WR 111 uses the current edition of The Norton Sampler along with a longer work (memoir, novel, graphic memoir) of the instructor’s choice. All the readers should connect with each other, and with the theme (and Hub requirement) of “The Individual in Community.” Faculty notes on some of the more useful essays follow, but check the table of contents of the latest edition for a fuller list of selections.

Longer Works

Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991).
Behar, Ruth. Lucky Broken Girl (2017).
Budhos, Marina. Watched (2018).
Gharib, Malaka. I Was Their American Dream (2019).
Haddad, Joumana. I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman (2011).
Sepetys, Ruta. Salt to the Sea (2017).

  • Barrientos–sparked some good discussion
  • Brooks–focus on human psychology; likely to engage students in a discussion of cultural beliefs; useful references for acculturation
  • Goodman–such a clear structure, so good for outlining, but the reasons for her organization (when considering her intended audience) are still worth analysis; good also for summarizing
  • Jacoby–lots of good discussion sparked here
  • King–good for teaching argument; great for talking about rhetorical techniques
  • Lincoln–needs a lot of background knowledge, but can be rewarding to use for analysis
  • Lunsford–good for teaching argument
  • Marquez–sparked some good discussion and can pair well with Amy Tan
  • Rosenberg–useful for visualizing that written arguments should be approached like a debate with an opponent who can’t directly respond, and that you have to anticipate counterarguments and maintain objectivity to be successful.
  • Tan–excellent catalyst for stimulating class participation early in the semester, as it touches such a chord in so many of the students
  • The Onion–good for discussing satire, parody, and irony, and for discussing rhetorical techniques and tone more generally
  • White and Arp–appealing pop-culture topic, good for summaries: fairly complex but has four or five essential points that a thorough and logical summary of it should include
  • Wu–good for talking about rhetorical techniques (lots of similes, especially)