This reader, organized by rhetorical patterns, includes selections from the World Wide Web in addition to classic print-based readings and provides pedagogy to help students understand and better utilize a variety of computer- as well as print-based sources in their writing.

Composing Off- and Online is based on the premise that students today are reading Web-based readings as often as print-based, or “offline,” readings. The text helps students learn to apply textual analysis to readings from these different sources, and to take advantage of computers and the World Wide Web in researching, drafting, and revising their work. Introductory chapters on reading and writing processes are followed by nine rhetorical patterns chapters; every chapter includes information on combining these patterns. Themes across the chapters include culture, identity, relationship, politics, nature, and language, and provide rich subject matter for student writing. Genres represented include personal essays, scientific essays, and cultural commentaries, and are drawn from the social and physical sciences as well as the liberal arts.