"Like all writers, intellectuals need to say something new and say it well. But unlike many other writers, what intellectuals have to say is bound up with the books we are reading . . . and the ideas of the people we are talking with."
What are the moves that an academic writer makes? How does writing as an intellectual change the way we work from sources? In Rewriting, a textbook for the undergraduate classroom, Joseph Harris draws the college writing student away from static ideas of thesis, support, and structure, and toward a more mature and dynamic understanding. Harris wants college writers to think of intellectual writing as an adaptive and social activity, and he offers them a clear set of strategies&;a set of moves&;for participating in it.
I like this book. It has a pulse. And it fills a gap between bulky readers/rhetorics and dutiful style handbooks.
Tom Deans, University of Connecticut
Tom Deans, University of Connecticut
In this wonderful little book, Joe Harris models the advice he gives. "Rewriting" is inviting, thoughtful, and packed with useful wisdom.
Mike Rose, author of "An Open Language" and "Lives on the Boundary."
The book is a tour de force, a means of teaching and modeling the wise and effective use of sources. Beyond that, it's gracefully written, the textual examples offer wonderful variety, and the ethical center is humane, respectful, and warm.
Carol Rutz, Carleton College
"While the book is aimed at undergraduates, [it reads like a thoughtful primer on doing scholarly writing and, even more importantly, on forming a professional identity as a publishing scholar. . . . Harris provides the 'terms of art, ' as it were, for writers to achieve that self-awareness."
--Howard Tinberg, "CCC"
"[One of the reasons why I find the book so teachable and important is that it invites us to think more deeply than we might otherwise about what we want our writing to do and how we intend to make that happen."
--Laura Micciche, "CCC"
"Writing this essay in response to "Rewriting" has given me a better sense of the moves I, myself, make. . . . I can think of no higher praise."
Donna Qualley, "Reader, " special issue on "Rewriting""
"While the book is aimed at undergraduates, [it] reads like a thoughtful primer on doing scholarly writing and, even more importantly, on forming a professional identity as a publishing scholar. . . . Harris provides the 'terms of art, ' as it were, for writers to achieve that self-awareness."
Howard Tinberg, CCC"
"[O]ne of the reasons why I find the book so teachable and important is that it invites us to think more deeply than we might otherwise about what we want our writing to do and how we intend to make that happen."
Laura Micciche, CCC"
"Writing this essay in response to Rewriting has given me a better sense of the moves I, myself, make. . . . I can think of no higher praise."
Donna Qualley, Reader, special issue on Rewriting"
