Joining the Conversation: A Guide and Handbook for Writers

With a concrete, accessible approach to teaching writing with a purpose, Joining the Conversation helps your students become active participants in the exchange of ideas—with their peers, in academic communities, and in the world. Every chapter integrates advice about using technology that will help students build on the digital skills and genre awareness they already have in order to read, write, research, and respond in academic conversations. New e-Pages feature engaging selections in a range of academic and public genres, from literacy narratives and blogs to infographics and online reviews, bringing to life some of the topics students care about most. Choose Joining the Conversation with a new handbook section written by The Atlantic’s Barbara Wallraff, or add a Bedford Select e-Book to Go for even more readings. As accessible and student-friendly as the successful first edition, Joining the Conversation helps student writers gain a better understanding of—and confidence in—their own writing processes.

Mike Palmquist is an Associate Vice Provost for Learning and Teaching at Colorado State University and the Director of CSU’s Institute for Learning and Teaching. A professor of English and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar, he is recognized nationally for his work in computer-supported writing instruction and, in particular, in designing Web-based instructional materials to support writing. His most recent Web-based projects are Writing@CSU (http://writing.colostate.edu), an open-access, educational Web site for writers and writing instructors, and the WAC Clearinghouse (http://wac.colostate.edu), the leading site for communication across the curriculum. He is the author of numerous articles and essays on writing and teaching with technology and writing across the curriculum. 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 currently serves on the Executive Committee of the National Council of Teachers of English and as chair of the NCTE’s College Section. He is the author of Joining the Conversation: Writing in College and Beyond (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010); The Bedford Researcher, Third Edition (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009); and Designing Writing: A Practical Guide (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005).