The Mad Scientist's Guide to Composition

Unlike some college composition guides the size of phonebooks and about as interesting, The Mad Scientist’s Guide to College Composition seeks to be fun, funny, and a little cheeky. Considering the composition classroom as a ""mad scientist's laboratory,"" this guide introduces different kinds of writing as ""experiments."" “Writing an essay” is a task that can strike fear into a student’s heart, but performing an experiment—that licenses creativity and doesn’t presume that one knows the outcome from the start. This loose theme lends coherence to the approach to composition, while encouraging students to have fun with writing.
- The Mad Scientist’s Guide covers the kinds of writing most often required on college campuses, while also addressing important steps and activities frequently overlooked in composition guides, such as revision and peer reviewing. Actual examples of student writing are included throughout, as are helpful reminders and tips to help students polish their skills. First and foremost, the Mad Scientist’s Guide seeks to make writing fun.

Key features - Counters the anxiety associated with college writing by inviting students to have fun with writing
- Activities and assignments are presented as experiments
- Samples of actual student writing are included as examples
- Covers not only the most frequently assigned types of academic writing, but steps and activities often neglected in other guides, including revision and peer review
- Has an irreverent tone and bold images