Creating America : Reading and Writing Arguments (4th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Great anthology!
Review: I loved this anthology,partly because of the very useful introductory materials on arugment and partly because of the range of readings.The first four chapters of the book work as a good intro to writing essays, conducting research, and understanding arugment, and the rest of the book not only includes a great variety of readings, but also offers a number of visuals and student papers, both of which have gone over very well wtih my students.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best anthology
Review: Maybe I'm just down on anthologies in general, but I didn't have a lot of success in teaching this text. Although it successfully presents perspectives from a number of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, the questions provided with the texts were frequently inane and the texts themselves were often cut in awkward and inappropriate ways.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best anthology
Review: Maybe I'm just down on anthologies in general, but I didn't have a lot of success in teaching this text. Although it successfully presents perspectives from a number of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, the questions provided with the texts were frequently inane and the texts themselves were often cut in awkward and inappropriate ways.

Rating:
Summary: A solid American argument reader
Review: This text covers a range of genres and eras. The pedagodical approach enables instructors and students to focus on the core issues of argument without getting lost in the terminology of some models (i.e., Toulmin). More visual materials would be helpful but the book does address visual rhetoric in a way that emphasizes argument.