syllabus
calendar
blackboard
student.email resources

last.updated 8.7.08

 

Textbook Review

Purpose

If you become an English teacher there is a very good chance that you will be responsible–individually or collaboratively–for choosing a textbook for your own classes or for an entire program. You may even be given the opportunity to participate in a focus group that influences the finished product of a given textbook. Therefore, it is good for you to have a sense of what you value in these texts and to be able to articulate these values in light of the field's discussions of composition pedagogy.

This assignment will not only give you the opportunity to examine a textbook and make some judgments about its pedagogical value, but to articulate these observations to an audience of your peers.

Instructions-Choosing and Reviewing a Textbook

Each of you will choose a textbook during the second class; textbooks will be supplied by the instructor. You can also choose a textbook outside of the ones supplied by the instructor if you have the instructor's permission. Because this is an opportunity for you to move beyond your current knowledge, you are not allowed to use a book that you are currently using for a course you are teaching.

Once you have a textbook, you will want to get a good sense of the text. Suggested practices include...

  • examining the cover and asking yourself who the book is being marketed to
  • reading the Table of Contents
  • reading the "Preface," "Introduction," "Notes to the Instructor" or the "Notes to the Students," if applicable
  • skimming through the entire book looking at content, design, and tone
  • reading a few chapters paying attention to how the author(s) is trying to teach the students

Instructions-Writing

In 500-750 words...

  • Compose a bibliographic citation of the textbook followed by the page total and price (people comparing texts will consider this features). You should use MLA or APA formatting; be consistent.
  • Start your review by addressing the question: Would you recommend this textbook?
  • All reviews should...
    • briefly summarize what the textbook is about and how it is specifically trying to teach composition
    • provide evidence from the textbook to support your evaluation
    • connect to the conversation about composition by drawing, at the very least, upon the scholarship we have read to this point in the semester
  • As you further support your answer, consider...
    • qualifying your recommendation (do you think that there are specific circumstances or contexts in which this textbook would work better that others? are there certain features that you really like, but others that would give you pause before you adopted it?)
    • weighing the various features of the text against each other (does something really make this textbook stand out? is there a significant negative feature that an instructor should consider before adopting this book?)

Remember that you only have 500-750 words; therefore you will want to be selective rather than exhaustive.

Use the Blackboard "Discussion Board" to post your review to the instructor and the class. The program may shift some of the formatting and change some characters if you cut and paste from MS Word; do not sweat this.

As the audience to your peers' reviews, read through them and get a sense of the textbooks that are available. You may choose to borrow one of these textbooks from the instructor as the foundation for the syllabus you will design.


Criteria

Logistic:

In addition to posting the review on September 22, 2008, you will need to return or renew the textbook to the instructor. Anybody not returning her/his textbook in a timely manner will receive no credit for this assignment. Likewise if the book is not returned by the end of the semester, you will lose 50 points.

In addition to the general evaluation criteria, the instructor will be looking for evidence of...

  • a sense of audience–do you provide enough information and detail about the textbook that your audience would be able to decide whether or not to adopt this book? Likewise do you only highlight important information?
  • adequate evidence from the text and from the field
  • a focused and cohesive discussion
  • an informed understanding and discussion of composition studies and related issues
  • appropriate use of conventions, including MLA or APA citation formatting