands into other topics, including reading rhetorically (Bunn, Rosenberg); writing particular genres like narrative (Ramsdell), blogs (A. Reid), ethnography (Kahn), and the essay (Lynch); primary research methods (Driscoll); multimodal design and formatting (Klein \u0026amp; Shackelford); and, though I'd like to see more of this, transfer of knowledge beyond FYC (Singh-Corcoran). In addition, these two volumes don't devote much attention to structure and style (especially in terms of patterns and variations across genres), discourse communities, multimodal composition, visual rhetoric, peer review, or the rhetorical nature of grammar and punctuation choices. It is worth noting, however, that in their CFP for vol. 4 (dated 2011), the editors invited submissions on most of these topics, plus others. INDEXING: Because these are self-contained essays that only rarely cross-reference one another, and because there are multiple volumes, the indexes do become especially important for instructors -- and students. Volume 2 does have an index, but I find much more helpful the online index at writingspaces.org/essays, which codes each chapter with several keywords. It's also worth noting, especially in the absence of an introduction or overview in vol. 2, that writingspaces.org also provides abstracts of each chapter, something the printed versions do not. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I don't want to claim more authority or expertise than I have, but as noted elsewhere, I have appreciated the \"rhetorical\" orientation of the text -- not something I take for granted, even today, in first-year composition textbooks. While I don't always find the presentation of an idea agreeable -- more because of emphasis or angle than substance -- I do trust these contributors and, in some cases, know their scholarly work outside of this text. I won't say there are no errors (who am I to say?) nor that there are no biases, but then I don't believe that's possible. These writers do have a bias: they think that FYC classes matter, that students can grow as writers, and that a rhetorical perspective on language and inquiry and information can help us engage more productively and empathetically with one another. Even that's not to say that I agree with everything they've said, but then I don't expect my students to embrace wholesale and uncritically everything they read, either. These essays represent genuine efforts by committed scholars and teachers to engage with student writers. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"What I most appreciate about these essays is also, ironically, what has at times complicated their usefulness. In short, they're addressed, explicitly and directly, to FYC students. They're meant to be accessible. Initially, I also thought they would be helpful in modeling the \"they say / I say\" idea of academic argument as an ongoing, Burkean conversation. However, the more I have leaned into \"writing about writing\" and \"teaching for transfer\" pedagogies, the less helpful these essays have become: they are neither target genres nor exemplars of scholarly research. I love that they are open-access, and that they are written by a great variety of my colleagues in the field: I deeply appreciate their currency with research and theory in Writing Studies and their relative accessibility to first-year students. I love that the essays are self-contained and can be linked individually from writingspaces.org. I love that they each model MLA-style citation practices. I can imagine that these volumes may be difficult for new teachers to use because there's no clear through-line, no unifying theme or question, no suggestions about how to sequence or structure a course around them. At the same time, some of the essays may prove more helpful for (experienced) instructors than students -- and yet also too specific or idiosyncratic in their angles or examples to be adaptable in all courses. Nevertheless, I do continue to assign certain essays regularly (especially, from vol. 2, Mike Bunn's \"How to Read Like a Writer,\" Randall McClure's \"Googlepedia: Turning Information Behaviors into Research Skills,\" and Kyle Stedman's \"Annoying Ways People Use Sources\") and fully expect to continue to recommend both volumes to my students. And I look forward to seeing new volumes as they (I hope) continue to appear.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"As noted already, I do find most of the essays to be accessible for my students. The writers have all clearly endeavored to write for first-year students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"While I've not read every single word here -- nor have my students -- my overall impression is that the Writing Spaces project doesn't intend to speak with only one voice: that's why there's a different author for each chapter. In that sense, the book might even model the communal, interactive, and collaborative nature of scholarly discourse. I will say, though, that the writers all share a commitment to teaching -- to *reaching* -- first-year writers. And they are also all scholars in rhetoric and composition, with a particular (if not precisely equivalent) commitment to fostering rhetorical thinking. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This volume, and indeed the whole Writing Spaces project, is exemplary for its adaptability and selective usability, precisely because it consists of individual, self-contained (and mostly non-self-referential) essays on a variety of topics. This modularity is, however, best achievable by using the searchable online index at writingspaces.org. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"There's no explicit rationale provided to the ordering of the essays in this volume, though a sensitive reader of the table of contents might begin to imagine a sort of logic: what makes college writing distinctive (and FYC classes worthwhile); how to get started with thinking, reading, and writing rhetorically; how to engage effectively and ethically in research; how to work in a variety of genres and technologies. Still, as other reviewers have pointed out, it might have been helpful to include sub-headings, an editorial introduction, and some teacher resources. As noted earlier, the searchable online index (at writingspaces.org/essays) is the most helpful way to navigate the range of topics covered here.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The PDF of the entire book is basic -- there are no links to chapters from the table of contents, for example -- but there are no problems with navigating or reading the file. The website, writingspaces.org, is especially helpful, with options to search on keywords and to open or download individual chapters.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I have found no egregious or troubling grammatical issues.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"I agree with another reviewer who noted that, while there are no obvious or egregious cultural insensitivities here, it would be a welcome addition in subsequent volumes to address more directly and explicitly the ways that language (generally) and writing (specifically) interact with social constructions of race, ethnicity, gender, and other cultural and political markers of identity. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":4794,"first_name":"Jessica","last_name":"Jorgenson Borchert","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Pittsburg State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook covers a lot of what any instructor would want to cover in FYW/Composition courses: from moving beyond the five paragraph essay to using sources. For an open-access resource, it does a good job at getting to the nuts and bolts of what we want our students in composition to walk away with in terms of writing knowledge. If an instructor would like to use Writing Spaces in their classroom, it would likely be a good supplement to most FYW curriculums. I also like that the chapters provide a general overview of each topic, like citation or paragraph writing, that allow an instructor to supplement that information with other outside reading or discussion.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"In reading the content, each chapter presents an unbiased approach to how writing happens in the classroom, and strategies to invoke or create good writing practices, along with helping students understand what good writing is (for example, good writing isn't necessarily about good grammar.) Each chapter is also well written, and I can tell as been through significant editing. I also know the excellent work that the WAC Clearinghouse puts out, and this collection is no different from the work I'm used to seeing from that publisher.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The Writing Spaces volume is highly relevant to discussions that take place in first-year writing classrooms, and occasionally even beyond this space in lower-division writing to learn courses. I do feel this collection needs an update. For example, our multimodal compositions have changed since 2011 when this volume was published, but of course that isn't a fault of the volume itself. If a FYW wishes to use this, I would supplement the text with more up to date information about multimodal writing pedagogies. I also feel that this text doesn't take on many racial tensions we feel in writing classrooms, or other tensions we may feel, and so bringing in current texts through YouTube and other platforms would provide a good perspective. The one thing I will share is that we still use Google Docs a lot in the classroom, and the chapter on collaborative technologies does provide a good overview of that information.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"I find the chapters clear and easy to read, which is something you need when using a text for freshmen or lower-level college students. I could even see this being used in a high school English classroom. The text itself is student-centered, which some other open access texts in my field do not have. Sometimes our open access texts require students to have some working knowledge of our field, as if they were English majors. I like how Writing Spaces does not make this assumption, and even at times seems to suggest that the teacher using the text may be new to teaching itself.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter is focused on aspects of writing that a lower-level student would find valuable as they learn academic writing approaches and concepts. No where did I notice switching of terms or terms that weren't well explained to a potentially novice reader or user. All chapters are also formatted to look the same, and each looks like a publication in its own right. I also like that an instructor could easily pick and choose chapters to download and share with students. You necessarily would not need to use this whole text.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"I like that each chapter has section headings and it is easy to navigate. The main page for the book also allows for easy, direct linking to specific chapters that pique interest. There is no overly self-referential aspects of any chapter, nor do I see large blocks of text without some kind of break in that text for the reader or user. I do wish, especially considering a text like this where we are looking at aspects of electronic writing, that there were other modalities like video included. Perhaps a YouTube playlist to supplement this reading. I know an instructor could take time to add this, but I feel we have an opportunity here to do something more with the modalities offered to us through open-access venues and publications.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The only comment I have about organization is that there could have been section headings for this collection. For example, you have work that speaks toward digital or electronic writing. Make that a section onto itself. You also have more traditional aspects shared about what good writing is, such as writing paragraphs, and that could also become a section. This would make browsing through the chapters a bit easier.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I noticed no problems of navigation or distortion of images or charts. There was nothing that was distracting or confusing to a reader.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I noticed no grammatical errors in the text, or at least no grammatical errors that jarred me. Each chapter appeared as if it was carefully copy-edited and designed with consistency across chapters in mind.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"There could be a lot more improvement in terms of the cultural aspects of this text, especially after movements like BLM. I imagine since this is from 2011 we may see an update to this edition/text. I do feel that this shouldn't deter someone from using the text as an instructor, as well as students themselves, could add supplemental text that comments on, or even comes into conflict, with some of these chapters. That could make for really fun classroom discussion.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-04-19T14:35:54.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-04-19T14:35:54.000-05:00"},{"id":4865,"first_name":"Chelsea","last_name":"Horne","position":"Professorial Lecturer","institution_name":"American University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"One of the great strengths of this text, and the Writing Spaces series as a whole, is the wide array of topics, themes, and issues addressed in relation to first-year writing. Or really even, writing at all levels. Further, the essays collected in the text book do an excellent job covering core concepts and skills in writing both in theory and in practice. Again, because this text is written for the dual audience of both students and professors of writing, the essays here do a great job providing content through concepts and also by example, through the very essays themselves. Additionally, the concepts covered in this text range from big picture writing topics to more specific, focused writing concerns, supporting the overall comprehensiveness of this text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Overall, the content in this text is accurate and appears to be free of bias. Writing Spaces covers many of the major topics addressed in writing classes and supports and supplements the content provided in other writing textbooks as well.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book stands up well, even ten years later. So while some references of technology and the digital world may have more significance and currency today, this textbook addresses some of the more fundamental, core points of writing, information literacy, and research and can still be easily understood and applicable today. In short, the text is certainly still relevant today. Further, as other reviewers have noted, it's important to remember that this text is part of a larger series, which will likely continue to cover the more recent concerns in writing studies.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written in lucid, accessible prose and is very accessible for first-year students. Again, as the audience of the textbook is geared towards first-year writing and instructors of writing, this textbook serves as a great entry point into composition and writing.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Overall, the essays in this text are consistently strong, practical, and engaging. They all follow similar structures and formats, which make the experience of reading the essays more streamlined.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Each individual essay for the most part has good modularity. Each applies useful section headings to break up the essay and make referencing specific sections easy. Overall as a textbook though, it would be helpful to have the chapters blocked into categories focused on specific writing topics such as reading or research or writing structure, etc. And/or as this also exists as an online textbook, having linked keywords or tags of topics for each chapter could help students read through the textbook or decide to read another essay more easily.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Similar comment as above. Each essay for the most part is well organized and presented. The table of contents which organizes the chapters would also benefit from some categorization.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is free from interface issues. I cannot recall any display features that appeared distorted or distracted the reader.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not see any grammatical errors and it appears as if each chapter was carefully edited.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"As other reviewers have noted, this text appears to be relatively culturally neutral.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-04-30T14:37:36.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-04-30T14:37:36.000-05:00"},{"id":33565,"first_name":"L.","last_name":"Huizar","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Drake University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The volume offers robust and varied engagement with writing and rhetorical concepts. Its particular strength includes engaging students in critical thinking about their own writing processes. That is, most essays in the volume approach writing as an intellectual endeavor alongside any particular essayistic task or tactic. In terms of comprehensiveness, while not the objective of the volume, one could read down through the volume’s essays and in doing so move from thinking/planning stages of a writing project to conducting research to writing in various mediums.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The volume, as a whole, aligns with current thinking about the teaching and practice of writing, including rhetorical approaches to audience and message. At an essay level, each offers its individual take on these writing concepts and processes. I especially appreciate that the essays are substantive. Each makes an argument about writing which can be discussed and analyzed with students at length. Some approaches, of course, might not be exactly how I would articulate a concept. However, even then, I have found value in bringing these into class discussion (when the rest of the essay is useful).","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The content offers good longevity. Essays are concept-based and not likely to change too often. Most examples are from student writing, assignments taught, and classroom situations. As a result, the essays in the textbook have some staying power. There are a couple of essays which respond to emerging (at the time) digital situations which are less necessary now than when they were first published. For instance, the essay, “Why Blog” is likely less useful than it might have been previously. That said, the analysis of digital conventions and public writing principles in this example continue to be relevant. It could, say, still contribute to setting up a contemporary multimodal project with additional work on the part of the instructor.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Essays are clearly organized and often employ brief narrative examples to help illustrate ideas. Throughout, key terms are defined and reiterated. Additionally, the volume’s essays identify freshman and sophomore college students as their immediate audience and appear crafted with these readers in mind.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"My sense is that the peer review process and editing has allowed for consistency in form and content. I have not come across any conflicting ideas in its approaches to writing. In terms of the  format, there is significant uniformity of presentation. Each essay includes a cover page and similar document design, along with discussion questions and a bibliography to end.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each essay can be read and distributed on its own. There isn’t any essential document—like an introduction or preface—that would inhibit one from selecting out any single essay from the larger volume. In fact, this volume (Writing Spaces II) continues the project of Writing Spaces I and precedes Writing Spaces III and IV. Given this series approach, I have found Writing Spaces II most valuable as a part of an expanding curated collection of essays from which to select and customize to the particulars of my freshman and sophomore writing courses.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The volume structure is loosely grouped around like-content. There is also a general  progression from broad writing questions one might take up at the beginning of a class to research to specific writing situations. For my purposes this is sufficient content organization.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I appreciate the relatively straightforward and low-tech interface of the volume. It allows for significant flexibility for access and distribution. The book or its individual essays can all be read in-browser or downloaded as a pdf for reading and/or redistribution. Overall, the text is easy to navigate and well-formatted / unfussy in its design.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The volume appears carefully edited with no obvious errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"There is nothing notable about its cultural engagement. Therefore, more actively inclusive work would be welcome.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-12-22T17:11:59.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-12-22T17:11:59.000-06:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/writing-spaces-readings-on-writing-vol-ii","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:01:33.000-06:00"},{"id":194,"title":"Liberté","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2003,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"This French book is aimed at a first-year college student. Its features include: Each chapter is built around communicative strategies. Clearly defined objectives in communi- cation, culture, and grammar are given at the start of each chapter, and summary exercises at the end allow students to measure their mastery of these objectives. The exercises in the in-class (A) sections are composed mainly of guided practice and extension activities, along with occasional comprehension checks and comprehensible input. Some further activities are indicated in the instructor's marginal notes. The teacher can provide teacher- directed “setting-the-stage” activities, comprehension checks, and further comprehensible input before beginning each section. Many models are provided to the students to give them a secure context in which to practice their vocabulary before they are asked to produce independent language. The grammar included is explained in a more narrative form and in more detail than is typical for first-year textbooks. The grammar (B) sections should be read by the students outside of class before the communicative activities requiring those grammar points are done in class. By providing more explicit grammatical detail than is usual in a first-year book, the author hopes to stimulate students to reflect on the grammar of their own language as well as of French, helping students to become aware that their study of French is not just about mastery of a new language and culture, but about a more critical view of their own. The amount of grammar is less than is typically contained in a first-year text. The grammar included has been chosen to meet the needs of the communicative goals of each chapter, and these have been selected based on what a student ranking intermediate-low to -mid on the ACTFL oral proficiency scale should be able to accomplish. The grammatical concepts included in this book focus on those that will be needed for the sentences and questions that a typical low-intermediate speaker can form, and those are emphasized repeatedly. The book implicitly and explicitly recycles material from previous chapters on a regular basis, so that students can see their learning as a continual progression rather than as a rush from one grammar point to the next. The book is ideally used in a classroom with internet and projection capabilities; the PDF version of the book contains hyperlinks to video and audio-based activities as well as navigational links to referenced exercises within the text itself.","contributors":[{"id":2993,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Gretchen","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Angelo","location":"California State University","background_text":"Gretchen Angelo teaches French language and literature at California State University, Los Angeles."}],"subjects":[{"id":31,"name":"Languages","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"P51","visible_textbooks_count":123,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/languages"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"}],"publishers":[{"id":75,"url":"http://www.lightandmatter.com/french/","year":2017,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-12-29T21:26:18.000-06:00","name":"Gretchen V. Angelo"}],"formats":[{"id":390,"type":"PDF","url":"http://www.lightandmatter.com/french/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4.5","textbook_reviews_count":10,"reviews":[{"id":225,"first_name":"Virginia","last_name":"Pannabecker","position":"Librarian","institution_name":"Virginia Tech","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"First, for anyone interested in this book, click on the 'adopt this book' button to get to the website with the complete version (http://www.lightandmatter.com/french/). The PDF version available for download on the open textbook library site is only a partial version (April 21, 2015). The website (http://www.lightandmatter.com/french/) offers full version (with or w/out answers) for students, and for instructors. *Per this website, the audio recordings used for lab exercises are only available to institutions that adopt the text - upon request to the author.\r\n\r\nLiberte is fully comprehensive as a 1st year French language textbook, and comparable to similar commercially published textbooks in its extent, topic coverage, grammar, vocabulary, and cultural information. \r\n\r\nEach chapter is thorough in content, instructional methods, oral and written practice opportunities, and supplementary materials such as direct links to youtube videos, images, and other materials online. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"This content is up-to-date and has been written and illustrated in a way that will make most of it relevant for a long period of time. The copyright is 2003 and there are a few things that should be updated at this point. One example would be one or more of the maps of french-speaking countries where country names and geopolitical boundaries have changed since the book was written. However, such examples are few and the text is written and arranged in a way that would make creating necessary updates relatively easy and straightforward to implement.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook is clear, easy to read, and provides exceptional explanation of terminology, from elaboration on basic vocabulary to definition and explanation of instructional terminology. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"This book uses a consistent structure for each chapter, and consistent methods of presenting information throughout. I would like to see the wonderful 'self-check' sections that fall at the end of chapters 1-4 added in for the other chapters as well.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Not only is the text easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points according to different instructor preferences and teaching contexts, but it also is provided in both a full version and as a set where the full version is broken into thirds - for the purpose of smaller course approaches.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This book presents a well-designed organizational structure, and easily flows from one chapter unit to the next, each building upon the earlier chapters. As noted above in the question about interface, the embedded links allow for easy navigation throughout the book itself, and also to supplementary materials online.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The links embedded within the PDF versions of this text make it easy to move throughout the book, and also outside of the book to supplementary materials online.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not encounter any grammatical errors - in either the explanatory text, or the exercises, activities, or quizzes.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text incorporates examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, nationalities, and backgrounds. It represents the spectrum of francophone regions in the images, contextual examples, and cultural information passages.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"***This book was created with learner-centered, active learning instructional practices in mind. I particularly appreciate the learning objectives that begin each chapter, and even more, the 'self-check' sections at the end of each of the first four chapters. ","created_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":249,"first_name":"Frédérique","last_name":"Grim","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Colorado State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook is a first-year book that can be easily used over 2 semesters in a program. It covers functions necessary to reach intermediate-low to intermediate-mid proficiency (although this proficiency would probably be not be reached until the 2nd year). It is organized in an order that is expected for this content and is easy to follow. It covers all the typical topics covered in 1st-year programs and provides a large range of cultural information.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I did not notice any inaccuracy overall. One aspect that I would have liked to see is the IPA transcription reflecting more the verbal mode, as it was done sometimes but not others (as for (à demain)).\r\n\r\nA few vocabulary words don't seem to represent the current standard word, such as \"séjour\" ou \"salle de séjour\", used less than \"salon\" in France.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book follows well the proficiency guidelines given by ACTFL as well as the 5 Cs. The 5 Cs could be more obviously stated throughout, which could facilitate planning for teachers. This allows the book to be very practical for instructors.\r\n\r\nThere are several cultural instances where questions are asked to make learners compare their own cultures with the ones mentioned in the chapter. Many good questions triggering critical-thinking skill. The particular comparisons mentioned in the text are such that they do not change overtime.\r\n\r\nThe content starts with a focus on words and expands throughout the chapters, adding complexity to the content, the texts and the expectations.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"Not too much grammar, which is a good in order not to overwhelm students. It also follows the content that the ACTFL guidelines prescribe for intermediate-low to -mid students would know.\r\n\r\nThere is a clear push for working on pronunciation, with the introduction of the IPA, for which I COMMEND greatly. Maybe beginning books do not emphasize pronunciation as much.\r\n\r\nThe activities are a little bit squished together, making reading them a little difficult to read through the directions and the activities themselves.\r\n\r\nAs mentioned later, the instructions for the activities could be clarified or at least illustrated more often with an example.\r\n\r\nI understand it is an open textbook, so the quality of the images is decent for this situation. There are however a few pictures a little difficult to see in details and some writings difficult to read without zooming in.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is very consistent throughout all chapters. There are the same sections in each chapter, which helps the instructor organize his/her lessons. \r\n\r\nIt also does a good job at recycling material from previous chapters as well.\r\n\r\nOne good example of consistency is the use of the IPA to support pronunciation. However, this means instructors would need to know it. This is a great way to keep pronunciation as consistent and as accurate as possible.\r\n\r\nOverall, the book follows what most textbooks present in term of communicative functions and themes.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"There are many sections in each chapter of the book, which allows for easy use of it. All components of a program is included within this text: the main text, the workbook and lab book. There are some links directly added to view videos. This format makes it for long chapters, but at the same time, all is clumped together. There is also a self-check up at the end of each chapter to see if students are comfortable with the concepts viewed in the chapter. This is a good way to encourage students to reflect on their learning.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Each chapter starts what what students will be able to accomplish, according the the ACTFL proficiency guidelines and based on the national standards, when applicable. It also announces the grammar needed to accomplish those functions.\r\n\r\nSome instructors will be happy to see that the instructions for in-class activities are in French from the start. Although the notes are in English, as well as the grammar and other sections, which are meant to be covered at home. The early sections of each chapters are in French so that the instructor can use those in class without a need to use English. For home practice, the instructions and explanations are in English to be sure the students understand. The cultural tidbits are also in English, which allows students to understand. Nothing prevents the instructor to repeat it in French in class.\r\n\r\n\r\nWith the activities, I think it would be nice if there were more examples before letting students try out. \r\n\r\nThe grammar section is in English and long, but the goal is for students to prepare at home with as many details as possible and a few activities to practice. It would be imperative to have a system that strongly encourage students to read ahead of time, in order to have a class solely based on communication.\r\n\r\nThe lab and workbook activities are also integrated in the same manual. However, it wasn't clear on how to access the audio section. The activities in the workbook did not always seem to be clearly explain. When it asks to use an adjective to complete sentences, it would be helpful for the learners to see what type.\r\n\r\nOverall, the textbook is well-organized and predictable since it follows the same format throughout each chapter.\r\n","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The text is linked to a few videos (Youtube videos) and links that allows the learners to navigate through the book.\r\n\r\nThe videos (youtube) are on cultural topics (in English and in French).\r\n\r\nBesides the videos, which are not numerous, there is not much audio support for outside work. The lab manual comes with some audio (if textbook adopted), but otherwise, this might be a place where more support could be developed.\r\n\r\nThis book is not easily applicable to a Hybrid class, unless the instructor is willing to create a significant amount of auxiliary material, since this textbook does not come with an online platform.\r\n\r\n","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The grammar is accurate and covers the major aspects needed to reach intermediate-low to intermediate-mid proficiency. It is greatly detailed to provide as many opportunities for students to understand it, and in particular, it is in English to help with comprehension.\r\n\r\nThere are quite a few comparisons with the American cultures and English grammar, which is a great way to make an impact on students. \r\n\r\nThere are sometimes many grammatical aspects to be studied in one chapter (as the past and future tenses in the last chapter), which might make acquisition difficult as learners might feel overwhelmed. More practice might be helpful.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The culture aspects are well developed. Except for a few older pieces, the information is accurate, interesting and relevant. There are many cultural windows offering a wide range of information. Some of the windows are linked to a video that brings more meaning to the content.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, it is a good text. I believe there could be a stronger communicative component added to it via the activities. There are good communicative and open-ended activities but not many. Instructors will need to add a few more proficiency-based activities in order to push their students.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":297,"first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Sanders","position":"Assoc. Prof. of Spanish (BA French, PhD Spanish, 10 years experience directing a large first year Spanish program)","institution_name":"Portland State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Note: Using the “Adopt this book now” link will take you to the most recent edition.\n\nA student edition with and without answer key and a teacher’s edition with and without answer key are available. I reviewed the teacher’s edition with answer key, last updated April 7, 2015. The scope and sequence are very good; the material covered is everything one would expect from a first-year text. It is organized around communication, culture and grammar, as described in the introduction. Its twelve chapters can be easily divided into two semesters, three trimesters or four quarters. The TOC is clear and fairly detailed, although there is no chart or table of scope and sequence at the beginning nor is there an index, glossary or verb charts such as one often finds at the end of basic language texts. \n\nSome highlights include: the instructions to the teacher are quite good; the “lab manual,” a workbook or manual of activities expected perforce with basic language textbooks is integrated into the textbook, with each chapter’s worth of exercises appearing at the end of the chapter (this is particularly good for modularity); there is an answer key (available to students as well) at the end of each chapter rather than at the end of the book (also good for modularity); and the International Phonetic Alphabet is introduced early on, as key vocabulary in each chapter is presented with its IPA pronunciation (there are also summary lists of key vocabulary at the end of each chapter, as one would expect). Also, the text takes advantage of freely available video on the web, which is generally of good quality.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I have a bachelor’s degree in French literature, so I won’t comment on the accuracy of the French or the explanations, but I directed a first-year Spanish program at a large state university for ten years, so I do feel qualified to say that the presentation of material appears very effective.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Most of the content of the text concerns language, longstanding patterns of usage and culture, both in terms of famous artists and behavioral culture. Therefore the text has pretty good longevity. An example of something that might easily be eliminated without harming the content is the rate of exchange for the Euro on page 23.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Again, I only have a bachelor’s degree in French literature, so I won’t comment on the French, but the English presentations and explanations are cogent and accessible. This is particularly true of the grammar explanations, which students are expected to study at home. The author explicitly seeks to create a culture of grammatical awareness in both English and Spanish.  ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The chapters are very consistent, as is required for texts of this type. The chapters do gradually shorten, from about 75 pages in each of the first chapters to about 45 pages in each of the last chapters. This is not surprising for a first year language text as students are gradually required to produce more language themselves (writing and speaking prompts, and the exercises and activities that contain them, become shorter while students produce more language in response to them).","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The fact that the lab manual or workbook is integrated into each chapter and the answer keys (if you chose one of the editions with answers keys) appear at the end of each chapter make this text much more modular than most texts on the market. The fact that it is generally free and the text videos are available online make modular use of this book quite possible. The audio for the integrated lab manual is currently only available from the author (this is expected to change in 2016); the author provides the audio files free of charge for partial and complete adoptions.\n \nI think this text is about as modular as I would be willing to accept. First year language programs require texts whose material is highly integrated, that is to say that material previously presented, practiced and explained becomes subsumed or repeated in later chapters. This “spiraling” refreshes student memory and helps students develop more complex patterns of expression by combining more discrete expressions acquired in previous chapters. In other words, it is not advisable in a language program to combine many individual chapters from different texts into a pastiche. Nonetheless, any of the chapters in this book could easily be used for review or to bolster a non-traditional language program for which one did not want to adopt a complete text, such as a short term study abroad program to a French speaking country (eg. a SA course on aging in francophone Africa or architecture in France). ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization flows very naturally and in accordance with ACTFL proficiency tasks, starting with the most immediate context (self, others, people, objects, classroom, family, work) and ending with the more abstract (past, future, commands).","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"This is the area where lack of development spending by a publisher is most notable. The line art (illustration) is pretty good and the text makes great use of freely available video and photography. I would have no hesitation in adopting this book, but a few things that could be addressed include: \n\nColor and style scheme: This textbook is very plain and although well organized, it would benefit from more color and style design. Basic language texts are highly structured, with many thematic sections (dialogues, grammar presentations, cultural observations, listening practice, etc.) that repeat in each chapter. Using a color and style scheme makes these sections more readily identifiable and speeds familiarity with the text for teachers and students. \n\nVideo links: I reviewed the .pdf as available on lightandmatter.com. There are numerous video clips in the textbook. The videos are on YouTubeTM and generally have 240p resolution, which is low for a desktop and is not the best quality, but works well on mobile devices because of the low demand for data. They worked well on my iPad, iPhone and PC desktop. The video settings in YouTubeTM allow the student to slow the playback to half speed, and YouTube’s software does a pretty good job of preventing audio distortion. The content of the videos is very good, culturally relevant, and is of native speakers of French. Some of the videos have ads. I would suggest using a visual style clue in the text to indicate the presence of links to videos, in addition to the word “clip”—there are also other videos linked in the text without any indication of a link other than the pointer switching to link on mouse over; links should be more prominent and a styling cue will help the user know if their device is failing to detect the link. Following the links on my desktop did not open a new window or a new tab, and as a result navigating back to the textbook always take one back to page one. Following the links on Apple mobile devices allows the videos to be opened in YouTube’s app, so you don’t lose your page in the textbook.\n\nAudio links: The audio to accompany the integrated lab manual is pretty good and the actors are native speakers. I would feel comfortable assigning it. To get access to the audio for the integrated lab manual, you will need to contact the author. She plans to have all of the audio online at lightandmatter.com by the end of 2016 so that contacting her will not be necessary. She also plans to rerecord some of the audio clips for better quality and to update any dated material. Each audio file covers an entire chapter, and is 15 to 60 MB, generally too large for mobile devices. Access to the files is currently provided through Drop BoxTM, requiring users to create a free account. It would be nice for these audio files to segmented and linked in the text at each exercise, and without the Drop Box intermediary. \n\nTypesetting: The typesetting is pretty good. I would suggest using a smaller font in the margin note textboxes; this will alleviate some of the issues arising from full justification in such a narrow space and will further distinguish the notes from the body text. \n\nI am sure the author is still working on cleaning up a few typos, such as: many of the side notes to the student and Au professeur there is a space before the colon and this should be removed; there were some margin notes in which “note” was written in italics and I’m not sure if this was intentional; on page 18, in the box containing “Grammaire: Voir B.3 “Le verb être,” page 42,” “être” should be italicized; on page 21, the asterisks in the center of the Bingo tables need to be centered horizontally and vertically; the portraits on page 25 need to be the same size; on page 40, in the body text and margin note, “tu” and “vous” in “Tu and Vous” should probably be italicized (talking about words as words); on page 49 the Au professeur note overlaps the table; the margin note on page 50 should read “…use of “four score” (“four score and seven years ago”) in the Gettysburg Address”; the last sentence on page 87, about the Marseillaise, needs a period; the Au professeur note on page 170 is set below the page; text in the vocabulary note on page 214 is overset outside the textbox; on page 519 the body text is overset on the right margin; on page 521 text is overset in the margin note; on page 523 there are some issues with the display of the table and images.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I will only comment on the English in the text and on punctuation, as I only have a BA in French (and a PhD in Spanish). I did not see any grammatical or orthographic errors. I think the text has been pretty well proofed, despite a few typos mentioned above.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Liberté presents important behavioral, historical, social and demographic information and encourages culturally appropriate verbal and paraverbal communication practices as well as an appreciation of francophone communities. The book is inclusive of francophone peoples in the Americas, Europe and Africa. I did not see any insensitive material in the book. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I am amazed that a book of this quality is available for free. If I taught first year French (I directed a large first-year Spanish program for ten years) I would very seriously consider adopting this book, and I congratulate the author for single handedly bringing it together. \n\nI think the author will continue to improve this book and its adoptions will grow. The only area of concern I have are the audio files; they work pretty well but will need to be segmented and compressed for future mobile users.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":873,"first_name":"Frank","last_name":"Anselmo","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Louisiana State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Gretchen Angelo offers a fine French-language book that is very thorough and precise and without any major or noticeable flaws in the information presented regarding grammar, phonetics, and culture.  The only flaw with this work, however, is Angelo’s stated intention that this is book will facilitate a communicative approach to teaching the target language.  In the first line of Angelo’s Introduction, she states: “Each chapter is based around communicative strategies.” (9)  If the main objective of using a communicative approach is to eliminate the use of the student’s native language and minimize the need to explain grammar details (especially the finer points of grammar or exceptions to common use), then this work falls short of this objective being that the use of both English and of extensive grammar explanations is more akin to a traditional approach to language instruction.  \n\nTo her credit, Angelo admits that more grammar detail is offered in this work than is typical of a first-year language book: “The grammar included is explained in a more narrative form and in more detail than is typical for first-year textbooks. […] By providing more explicit grammatical detail than is usual in a first-year book, the author hopes to stimulate students to reflect on the grammar of their own language as well as of French, helping students to become aware that their study of French is not just about mastery of a new language and culture, but about a more critical view of their own.” (9) While this approach may be fine in a setting in which it is the professor’s intention to employ a traditional approach to teaching language (and I will admit that the grammar that Angelo presents is thorough and accurate), I am not convinced that this book can be wrapped (so to speak) in a “communicative” package.\n\nMoreover, when Angelo presents the “communicative” material in the earlier chapters, she runs into two common problems that are not easy to resolve: the use of French that is beyond the student’s initial ability to comprehend and the use of English to present culture.  If this were to be a truly communicative approach, I would suggest that the author simplify the French and eliminate the cultural passages until this material can be presented both entirely and effectively in the target language.  \n\nIn the first case (French beyond the student’s comprehension level), I notice that many unfamiliar words are used in directions as early as the second chapter: refaire/donner/prendre/chaque (to name a few).  This would probably only cause confusion and frustration in the class, forcing the professor (I imagine) to resort to English to explain the directions.  \n\nIn the second case (using English to present culture), it seems that it would be perfectly acceptable to wait to introduce the culture until the students are more capable of understanding the language in order to avoid the excessive use of English in the “communicative” sections.  In one particularly interesting instance in which this flaw comes to light, links are given to two clips that explain “faire la bise” in the first chapter.  In one clip, a Swiss man explains the practice entirely in language that a beginning student could never hope to comprehend.  In the other clip, a young man from New Zealand is seen and heard speaking with a native French speaker.  While the skit is amusing, it is very odd that the fellow from New Zealand speaks English to the French man while the French man responds in French with English subtitles on the screen.  It’s a very unnatural and peculiar form of communication and is not at all indicative of the objectives of a “communicative approach.”  If this textbook is truly to be a “communicative approach” to introduce the target language, then neither clip is all that effective in the first chapter; in the first case, the language is far too advanced for the student and, in the second case, it is not realistic communication.  When Angelo introduces cultural material in French in chapter two, she again resorts to French that is beyond the student’s ability at this level; after discussing several differences between American and French homes, the author states: “peut-être qu’un jour, vous les observerez!” (87) This seems to me to be an inopportune moment to introduce the simple future or direct object pronouns to a beginner.\n\nIn one very peculiar case, Angelo even seems to apologize to her student users for French being difficult.  When introducing numbers from 60 to 100, for instance, the author states: “it is unfortunately best for you to learn the harder system, because that is what is used by the vast majority of French speakers.”  (49) While her point may be correct with regard to these numerals, this still does not seem like a very motivating strategy to convince beginning language students to continue their studies; it might be better to remove “unfortunately” and “harder” from the beginner’s textbook if one is to encourage students to pursue their interest in the target language.\n\nAngelo also does an very thorough job of introducing French phonetics; however, her one flaw is that she assumes either too much prior knowledge of the Internal Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or a young student’s natural interest in the minutia of phonetics and thus offers (like her grammar section) information that is far to complex or detailed for a beginning student. For instance, when trying to offer the student pronunciation guidance with the French word “sérieuse” in the first chapter, the author gives: [se rjøz] (52).  I am not so sure that many college freshmen in the United States would quite know what to do with this information even though (admittedly) Angelo does attempt to explain the IPA symbols later in the chapter.  Angelo also uses a footnote in this section to explain a case in which liaison is used but admits that such cases are rare; when using the “communicative approach” to teaching language, it seems as though it would be more effective if one did not bring rare cases or exceptions to the attention of the students but focused instead on common usage; the student can figure out the exceptions to the rules later on. In another case, while trying to instruct the English-language student how to produce the difficult /y/ sound in French, she offers the following advice: “To pronounce the single letter “u,” round your lips tightly as if to say [o] but say [i]. This sound does not exist in English.” (34) Here again, I am not so sure what a college freshman in the United States would do with such information, especially if this student is still not aware that the vowel sound /i/ is pronounced differently in English and French ~ a pronunciation fact that many American students still struggle with even after four semesters of college French.  \n\nIt is also regrettable that Angelo, who seems to be a fine grammarian, resorts to using what she calls informal English when presenting comparative forms, such as in the case of “He is taller than me.”  (321) Granted, the author does use footnotes to explain herself in each instance, but she is clearly conflicted about this herself if she has to excuse her use of “informal” (or what some grammarians might even call “incorrect”) English.  Given how thorough her explanation of grammar is, one would have to assume that the English speaker using this textbook would not be confused by the correct use of English grammar.\n\nThe most disappointing aspect of this book for me, however, is the use of English mnemonic devices to teach the target language. In one instance, Angelo uses the English mnemonic “CaReFuL” to explain when these final consonants of –c, -r, -f, and –l are not pronounced.  The use of such “tricks” (as she calls them herself) seems counterintuitive to me if one were sincere about using a “communicative approach” to teaching the target language.  The most disappointing use of an English mnemonic device was when the author used “MRS. P. VADERTRAMP","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The material presented in this book is extremely accurate and correct; I would just suggest that it be simplified if this were to be used as a truly communicative textbook for beginners and (especially) that many of mnemonic devices (“tricks,” as Angelo describes them) be eliminated. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The information in this book is relevant and up-to-date; however, the images of many of the politicians pictured here will soon have to be updated.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"It seems to me as though the book is more appropriate to a student with a more advanced knowledge of the language (especially regarding the detailed grammar and phonetics sections) than is typical of a first-year student in the United States.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is very consistent in terms of the terminology used and the material presented; it presents all that one would expect to find in a first-year French language textbook ~ in fact, much of it could be simplified if this were to be used as a true first-year “communicative” textbook.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter in the textbook is clearly divided into “communicative” activities and a very thorough grammar section (all in English). The grammar sections contain very detailed information on French phonetics.  Much of the information presented in the grammar and phonetics sections could probably be used in more advanced courses just so long as the professor does not mind presenting this material in English and is open to the mnemonic suggestions for learning proper French grammar and pronunciation.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The textbook presents the material in a gradually progressive manner within an expected organization of any first-year language textbook; the “communicative” sections of the first two or three chapters, however, might be difficult to teach and should be simplified.  ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There are many links that allow the reader to progress to subsequent parts of the book.  This was especially true of the material that appeared in the earlier “communicative sections” of the book should the student want additional information about the grammar or the pronunciation of the information presented.  It was, however, difficult to return easily to the section/page that one had originally left to find the extra information in the first place.  I also had trouble finding common words in my search bar.  For instance, “sérieux” provided not finds.  A search for “fenêtre” brought me to a picture of dog sitting on a windowsill in Paris but could not locate any other uses of the word in the textbook.  Also, the reference for footnote #7 in Chapter 6 was labeled as #6, which created some confusion. (324) ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Angelo’s English grammar and French grammar are both very good; the author expresses herself clearly and correctly.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook is culturally relevant in all the ways that one would expect a 21st-century textbook to be.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"No.","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1134,"first_name":"Peter","last_name":"Eubanks","position":"Associate Professor of French","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers all of the usual material addressed in the first two semesters of a university French language course.  The grammar coverage is quite comprehensive, and I particularly appreciate the wide array of cultural notes introducing students to important aspects of French and Francophone culture.  There is no index (though there is a very helpful Title Page) and there is no glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased.  It needs to be continually updated; there were a small handful of outdated references and anachronisms, but these can easily be fixed.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The content is up-to-date, and with regular updates and reviews it will remain relevant (particularly where certain cultural notes and contexts are concerned).  The grammar itself is timeless.  To make this textbook more up-to-date pedagogical trends, I would like to see more use of film (short films or feature-length), and to see these updated every few years.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is exceedingly clear and well-organized.  I appreciate very much that the beginning of each chapter states very clearly what the learning objectives for the chapter are.  The use of English in this case will be very helpful for first-year French learners.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is very consistent, employing a \"spiral\" method in which certain materials are recycled throughout the text in order to help students to gain mastery through repetition.  Like any good textbook, the material builds on itself throughout the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text materials can easily be divided into subunits suited to the instructor's purposes, who may easily pick and choose which materials to use or not to use.  The book is not overly self-referential and easily divisible into specific exercises, projects, or emphases.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization is excellent.  The chapters are neatly divided into grammar, vocabulary, cultural, and oral exercise sections.  The presentation of these materials is consistent and predictable, which makes learning the material easier.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface is generally excellent.  There were occasional red marks and other awkward signs on the PDF version that I pulled up (2014 version), but spacing, navigation of materials, and clarity of visuals were all excellent.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any grammatical errors.  The overall coverage of the grammar is excellent.  The book covers everything I would hope to cover in the first two semesters of introductory French (and then some!) in terms of grammar.  I wish there were more emphasis on vocabulary, however.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.  It makes an effort to discuss Francophone culture outside of metropolitan France, but I would like to see more authentic cultural readings and notes, even at the first-year level.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I would like to see more integration of film and music.  I would like to see more cultural texts, especially authentic ones (not always artificially constructed texts created specifically with this textbook in mind).  I would like to see a greater emphasis on vocabulary.\n\nThe grammar coverage is excellent, the organization is clear and predictable (which is very helpful for our first-year French learners), the exercises are very useful, and I like the emphasis on oral learning exercises.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2137,"first_name":"Denzil","last_name":"DeSouza","position":"Senior Manager","institution_name":"The Open University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"This e-book aims to achieve the intermediate low-mid ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) standard for students. It certainly has achieved this primary objective covering the four pillars of language learning: Speaking, Writing, Listening (Understanding) and Reading, using various multimedia techniques and phonetic transcriptions.\n\nThe book is clearly written for English language speakers and does a very effective job of explaining in English where necessary, whilst at the same time running activities French.\n\nThe table of contents is effective, structured and clear, however there is neither an index nor a glossary which would have probably made studying the book much easier.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is extremely accurate without any noticeable errors. The author has taken care to explain the French language in detail (in English) to students, so that they are fully understanding of the language's intricacies; e.g. gender, pronunciation, and writing techniques. It is based on \"Standard French\", as spoken ion Central France, which is understandable to all French speakers around the world.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Having studied French language and culture since 1972, I think that the contents of this book won't become obsolete very soon. Whilst French as any other language will always evolve, the level that this book is aimed at, would always that it forms the foundation, of further study.\n\nIn addition the digital assets could be amended where necessary; e.g. the YouTube video explaining \"la bise\". \n\nIt's longevity is self-evident as it was published in 2003 and is still both appropriate and relevant today.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book is very clear in its structure and formatting. Each chapter starts with the objectives, then continues with exercises and activities and a contextualised vocabulary update. A grammar section follows, with a  lab exercise and summary. The final section contains a set of revision exercises, nicely rounding off the chapter and ensuring the objectives have been ,et.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is exceptionally consistent, which is always a benefit to students. As they work through the materials they get to know what to expect and are able to plan their studies accordingly. In addition it also clearly helps any French tutors to plan their teaching if they intend to use the book.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The author has structured the book in a very elegant manner for electronic usage. I've been analysing it using Books on an iPad. Each page can fit snugly onto the iPad and can be easily turned.(in portrait mode). As such the reader is able to literally study a page at time. The author has also made good use of side-bars contains tips and hyperlinks to and stand-alone tables containing the words, phonetic transcriptions, and meanings, etc.\n\nThe author has also effectively used both photos and drawings to point out various situations. She has also used symbols to guide the reader as to what the text refers to. For example a partner symbol designates a conversation or exercise in pairs and a microphone symbol refers to interviewing people.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics selected for the book are excellent and relate to \"la vie quotidienne\" in France. They also compare favourably with other study materials I have encountered since I started studying French in the 1970s. The materials are also very relevant , utilising French names, Francophone countries, photos, newspapers and places of interest. It is a pleasure to read.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book's interface is immaculate. As I said I've used and iPad with iBooks software and there are no navigation problems The search facilities find words and phrases without difficulty, including metadata to find photos.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains no grammatical errors at all, neither in the French language nor the English language. This is testament to the dedicated work the author has clearly put into writing the materials.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book is culturally relevant. Whilst there are references to Francophone countries, including those in Africa and North America it can also be argued that it is \"France-centric\". Examples are the holidays referred to in one of the exercises relate to France.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I would definitely recommend this book as a text for foundation level at university or \"A Level\". Even though it is written in the USA for an apparent American audience, the author displays a definitive knowledge of the French language and culture.","created_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2569,"first_name":"Christopher","last_name":"James","position":"Assistant Professor of French","institution_name":"Bridgewater College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covers the areas and ideas appropriately. However, one weakness of the book is the absence of an index or glossary. Each chapter contains a helpful vocabulary reference sheet, but the book as a whole does not have this. One reason, perhaps, is that the .pdf version of the book is fully searchable, and other online dictionaries exist and are quite useful. Still, an index in particular would be helpful.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The book is accurate in its explanations of grammar topics, most vocabulary, and cultural topics. No bias is detectable. Although every French learner’s textbook contains individual quirks of the author, they are not detrimental at all to this book’s objective.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is up-to-date, impressively so. This may be one of the great strengths of the book, in that the author updates it at least every three years. Although 2003 is listed above with the book's title, it was updated in 2017. The updates made are appreciated, especially in a communicative language course, with names and references the students will understand. Also, cultural articles can be easily updated, e.g. evolving family structures and workers’ rights.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The grammatical explanations in each chapter are quite clearly written. At times, there could be more examples given as illustrations, but offsetting this is the presence of many comprehension-check activities for the students to do as they study. The explanations are readable, and written in prose not typical of introductory second-language textbooks, which tend to be much more bullet-point-oriented and choppy. Also, the mini-vocabulaire boxes in the margins of reading passages and communicative activities are small enough not to be overwhelming to the task but well-chosen for effectiveness.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The language of the text is internally consistent. What is especially useful in this first semester of teaching using the textbook is the consistent structure of each chapter. The author does an admirable job of organizing disparate and varied material – grammatically, in terms of vocabulary, cultural content – within a recognizable and easily-mastered structure.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The grammar sections are reasonably divided. Each chapter contains 8-10 grammatical subtopics (as opposed to many textbooks’ 4-6), which makes for smaller chunks that can be assigned in pieces. I find the smaller-sized pieces of grammar helpful, because it allows me the flexibility to change the order of assignments or to pair sections of the chapter that make sense together.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"As mentioned in the clarity and consistency sections, the book is well-organized. It follows a nicely-graded path of increasing complexity and is presented very clearly and logically. ","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"The text excels in this regard, as it is very easy to navigate to other places in the text. Those places are clearly marked, and all the links between pages that I have tried have worked. The one complaint I have is that it is often hard to go back – and find the exact place where I left off. For example, if a grammar topic has been referenced before in a previous chapter, I can quickly and accurately jump there. However, there is one glaring weakness. Once having jumped somewhere else in the book, unless I had made a note of the page number I was on, there is no ‘BACK’ button, as an online interface would have. In other words, within the .pdf format, it is an easily navigable text to jump around. I would like to know if other options could be explored in order to jump back to where I just was before I clicked away.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I have found no typos or grammatical errors so far in the book.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"One of the first videos, an external link to a Youtube clip, is not inclusive in its content. I should make very clear that the book’s author is not responsible for the creation of the video, but it does contain a rather insensitive remark from a male about the way French males might greet each other with kisses on the cheeks. I have not done searches on “la bise”, but imagine there would be other videos available that might be less potentially offensive.\r\nIn the other cases, the videos are culturally sensitive, and inoffensive.\r\n","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"All in all, this has been a good book to use, and students are grateful for it as a resource. My class section is well-organized, and I think the book’s clarity is in part to thank for that. I will adapt the materials, to be sure, but there is plenty here that is workable in order to meet course objectives while defraying student textbook costs. I am in hopes that I might develop more cultural materials, but one nice part of an open-source textbook is that it does not feel like we are wasting ineffective resources; instead, we can personalize (and continue to update) the authentic cultural materials used in class, based on evolving student interests.","created_at":"2019-02-14T22:23:46.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-02-14T22:23:46.000-06:00"},{"id":3417,"first_name":"pierrette","last_name":"SANSONE","position":"Visiting Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Earlham College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook covers the material needed for students to reach the level of advanced beginners. It includes grammar points that cover the indicative and conditional moods.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The book was published in 2003, so most of its cultural references to politics, the media, entertainment, and culture are outdated. \r\nIt could include more references to French-speaking countries, but the author specifies that the language used as a reference is what is spoken in France.\r\nThe book's format is fairly conservative (the fonts, colors, layout, etc.). \r\nThe books contains almost no errors and the French is excellent.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The structure and progression of the book is solid, but the cultural references (Charlemagne) as well as some of the exercises (doing math in French) could be updated. The problem is that the book needs so many updates, partly because the book has become so large, it might be impractical to do.\r\n","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The grammar explanations are explicit and thorough, including information about the history of the language, which makes reading them pleasurable and different from the explanations in many other books.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is internally consistent; I found no errors in this respect. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Learning a language is a cumulative process so this question does not really apply to most chapters. But for some tasks (learning how to ask about the time, talking about the weather, etc.) it is quite doable.\r\n","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The topics are introduced in a logical fashion with a gradual and carefully paced progression in the introductions to the past tenses (i.e., passé composé is introduced in chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7, and imparfait in chapter 9).","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Does not apply to this textbook.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"This is the strong point of Liberté. Though the book says that it uses the communicative approach, it remains an excellent reference book for learning the language in a more traditional manner. There are no errors in the book.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"More modern manuals portray more ethnic and gender diversity in their examples. This is probably the weakest point of Liberté; it does not recognize or incorporate the most recent changes in society and it is ethnocentric.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I have found a number of good activities and excellent explanations in the book that I would love to use for students of mine who need a good grounding in linguistics. The book is not immersive and communicative enough, however, for the active language classroom that I wish to create. I could use Liberté as a supplement in my courses, but not as the primary textbook. ","created_at":"2019-12-20T13:56:44.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-12-20T13:56:44.000-06:00"},{"id":4406,"first_name":"Sudarsan","last_name":"Rangarajan","position":"Professor","institution_name":"University of Alaska Anchorage","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covers all the areas taught in a two-semester first year college French course. There are twelve chapters each composed of three sections: Activities, Grammar and Lab Wroksheet and Review. Each chapter includes French-English vocabulary at the end of section 1.\r\nEach chapter focuses on a theme of interest and use to a beginner.  The book incorporates the four major objectives of learning a foreign language: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Cultural understanding. The grammar topics are manageable and not excessive for a first-year textbook. In general, the exercises a written well. Chapters 1-4 conclude with a self-check section that students can use to make sure they have understood the materials covered.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The material presented in the book is quite accurate. Although I have not closely read the entire book, I noticed one minor error. On p. 198, in Ex A1.1, on the left-hand column, in #10 the word \"pour\" should be deleted.\r\n\r\nSome choices in exercises may be eliminated to avoid controversial responses. For example, on p. 25, Ex A.5.4, \"Barack Obama and la guerre d'Iraq\" in the left-hand column and \"stupide\" in the right-hand column could be changed. On p. 26, one of the questions that students must ask their classmates is: \"Tu es impolie?\" (\"Are you impolite?\"). Under no circumstance one would ask another person if s/he is impolite. I understand the author meant it in jest. But still ...","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Relevance in foreign language textbooks relates to cultural content. The sections on culture are generally presented well. Updates should be easy to incorporate.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Overall the text is clear and accessible to students. Whenever needed the author provides an explanation of a difficult term in the margin.\r\nSome explanations are redundant. For example, on p. 13, in ex A 1.3, instructors can do without the diagrams explaining how the students should move around.\r\n  \r\nSometimes the author tends to be verbose.\r\n\r\np. 43, B 3.2 is unnecessary. It should suffice to present the verb être as irregular as the author does in the preceding section.  \r\np. 51, B 7 Gender of adjectives. The explanation needs to be concise. Just stating that \"In French adjectives must agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe\" should be sufficient. The comparison with verb conjugation is unnecessary.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book presents each chapter in more or less the same way. The pattern is easy to follow and there are no surprises.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter consists of sections that are short and numbered with subtitles/intertitles. Instructors should have no problem dividing and assigning them as homework or teaching them.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Most of the material is logically and clearly presented. \r\n\r\nHowever, there is at least one instance where a concept that is taught later in the book is used in an earlier chapter. The comparative is fully introduced in Chapter 4. But, in Chapter 2, students are asked to compare people by age using the comparatives \"older than\" and \"younger than.\" The comparative can be avoided in the latter context.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface for the most part is very good. \r\n\r\nThere is at least one instance where the picture does not correspond to the audio. The author notes in the margin on p. 129 (C.3.1): \"the drawing has been changed but the recording has not yet: pretend there are two beds.\"","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"Overall, the French grammar presented is very good. This reviewer noted one error. On p. 198, A 1.1, in #10 (left-hand column), the word \"pour\" should be deleted.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Cultural material as presented in the book is inclusive. The major French-speaking regions are represented.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The author may consider writing a separate instructor's manual. Also workbook may be expanded and published separately.","created_at":"2020-11-27T22:18:47.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-10T16:00:50.000-06:00"},{"id":4629,"first_name":"Claire","last_name":"Holman","position":"French/Spanish Lecturer/Early College Faculty Facilitator","institution_name":"University of Southern Maine","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Positives - \r\n- comprehensive, communicative approach\r\n- thoughtful cultural information in each unit -- students get a full first-year French course\r\n- audio files for oral exercises available from the author when the textbook is adopted. \r\n- well-organized and easy to follow\r\n- students can buy a print-on-demand copy very cheaply\r\n- answer keys included\r\nNegatives\r\n- only available as pdf or print-on-demand so there is no option for auto-correct of exercises and the like","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Gretchen Angelo's Liberte  (volumes I and II) is an excellent resource. We have used it for about 4 years as our first-year French textbook. The textbook is available online in pdf form and accessible to all. In addition, we ask our students to purchase the paper copy through the print-on-demand publisher, Lulu, students. The cost comes out to about $11-$15 dollars per semester. Having the actual text pays off in that students can use the textbook as a workbook as well.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Updated in 2017, the book is still up to date.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Well-organized and easy to follow. Students can easily catch on to the organization of the chapters.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Completely consistent. Each chapter contains activities and readings with cultural information, vocabulary, grammar and listening exercises and answer key.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"As a first-year French language textbook, modularity is a low-level concern. That said, though the chapters build one upon the other, any one could be taught separately.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"With a minimum of explanation, students and new instructors can easily become familiar with the organization of the text.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text has numerous links to images and videos (Youtube).","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The grammatical explanations are easy to understand and well-explained, and well-suited to a flipped classroom approach, if desired. Though there are a few typos, overall the proofreading has been thorough and in my experience, students are so delighted at the very, very low price (for the print-on-demand version) that typos are easily overlooked.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"A strength of Liberte is that it does not only focus on metropolitan France, but includes readings and activities related to a wide range of regions and countries in the Francophone world. Of the OER French resources I have seen, Liberte does the best job in presenting French as a language of many cultures and places in the world.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Many thanks to author Gretchen Angelo for her excellent work and progressive thinking in making this textbook available as an open education resource. Bravo!","created_at":"2021-02-20T16:10:44.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-02-20T16:10:44.000-06:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/liberte","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:02:10.000-06:00"},{"id":204,"title":"Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2014,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity attempts to make the study of literature more than simply another school subject that students have to take. At a time when all subjects seem to be valued only for their testability, this book tries to show the value of reading and studying literature, even earlier literature. It shows students, some of whom will themselves become teachers, that literature actually has something to say to them. Furthermore, it shows that literature is meant to be enjoyed, that, as the Roman poet Horace (and his Renaissance disciple Sir Philip Sidney) said, the functions of literature are to teach and to delight. The book will also be useful to teachers who want to convey their passion for literature to their students. After an introductory chapter that offers advice on how to read (and teach) literature, the book consists of a series of chapters that examine individual literary works ranging from The Iliad to Charles Dickens' Bleak House. These chapters can not substitute for reading the actual works. Rather they are intended to help students read those works. They are attempts to demystify the act of reading and to show that these works, whether they are nearly three thousand or less than two hundred years old, still have important things to say to contemporary readers.","contributors":[{"id":2909,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Theodore","middle_name":"L.","last_name":"Steinberg","location":"SUNY Fredonia","background_text":"Dr. Theodore L. Steinberg serves as Distinguished Teaching Professor in the English Department at SUNY Fredonia, where he specializes in medieval and Renaissance literatures, though he teaches in a wide variety of areas. His publications include studies of medieval and Renaissance English literature, medieval Judaica, modern epic, and Yiddish literature. He encourages students to see the contemporary relevance of older literatures and the importance of the humanities, particularly literature, in the development of civilized life."}],"subjects":[{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":33,"name":"Literature, Rhetoric, and Poetry","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"PE1408","visible_textbooks_count":124,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/literature-rhetoric-and-poetry"}],"publishers":[{"id":127,"url":"https://milneopentextbooks.org/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-04-15T13:37:06.000-05:00","name":"Open SUNY"}],"formats":[{"id":183,"type":"PDF","url":"https://milneopentextbooks.org/download/literature-the-humanities-and-humanity-pdf/?tmstv=1672320306","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":184,"type":"eBook","url":"https://milneopentextbooks.org/download/literaturethehumanitiesandhumanity-epub/?tmstv=1672320306","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":2124,"type":"Online","url":"https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/literature-humanities-humanity/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":13,"reviews":[{"id":207,"first_name":"Katherine","last_name":"Scheil","position":"Professor","institution_name":"University of Minnesota","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book covers a wide range of material, from Homer to George Eliot, from Shakespeare to Jane Austen.  Other chapters focus on Sidney, Pope, Fielding, and Dickens.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This book offers an argument for the \"the value and delight of reading literature,\" without watering it down, and for the power of the written word.  Content is accurate and unbiased, and the argument of the book is stated upfront in the Introduction.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Unfortunately, challenges to the Humanities don't seem to be going away, so this book will likely have a long shelf life.  The texts it deals with are timeless--Shakespeare, Homer, Jane Austen, etc.--and show no signs of becoming obsolete.  The argument, that literature can delight and instruct, is an old argument, but needs to be articulated in fresh and new ways.  This book makes an original contribution to the latter need.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This book is written in clear prose. with a straightforward argument about the value of literature and of the humanities.  Very little jargon is used, which helps make the point that the Humanities \"are among the things that make us human,\" and thus should be accessible to a broad audience.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This book offers a consistent introduction to the inexhaustibility of several representative texts from the canon of important works of literature.  The author consistently returns to the question of why literature matters in each chapter.  The book is written with an overt acknowledgment of the author's personal opinion of the value of these texts, and the author is clear about stating those views upfront.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book is ideally designed to be read in sections, since each chapter deals with a major author and/or text.  One could only read/assign the chapter on Shakespeare without much adjustment needed.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is clearly structured, with an introduction that sets out the principles and aims of the book, followed by individual chapters organized by author and text.  The organization is straightforward and logical, and the argument is easy to follow through each chapter.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There were no issues of interface. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This book deals with works of literature that have endured for numerous centuries, while making the case that these works will continue to be relevant into the future.  Examples range from ancient texts to nineteenth-century texts, including a close focus on two women authors--Jane Austen and George Eliot.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I hope that this book will have a significant impact on the value of the Humanities in contemporary culture and discourse.","created_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":262,"first_name":"Zachary","last_name":"Hutchins","position":"Assistant Professor of English","institution_name":"Colorado State University","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"Theodore Steinberg has written a book that rejects “comprehensiveness” as a goal of introductory courses in literature or the humanities, so I’m not sure it’s fair to evaluate him using this particular criterion. What I mean to say is: whereas most “introduction to literature” textbooks will review a wide variety of approaches to literature without privileging one over another, Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity is a work of polemic that insists on the reader’s pleasure as the primary purpose of literary study and approaches the question of how to read from that perspective—subordinating the philosophical and political questions undergirding much of contemporary literary study and theory. Steinberg has no interest, it would seem, in approaching the question of how to read literature in a comprehensive fashion, systematically, and his audience seems to be “adult learners” in search of continuing education rather than a college freshman preparing for an introductory course offered by the English department or college teachers (the three different audiences he acknowledges in a prefatory note). But even if Steinberg has no interest in introducing students to formalism, post structuralism, or any of the other ideological lenses through which literature is so often read in the academy, his study is unnecessarily narrow in at least one other respect: after his opening chapter offers a theory of reading, Steinberg provides nine chapters delving into case studies of specific texts. He offers excellent close readings of canonical texts from The Iliad and The Odyssey to Bleak House and Middlemarch, but the vast majority of his examples are drawn from British literature. It would have been natural—and would have broadened the range of his readers’ conception of literary development and scope—if a few American texts (such as Moby-Dick and Uncle Tom’s Cabin) or, perhaps, other foundational pieces of world literature (the Divine Comedy, Don Quixote, and Faustus, for example) had been the focus of chapters rather than so many examples from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England. He references a wide array of texts but chooses to focus on a relatively narrow selection of books. To his credit, those books include a fair amount of generic diversity: works of poetry, novels, and drama.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Literary studies is not a field in which questions of accuracy often arise, but Steinberg’s work is certainly accurate in its presentation of facts and prevailing interpretive opinions.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Because Steinberg’s book seems aimed primarily at adult learners continuing their education after the formal opportunities of high school and college have passed, this book will continue to be a valuable learning resource long after the modish textbooks geared more pointedly toward college freshmen and sophomores entering a new disciplinary world have been replaced by newer offerings espousing the latest and greatest in literary theory. His readings of these classic texts will always be useful introductions for the general interest reader; they are accessible and insightful without aiming for anything like an exhaustive approach, jargon-free and well-written.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"As noted immediately above, the writing is excellent and accessible. Because Steinberg writes for a non-specialist reader, he avoids technical terms and, when language unfamiliar to a general audience does crop up, a definition is sure to follow. ","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":" The book is certainly internally consistent; as noted above, it differs from other textbooks aimed primarily at college students, in that it eschews literary theory and takes the reader’s experience, his or her joy in the journey of reading, as the primary aim and purpose of study. Most other comparable textbooks emphasize the philosophical or political aims of literature, and so this volume may not be regarded as “consistent” with others in its class.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"While I would not use this text in its entirety to teach a class introducing literary study to college students, each of the case studies is a valuable gateway for students approaching the text for the first time. The book’s modularity is, for that reason, one of its greatest strengths, allowing teachers to assign a relatively brief essay foregrounding significant themes without giving away the book’s ending.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Although I would have preferred (as noted above) a more varied selection of texts, the logic by which Steinberg selected his texts is completely understandable. Indeed, the transition from Iliad to Odyssey to Aeneid seems fairly inevitable and sets the stage for his later discussino of Alexander Pope’s “Rape of the Lock” and Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews. Transitions from chapter to chapter are well managed, and reading the book feels more like indulging in conversation with a well-read friend than following a particular line of argumentation. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Excellent.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No errors: the text is well edited.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"At a time when the canon is being discarded as a relic of patriarchal values and Western cultural imperialism, Steinberg’s book—simply by virtue of the titles it chooses to focus on—offers an impassioned defense of the aesthetic value of books commonly identified as classics. His volume defends cultural literacy as a common good and implicitly asks readers in the academy to reconsider their relatively recent turn to texts defined by the diverse identities of their authors. I personally would have appreciated a chapter focusing on the Narrative of Frederick Douglass or a novel by Salman Rushdie, but Steinberg’s work is certainly a contribution to our ongoing debate over what (and who) is read in literature classrooms. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I want to stress that Steinberg's book is excellent at what it does--introducing canonical texts to adult learners. I'm simply not convinced that it should be thought of as a text for college freshmen and sophomores being introduced to disciplinary conventions and history. