As critical thinking and coherent argument become even more important in our contemporary world, Arguing about Literature economically combines two first-year writing books in one: a concise guide to reading literature and writing arguments, and a compact thematic anthology of stories, poems, plays, essays, and arguments for inquiry, analysis, and research. The authors of the groundbreaking Making Literature Matter draw connections between contemporary debates and literary analysis, bringing both argument and literature into a contemporary context. Through instruction in close critical reading of texts and well-supported, rhetorically sound argumentative writing, Arguing about Literature prepares students to read, write, and argue effectively. The third edition includes a new chapter on evaluating internet resources and visual arguments in the "post-truth" era, as well as dozens of new works of literature and argumentation.