Writing Matters: Second Edition - Softcover

PETER G. BEIDLER has recently retired from the English department at Lehigh University. He has published widely and has won many teaching awards. He was named National Professor of the Year by CASE—Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

I have been using Peter G. Beidler's Writing Matters for fifteen years because I prefer it to all other how-to writing textbooks that cross my desk. Writing Matters is far more accessible to students than the typical composition text. Each succinct chapter is itself a persuasive essay that shows (simultaneously as it tells) how to focus and develop an argument, how to write clearly and concisely, and how to anticipate and "deal with" probable reader objections. Although Beidler's book is simple, direct, and sometimes humorous, it does not condescend. Clearly Beidler understands not only writing but also student writers--their fears and misconceptions and common complaints. I hope this inexpensive but invaluable little book remains forever in print. --Professor Kathleen Mayberry, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville, PA

What I like most about Writing Matters is that it really speaks to my students. Beidler's refreshing strategy of giving the rudiments of essay writing in twenty-six mini-essays which exemplify the very precepts he is advancing is particularly helpful. After all, some students learn better by precept, other by example. Writing Matters gives them simultaneously both precept and example. The 'Editing Matters' section comprising forty-seven rules (deftly keyed in a Quick Reference Guide at the end) is a wonderful bonus. And all of this at a price that students can easily afford. I have recommended Writing Matters to various colleagues and have yet to hear a negative word. --Professor John de Oliveira e Silva, CUNY: LaGuardia Community College, New York City, NY