The Curious Writer (paperbound) [Paperback]

Bruce Ballenger (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321277058 | ISBN-13: 978-0536277954 | Publication Date: November 2, 2004

This paperback version ofThe Curious Writer includes all the rhetoric and research material of the hardcover, but does not include the handbook section. Offering a unique, entertaining, and personal author voice, The Curious Writer is sure to grab student's interest and motivate them to write. Also distinctive is The Curious Writer's emphasis on inquiry as both a driving force behind the writing process and a method of discovery and learning. The book operates on the principle that writers who begin with questions, rather than answers, achieve better results in their work. It treats research, revision, and critical reading skills (of both texts and visuals) as organic components of every writing process. Each of the eight writing assignment chapters offers integrated coverage of these three key activities and also provides special attention to the Web as a resource for invention and research.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

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Product Details

• Paperback: 816 pages
• Publisher: Longman (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321277058
• ISBN-13: 978-0536277954
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce Ballenger is the author of seven books, all works of nonfiction, including best-selling textbooks for first-year college writing. His latest book, Crafting Truth: Short Studies in Creative Nonfiction, is a study of how the best American creative nonfiction writers tell true stories. Ballenger has taught college writing for twenty-five years. He worked with Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist and teacher Donald Murray at the University of New Hampshire, where he earned his PhD. For the last fifteen years, he's been on the English faculty at Boise State University, where he teaches creative nonfiction, composition and rhetoric, writing for radio, and the literature of the essay. Ballenger lives in Boise, Idaho, with his wife Karen, and two daughters, Julia and Becca.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Respect the Process, April 28, 2006

By 

BigD "DetroitProfessor" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curious Writer (paperbound) (Paperback)

Students who don't like this book simply don't like to work. It requires a great deal of work to understand the process of writing well. It doesn't come easily. But this book makes visible all the things that go on in a good writer's head and helps students to do them, too. Poor writers believe that if they avoid writing, it will get better. It doesn't. The only thing that improves writing is writing. Reading good writing helps, but actually, writing and revision are the key. Students who find their voices are thrilled at the discovery and books like this seem to help them toward that end. I applaud the author's creativity and accessibility.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice, January 14, 2005

By 

Katie Johnstone "p_u_n_k_y_14" (Boise, ID) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Curious Writer (Hardcover)

The author of this book is the head of the english dept. at my university. I used this book for my English 101 class and found it to be extermly helpfull. Instead of boring excercises and rules the author offers helpfull insight and examples of his own mistakes and accomplishments. All in all a very usefull book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, June 1, 2011

By 

Jordan - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Curious Writer: Concise Edition (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I've only read about half of this book, but the fundamentals Mr. Ballenger covers speak volumes over my previous opinion of writing. I never knew writing as anything other than communicating a point, but the dynamics of what takes place between a writer and a reader is clearly revealed in this book.