I got an email today from a friend begging for advice on a good book to read before beginning the teaching of college composition. Since I know a few of you are new to the teaching of college composition, I thought I would start an annotated bibliography of texts that might help you along. The ones included in this bibliography are texts that I have actually read. You can click the link to purchase the text online. I’ll update this post when I have access to the books currently in my office (sorry, it’s icy in Dallas and I’m not driving). If you have any suggestions for books I’ve overlooked, please add this as a comment and include specific annotation details as to why I should add this to my list.

Clark, Irene. Concepts in Composition. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003.

Clark doesn’t miss anything in this book. From various ways to teach different invention, specific ideas for teaching grammar and mechanics, Clark provides a text quite helpful to the beginning rhetoric student. My only problem with this text is that it is SO dense that you need to block off a specific amount of time to make it through a chapter reading. I don’t fault Clark for this–there’s a lot of information she must get across and when you get through the chapter, it’s worth the work you put into it.

Lindemann, Erika. A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers. New York: Oxford UP, 2001.

Lindemann does a wonderful job of compacting information new composition teachers need into a pretty manageable text. I want to mention a few specifics areas in this text that are extemely helpful to both the new teacher and the new rhetoric student:

• Lindemann’s chapter “What do Teachers Need to Know About Rhetoric” provides a full overview of the history of rhetoric studies with all the important names and concepts needed for a good start in studying rhetoric.
• The chapter “Prewriting Techniques” provides not only the standard ideas of prewriting (such as clustering and looping) but also provides some good ideas for more specific concepts.
  
  • For example, she discusses having students lead a fellow student blindfolded through a familiar place as a means of exploring perceptions gained through their other senses. I tried this with a group of students working on a profile of a place. I sent them to the cafeteria and the results were amazing!
• The chapter “Designing Writing Courses” is an essential read for creating a syllabus for a class you have not taught before or for redesigning a syllabus you aren’t content with teaching again.
  • I used this chapter to re-design my 1023 class and am quite happy with the new concept. I’ll keep you up to date on how it works out.
• Finally, the chapter “Teaching Writing with Computers” provides some brilliant information for the teacher who has not used computers in the classroom. Not only does she provide reasons why you should use computers, but also puts forth a good set of guidelines for utilizing the computer classroom.

Roen, Duane, Veronica Pantoja, Lauren Yena, Susan K. Miller and Eric Waggoner. Strategies for Teaching First Year Composition. Illinois: NCTE, 2002.

more on this when I can put my hands on it again–it’s at the office ATM.

Villanueva, Victor, ed. Cross-Talk in Composition Theories: A Reader. Illinois: NCTE, 2003.

For those who have read the countless “how to teach” manuals and are looking for something fresh, this is the book for you! Villanueva separates the book into sections that allow you to read influential essays on specific topics. Gathering the words of many of the main voices in the rhetorical dialogue of today, Villanueva allows the reader a chance to bring herself up to date on the latest information and debate in the field. Some of the specific features I think you might appreciate are:

• Anson, Chris M. “Distant Voices: Teaching and Writing in a Culture of Technology.” This essay is a good companion to Lindemann’s chapter “Teaching Writing With Computers” since it presents a more pragmatic view of teaching with computers. He raises questions that all teachers should consider before teaching with computers and discusses the growing trends in distance learning and the challenges it presents.
• Hartwell, Patrick. “Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar.” When I first set foot into the classroom I had no idea how to teach grammar. I did what I could, but my students seemed completely confused and disengaged. Hartwell’s article explains why that happens. In addition to setting up a specific differentiation between grammar, usage, and mechanics. These definitions alone helped me realize what the problem with my teaching was (namely that I grouped all of this under the umbrella of grammar) and helped me identify better ways to teach grammar, usage, and mechanics in the classroom.
• Kinneavy, James L. “The Basic Aims of Discourse.” The essay that explains why we teach what we teach. Kinneavy is one of the most influential voices in today’s school of rhetoric. The article not only breaks down the what and how of the aims we teach, it also puts them into context with the essays we teach in college composition.