Textbooks play a key role in a student’s educational experience. The different elements that a textbook possess may heavily effect the students’ grasp on the literary content. Analyzing the selection, diversity, and depth of a textbook’s content can help deem if the book can serve as a beneficial tool to aid a student’s education. While various sources can help a student learn, literary textbooks can serve as a great tool and enhancement to the education of students when the textbook provides diversity in selections, authors, and assessment tools. At first glance of World Literature: An Anthology of Great Short Stories, Drama, and Poetry, the tan cover with bleak text seems to be quite dated. However, the size of the entire books seems to …show more content…
There are authors from all over the world, and also from various time periods. Having authors from Sophocles, to Hans Christian Anderson, to Langston Hughes, and everywhere in-between helps provide the students with diversity in perspective. Students can learn and experience what life is like in a different culture or ethnic background; helping them gain appreciation and empathy for others. Including seventy-seven authors from different time periods and countries is an aspect that other textbooks may not have, but can widen one’s perspective; making it useful to have in a …show more content…
While some of the proceeding questions may ask about personification, allusion, tone, etc, there is not a provided definition or explanation of the terms. Instead, students will have to count on previous knowledge, the vague glossary in the back of the text, or outside sources to gain this information. Including a small explanation and example of literary terms throughout the book would be an addition that could be made in order to help the students. Also, the images provided are actual photographs, but are in black and white. The given color scheme can make some of the images more difficult to see, as well as continuing the bleak scheme of the book. A few colored images may provide some entertainment and clarity to students as they read the related