College Writing Skills with Readings: Text, Student CD, Users Guide, and Online Learning Center powered by Catalyst

Highly regarded and used by countless students, this effective rhetoric/handbook/reader is ideal for writing courses that focus on the essay. The sixth edition features Langans renowned clear writing style and a wide range of writing assignments and activities that reinforce the four essentials of good writing: unity, support, coherence, and sentence skills. College Writing Skills with Readings comes packaged with a free student CD-ROM, a free registration card for access to the Online Learning Center, and a free users guide to help students gain the maximum benefit from the text and electronic materials.

?I long ago lost count of the number of instructors who have told me that the four bases really work. When you explain the four bases to students and make the bases really clear with a lot of activities, students get it.? ? John Langan.


Key features


Full Color: The eye-catching new full-color design highlights key information for students, helping them make connections and find information easily.
Visuals: One assignment in each of the patterns chapters is illustrated with a photograph, which is especially appealing for visual learners. In addition, photographs of the authors are now included for most of the readings in Part Five.
Research: Expanded coverage of Internet research includes guidelines for using Google and for evaluating websites.
Avoiding Plagiarism: Chapter 22 now offers A Caution about Plagiarism (in John Langans inimitably honest and practical style), including an activity that asks students to identify acceptable and unacceptable paraphrases.
Purpose and Audience: A new section in Chapter 1, new sections on purpose and audience in the introduction to each of the nine patterns, and special writing assignments titled Writing for a Specific Audience and Purpose reinforce the focus on addressing particular writing situations.
New Readings: Five of the 30 readings included are new to this edition: Taming the Anger Monster, by Anne Davidson; Born to Be Different? by Camille Lewis; Three Passions, by Bertrand Russell; A Legendary Moment, by Haven Kimmel; and The Professor Is a Dropout, by Beth Johnson.
Thesis Statements: Chapter 3 offers expanded coverage of common mistakes, with more examples of effective and ineffective thesis statements and four new practice activities.
Integrated Media Support: Icons in the margins of the text let students and instructors know when more help is available in AllWrite! 2.1 (grammar support software available separately), on the Online Learning Center, on the student CD-ROM packaged free with the text, or in the new Virtual Workbook.
Student CD-ROM and Online Learning Center: The College Writing Skills CD-ROM, packaged free with every copy of the sixth edition, offers interactive exercises; hundreds of diagnostic test items; writing prompts with textboxes for inputting and emailing copy; and visuals such as PowerPoint presentations and video clips. The Online Learning Center offers this material on the Internet.
AllWrite! 2.1: Available separately or in a package with the text, AllWrite! 2.1 offers more than 3,000 exercises for additional practice in basic grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, and techniques for effective writing.
College Writing Skills Virtual Workbook: The virtual workbook offers brand-new activities that reinforce the skills that students learn in Part Four of College Writing Skills. This new online supplement is supported by a powerful array of Web-based instructor's tools, including an online gradebook and assessment, analysis, and classroom management tools.
Track Record: Across the three levels of basic writing (sentence, paragraph, and essay) over 2,000,000 students, 11,300 instructors, and 3,125 colleges and universities have succeeded with John Langans approach.
The Four Bases: The essence of John Langans approach is the focus on these four cornerstones that form the foundation of all good writing: Unity: seeing the whole as the sum of its parts; Support: the importance of evidence in writing; Coherence: the fundamentals of organization and transition; and Sentence Skills: the basic elements of the craft of writing. Each of the four bases serves as a goal for students as they plan, undertake, and revise their work.
Reading Selections: The 30 concise reading selections included offer models of good writing as well as material for critique.
Outstanding Ancillaries: The texts ancillary package includes an Online Learning Center, Instructor's Annotated Edition, and Student and Instructor CD-ROMs.
The Langan Support Hotline: 1-800-MCGRAWH (800-624-7294) or langan@mcgraw-hill.com. Staffed from 8:00 to 4:30 pm CST, the Langan line offers expert answers to text queries and concerns, updates on the Langan Series, technology advice and support, and more.


