Book excerpt: For courses in English Composition, Argumentative Writing, and Introduction to Literature. Strategies for Reading and Arguing about Literature brings together the often divergent studies of argumentation and literature. This textbook teaches the art of academic argumentation through a focus on classic and contemporary literature. Using this book, students will learn, practice and master critical reading strategies, critical writing and research strategies, the essentials of academic argumentation, and basic literary theory as it relates to the development of an argument. Concurrently, students will explore and appreciate a variety of literature ranging from the classical to the contemporary in a variety of genres and critical analyses of literary works.