Jean Wyrick is Professor Emerita of English at Colorado State University, where she was Director of Composition for 11 years. She has more than 25 years of experience teaching writing, training writing teachers, and designing writing/writing-across-the-curriculum programs. Her other textbooks include THE RINEHART READER and DISCOVERING IDEAS. She has presented over a hundred workshops and papers on the teaching of writing, American literature, American Studies, and Women's Studies.