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":277,"first_name":"Catherine","last_name":"Ratliff","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Colorado State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Steinberg's text offers students and teachers a specific range of material on key classic literary authors and texts with chapters focused on Homer, Sir Philip Sydney, William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and George Eliot. The Introduction makes a convincing argument for the value of studying literature as a human endeavor, as well as lays out what readers might expect from the textbook in terms of language, culture, and the enjoyment of canonically significant literary texts. \r\nEach chapter offers significant contextual information on the authors and texts of focus. Steinberg is also able to make literary texts that are often quite daunting for students, such as The Iliad, approachable and understandable. The chapter on Shakespeare, which Steinberg acknowledges was the cause of some trepidation for him as an author, provides an overview of The Bard’s oeuvre and dominant writing themes, which would be useful in a survey course or humanities based class; however, the chapter’s limitations are that it only goes into great detail on As You Like It and Antony and Cleopatra. \r\nEach chapter does include multiple and thorough textual examples, although Steinberg does suggest that the text is most useful as a supplement to readings of the full-texts in his analysis and not a replacement. This should be kept in mind when considering teaching plans, especially considering that Steinberg’s textbook is over two-hundred pages long and many of the works he examines are also lengthy. The most significant limitations of Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity are that female literary voices are under-represented (only two of the ten chapters directly examine women authors) and more contemporary texts are excluded (as George Eliot’s 1870s Middlemarch concludes the textbook). With this said though, Steinberg’s defines his scope as classic literature within the Introduction so the texts he selects for analysis are not unexpected and definitely fit his intended purpose.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The textbook provides accurate information in terms of literary analysis from Steinberg’s perspective and theoretical standpoint. Steinberg does not reference outside sources, other than to cite the primary texts he is working with, so all material in the textbook is solely from one perspective, which can present certain limitations in terms of teaching diverse readings. There are also some spots where more contextual information on the authors or texts included would be useful, especially for humanities based courses where students may not be familiar with less well-known authors such as Sidney or Eliot. Steinberg does, however, seem to consistently back up his arguments and analyses with convincing textual evidence and conscientious appraisals.   ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The textbook examines classic texts and authors, so its longevity and relevance are almost certainly assured for years to come. The relevance of this textbook is especially keenly geared toward introductory courses in literature or the humanities because it clearly assists students in grasping key elements of the included works through straightforward explanations. Also, Steinberg’s argument for the enjoyment of literature as a way to read history, cultures, and humanity in general is one that many in education will appreciate.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is written in crisp and clear language, which makes it particularly accessible for students that are not literature majors. Steinberg breaks down complex texts in easily understandable thematic and topical ways. He also provides clear character examinations to help guide readers. Each chapter is approximately twenty to thirty pages, which allow for steady pacing in reading assignments and teaching preparation. If students have read the texts included in this textbook they should have little to no problems following Steinberg’s chapters.\r\nPotential negatives in terms of clarity are that the chapter lengths might present some difficulties for 100-level students; however, the text’s readability is high and should help combat this issue. Also, more defined sections within each chapter would likely help with student accessibility of the concepts presented. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent in its presentation of information, chapter arrangements, conceptual frameworks, and in pursuing the author’s goals of teaching the delights of classic literature.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The textbook is organized into chapters that focus on one specific author and related text. Assigning individual chapters seems most logical approach. The most useful modular aspect of this text is that individual chapters may be assigned without the need for students to read the entire book, thus making the textbook a helpful resource for specific needs of instructors that are not teaching all of the literary texts included.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"There are clear chapter distinctions according to specific authors and chronology. The arrangement of information in each chapter is logical and well-progressed. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There are no interface issues to note.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The textbook seems free of grammar errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The texts and authors included in this textbook are considered to be classics of the literary canon, which work to ensure the cultural relevance of the book as a whole. There broad range of texts included in the book also allows instructors to teach a wide variety of literary periods from the Greeks to the nineteenth century. \r\nThe cultural limitations of the textbook lie in the fact that a lack of more recent authors or literature might dissuade some students. In addition, the limited discussions of current literary studies “hot topics,” such as gender, race, economics, materiality, or cultural studies might also create difficulties in teaching this textbook in a course where these concepts are key components of the class.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Steinberg does important work here in examining classic literary texts and moving to make them enjoyable and accessible for today’s student. This book offers great potential in helping to bring conversations about the importance and pleasure of literature into discourse within humanities classes. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":382,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Mount","position":"Full-Time Instructor","institution_name":"Clackamas Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is not at all comprehensive and doesn't set out to be. That's what makes it wonderful. It's a guided tour through some of Professor Steinberg's favorite works of literature, making the case along the way for the enjoyment of literature, for the value of reading, and the importance of the humanities: \"I have chosen these particular works not because they are 'important' but because they are among my favorites and because I want to share my enjoyment of them with readers who might feel that one has to be a specialist to read them.\"\n\nThe works he chooses are discussed chronologically, starting with some classics--The Illiad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid--and then settling down in England for the rest of the book. It could be seen as arbitrary and/or too influenced by and outdated idea of the canon, but I say if that's what he knows and loves, then more power to him. It also happens to be, mostly, what I know and love. \n\nThere is an unintentionally humorous page after the classics section called \"The Middle Ages,\" saying, essentially, sorry there's nothing on the Middle Ages, but see my other book. Since the whole premise of the book is that it's a personal selection, this seems unnecessary. \n\nThe book is, however, a fairly comprehensive guide to how (and why) we read, think, talk, and write about literature, and it's in that spirit that I will be offering it to my students.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The historical and biographical information that was in my area seemed accurate. None of it is credited directly in the text, probably because he's thinking of it as common knowledge. There are general references at the end of the book. \n\nLike \"comprehensiveness,\" the idea of \"bias\" is a bit tricky with a book like this since, again, it is unabashedly personal and based on his tastes. But he explains those wonderfully, often at the beginnings of chapters, talking about the mysterious reasons we're drawn to things in a way that I found very refreshing. It would be suspect to some in a professional context, but since it's written for students, he's allowed to talk about things like appreciation and emotion, that are such taboos in modern critical discourse. And yet he never talks down. To me this book is a welcome throwback to an earlier era of criticism. \n\nHe does very occasionally get carried away by an odd hobbyhorse, as in the quote below, which he admits is a digression. This may be seen as a kind of bias. To my mind, this example is comically hairsplitting. When people say a narrative viewpoint is cinematic they mean, obviously, that it's LIKE modern cinema, not that cinema actually inspired it: \"If I may digress for a moment, let me note that contemporary critics are fond of pointing out that earlier writers use cinematic techniques. What we see here, however, is not that Eliot is using a cinematic technique, in which the camera moves closer to the subjects it is recording. Eliot preceded cinema. If cinema is using a technique that is similar to Eliot’s, then cinema is being novelistic, not the other way round.\"\n\n","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"As I say above, this book is deliberately and gloriously old-fashioned and as such can never go out of date.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I very much like the way it's written. It's not insulting to peers, and yet it would be perfectly clear, even engaging for a good undergrad student. Here's just one example where he very concisely and uncontentiously explains something that's always hard for me to get across to my students: \"When we read literature, our focus has to be on what the words say, not on what the author intended. One reason that we have to take this stance is that an author’s words, even an author who is totally in control of those words, inevitably say more than the author intended. It even happens that the words may mean something that the author did not intend. \"\n\nThe only instance I noticed where you could possibly accuse him of not explaining a term is when, in the Sir Philip Sidney chapter, he describes how a \"Romantic poet\" might have approached the same subject, without explaining what Romanticism is. But that might be asking too much--and might also have been insulting to readers who already know. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Yes, he brings similar emphases and methods to every text. Every chapter has most of the following: reading hints and what to expect, what's hard about the text for a modern reader, historical and biographical backgrounds, close readings of individual passages, attention to why and how it's enjoyable, a moral/character dimension, and much more. But it's not schematic. There are no headings, thank goodness. It's discursive and free ranging, not repetitive. He deals with issues as they come up--gender politics in the Jane Austen chapter, social inequality in the Dickens chapter. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Yes, while he does carry similar themes through the chapters, as I mention above, it could easily be assigned in pieces. His themes are so commonsense and human that they don't require one to read the introduction. \n\nFor myself, I plan on assigning the introduction, in which he deals with misconceptions about symbols, messages, and \"what the author meant,\" in every literature class I teach from now on. In my upcoming online Survey of British Lit class, I'll definitely use the chapters on \"Astrophil and Stella\" and \"Rape of the Lock.\" Anyone who happens to be teaching any of the texts he covers should have no hesitation in assigning that chapter by itself. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The flow is simply chronological. It doesn't continuously build an argument. But that's what makes it so useful as an OER. The organization within chapters is very logical, and I've touched on that a bit above, in the \"Consistency\" category.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"No problems, although I did find myself thinking more than once that the paragraphs sometimes get awfully long, for a text that will most likely be read online, not in hardcopy. I know the intention was to make it look like a \"real book,\" but I wonder if it might have been better to acknowledge the way it will actually be used and lightly apply some principles of visual design for online reading. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical errors--and I was looking.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Within the limitations of the texts chosen--all firmly canonical and European--the text does a fair job of bringing out issues of social power, when relevant. I mentioned above the Jane Austen and Dickens chapters. \n\nThere is an assumption that great literature is universal and anyone should be able to read it and respond, but I didn't notice much questioning of that idea. He doesn't attempt to  address how students from non-white-European backgrounds, or even non-privileged backgrounds, might respond to these texts. But that might be another book.  ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I thank Professor Steinberg for the book, and applaud him for taking a stand that the enjoyment of literature matters, and that it's worth paying attention to our heart's response to it, not just our head's. It shouldn't be a controversial idea, but it is. ","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":439,"first_name":"Peter","last_name":"Olson","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"UW-Stout","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Theodore L. Steinberg’s /Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity/ (Open SUNY Textbooks 2013), attempts to synthesize a discourse on the humanities and survey of well-known Western literary examples from Homer’s /The Iliad/ to George Eliot’s /Middlemarch/. There are ten chapters in all, with nine devoted to literary discussions of specific literary works. Except for chapter 3, which contrasts Homer’s /The Odyssey/ and Virgil’s /The Aeneid/; due to the historical relatedness of the two works, each chapter discusses a single author in chronological order. Following two chapters on Homer and Virgil, Steinberg offers two chapters on English Renaissance literary works by Sir Philip Sidney (/Astrophel/ and /Stella/) and Shakespeare (/As You Like It/ and /Antony and Cleopatra/),  and two chapters on Augustan authors,  Alexander Pope (“The Rape of the Lock”) and Henry Fielding (/Joseph Andrews/). The last three chapters offer discussions of Jane Austen (/Sense and Sensibility/ and /Pride and Prejudice/), Charles Dickens (/Bleak House/), and George Eliot’s /Middlemarch/. \n\nSteinberg’s “Introduction” (chapter 1) situates his study of these specific authors by foregrounding his concern for teaching literature within the purview of the humanities, which he recognizes as challenged by the emphasis in education on STEM and socioeconomics that are increasingly instrumental in character. He traces the humanities to classical beginnings, to the Renaissance, and to the Enlightenment. He briefly reminds readers that part of the task of the humanities is to recognize the ironic lack of inclusiveness in historical concepts of the Enlightenment. He recognizes that the critique of the Enlightenment is implicit in the inherently skeptical nature of literature. The reading of literature then, Steinberg suggests, becomes a central act of gaining a measure of critical autonomy. Steinberg is aware, of course, that the place of reading literature in society has changed, though he doesn’t delve into the cultural reasons for this issue deeply. A few of the reasons for a decline in literary interest, he offers, ironically involve commercial and technological changes that are themselves part of the impetus for open textbooks. The open text seems to provide a space for a renewal of literary study for the contemporary reader. In this case, one finds a text that demonstrates an interdisciplinary survey of literature that makes a case for humanistic study.\n\nIn his chapter on Shakespeare (chapter 5), for example, Steinberg questions how and why Shakespeare is taught, how Shakespeare might be seen as an interdisciplinary study across various departments in order to rethink the way Shakespeare’s poems and dramatic plays have been institutionalized. This cross-disciplinary concern brings in historical data about political history, poetics, linguistics and dialect, dramatic theory, and staging design. In Steinberg’s discussion of Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” the frame of the discussion seeks to contextualize the text by close reading Pope’s discourse in Augustan rhetoric. In the chapter on Fielding, Steinberg shows how the emergence of the genre of the novel can be seen in the context of an emerging bourgeois literacy allusively familiar with a wide range of literature. Steinberg reminds us that the genre of the novel must be understood in the aesthetic context that is marked by literary distinctions between “romance” and the novel, and further in terms of the various perspectives of comedy that date to classical texts.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Steinberg gives a note on citations. Citations of verse are marked by line number. Less convenient, prose citations refer to chapter number. Readers of primary texts, say of Dickens or Austen, will need to flip pages. The Selected Bibliography lists recommended translations of Homer and Virgil. Readers will have to decide upon editions of the other authors collected in Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity. Steinberg stresses the interpretive flexibility of literary study and the need for well-supported critical readings.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Steinberg’s key point is that he sees literature as essential to an understanding of the humanities. Since his subject matter in chapters 2-10 pertains to literary efforts spanning two millennia it would appear that this material has survived the intellectual history throughout the development of the liberal arts. Readers should bear in mind that Steinberg’s literary discussions demonstrate his thesis about the value of literature for the humanities, and that he refers to primary texts that readers will acquire separately. One might interpret that question of relevance and longevity, a question related to the survival of canonical literature, in terms of the literary-critical field. The book tangentially or indirectly implies developments in literary criticism, but the text is situated in the appreciation of canonical literature rather than in opening questions of ideology and a metacritique of the canon itself.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is lucid and perspicuous. Steinberg’s prose is a pleasure to read and the book seems to be targeted to undergraduates, teachers, and adult life-long learners. Steinberg write that “authors want to communicate to their readers, so they are not likely to hide or disguise what they are saying, but reading literature also requires some training and some practice. Good writers use language very carefully, and readers must learn how to be sensitive to that language…” (6-7). This point represents Steinberg’s own values for writing and shows his assumption that reading is interactive and requires a transaction. If writing must be clear, which this book is, there is also a need for readers to meet the writing in the space of the text.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Steinberg’s title alludes to the binary nature of his purpose: to rhetorically appeal to readers about the value of literature and to exemplify his approach to literary study. Teachers considering this text will notice that Steinberg’s mode of literary explication and exegesis may be at once consistent with his philosophy of the humanities and at the same time divergent from literary-critical foci they wish to foreground.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Steinberg’s text seems most interesting as a unified demonstration of his approach to literary study as part of an overall view of teaching in the humanities. On the other hand, the parts of the text—the introduction on the value and aesthetics of literature, for example, or the various chapters on particular authors and works—may conceivably be used separately as modules in readings courses, or as supporting articles in literary surveys. Again, the reading level is clear enough for undergraduate general education courses.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Following the front matter and the table of contents, the book is divided between an introduction that presents a thesis advocating literary study as central to the humanities, and situates the analytical chapters, which comprise 90% of the book, such that overall the text demonstrates an approach to literary analysis workable for general readers.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The text I have reviewed is offered as a PDF file or and ePub file.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text’s language and presentation is immaculate.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text’s central claim that literary study is culturally relevant to the humanities in general (or the liberal arts) could be qualified by reminding readers that the texts under discussion are canonical texts of Western literature. In the Introduction Steinberg reminds us that interpretation is perspectival and the history of Western literary development traces an increasing recognition of class, gender, and ethnic differences. Some of these issues reappear in individual chapters on specific authors and texts, especially chapters on Pope, Austen, and Eliot, which consider the gender roles of readers of literature. Steinberg also delves into aspects of social class in several chapters: the role of theater in Shakespeare’s London, for example, or the provincial social world of Eliot’s /Middlemarch/.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Steinberg’s larger purpose is to offer a model for teaching and learning literature by grounding the centrality of literary study in a contemporary sense of the (potential loss of) value of the humanities. Part of Steinberg’s effort is to reconnect readers with “Literature” and “Poetry.” Much of what motivates his book is that a public disconnected from literature and poetry becomes disconnected with humanity and the attendant interests in human rights, ethics, and civics. Part of his solution lies in the way we can rethink reading by stressing aesthetic enjoyment of texts, demystifying literature, allowing for a more openness to interpretation, and by conveying a deeper interest in literary language.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":491,"first_name":"Zara","last_name":"Torlone","position":"Professor of Classics","institution_name":"Miami University of Ohio","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"At the time when study of the Humanities in general and literature in particular is under constant attack, this book pursues a noble goal of insisting that reading of literature is an important and necessary component of education. \nSince Steinberg’s book argues that reader’s enjoyment is the main purpose of the study of literature, the concept of “comprehensiveness” does not seem to be an applicable criterion in evaluation of this book. Rather, from the onset of the book Steinberg aims to establish the artificiality of the long standing distinction between literature and fiction and to explain that, while literature always stands in need of interpretation, there are no hidden meanings in most works of literature so that anybody can enjoy reading. His primary audience seems to be readers beyond their college years, but even so, some chapters of the book can be used to introduce the inexperienced reader at college level to such complicated poetic works as the \"Iliad\" and the \"Aeneid\", teaching of which always presents a challenge in the classroom. Although in his theoretical part of the book Steinberg dwells very little on theoretical approaches to literature such as formalism or post-structuralism, he offers comprehensive and helpful readings of important canonical texts of the Western canon ranging from Homer to many examples taken from British literature. The choice of these texts for case studies is never fully explained and it can be argued that it is not broad enough (for example no American, French, German, or Russian texts are included, texts that are considered influential for the formation of the Western canon if one indeed accepts the existence of it). Instead, this textbook draws heavily on the examples from English literature of the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the nature and the challenge of this kind of textbooks is that none of them can claim exhaustive approach: they are supposed only to whet the appetite of the reader and Steinberg’s book accomplishes that.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"This book adequately addresses existing interpretations of the literary works chosen as its case studies. One might agree or disagree with certain close readings provided by Steinberg, but overall each case study covers the main questions arising in the classroom discussions for every literary work chosen. Steinberg does not reference any other secondary sources and because of that the reader does not see any other perspective but his. While it obviously limits his arguments, Steinberg provides convincing textual evidence from the primary sources which give the reader a taste of the literary work under discussion.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"This book can be used as a valuable introductory textbook for students not majoring in humanities or for adult learners. Most similar commercial textbooks outlive their usefulness by trying to address the most prevalent theoretical approaches. This book aims to offer more inclusive and coherent introduction to the study of literature.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The writing of Steinberg’s book is transparent, crisp, and engaging. Since it targets a non-specialist reader, it avoids the obscure terms of literary criticism and it explains and unfolds definitions that a non-specialist reader might find difficult. I think, however, that some key terms of literary criticism can be introduced and used without confusing the reader.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent when analyzing every work of literature chosen as a case study. At the center of every analysis is reader’s engagement and enjoyment as well as an accessible explanation of why this particular work of literature continues to attract readers’ interest and enjoys longevity. The book, however, avoids drawing any intertextual or philosophical conclusions thus making the discussions at times superficial and oversimplified. Some discussions also do not provide enough of a political context which in case, for example, of Vergil’s Aeneid is absolutely crucial for understanding the literary agenda of the author.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"This book would be difficult to use in its entirety for any particular class, but the parts of it might be relevant to the contents of a specific syllabus, especially in foundation literature courses that aim to provide an understanding of literature in the form of a survey rather than address specific details.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book does not follow a particular line of argument or theoretical framework adhering instead to explaining to the readers why a particular work of literature has value and provides pleasure. While this rather broad approach can be seen as a shortcoming of the book, it also provides easy transitions from chapter to chapter and engaging discussions free of tediousness.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface works fine. The chapter divisions are clear and helpful.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is well edited.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"As I stated at the beginning of this review, this book is extremely timely because it insists that there is a reason why certain books of literature must be read even at the time when the attention of audiences is so thinly spread and targeted by numerous other distractions. The book makes a convincing argument that the aesthetic value of literary works that for hundreds of years constituted Western literary canon remains unchanged and that cultural literacy is not a thing of the past. While I always opt for diversity in choosing literary works in my own classes, I can see that Steinberg’s own choices of including certain works into this study and excluding others stem from his scholarly interests as much as from establishing cultural continuity.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"In conclusion I wan to emphasize that I read Steinberg’s book with pleasure. I can also see how it can be used in the foundation classes which introduce students to conventions of literary criticism and basic concepts of writing a coherent literary analysis.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":533,"first_name":"Scott","last_name":"Dionne","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"For what it is, this book provides an excellent overview of literary studies as a discipline within the humanities.  You can't fault the book for what it strives to do--to give students a kind of traditional sense of literary studies as a humanistic profession. But as an American educator I find the omission of American authors a bit puzzling. (Doubly puzzling when the factor in that the author teaches at an American university!)  The author surveys drama, poetry, and fiction--all either British or ancient Greek. But no American literature! The addition of at least work by an American--Saul Bellow, say, or Walt Whitman--would go far to offset the way in which literature is classified as essentially a British art.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The joyful explications of the literature are infectious. The author clearly enjoys critiquing literature, and it shows in every summary, paraphrase, and explication.  There are a few problems with accuracy, though.  One problem is the missing translation information for Homer's \"The Iliad\" and \"The Odyssey\" when these works are cited. Both Robert Fagles's and Richard Lattimore's transltions appear on his bibliography for both \"The Illiad\" and \"The Odyssey,\" but the in-text citations do not specify which translation is being cited. I would also like to see a footnoted book. I'm not accustomed to reading scholarly books on Homer, Shakespeare, Dickens et al  sans footnotes. Most of this discussion is strictly focused on textual commentary, so no footnotes are needed. But it wouldn't have hurt to tether certain references to outside works via footnotes. On page 59, for example, the author cites a phrase of James Joyce's \"Ulysses\" : \"mystery of paternity.\" The absence of a specific footnote doesn't do much harm, but the reader might be helped along by knowing that the reference to show actually appears in Chapter I of \"Ulysses\" titled Telemachus\" and is, I think, found in Stephen's Ballad of the Joking Jesus scene.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book explores the world of great literature, which is found in each and every century and does not have the same shelf life as the social sciences or the health fields.  The author does a very good job, however, of occasionally reminding the reader of how these great literary works intersect our own lives in the 21st century. He mentions, for instance, the problems of film adaptation of Dickens's \"Great Expectations.\" And he addresses the online Shakespeare deniers who contend that Shakespeare did not author the plays (although to be honest I would have preferred that this unsubstantiated argument  not receive any stage time whatsoever in the book!).  I also enjoyed how the author made the work accessible to a broad range of contemporary students.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is excellently written. I have no qualms in recommending the book on this point alone. Very readable. Even though I teach some of these works and am already quite familiar with the spectrum of critical approaches to them, I still found myself pulled into the book. The chapter on Philip Sidney's \"Astrophel and Stella\" is worth the price of admission. And I also enjoyed the chapter on Jane Austen,","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The chapters do not have as strong of a parallelism as they could. Some of the chapters are on specific literary works, such as Chapter IX, which is on Dickens's \"Bleak House.\" But two of the chapters--V \u0026amp; VIII--are on authors (Shakespeare and Jane Austen). We learn eventually that the Shakespeare chapter is actually on \"as You Like It\" and \"Antony and Cleopatra.\" And the chapter titled \"Jane Austen\" is actually a comprehensive critical survey of all her fiction. Otherwise, the book is well thought out.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is a stand alone work and can be used on its own. I will probably be using the chapters on Shakespeare, Dickens, and Austen in future literature classes.  The author uses sub-headings in some chapters (quite a few in the opening chapters) and not in other chapters. Personally, I don't view modularity as being all that important in a work of literary studies, especially if the chapters are not overly long.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book succeeds as a text meant for a student readership while being intellectually engaging for the teacher as well. It is easy to read, makes sense in most places, and subject matter is logically sequenced in chronological order. Perhaps one suggestion would be to include more textual citations. The analyses tend to be a bit anemic in textual citations. But then again, it's a matter of taste. I like literary criticism spiced up with a lot of quotations that serve to illustrate and substantiate the claims being made in the work.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book is probably more \"old school\" than some open source books. But I like it this way.. What matters here is the lliterature, the analysis, the language style, the arguments, etc.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is well written. It could be published by a reputable literary press. I like the style, the voice, the diction, No problems here.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book never slights anybody, As mentioned earlier, though,  it is heavily weighted towards a British view of literature. Maybe a second edition of this book could include a couple chapters that could offset this a little bit. But then again, users of this book could just add their own chapters to it, I guess.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This book isn't so much a \"textbook\" that students work out of; it's a book meant to be read. I give the author a lot of credit for doing this. I will probably be using this book for this reason: it's a useful and engaging book to read rather than to use.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":842,"first_name":"John","last_name":"Brinegar","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Steinberg's book is comprehensive in the sense that it articulates an approach toward reading and interpreting literature and then provides several examples of that approach in action; in other words, it sets out a project and then fulfills it. No English literature textbook with as broad an aim as this one can be comprehensive in the sense that it discusses all aspects of its subject matter.  A textbook can provide an appropriate representative sample of its subject matter, however, and this is where Steinberg's book can be criticized.  As other reviewers have noted, the texts that Steinberg discusses are either classical literature (the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid) or British and all written before the twentieth century, and Jane Austen and George Eliot are the only female authors included.  Even granting Steinberg's desire to discuss only time-tested works, the book seems poorer for including neither any American literature (and some canonical writer like Melville or Hawthorne would surely fit Steinberg's project) nor any work by an author of color.  Nonetheless, Steinberg covers his chosen ground quite thoroughly.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"In a field such as literary studies, it is somewhat difficult to define \"accuracy\"; literary interpretation is, after all, always in some degree subjective.  Steinberg is as accurate as a literary critic can be expected to be: I found no incorrect quotations of literature or of critics in his book, and he hews close to prevailing strands of literary interpretation.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Steinberg's readings of individual texts, and especially his introduction on how to read and to teach literature, will remain relevant for a long time.  As time passes, they will move in and out of agreement with the shifting currents of academic theories of literary interpretation, but they will be of some value as long as the texts they discuss are still read.  Steinberg's introduction, emphasizing as it does close reading and attention to the words on the page, would be of value even if no one read the texts he discusses; the skills he champions are necessary prolegomena to any more specific theoretical approach.  The book is most relevant to students beginning college-level study of literature, whether they are English majors or not, as it clearly and engagingly presents a theory of how to read and enjoy literature.  The content is general enough (and the writing style encouraging enough) not to put off students for whom interpreting literature is not a prime interest, yet still contains enough specifics to be of use to students encountering the texts for the first time.  As other reviewers have noted, the book would also be of great relevance to adult learners seeking a helpful guide to classic literature.  Students encountering these texts for a second time, or in a more intensive setting (say, a seminar on Jane Austen) would likely find the book less relevant to their interpretive needs. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Steinberg writes with refreshing clarity: his prose is accessible and engaging, and he makes no attempt to sound dauntingly intellectual.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is certainly internally consistent; as I have already noted, it sets out a general method of reading which it then applies to various specific works.  In all cases, the specific interpretations follow the general method.  To the extent that Steinberg uses specific literary terminology, he is consistent in its use; however, the book is fairly free of jargon.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book is highly modular; in fact, it is much more likely that an instructor would use part of it in a course than all of it.  The introduction could be used with profit in any introduction to literary analysis: I will use it in my Introduction to the English Major course, and it would even be of use as introductory reading for a general education literature course.  The chapters on individual works would be useful auxiliary readings for anyone encountering these texts for the first time, and they are self-contained enough that they can easily be read and understood in isolation. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"As I have already noted, the book moves from general method to specific application.  The discussions of specific works are arranged in chronological order, and when more than one text is discussed in a chapter (as in Chapter Three, which discusses the Odyssey and the Aeneid) there are clear links of subject and themes which bind the texts together.  Even though the book is quite modular, the chapters flow easily from one into the next, and reading the book straight through is a pleasant experience.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This book is freer of typographical errors than many printed books are.  There are no interface issues with the PDF, which I have read all of; a quick look at the ePub text does not reveal any issues either.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"As with the typography, the grammar is excellent.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"The cultural relevance of Steinberg's text is problematic.  While his overall premise (that reading literature should be enjoyable, and that close reading techniques can help make it so) is neither insensitive nor offensive, his choice of literary examples could be considered so.  As mentioned earlier, the texts discussed are all either classical or British and all written before 1873. In addition, only two female writers are included, and no writers of color are included at all: this gives a narrower view of English literature than is necessary or, perhaps, justified.  The chief problem, in my view, is that the selection of texts implies that, while reading literature should yield enjoyment, only the works of white British authors are really capable of doing so.  Steinberg certainly does not say this, and I am sure he does not think it either; however, a wider variety of authors would help to show the breadth of enjoyment that literature can offer.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is a well-written and engaging book that will be of real use to students embarking on the project of reading and interpreting literature.  While not suited (nor intended) for use as a course textbook, it presents a valuable introduction to close reading and enlightening readings of various canonical literary texts.","created_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":862,"first_name":"Catherine","last_name":"Loomis","position":"Professor of English and Women's Studies","institution_name":"University of New Orleans","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The author does not claim the book is comprehensive, and in fact he draws attention to the limits of its chapter topics.  The book is comprehensive in the sense that it marshals many reasons to study literature, but the author chooses to focus on a few favorite works to illustrate those reasons.  There is evidence that the author's knowledge of the field is comprehensive, but the book itself encourages readers to make their own efforts to garner comprehensive knowledge of English literature.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The author is direct and clear about his biases toward certain periods, genres, and authors, and justifies those biases.  There are several typos in the book, some of them problematic.  I found the plot summaries and analyses to be accurate and error-free.  You might want to be a little kinder to shepherds on page 67 (Shakespeare's Corin is actually a very wise man).  You might want to give bibliomancy a name on page 68.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The author discusses several canonical works that we will continue to teach for several hundred years, but his anecdotes and analogies will become obsolete more quickly.  The dated material will be easy to identify and replace; the surveys of critical responses to the works can be easily supplemented as new critical studies become available.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text seems aimed at advanced placement high school students, college students who are not majoring in English but are taking a literature class, and adult learners who would like to know more about English literature.  This audience will have no trouble understanding the author's clear and logical prose.  Definitions are deftly and consistently offered, and there is no lit-crit jargon used.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book's purpose is clear from the introduction forward, and the author's argument about the value of literature develops clearly and logically with each chapter.  There is a consistent habit of using well-chosen examples, and a sensible and repeated structure in each chapter, making it possible for students to read the chapters over the course of the semester without losing sight of the pattern.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The chapters can easily be read individually and in any order, but there is a welcome tendency to recall earlier chapters in brief, relevant ways.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The works are organized chronologically, and the author draws attention to artistic and technical developments that demonstrate how the later works evolve from the earlier ones.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No noticeable distractions.  The layout, in fact, is quite nicely done.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"There are errors, although they seem inadvertent.  On page 20, in line 11 of the quoted poem, \"wen\" should be \"went.\"  On page 82, the number of Shakespeare's sonnets is incorrect:  it's 154.  On page 84, ste-dame should be step-dame, and three-no should be three-note.  There is a lay/lie error on page 95.  On page 119, beards should not be capitalized.  On page 131, elast should be least.  One page 132, I'the storm should be i' the storm (lower case i).  The opening sentence of Chapter 6 should end with a question mark.  On page 150 in the last paragraph, I think \"to\" should be \"too,\" but I may be misreading the sentence.  On page 157, appear should be appeal.  On page 193, paragraph 2, should \"there\" be \"these\"? In the chapter on _Middlemarch_, George Eliot's real name should be spelled correctly throughout:  it's Mary Ann Evans.  On page 224, the title of _The Iliad_ is inconsistently italicized.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This book is of relevance to students of the humanities.  It covers a period of western history when most writers were male and white, but the author takes the time to explain why this is so and to offer ways in to these poems, plays, and novels for all readers.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"The anecdotes become a bit wearing by the middle of the text.  The analogies are good, and the gentle, positive tone will reassure readers who are new to literature.  The frequent demonstrations of how to do a close reading provide a valuable model for readers, and the thoughtful efforts to link the works through cross-references make the book a coherent study.  The conversational tone and the author's obvious love of the material make this an accessible, readable text for non-specialist audiences.","created_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-12-05T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":2791,"first_name":"Catherine","last_name":"Pritchard Childress","position":"Adjunct Professor ","institution_name":"East Tennessee State University","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"While this text has much to offer when considering specific pieces of literature, I wouldn't label it comprehensive. Further, apart from a Works Cited page, the author offers no glossary, index, or notes section. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The author's treatment of his chosen novels, plays, and poems is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The approaches to reading, understanding, and engaging with literature that are presented in this text are timeless, in my opinion. The author provides students with ways of understanding difficult text that are different from traditional approaches.  ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Absolutely--the text is casual and accessible in its approach--a style that I imagine would be very appealing to students. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter is uniform in style and approach. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This text can only be used if assigned in smaller sections as it only covers a few novels, plays, and poems. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The relevant text is clearly stated in each chapter's title. The organization is logical, clear, and direct. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I have no problem navigating through this book. It is relatively free of non-textual material, so that isn't an issue here. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not discover any glaring grammatical errors. ","cultural_rating":1,"cultural_review":"This book is very limited in scope. Of the ten chapters (and their corresponding authors) only two are female. No contemporary authors (of color or otherwise) are included in this book.  Since this text isn't specific to a certain time period, I think this is a shortcoming on the author's part. A textbook with this wide scope could easily include a more representative group.  ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"While I might find this text useful as supplemental reading for students, or even a secondary source for instructors,  I don't find it practical for the survey courses I teach. In fact, in my experience, many of the novels are only taught at the graduate level. I can't know the author's intent, but the authors and works he includes don't lend themselves to use in any specific course. The stated goal is achieved--he does present a variety of ways for students to think about literature, but having this as the single text for any particular course seems unlikely. I would like to have seen works that most often appear in traditional anthologies, or on traditional reading list. For example, students might be better served by a discussion of Dickens' Great Expectations rather than Bleak House.  