In Conversation

A Writer's Guidebook

Third Edition

Publication Date: March 15, 2023

Spiral-Bound ISBN: 9781319332044

Pages: 576

For every type of writer you need to be.

This rhetorically-driven, genre-based handbook prepares college writers to write in different ways for different courses, professional contexts, and civic and everyday scenarios. Using a framework of writing as conversation, In Conversation grounds writers in a deep understanding of their...

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PART 1. JOIN THE CONVERSATION
1. Understand Yourself as a Writer
2. Explore Conversations
3. Read Critically and Actively

PART 2. WORK WITH GENRE AND DESIGN
4. Write a Reflective Essay
5. Write an Argument
6. Write an Informative Article
7. Write a Proposal
8. Write a Rhetorical Analysis
9. Write a Review
10. Create an Annotated Bibliography
11. Summarize and Respond to a Source
12. Write a Literature Review
13. Create a Multimedia Presentation
14. Create a Podcast
15. Design Your Document

Genre Design Gallery
G1. Academic Essays
G2. Articles
G3. Annotated Bibliographies
G4. Photo Essays
G5. Multimodal Essays
G6. Multimedia Presentations
G7. Websites
G8. Blog Posts
G9. Videos
G10. Infographics
G11. Posters
G12. Professional Pages

PART 3. CONDUCT RESEARCH
16. Collect Information
17. Assess and Evaluate Your Sources
18. Manage Your Sources
19. Use Sources Effectively
20. Understand and Avoid Plagiarism

PART 4. DRAFT YOUR DOCUMENT
21. Define Your Thesis Statement
22. Support Your Main Point
23. Organize Your Ideas
24. Write Your First Draft
25. Use Sources to Accomplish Your Purpose
26. Write Effective Introductions
27. Write Effective Conclusions

PART 5. REVISE AND EDIT
28. Revise Your Document
29. Edit Your Document
30. Understand the Parts of a Sentence
31. Choose Sentence Structures Thoughtfully
32. Write in Complete Sentences
33. Write Clear, Logical Sentences
34. Choose Engaging Language
35. Use Verbs Skillfully
36. Use Pronouns to Be Clear and Inclusive
37. Use Adjectives, Adverbs, and Articles Expertly
38. Use Punctuation to Help Readers
39. Use Sentence Mechanics to Orient Readers

PART 6. DOCUMENT YOUR SOURCES
40. Use MLA Style
41. Use APA Style
42. Use Chicago Style
43. Use CSE Style

Glossary of Terms
Frequently Confused, Misused, and Abused Words

Achieve. Achieve with In Conversation is a composition space for instructors and students of all comfort levels with course technology. It provides trusted content with a robust e-textbook, diagnostics with personalized study plans, and writing tools that guide students through drafting, peer review, plagiarism checks, reflection, and revision. For corequisite composition courses, Achieve lets students sign in to their composition and corequisite sections with one easy process–and no additional fees.

A framework of writing as conversation. In Conversation grounds writers in a deep understanding of their purpose, audience, and context. This emphasis has shaped the book’s examples, the issues highlighted in boxed features, and the signature genre and design strategies.

A writer-to-writer approach. Fifty conversational “Writer to Writer” boxes help writers understand issues ranging from context to composing processes to points of disagreement about style and grammar. Talking as writers to writers, the authors answer questions such as “How can I write a paper under pressure?” or “Do you need to change your everyday language to succeed?”

A striking visual approach. Taking a cue from social media, eye-catching visuals showcase annotated models and examples and provide support for visual learners.

Attention to writing across disciplines, professions, and civic settings. So that this book is useful throughout a writer’s life, it includes genres used in and beyond first-year writing courses.

Summer 2024 Updates:

New! Exclusive Palmquist Content: AI Guides for Instructors and Students.
Boost AI literacy with How Can I Use Generative AI in My Writing Classroom?, a brief resource by Mike Palmquist that helps college writers understand the opportunities and challenges of AI use in academic settings. Separate instructor and student guides offer support for using AI ethically and responsibly, with assessment to help reinforce concepts. Now available in the Achieve courses for In Conversation, Joining the Conversation, and The Bedford Researcher.

Third Edition Updates (2023):

A stronger focus on genre. Part 2 — with eleven new chapters — helps writers understand how to choose among genres and how to compose in the genres they choose. The new chapters offer detailed practical guidance writers can use to contribute to conversations on the issues they care about.

An expanded Genre Design Gallery helps students understand the design features of a dozen widely used genres and features four new genres and examples: photo essay, video, poster, and LinkedIn page. Checklists, illustrations, and annotations offer practical help.

More attention to critical language awareness and DEI. This edition seeks to widen the conversation about language varieties, lived experiences, expertise, and “correctness” — all through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Advice, examples, model writing, photos, rhetorical situations, and learning scenarios reflect the realities of those who will use this edition.

A reimagined Chapter 17 offers tools to assess bias, pop information bubbles, and seek alternative viewpoints. It also provides a rhetorically-grounded process that helps writers assess and evaluate sources — a process that relies on strategies used by fact checkers (such as lateral reading), on proven evaluative criteria, and on rhetorical listening.

“I like the book a lot. It helps instructors and students establish a shared language about writing.”
Jennifer Cellio, Northern Kentucky University

“In Conversation is a comprehensive handbook with particularly robust sections on research and drafting.”
Marcie DiChiara, Weatherford College

“The format is vivid and the tone familiar yet deeply informative.”
Ray Orkwis, Northern Virginia Community College

“I like the way students can click on specific sections of In Conversation to get help when I comment on their drafts in Achieve.”
Diann Ainsworth, Weatherford College

Mike Palmquist

Mike Palmquist is a professor of English and a University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Colorado State University, where he has also served as Associate Provost for Instructional Innovation and Director of the Writing Center. He is recognized internationally for his work in writing across the curriculum, the effects of computer and network technologies on writing instruction, and new approaches to scholarly publishing. He is the founding editor of the WAC Clearinghouse (http://wac.colostate.edu), the leading site for communication across the curriculum, and is the author of numerous articles and essays on writing across the curriculum and writing and teaching with technology. He served as an at-large member of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum, which named him a Distinguished Fellow in 2021, and is a trustee of the University Press of Colorado and a member of the editorial boards of several journals. In 2004, he received the Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field, which recognizes "exemplary scholarship and professional service to the field of computers and writing." In 2006, the CCCC Committee on Computers in Composition and Composition named him Outstanding Technology Innovator. He served as chair of the National Council of Teachers of English College Section Steering Committee and as a member of the NCTE Executive Committee from 2009 to 2011. He also served as the chair of the NCTE College Section Working Group on the Status and Working Conditions of Contingent Faculty. He is the author of Joining the Conversation: A Guide and Handbook for Writers; In Conversation: A Writer’s Guidebook; and The Bedford Researcher.

Barbara Wallraff

Barbara Wallraff is a professional writer and editor. She spent 25 years at the Atlantic Monthly, where she was the language columnist and an editor. The author of three books on language and style—the national bestseller Word Court, Your Own Words, and Word Fugitives—Wallraff has lectured at the Columbia School of Journalism, the Council of Science Editors, Microsoft, the International Education of Students organization, and the Radcliffe Publishing Program. Her writing about English usage has appeared in national publications including the American Scholar, the Wilson Quarterly, the Harvard Business Review blog, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times Magazine.

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