Think About It: Critical Skills for Academic Writing by John Mauk, Jayme Stayer, and Karen Mauk (review)

Think About It: Critical Skills for Academic Writing, is an almost pocket-sized book with excellent and practical insights into academic writing. Divided in three parts, this guide encourages writers—the targeted population being freshman or sophomore college students—to transition from the traditional five-paragraph essay, to a richer, more complex, and critical way to approach college writing.

Each chapter in part one address a specific step in the writing process and provides examples of the step being studied. The examples used throughout each of the chapters are short, and often include excerpts that illustrate and further advance the understanding of a process. Part one is the longest section of this book, and it teaches writers how to “learn the moves” of academic writing. With chapters that teach the writer how to seek complexity, apply a concept, justify a position, assess thinking, etc., part one offers plenty of opportunities to discuss, practice and build a critical essay.

The book uses accessible language with clear, descriptive and relatable examples that are easy to follow, while at the same time challenges writers to exercise the skills discussed in each section. Although each chapter has a guided exercise section that pushes students to think, talk and write about the topic, it leaves room for instructors to design exercises that apply more directly to the subject. Additionally, some of the chapters include information—in reference boxes in blue—that support and aid the writer in remembering how to cite, paraphrase, summarize, etc. These blue boxes, sprinkled throughout part one, offer concise explanations of basic mechanics and techniques every writer needs to remember.

Part two, titled, “Read the moves,” offers longer and full-length essays designed to show the intellectual moves described in part one. In this section, the reference boxes direct the reader to look at each paragraph of the essay the author uses to examine specific processes from part one. For example, in Steve Krause’s essay, the writers point out that Krause, “denies the usual association between technology and new” in paragraph 3, “unpacks literacy, a broad term, and explains three of its traits” in paragraph 6-7, and “makes connections between Lindstrom’s and Socrates fears of technology” in paragraph 9 (194). This step-by-step approach to reading the moves from part one, serves as a model for the student’s own writing. Part three, titled, “Apply the moves,” provides writers with outlines for building their own essays, along three categories. These categories are: explanatory and descriptive projects, analytical projects, argumentative projects, and reflective projects. Each of the categories directs the writer to clarify a term or concept, explain things in their own words or draw from a vital source, for example. These outlines are helpful and flexible enough for writers to adapt to their own projects.

This book should not be merely a reference manual or a “recommended” book on a student’s syllabi. Because of the step-by-step approach to helping the writer achieve a well-organized, structured and critical essay, it merits being used along with other main texts. It does not include a chapter on mechanics, grammar or spelling, so instructors might need to include additional exercises or offer a list of common mistakes and how to avoid them.