Definitely a book to which I will return for my own planning, though.  ","created_at":"2019-04-15T11:48:48.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-15T11:48:48.000-05:00"},{"id":2817,"first_name":"Jessica","last_name":"Hall","position":"Adjunct Instructor ","institution_name":"East Tennessee State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text isn't comprehensive in the sense we usually apply to textbooks for literature courses, but as the author notes in his introduction, that isn't the point. It's a very specific overview of selected texts that are commonly taught in various survey courses, and as a result would be better in a supplementary reading function. The subjects that are covered, however, are covered with an appropriate level of detail for undergrad courses. \r\n\r\nThere is no index or glossary. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The texts that the author has chosen to cover are timeless and he has approached them from a relevant twenty-first century perspective. Literary analysis is forever evolving, so relevance is always a tricky question in our discipline, but I would have no problem giving these essays to my students without many caveats (as I am sometimes obliged to do with supplementary analysis).  ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook is extremely clear and approachable for students (another point in its favor over much critical analysis). ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text does what the author's introduction states it will do, and all of the chapters are consistently on theme and about the same length. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Because the text deals with ten specific texts mostly separately (the Odyssey and the Aeneid are combined) in addition to a general introduction, it would be very easy to pick and choose selections to assign to students. Because it seems designed to be used as supplementary reading, the chapters are probably a bit longer than I would expect students to read with regularity in addition to the primary texts they are assigned, however. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The chapters are clearly organized by chronology (date of primary text). ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is clean and easy to navigate -- organized very much liked a traditional textbook. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no errors that I noticed. ","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The text is certainly not offensive in any way, but falters on the point of diversity. Of the nine authors considered, only two are women, and George Eliot is the most recent. There are no authors of color and all the authors are Western. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I would use this textbook as supplementary critical reading in survey courses, but I would be much more likely to do so if the works considered in the text were ones I assigned frequently. Unfortunately novels like Middlemarch or Bleak House aren't an option in survey courses. I do, however, particularly like the introduction to the textbook (especially the sections on the enjoyment of literature and the misconceptions about it) and would consider assigned portion of it independent of the rest of the textbook in my intro to literature course. ","created_at":"2019-04-21T19:22:23.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-21T19:22:23.000-05:00"},{"id":33476,"first_name":"Danielle","last_name":"DeRise","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"As other reviewers have noted, this category is hard to evaluate for this text. Steinberg sets out to accomplish a specific purpose—to encourage appreciation of literature—and does so with a finite set of texts that he has personally curated as examples of great works that deserve our cultural attention. In this way, the text is successful in achieving the author’s vision: presenting his unique interpretations of canonical works. However, it is not “comprehensive,” though the definition of that term is highly subjective in the humanities. It’s not even unanimous that “comprehensiveness” would be a valued trait for a text in this discipline. However, I do think the book would have benefited from clearly articulated rationale for why these works were chosen over others (something more concrete than being the author’s personal favorites). It might have helped, even, had the author been a bit more explicit about connections among the texts; in that way, then, he could have achieved a certain comprehensiveness in his presentation of literature dealing with some theme still relevant in today’s society.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The author has considerable knowledge about a wide range of literary and historical periods; as such, the content is accurate and rich with detail. I wondered about his tendency to avoid citing other literary criticism. Occasionally, a theorist (e.g. Weil) was mentioned, but usually only so the author could dispel that scholar’s interpretation and offer his own. It’s obvious Steinberg has the expertise to propose his own analysis or challenge that of other scholars, but the way in which he did so was a bit didactic, at times, rather than inclusive.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The chosen primary texts are timeless, as is the need for students to appreciate great works of literature within a larger context of the human experience. Therefore, much of this content is unlikely to go out of date in any problematic manner. The occasional anecdote—such as visiting a bookstore in an indoor mall—may be somewhat mysterious to students born after a certain date, though even those might retain charming appeal as artifacts of a human’s experience at the time of writing this book. However, in the micro-focus on close reading, an opportunity to make larger connections seems to have been missed. Students who don’t know why they’re supposed to love literature but who are ultimately open to the possibility would benefit from concrete examples: how does Virgil’s veiled critique of the empire resemble political discontent today? What about those “rebellious, rock-throwing mobs?” Does that remind students of anything they are seeing now? How might the struggles of George Eliot to be recognized as a reputable female author be similar to (or different from) the challenges faced by women in the corporate world today?","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The prose is accessible, but probably more to an audience of literature professors than to undergraduate students. I see this text having been written for an audience of novice literature instructors open to hearing how they might cultivate approaches or design their syllabi. Some reviewers mentioned, and I agree, that the text might also be appreciated by adult students, i.e. learners who might have “missed” or underappreciated these classics the first time around. It’s harder to imagine this prose style “landing” with traditional undergraduate students, particularly those who might be enrolled in a humanities course to fulfill a general education requirement.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Late in the introduction, the author identifies his purpose: to demystify some of his favorite literary works. It is clear in every chapter that this is the spirit with which his prose is written and the primary texts are treated. Additionally, Steinberg relies on his considerable expertise to augment the literary interpretations with tidbits of biography or cultural context that would be useful additions to a humanities course. Thanks to his abundant knowledge, he successfully accomplishes these enhancements for every literary work and author in about equal measure.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"This text seems most useful for its parts, so in one way, it is portable. An instructor could assign one chapter (or part of a chapter) in companion with the relevant primary text. On the other hand, Steinberg is self-referential—with many nods to “I’ll cover this later,” or “as we will see” (e.g. in the Austen chapter but without a hyperlink to the Eliot chapter). Consequently, aligning specific sections to one’s own course might require considerable effort in terms of explanation and presentation to students. Also, since the chapters are long, it seems they would be most appropriate broken into sections—to clarify a particularly opaque passage of The Iliad, for example. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine today’s student managing the workload of a demanding primary text, Steinberg’s supplement, and any scholarly criticism necessary to situate the work in contemporary discussions of race, gender, class, or other relevant theoretical frameworks.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"From chapter to chapter, there is a logical and clear flow. However, headings, titles, and more concise transitions would have helped with readability in the chapters. A paragraph forecasting the chapter’s goals and its arrangement would have allowed readers to better anticipate the flow of content. In its current presentation, the chapters seem to loosely bounce from biography to summary to interpretation. One specific example is the Austen chapter, which would have benefited from a short paragraph—set apart from the biographical or historical content—indicating that two novels would be explicated. More information about why those were the two novels selected, and what the subsequent interpretations would cover, would have been illuminating.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Although readers can easily navigate back and forth between chapters with no distractions or broken links, the presentation feels a bit plain. Some readers will appreciate the lack of bells and whistles, as the straightforward presentation is reminiscent of print books. On the other hand, I anticipate students—particularly first-year undergraduates—benefiting from more “clickability,” such as a division of the long chapters into shorter modules with headings, bolded titles, larger font, and other small formatting changes to enhance the visual presentation.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is polished and mostly free of grammatical, punctuation, or other mechanical errors. Apart from a few parenthetical asides that might have been removed for brevity, the book is nicely edited.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"I share the view of some previous reviewers, of this book serving as a supplement to one or more primary texts taught in the class. If used in this way, then the lack of non-Western/non-white/non-male authors would not be as noticeable. However, if it was going to be used from cover to cover, it would benefit from an update to include more diversity of authors.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"When I was teaching in an adult continuing education program, I would have found this text useful. Those students would have enjoyed Steinberg’s passion for the literature and his anecdotal style of close reading. However, I don’t know that I’d use it with traditional, 100 or 200-level undergraduates, who would likely find it cumbersome to read these lengthy chapters in addition to the primary texts. Moreover, since I emphasize theoretical frameworks that delve into conversations about culture, race, gender, and class, I’d have a hard time fitting in another lengthy assignment, especially one this focused on close reading.","created_at":"2021-11-21T16:57:47.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-11-21T16:57:47.000-06:00"},{"id":35434,"first_name":"Susan","last_name":"Stone","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Loras College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"By his own admission, author Theodore Steinberg did not set out to create a comprehensive text, so evaluating this is a little problematic. Steinberg rejects comprehensiveness and writes about works he has taught and enjoyed from the Classical period (The Illiad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid) and in pre-20th century British literature. Single works by writers such as Dickens, Shakespeare, and George Eliot are foregrounded, and each chapter does a good explaining the joy and value that can be found in reading the primary works. Each chapter would be a nice, easily accessible supplement to reading the primary texts, but I would have appreciated having American works (e.g., Walden, The Scarlet Letter, Uncle Tom's Cabin, 12 Years a Slave, or The Bluest Eye) and a few works from authors of diverse backgrounds, other countries, and the 20th and 21st centuries.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Content-wise, this seems quite accurate, and the author seems clearly familiar with critical discussions about the texts and about theories relating to them. One might not always agree with the close readings and analyses done by the author, but they are clearly presented. It might have been useful to incorporate some secondary criticism, but there doesn't seem to be much dialogue within the chapters. Rather, Steinberg seems only to reference other scholarship in relationship--and, usually, conflict--with his own. There are a few distracting typos, however, in spelling, grammar, diction, etc. There is also clear authorial bias, which Steinberg addresses up front in each chapter.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The content of this resource focuses on older works, but it is up-to-date, and the textual analysis and reading strategies are current and should be useful for quite a while. Since the chapters focus entirely on older works, there is less to worry about with respect to becoming obsolete. The only issues that might need to be updated are the personal anecdotes and classroom examples.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is incredibly accessible and uses a light, personal tone, as if the author is confiding in a friend or having an informal conversation with students during class or in his office. There isn't a ton of jargon or technical terminology, and the author does a solid job of explaining any terms or cultural references utilized in each chapter.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The framework for this book is very consistent. Each chapter follows the same format, opening with a personal anecdote and moving through the text by giving examples from his own teaching experiences.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"If paired with the introduction--ether as a reading assignment or something an instructor might overview in class--each chapter could be assigned as a stand-alone reading. There is some self-referentiality going on, but it isn't a barrier to using a single chapter as part of a larger course.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The source is, overall, quite nicely and clearly organized. Each chapter is titled appropriately, and the contents are straightforward. It would've been helpful to have an Index and, possibly, abstracts for each source, but it all \"makes sense.\"","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This text was easily accessible, and there were no problems navigating it.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The text was well-edited, with a clear voice and diction, but a few typos here and there were a bit distracting: \"to\" instead of \"too,\" \"Ste\" instead of \"Step,\" and the misspelling of George Eliot's real name were a few mistakes I saw.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"This book deals with texts that have been considered canonical for, in most cases, centuries. Despite their age, the author finds ways to make them relevant, and the book offers new ways of making the older works enjoyable and relatable. In order to increase inclusivity and appeal to students from varying backgrounds, more texts by non-white authors might be included, and more discussion of how non-white students might feel about the works chosen here by Steinberg, would help to increase cultural relevance, as might discussions of race, socioeconomic status, gender, intersectionality. In order to better get at varying cultural concerns, the author might consider adding additional chapters focusing on works by more diverse and/or modern authors.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Steinberg does a nice job making everything old new again for his students, and his anecdotes reveal this. I love that the text emphasizes finding the joy and personal relevance in reading canonical texts, but it doesn't read like a traditional textbook. I'm not sure that I would use this in a course for majors because of the lack of theory, scholarly dialogue, and examination of each text's cultural relevance, but I do believe that the conversational tone and personal anecdotes make this an excellent, accessible resource for non-majors, non-academics, and those who genuinely want to learn more about literature and its relationship to and value in their own lives..","created_at":"2025-04-08T10:57:17.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-04-08T10:57:17.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/literature-the-humanities-and-humanity","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:31:26.000-06:00"},{"id":206,"title":"U.S. History","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2015,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":"","accessibility_features":[],"description":"U.S. Historycovers the breadth of the chronological history of the United States and also provides the necessary depth to ensure the course is manageable for instructors and students alike. U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most courses. The authors introduce key forces and major developments that together form the American experience, with particular attention paid to considering issues of race, class, and gender. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). OpenStax College has compiled many resources for faculty and students, from faculty-only content to interactive homework and study guides.","contributors":[{"id":3539,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"P. Scott","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Corbett","location":"Ventura, California","background_text":"Senior Contributors P. Scott Corbett, PhD - Ventura College"},{"id":5054,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Volker","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Janssen","location":"Fullerton, California","background_text":"Volker Janssen, PhD - California State University-Fullerton"},{"id":5055,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"John","middle_name":"M.","last_name":"Lund","location":"Keene, New Hampshire","background_text":"John M. Lund, PhD - Keene State College"}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"}],"publishers":[{"id":116,"url":"https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-08-11T15:04:44.000-05:00","name":"OpenStax"}],"formats":[{"id":160,"type":"Online","url":"http://cnx.org/contents/a7ba2fb8-8925-4987-b182-5f4429d48daa/U.S._History","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":161,"type":"PDF","url":"https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":162,"type":"Hardcopy","url":"http://www.amazon.com/US-History-OpenStax-College/dp/1938168364","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":4866,"type":"Audiobook","url":"https://audileo.com/openstax-us-history-audiobook/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4.5","textbook_reviews_count":42,"reviews":[{"id":345,"first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Maloy","position":"Senior Lecturer","institution_name":"University of Massachusetts Amherst","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is impressively comprehensive.  Its 1052 pages include 32 chapters, beginning with the “Americas, Europe, and Africa Before 1492” and ending with the “Challenges of the 21st Century.”   The first eight chapters explore colonial America, the War for Independence and the formation of a new republic.  Chapters 9 through 16 focus on early industrialization, the contrasting economies of the North and South including the divisive impact of slavery, territorial expansion, political reform, and the Civil War and Reconstruction.  Chapters 17 through 22 deal with post-Civil War industrialization, westward expansion, Progressivism, and American imperialism.  Chapters 23 through 30 continue the narrative through the 20th century with material on World War I, the 1920s, the Depression and the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, the changing American society and economy from the 1950s to the 1980s, including the struggle for African American civil rights.  The final two chapters focus on contemporary history from 1980 to the present.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book reflects the latest scholarship, blending political, social and economic history very effectively.  The authors discuss seminal events, dramatic moments, and hidden histories from every time period in the past.  Readers learn about different time periods from the perspectives not only of leaders and elites, but individuals and groups who are often neglected or omitted by more traditional texts.  Throughout, the lives and stories of famous and ordinary people are used to reveal the pressures and patterns of life during different time periods.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Given its treatment of seminal events, dramatic moments, and hidden histories, the book is highly relevant to the lives of students and teachers today.  Teachers and students can use the book to generate a present-to-past-to-future teaching methodology where contemporary issues are discussed and then explored historically, all to generate opportunities to envision better futures for all people.  Teachers and students can also use the book in a more traditional format, moving chronologically from the past to the present.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book is well written, in an engaging and informative style that should appeal to students and teachers alike.  Importantly, the use of interactive web links, primary source excerpts, and photographs and other visual material support the book’s approach without distracting readers from main ideas.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book has a consistent approach throughout, balancing the larger historical context of key developments and important people with explorations of less-known, but still important events along with the stories of lesser-known historical figures.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The inclusion of 32 separate chapters creates a book that will be read and understood effectively by both students and teachers.  Students can read a chapter and follow the historical narrative without becoming overwhelmed in factual detail.  Teachers can assign chapters or sections of chapters to complement what they are discussing in class.  The size of the book is therefore an advantage because some sections can be explored in more depth using primary sources and other materials while other sections can be read mainly for historical background.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book has logical organization and an engaging narrative flow.  It is easy to navigate and to read.  The chapters present the major periods of United States history chronologically.  Every chapter title includes dates so readers can follow the flow of events.  For example, Chapter 8 dealing with events leading to the War for Independence is entitled “Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests, 1763-1774.”  Similarly, the chapter on the New Deal era is entitled “Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1941.”  Maps, pictures, charts, timelines, primary source readings, and web links are placed in the center of the page, calling the reader’s attention to the information.  Figures and Tables are numbered by chapter and linked so readers can move seamlessly to the visual material.  The Table of Contents is interactive so clicking on a chapter title immediately brings readers to that chapter in the text.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Every chapter in the PDF and Read Online version of the book has a live web link feature called Click and Explore.  This feature takes readers to a website where they can explore a topic in more depth by viewing primary source material, viewing video on the site or accessing other resources.  For example, a figure of showing Alexander Graham Bell’s patent of the telephone is followed by a Click and Explore link to “Everyday Mysteries,” a Library of Congress site that lets readers explore competing claims for Bell, Elisha Gray or Antonio Meucci as the phone’s inventor.  Most Click and Explore links take readers to sites maintained by government agencies, museums, historical organizations, libraries, and news network sites (“Tocqueville C-Span:  Retracing the Steps of Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1831 Journey” is one such example).  Occasionally, the link goes to dot.com site where readers will find pages that include advertisements for commercial products and services.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"While the vocabulary is mainly geared for college students, with scaffolding by teachers, the book can certainly be used in high school classes as well.  ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Cultural Relevance:  The book incorporates the diverse histories and herstories of different races, ethnicities and backgrounds throughout.  Three features—“Defining ‘American’ “, “My Story” and “Americana”—present a wide-ranging multicultural view of the past. \n“Defining ‘American’ “ uses short selections from documents, speeches, photographs and other writing to uncover hidden histories and untold stories of what it means to an American, including a selection from Sarah H. Bradford’s 1869 book Scenes from the Life of Harriet Tubman; Chief Justice John Marshall’s 1832 ruling on the principle of Native American tribal sovereignty in Worcester v. Georgia; the photography of Jacob Riis documenting urban slums and tenements during the Glided Age; the story of African American soldiers during the Spanish American War; and a letter from Mary Childs Nearney, a secretary of the NAACP, requesting racist scenes be cut from the film, Birth of a Nation.\n“My Story” uses diaries, interviews, letters and other sources to set a context for important events and dramatic moments in American history, including Solomon Northup remembrance of the New Orleans Slave Market; a selection from Andrew Carnegie’s The Gospel of Wealth, a first person account of World War I trench warfare, a selection from a colonial Virginia planter, and a woman’s account of the devastation of farm lands during the 1930s Dust Bowl.\n“Americana” explores artifacts from pop culture to highlight the values and philosophies of different time periods, including Walt Whitman’s 1855 poem, “Song of Myself;” Joseph Glidden’s 1873 invention of barbed wire that changed land use patterns in the American West; lyrics from the Depression-era song, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”, and pro-World War I propaganda posters in English and Yiddish.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"There is a list of key terms, a short summary of key content, a set of multiple choice Review Questions, and several critical thinking questions at the end of each of the book’s 32 chapters.  An Answer Key at the back of the book provides succinct explanations for the correct answers to the Review Questions making that a very useful feature for classroom instruction.  Questions can be given in paper format or entered into a student responses system where students can discuss the questions and analyze the answer choices.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":436,"first_name":"Matthew","last_name":"Lindaman","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Winona State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Very comprehensive in scope and coverage.  If possible, I would like to see a few more primary sources.  However, perhaps they could be located in an appendix as the flow is strong \"as is.\"","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate.  There are no errors found in the text.  The text is unbiased.  Organizationally, it does not favor an overtly political, diplomatic, social, or cultural approach, which in turn might lend to bias.  Instead, it is a nice blending of approaches.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"It is a history book and therefore will stand a longer test of time.  Any relevant changes should be easy to make.  I will comment on the images elsewhere.  Fur purposes of evaluating longevity however, I will note that the historical images are sharp or crisp in appearance.  By largely staying away from photos, these will stand the test of time.  A few contemporary photos were used in the early chapters, but they are not many in number and should not look dated.  In any case, they could be easily replaced.  Thus, as far as images were concerned, I found the selections strong and ones that look sharp in a contemporary setting.  Second, I thought the authors did a masterful job of including hooks to current or contemporary cultural references that were embedded in the materials of the past.  This inclusion piqued my curiosity as a reader and will provide an number of great avenues of discovery and discussion for student readers.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The clarity was solid throughout.  IT was not overly filled with jargon.  Paragraph structures were the appropriate length,  While on the subject of clarity, I want to underscore my appreciation for the clarity associated with the labeling of the images.  They were  not only neat in appearance, but also including the appropriate materials (in a succinct manner) to allow student to practice historical sourcing as a skill.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"There were no issues in this area.  I have more to say under the theme of modularity which I see as a great strength of the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"If I could, I would give this a five plus rating!!  I found this to be a very pleasing aspect of the open source platform.  Without worry of page number or length impacting printing prices, the authors were able to assemble a great number of chapters, or at least a greater number of sub-themes within the chapters.  Three examples stand out: the Crusades, greater coverage of Africa, and deeper coverage of the European Reformation; all of these allowed greater depth to the historical story, with the option of covering them on the assigned readings, or not, without missing the flow.  Likewise, within the chapters, the modularity was a strength, allowing a fluent reading experience between themes.  It appears the book is driven by theme or key vocabulary concepts as opposed the \"the great individual\" in history approach.  As stated under the bias theme, this means it does not come across favoring any one approach to hisoty.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"All topics were logical.  The flow was sound,  I appreciated the opening hook and the lead prompts or questions under the sub-chapter sections.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I was very impressed with the interface of the text.  Approaching this review, I was skeptical, or though one of the main things I like about texts, the infusion of images, might be lost in an open source platform.  This was not the case.  I came away very impressed with the interface.  The paragraphs were embedded with images, or use of primary sources.  This kept the flow of the chapters lively and provides many opportunity to go into a deeper discussion of the images or primary sources in relation to the context of the material covered.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any issues with the grammar.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This was generally good.  With the vast use of images, the authors may consider using a bit more cultural diversity over the last half of the text.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Entering with an open mind, though somewhat skeptical of open source as a platform, I came away very impressed.  The modularity and interface of the text were definite strengths.  The material is solid, but definitely enhanced with the use of images, embedded primary sources, and links to additional open source materials.  This will allow the students opportunity to gain coverage of materials, while also providing the opportunity for the flipped classroom in that great discussions can take place surrounding the images and primary documents, including the opportunity to practice historical thinking skills of sourcing and contextualization.  Along these lines, I want to applaud the authors for the use of lead images to introduce each chapter.   This was something I thought would e lost on an open source platform.  Instead, as I was reviewing, I could not wait to get to the next chapter to see what the authors included as the image-hook-historical context opening.  Well done, creative, and I would love to use in the classroom!","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":443,"first_name":"Joe","last_name":"Austin","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"NOTE: My comments apply ONLY to the post-1865 chapters (16-32). I'd judge this book's comprehensiveness to be about average or a little better. The chapters prior cover the material prior to the 1960s (chapter 29) are more comprehensive than those that follow. The chapters before 1930 (16-25) are the most comprehensive.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I found no errors in the material. In my view, the book could have used a more critical viewpoint; it's \"bias\" as primarily a kind of uncritical blandness. Otherwise, I saw no consistent viewpoint across the chapters. The viewpoints across some of the chapter sections seemed to vary quite a bit.","relevance_rating":2,"relevance_review":"I thought the book was about 10-15 years behind the times in terms of terminology. For instance, there was no serious discussions of \"whiteness\" or \"settler colonialism\" or even the intellectual history of race that would have helped to conceptualize and unify some of the material. The material is fairly modular (perhaps to a fault -- it seems fragmented in places), so it shouldn't be too difficult to add these sorts of conceptual tools with minimal editing.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"Jargon-less to a fault: lacks the kinds of conceptual tools that might challenge students to engage more deeply and critically with the material (see above). Very accessible language, but also very bland overall (this varied quite a bit). This book is unlikely to inspire anyone to become more interested in history, but it is also unlikely that many students will misunderstand the textbook's intended meanings.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"With rather little terminology or framework, one could call this textbook consistent. The \"side bars\" did not add significant thematic consistency. In general, the textbook navigated a middle road, the most consistent focus on political, military, economic/business, and diplomatic subfields across chapters.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"In my opinion, this was a weakness in this textbook. I understand that modularity is important for this textbook format, but it works against narrative and critical/analytical consistency, and in this case, also results in an inconsistency in the authorial voice. Yes, it would be relatively easy to add new sections without major disturbances in the existing flow of the text. Is that a good thing in a narrative presentation? Doesn't this suggest that any new sections had little significant impact or importance?","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The chapters prior to WW1 (chapters 16-22) are organized thematically across broad, overlapping periods, while those that follow (23-32) are arranged in a stricter chronological order. The post-1945 chapters (chapters 28-32) tend to cover longer periods of time (15-20 years). The organization seems to have an implicit argument that the last 100 years (and certainly the last ~50 years) are less well understood or important than the last half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. That said, this one does not seem too far out of the standard range among US history textbooks.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"These seemed to be about standard quality. These \"side bars\" generally were well written and worthwhile, but more seemed like \"spice\" rather than \"nourishment.\"","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The only major grammar problem in the text is the use of the passive voice, which is noteworthy in some sections. Given my emphasis on causation and action in student writing, this is a problem for me. Some sections would seem to encourage a kind of vague, \"zeitgeist\" thinking that seems more appropriate to entertainment venues (e.g., the History Channel) as opposed to an academic textbook. I noticed the repeated use of the word \"spirit\" (e.g., \"the progressive spirit\").","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"I found nothing that was identifiably offensive, but there was a notable turn away from critically examining the reproduction of long-term inequalities. Thus, racism was primarily caused by \"racists\" rather than everyday embedded racial ideals, presumptions, bad science, or unrecognized \"special privileges.\" There is no critique of modernity nor a serious challenge to \"Western Civilization.\" Likewise, there was no critical examination of the inequalities generated by capitalism, aside from a few bad actors. Even when examining the Gilded Age, the textbook repeated the long-outdated \"debate\" about the virtues of the Robber Barons. No conservative K-12 school board would be offended by this textbook.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"As you may have detected if you have read this far, I am not a fan of US textbooks. That said, I am a big fan of Eric Foner's textbook, particularly in its least-expensive form. No, by no means is it perfect, but my students consistently rate it highly, and it avoids most of the flaws of the genre. \n\nIn my experience, standard US history textbooks do little to challenge the patriotic, \"glorious past\" propaganda that is pushed on our K-12 students. Historical thinking and critique tend to be episodic and anecdotal -- although inequalities seem to \"reappear\" in textbook narratives, there is rarely any sense that inequality is systematic or structural. US history textbooks are more likely to damage any enthusiasm students display in understanding US history than to nurture it. \n\nThis general description of US history textbooks fits this particular textbook quite well. It seems to be \"standard\" in every way, with its primary distinction being its blandness. As I mentioned before, this textbook is very unlikely to win new converts to historical thinking, though it will likely satisfy the History Channel enthusiasts.\n\nThe supposed virtue of open source textbooks at this historical moment seems to be price, and I have strong sympathies with attempts to reduce the outrageous costs that students in the US must pay for higher education. However, this textbook does little to challenge unexamined, \"commonsense\" assumptions about the US past that could as easily be acquired (and affirmed) from television programming or Hollywood. We have to do better than this. Otherwise, the ~$50 price for Foner's textbook is a far better choice.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":494,"first_name":"Charles","last_name":"Young","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Umpqua Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook is quite comprehensive in covering key ares and ideas.  For example, I was quite impressed with the well written and broad details concerning \"John Winthrop and the Puritans\" in Chapter 3 and with \"The New Nixon,\" \"The Domestic Nixon,\" and \"Nixon the Diplomat\" in Chapter 30.  When I first began reading the textbook I felt there was was too much interruption and space given to the illustrations, maps, charts, and first person narratives (as engaging and colorful as they are) at the expense of narrative flow and needed textual content but by the second chapter I realized how well written and to the point the test is.  I did feel that the extent given to the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War was excessive (I served during this period). With that aside, because of this excellent focus the content does give sufficient depth to the issues and events in  relatively short textual spaces.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I am also impressed with the accuracy of the information given.  Only in a few areas do I feel the content on certain subjects to be too simplistic or indeed somewhat inaccurate.  To be specific, in Chapter 1, \"The Maya,\" the fall of the Classic Maya by 900 C.E. is far more complex than simply to say,  \"Because of poor soil and a drought that lasted nearly two centuries their civilization declined . . .  and they abandoned their large population centers.\"  A major increase in endemic, continuous warfare, raids by non-Mayan peoples, an urban population too large to be sustained by their agriculture, and the loss of faith in their rulers and the ceremonies centered in these urban ceremonial centers were also key factors in the decline.  I also feel the reasons given for using the atomic bombs in WWII, especially why a second bomb was dropped to be missing key factors and far too abbreviated.  Otherwise, however, i give this textbook high marks for accuracy and depth.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is quite up to date and relevant.  The treatment of the rise of the conservative movement politically  is outstanding in both its relevancy to today and in its depth of detail.  In particular I praise in Chapter 31 the sections on \"Creating a Conservative Policy\" and \"Conservative Christians and Family Values.\"   I did not see where the textbook would be out of date anytime soon.  The last chapter is excellent in bring us up to the last few years of history.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook is exceptionally well written and to the point.  As I shared earlier, at first I thought that the text was too often broken up by the maps, pictures, and first person sections but soon came to realize that the authors do zero in well on the key information needing to be shared in a wonderfully engaging writing styles.  For example, the labor systems used in early New Spain is so well written, as is the material on Anne Hutchinson and the early Puritans.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in spite of the multiple authors (which is surprising)  Whoever had some editorial input did an outstanding job blending the no doubt different writing styles into a coherent, engaging, and always to the point brevity.  I am particularly impressed with the Civil War narrative in its consistency, and all through the book the repeated framework works well.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The division of the chapters into sections, readings, maps, illustrations, first person accounts, review questions, glossaries, critical thinking questions, on line sources all worked very well. Yes, such modularity does lend itself to easy reorganization to better fit individualized teaching methods, highlighting key sections, and an overall variety that I believe would be  very engaging to students.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"At first I felt the many different section breaks, especially the extensive maps and pictures/illustrations, caused  too much interruption of the narrative reading flow.  By the second chapter, however, I became aware of how well written the text was and how well chosen, perfectly paired, and visually attractive were the illustrations and maps (the color alone added to the engagement).  By the the third chapter I was even more impressed with the organization and flow and that view remained throughout the rest of the textbook reading.  Your choices of illustrations, maps, charts, and pictures are outstanding.  The \"Colombian Exchange\" map and text are examples of impressive and appropriate pairing and reinforcement.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"navigation of the interface is straightforward and easy.  I did not notice distortion or any issue here that would confuse the reader.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice problems with grammar.  In fact, I am very impressed with the level of writing, particularly its ability to explain  rather complex ideas in an engaging, to the point way.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I believe this textbook is culturally sensitive and relevant.  It certainly includes many first person accounts of discrimination and intolerance (an example being the attention to our past slavery and to the rounding up of Japanese- Americans at the beginning of WWII) in our history so as to remind us of how far we have come and to be ever more sensitive to equal treatment of peoples.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I am very impressed with this textbook, especially in its engaging use of appropriate and colorful maps and illustrations, its well chosen use of  photographs, and, most of all, its well written narrative that I believe will greatly involve the reader in the story telling aspect of what good history is all about.  I would highly recommend this book to others!","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":497,"first_name":"Caryn","last_name":"Neumann","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"Miami University of Ohio","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book is an acceptable replacement for any U.S. History textbook by a major publisher. To save costs, the publisher used open source material for images.  The book is not as polished-looking as a \"normal\" textbook. However, the quality of the text is high.  Full disclosure: I was one of many reviewers who looked at chapters for any possible errors or weaknesses. The quality control procedures of OpenStax matched that of traditional publishers.\n\nI have listed this book on my syllabus as suitable for my students in U.S. History.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The textbook has been proofread by many eyes and I can find no errors.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The vast majority of historians regard anything that has happened in the past 20 years as current events. It is not possible to have historical distance on a topic until a generation, at least, has passed.  Therefore, I do not regard this question of longevity as relevant to this book.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"It is quite readable.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book has no readability problems at all. It is consistent and easy to digest.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The table of contents matches the pattern of most history courses. Historians typically move chronologically.  The chapters are broken into easily digestible parts.  I read each chapter in one sitting without any difficulty.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The chapters match the flow of the vast majority of history courses.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The book is fairly straightforward and basic.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I would have a fit if the book contained grammar errors. It has none that I saw.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"It is quite inclusive and respectful.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"No.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":522,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Jamison","position":"Visiting Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Miami University -- Middletown","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"At 1052 pages, \"U.S. History\" is nothing if not comprehensive. Maybe comprehensive to a fault. Although it fulfills its duty as a history textbook by including fairly detailed recountings of events (with some exceptions to come), the editors are guilty of including large chunks of information in the precolonial and colonial eras that are tangential at best to the story of U.S. History. One example is the entirety of Chapter 2. It’s called “Early Globalization in the Atlantic World,” but it’s not. The entire chapter is largely background information on contemporary European political and cultural history in order to give us context for when we later read about what was happening in the Americas.