Writing Matters: A Handbook for Writing and Research

Writing Matters Tabbed

Make it your own!

Writing Matters Tabbed unites research, reasoning, documentation, grammar, and style into a cohesive whole, helping students see the conventions of writing as a network of responsibilities writers have . . .

. . . to other writers. Writing Matters Tabbed clarifies the responsibility writers have to one another, whether they are collaborating in online peer review or drawing on digital and print sources in a research project, to represent the ideas of other writers fairly and accurately, to give credit to those from whom they have borrowed words or ideas, and to consider and address alternative viewpoints.

. . . to the audience. Writing Matters Tabbed stresses the importance of using conventions appropriate to the audience, to write clearly, and to provide readers with the information and interpretation they need to make sense of a topic.

. . . to the topic. Writing Matters Tabbed emphasizes the writer’s responsibility to explore a topic thoroughly and creatively, to assess sources carefully, and to provide reliable information at a depth that does the topic justice.

. . . to themselves. Writing Matters Tabbed encourages writers to take their writing seriously and to approach writing tasks as an opportunity to learn about a topic and to expand their scope as writers. Students are more likely to write well when they think of themselves as writers rather than as error makers. By explaining rules in the context of responsibility, Writing Matters Tabbed addresses composition students respectfully as mature and capable fellow participants in the research and writing process.