Table of contents


PART ONE: ESSAY WRITING
(*Indicates New Reading)
CHAPTER 1: An Introduction to Writing
Point and Support
Structure of the Traditional Essay
Benefits of Writing the Traditional Essay
Writing as a Skill
Writing as a Process of Discovery
Writing as a Way to Communicate with Others
Keeping a Journal
Using a Computer
Review Activities
Using This Text
CHAPTER 2: The Writing Process
Prewriting
Writing a First Draft
Revision
Editing
Review Activities
CHAPTER 3: The First and Second Steps in Essay Writing
Step 1: Begin with a Point, or Thesis
Step 2: Support the Thesis with Specific Evidence
Practice in Advancing and Supporting a Thesis
CHAPTER 4: The Third Step in Essay Writing
Step3: Organize and Connect the Specific Evidence
Introductions, Conclusions, and Titles
Practice in Organizing and Connecting Specific Evidence
CHAPTER 5: The Fourth Step in Essay Writing
Revising Sentences
Editing Sentences
Practice in Revising Sentences
CHAPTER 6: Four Bases for Revising Essays
Base 1: Unity
Base 2: Support
Base 3: Coherence
Base 4: Sentence Skills
Practice in Using the Four Bases
PART TWO: PATTERNS OF ESSAY DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 7: Introduction To Essay Development
CHAPTER 8:
Reading: Lous Place, Beth Johnson
CHAPTER 9: Narration
Reading: The Yellow Ribbon, Pete Hamill
CHAPTER 10: Examples
Reading: Dad, Andrew H. Malcolm
CHAPTER 11: Process
Reading: How to Do Well On A Job Interview, Glenda Davis
CHAPTER 12: Cause and Effect
*Reading: Taming the Anger Monster, Anne Davidson
CHAPTER 13: Comparison and Contrast
*Reading: Born to Be Different?, Camille Lewis
CHAPTER 14: Definition
Reading: Television Addiction, Marie Winn
CHAPTER 15: Division and Classification
Reading: Wait Divisions, Tom Bodett
CHAPTER 16: Argumentation
Reading: Ban The Things. Ban Them All., Molly Ivins
PART THREE: SPECIAL SKILLS
CHAPTER 17: Taking Essay Exams
CHAPTER 18: Writing a Summary
CHAPTER 19: Writing a Report
CHAPTER 20: Writing a Resume and Job Application Letter
CHAPTER 21: Using the Library and the Internet
CHAPTER 22: Writing a Research Paper
PART FOUR: HANDBOOK OF SENTENCE SKILLS
GRAMMAR
CHAPTER 23: Subjects and Verbs
CHAPTER 24: Fragments
CHAPTER 25: Run-ons
CHAPTER 26: Regular and Irregular Verbs
CHAPTER 27: Subject-Verb Agreement
CHAPTER 28: Additional Information about Verbs
CHAPTER 29: Pronoun Agreement and Reference
CHAPTER 30: Pronoun Types
CHAPTER 31: Adjectives and Adverbs
CHAPTER 32: Misplaced Modifiers
CHAPTER 33: Dangling Modifiers
MECHANICS
CHAPTER 34: Manuscript Form
CHAPTER 35: Capital Letters
CHAPTER 36: Numbers and Abbreviations
PUNCTUATION
CHAPTER 37: Apostrophe
CHAPTER 38: Quotation Marks
CHAPTER 39: Comma
CHAPTER 40: Other Punctuation Marks
WORD USE
CHAPTER 41: Spelling Improvement
CHAPTER 42: Commonly Confused Words
CHAPTER 43: Effective Word Choice
CHAPTER 44: Editing Tests
CHAPTER 45: ESL Pointers
PART FIVE: READINGS FOR WRITING
Introduction to The Readings
Looking Inward
*Three Passions, Bertrand Russell
Thank You, Alex Haley
Shame, Dick Gregory
I Became Her Target, Roger Wilkins
Smash Thy Neighbor, John McMurtry
A Hanging, George Orwell
In My Day, Russell Baker
Observing Others
*A Legendary Moment, Haven Kimmel
*The Professor Is a Dropout, Beth Johnson
The Monster, Deems Taylor
Why Are Students Turned Off?, Casey Banas
Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising, Ann McClintock
Confronting Problems
Bombs Bursting in Air, Beth Johnson
Heres To Your Health, Joan Dunayer
How to Make It In College, Now That Youre Here, Brian OKeeney
College Lectures: Is Anybody Listening?, David Daniels
Seven Ways to Keep The Peace at Home, Daniel A. Sugarman
In Praise of the F Word, Mary Sherry
Is Sex all That Matters?, Joyce Garity
READING COMPREHENSION CHART