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"There were some glaring inaccuracies, mostly concentrating in the section on “West Africa and the Role of Slavery.” The text mentions that “West Africa . . . was linked to the rise and diffusion of Islam.” This statement is wildly vague and inaccurate. How can a region be \"linked\" to a religion that doesn’t reach it until the 8th Century? Are the editors not aware of the rise of the pre-Islamic Nok civilizations and their terra cotta figures and ironworking? The state of Ghana likewise exploited the gold-for-salt trade using Berber and Tuareg intermediaries before Islam had made it to West Africa. And what of the powerful non-Muslim states of West Central Africa, Kongo and Angola? Do they not merit a mention? \n\nA few sentences down, the text claims “Until about 600 CE, most Africans were hunter-gatherers.” This sentence was actually flabbergasting. The Agricultural Revolution hit West Africa at least as early as the second millennium B.C.E., and the Bantu peoples began their spread from Cameroon to over the entirety of southern Africa -- bringing agriculture and iron-working technology -- soon after, eventually replacing the hunter-gatherer culture of southern Khoisan speakers. There were large groups of people who were hunter-gatherers in 600 CE to be sure, as there large groups of pastoralists, but this sentence seriously decontextualizes the actual on-the-ground reality.  \n\nThere are more. In the very same paragraph, to say that “Sub-Saharan Africans had little experience in maritime matters. Most of the population lived away from the coast, which is connected to the interior by five main rivers” robs the teacher of the chance to teach students about the Liberian-area Kru people, who ferried African American colonists back and forth from the coasts because their ships couldn’t face the rocky shore. And this would be a direct tie-in to  American history. Of course there were hundreds of groups who lived near the ocean, but there was never economic or population-pressure motivation to explore transoceanic exploration. Suffice it to say, the research on this section left quite a bit to be desired and is in need of a general rewrite. I would say that this is one of the book’s more immediate concerns. The following section on African slavery, however, is excellent, particularly the connection between the construction of race with slavery. Although a section on parallel social institutions among Amerindian groups and on serfdom in Europe in this chapter would give the chapter more overall thematic balance.\n\nMuch as the text gives too much primacy to the role of Islam in the construction of political and cultural cohesion in West Africa, it gives too little credit to Muslim culture in the contribution it made to European culture, particularly the Renaissance, in its treatment of the events in sections 2.1 and later in the flowering of the Enlightenment in section 4.4. It ignores how the Moors brought algebra and Greek and Roman philosophy back to Europe, which led to the Enlightenment. This is inaccurate in that it gives students a warped view of the role Islamic culture has played in American culture. \n\nThe text calls the Dutch Republic “Holland” on page 50. Holland was but one province in the Netherlands, although people of the time called the Dutch Republic “Holland” in the same way some people think Manhattan is “New York City.”   \n\nI was very impressed that the book gave the definition of the word “slave” on  page 15. That is a rarely mentioned but important history.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text is largely up-to-date, using the most accurate terminology for its historical referents. It uses the word “tribe” rather carelessly,(p. 16) though, without going into the history of that term, given that it was used by European anthropologists to (often inaccurately) classify and compartmentalize the ethnic groups they encountered in Africa and the Americas. A more useful term for classification would be “ethnic group.”","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The wording of the text is clear, and achieves a not-unreasonable level of grammatical and syntactical complexity for college students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The framework and terminology are consistent.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The modularity is fine, but the section titles are more confusing than helpful. It would be preferable to have section titles that use terms students will be familiar with. Rather than titling chapters “Religious Upheavals in the Developing Atlantic World,” title it “Protestant Reformation and Catholicism.” Instead of  “The United States Goes Back to War,” use “The War of 1812.” That way when students are looking for a topic they want to find in the Table of Contents, they’ll be able to navigate it faster.","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"The organization of the first four chapters is inexhaustingly Eurocentric. Pages 34 - 39 and 42 - 46 are completely out of place in a U.S. history book, for instance. All of the information on those pages can be explained with quick in-text references in the sections that really have to do with America rather than long paragraphs in their own section. Chapter 4 on the British Empire is completely unnecessary. This is definitely a way the text can cut down on its word count. The chapter just seems like an excuse to tell European history. All that needs to be said in a U.S. history book about that period is covered in Chapter 3, which, by the way, is excellent, particularly the attention given to St. Augustine, Santa Fe, and Bacon’s Rebellion. The text sings when focusing on regional histories. The section on New France is extraneous, however.\n\nThe breaking up of the 1960s Countercultural Movement into two eras seems to rob the moment of its full contextual impact. The political issues from, say, p. 866 “Kennedy the Cold Warrior” directly led to the social upheavals covered right up to page 903, the beginning of Nixon’s story. That period represented a significant break with previous notions of American identity and should have its own chapter with a distinctive thematic focus.\n\nThere were great delights. I loved the inclusion of a section on transcendentalism and was pleasantly surprised to see a section on the flowering of antebellum Utopian communities.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"On the online version, there should be page numbers. The only way to refer a student to a particular sentence is by section number, and those are too long. If going over a passage in class, it will take too long for everybody to find it. \n\nIn the pdf version, the table contents have hyperlinks that take you right to the section, but there’s no way to go back to the Table of Contents from the different section. This will cause a delay, particularly if a student goes to the wrong section, they can’t go right back up to the Table of Contents. There should be a way back.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The text contains this sentence on page 20: “In 1054, the eastern branch of Christianity, led by the Patriarch of Constantinople (a title that because roughly equivalent to the western Church’s pope), established its center in Constantinople and adopted the Greek language for its services.” I think the word “was” was supposed to go there instead of the word “because.”","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Rather than devoting so much of Chapter 2 to European history, there were relevant things happening in the Americas that the editor could have chosen to include. What about the legendary battles between maroon/Carib confederations against both the French and the British on Saint Vincent and Dominica? What about Spanish and Portuguese encounters with Arawaks and Caribs in the Lesser Antilles and the construction of racial characteristics amongst these ethnic groups? These are events that had actual cultural impact in Americas, as those populations directly comprised the American cultural mosaic.\n\nIn Chapter 1, black and brown leaders are consistently left out of the narrative. In the one sentence discussing the inheritors of the gold-for-salt trade, the Songhay, where is the mention of Askia Muhammad Toure, who founded it, or Sunni Ali Ber, who led its hostile takeover?  What of Amerindian heroes like Tupac Yupanqui, Pachacuti, or Montezuma? Do they not merit a mention? And, not unimportantly, why is it that only European leaders get honorifics? The text makes the effort the mention that Richard was named the “the Lionheart,” Charles Martel “the Hammer,” and Henry “the Navigator.” More information on Songhay or the Kongo would have allowed for mention of Askiya the Great or Affonso the Great. Black and brown leaders have cool nicknames, too. This is exactly why we see so many studies of black and brown children in America who don’t feel they have role models. We force feed them navigators and hammers with whom they have trouble identifying. \n\nEurocentrism is about seeing the world from one perspective, and ignoring the possibility that your reader does not share it. Opening up a section with a sentence like “The year 622 brought a new challenge to Christendom” (page 29) immediately puts “Christendom” in the role of protagonist and Islam in the role of antagonist. As if it were Islam’s mission to destroy Christianity. The text does not explore at all Muhammad’s attempts to bring his vision to both Jewish and Christian leaders in Mecca, that he wanted to unify the faiths. The text is largely graphic in its depictions of horrors on both sides of the Crusades, but it continues an ugly narrative in American society that Islam is a force to be conquered by Christians.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"Please address the issues on African and Amerindian history and I will be happy to re-review!","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1043,"first_name":"Gerd","last_name":"Horten","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Concordia University--Portland, Oregon","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"\nThe coverage of this textbook is very comprehensive.  The 32 chapters are very similar to many other textbooks which are commercially available, and they are well suited for two-semester and three-term surveys of US history.  Especially in the opening chapters, the textbook also provides a helpful global perspective on the developments and factors influencing the conquest and the settlement of the Americas as well as the American Indian cultures and societies already in existence.  The wide-angle lens of this narrative does a fine job in terms of contextualizing especially early American history, but the textbook very ably and comprehensively covers later historical eras as well.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"\nThe textbook provides an accurate and rather well-balanced portrayal of US history.  This attempt to objectively reflect American history comes through in a few ways.  For one, the portrayal of post-World War II and especially also post-1960s movements is presented in a fair and even-handed manner.  In addition, the many opportunities to dig deeper in sections such as \"Click and Explore\" or \"Americana\" highlight various angles and perspectives on important historical events and developments.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"\nThe authors of the textbook make a concerted effort to connect historical events and developments from the past with current-day concerns and controversies.  Thus, a section on \"environmental changes\" is seamlessly inserted in early colonial history (Chapter 3) and the controversies surrounding slavery are connected to developments in colonial consumer society (Chapter 4).  The document selections also do a valiant job in terms of connecting past and present in similar ways.  More such synthesis segments might further enhance the overall strength of this textbook.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"\nThe writing is very accessible and clear.  There are few overly long sentences, and the use of language and terminology seems well within the range of most undergraduate students.  Every chapter in addition concludes with a section of key terms which will help to identify and explain some of the most important concepts and the most challenging terminology.  A section of review questions at the end of each chapter allows students to instantly check their understanding of the most important material covered in the respective chapters.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"\nAs in most textbooks, some chapters are clearly stronger and more in-depth than others, which is often dependent on the areas of specialties of the authors.  This textbook is no exception to this general rule.  For example, issues of gender and race are covered more comprehensive in the chapters surrounding the American Revolution (Chapters 5 \u0026amp; 6) than in the chapters leading up to the Civil War.  Also, while many chapters are thematically centered, some topics in modern US history, such as the Vietnam War, is interspersed over several chapters (Chapters 28-30).  While certainly defensible in its approach, this might provide somewhat of a challenge for many lower-level undergraduate students.  But in general, the chapters are dealt with in a very even-handed and consistent manner.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"\nThe division of the chapters and sub-headings is very clear and appropriately handled.  In addition, as mentioned earlier, the number of chapters and sub-divisions will align very well and smoothly with most survey courses.  Chapters 1-16 cover the first half of the survey up through the Civil War and Reconstruction Era.  The second 16 chapters move all the way up to the election and presidency of Barack Obama (up until 2014).  I think the book is also rather effective in concisely covering postwar US history in seven clearly written chapters.  If one were to follow this textbook outline, chances of reaching the 21st century would greatly increase, which is something most instructors (including yours truly) struggle to accomplish.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"\nThe textbook is very clearly and effectively organized, and central topics are clearly identified in the headings as well as the sub-headings of each chapter.  I think that the textbook also clearly identifies specific watersheds, such as the years 1774/75 in terms of the lead-up to the American Revolution (Chapters 5 \u0026amp; 6).  In addition, especially the antebellum chapters are thematically divided in a clear manner. which seems appropriate especially for such topics as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the reform movements of the early 19th century (Chapters 9-13).  ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"\nThe interface works very smoothly and effectively.  The hyperlinks in particular allow for quick detours and explorations, which lend themselves either for in-class discussions, homework assignments or starting points for small research projects.  I think this online version and the ease of clicking and connecting to bonafide websites and historical information might further encourage students to distinguish more clearly between useful and less useful internet sources.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"\nThe textbook is very well written.  I have to admit that I did not read every word of it, but I did not detect grammatical errors in the sections which I read or surveyed.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"\nThe textbook makes a very valiant effort to be culturally relevant.  There are no offensive or culturally insensitive segments which I noticed.  It does use the term \"American Indian\" rather than \"Native American\", which might deter some instructors from using it, but the authors also provide a very well-reasoned rationale for the choice.  In addition, similar to most textbooks, women, American Indians and other racial minorities are highlighted in specific chapters, but this coverage is not carried through for all chapters in an even manner (which is admittedly very difficult to accomplish).  I think the textbook deserves relatively high marks in terms of cultural relevance.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"\nThis is a very strong textbook overall and certainly can compete with those that are commercially available.  The ease and frequency of the \"Click \u0026amp; Explore\" and the \"Americana\" sections as well as the documents inserted between sub-headings provide ample opportunities for additional study and exploration.  I also think that the condensed post-World War II chapters provide a helpful road map for instructors who attempt to reach more recent decades of American history in their survey classes--and maybe even venture into the 21st century of US history by the end of the final course. ","created_at":"2017-02-15T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-15T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1076,"first_name":"Kurt","last_name":"Kortenhof","position":"History Instructor","institution_name":"Saint Paul College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The US History text is organized into 32 chapters that adequately present an outline of American history from pre-contact to 2014. The book is also easily adaptable to the two US History survey structure most colleges and universities follow. While no two instructors will agree on the level of detail aspects of US history should receive, this text does to a nice job of presenting a useful narrative supported by ancillaries that include: brief chapter timelines, sidebars (Americana, Defining America, and My Story), images, maps, web links, section-level objectives (that correspond to lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy), bold-faced key terms, section summaries, and objective and essay review questions.\n\nThe appendices include: The Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution, Presidents of the US, a political and topographical map, a population chart, and a list of suggested readings. In all, the appendices offer significantly less than many traditional US History textbooks provide.\n\nThe text also includes a glossary with hyper-links to the terms’ mention in the text. The glossary is, however, significantly less robust than many other textbooks provide.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text reflects a middle-of-the-road contemporary interpretation of US history. I did not see any glaring factual errors in the text (nor would I expect to). I think that people can argue about the balance and emphasis of any text, but I thought overall this book is balanced. Having said that, in places I did question the emphasis of certain aspects of the interpretation. For example, in discussing the home front during World War I, a lot of space is devoted to discussing those who opposed the draft and the ramification of doing so, while little was mentioned of the overwhelming support of the war illustrated by a general compliance to the selective service act (and other factors).","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book is current as of 2014. Like any history text that runs up to contemporary times, the last chapter of the book will need to be continually updated.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"I thought the writing in the text is one of the strong points. Although the writing is broken up by ancillaries, headings, and subheadings an engaging narrative still drives the book. The book is easy to follow and has a nice flow to it.\n\nThe text is written at what appears to me to be a higher reading level than the book I am currently using (Faragher, OUT OF MANY – Brief edition). Because I teach in an open-enrollment community college environment, this might present challenges for me and others teaching in a similar environment.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I did not note any changes in writing styles of significant variations in chapter length (although like all textbooks, some chapters are a bit longer than others). I also thought that the ancillaries brought a consistency to the text from chapter to chapter.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"I do think that the authors do a nice job providing context where needed to allow students to pick up in 1877 and make sense of the content. Further, many of the chapters or sections can stand on their own if an instructor wanted to assign parts and pieces of the text. \n\nI did notice that this books appears dense in places and there are multiple examples of pages of text not broken up by images or interactives. In this sense, my current text does a nice better job of providing a presentation that is not intimidating for students.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"For the most part the text is logically organized and well suited to work for institutions that split the US survey in 1877. The first 16 chapters run from pre-contact to Reconstruction, while the remaining 16 chapters run from 1877 to 2014. If your course is split in 1865, as it currently is at my institution, the chapter organization presents a problem with 15 chapters in the first half of the survey and 17 in the second half. If we adopt this book, we will likely adjust our survey courses so they splint in 1877.\n\nAt the chapter level, the content is organized into the 32 chapters in a logical fashion for the most part. There are, however, some curiosities. The most puzzling to me is the treatment of Manifest Destiny. While the text does discuss 1840s expansion in chapter 11: “A Nation on the Move: Westward Expansion, 1800-1850,” nowhere in that chapter is the term Manifest Destiny introduced even though it was coined in connection with a debate to annex Texas in 1845 (which is addressed). Later in chapter 17: “Go West Young Man! Westward Expansion, 1840-1900,” the term Manifest Destiny is introduced and rightly – although briefly – associated with the acquisition of Texas. The issue is that this mention comes in a chapter that falls in the second half of the course and not associated in the section of the course that covers the 1840s (a period more commonly associated with the concept of Manifest Destiny in US history). Further, students using the index to search for “Manifest Destiny” are taken to Chapter 17, and not chapter 14.\n\nAdditional aspects of the organization that I question include: separating out the Revolutionary War into a separate chapter from the larger Revolution, and dividing the treatment of the Great Depression into a chapter focusing on the Hoover administration and one focusing on Roosevelt’s New Deal.\n\nThe organization within chapters is driven by well-designed sections and subsections and will, in my opinion, serve students well. I did think it is odd, however, that the chapters have introductions that sit before and outside of the chapter sections, but no conclusions.","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"By far the most disappointing aspect of this text is the interface. Students can view the text online, as a PDF, or download an iBook for a minor charge. I reviewed the interface in all three versions of the text and feel that the iBook version offers the best user experience, but one that still falls below basic expectations. Here are a couple of frustrations: \n•\tKey Terms: while the iBook offers pop-up definitions to bold-face key terms, the PDF and online version do not. To find the pull-out definition in these other formats, students must scroll to the end of the chapter. \n•\tImages and Maps: More disappointing are the images, cartoons, and maps. In most cases the images are too small to see important details. In the online and PDF versions of the text, they cannot be expanded. In the iBook version students can click to expand the images by 50% - but it only stretches the image and makes it less legible. While the authors have selected useful political cartoons, the images are reproduced in such a way that make it impossible to students to read the text to fully understand the messages. Two of many examples of this short coming are: figure 11.19 (page 328) and figure 12.18 (page 363). An example of a map that cannot be read at all, see figure 23.16 (page 682).\n•\tLook and Feel: The look and feel of this text is bland and will not compare well to other fee-based print or online textbooks. Further, it may feel dated and clunky to our students who are often times use to slick, interactive interfaces in other aspects of their lives.\n•\tInteractives: Beyond the chapter review questions (of which only ½ have answers), and the option to be launched into content-related web sites, there is no interactivity in this text.\n\nOn the positive side, students are able to highlight section of text in both the PDF and iBook version of the text. Additionally, the iBook version offers its standard functionality that allows readers to create note cards.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical issues.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This text does a nice job of reflecting a relatively current and inclusive interpretation of US history. In all places where I expected to see inclusive discussions, I found them.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I think that the cost saving students will realize with this book are significant and clearly the most compelling reason to adopt this text. Doing so, however, brings some draw backs and perhaps challenges for our students.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1424,"first_name":"Tom","last_name":"Nejely","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Klamath Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I am reviewing this text from the viewpoint of a community college survey course, whose students may or may not be at college level writing. This population has certain needs and behaviors that influence the way I'm going to review the text. Student requests for an OER text have become overwhelming just in the last year and a half.  However, they have made it clear that a good text must have certain things:\n1. ease of navigation. If they have to scroll, they won't use it.\n2. It must be \"used.\"  That means assignments, quizzes, or tests must cause them to open the text and refer to certain parts while taking or preparing for the assignment/quiz/test.\n3. Students will generally not use the text on their own motivation to come prepared for class.\n4. It needs to be interesting.  Students would rather spend 3 hours Google searching rather than just 15 minutes reading a boring text.\n\nAbout this text's comprehensiveness: It is a very traditional text modeled on many editions that I have sitting on my shelves.  Its focus is very clearly on Europe and the \"lower 48.\"  Therefore, America's role in the 19th century westernizing of Japan, conquest of the Hawaiian islands, or any mention of the international grab for imperial dominance around the Pacific is/are missing.  If an instructor wishes to expand the horizons of the class, this text will not be sufficient.  On the other hand, that's an opportunity to have students reach further abroad for sources instead of just one textbook.\n\nIs the text comprehensive enough to be useful?  Yes, with some caveats that include a limited number of primary sources, a tight focus on the lower 48 and a lack of a global viewpoint.  That doesn't mean its a poor book, it's just on the instructor to know what supplementation they'll need.\n\nThe \"click and Explore\" function in each section is worth mentioning.  If an instructor sets this up right, these can be very useful class or group projects.  I liked exploring them, but not enough for them to be self-motivating.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I didn't find the same degree of inaccuracy that other reviewers refer to.  I find it - appropriate to the student population I deal with - reasonably accurate, error-free, and unbiased.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"For this comment I read with interest the last sections of the text which are the most modern.  The author(s) present the war on terror matter-of-factly, and do not mention the concerns of privacy and surveillance that have arisen.  Since this is an ever-increasing issue, and the current generation of students is entirely focused on their electronic devises, this lack means that the end of the text will become rapidly insufficient.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"Baby boomer historians have fallen into an unfortunate trap: they write in a language that the next generation doesn't speak.  There is an abundance of language that renders many textbooks inaccessible to students, and this text is no different.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Very consistent.  Once students and faculty have become accustomed to what the text has to offer, they are good to go.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text does in fact divide easily and the navigate bar on the left makes things work very well.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Clear enough; I didn't notice it.  The absence of annoyances means it will work adequately for a class.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface works well once the reader understands the need for an initial click to enable the sidebar navigation tool.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't find any editing problems that would interfere with student learning.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"For this comment I looked specifically at the South before the Civil War and the Civil Rights movements of the 60s sections.  These narratives were stock-in-trade so far as I could tell avoiding most insensitivities or offensiveness.  the civil rights section focused almost exclusively on the African-American experience.  Some mention of the Mexican-American movement was made, but the Amerindian experience is completely missing.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is basically a traditional text that will need instructor creativity and thoughtfulness to make it into an effective learning experience for students.  It does not at all pretend to be global in its perspective.  I found the chapter end review questions to be disappointing and any instructor should not rely on these to help students learn.  Its navigation is easy to use, once a reader understand the need for the initial button click that enables the left side bar.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1447,"first_name":"Thomas","last_name":"Woodhouse","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Riverland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook is comprehensive.  It covers events from pre-1492 through the last years of President Obama's administration.  It looks at social, economic,  cultural, political, racial, gender and military history, and it often goes beyond those few categories. \n\nIt covers topics in more depth than most other history texts.   For example, the book spends much more time on the background history leading up until the European conquest of the New World than is common in other textbooks.\n\nIt has a good index and glossary as well as a good review section at the end of each chapter.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found no factual inaccuracies in the text.  \nAs for interpretation of events, the authors are very thorough in looking at events from many different perspectives.  For example, though the authors interpret the Mexican-American War as a war of aggression by the United States, they, nevertheless, include a good discussion of why the United States went to war and even include a discussion of the American claims of the Rio Grande River as the border with Mexico.  I have read few other survey texts that include that later information.\nAs with any text, one can quibble with interpretations and with the choices of which information to include and which to exclude.  For example, in discussing the reasons for the Japanese surrender in the Second World War, they discussed the dropping of the atomic bomb but did not mention the impact of the Soviet declaration of war on Japan in the final days before the surrender.\nWith interpretation of events, the book overs very little to criticize and much to praise.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book is fresh but is not faddish.   It will have a long shelf-life and can easily be updated should the need arise.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The authors write in a clear style that should be accessible to the average college student.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent in its use of terminology.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The authors have a sound division of chapters which will make the book easy to break up into smaller teaching units.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is well organized and has a nice flow.  The authors usually stick to a chronological approach, but they sometimes step away from that organization and look a a single subject over a longer period of time than is covered in any one chapter.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The authors have many hyperlinks built into their book that will take the reader to much more information than is included in the actual text itself.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is well written.  William Strunk Jr. would be pleased with the books elements of style.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is very inclusive.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This text is a gem.  I will use it in all my survey U.S. history classes.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1460,"first_name":"John","last_name":"Haymond","position":"Adjunct Instructor of History","institution_name":"Riverland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I was most interested in the portions of this text that dealt with events from mid-19th century to the First World War, but I still read through sections bracketing that date range.  In its aim to cover the entire sweep of American history from before European contact to the 21st century, this text is ambitious.  So broad a scope, however, pretty much guarantees one of two outcomes -- either the book will be so long and ponderous in its attempt to cover all the worthwhile history that it would be simply too bloated to use; or, it will have to settle for incomplete discussions of major events while completely skipping over relatively minor ones.  In the case of this text, the second outcome is clearly the result.  It touches on the highlights of U.S. history without ever really engaging in the sort of deep contextual discussion that truly engages with the history it is discussing.  That being said, however, this text still serves as an accessible, clearly written introduction to the big picture questions of American history.  It will not serve as a detailed examination of particular eras of that history nearly so well.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"Speaking specifically of this text's treatment of American westward expansion, the period of frontier conflict with Native Americans, and the latter half of the 19th century, I found it to be highly problematic.  In simplest terms, this text's discussion of European American -- Native American conflict is one-dimensional, overly assumptive, prone to bias, and shallow.  A student with no other knowledge of American frontier history would likely come away from this book thinking that the conflicts between Indians and whites were always precipitated by white settlers and \"militias,\" a term the text seems particularly fond of using.  Quote: \"Although the threat of Indian attacks was quite slim and nowhere proportionate to the number of U.S. Army actions directed against them, the occasional attack—often one of retaliation—was enough to fuel the popular fear of the 'savage' Indians. The clashes, when they happened, were indeed brutal, although most of the brutality occurred at the hands of the settlers.\"  Several problems with this sort of writing immediately strike me.  First, it is not accurate.  A straightforward tally of simple numbers -- the incident rate of Indian depredations vs. army actions -- would lead to a markedly different conclusion (the annual returns of the army departments of the western territories 1866-1890 make this very clear, as do reliable secondary sources such as Robert Utley, Edward Coffman, Peter Cozzens, etc.).  Second, it castigates the U.S. Army without ever acknowledging the fact that the army itself was on record as frequently stating that settler fears of Indian threat were exaggerated and overblown.  Third, it makes declarative conclusions on controversial history without ever presenting any source evidence in support of those conclusions.  It is, frankly, a far too one-dimensional depiction of a very complex period of American history.  In rejecting the European-American biases of older histories of U.S. expansion, it errs on the other side of the coin by resorting to inaccurate over-generalizations.  There is a notable lack of balance in this text's handling of this particular history, an assessment which is also supported by the books listed in the \"Further Reading\" section pertaining to this chapter -- the cited texts are mostly of a particular slant.  There are some excellent compendiums of primary source materials which would offer students a chance to gain both historical context and personal insight into the events discussed so summarily in this text, some of which would actually support the textbook's conclusions but provide ample historical evidence in the process.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"As history, the material is written in language that will probably not be outdated anytime soon.  The perspectives are, for the most part, worded in such a way that they will not fall out of scholarly fashion in the next few years.  Organized as the text is, any changes or additions to the material would probably be very easy to implement.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The narrative here is extremely accessible, not needlessly academic in tone, language, or style, and easy to follow.  I would say that this makes it a very good text for first or second year college history students.  At the same time, there were sections where I felt the writing was almost too simplistic.  Not a problem of dumbing-down, by any means, but neither was there much depth or challenge in it.  Ideally, a history text should be accessible enough to allow students to engage with its material, but also written so as to challenge their preconceptions (if they have any), stimulate their analytical thinking, and encourage further exploration.  This text, I feel, fails on the first point, is not sufficiently robust to meet the second point, but does have the potential to achieve the third point.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I found the writing, organization, and presentation of the text to be very consistent throughout the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Very easy to navigate, with sections and sub-sections all clearly delineated and easily found.  Starting with the table of contents, the organization of the text made it very simple to move through the entire book without disorientation.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"As is true of most history books, this text is laid out in chronological order, with the events of one chapter leading to those in the next.  While this is a time-proven method that is undeniably user-friendly and good for students who may not yet be ready for more complicated scholarly writing, it does leave me feeling that it is a little too simplistic for detailed examinations of the subject or for analytical discussion.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I did not find any navigation problems at all.  All images were clear.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no grammatical errors of any kind that I noticed.  The writing style itself was perhaps far too passive-voiced, but that's an entirely different matter.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"If there is a fault with this text in this particular area of assessment, it is that it is so determined to be culturally sensitive and inoffensive to the traditionally maligned / marginalized / mistreated groups (Native American peoples, in particular) that it swings too far to the other extreme and has a tendency to make broad, sweeping generalizations about white American society that are themselves far too broad to ever be completely accurate.  Castigating an entire race or ethnicity without citing specifics is always problematic, no matter which race or ethnic group is being painted with the broad brush.  That being said, I think the text does a good job of trying to include elements of the stories of almost all quarters of American society in the eras it discusses.  The problem is that its approach is too one-dimensional and overly broad to allow for real discussion of these different perspectives.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I think this text would be particularly useful for an introductory course in American history that is geared toward first or second year students.  It is not deep enough, nor intellectually robust enough, to serve as a text for more advanced studies of American history.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1486,"first_name":"Leah","last_name":"Hagedorn","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"This promising textbook would benefit from greater comprehensiveness and greater depth. The book is easily searchable.  In considering the text for community college use, at least twenty percent of community college students have disabilities and it would have been wonderful if the authors had incorporated more disability history into the text. Too, the book needs more intellectual history, with fuller coverage of republicanism, for example. More attention to the history of the development of technologies would broaden the appeal of this text to twenty-first century students.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I hope that in subsequent revisions the authors will do more with American isolationism.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This text appears easily updateable.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This text is clearly written, although some word choices (for example, \"tripwire\") will be unfamiliar to twenty-first century students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is internally consistent.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The modularity will be helpful to those who need small reading units.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text is clearly organized.","interface_rating":1,"interface_review":"The interface needs improvement for accessibility; the free versions need variable line spacing and enlargeable fonts (features that the free PDF didn't offer).","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is clearly written.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"The text needs greater coverage of people with disabilities as historical actors and more attention to the experiences of members of immigrant groups.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"This work, particularly if revised, has the potential to replace many U.S. survey texts. It needs more people; the text seems to offer a bird's eye view of U.S. history. It would be wonderful to have more accounts of individuals whose experiences embody historical movements and moments. The linked resources are well-chosen but marginalize digital divide students.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1493,"first_name":"Matthew","last_name":"Whitlock","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook is very comprehensive, covering pre-contact to the 21st Century in 32 chapters. The authors provide thorough details in 1052 pages. Providing some additional primary sources into some of the chapters would be great.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The textbook is accurate and unbiased. It is well-balanced and relatively error-free.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Focusing primarily on the last two chapters, the textbook is written in a way that updates might not be easily implemented. I worry that with the constant changes in technology and terminology, the author(s) might have to re-write the final chapters.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is clear and presented at a high-school and college level. The key terms in each chapter help with the terminology that some might find challenging. The problem still exists with new terminology that rarely appears in the text.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is very consistent. I believe that students will be able to quickly adapt to the textbook's setup.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is easily divisible and I like the available navigate bar.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is structured well and has a great flow chronologically.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found no problems with the interface of the text. The hyperlinks used in the text are a great addition.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I could not find grammatical errors in the text.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I believe the text is respectful and inclusive. Again, I worry about the terminology.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This is an excellent OER text for the introductory U.S. History classes at the college or university level and for an upper-level high school U.S. History class. A few more primary sources would not hurt the text.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1564,"first_name":"Arlene","last_name":"Reilly-Sandoval","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Colorado State University-Pueblo","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers Pre-Colombian U.S. to the 21st Century. It is comprehensive in that it covers not just the major wars or conflicts, but also the industrialization, struggles of indigenous populations, and the development of a nation.  This book has both a breadth and depth of information.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"This text appears accurate and unbiased.  It does describe situations from different viewpoints, including racial, ethnic, and religious populations.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"This book definitely has longevity.  It might need more chapters added throughout the years, or some edits based on new information about the past, but it appears to have made a strong effort to describe history from other viewpoints and not just the western European viewpoint.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This book is fairly easy to read and written in a way that most students will no problem understanding.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent in describing different viewpoints and the historical record.  It strives to be culturally competent while imparting important information about historical events.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book contains 32 chapters, which can be reorganized and allows for a selection of specific chapters as needed.  It appears to be very adaptable into modules.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is primarily presented in chronological order, which makes the most sense for a history book.  The authors do look at several aspects of history, from a social, economic, political, and culture viewpoint, which makes it very interesting.  History is a topic that usually taken by students who are history majors or who must take a history general education course.  This book contains information that would interest students from several different majors because of the breadth of information.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No major navigation problems, even when clicking links for more information within the chapters.  The images and links serve to pique interest rather than distract from the information provided.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is well-written and understandable.  I did not notice glaring grammar or typographical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"One of the strengths of this book is that it attempts to address the viewpoint of different cultures, or at least describe non-European cultures and history.  The links provided in the text direct the student to additional information.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I enjoyed reading this book!  It reminded me of some historical facts I had forgotten and I was pleased to read about different indigenous populations in a historical context.","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1577,"first_name":"Jonathan","last_name":"Rees","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Colorado State University - Pueblo","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"It's comprehensive, but the depth of coverage is uneven.  There is far more detail on the pre-1945 period than the post-1945 period.  In the earlier period, the same years are (rightfully) covered in multiple chapters.  In the post-1945 periods, whole decades only get half a chapter.   