College Writing Skills with Readings » (8th Edition)

John Langan has taught reading and writing at Atlantic Community College near Atlantic City, New Jersey, for over twenty years. The author of a popular series of college textbooks on both reading and writing, he enjoys the challenge of developing materials that teach skills in an especially clear and lively way. Before teaching, he earned advanced degrees in writing at Rutgers University and in reading at Glassboro State Collee. He also spent a year writing fiction.

This popular student-friendly rhetoric/reader/handbook is designed for writing courses that focus on the essay.College Writing Skills With Readings, 5th Edition, features Langan's clear writing style and wide range of writing assignments and activities that effectively reinforce the four essentials of good writing: Unity, Support, Coherence, and Sentence Skills. The Fifth Edition features expanded coverage of the writing process, new professional essays, new material on using the Internet, and more! The readings have also been updated to include more coverage of currently popular topics.

Readings Listed by Rhetorical Mode xvii
To the Instructor xxi
Part 1: Essay Writing 1

Chapter 1 An Introduction to Writing 2

Point and Support 3

Structure of the Traditional Essay 7

Benefits of Writing the Traditional Essay 11

Writing as a Skill 11

Writing as a Process of Discovery 12

Writing as a Way to Communicate with Others 13

Keeping a Journal 14

Tips on Using a Computer 15

Review Activities 17

Using This Text 20

Chapter 2 The Writing Process 22

Prewriting 23

Writing a First Draft 31

Revising 33

Editing 35

Review Activities 38

Chapter 3 The First and Second Steps in Essay Writing 50

Step 1: Begin with a Point, or Thesis 51

Step 2: Support the Thesis with Specific Evidence 60

Practice in Advancing and Supporting a Thesis 67

Chapter 4 The Third Step in Essay Writing 83

Step 3: Organize and Connect the Specific Evidence 84

Introductions, Conclusions, and Titles 94

Practice in Organizing and Connecting Specifi c Evidence 102

Chapter 5 The Fourth Step in Essay Writing 110

Revising Sentences 111

Editing Sentences 130

Practice in Revising Sentences 133

Chapter6 Four Bases for Revising Essays 146

Base 1: Unity 147

Base 2: Support 150

Base 3: Coherence 154

Base 4: Sentence Skills 157

Practice in Using the Four Bases 161
Part 2: Patterns of Essay Development 175

Chapter 7 Introduction to Essay Development 176

Important Considerations in Essay Development 177

Patterns of Essay Development 182

Chapter 8 Description 184

READING: Lou’s Place Beth Johnson 194

Chapter 9 Narration 209

READING: The Yellow Ribbon Pete Hamill 220

Chapter 10 Exemplifi cation 230

READING: Dad Andrew H. Malcolm 241

Chapter 11 Process 254

READING: How to Do Well on a Job InterviewGlenda Davis 263

Chapter 12 Cause and Effect 276

READING: Taming the Anger MonsterAnne Davidson 286

Chapter13 Comparison or Contrast 300

READING: Born to Be Different? Camille Lewis 311

Chapter 14 Definition 324

READING: Television Addiction Marie Winn 333

Chapter 15 Division-Classifi cation 343

READING: Wait Divisions Tom Bodett 352

Chapter 16 Argument 363

READING: Ban the Things. Ban Them All. Molly Ivins 376
Part 3: Special Skills 385

Chapter 17 Taking Essay Exams 386

Chapter 18 Writing a Summary 395

Chapter 19 Writing a Report 407

Chapter 20 Writing a Résumé and Cover Letter 412

Chapter 21 Using the Library and the Internet 419

Chapter 22 Writing a Research Paper 433
Part 4: Handbook of Sentence Skills 457
SECTION 1: Grammar 458

Chapter 23 Subjects and Verbs 459

Chapter 24 Fragments 465

Chapter 25 Run-Ons 479

Chapter26 Regular and Irregular Verbs 492

Chapter27 Subject-Verb Agreement 502

Chapter 28 Additional Information about Verbs 508

Chapter 29 Pronoun Agreement and Reference 512

Chapter 30 Pronoun Types 518

Chapter 31 Adjectives and Adverbs 525

Chapter 32 Misplaced Modifi ers 531

Chapter 33 Dangling Modifi ers 535
SECTION 2: Mechanics 540

Chapter 34 Manuscript Form 541

Chapter 35 Capital Letters 544

Chapter 36 Numbers and Abbreviations 552
SECTION 3: Punctuation 556

Chapter 37 Apostrophe 557

Chapter 38 Quotation Marks 565

Chapter 39 Comma 573

Chapter40 Other Punctuation Marks 583
SECTION 4: Word Use 588

Chapter41 Spelling Improvement 589

Chapter42 Commonly Confused Words 594

Chapter43 Effective Word Choice 604

Chapter44 Editing Tests 611

Chapter45 ESL Pointers 625

Correction Symbols 639
Part 5: Readings for Writers 641

Introduction to the Readings 642

Looking Inward 647

Three Passions Bertrand Russell 647

Shame Dick Gregory 651

I Became Her Target Roger Wilkins 659

Stepping into the Light Tanya Savory 666

A Hanging George Orwell 675

Observing Others 684

The Professor Is a Dropout Beth Johnson 684

The Certainty of Fear Audra Kendall 694

What’s Wrong with Schools? Teacher Plays Student,

Learns to Lie and Cheat Casey Banas 701

Propaganda Techniques in Today’s AdvertisingAnn McClintock 707

Confronting Problems 716

Single-Sex Schools: An Old Idea Whose Time Has ComeDiane Urbina 716

Here’s to Your Health Joan Dunayer 723

Sleeping Your Way to the Top Sora Song 729

How to Make It in College, Now That You’re HereBrian O’Keeney 734

College Lectures: Is Anybody Listening? David Daniels 744

Seven Ways to Keep the Peace at HomeDaniel A. Sugarman 751

In Praise of the F Word Mary Sherry 762

Is Sex All That Matters? Joyee Garity 768

A Scary Time to Raise a Daughter Steve Lopez 776

Reading Comprehension Chart 782

Instructor’s Guide IG-1

Suggested Approaches and Techniques IG-2

A Model Syllabus IG-15

Suggested Answers to the Discussion

Questions in Part Five IG-21

Diagnostic Tests IG-56

Appendix: A Writer’s Journal (Student edition only) 000

Index 000