Book excerpt: Learning to Write/Writing to Learn provides a basic guide to writing as a way of learning, drawing the reader into an expanded notion of what writing is and how it is created. As you read the chapters, the ideas seem at first only a synthesis of masters like Elbow, Emig, Murray, Graves, Britton, and Moffett. But upon closer look, there is more to the book than a litany of already published ideas. Mayher, Lester, and Pradl use their own means of organization to extend the dialogue to present concerns. The book is like a long description of what a good writing class, writing group, or writing institute can be.