With respect to kinds of history, it's very good in giving race and gender sufficient attention.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Generally good.  I have some problems with the chronologies in some cases, like running the Progressive Era up to 1920, ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"It reflects the last twenty or so years of scholarship very well in its inclusiveness.  Personally, I don't feel the need to cover presidential elections in this depth, but I understand the decision.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"I think it is written well.  I worry about students trying to read long blocks of uninterrupted text on their computers, though.   ","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"It's not.  I mentioned the post-1945 split.  Another problem is the tendency to start the early chapters in different years, particularly subjects like the West that begin well before 1877.  I know some second half survey classes begin in 1877 and some in 1865, but I've never heard anyone starting in 1870.  In a large department where the starting dates need to be clearly defined, this would be a problem.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I never thought about modularity as a thing before, but yes I do think they've done a good job with that.  I'd be more likely to extract and mix sections of this text than assign the whole text itself because some parts of this text are just lovely.  The 1920s chapter, for instance.  The maps are also really, really well-done.","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"Here I have serious problems.  I mentioned dating problems in the early chapters and the speed with which post-1945 decades are dispensed.  I'd add a few chapter divisions.  Breaking up Populists and Progressives is just never done elsewhere.  Limiting the Depression decade to 1932 is also unheard of elsewhere.  I really hate the fact that the 1980s and 1990s are crammed into one chapter too.  And then, most of the material there is political. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Perhaps the print is a bit small in .pdf, but then again I didn't bother to try to fix it.  I might gather more pictures for the later chapters (despite copyright issues) just to break up the text more for students.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't notice any issues.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"It's mostly very good.  A very nice balance of race, class, gender and more traditional historical issues.  This changes though after the 1960s as the more modern organizational ideas are what get passed over in the latter chapters.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"As you may have noticed by now, I concentrated exclusively on the post-1877 chapters because that's the period I teach.  It should be an absolute no-brainer to break this up into two separate .pdf files because every single university I've ever encountered breaks US history up into two courses broken somewhere in the later half of the nineteenth century.  Even if a student wanted to take both halves, there's no assurances that they'd get the same teacher assigning the same open textbook.  Save the students the trouble of downloading half a huge file they won't need!!! ","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1758,"first_name":"Morten","last_name":"Bach","position":"Associate Lecturer","institution_name":"Ohio University - Zanesville","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text certainly aspires to be comprehensive with thirty-two chapters moving from the pre-Columbian context to Barack Obama’s second term. For the most part, it compares favorably to the commercial text I’ve been using in my U.S. history survey in recent years. For the 20th century – the area with which I am most familiar – the text seems well-balanced and without glaring omissions. The most important exception to that rule is the chapter on World War II. The section on pre-war neutrality ignores much of the debate over intervention. The discussion of the Pacific War mentions the naval component of that conflict, but barely. It mentions kamikaze (attacks) without explaining what they were. It discusses the atomic bomb missions in detail (down to secondary targets), but merely alludes to the massive conventional bombing campaign. Similarly, there is no mention of the air war against Germany at all. Beyond WWII, elements of the Cold War such as propaganda get short shrift as does the issue of Berlin past the blockade in the late 1940s. The latter seems like a detail but becomes a potential source of confusion when the Berlin Wall shows up (obviously symbolic, but unexplained) at the end of the 1980s.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"In the parts of the text that pertained most directly to my area of expertise, I found the text to be generally reliable and accurate on matters of fact. I did find a couple of exceptions: In the section on “The American Dream,” massive retaliation is conflated and confused with Mutual Assured Destruction which, in turn, is wrongly attributed to Eisenhower. In the following chapter, President Kennedy’s health problems are incorrectly attributed to his wartime service. The latter point is trivial, the former easily fixed.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Given its broadly chronological organization and the absence of a particularly strident or controversial perspective, this text should be relatively easy to update. The final chapter is exactly the kind of insta-history that will likely need constant attention.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is quite good on this point. The writing is clear and accessible throughout. The text is free from excessive jargon and usually provides a clear definition of unfamiliar terms. For the most part, titles of chapter sections have sensible and self-explanatory titles.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"In general, the text is consistently organized in thematic chapters within a general chronology. There is a notable (and odd) exception with the 1960s where the “presidential synthesis” seems to sneak in with John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. There’s a lot of Hoover in the Depression, too. The reason for those emphases isn’t clear.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text appears relatively easily divided into reading assignments that could be used in isolation. Frequent subheadings and brief sections should facilitate the process.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization is fairly conventional for a survey text of this kind. Nothing seems obviously out of place within the general organization of the text.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I only looked at the e-book, using a desktop PC and a tablet. I had no problems navigating the text or using the various links. Images and other graphics appeared as expected.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Here, too, the text seemed most problem-free. There were no obvious grammatical problems. Typos, too, seem rare. I noticed only a couple: George Percy is misidentified as “Henry” in the section on early Jamestown and West Berlin's Tempelhof Airport is misspelled as “Templehof” in a picture caption of the section dealing with the Berlin Blockade.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find the text insensitive or offensive. Like most other recent texts with which I am familiar, it strives to present a variety of perspectives.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this text. In the right kind of setting, I think it could be a very useful alternative to existing commercial texts. It’s obviously meant for an introductory-level student in search of an overview, not for advanced students focusing on some particular subject or era.\n\nOn that note, though, I would like to add that the principles behind the selection of “further readings” is anything but clear to me. In the section “World War, Cold War and Prosperity,” there is one volume on the Ruhr Crisis of the 1920s, two popular works on Ronald Reagan, a memoir by a Russian ambassador, six books on World War II, one volume tangentially related to prosperity, a memoir of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and a book on Richard Nixon’s campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas. If there’s some sort of selection criterion at work here, I am not sure what it is. \n","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":2151,"first_name":"Kathleen","last_name":"Pannozzi","position":"Assistant Professor of Educational Studies","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This US History text is certainly comprehensive.  In its 32 chapters all phases of the development of the American nation are addressed.  In some cases there are multiple chapters on one era.  The period of 1760-1790 is explored in chapters 5, 6 and 7.  Additionally the ante-bellum period is discussed in chapters 11, 12, 13 and 14.  There are a variety of primary sources embedded in the text, as well as maps and other illustrations.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"By checking throughout the text, I found no glaring inaccuracies.  The discussion of some issues, like the controversy over European's horrific actions in the New World, reflect  good scholarship.  However, the section on the US and the European Holocaust is assigned to \"Further Reading\".  Also, a discussion of the Fred Korematsu case about Japanese Americans being interned during WW 2, does not get sufficient exposure.  Is this inaccuracy?  Perhaps this is more about comprehensiveness, but it needs to be addressed.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"With any history text, there is always the question of updating after a period of a few years.  The nature of this text would be easily updated with an addenda that addressed recent events.  The very nature of an OpenStax source like \"US History\" allows for reworking of the basic text either by an individual teacher, or if needed, by the original authors/editor.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This is an eminently readable text.  After many years (over 40) of reading history texts and teaching from them at both the secondary and college levels, I found this book both accessible and clear.  There are not overly long sentences or awkward descriptions that tend to numb the attention of the reader.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Despite the fact that multiple authors are listed as contributors to this text, there is a consistency throughout the text regarding its framework.  The use of primary sources, which are embedded into the text and the questions at the end of each section are very helpful.  The summary at the start and finish of chapters are also an excellent feature.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"From my perspective this text lends itself to the kind of modularity that I need in my college freshman course.  I am not teaching a survey, so it is essential that the book be easily divisible into not only chapters, but in some cases, sub-headings within chapters. In the introduction, this modularity is made clear!\n\n\"Because our books are openly licensed, you are free to use the entire book or pick and choose the sections that are most relevant to the needs of your course. Feel free to remix the content by assigning your students certain chapters and sections in your syllabus, in the order that you prefer. You can even provide a direct link in your syllabus to the sections in the web view of your book.\nInstructors also have the option of creating a customized version of their OpenStax book. The custom version can be made available to students in low-cost print or digital form through their campus bookstore. Visit your book page on OpenStax.org for more information.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This text is well organized.  Moreover, considering its modularity, it allows any instructor to create their own structure.  If an instructor wants to consider a theme like human rights - philosophy, development, legalization and abuses of those rights in the American story-  they can do this with ease.\nThe inclusion of so many \"extras\", like links to sources, puts students at a distinct advantage.  The richness of this text far surpasses other US History texts I have used in the past.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"My review of this text indicates that there are no significant issues with navigating its various features such as maps, photos, and relevant primary sources.  In fact, the links embedded in the online version make exploring primary sources both easy and convenient.  The location of maps, charts, other images or features are appropriately located to increase access and understanding.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Reading through many sections with an eye to error is a common practice of mine after many (47) years of teaching.  I am surprised by its grammatical accuracy, which is an important quality when reaching students and hoping to assist them in their own communication skills.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Generally speaking, I am pleasantly surprised by the culturally inclusive nature of this text.  For example, there is a good explanation of the US internment of 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans starting in 1942.  However, there is no solid description of the horrendous war against Philippine Independence which the US waged for close to 14 years (1900-1913).  The only reference in the stories of WW 2 to the US refusal to assist Jews fleeing Europe in the 1930s and 1940s is in one source in \"Further Reading\".  For me, that is not sufficient.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Like many other general US History texts for college courses, this text is both sufficient and makes a good effort at representing a wide variety of important and controversial issues  Its features make for an adaptable textbook for a particular focus within a course.  However, I find certain holes concerning what I would call the darker side of US history, like my mention of the scarce coverage of the Philippine-American War and the rather hidden account of the failure of American government to help rescue those fleeing from Hitler.\nDespite these \"holes\", it is a text I would adopt for my freshman level US History course!","created_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2396,"first_name":"Brian","last_name":"Leech","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Augustana College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Periods: Overall, good work by the authors. The text does fairly well with the pre-European contact period, although I’d still prefer more attention to North American Indians. The text is not unusual in this respect. It also would sure be nice if the authors paid a bit more attention to areas west and south of the growing United States before they join the U.S. proper. We get good tales of why and how they join the union, but not much about what happened there before. Chapter 20 does cover populism fairly well, although it neglects recent scholarship on how important populism was in the mountain West, not just on the prairie/plains. Chapter 21: good coverage on progressivism overall, even if conservation seems a bit underplayed by the authors. I quite liked the split in the period of the Great Depression—starting with Hoover’s administration in chapter 25, followed by FDR in chapter 26. Hoover and his administration get more fleshed out in this way than in typical textbook coverage of the Depression.   \r\nThemes: The key political events gain effective coverage. Although political history clearly serves as the organizing factor of this book, it does, at times, do well with social life—the urban life of chapter 19 being a good example. Race is dealt with properly as an important driver to many key events. Women’s lives also gain a decent place in the text, even if there are a few times when we get “women” sections (e.g., page 177, page 490). I’d rather have women more integrated into the narrative. The topics of work, workers, and socio-economic class show up when you’d expect them to. There are a few really effective moments when the textbook considers environmental history (the “selection of hats for the fashionable gentleman” on page 306 is a nice example), even if I’d personally prefer there to be even more attention to the theme. Unfortunately, by the time we get to chapter 29 (the 1960s), politics starts to dominate coverage more and more so that by chapter 31 (the 80s and 90s), it’s essentially all politics. I'd like more attention to other areas of American life--social, cultural, even environmental--in these later periods.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"As a historian, I reject the idea that anything, including a textbook, can be “unbiased” (don’t we all hold biases?), but, yes, this textbook does a nice job of trying to look at the topics accurately and it is essentially error-free. A good example is the violence in the wild west section of chapter 17, which provides a nicely balanced view coming out of recent scholarship. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Yes, the textbook does a good job at tackling many topics with the use of the latest scholarship. I’d actually prefer if it was more up front about what kind of scholarship it’s using when, but that’s more of a pet peeve I have with all textbooks. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is well-written. Many sections are actually quite effective, even gripping, for a textbook. There are other times when it heads more into a bit drier textbook style, but it’s still always easy to read, quite accessible to the average reader. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The overall format of each book chapter is strong and includes well-written summaries of the key messages for each chapter at the end.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Yes, the textbook is easy to break up into sections so that they can be assigned at different points in the term. I’ve never thought it a good idea to have a book that doesn’t refer back to or build upon earlier materials in the book (wouldn’t that give the narrative more drive?), so I'm actually not sure \"modularity\" is a good aspect to a book. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall, this textbook follows the format of many previous textbooks--it's clear why each choice is made. There are a few periodizations that I found unusual—like westward expansion from 1800-1860 in chapter 11, then westward expansion, 1840-1900 in chapter 17. Given the overlap between the two periods, I’m not exactly sure why the authors decided on those breaks (certainly the issue of free soil versus slavery expansion is a good reason, although there’s much more in chapter 11 than those topics). I do very much appreciate the fact that the American West doesn’t just get confined to a single chapter, which happens in most other textbooks. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Nice “click and explore” elements, like the link to “virtual Jamestown” or the erie canal map, for instance. I’d like to encourage future editions to do even more work at providing links to documents, maps, and other elements that would enliven the text. Why not make the online accessibility of an OER textbook a way to truly standout from other textbooks? ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Great work!","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook does well with race throughout. Gender is also dealt with fairly well. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The short selections from primary sources are a nice touch. I’d actually like more of them as a way to break up the big chunks of narrative text. ","created_at":"2018-11-18T23:49:34.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-11-18T23:49:34.000-06:00"},{"id":2436,"first_name":"Beth","last_name":"Fowler","position":"Senior Lecturer","institution_name":"Wayne State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Overall, this is one of the most comprehensive and engaging textbooks I have ever read! The vast majority of events, issues, and themes that I introduce in class and want my students to think about were covered, or at least introduced. The way the book integrates histories of underrepresented groups, for instance--especially those of Native Americans, African Americans, and women--are, with few exceptions, intertwined with the rest of the historical record rather than presented as separate \"niche\" subjects. One major exception is that the experiences of enslaved peoples during the Middle Passage, in Northern areas, and even in the South prior to the Civil War, are largely overlooked. Slavery is consistently mentioned as a political issue, but students are not really introduced to people's lived experiences until Chapter 12, which focus entirely on plantations in the Deep South leading up to the Civil War. \r\nThe book also does a great job of presenting the United States within a global framework. This begins right from the start, as the American colonies are examined within the context of European power struggles, and the creation of racialized chattel slavery is presented as the result of political and religious struggles among European nations, and with the Middle East and Africa.  This excellent global context continues with Southern struggles during the Civil War linked to the English decision to purchase cotton from India rather than engage with a rebellious nation, and in the chapter on World War Two, which does a much better job than most texts of explaining the road to war in Germany and Italy. \r\nTwo places where the historical record seems oddly confined to the United States are the various sections on labor movements and on immigration in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Although the book does a good job of examining the many branches of labor politics in the United States (including the Communist Party's support of civil rights), I was surprised that it did not contextualize these struggles by discussing similar movements in Germany, Italy, and England. Indeed, clearer references to Karl Marx's writings as a whole would be helpful, especially given the lack of knowledge so many students have about Communism and other forms of Leftist politics. Similarly, the sections on immigration do a great job of explaining what life was like for people once they came to the United States, and how their cultural traditions impacted the United States in early 20th-century America. But students so often assume that people made this journey for \"a better life\" or strictly for economic purposes that it would help to make clear the war and discriminatory policies in Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire that informed people's decisions.\r\nI really appreciated the last two chapters, which look at recent history, especially since it is often so difficult to teach. I often find that historical patterns are not yet obvious, but these chapters do a great job of identifying some of the connections back to major themes, particularly how September 11 set into motion many current challenges, and the entire section on \"New Century, Old Disputes.\" Section 31.2, which includes a look at the War on Drugs and the Road to Mass Incarceration, is also an exemplary way to get students to think about current problems, but could be expanded by including a look at Stop-and-Frisk programs and the rise in privatized prisons.\r\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Overall, the book's historical accuracy is very high--I had few complaints with the content, even in areas, like the civil rights movement, that my own research focuses on. The connections that the book makes between several themes are particularly well done. An explanation of how corruption and neglect in Gilded Age-politics led to demands for reform during the Progressive Era, for instance, really helps students understand how change occurs, while the G.I. Bill is presented not only as a catalyst for a growing middle class in post-World War Two America, but as a means of systematically reinforcing racial segregation by working with racially-discriminatory banks, insurance offices, and school admissions departments. Although the HOLC and FHA should also be mentioned to let students know how the Federal government ensured racially-segregated housing patterns, these connections, along with a look at how Japanese Americans re-entered society after being forced into internment camps during the war, really help students see the limits of democracy during this period. \r\nThere are a few particular areas that do need clarification or revision, however. Woodrow Wilson receives a fairly traditional treatment as a \"liberal\" president whose \"enlightenment\" led him to support the suffrage movement and global democracy, while his entrenched racism and sexism is overlooked. A few characterizations of Henry Ford are also inaccurate, although I may be particularly sensitive to this, being from Detroit, and often teaching Urban Studies classes. Not all workers received five dollars a day--the process for approval was actually strenuous and intrusive--and black and white workers were almost never paid equal wages. Finally, Ford only implemented fair working hours because the AFL had fought for this for years, and he did not want workers to unionize. \r\nFinally, 28.4, which looks at 1950s culture, was excellent--this is my particular area of research specialization, so I was thrilled to see an examination of teenage culture and consumerism, as well as explanations of how rock and roll music broached the color line during the civil rights movement. As much as I appreciate the subject's inclusion, however, the section puts too much emphasis on white rockabilly performers and Alan Freed, when black R\u0026B artists and independent radio stations were just as crucial in creating and popularizing this music. \r\nFinally, the student and anti-war movements are covered quite thoroughly--I have never seen a textbook acknowledge ERAP and JOIN before!--and I particularly loved how the text parallels the connection between abolitionism and the suffrage movement with how the women's movement was shaped heavily by the civil rights movement. The one thing missing from this section is an examination of COINTELPRO--students should be aware of the fact that the federal government was responding to this movement in harmful ways, and what many activists were up against when they fought for these causes. \r\n","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book's focus on consumer and popular culture is very engaging, and in keeping with social and cultural historical trends. The chapter on advertising, for instance, explains how \"access to products became more important than access to the means of production,\" which draws students in while simultaneously explaining a massive shift in how people related to the economy. One of my favourite sections in the entire book (as well as the accompanying primary source website link) is about Yuppie culture in the 1980s. It engages students who are currently intrigued by the fashion and culture of this time period, but is not so self-aware that it becomes dated. The summary indicating how Reaganomics hurt many vulnerable people while allowing yuppies to prosper puts this cool and fun examination into broader and more crucial historical perspective.\r\nThe only caveat here is that a few of the links connect to articles that, while timely now, could become dated in the future. But since this is an open text, instructors could link to new articles if they so choose.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"One of the book's best features is that many sections begin by reiterating prior information to provide context for what is to come. In section 28.5, for instance, the Double \"V\" campaign and the G.I\u003e Bill's reinforcement of redlining in urban areas are both re-stated as framing mechanisms for civil rights struggles in the 1950s. Students do not necessarily remember the information they read about in prior weeks, or are able to see how one thing leads to or causes another. I love how this structure not only reminds students of what they have previously read, but shows how history does not occur in a vacuum, and that flow exists from week to week, and year to year. This is how I try to structure my classes, asking students for context at the start and end of each session, so it is ideal that the book is set up this way. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"As previously stated, many sections begin by reiterating what has been learned earlier. Most chapters are broken down into political, social, and cultural issues, with particular examinations of distinct identity groups. Most presidents are given a brief biography and discussion of their importance within particular historical periods. And the country's global significance, while not evident in each chapter, is prominent enough that it may be deemed consistent throughout the text. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I actually used this review as an opportunity to break down reading assignments for next semester's class, and was pleased to discover that this was fairly easy to do. With the exception of Vietnam (which is discussed throughout three chapters rather than in one), separate chapters line up quite well with particular classes, and where they do not, they are broken down by sections fairly easily. Within sections, the text is nicely broken up by images with captions and/or analytical questions, brief primary documents with follow-up questions, and links to outside materials. It was fairly easy to get through each section since paragraphs tended to focus on narrow subjects, and were almost always followed by alternative sources and questions to immediately reflect on the text.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall, the book is very clear. Chapters are mostly divided in a way that mirrors my class syllabus, and the text maintains a clear historical thread of cause and effect throughout. There are a places, however, where the subject matter crops up in an odd place. An examination of life among enslaved people is confined mostly to the chapter preceding the outbreak of the Civil War, for instance. Even though slavery is discussed as a political issue throughout almost all of the preceding chapters, waiting until this point in the book to include a look at people's lives may mislead students into thinking that slavery only existed on Southern plantations, or that people did not begin resisting until the eve of the Civil War.\r\nThe section on the Great Migration is also in a weird spot. The text introduces this topic in Chapter 19, which spans from 1870 to 1900, when migration patterns really did not begin to shift until World War One. It makes sense to identify push factors for migration at this point in time, but it would have made more sense to move the actual section to the chapter on World War One. Redlining is also mentioned in this section, which is again odd since this was not introduced until the 1930s.\r\nI actually liked how the text divided sections on the Vietnam War among three different chapters--doing so may help students understand this war's long history, as well as its many shifts under three different administrations. This is not how I teach my class, though--I usually devote a class or two to Vietnam alone. This is not unmanageable, since students will have been prepared for discussion by the time we get to the war, but I am not sure how much of it they will  remember by this point.\r\nFinally, section 31.2, which focuses on the growth of the New Right, should come earlier, and be expanded to include a deeper look at the culture wars, especially how abortion became a focal point. The brief mention included here does not quite do enough to explain Reagan's political ascendancy. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Another of the book's best attributes are the many online links to primary sources, museum and government websites, artwork, and articles. I was planning on assigning a primary source reader to complement this book, but I think I will instead try to make use of these links. One of the major problems I have is getting students to complete assigned readings so that we can engage in discussion. Even if students do complete the readings, they often forget what they read about, or did not engage deeply enough to really analyze them. Having students examine the Federal Slave Narrative database, new immigrant oral histories from the Library of Congress, or exhibits at the National Cowboy Museum, however, may engage their interests, be completed more rapidly online, and also be useful for in-class activities. \r\nThe only issue with these links is that, after clicking on them, you cannot navigate back to where you were in the text. I started opening links in a separate tab instead, so this is not much of a problem, but I could see students getting frustrated if they do not think to do so.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No glaring errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This book does an excellent job of intertwining the stories of underrepresented groups throughout U.S. history. The first chapter is a great example--it goes into much greater detail about the lives and traditions of distinct American tribes than I have seen in any other textbook. The book also presents events that have been obscured because of their effect on people of colour, like the police shooting at Jackson State College, alongside similar events, like the shooting at Kent State, to underscore how the race of those involved affects how we remember them. Overall, cultural competency is not merely an attribute of this book--it seems to have been a defining feature right from its inception.\r\nThe one group that does not receive this treatment throughout most of the book is people who identify as LGBTQ. Sexual and/or gender identity is not even mentioned until the section on McCarthyism, and even then only for a brief moment.  Subsequent sections on the Stonewall uprising, the Gay Rights Movement, AIDS and ACT UP, and the Defense of Marriage Act are far more detailed, but they seem to come out of nowhere for students if the actions and contributions of LGBTQ people are not mentioned in earlier chapters. \r\n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, this was a comprehensive and entertaining book--I actually enjoyed reading most sections, and even learned new things about a subject I have been teaching for years. The outside links, images, and primary source excerpts make this an ideal book for teaching from all perspectives. Most importantly, the book presents the histories of women, African Americans, Native Americans, and other underrepresented groups as inextricable to the nation's story as a whole, and examines culture and everyday life almost as closely as larger political and economic shift. I am very excited to assign this book to my students!","created_at":"2018-12-01T22:41:15.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-12-01T22:41:15.000-06:00"},{"id":2457,"first_name":"Gwen","last_name":"Tarbox","position":"Professor, Department of English","institution_name":"Western Michigan University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"US History is certainly comprehensive: the task of tracing the development of the United States from pre-colonial times to the second term of President Barack Obama is a daunting one. I think that the text might work better in a history course that ended in 1914, since the sections that covered the colonial, Civil War, and Progressive eras were lengthier and more developed. However, with some supplements, the text could certainly be used in a survey course in American History or American Studies.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"A text can be factually accurate, but it can avoid topics, minimize topics, and underdevelop topics, and this was something that I found to be a problem with US History. For instance, in the scant section that covers differing philosophies of land ownership, the authors simplify or ignore the differing philosophies of land stewardship held by indigenous peoples, while definitely eliding over the imperialistic and nascent capitalistic impulses of the Europeans whose ideas of land ownership derived from much more than just, as the authors put it, the colonizers' fealty to land ownership ideas contained in \"the Christian Bible.\" Obviously, the intended audience for this text may not possess the knowledge set to engage with highly advanced analysis, but therein lies the issue: for uninformed readers, this introduction needs to encourage greater critical thinking about the motivations of historical figures and movements.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text is set out in such a way that it can be easily updated with 21st-century developments, and the chapters and sections are set out so that they could be enhanced without disturbing the overarching structure of the text. The content itself is relevant; what would be helpful, though, would be the inclusion of terminology that is being used in the work of progressive social, cultural, and political movements.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text, for the most part, is lively and engaging; the inclusion of pictures and of links to museum collections is a wonderful aspect of this text. Often, I will ask students to do that sort of enhanced reading and research, so having the resources available as links is very helpful. As I mentioned above, though, I would have liked to have seen the authors engage with issues such as \"whiteness studies\" and other critical race theory terms.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Although there is some mild variation among sections, for the most part US History remains consistent in its chapter structure and selection of content. For instance, Chapters 18-20 provide ample background for readers to understand the impulses that led to what was termed \"the Progressive era,\" and I also appreciated inclusion of a glossary in each chapter.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"One of the greatest strengths of US History is its listing of objectives and goals at the beginning of each section. This is helpful for syllabus, assignment, and test construction, and it also encourages students to understand, up front, what they are to be looking for in the content. I also liked how each chapter was sufficient in terms of length, while also providing resources for further research and reading. I could see excerpting chapters on the movement from east to west in order to create a course on that subject matter; it would also be possible to focus solely upon wartime in the US via the use of selected chapters. This aspect of the text is also very helpful.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Given that US History is a survey text, the choice of chronological organization makes sense; as I mentioned above, it would be possible to develop a thematically-based syllabus, with the use of excerpted chapters.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Each chapter is easy to access, has clearly marked sub-sections, and includes well-designed and situated maps, charts, graphs, and images. The inclusion of museum links, and other informational links, was a highlight of this text.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text was conveyed in lively, consistent, and lucid prose. I did find that the passive voice was used a great deal, especially in sections that deal with \"sensitive\" subject matter. In those instances, it would have been helpful for the authors to take ownership of their own analysis.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The authors do attempt to show the viewpoints of a number of factions, societies, or cultural groups, though I sometimes felt that the terminology was a bit outdated and that the detail in terms of explanations could have been stronger. Motivation is a significant aspect of historical writing, and sometimes the motivations of peoples rested upon generalizations that needed refinement. As an example, Chapter 4 on English internal politics and colonial aims was extremely useful in providing context for the development of many of the colonies; a similar level of background would have been helpful in Chapter 23 so that students would understand the complex causes of WWI. Moreover, critical race theory and other 21st-century interpretative lenses are less evident than I would have liked. I would probably feel the need to supplement this text with a series of contemporary essays.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"If I were editing a second edition of this text, I would suggest including more excerpts from contemporary historians. Problematizing the study of history itself would also be a good addition to an enhanced introduction for students, as would updating the terminology. I could see using this text in an American Studies course, with the inclusion of supplemental essays and excerpts from primary texts.","created_at":"2018-12-11T12:05:17.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-12-11T12:05:17.000-06:00"},{"id":2463,"first_name":"Dan","last_name":"Allosso","position":"Assistant Professor, History","institution_name":"Minnesota State (Bemidji State University)","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Like most contemporary US History textbooks, this text begins before 1492, setting the scene for Iberian and later French, Dutch, and English colonization of the Americas. As an environmental historian, I think magnitude of the native depopulation caused by the Columbian Exchange is not given quite enough attention. This early under-representation of environmental influences upon history continues throughout the text, as does a more general lack of attention to the stories of regular people. Most of the text, like most survey textbooks, focuses on political history with an occasional foray into cultural or intellectual history (such as brief looks at the Second Great Awakening or Alexis de Tocqueville’s critique of American democracy. The general outline and construction of the text makes sense (it’s mostly chronological with some overlap between chapters), and sections generally contain Review Questions that test factual retention and Critical Thinking Questions at the ends of chapters that encourage students to analyze and synthesize. \r\n\r\nThe text is comprehensive in the sense that it is a skeleton of major events in (mostly) political and (partly) cultural history. This is sufficient as a foundation for additional layering by the instructor and additional (especially primary) readings – and for some instructors may be preferable to a “one stop shop” textbook that tries to stuff everything into a single volume and inevitably makes interpretive choices that drive the resulting course. The text is comprehensive in its coverage of most major events ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text accurately portrays the history it covers. Other reviewers have criticized omission of particular elements of US History (Japanese internment, US response to the Holocaust, etc.), much as I have criticized what I considered inadequate coverage of environment. I think these issues are more about comprehensiveness than accuracy; the events and people covered seem to be portrayed accurately.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Since I think the strength of this text is its “skeletal” coverage of major events, I don’t envision the need for regular updates or fears of becoming irrelevant. Interpretations change more rapidly than consensus on the major events of US History. Also, the ability to continuously update and enhance an electronic text should allow the authors (or remixers) to contribute to a growing “body” of history built on this “skeleton”. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This text seems quite readable while maintaining a sense of narrative authority. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The modular design of the text is very helpful and probably mitigates the slight variation in style and focus from section to section. I don’t think a student reading the text in a linear fashion from start to finish will encounter any jarring instances of shifting style or emphasis. The text appears to have a single narrative voice.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"see above","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is logically organized and easy to navigate in electronic format (which is all I’ll be using). The addition of hyperlinks to outside sources is helpful, appropriate, and timely throughout the text. This is an advantage of any electronic text, but it is well implemented here and unusually valuable since the links are open-source rather than existing behind a corporate paywall. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"see above","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Fewer errors or rough patches than most other textbooks I've reviewed.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text seems to try to respect cultures and avoid offense, as well as making an attempt to critique the dominant culture when appropriate. An increased focus on the voices of underrepresented populations would enhance multicultural perspective, but this seems beyond the scope of the text as I plan to use it.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"My criticisms regarding coverage should not be taken as disqualifying the text as a foundation for a survey course. If US History surveys are envisioned as addressing the dual goals of acquainting students with the broad outlines of our history (what happened, when?) and encouraging them to think critically about the past and relate the past to the present (why did these things happen? why do we care now?), then I think this text will be a valuable foundation and skeleton on which I can build a structure that includes more diverse voices, views from below, and critical perspectives. I’ll update this review in a few months, after I’ve had a chance to use the text in a class and have seen students interact with it.","created_at":"2018-12-14T09:18:16.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-12-14T09:18:16.000-06:00"},{"id":2511,"first_name":"Jessica","last_name":"Taylor ","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Virginia Tech","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook hits all the major points necessary for a US survey class, with particular emphasis on political history. The key terms demonstrate a commitment to all the \"Greatest Hits\" no survey would miss (carpetbaggers, the Sons of Liberty, the Roosevelt Corollary) alongside some relevant and inclusive new content I never learned about in college (charter schools, executive privilege, commodification). Particularly in the nineteenth-century chapters, illustrations like mugshots, blueprints, and book covers do a wonderful job of showing students the spectrum of primary sources available to historians. As a professor used to seeing the same 50-100 pictures in a textbook, I plan to use this textbook as a multimedia resource for its unusual photographic finds. The appendix mostly contains America's \"founding documents\" and adds very little you can't find already online. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found the textbook accurate within my own field (colonial history). The authors clearly put effort into acknowledging the continental presence of Native people and their continuing power into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The section on the rise of Chesapeake slavery is comprehensive, and I found the chapter on the Revolutionary War highly engaging. I did hope for more non-English history after the \"Colonial Powers\" chapter, and found that political and elite intellectual history (think the Interregnum and Enlightenment, but without how they affected average folks) dominated social and cultural history. Additionally, the small case study sections meant to highlight historical individuals (\"Americana\" and \"Defining American\") referenced often white, male leaders that students are already familiar with, like James Madison and Walt Whitman. Although there were great ones later on (Women Democrats in the 1930s), I'd like to echo a previous reviewer who hoped to see average individuals highlighted throughout. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book will continue to be useful, particularly if the authors are able to update their final chapters. New information about organizing history, like the Molly McGuires, Cesar Chavez, and the Working Man's Party reflects its growing importance in the field.  The textbook goes up to the twenty-first century, and could use an update when it comes to the short section on America and the World- there's a lot to say there! I'd also be interested in seeing more on the continuing feminist or Civil Rights movements that will resonate with students. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The prose is very consistent and simple throughout. Even though there will be new terminology for readers, the narrative of key events, like the Battle of Wounded Knee, will make larger concepts memorable for students. The \"Americana\" and \"Defining American\" sections also use individuals to illustrate the more abstract ideas discussed, like Malcolm X and the concept of the \"New Negro.