Review of Adler-Kassner & Wardle's
Naming What We Know

by Amber Simpson & Nick Stanovick

Naming Threshold Concepts

Part 1 of Naming What We Know (Adler-Kassner & Wardle, 2015) detailed each of the thirty-seven threshold concepts for writing studies, with explanations written by scholars in the field. Threshold concepts are, by nature, complex and interrelated. Given this, it seems critical to map writing studies' threshold concepts by their relationships to one another, thereby demonstrating the significance of umbrella threshold concepts and those that belong beneath them, as well as the connections between multiple individual threshold concepts.

The map below shows these connections and includes descriptions of each of the threshold concepts in Naming What We Know. The Prezi includes further explanations of each threshold concept and provides attributions for the authors who contributed their descriptions in the book. The structure of the Prezi also allows for focused consideration of each discrete threshold concept.

Note: The Connection Sections within the Prezi indicate which concepts were specifically mentioned as being related to other particular concepts. For example, in Concept 2.1, author Charles Bazerman overtly highlights that aspects of concepts 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 overlap with and help to further explain concept 2.1.