Table of Contents

To the InstructorPART ONE: Basic Principles of Effective Writing Chapter 1: An Introduction to Writing Understanding Point and Support An Overview: How the Book is Organized Benefits of Paragraph Writing Writing as a Skill Writing as a Process of Discovery Keeping a Journal Using This Text Chapter 2: The Writing Process COnsidering Purpose and AudiencePrewriting Writing a First Draft Revising Editing Review Activities Chapter 3: The First and Second Steps in Writing Step 1: Begin With a Point Step 2: Support the Point with Specific Evidence Reinforcing Point and Support The Importance of Specific Details
The Importance of Adequate Details
Practice in Making and Supporting a PointChapter 4: The Third Step in Writing Step 3: Organize and Connect the Specific Evidence Practice in Organizing and Connecting Specific Evidence Chapter 5: The Fourth Step in Writing Step 4: Write Clear, Error-Free Sentences Revising Sentences Editing Sentences Practice in Revising Sentences Chapter 6: Four Bases for Revising Writing Base 1: Unity Base 2: Support Base 3: Coherence Base 4: Sentence Skills Practice in Using the Four Bases PART TWO: Paragraph Development Chapter 7: Introduction to Paragraph Development Nine Patterns of Paragraph Development Important Considerations in Paragraph Development Using a Computer Using Peer Review Doing a Personal Review Chapter 8: Exemplification Chapter 9: Process Chapter 10: Cause and Effect Chapter 11: Comparison and ContrastChapter 12: Definition Chapter 13: Division and Classification Chapter 14: Description Chapter 15: NarrationChapter 16: Argument Chapter 17: Additional Paragraph Assignments PART THREE: Essay DevelopmentChapter 18: Writing the Essay What Is an Essay? Important Points About the Essay Essays to Consider Planning the Essay Practice in Writing the EssayEssay Writing Assignments PART FOUR: Research SkillsChapter 19: Using the Library and the InternetChapter 20: Writing a Research PaperPART FIVE: Handbook of Sentence Skills Preview Sentence-Skills Diagnostic Test Section I: GRAMMAR Chapter 21: Subjects and Verbs Chapter 22: Sentence Sense Chapter 23: Fragments Chapter 24: Run-Ons Chapter 25: Standard English Verbs Chapter 26: Irregular Verbs Chapter 27: Subject-Verb Agreement Chapter 28: Pronoun Agreement and Reference Chapter 29: Pronoun Types Chapter 30: Adjectives and Adverbs Chapter 31: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Section II: MECHANICS3Chapter 32: Paper Format Chapter 33: Capital Letters Chapter 34: Numbers and Abbreviations Section III: PUNCTUATION Chapter 35: Apostrophe Chapter 36: Quotation Marks Chapter 37: Comma Chapter 38: Other Punctuation Marks Section IV: WORD USE Chapter 39: Using the Dictionary Chapter 40: Improving Spelling Chapter 41: Vocabulary Development Chapter 42: Commonly Confused Words Chapter 43: Effective Word Choice Chapter 44: ESL PointersSection V: PRACTICE Chapter 45: Combined Mastery Tests Chapter 46: Editing Tests Sentence-Skills Achievement Test Reading Comprehension ChartAppendix: Answers and Charts PreviewAnswers to Sentence Skills Diagnostic Test and Introductory Projects Charts Acknowledgments Index

About the Author

John Langan has taught reading and writing at Atlantic Cape Community College for more than 25 years. The author of a popular series of college textbooks on both writing and reading, John enjoys the challenge of developing instructive materials that are clear and lively. Before teaching, he earned advanced degrees in writing at Rutgers University and in reading at Rowan University. He also spent a year writing fiction that is now at the back of a drawer waiting to be discovered and acclaimed posthumously. While in school, he supported himself by working as a truck driver, a machinist, a battery assembler, a hospital attendant, and an apple packer. In addition to his wife and Philly sports teams, his passions include reading and conveying to nonreaders the pleasure and power of books. Through Townsend Press, his educational publishing company, he has developed the nonprofit Townsend Librarya collection of more than 100 new and classic stories that appeal to readers of any age.