Context¿s units focus on four ongoing conversations that have an impact on events in the world and that affect the way we see ourselves. These units include: what it means to be authentic, how we establish a sense of place, how to get people involved in civic dialogues, and how the increasingly global economy affects us as workers and consumers. The essays, dialogues, editorials, newspaper articles, and other documents included in this book reflect moments in these conversations. Both the readings and the writing assignments encourage students to see the ways in which others use writing to make things happen and ways in which they themselves can use writing to participate in these various local, national, and global conversations. What sets In Context apart from other readers is: (1) its thoughtful and sustained attention to rhetorical issues—students are introduced to four rhetorical concepts (situation, genre, language, and consequences) and are asked to use these as both a reader and writer; (2) the fact that students are asked to do more than critique culture, and to focus on how societies and individuals use writing and reading to do work, to affect outcomes, and to achieve results; and 3) the inclusion of assignments that allow students to compose not only analytical essays, but other genres as well—reports, letters to the editor, proposals, and more.

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