The Bedford Reader

Long one of the most popular composition readers on the market, The Bedford Reader provides compelling readings by excellent writers. It takes a practical and flexible approach to the rhetorical methods, focusing on their uses in varied writing situations. The popular “Writers on Writing” feature illustrates the many ways writers create meaning from what they read and experience, and, as always, the Kennedys' wise and witty instruction engages and challenges students as they become academic writers.

The eleventh edition offers even more to guide students' critical reading and writing, with material on revising and editing, discussion and examples of academic genres, coverage of academic language, and annotated essays to illustrate reading and writing strategies.

In 1982, The Bedford Reader transformed the rhetorical reader by combining remarkable selections and vibrant instructional material with a unique "writers on writing" feature in which writers reprinted in the book comment on their process and their work. Over eight editions, the book has become a favorite with students for the Kennedys' clarity and wit, with instructors for the flexible and realistic view of the rhetorical methods, and with both for the readable and discussable selections.

72 lively selections by writers worth reading. The selections -- including 8 student essays and 6 literary selections -- excel, as always, in relevance, quality, and readability. Ranging from E. B. White to Judith Ortiz Cofer, from Maya Angelou to David Sedaris, the authors write with diverse voices on diverse topics.
Realistic, student-friendly treatment of the rhetorical methods. Part Two fully introduces each rhetorical strategy, shows a student using the method in a practical situation (disputing a parking ticket or advertising a sublet, for example), and then models the method in the selections that follow. Part Three offers an anthology of classic essays that mix the methods.
Unique Writers on Writing commentaries. After their essays, stories, or poems, 56 of the book's writers offer comments on everything from grammar to revision to how they developed the reprinted piece. These reflections prove that writing is a process even for professionals.
Thorough coverage of reading critically, writing, and working with sources. Part One guides students through every stage of critical reading and writing. The chapter on working with sources introduces evaluating print and online sources, summarizing, paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, and documenting sources in MLA style. A new annotated student research paper illustrates the principles.
An exciting visual dimension. In Chapter 1 students learn how to read an image critically, and each rhetorical chapter then opens with a striking visual and helpful discussion questions, showing that the rhetorical methods are at work in images as well as in texts. Some selections take images as their focal points or highlight key points visually.
Extensive editorial apparatus. Every selection includes two headnotes, a two-part journal prompt, three sets of questions, and at least four writing suggestions. Additional writing topics conclude each rhetorical chapter.

X. J. KENNEDY is an acclaimed poet, children's writer, college teacher, and textbook author. He has taught freshman composition at the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Tufts University. Since 1966, more than two million students have treasured his introductory literature texts and The Bedford Guide for College Writers, Eighth Edition (2008), coauthored with Dorothy M. Kennedy and Marcia F. Muth.

DOROTHY M. KENNEDY is a writer and editor whose articles and reviews have appeared in both professional and academic journals. She has taught composition at the University of Michigan and Ohio University and, with X. J. Kennedy, is the recipient of the NCTE Teacher's Choice Award for Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry.

JANE E. AARON is a respected writer and editor who has taught composition at New York University and New School University. For Bedford/St. Martin's she is the author of The Compact Reader, Eighth Edition (2008), and 40 Model Essays: A Portable Anthology (2005).