\"  ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Although the textbook was written by several different authors, I found the framework consistent throughout. The simple terminology used might take time to break down something complex, but it adds substantially to the clarity of the piece. The timelines, which bring together abstract or disparate concepts (Battle of Fallen Timbers and Treaty of Ghent on the same timeline), will help students find where each piece fits chronologically as they learn about them separately. I also found it useful that each chapter ends with a summary paragraph explaining how the changes just discussed will affect the events covered in the next chapter. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is organized into units with multiple sections about a page apiece, and concludes with sample multiple choice practice, critical thinking questions, and useful key terms. It seems to flow best to break down the chapters by units, which run anywhere from 3-12 pages, than by the page-long sections. Some of the chapters are considerably shorter than others, but I doubt students mind. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization is clear. I will add that, because the time periods covered in each chapter overlap substantially, you may find it difficult to find a discrete event. (For example, the nineteenth-century representation of Native peoples is in the Age of Jackson chapter and not the Westward Expansion chapter.) Depending on how you structure or periodize your class lectures or assignments, you may want to familiarize yourself with the unit headings and assign components of multiple chapters to your students. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I am reviewing the hardcover book- and it is very large! It is good quality and seems like it can take a beating. The images might seem a little small compared to the online interface, but there's nothing here to confuse or distract a reader. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"N/A","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The textbook is overall inclusive. Some teachers might find unusual the fact that African-Americans and Native people sometimes have their own separate sections in each chapter. Some of the language, like \"Hispanic\" or \"Indian\" might need more specificity. The only specific problem I have is with the \"Americanization of Indians\" section which says that forced assimilation of Indians \"left them bereft of their culture and history.\" Many folks would disagree!","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-01-10T20:29:50.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-01-10T20:29:50.000-06:00"},{"id":2564,"first_name":"Daniel ","last_name":"Morales","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook covers most of the areas of US history, perhaps too much as some points and not enough in others but overall is comprehensive in covering political history. It is limited though in a lot of social history and history of the Southwest US. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The book is accurate in the vast majority of what it is trying to do. The book, however, does a poor job of covering the \"edges\" of US history, especially other parts of the world. As other reviewers mentioned- the history of Africa is not well told, especially compared to European history. A similar problem is present in the history of indigenous people before Europeans and the history of the Spanish empire, both of which are poorly covered and in some cases completely wrong statements are made. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Like all history textbooks relevance is a moving target. As a general textbook I feels like it is trying to be all things to all people but that mostly results in a book that does not have the focus of others. It is also missing as much cultural history as I would like. By far the biggest problem of the book is its cursory treatment of Latino and Asian history. These are major fields which the author does not cover at all. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Yes, it is very clearly written in simple prose and free of jargon. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Yes the book is consistent. The book is longer on the 18th and 19th century than the 20th, so that is a concern. The 20th century portion should be expanded. It offers a lot of modules and short tests and other supports for easy reading. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Yes it is very modular and works well in a classroom where there are daily reading assignments. There are many sign posts and subheadings. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"yes the book is presented in a logical clear fashion. It is history so things generally follow a chronological order. ","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"The interface works but it is not aesthetically pleasing. Other textbooks like american ywap offer a better online layout with more documents, more pictures and material. While \"Give me Liberty\" are better productions on the page. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains few grammatical errors that I could see. ","cultural_rating":1,"cultural_review":"No. The book shoots for the middle ground in US history and hits it well. It also does a fair job of covering African American history. It does a poor job of covering indigenous history, Latino/Borderlands History, and Asian American history. These fields have grown tremendously in the past 30 years and it is disappointing that few of the lessons are trickling down into textbooks. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"The book is relatively comprehensive in its coverage of US history but it also feels dated in what is covers. This is especially the case in covering Latinos and Asians. ","created_at":"2019-02-13T15:24:12.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-02-13T15:24:12.000-06:00"},{"id":2728,"first_name":"Stuart","last_name":"Tully","position":"Assistant Professor ","institution_name":"Nicholls State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is comprehensive, perhaps to a fault. It covers a wide spread of concepts and historical elements but never goes into too much depth. This sort of surface-level examination of material is suitable for a survey-level course, but unless the students have a good deal of background knowledge, the text might confuse them over its coverage of certain topics. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is very accurate and in my examination of its contents, I have found minimal errors. The book also does not have too much of a bias, and tries to show multiple sides to historical issues. ","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The book is somewhat relevant but is hamstrung by its lack of depth. For instance, in section 28.4 on Popular Culture and Mass Media during the 1950s, it gives a brief overview of Rock and Roll, Hollywood, and Television. It does not go enough into the racial dynamics of Rock and Roll but does give some passing comments to it. There has been good recent research on the topic, but it is not seen in the text. This is a general overview of US history, but not really keeping up with current scholarship. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is free of jargon and is easily accessible for readers. Although I often wished the book contained more information, I found no fault in the manner by which the information available was presented. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book has a standard chronological framework intermixed with some thematic elements. It is adequate. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is divided up into smaller sections that aren't too overwhelming. Granted, this often comes at the cost of depth, but I understand why the authors made the decision. Although I might not have organized the information in such a manner, I understand why they did, and they are consistent with the practice. ","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The topics are presented in a logical fashion, but the transitions and particularly the ends of the chapter are often choppy. Many times there is little to no rationale given as to why a particular section stops where it does. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface is fine, although I do wish literary primary sources had been incorporated in a less jarring manner. The pictures and navigation are nicely done. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The grammar is fine, and I did not see any major errors. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book is as culturally inclusive as could be expected in a textbook. However, because of the lack of depth, it often felt that races, ethnicities, and backgrounds were merely given lip service instead of a true examination of their dynamics. For instance, the section of Gay Rights in 30.1 is woefully inadequate, mainly talking about Stonewall. The experiences of LGBT of color are not mentioned, despite a wealth of new research on the subject. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This is an adequate text and one I might assign for my in-person lecture courses so that I might be able to supplement the depth the textbook is lacking. I do not know if I would be as comfortable assigning it for my online classes since I cannot as easily provide context for the students. ","created_at":"2019-04-04T09:20:02.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-04T09:20:02.000-05:00"},{"id":2745,"first_name":"Ben","last_name":"Alexander","position":"Adjunct Associate Professor","institution_name":"New York City College of Technology","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"While it's impossible to cover everything, this book does an admirable job of going into detail about important topics.  The opening chapters provide a breathtaking panorama of the early origins of human life in the Americas and the global scene on the eve of transatlantic exploration; it proceeds to explain colonization with very meaningful emphasis on how it fit in with the larger context of global trade and comparative labor systems, free and unfree.  In the chapter on the road to the Civil War, the sense of a compelling story with personalities and passions comes through clearly, and in the chapter on the Great Depression, its harsh ravages and the struggle to figure out what to do are expressed with suitable poignancy.  The book is, in fact, so detailed that instructors of the two-semester sequence may need to do some selective trimming in what they assign, especially in colleges where students have full-time jobs and families as well as 15 credit hours of coursework.\r\nAnd in the context of the impossibility of being detailed enough about everything, and of all instructors having certain pet topics that they wish their textbook said more about, I would have liked to see more explanation of how the Salem witch trials fit in with the Puritan experience, on the family and community lives of the enslaved population in the pre-Civil War years, and a few other points here and there. \r\nIn the discussion of both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment, they might want to connect them with the impending revolution by pointing up their spirit (though affecting sharply divergent constituencies) of questioning traditional authority.  Where the authors mention that there was talk in the early 1830s in the Virginia legislature of making manumission of slaves easier but that the idea was shot down, they might want to point out that the sentiment for regarding slavery as more trouble and danger than it was worth came largely from the state's western counties where land was less conducive to plantation agriculture, and that these counties would secede from the state and form West Virginia during the Civil War. Also, discussion of Henry George's single-tax theory is oversimplified to the point of being slightly misleading.   They write that, according to George, there should be a land tax \"in order to disincentivize private land ownership.\"  Actually, George's intention was to disincentivize ownership of more land than one needed to make a productive living, ownership of land to charge rent on or to speculate on the western frontier.  George believed that making land speculating in the West unprofitable would open up so much land for workers to migrate to that it would reduce the size of the urban workforce, thus giving those remaining in the cities greater bargaining power.  Mentioning \"Progress and Poverty\" without some sense of the sweeping utopian vision, one that fits in with the general popularity of magic-bullet economic theories in those years, is a missed opportunity.  I had the same reaction to the fleeting, teasing reference to Henry Ford's ill-fated attempt to open a factory in the Amazon jungle and impose Puritan morality on the workers.  Speaking of Henry Ford, I also wonder whether any discussion of his life and work can be complete without some mention of what a prolific author of Jewish conspiracy theories he was.  The description of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the New Deal correctly says that enrollees were paid $30 a month, but omits the fact that most of that money went home to their families rather than into their own pockets.  In the discussion of the 1968 election, the significance of the George Wallace campaign and the conservative backlash could be given more value; merely calling him \"segregationist George Wallace\" leaves much out.\r\nBut every textbook leaves a few things for instructors to impress their students by giving more detail about, so I still rate the book highly for thoroughness.  Throughout the book, treatment of both the social and political dimensions of American life is meaningful and inclusive.  \r\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Every textbook has a few booboos here and there, and the ones I found in this one were mostly of a trivial pursuit variety rather than what would affect students' comprehension of concepts.  In the section about the Stamp Act crisis of 1765, the book is imprecise about the specifics of when and how the Boston mob ransacked Lieut. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson's mansion, and also seems to treat the Sons of Liberty and the Boston mob as interchangeable terms for the same set of people.  Also, it incorrectly states that Coxey's Army set out from Cincinnati.   Actually, the marchers began their trek from Jacob Coxey's own town of Massillon.  Cincinnati, being about 250 miles off in the other direction from where Coxey's Army was heading, played no part in the march. In the chapter on the New Deal, it gives the age range for enrollees in the Civilian Conservation Corps as 14-24.  While some 14-year-olds did get into the CCC, they only did so by lying about their age; the intended minimum was never lower than 17.  The National Youth Administration (another New Deal program) is depicted as having been terminated in 1939; it lasted until 1943. The book is also imprecise about what President Johnson and the Democratic National Committee offered to the Mississippi Freedom delegation at the 1964 party convention.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"History textbooks need to be up-to-date in two ways: bringing the narrative up to the time of publication and keeping up with the latest scholarship on topics all through the chronology.  This book does an admirable job on both counts.  ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The language is clear and readable.  Paragraph length and placement of pictures and charts are quite suitable for making the work easy for undergraduates to follow.  Concepts, for the most part, are explained meaningfully.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Consistency is strong.  The book presents American history with a coherent throughline and shows connections between topics clearly.  Many sections open with strong transition sentences that link what's coming with what has just been read.  ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is divided into neatly labeled sections, and the table of contents allows for easy clicking into those desired sections.  Instructors who want to adapt chapters to their own desired sequence will have an easy time doing so.  Both the table of contents and the index have user-friendly links that maximize efficiency of topic browsing as well as of continuous reading.\r\n","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Most of the organization is quite optimal, and as noted in the modularity rating, the organization is also adaptable to instructor preferences.  By grouping the Missouri Crisis together with the Mexican War and the founding of the Liberty Party in the chapter on pre-1860 westward expansion, the authors effectively set the stage for the important role of the western frontier in the escalating North-South tensions that drove the country closer and closer to civil war.  At the same time, it's interesting that the chapter on westward expansion after the Civil War spans 1840 to 1890 and includes Manifest Destiny and the Oregon Trail.  Thematically, that makes sense, as those two topics are relevant to the romance of the frontier as a forerunner to the Turner thesis (which suitably gets mentioned at the start of the chapter on 1890s imperialism), but instructors of survey courses that use 1865 or 1877 as the semester break may find it inconvenient (but again, there is the modularity feature for that).  \r\nThe chapter on the years 1870 to 1900 refers to the Great Migration northward of African Americans as occurring \"between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Great Depression,\" possibly giving the impression that a substantial proportion of that movement took place during the Gilded Age, when actually pre-1910 black migration to the North was small compared to what occurred during World War I. the years to which the term is usually applied.  (The authors' reasoning seems to be a desire to juxtapose it with the section on European immigration which immediately follows.)  In the chapter on World War I, the Great Migration is mentioned again, but in a manner that is slightly ambiguous when it comes to both numbers and timeframe.  Historians more recently have emphasized the continuity of the black migration in the World War I years, not so much the decades before as with the decades after.\r\nThe chapter on the 1960s very effectively shows the interconnection of issues involving Johnson's Great Society program, the civil rights and black power movements, and the tragedy of Vietnam.  The confluence of the rise of the women's movement with the rise of multiple other rights struggles, the hippie counterculture, the failure in Vietnam, and the general chaos of 1968 and 1969 is also effectively shown.  ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No problems here.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Grammar is clean, as far as I can see, but it's slightly annoying that they refer to the 1800s rather than the nineteenth century, contrary to the habit we presumably want to instill in our young history scholars.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The lives and viewpoints of the different players, male and female, white and nonwhite, are meaningfully presented. Inclusiveness is strong with room in places to be even stronger. For instance, the section on African American cultural life under slavery has a fair amount of informative detail but could offer even more. The same is true of the family and community lives of Gilded Age immigrants in America's cities: good information with room for even more. Also, while that latter section mentions Chinatown alongside Little Italy, the subhead overlooks the Chinese by calling that section \"The Changing Nature of European Immigration.\"\r\n","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The book is worth considering as an option when teaching in any school where saving students money is an important priority.  The book has its imprecisions and idiosyncracies here and there but is still solidly researched, constructed, and written.  ","created_at":"2019-04-08T12:02:09.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-08T12:02:09.000-05:00"},{"id":2946,"first_name":"Michael","last_name":"Garcia","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"Metropolitan State University of Denver","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text addresses significant historical points, but without great depth.  Though limited in content, the organizational framework/index of the text serves as a sufficient \"guide\" for a general survey course; however, it will need to be supplemented with outside materials.  Content limitations do allow an instructor the flexibility to tailor each chapter's content.  The links to ancillary materials are helpful for examining documents pertinent to chapter learning outcomes, but these are limited.  Chapter glossaries provide an opportunity to discuss terms and phrases necessary to the historical context pertinent to the chapter topics.  As for the learning objectives, they are directed to the content of the online text; at times the brevity of chapter content alone does not allow sufficient information for developing critical thinking responses.  Finally, the review and critical thinking questions serve as a reasonable guide for considering chapter content.  Additional questions will need to be developed respectively for those points deemed more important for understanding chapter topics.      ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The absence of historical details limits a broader understanding of the historical events discussed; thus, the accuracy of the material is limited in this context.  There exists in spots some level of bias:  for example, the terminology used in Chapter 22.2 about nineteenth century views toward Filipinos reads:  \"Neither the Spanish nor the Americans considered giving the islands their independence, since, with the pervasive racism and cultural stereotyping of the day, they believed the Filipino people were not capable of governing themselves.\"  These modern inferences suggest that concepts such as \"racism\" and \"cultural stereotyping\" were understood the same then as they are today.  In Chapter 17.1 an 1845 quote from John O' Sullivan speaks about the meaning of the phrase Manifest Destiny.  Later, the discussion question for the quote reads:  \"Even then, consider how the phrase “anyone” was restricted by race, gender, and nationality.\"  Here the word \"anyone\" was not even used in O 'Sullivan's quote but implies, implicitly, that it was used--leading the question's context. The summary in Chapter 16.4 suggests a goal for the Reconstruction that is suggestive as opposed to authentic:  \"Reconstruction had failed to achieve its primary objective of creating an interracial democracy that provided equal rights to all citizens.\"  Was this the purpose of the Reconstruction specifically?   Additionally, the same Chapter 32.4 \"implies\" that Mitt Romney's loss to Barack Obama's in 2012 was based substantially on Romney's remark about the 47 percent of Americans dependent on government assistance without verifiable documentation:  \"Romney’s remarks about the 47 percent hurt his position among both poor Americans and those who sympathized with them.\" ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Chapter 32.4's discussion of the American stock market's health as of 2013 is outdated where data since 2013 indicates an even better performance of the market since 2013.  Six years of history since 2013 has substantively impacted the American political dynamics that should be addressed for its contemporary value. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Overall, the composition of the text is easy to read and does not integrate complicated syntax or terminology.  In places the brevity of the discussion can lead to questions, but this is not due to the language used itself.  For example, in Chapter 10.3, the meaning of \"nullification\" is not substantively explained as it reads: \"The theory of nullification, or the voiding of unwelcome federal laws, provided wealthy slaveholders, who were a minority in the United States, with an argument for resisting the national government if it acted contrary to their interests.\"  The term nullification requires a broader understanding as used here and even a further constitutional application/implication regarding the concept of \"state's rights.\"   ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter contains a standard format which establishes a logical/consistent approach for following the information, which for the most part is objective. The amount of discussion is roughly the same per chapter.   ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The \"modularity\" of the text is reasonable using four to five subsections that for some chapters can be reordered without jeopardizing the content chronology.        ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics for the course follow a logical and chronological order.   ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No particular problems were noted as far as navigating the online links for access to the appropriate information.  Some of the chapter images could be displayed more clearly: for example, time-line images, such as the one in Chapter 12.1 and the painting in 12.4, are not clear or difficult to view making them less advantageous as visual aids.    ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No particular grammatical errors were noticed.  The language is readable and should not present a problem for college level students.    ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text makes an effort to address culturally related issues, focusing mostly on African Americans and women to the exclusion or coverage of other minority and racial groups.  For example, Chapter 23.3 devotes its discussion to the implications of African Americans and women during WWI; Chapter 26.3 focuses considerable attention on the plight and conditions of African Americans during the Depression, but not on other minority groups.  Chapter 27.2 is the first chapter to be more inclusive of other cultures by addressing WWII home-front aspects of Hispanics and Asians (with marginal mention of Native Americans).  In its attempt to be culturally attentive, 27.2 does so at the expense of neglecting the broader implications of the American home-front during the Second World War.  ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-05-24T02:32:31.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-24T02:32:31.000-05:00"},{"id":3084,"first_name":"Jeannie","last_name":"Harding","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"One of the strengths of this text is its comprehensiveness. It covers all of US History, beginning with the status of Africa, the Americas, and Europe pre-Columbus. The text hits all of the major topics in American history that one can find in a typical survey text, ending around 2013 with the administration of Barack Obama. \r\n\r\nThat being said, the text is far more broad than it is deep. One example of this is the aforementioned first chapter on the pre-Columbian world. Europe gets an extensive treatment here, with a robust description of life as far back as the end of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. Some of this seems unnecessary, especially since Africa and the Americas do not get the same treatment. The American section is far too vague, mentioning no names of important leaders like Pachacuti and Montezuma. Africa is discussed mostly in terms of its history of slavery prior to the Triangle Trade Route’s development, and other elements of African history are largely ignored. \r\n\r\nThis is one of the major criticisms I have about the text. The depth of topics is varied; some topics are treated with great detail and nuance while other areas are glossed over too quickly. \r\n","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"I detected a good bit of bias in the latter sections of the text that deal with the politics of the last few decades. President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society receives a glowing commendation with his various programs described in great detail; a sentence or two at the end of the section briefly mentions that conservatives were critical of his programs, but the reader is left with the sense that this was an unmitigated success. The chapter on the Reagan years is also very detailed in terms of laws and programs, but much of Reagan’s work is discredited, and he is painted as disingenuous compared to LBJ. \r\n\r\nHaving examined many different texts for US History courses over the years, the bias I see here is nothing new or exceptional, but it is worth noting.\r\n","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"One of the greatest benefits of using an internet text like this is the supposed ability for revision and addition as needed, in a timely fashion. The text ends at 2013, and it seems the time has come for an update.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This is one of the most readable texts I have ever encountered for an American history course, but I also feel that it is perhaps too simplistic for some of my students. The language, vocabulary, and sentence structure seem more fitting for high school students than college students. For certain student populations, this would be a benefit, but instructors should be aware of this, especially if their goal is to get students to write and speak in more formal, academic terms. The glossaries at the end of the chapters reveal the simplicity of language.\r\n","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The overall framework of the text is consistent, with review questions, glossaries, and learning objectives attached to each chapter. I found that the depth of coverage on topics is very inconsistent throughout the text, however, and this was a major drawback.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The modularity of the text was one of its strongest points, especially when compared to a similar online text for US History I have looked at in the past. I liked that the Table of Contents could be turned on to show continually in the margin so that the reader can move easily between sections. I did not have to scroll back up to the top of the page to get to another chapter of the text. I also found the search bar to be very helpful, pulling up a short excerpt from the text with each instance of the search term. All of these made this particular text very easy to navigate. The chapter titles were also generally well-labeled so that I could locate a specific section quickly.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organizational structure makes sense. It is largely chronological, though some topics are grouped together instead of in a strictly chronological sense. For example, a president’s foreign policy might all be discussed in one section while domestic issues are grouped separately. This allows for continuity of ideas within topics.\r\n","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I did not notice any issues with this. There are quite a few embedded links to outside resources, and the ones I looked at were all intact. I hope the editors maintain good links. I did notice a couple of links that took me to a general website instead of the specific article mentioned in the text; it would have been helpful to have the links go to the actual page mentioned.\r\n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no obvious grammatical errors that I noticed.\r\n","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This text did an excellent job including a variety of voices, both within the text itself and through the use of sources from historically-marginalized groups. For example, there were links to slave narratives and a site about the Carlisle Indian School. I did find that the coverage of the women’s rights movements was too thin.\r\n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"If your main criteria for a US History text are cost and readability, this is a text worth examining. It is most comparable to \"brief edition\" texts I have seen, and I often find those type of texts to be too brief to benefit my students very much. I do not think this is a text that would work for every U.S. History course, but for some student populations, it would provide a nice alternative to expensive textbooks.","created_at":"2019-07-08T13:16:35.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-07-08T13:16:35.000-05:00"},{"id":3211,"first_name":"Kevin","last_name":"Rucker","position":"Senior lecturer","institution_name":"Metropolitan State University of Denver","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I found that the text does broadly covers significant historical events and people in a broad overview.  While there is not a lot of depth in the chapters, it makes a great overview do use if the instructor adds supplemental readings.  The review and critical thinking questions are a great supplement, as well as the glossary.  I teach multiple sessions of Multicultural America here at MSU-Denver and have been looking for a an inexpensive, if not free, supplement to my texts I require students to read, Ronald Takaki's \"A Different Mirror\" and Gary Nash's \"Forbidden Love:  The Hidden History of Mixed-Race America.\"  The course covers from pre-Columbian American history through the present and have found myself having to lecture \"filler\" lectures to connect the different topics of the books.   For example, U.S. History's first chapter's sections about Pre-Columbia America and pre-1500 Europe and Africa I will make required reading because it is important, but my students have had to rely on my lectures for this information.  Multicultural America is required for all majors at MSU-Denver and over 90% of my students are not history majors.  I can utilize \"U.S. History\" as supplemental assigned readings to reinforce my lectures on different important themes, such as the U.S. Constitution, the Civil War, American Imperialism, World War I, etc.  I plan to incorporate portions of this text in my Spring 2020 classes.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did not find any inaccuracies, but again, there could be more substance is some sections.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text was written in 2013, so there is a gap of some of current issues facing America.  But as for the rest of the text it is wll done.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is easily readable and does not use unnecessary complex words or jargon.  Also, I was pleased to see the historic maps, illustrations and photographs included within each section.  This helps keep the attention of the reader rather that having long stagnant readings.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Yes, the composition of the chapters are in a standard format that is consistent throughout the text.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I like how the chapters are broken into subsections without sacrificing the content's chronology.  This will enable me to assign subsections of chapters for my students to read to supplement my lectures and other readings without compelling them to read the entire chapter.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Well organized and a chronological sequence as a good genral history text should be.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I had no problem with interface issues with navigating the text or distractions from images presented.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not encounter any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is a great example of how today's \"revisionist\" history should be written.  It is inclusive of a variety of peoples and their cultural and ethnic background.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Again, as I said at the beginning of this review, I will be using this text to supplement my lectures and other assigned readings in my Multicultural America courses in the Spring 2020.  My students should find this text a welcome addition to the course.","created_at":"2019-10-24T11:25:59.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-10-24T11:25:59.000-05:00"},{"id":3224,"first_name":"J","last_name":"Bates","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Minnesota State University System","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook does an exceptional job of providing a comprehensive though still nuanced portrait of US history. I was particularly impressed with the colonial era and the authors’ devotion to setting up the complex interplay between African, European and American societies. Within the colonial and national period, the author follows through in this promising beginning, emphasizing the changing history of gender and race and their larger connection to the “larger” political movements of the day. It also does a great job of introducing elements of environmental history. The authors’ written text places a larger focus on political history than it does cultural and social history. However, the primary sources integrated into the text would allow an instructor to consider cultural shifts with students in class. \r\n\r\nThere are some mention of Asian -Americans, Latinos and immigrants from the Middle East, but they are not woven deeply into the text the way African Americans and, at times, Native Americans are. I think moving forward this would be an ideal place for expansion. For example, the author might move away from only touching Native American “removals” at the famous times in history – Trail of Tears, Custer, Dawes Act and integrate a consideration of Native Americans as one of the core groups living in the United States through its history.  They might also give more attention to the experiences of African Americans in the South post reconstruction and before the Civil Rights Movements of the 1950s. A complex history of a sizeable portion of the US population is summed over through the use of the phrase “Jim Crow.” But students would understand later development, as well as contemporary debates, better if the authors made it a point to integrate the racialized terror and structural and institutional racism  that pervaded the United States history through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"For the most part, the text has no explicit bias and is relatively error free.  \r\n\r\nWhen the authors are outside the bounds of their expertise there tends to be more errors. For example, their coverage of pre-Columbian societies in Meso America includes outdated information regarding to Florentine Codex and the belief that Montezuma believed Cortes to be a god. The description of Central Mexico’s nation-states, urban spaces that often held populations of more than 60,000 people as “tribes” also gives a distorted view of the region’s past. Likewise, scholars view the Inca’s quipu as a system of writing. In other places, the lack of accuracy is more the stories that have been left out. These are relatively minor in an otherwise excellent history.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"In those areas where the text provides, extensive coverage, it is up to date. Breaking up the standard narratives of history would make it far more applicable to the new ways that U.S. History is being taught. Necessary updates – as long as they stay within the general narrative structure– will be easy to incorporate.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Overall, the writing is clear and engaging. Moreover, by providing framing questions at the beginning of each chapter as well as a brief summary at the end of each chapter, the authors highlight the important take away for students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"When writing this review I had to look again and see if this was written by more than one author! The text is very consistent and keeps the same narrative focus and tone throughout.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Text is divided into reasonable chapters with subheadings. It is not overly referential. Chapters and sections could be rearranged, skipped and emphasized at will.  \r\n\r\nI also loved that the authors’ divided between key terms, short information based questions and larger critical thinking questions.  I think this does an excellent job of emphasizing the many different ways historians think about the past, and different areas of students learning.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Within each chapter, I found the structure and flow excellent. The maps, images and primary sources and very well integrated into the text. In fact, this is perhaps the best integration of images and maps that I have seen!","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found no problems with the interface. Images are clear. Text is clear.  Many of the primary sources are integrated into the text limiting how much students would need to have multiple browsers open at the same time.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Free from grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Within each chapter, the text is not culturally insensitive. Yet, there is considerable weight given to the traditional players in US history. The stories of Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans is often put into the sidelines. I would like to see this integrated into the text.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-10-28T09:13:50.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-10-28T09:13:50.000-05:00"},{"id":3267,"first_name":"Ian","last_name":"Beamish","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"ULL","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The books covers the political narrative relatively thoroughly, but skews its attention to England and Europe over other areas of the Atlantic World in early chapters. The book is weakest in terms of coverage pre-1650 and post-1968.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Mostly free of major errors, though I would question some of the points of emphasis. There is generally a heavy focus on European viewpoints over indigenous viewpoints, with entire chapters dedicated largely to English/colonial understandings of economy, politics, and religion, while indigenous viewpoints are often in sub-sections framed by European/settler actions, like 3.4 \"Impact of Colonization.\"","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book generally isn't focused in bringing the most current historical arguments into the text, which can at times make it feel a bit flat and free of argument. This does have the advantage that the book is unlikely to become dated in the short term.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book is clearly written and the reading level is appropriate for high school and early college students. Professors will not have much work to do setting up the book or explaining difficult concepts. The disadvantage of having avoided jargon and technical terminology is that more complex concepts also seem to have been avoided.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The structure of chapters is consistent and the tone is fairly uniform throughout the text. The sections on the mid- to late-20th century seems a little different from the bulk of the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":" think these chapters could be used almost entirely modularly, almost to a fault. Unlike some standard texts (Foner, Give me Liberty or Cohen/Johnson/Roark, The American Promise) the book also does not have clear through lines that can be referred back to, either in terms of narrative or argument. This helps greatly with modularity, but limits what the text offers students in terms of connecting different aspects of US history.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"There is a clear chronological approach to the text that students will find easy to follow and accessible. As mentioned above, there is an absence of connections between chapters/modules which somewhat limits the value of the chronological approach.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is not particularly visually appealing, but is intuitive and easy to navigate. There are a number of excellent images that I haven't seen in other texts. These images could be presented in a larger format, rather than the default presentation being shrunk to a fraction of the width of the page.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't notice any significant issues.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"As at least one other review has noted, stating that Americanization \"left them bereft of their culture and history\" is not accurate and a potentially damaging statement. Asian American history is not dealt with in any sustained manner.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-11-10T15:56:44.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-11-10T15:56:44.000-06:00"},{"id":3394,"first_name":"Evan","last_name":"Casey","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Marian University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers US History brilliantly. The depth of research and care in including pertinent information is well done.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"While there could have been more information on minority contributions to US History, this text was accurate and well-balanced when it came to telling different sides of the stories of History.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Because it was well written and comprised, this text will be used for a long time in this reviewer's classes.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Students will find this text easy to use because of the highlighted words of importance and the end of chapter questions.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"When the book refers to certain topics, such as the presidency of Andrew Johnson and the turmoil that brought, the text was very down to earth as well as technical when explaining certain situations. This will help students be able to increase their historical acumen and not make it so difficult for them to learn.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"The modularity of the book is rather linear. However, if one is able to TOPICALLY and not chronologically teach history, then this would boost the rating significantly.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Very logical presentation and thoughtful arrangement of the text.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Most everything in the text was very easy to read and understanding was aided by the comprehensive definitions given throughout the text.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors reported.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"While the text was not personally offensive or insensitive, many aspects of the true telling of history are. The text gracefully handles this and allows the reader to dive into the \"why\" of things rather than dwell on the acts of bigotry and hatred themselves.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This textbook could be a welcome main reader in any classroom. Students will be able to relate to the information and synthesize what they learned by utilizing the comprehensive helps contained at the end of each chapter, as well as studying the important vocab words in each section. Well-written and this text will be utilized by this professor for years to come.","created_at":"2019-12-18T09:08:55.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-12-18T09:08:55.000-06:00"},{"id":3425,"first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Carlock","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Bowling Green State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text breaks American history into typical chronological and thematic chapters. There are also consistent themes emphasized throughout the chapters, such as women's history, Black history, and Mexican-American history. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is constantly updated to resolve any inaccuracies. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book's content extends (as of the end of 2019) to the end of the Obama administration. Throughout the semester, the book was continuously updated with corrections. There are also a number of online resources included that expand upon the information written in the text. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book utilizes some jargon, but provides a glossary of important terms and their definitions at the end of each chapter. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter has consistent information, graphics, sub-sections, and resources. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter has specific sub-sections divided up into multiple subheadings as well, making for easily consumable readings about specific topics. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Each chapter is divided into multiple sub-sections, each with a separate topic, theme, or time period depending on how the chapter as a whole is organized. Each chapter is easy to navigate with sub-chapters divided further into sub-headings. