If you do not have a copy, contact the Bedford rep for your area. For Jackson and above, that's Tricia Jones, TJones@bfwpub.com. For the rest of the State, it's LeMetrious Firvin, LFirvin@bfwpub.com. If you have a problem reaching them, contact Laura Hammons, General Editor--LDHammons@hindscc.edu.

 Background on For Our Students

For years, conference discussions consistently turned to English 1123—Comp II. Though research is taught in the first semester in several colleges, most community and junior colleges in Mississippi dedicate second semester, Comp II, to research-based writing.

Few of us were happy with either the cost of the Comp II textbooks or with their quality. We complained about the endless padded material and found the sections on documentation insufficient. During every conference, we heard the same loud complaints about textbooks for Comp II.

We were all supplementing the textbook with handouts and web exercises, but we needed to centralize this information. Of particular interest were the MLA chapters in the textbooks. They were never sufficient.

In For Our Students, we have worked to provide copious overall information and relevant MLA information for MAGNOLIA databases. We have also included a chapter on APA because a number of two-year college instructors now teach APA style. Of particular interest for most is web-based research, and we have a very fine chapter, “The Net-Savvy Researcher,” that should help teachers and students immensely.

For Our Students was published in August of 2008 by Bedford/St. Martin’s Press. Prior to its publication, five community colleges agreed to use it.

About the folks who wrote the book:

The General Editor, Laura Hammons (Hinds Raymond), led the Charter Committee, the guiding force for this textbook. For eighteen months, this group gave up their weekends to drive to Raymond. They sat in Cain-Cochran Hall on Friday nights, ate breakfast on Saturday morning at Laura’s kitchen table, and went back to the empty building for Saturday meetings. They charted the course for this textbook.

Each member of the Charter Committee contributed immensely. All either wrote or edited, and some did a lot of both. They took on last-minute projects without panic or serious hesitation. Working together was an unusually harmonious experience for the entire group.

Critical to the success and the quality of the textbook was Beverly Fatherree of Hinds Raymond; her expertise as an editor shines on every single page.

A Little Bit About Cost . . .

Everyone volunteered to work on this textbook, and no one received a dime. All profits from the publisher are earmarked for professional development.

Every possible human effort has been expended to keep the cost of this textbook low. We cannot, however, control the price charged to the students. The publisher and the college bookstores have that responsibility.

We have tried to balance cost and quality. You may not like all of our decisions, but you must know that this book was a gargantuan effort. Even before it was published, it was the object of a fair amount of sniping by people who had never read a word of text. Soreheads exist everywhere.

For Our Students is written by Mississippians for our students. Its appeal will go beyond our borders—it already has—but it is a home-grown product made by teachers from the piney woods, the beaches, and the flatlands.

The newest edition of the textbook, For Our Students, Expanded Edition, is currently available!