"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