Table of Contents

Preface xxii Part 1: Essay Writing 1 Chapter 1 An Introduction to Writing 2 Point and Support 3 Structure of the Traditional Essay 6 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 Specific Evidence 102

Chapter 5 The Fourth Step in Essay Writing 110 Revising Sentences 111 Editing Sentences 130 Practice in Revising Sentences 133

Chapter 6 Four Bases for Revising Essays 144 Base 1: Unity 145 Base 2: Support 148 Base 3: Coherence 152 Base 4: Sentence Skills 155 Practice in Using the Four Bases 159

Part 2: Patterns of Essay Development 173 Chapter 7 Introduction to Essay Development 174 Important Considerations in Essay Development 175 Patterns of Essay Development 180

Chapter 8 Description 182 READING: Lou's Place by Beth Johnson 192

Chapter 9 Narration 203 READING: The Yellow Ribbon by Pete Hamill 214

Chapter 10 Exemplification 222 READING: Dad by Andrew H. Malcolm 233

Chapter 11 Process 242 READING: How to Do Well on a Job Interview by Glenda Davis 251

Chapter 12 Cause and/or Effect 260 READING: Taming the Anger Monster by Anne Davidson 269

Chapter 13 Comparison and/or Contrast 281 READING: Born to Be Different? by Camille Lewis 293

Chapter 14 Definition 304 READING: Television Addiction by Marie Winn 313

Chapter 15 Division-Classification 325 READING: Wait Divisions by Tom Bodett 334

Chapter 16 Argument 343 READING: Ban the Things. Ban Them All. by Molly Ivins 356

Part 3: Special Skills 365 Chapter 17 Taking Essay Exams 366 Chapter 18 Writing a Summary 375 Chapter 19 Writing a Report 387 Chapter 20 Writing a Résumé and Cover Letter 392 Chapter 21 Using the Library and the Internet 399 Using the Library 400 Using the Internet 407 Practice in Using the Library and the Internet 411 Chapter 22 Writing a Research Paper 413 Model Paper 427

Part 4: Handbook of Sentence Skills 439 SECTION 1: Grammar 440 Chapter 23 Subjects and Verbs 441 Chapter 24 Fragments 447 Chapter 25 Run-Ons 460 Chapter 26 Regular and Irregular Verbs 473 Chapter 27 Subject-Verb Agreement 484 Words between Subject and Verb 485 Verb before Subject 485 Compound Subjects 486 Indefinite Pronouns 487 Chapter 28 Additional Information about Verbs 490 Verb Tense 490 Helping Verbs 491 Verbals 492 Chapter 29 Pronoun Agreement and Reference 494 Pronoun Agreement 495 Pronoun Reference 497 Chapter 30 Pronoun Types 500 Subject and Object Pronouns 500 Possessive Pronouns 504 Chapter 31 Adjectives and Adverbs 507 Adjectives 507 Adverbs 509 Chapter 32 Misplaced Modifiers 513 Chapter 33 Dangling Modifiers 517

SECTION 2: Mechanics 522 Chapter 34 Manuscript Form 523 Chapter 35 Capital Letters 526 Main Uses of Capital Letters 526 Other Uses of Capital Letters 529 Unnecessary Use of Capitals 532 Chapter 36 Numbers and Abbreviations 534 Numbers 535 Abbreviations 536

SECTION 3: Punctuation 538 Chapter 37 Apostrophe 539 Apostrophe in Contractions 540 Apostrophe to Show Ownership or Possession 541 Chapter 38 Quotation Marks 546 Chapter 39 Comma 554 Six Main Uses of the Comma 554 Chapter 40 Other Punctuation Marks 564 Colon (:) 564 Semicolon (;) 565 Dash (-) 565 Parentheses () 566 Hyphen (-) 567

SECTION 4: Word Use 569 Chapter 41 Spelling Improvement 570 Chapter 42 Commonly Confused Words 575 Homonyms 575 Other Words Frequently Confused 580 Chapter 43 Effective Word Choice 585 Chapter 44 Editing Tests 592 Chapter 45 ESL Pointers 605 Articles with Count and Noncount Nouns 606 Subjects and Verbs 610 Adjectives 615 Prepositions Used for Time and Place 617 Correction Symbols 620

Part 5: Readings for Writers 621 Introduction to the Readings 622 Looking Inward 627 from Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson 627 Three Passions, Bertrand Russell 632 Shame, Dick Gregory 636 I Became Her Target, Roger Wilkins 643 Stepping into the Light, Tanya Savory 650 A Hanging, George Orwell 658 What Your Closet Reveals About You, Amy Tan 667

Observing Others 674 The Professor Is a Dropout, Beth Johnson 674 The Certainty of Fear, Audra Kendall 684 What’s Wrong with Schools? Teacher Plays Student, Learns to Lie and Cheat, Casey Banas 691 Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising, Ann McClintock 697

Confronting Problems 707 Chief Seattle's Speech of 1854, Chief Seattle 707 Single-Sex Schools: An Old Idea Whose Time Has Come, Diane Urbina 715 Here’s to Your Health, Joan Dunayer 722 Mayor of Rust, Sue Halpern 728 How to Make It in College, Now That You’re Here, Brian O’Keeney 739 College Lectures: Is Anybody Listening?, David Daniels 748 Is Sex All That Matters?, Joyee Garity 755 Reading Comprehension Chart 763 Credits C-1 Index I-1

Instructor’s Guide IG-1 Suggested Approaches and Techniques IG-2 A Model Syllabus IG-14 Suggested Answers to the Discussion Questions in Parts IG-20

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 Library”—a collection of more than 100 new and classic stories that appeal to readers of any age.