Cover: Understanding Rhetoric, 3rd Edition by Elizabeth Losh; Jonathan Alexander; Kevin Cannon; Zander Cannon

Understanding Rhetoric

Third Edition  ©2021 Elizabeth Losh; Jonathan Alexander; Kevin Cannon; Zander Cannon Formats: E-book, Print

Authors

  • Headshot of Elizabeth Losh

    Elizabeth Losh

    Elizabeth Losh is the Gale and Steve Kohlhagen Distinguished Professor of English and American Studies at William and Mary. Previously she directed the Culture, Art, and Technology program at the University of California, San Diego. She is the author of Virtualpolitik: An Electronic History of Government Media-Making in a Time of War, Scandal, Disaster, Miscommunication, and Mistakes (MIT Press), The War on Learning: Gaining Ground in the Digital University (MIT Press), and Hashtag (Bloomsbury).


  • Headshot of Jonathan Alexander

    Jonathan Alexander

    Jonathan Alexander is Chancellor’s Professor of English and Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, where he served as the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Writing and Communication and is currently associate dean in the Division of Undergraduate Education. The author, coauthor, or coeditor of sixteen books, he writes frequently about how people learn to write with a variety of digital tools. He’s also a proud nerd who enjoys reading and writing about science fiction, comics, movies, and young adult fiction.


  • Headshot of Kevin Cannon

    Kevin Cannon

    Kevin Cannonis an award-winning cartoonist, children’s book illustrator, and cartographer. His most recent graphic novel, The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy, was published by Hill and Wang. A Minneapolis native, Cannon spends his free time camping, reading dusty books about arctic explorers, and drawing cartoon maps.


  • Headshot of Zander Cannon

    Zander Cannon

    Since 1993, Zander Cannon has written and drawn comics about astronauts, robots, paleontologists, feng shui masters, demons, and police officers. His latest comic book series, the Eisner-nominated KAIJUMAX, about a prison for giant monsters, is published by Oni Press. He lives in Minnesota with his strong wife, Julie, and his above-average son, Jin.


  • Headshot of Anne Trubek

    Anne Trubek

Table of Contents

Preface: Getting Graphic
 
Introduction: SPACES FOR WRITING
Discovering Contexts for Writing
Going Boldly through Writing Processes
*Exploring Visual Literacy
ReFrame: Why Rhetoric? Why a Comic Book?
 
Issue 1: WHY RHETORIC?

Piecing Together a Definition of Rhetoric
Reanimating Ancient Views of Rhetoric
Setting Rhetorical Concepts Loose on the World
*ReFrame: What Does Aristotle Have to Do with Me?
 
Issue 2: STRATEGIC READING
Investigating Texts and Analyzing Meaning
Putting the Pieces Together with Synthesis
Using Reading Strategies
Imagining Ideal Readers
ReFrame: How Do I Read This?
 
Issue 3: WRITING IDENTITIES
Leaping into Identities in Writing
Trying Out Choices for Different Audiences
Revealing the Performer within the Text
ReFrame: Am I Having an Identity Crisis?
 
Issue 4: ARGUMENT BEYOND PRO AND CON
Spotlighting Strategies for Argument
*Setting the Scene for Arguable Assertions
Zooming in on Claims and Evidence
Focusing on Effective Organization
ReFrame: The Office Hour!
 
Issue 5: COMPOSING TOGETHER
Getting Together
Multiplying Your Research Options
Collaborating with the Audience
Managing Collaborative Writing Projects
*ReFrame: Get It Together!
 
Issue 6: RESEARCH: MORE THAN DETECTIVE WORK
Keeping the Story Straight
Tracking Down Sources
*Sourcing the Source
Making Sources Talk: Summary, Paraphrase, Quotation
Coming Clean with Citation
ReFrame: Wrong Turns or Shortcuts?
 
Issue 7: RETHINKING REVISION
Looking beyond the Red Ink
Reviewing Rhetorically Seeing through Others’ Eyes
Revising Radically
ReFrame: Am I Missing Something?
 
*Issue 8: FAKE NEWS AND REAL PUBLICATION
Launching into the Future of Genres
*Navigating among Media
*Fake News!
Entering the Final Frontier with Publication
*ReFrame: How Does This Look?
 
Glossary
Index
*Directory of Writing Assignments

Product Updates


Expanded support for common writing assignments makes Understanding Rhetoric even easier to teach and learn from. A brand new directory of writing assignments helps students connect the text with the writing that they will complete in their composition class. From a rhetorical analysis of a visual text to an argumentative essay, informational websites to critiques, the new edition provides support for common assignments.

Substantially revised and expanded Issue 8, now titled "Fake News and Real Publication," includes a brand new "Fake News!" section which discusses the origins of this extremely relevant topic and offers insight into its complexities. The end of Issue 8 also includes a brand new "Walk the Talk" on Podcasting as Publishing.

Engaging examples that students can relate to. The authors and illustrators of Understanding Rhetoric recognize that keeping students engaged is a vital part of successful learning. Some of the brand new engaging features to which your students might relate include:

  • A brand new rhetorical analysis of two job ad flyers in the ReFrame of Issue 1 follows students Cindy and Luis as they compare and analyze these visual texts.
  • "Setting the Scene for Arguable Assertions" in Issue 4 includes a new section that discusses the debate about free college tuition, one that many students can relate to in a time of increasing higher education costs.
  • A brand new "Walk the Talk" in the ReFrame of Issue 5 tells the true story of a group of students from Kennesaw State University who collaborated to help make Understanding Rhetoric even better.

Expanded coverage of evaluating sources. Issue 6 includes a brand new section on "Sourcing the Source" which helps students navigate the complexities of evaluating sources in a fun and relatable way as they watch author Jonathan fall for an online story from a questionable source.

SEE why this is the book students want to read

After shaking up writing classrooms at more than 550 colleges, universities, and high schools, Understanding Rhetoric, the comic-style guide to writing that instructors have told us gets “nothing but positive responses from students,” has returned for a third edition! Combining the composition know-how of Liz Losh and Jonathan Alexander with the comic-art credibility of Kevin Cannon (Far Arden, Crater XV) and Zander Cannon (Heck, Kaijumax), Understanding Rhetoric encourages deep engagement with core concepts of writing and rhetoric, as teachers and students alike have told us. With brand new coverage of fake news, sourcing the source, podcasting as publishing, and support for common writing assignments, the new edition of the one and only composition comic covers what students need to know—and does so with fun and flair. And the detailed instructor’s manual will help both novice and experienced instructors plan a course around Understanding Rhetoric.

Looking for instructor resources like Test Banks, Lecture Slides, and Clicker Questions? Request access to Achieve to explore the full suite of instructor resources.

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Instructor's Resource Manual for Understanding Rhetoric

Instructor's Resource Manual for Understanding Rhetoric (Online Only)

Elizabeth Losh; Jonathan Alexander; Kevin Cannon; Zander Cannon | Third Edition | ©2021 | ISBN:9781319373030
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Some Tips for Using Understanding Rhetoric in Online and Remote Instruction

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Understanding Rhetoric 3e Sample Syllabi

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Understanding Rhetoric 3e Transition Guide

ISBN:9781319372996

ISBN:9781319244996

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