Course Match

Wordsmith: Essentials of College English

BASIC APPROACH

(Note: This textbook was published by our college division for use by students at post-secondary institutions whose writing skills are below the level needed to succeed in college English. Please review this text carefully to ensure appropriateness of content for your students.)

Direct, conversational, and student-friendly, this text is broader in scope than most sentence level books, and contains clear explanations supported by numerous examples and exercises. It focuses on paragraphs, includes no rhetorical modes, and has chapters on writing e-mail messages and making oral presentations. A three-part flexible format mixes and matches writing chapters, grammar chapters, and a selection of ten readings.

FEATURES

• Lighthearted chapter openings.
  • Encourages students with a positive and playful approach to learning.
• A sample student paragraph—Presented in all drafts and stages along with a transcript of a students' writing group's discussion of the work in progress.
• "For Right-Brained Writers" section.
  • Offers students tips fro students who tend to think in terms of "the whole" rather than in terms of a step-by-step process.
• Clear and logical process approach—Presents the steps in the writing process in the order in which writers use them, with consecutive chapters on prewriting, writing the paragraph, revising, and proofreading.
  • Walks students through the writing process in a simple, logical, and supportive fashion.
• Systematic, step-by-step, easy to follow presentation of grammar—With numerous exercises for practice and review. Also integrates text boxes ("Real-World Writing," "Illogical English," "Grammar Alert!," and "Punctuation Pointers") for added help and interest.
  • Explains grammatical concepts in a clear, logical, and user-friendly manner, and gives students plenty of opportunity to master their newly acquired skills.
• High-interest readings—Provides ten readings that highlight a variety of interesting topics and methods of writing; all come with reading comprehension questions and writing assignments.
  • Helps to reinforce reading skills and serves as a springboard for discussions and assignments; reading comprehension questions help students understand both the content and the writer's techniques.

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