The Informed Citizen is about interacting in communities that reach from the classroom to cyberspace to explore today's issues and develop informed opinions, effective arguments, and polished writing. The text is founded on classical rhetoric, the schema that seems most accessible to students. Fundamental, also, are the ideas that English class does not have to be dull; that everyone has something to say; that argument permeates discourse; that building skills is not only imprtant but also exciting; and that thinking is the most important tool for writing, relating, living, and contributing.