Click here to find out more about the 2009 MLA Updates and the 2010 APA Updates. Many instructors prefer to teach critical reading and writing without using a full-scale rhetoric. For them, Axelrod and Cooper have adapted the immensely successful approach of The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing and applied it to a reader, creating a book that provides both structure for students and flexibility for instructors. Chapter One introduces two general approaches to critical reading, showing students how to "read for meaning" and "read like a writer." Each of the following chapters then provides step-by-step guides to applying this knowledge in reading and writing a specific genre, ranging from autobiography to argument.

What habits are common among good college writers? Good college writers are curious, engaged, reflective, and responsible. They read critically. They write with purpose. They tune into their audience. They collaborate and seek feedback. They know credible evidence makes them credible researchers. They revise. The Bedford Handbook, based on surveys with more than 1,000 first-year college students, fosters these habits and offers more support than ever before for college reading and writing. New writing guides support students as they compose in an ever-wider variety of genres, including multimodal genres. New reading support encourages students to become active readers. Retooled research advice emphasizes inquiry and helps writers cite even the trickiest digital sources confidently and responsibly. Best of all, the Handbook remains a trusted companion for students because it is accessible, comprehensive, and authoritative. Instructors benefit, too: A substantially revised Instructor’s Edition includes Nancy Sommers’s personal mentoring—more than 100 new concrete tips for teaching with the handbook. Finally, integrated digital content is easily assignable and helps students practice and apply the handbook’s lessons.