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book is simple to navigate, with in-text links being clearly marked and a navigation menu included in the left-hand side with clear titles for each chapter and sub-chapter. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Any grammatical errors are fixed consistently with updates. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book specifically includes sections on women's history, Black history, and Mexican-American history. At times, these sections are small or lacking deeper analysis though. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This book is a useful survey course text that provides a succinct yet sweeping historical analysis of American history in a well-organized and accessible format, and includes plenty of online resources that expand upon the text itself. ","created_at":"2019-12-22T13:36:11.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-12-22T13:36:11.000-06:00"},{"id":3794,"first_name":"Chris","last_name":"McGraw","position":"History Instructor","institution_name":"Central Louisiana Technical Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is very comprehensive, and its 32 chapters give a broad overview of American history from Pre-Columbian times to the end of Barack Obama's presidency. The chapters are organized both chronologically and thematically. The chapters do not delve into too much detail, and instead, consist of an overview. The review and critical thinking questions, at the end of every chapter, are a great way to assess students and check for understanding. While the book is mostly a political history, it also encompasses social and economic history.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is very accurate. I found no significant errors in my reading. While no history text can be completely unbiased, this text presents a balanced view. It consistently tries to tell both sides of the story. We hear the perspectives of both settlers and natives on the frontier, Patriots and Loyalists during the Revolution, and secessionists and abolitionists during the Civil War. The balance also extends to more recent and relevant political issues.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book is generally up to date and represents the most recent scholarship. The nature of the text itself allows it be be easily updated with new information and developments.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written very clearly. The language used is accessible to the vast majority of undergraduate students. It is well written and generally enjoyable to read. Some portions are rather dry, especially those dealing with political wranglings and legislation. However, some passages are very engaging and read almost like a novel. Although the narrative is broken up my many headings, it flows well.  It does not have the complicated and politicized jargon of other history textbooks.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I also liked how the book consistently references and reiterates events and developments that had taken place in previous chapters. The chapters always provide a broad overview of themes, while not being afraid to delve into lesser known historical events and figures.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The chapters are organized by political, social, and cultural history. They are broken down into many subsections. Instructors that want to rearrange the material are easily able to do so without sacrificing clarity.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The chapters are very well organized. However, they are not organized in strictly chronological order. Chapters often overlap in terms of time period.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There are no issues with navigating the interface.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is inclusive and represents many different groups. Inclusion of women's history, black history, native history, and Asian history is consistent throughout the text. The text reflects the diversity that is characteristic of American history and society.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This is an excellent, free textbook. The language is easily accessible and engaging. I highly recommend this text for introductory US History courses.","created_at":"2020-05-02T00:00:49.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-05-02T00:00:49.000-05:00"},{"id":3820,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Trowbridge","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Marshall University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"On its face, the text appears to mirror the topics one sees in a typical commercial textbook. However, when you dig a little deeper the book lacks the narrative and interpretive quality of recent commercial textbooks such as the popular text by Eric Foner. This might be a result of a modular approach with multiple authors. For students who pick up the book sporadically and read only a few sections, this might not be a problem. For students who enjoy reading, however, this book will surely disappoint. The most concerning aspect of the book is the casual and often sloppy nature of the text. There are so many times when the text makes an assertion that is not supported by recent scholarship that it is clear that professors are not reviewing this text in detail. I have provided an example of this from Chapter 17 at the end of this review.","accuracy_rating":2,"accuracy_review":"The book offers lots of facts and generally gets things right, but there are times when the book will leave any serious student of history scratching their head.  Word choice and precision seem to be one of the Achilles heels, but students will still get an overview of the period, and hopefully, that will serve as background for understanding lectures and other parts of a course. Here is an example where word choice might lead students to an oversimplified dichotomy: \"Many consider the Enlightenment a major turning point in Western civilization, an age of light replacing an age of darkness.\" The book also refers to nonwhite people as heathens several times without unpacking that term in historical context. This could be dangerous. Here is an example: \"Slaves were cared for, supporters argued, and were better off exposed to the teachings of Christianity as slaves than living as free heathens in uncivilized Africa. \" and again: \"While much of the basis for westward expansion was economic, there was also a more philosophical reason, which was bound up in the American belief that the country—and the “heathens” who populated it—was destined to come under the civilizing rule of Euro-American settlers and their superior technology, \" Referring to Native Americans and enslaved people of African descent as heathens so casually in the text seems problematic to say the least. I understand what the authors' intent is, and with some revision, these sections could be vastly improved.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"I think the book does reasonably well here by blending political and social history. I can easily quibble with some choices, but that is true of all textbooks.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This is one of the strengths of the book - most times it is written in a way that should allow most students to move quickly through the text.","consistency_rating":2,"consistency_review":"The book seems consistent when it comes to presenting history from a white, male, European perspective. When it comes to women's history, the book is consistent in offering only a brief and limited perspective. Take women's suffrage as one example. If a student missed a few special sections that cover women's history, they would not see many positive contributions of women. If a student read this book cover to cover, they would gain the impression that women's suffrage was only a moment in history instead of the culmination of generations of thoughts and actions.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book is arranged similarly to other textbooks, so it should be easy to take what one needs should modularity be a concern. One possible area of concern for those seeking to adapt the text is the quality of the auxiliary materials such as the reading quizzes. These sorts of resources appear to be an afterthought for this open text just as they are often an afterthought for other publishers. Here is an example of a textbook question that needs to be reconsidered:\r\n7. Which of the following groups was not impacted by the invention of barbed wire?\r\nranchers\r\ncowboys\r\nfarmers\r\nillegal prostitutes","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I think the organization of the book is fine-mostly chronological with some thematic aspects similar to other U.S. history textbooks.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Again, this is fine. It is easy to move around in the book and it is digitally searchable. This is not a comment about the text, but please notice that most of the categories reviewers are given are not about the content of the book. So while this book might rank high in terms of stars, many other faculty have also pointed out issues about this book's content.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The book seems to be written for a general audience and is straightforward, easy to read, and no obvious misspellings. Fans of the Oxford comma might be disappointed.","cultural_rating":1,"cultural_review":"Coverage of race and gender is the fatal flaw of the text as it stands in 2020. Here is an example in Chapter 17 where the authors make the false and extremely racist assertion that most women in the West were prostitutes until the wives of wealthy white men arrived. \r\n\"The few women who went to these wild outposts were typically prostitutes, and even their numbers were limited. In 1860, in the Comstock Lode region of Nevada, for example, there were reportedly only thirty women total in a town of twenty-five hundred men. Some of the “painted ladies” who began as prostitutes eventually owned brothels and emerged as businesswomen in their own right; however, life for these young women remained a challenging one as western settlement progressed. A handful of women, numbering no more than six hundred, braved both the elements and male-dominated culture to become teachers in several of the more established cities in the West. Even fewer arrived to support husbands or operate stores in these mining towns.\r\n\r\nAs wealthy men brought their families west, the lawless landscape began to change slowly. Abilene, Kansas, is one example of a lawless town, replete with prostitutes, gambling, and other vices, transformed when middle-class women arrived in the 1880s with their cattle baron husbands. These women began to organize churches, schools, civic clubs, and other community programs to promote family values. They fought to remove opportunities for prostitution and all the other vices that they felt threatened the values that they held dear. Protestant missionaries eventually joined the women in their efforts, and, while they were not widely successful, they did bring greater attention to the problems.\"","overall_rating":6,"overall_review":"There should be more review categories related to a book's content for books in the humanities.","created_at":"2020-05-19T14:06:11.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-05-19T14:06:11.000-05:00"},{"id":4051,"first_name":"Judith","last_name":"Osborn","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Umpqua Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"In comparison with commercial textbooks, the range and coverage are good. The authors clearly worked diligently to include the major points of the history necessary for an introductory text. The Index needs to be more comprehensive, it is too abbreviated. There is no glossary and this is a problem. The text is light on definitions, for instance, imperialism is never defined, hegemony is never mentioned. The idea of the US as a nation that has never practiced imperialism is very strongly embedded in our national discourse and changing that mind set can only happen with a concentrated barrage of basic definitions and facts in our texts.  Not to speak for anyone else, my students need basic definitions.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This is an essential demand of any academic text and certainly met by these authors. I did not find any errors.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"It may just be the moment in which I am writing this, late June 2020. The call for more inclusive historical matter is loud. In the list of authors, I do not see a single African American historian, no Native Studies, no Women's History, no Gender Studies historian. I have to agree with the critique written by an earlier reviewer who said that this text shows a decided slant that the history of white men is the history of the US. Clearly, the authors made an effort to include voices and people outside the majority white and male historical record, yet this is also clearly an aspect of the text that will need to be further amended. We need to hear the voices that say, for example, race is at the center of US history, that say native people are the beginning and center of US history, that call for the centrality of women's history, of those of non-compliant sexual identity.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is lucid, sensible, well written, well organized. It will help students erect a framework of US history in their own minds. \r\nThere is still work to be done to more adequately address the lack of robust use of definitions.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Usefully organized, consistent in style. Students seem to learn best when, over the course of a term, they can rely on a steady model of instruction so they can use their energies to absorb the information. The text does a good job of maintaining uniformity of structure over the chapters. Considering that there were several authors, the consistency is laudable.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This is an interesting criteria. The book does meet this criteria, the subject headings are certainly not followed by large blocks of text. There is hardly a page without some type of pictorial insert, hardly a subject matter that extends for more than a page or two. Henry James would not be impressed. This is a pedagogical point of view with which I do not agree but which is so widespread and imposing that it is not really worth an argument.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The historical chronology flows in an orderly manner. Historically, more than one or two things are happening at the same time so maintaining a clear narrative is essential. The organization of the material, even in complex situations such as when the US has both international as well as internal struggles is nicely done.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This is an aspect in which the book excels. Once the book is opened, it attracts readers as well as casual browsers. I have seen several generations glance at it, then turn a few pages and then sit down to read more. \r\nFar from confusing or distracting readers, the layout of the pages invites readers to delve into it.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I am very thankful for the well constructed, grammatically correct writing of this text.\r\nThis is a necessity that cannot be over emphasized for my students. Modeling excellent writing is a tremendous help.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This is problematic. \r\nThe authors did include instances of historical moments when non-white, non-male actors were the agents of history. However, the point of view is clearly white and male. This point of view has been very gradually becoming less and less acceptable over the last few decades and there is now a very concerted push to change it. How this will play out over the next couple of years will, at least, be interesting.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I am very excited to begin using this book. By its very existence, it offers a new modality of teaching that is less hierarchical and more inclusive.\r\nToo many students have been constrained from succeeding in class by the cost of the texts. I appreciate the work done by the authors. Thank you so much.","created_at":"2020-06-23T14:30:19.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-23T14:30:19.000-05:00"},{"id":4239,"first_name":"Susan","last_name":"Kwosek","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"South Carolina State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is extremely comprehensive and includes a glossary for the words selected to be defined and included in it. The problem is that the glossary at the end of each chapter is labeled \"Key Terms,\" but it includes a mixture of what I would consider to be need to know terms (actual key terms) and nice to be able to look up if you don;t know them words (such as one would find in a glossary at the end of the book). The book would be greatly improved by moving the comprehensive glossary to the end of the book and limiting chapter key terms (which could them be looked up in the glossary if the definition is not clear in the text).","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Overall the book is very accurate and error free. It could benefit from a few changes. For example, the book uses the term Atlantic World but does not define it according to the definition as it is put forth by Atlanticists. This book will most like be used in a survey course and students will go on to take additional history courses, one of which might be the Atlantic World. As much as possible the book should define terms like this in the way they are defined by historians in that field.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is up to date and presented in ways that will remain relevant for a fairly long time.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The book tends to be wordy in that much of the writing is in passive voice. The book would benefit from an overhaul to revise it using active voice. Additionally, there are always a number of words in each chapter that are not course specific, but are used under the assumption that the student will know what they mean. I am constantly needing to provide my own online glossary for my US History courses because many of my student do not have knowledge of many non-vocabulary words that are casually used in the text. Because they are not subject-specific words, they can be easily swapped out for simpler terms. Doing this will not \"dumb down\" the content of the book, but will make it more accessible to first-generation, first-semester, low-income, and ESL students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I have had no problems with the book's inner consistency.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book has easily identifiable modules and sub-modules that are easy to follow. They break up the long chapters, but do not interfere with the flow of the topics.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is clearly organized by topic and chronologically within each topic. Chapters may overlap chronologically, but that does not interfere with the student's ability to make connections between one chapter topic and the next. It also provides a good way for the instruction to review by helping students bridge the topic and chronology over 2-3 chapters.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is excellent whether one is reading the book chapter by chapter or using a search feature to find specific information, especially if that information is not in the index.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"It is grammatically correct, but largely written in passive voice. We instruct students to use active voice in their own writing and it would be better if the book modeled this writing style.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I find the book to be written with cultural sensitivity. Images and text are inclusive of a wide audience of varied race and ethnicity.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I use this book in both of my US History survey courses, so my main message is: this book works very well. It was an easy swap form a print textbook to this no-cost OER. 77% of my students were not buying the print textbook. Beginning in Fall 2020 they will all have equal access to the material.","created_at":"2020-07-09T12:06:43.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-07-09T12:06:43.000-05:00"},{"id":4589,"first_name":"Greg","last_name":"Hansard","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"John Tyler Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is very comprehensive, and it covers all of the appropriate subjects for United States History I and II.  The table of contents clearly illustrates the major themes and topics in United States History.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"I have found two errors in the textbook.  I have submitted both of the corrections to OpenStax, and they have corrected the errors.  (One was a date error and the other error was a geographic error.)  Their support team was very receptive to my findings.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"I believe the content (text) is up-to-date, and they add new content to ensure that the textbook stays relevant.  I believe that some of the images are out-of-date.  I understand that they are trying to use open source material, but I believe that there could be better image options to illustrate the content.   They also need to update some of the hyperlinks used in the \"Click and Explore\" sections.  These links sometimes take the reader to an out-of-date website or a broken URL.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The textbook is very easy to read.  The text is very clear and appropriate.  Any jargon/technical information is explained.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The entire textbook is consistent.  The reader knows what to expect for each chapter.  The framework is clear and does not alter throughout the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I believe that this is one of the strong suits of the textbook.  The smaller sections are easy to digest.  There is little disruption to the reader and the entire book has a nice flow to it.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Some chapters cover duplicate information.  This can be frustrating when assessing students on a term or subject when they haven't read both of the chapters where the information is covered.  I think it would be better for the students if there was a clearer break/cutoff from one chapter to another.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"My only issue with the interface is the \"Click and Explore Section\".  I feel that these hyperlinks need to be better vetted.  There should be more quality control measures for checking these outside links.  I tell my students not to click on the links.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no signs of grammatical errors throughout the textbook.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.  The text sets the tone of cultural sensitivity/awareness in the first chapter and continues to follow this awareness throughout the entire book.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-01-20T10:06:10.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-20T10:06:10.000-06:00"},{"id":4748,"first_name":"Laura","last_name":"Palmer","position":"Adjunct Lecturer","institution_name":"New York City College of Technology","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This is a fairly comprehensive textbook that outlines the history of the United States, beginning with an overview of the forces that led to colonialist expeditions from European nation-states, outlining some general aspects of pre-colonial North America, then moving into the process and initial impact of settler-colonialism in North America in detail. The text then discusses the formation of the Unites States as a nation independent from colonial powers, and moves through the major political, cultural, and social developments that the nation experiences over the following 220 years. Each chapter includes key vocabulary terms and a timeline. The chronologically arranged chapters each have an introduction and subsections, and each term in the index is hyperlinked to the section where it is discussed. This textbook does a fine job of covering a broad period of time with a complex history, in my opinion.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"While overall, this text is fairly accurate, there are a few moments where language or interpretations from historical sources were incorporated into the texts without a critical framework. For example, section 1.3 notes that enslaved indigenous peoples of the Americas were not a \"dependable source of labor\" for Spanish colonists because \"they tended to sicken or die from disease or the overwork and cruel treatment they were subjected to\" and that Black laborers sent to the invaded indigenous lands \"proved hardier.\" While that may technically not be a historically inaccurate fact, the language used to describe the difference in immunity between those enslaved from indigenous nations in what is now called North America, and that of those enslaved from African nations seems biased and rooted in racial narratives of Blacks. This could be easily resolved within the text by quoting a primary source or using more neutral terms. While issues like these were not widespread throughout the text, their presence was concerning to me, as an instructor.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I found this text to be fairly relevant. In particular, throughout most of the text I found the direct discussion of racism and racialized issues mostly up-to-date for teaching a course at the moment, as there are many American history texts that tend to obscure and minimize these issues as driving forces in political, cultural and social life. The text currently contains history up through the Obama presidency, I hope that it will be updated with material from 2016-2020, now that this chapter of American political life has ended. The chronological structure of the text will make recent history easy to incorporate, but I would encourage the authors to keep abreast of newly published research for the earlier time periods and revise their chapters when possible.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Overall, this text uses clear and easy-to understand prose. In my opinion, it is appropriate for students at the high school level, or for an introductory or survey course at an undergraduate institution. Vocabulary terms that would be unfamiliar to a modern reader are defined in text and are also highlighted at the end of each chapter.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text is fairly consistent overall, although I found some chapters to be stronger than others, in terms of their historical objectivity, as noted in the \"accuracy\" section above. The framework and structure of the text was very consistent, and terms were relatively consistent throughout the text.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter's subsections were very readable, and the text overall is fairly modular. Although I think that the structure of this text lends itself best to courses that are taught chronologically. An instructor hoping to approach US history from a thematic perspective, with units on, for example, women's rights or labor rights, would not easily be able to isolate that material. This is common, though, for history texts, of course, but thematic sections might be something to consider for a future version of the text, or for an additional open-source US history book.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This text was very well organized, with each chapter covering a chronological period, and subsections with clear headings highlighting specific events or movements and their impact.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I read this book on a web browser and found the interface to be fine. In particular, I appreciated the inclusion of \"click and explore\" sections where students can link out and review primary sources a benefit for the online format/interface of this textbook. I think that there could be some additional critical thinking prompts around the historiography of some primary source links, but allowing the students to analyze some of these materials on their own certainly strengthens the learning experience of the subject matter.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I only noticed a few grammatical errors, and they did not detract from the reading experience in my opinion.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Overall, I got the sense that the authors of this text worked hard to compose a fairly culturally-sensitive history of the United States, and for the most part handled much of the material related to race and ethnicity accurately, for example, noting that racial hatred motivated some of the atrocities in the Vietnam War. Personally, I think that the text could have gone even further to construct an inclusive history, especially in regards to the discussion of native nations of what became known as North America. Certain terms used in this text, for example noting that, in what the text terms \"native peoples of the eastern woodland\" native peoples \"did not construct the large and complex societies\" like those of the peoples who inhabited lands west of the Mississippi River. While the social structures and cultural practices of nations like the Iroquois and Lenape were certainly very different from the Anasazi, terms like \"complexity\" have connotations of prestige and hierarchy, which can be seen as discounting the highly developed elements present in many eastern native nations, from precise agricultural methods and to fine art forms.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The links out to primary source material are excellent, and useful instruction tools. I also found that including many of the key documents in U.S. History, like the Constitution, in the appendix were helpful, so students can refer to these throughout the course. Some of the review questions I found to be overly simplistic, and I would also note that critical thinking prompts around historical revision, for example \"Did the US make the right decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan\" could cause some extreme tensions in classroom discussions, and may create challenges around cultural sensitivity for instructors. While its important to have students consider the impact of history, it's also critical to remember that students are likely to have personal or familial ties to these historical events, and debating what \"should have\" happened in the past does not alter the historical reality. Instructors should consider how a student with Japanese heritage might feel during such a discussion, and be sure that there is a clear learning objective before assigning the critical thinking prompt.","created_at":"2021-04-07T20:31:48.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-04-07T20:31:48.000-05:00"},{"id":33556,"first_name":"Charles","last_name":"Irwin","position":"History Professor","institution_name":"Des Moines Area Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text works well for a survey-level course as it covers the major themes in U.S. history.  The information is organized logically and easy for the students to follow the material.  Since the text is basic in its interpretation of U.S. History it is important to incorporate more detail in your lecture and use of primary materials.  The use of glossary terms is helpful for students at the end of each chapter.  The auxiliary materials (PowerPoint slides, test banks, and instructor resources) provided are very basic and need to be further developed by the instructor using the textbook.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is accurate and does a good job of balancing different points of view in an organized format.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text reflects the basic themes in U. S. History and provides a general foundation for the course.  The general nature of the book means it will continue to be relevant in the future.  I used my lecture and primary materials to incorporate current material into the class.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"My students found the text to be engaging and were able to grasp the main points.  The text uses little jargon so works well with survey classes.  The learning objectives at the beginning of each section were helpful for students to focus on the main points.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in how the information is presented.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into smaller segments with subheadings that are easily comprehended by students.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text tries to balance between chronological and thematic perspectives.  This causes the material to overlap at times but not to the point it interferes with the organization of the text.  I compensated for this by using the text as a framework and rearranging the order of the material to fit my teaching style.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No interface problems have been detected.  The textbook makes good use of the links to connect students to primary sources.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors were noted.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The authors presented the material from different perspectives and generally succeeded in being culturally sensitive.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I liked the ease of making this book available to my students, just provide the link, and students have access to the book on day one of class.   No dealing with bookstores, different editions, and no excuses for not having a textbook for the course.   OER is an incentive for students to take your classes and generally for your institution by reducing your student’s costs of their education.","created_at":"2021-12-20T09:21:54.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-12-20T09:21:54.000-06:00"},{"id":34633,"first_name":"Thomas","last_name":"Little","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Emory and Henry College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"\"U.S. History\" is a comprehensive textbook that does a good job of telling the whole story of American history.  The authors effectively weave U.S. social and cultural history into the framework of political, military, and diplomatic events, recreating the American story in such a way that will benefit all students enrolled in college-level survey courses.  An examination of the Index reveals that it is both thorough and easy-to-use, with all key terms being included.  The Appendix provides a comprehensive bibliography, as well as important documents, a list of U.S. presidents, maps, and demographic data.   There is also an answer key for the end-of-chapter questions, making this by far and away the best, most comprehensive openly licensed U.S. history textbook currently available.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book's content is free of mistakes and errors.  Throughout there is real attention to historical accuracy and understanding so that the authors are able to offer complex yet clear explanations for particular events while not forcing them into a pre-cast mold.  The authors seem altogether unbiased; they allow events to unfold in manner that does justice to the people and events that have shaped the American past.  Importantly, all OpenStax textbooks are rigorously vetted.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"\"U.S. History\" is up-to-date and will definitely have a long-lasting shelf life.  While originally published in December 2014, the book is periodically updated by the content contributors.  The last update occurred in December 2022 as of this writing.  The text is well organized and well written so that updates can be easily handled.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This is a book that reads exceptionally well and one that a wide variety of students will find stimulating.  There is no dull writing in \"U.S. History.\"  Nor is the book filled with technical terminology or meaningless jargon.  The style is appropriate for an introductory-level college survey course, and the chapters, paragraphs, and sentences are nicely handled.  Students will love “U.S. History.”","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This book is rock solid in its internal consistency, and this is true not only in terms of its terminology but also in terms of its framework.   \"U.S. History\" is definitely a professional-grade, internally consistent textbook.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is designed for modularity and flexibility.  As long as instructors attribute OpenStax and its content contributors, \"U.S. History,\" which is openly licensed, can freely be remixed and built upon.  Instructors can use the entire book or pick certain sections that are relevant to specific parts of their courses.  Students can be assigned certain chapters or sections.   As noted in the Preface, \"Instructors also have the option of creating a customized version of their OpenStax book. The custom version can be made available to students in low-cost print or digital form through their campus bookstore.\"","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"\"U.S. History\" is a well-organized textbook.  The material is presented in a clear and logical manner.  My experience as a teacher of American history has shown me that students do best when the authors of their college textbook take pains at organization, which is clearly what the content contributors of \"U.S. History\" have done.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I noticed no significant interface issues when reading \"U.S. History.\"","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no grammatical errors that distract the reader's attention from the content of the writing.  The content contributors adhere to all of the grammatical conventions of written English.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This book is inclusive and culturally sensitive.  Periodic updates since 2014 have enabled the content contributors to continue to highlight examples of the diversity of the American experience.    \"U.S. History\" truly is a human story inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2023-07-17T14:45:38.000-05:00","updated_at":"2023-07-17T14:45:38.000-05:00"},{"id":35148,"first_name":"Scotty","last_name":"Wade","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The OpenStax U.S. history textbook covers the major topics in United States History and provides an effective index with hyperlinks back to the chapter. The book includes major developments in political, social, economic, and intellectual history. The authors also include periodic developments in intellectual history, including the Enlightenment and includes notable authors and thinkers throughout the chapters. \nThe appendices provide demographic information as well as important documents pertaining to United States History. The coverage is appropriate for a survey-level course in that it is a manageable reading load for students that can be expanded on by the instructor. I would like to see a supplemental primary source reader but there are plenty of resources to find primary sources.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I cannot find anything historically inaccurate. Some reviewers would argue that the exclusion of certain events, and people is inaccurate but as in the case with survey textbooks, authors have to make decisions regarding what to include. For instance, Chapter7, section 4 “The Constitutional Convention and Federal Constitution” includes the 3/5 Compromise, but not the Fugitive Slave Clause and the Slave Trade Clause. I feel it is necessary to include these additions to address more fully how slavery was dealt with at the Constitutional Convention.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The version I am reviewing chronologically ends in 2014, rendering the book obsolete in 2024.There have been dramatic changes in the United States that would need to be included in an updated edition. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the COVID-19 pandemic quickly come to mind. However, the modality of the textbook will allow for quick updates and students will not have to buy expensive new editions.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing is concise without being overly complex. The key terms at the end of the chapters are useful to define some of the major events and concepts. The chapters are short enough to cover many of them in one or two class periods.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The structure of the chapters is consistent throughout. The layout and formatting of the chapters is standardized. Once a student reads the first chapter, they will know what to expect. The content of the chapters varies as far as comprehensiveness. Some chapters contain more coverage than others, but with multiple authors, that is to be expected.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The chapters are broken up into sections which make it easier to assign reading assignments that are manageable. This works particularly well in online courses that utilize a modular format. Instructors can easily hyper-link sections of the chapters allowing instructors to remix the content for their own needs. It is possible to create a more thematic methodology if desired.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book’s organization is sound, and it is structured in a chronological fashion. After using the book, I have found that the chapters can be disjointed in places and there seems to be some overlap, particularly in the early chapters.  For instance, Chapters 2 and 3 both cover early Virginia history.  This time period could be covered in one longer section. I am not sure there needs to be two excerpts regarding Jamestown. These are George Percy and the First Months at Jamestown in 2.3 Challenges to Spain’s Supremacy and George Percy on “The Starving Time” 3.3 English Settlements in America. I would prefer one chapter covering the origins of the British colonies in North America.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface works well. I particularly like the search function.  The citation tool is useful for students using the text to draft essays and need to include the source. The “click and explore” function offers interesting tools such as online exhibits and links to outside websites to use in class or online. I haven’t used all of the links, but the ones I clicked on worked fine. Students can access the book on devices, making the reading easily accessible.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"So far, I have not encountered any grammar errors in the text. However, it seems as though some editing would sharpen the focus. Sometimes the writing is a little verbose.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book includes several events that are culturally relevant particularly in the current climate regarding race relations. The history of the origins of new world slavery is covered briefly but summarized well. in Chapter 16 the origin of Juneteenth is covered by the authors, an event rarely mentioned in a survey textbook in my experience. The voices of diverse people are included in the vignettes such as “My Story.” Overall, there are many events that are included that have been obscured or even prohibited recently in the arena of public schools.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The OpenStax has worked great for me in my United States History survey courses. The students are always happy to see that the required reading is low cost and easily accessible.","created_at":"2024-06-28T15:13:34.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-06-28T15:13:34.000-05:00"},{"id":35613,"first_name":"Anthony","last_name":"Guidone","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Radford University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Comprehensiveness is hard to evaluate for a textbook. This certainly hits all the expected points, and it is delicate to balance comprehensiveness with length. There are some absences, most specifically the centrality of merchant commerce to the economy of North America before and immediately after the American Revolution. This trade was the lifeblood of North America, and connected the continent politically, economically, and culturally to Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Asia. Additionally, the chapter on 1790-1815 does not convey how impactful the French Revolution was on American politics.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content in this textbook is accurate with no glaring holes. I believe the textbook’s weakness is in lack of material included, rather than inaccuracy of text. There are some assertions which I disagree with, such as the Hartford Convention getting the blame for the demise of the Federalist party, but I did not see anything that made me doubt the book’s accuracy.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Overall, this textbook evenhandedly touches on modern themes of globalization, race, and cultural history. However, it will be a challenge to make this specific material relevant to students as the book does not include enough primary sources. There are some “my story” excerpts of primary sources in each chapter, but a more helpful arrangement would be a separate primary source reader. The textbook does occasionally include hyperlinks to primary sources, which are a good start for finding images for PowerPoint slides or documents for discussions and assignments. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The material is organized in ways that are somewhat confusing. For example, the transatlantic slave trade is introduced in the “Africa before 1492” chapter and includes a map which references total assessments of people trafficked in the slave trade into the 1870s. The chapter breaks make sense and include helpful introductions in each one. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This textbook has consistent structure and organization in each chapter. I did not find any inconsistencies or contradictions in content. Each chapter tends to cover similar themes including politics and government, culture and society, and the differing roles of men and women.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The clear divisions between topics and sections within each section are very helpful, they could easily be segmented and assigned for specific days or weeks of class, even particular sections of chapters. This is far easier for instructors than keeping track of which pages students are to read.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I appreciated the summary paragraphs at the end of the chapters for each major section. The chapter breaks made sense for the topics covered, such as splitting the American Revolution into one chapter and the constitution into another. This allows the chapter on governance to helpfully start amidst the American Revolution rather than starting in 1783 as many do.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The online interface is easy to use but allows for too little text on the screen. I much preferred downloading the content as a PDF and reading it that way. The timeline images were often blurry. Also, the constantly displayed advertisement for “OpenStax Kinetic” on the bottom of the screen was distracting. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice grammatical errors. Some of the vocabulary may be unfamiliar to undergrads, with words like “lampoon.”","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This textbook lacks material on Indigenous history, particularly North American Indigenous people and their perspective on events. For example, there is little discussion of how Native Americans responded to the English other than warfare. Native American enslavement also is not comprehensively described. The text does not discuss colonists selling Native American captives into slavery following the Pequot war in the 1630s (although it does mention it following King Phillip’s War) and barely touches on the trade in enslaved Native Americans from Virginia to the Carolinas and West Indies. It also does not mention Native American in the story of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia.\r\n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The teacher resources that accompany this textbook are excellent. Powerpoint slides and course shells to import into Canvas, Blackboard, and D2L.","created_at":"2025-08-30T21:47:25.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-08-30T21:47:25.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/u-s-history","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:42:49.000-06:00"}],"links":{"self":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities.json?page=1","total_pages":46,"total_count":453,"next":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities.json?page=2"}}