This collection of articles is the first attempt by academics and professional writers to delve into the world of content management systems. The knowledge economy's greatest asset and primary problem is information management: finding it, validating it, re-purposing it, keeping it current, and keeping it safe. In the last few years content management software has become as common as word-processing software was five years ago. But unlike word processors, which are designed for single authorization and local storage, content management systems are designed to accommodate large-scale information production, with many authors providing many different pieces of information kept in a web-accessible database, any piece of which might find its way into electronic documents that the author doesn't even know exist. These software systems are complex, to say the least, and their impact on the field of writing will be immense.

"Contrary to the old adage about finding new names for old things, Writing Online: Rhetoric for the Digital Age gives new life and new meaning to old names. The book and its companion website transform ancient rhetoric as a process of oral composition-invention, arrangement, memory, style, and delivery-into a digital rhetoric, a dynamic process of writing for the World Wide Web: dynamic because it shows not only how to write in a Web-based medium but, more importantly, how to learn and adapt to a medium that is constantly evolving and changing. Unlike conventional books that provide specific solutions to specific problems, Writing Online reenacts the process of solving Web-based writing problems, explaining everything from how to create a simple web page to how to develop a sophisticated content management system and everything in between: HTML, HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and much more. As a digital rhetoric, moreover, Writing Online recreates the ancient processes of oral composition for a digital era. Digital invention becomes a push-pull process of transmitting information via searches, alerts, news aggregators, and read-write algorithms. Digital arrangement becomes a question-and-answer process inviting multiple responses via intuitive navigation systems and dynamic patterns of organization. Digital memory transforms the ancient memory palace into a dynamic, programmable content management system. Digital style provides computer-based tools to enhance writers' word choice, argumentative structures, and feedback. Digital delivery resituates speakers and writers in onscreen environments that balance functionality and aesthetics for optimum responsiveness and usability." -James P. Zappen, Professor, Department of Communication and Media, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

This collection of articles is the first attempt by academics and professional writers to delve into the world of content management systems. The knowledge economy's greatest asset and primary problem is information management: finding it, validating it, re-purposing it, keeping it current, and keeping it safe. In the last few years content management software has become as common as word-processing software was five years ago. But unlike word processors, which are designed for single authorization and local storage, content management systems are designed to accommodate large-scale information production, with many authors providing many different pieces of information kept in a web-accessible database, any piece of which might find its way into electronic documents that the author doesn't even know exist. These software systems are complex, to say the least, and their impact on the field of writing will be immense.

"Pullman offers his readers essential insights into how humans reason and make decisions. Both concise and far-reaching, his work teaches us how to challenge intuitive logic and examine the processes for deliberative reasoning. This text will prove foundational for students in their intellectual journey toward the development of real skills in critical thinking. By pointing to simple yet profound examples, Pullman's text is both readable and provocative as it challenges us to consider the very mechanisms by which we understand our own cognitive biases." --Bradley A. Hammer, Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

George Pullman's lively and accessible introduction to the study of persuasion is an ideal text for use in courses where the understanding and practice of argumentation, rhetoric, and critical thinking are central. Continually challenging his readers to seek and recognise sound evidence, to question the obvious, and to assess and reassess the credibility of claims made by others -- including the author's own -- Pullman shows the way to strong writing, effective speaking, and rigorous critical thinking. The book provides: An overview of the traditional canons of rhetoric, along with updated versions for contemporary communication practices; Strategies for honing persuasive skills; Guidelines for creating persuasive arguments and for critically evaluating the arguments of others; A wealth of exercises -- including activities appropriate for group participation -- that can be assigned or used for self-testing and practice; Guidelines for the writing of argumentative papers; A section on decision-making; Selected classical readings on rhetoric and persuasion; A glossary of important terms; Suggestions for further reading.

George Pullman's lively and accessible introduction to the study of persuasion is an ideal text for use in courses where the understanding and practice of argumentation, rhetoric, and critical thinking are central. Continually challenging his readers to seek and recognise sound evidence, to question the obvious, and to assess and reassess the credibility of claims made by others -- including the author's own -- Pullman shows the way to strong writing, effective speaking, and rigorous critical thinking. The book provides: An overview of the traditional canons of rhetoric, along with updated versions for contemporary communication practices; Strategies for honing persuasive skills; Guidelines for creating persuasive arguments and for critically evaluating the arguments of others; A wealth of exercises -- including activities appropriate for group participation -- that can be assigned or used for self-testing and practice; Guidelines for the writing of argumentative papers; A section on decision-making; Selected classical readings on rhetoric and persuasion; A glossary of important terms; Suggestions for further reading.

"Pullman offers his readers essential insights into how humans reason and make decisions. Both concise and far-reaching, his work teaches us how to challenge intuitive logic and examine the processes for deliberative reasoning. This text will prove foundational for students in their intellectual journey toward the development of real skills in critical thinking. By pointing to simple yet profound examples, Pullman's text is both readable and provocative as it challenges us to consider the very mechanisms by which we understand our own cognitive biases." --Bradley A. Hammer, Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Designing Web-Based Applications for 21st Century Writing Classrooms brings together, for the first time, a group of scholars and teachers who have been developing, on their own initiative, web-based solutions to technical and professional writing instructional problems. In industry the perennial question is whether to buy or build, but in academia, for various reasons, buy is rarely an option. Individual faculty members do not have the money to pay for software solutions, and often their interests are too local or small-scale to warrant institutional-level involvement. In addition, the design of commercial applications from vendors typically does not take into account the unique needs and considerations of teachers of writing and often reflects a design ideology quite different from theirs. This is why so many writing teachers have turned to open source solutions and, in the process of learning how to tweak them to make them more responsive to their specific needs, why so many of these teachers have developed programming and design skills. Beyond exigency, the motivation for becoming proficient at interface and database design comes from the observation that the nature of writing is changing dramatically. Text is no longer an object. It has become a place of interaction; consumers are becoming producers. And the work of technical and professional communication, indeed the work of writing teachers more generally, is becoming increasingly involved in the design and implementation of places of interaction. Words have become data; texts are becoming communities.

Designing Web-Based Applications for 21st Century Writing Classrooms brings together, for the first time, a group of scholars and teachers who have been developing, on their own initiative, web-based solutions to technical and professional writing instructional problems. In industry the perennial question is whether to buy or build, but in academia, for various reasons, buy is rarely an option. Individual faculty members do not have the money to pay for software solutions, and often their interests are too local or small-scale to warrant institutional-level involvement. In addition, the design of commercial applications from vendors typically does not take into account the unique needs and considerations of teachers of writing and often reflects a design ideology quite different from theirs. This is why so many writing teachers have turned to open source solutions and, in the process of learning how to tweak them to make them more responsive to their specific needs, why so many of these teachers have developed programming and design skills. Beyond exigency, the motivation for becoming proficient at interface and database design comes from the observation that the nature of writing is changing dramatically. Text is no longer an object. It has become a place of interaction; consumers are becoming producers. And the work of technical and professional communication, indeed the work of writing teachers more generally, is becoming increasingly involved in the design and implementation of places of interaction. Words have become data; texts are becoming communities.