Wordsmith (4th ed )

The Wordsmith series is the value-priced option that students will appreciate while mastering key writing and grammar skills.

PamArlovwrote atextbook series that counters many of the objectionsstudents had about textbooks, such as:

Students find textbooks dry and tedious. Arlov includes thought-provoking chapter openers, plenty of visuals, and a conversational, engaging writing style that students really respond to.

Students find textbooks irrelevant to their lives. Arlov's coverage of the rhetorical modes is realistic and models real-life writing. She includes "Real Writing" examples in the modes chapters to make Wordsmith relevant to students' lives.

Students become frustrated if the entire text is not used in class. Wordsmith is 100 pages briefer than similar texts on the market and an affordable option. This more concise approach also does not overwhelm students with too much information. Wordsmith provides students with just the right balance of instruction and practice.

PART I: Composition

1. The Writing Process

2. Preparing to Write

3. Building a Framework: Thesis and Organization

4. Introducing the Essay

5. Developing Body Paragraphs

6. Concluding the Essay

7. Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting

8. Showing and Telling: Description, Narration, and Example

9. Limiting and Ordering Definition, Classification, and Process

10. Examining Logical Connections: Comparison-Contrast, Cause-Effect, and Argument

11. Writing a Summary

12. Writing a Research Paper

PART II: Grammar

13. Verbs and Subjects

14. Subject-Verb Agreement

15. Coordination and Subordination

16. Run-on Sentences

17. Sentence Fragments

18. Pronoun Case

19. Pronoun Agreement, Reference, and Point of View

20. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

21. Parallel Structure

22. Verb Shifts

23. Sentences with Style

24. Commas

25. Other Punctuation

26. Word Choice

27. Words Commonly Confused

28. Capital Letters

29. Apostrophes

30. Quotation Marks, Underlining, and Italics

Part III: Readings

Two Ways of Seeing a River, Mark Twain

Growing Up Bilingual, Sara Gonzalez

The Game of My Life, Jeff Obafemi Carr

When Words Get in the Way, Athlone G. Clarke

Letting in Light, Patricia Raybon

Coping with Procrastination, Roberta Moore, Barbara Baker, and Arnold H. Packer

Migraine Blues, Candace Dyer

The Right to Die, Norman Cousins

The Brutal Business of Boxing, John Head

Date Rape: Exposing Dangerous Myths, John J. Macionis

Education Unplugged, Floyd Allen