Possible Textbooks for English Composition II
Course description for English Composition II (from the RVCC Catalog):
Prerequisite: Passing grade in English Composition I.
English Composition II is the second in a two-course composition sequence that continues to expand
and refine analytical writing and critical reading skills. Students produce a series of documented essays
based on a range of fiction and non-fiction sources, focusing on the challenges posed by writing longer
essays and using advanced research techniques.
Student Learning Outcomes for English Composition II (from the course outline):
Writing
Students will be able to
1. write essays that identify thematic connections between and among a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts. (Goal 2 and 3)
2. write comparative and analytical essays that support a central point. (Goal 1, 2, and 3)
3. write clearly, grammatically and fluently with focus and continuity in standard American
English in essays written in class as well as out of class. (Goal 1)
Reading
Students will be able to
4. explicate readings in writing as well as during class. (Goal 2, 3, and 5)
Information Literacy
Students will be able to
5. access, evaluate, and use information effectively and ethically at an advanced level. (Goal 4)
6. write essays that demonstrate facility with research techniques and the conventions of citation.
(Goal 4)
Textbook Options:
1. Juxtapositions: Ideas for College Writers (Pearson Custom book for CUNY)
 Our bookstore’s pricing:
 New: $108.50
 Used: $81.50
 Rental option: Since it’s a custom book, it’s not considered available to rent. However, the
bookstore’s textbook manager thought it might be possible to make it rentable.
Description from Amazon: “The units in the text pair a variety of canonical readings in the
humanities with an equally wide array of autobiographical essays and short stories. One
disciplinary essay representing an important insight in the history of ideas — as well as a basic
type of argument — is grouped with two shorter selections: a short story and a nonfiction essay,
usually autobiographical. The lead essay demonstrates a theory, and the two following pieces give
a social context for the theory. The task of the student is to make an argument placing the theory in
each unit within a social context by juxtaposing at least two texts from the unit. These pairings of
texts help student writers learn to move between the abstract and the concrete — a necessary
component of successful college writing.”
2. Making Literature Matter (Bedford/St. Martin)
 Our bookstore’s pricing:
 New: $90.00
 Used: $67.50
 New Rent: $58.50
 Used Rent: $43.20
Description from Amazon: “Students respond powerfully to literature when it explores issues that
matter to them, such as how love can be compromised by the demands of tradition, how
authoritarian injustice can be resisted, and how popular culture influences behavior. And when
students learn to analyze and argue for how literature engages such issues and exerts such power,
they develop and hone their critical thinking and writing skills. . . . Its thematic anthology gathers
memorable stories, poems, plays, and essays into unique literary clusters addressing issues that
rouse passionate responses in students. At the same time, its comprehensive rhetoric shows
students how to harness those responses into thoughtful arguments about the issues raised by the
clusters and the literature.”
3. Reading Literature and Writing Argument (Pearson) (5th edition)
 Our bookstore’s pricing:
 New: $96.25
 Used: $72.25
 Rental: New/Used: $48.08
Description from Amazon: “Based on the assumption that writing is valued only when it makes
readers think, this anthology combines the content of literature and argument texts into one easy to
use book. Reading Literature and Writing Argument provides students with multi-genre reading
experiences designed to immerse them in critical and creative thinking as they address problems
and issues from multiple perspectives. This book also prompts students to see language as a way to
create meaning in their lives and to see themselves as writers with a purpose and an audience.”
4. Retellings (McGraw-Hill)
 Our bookstore’s pricing:
 New: $111.25
 Used: $83.50
 New Rent: $83.44
 Used Rent: $41.72
Description from Amazon: “This four-genre, thematically-arranged collection groups together
selections that retell the same story or events: three interpretations of Cinderella from Walt Disney,
The Brothers Grimm, and a Chinese folktale, for example, or the myth of Oedipus as told by
Sophocles, Rita Dove, Randall Jarrell, and Sigmund Freud. Retellings includes many frequently
taught works of fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction, as well as visual texts, and offers a
complete introduction to reading, interpreting, and writing about literature.”