The College Writer's Reference and Companion Website Access Card (3rd Edition) - Softcover

Fulwiler, Toby; Hayakawa, Alan R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130429236 ISBN 13: 9780130429230

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2001

Synopsis

This compact, portable, no-nonsense, non-threatening reference for writers offers concise--yet thorough--coverage of all writing issues, with material organized around the stages of the writing process. It focuses on issues of style, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics as editing choices writers make in the final stage of the writing process. The book's four-color design, lay-flat spiral binding, and abundant use of writing and hand-edited examples all make information easy to find, use, and understand. The Writing Process (A Writer's Questions; Writing to Discover; Journal Writing; Recounting Experience; Explaining How Things Work; Interpreting Texts; Arguing Positions; The Revision Process; The Editing Process). The Research Process (Conducting Library, Internet, and Field Research; Evaluating Research Sources; Using Research Sources). Document Design (Principles of Design; Constructing Web Pages; Portfolios and Publishing). Editing (words and sentences; punctuation; grammar). Documentation Styles. For anyone who wants to improve their writing skills.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

The third edition of The College Writer's Reference remains portable, accessible, and easy to understand. It continues to explain and illustrate the qualities of good writing as well as the logic behind the traditional conventions of grammar and usage. And it continues to insist that good writing is a mix of inventive composing, judicious revising, and rigorous editing rather than the mechanical following of formulaic prescriptions. At the same time, the new edition features include an expanded discussion of Internet research, evaluating all research sources, updated documentation conventions, fresh samples of student writing, complete information on publishing student writing, and even more clarity and grace throughout.

The basic approach in all editions of The College Writer's Reference is to focus honestly on the needs of undergraduate student writers. Presented is a process approach to the teaching of writing, examining the different but overlapping stages of writing we call planning, drafting, researching, revising, and editing. The book addresses rhetorical issues of audience, purpose, and voice as well as the more technical issues of style, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics, emphasizing the actual choices that writers make rather than arbitrary rules.

We wrote the book to give students a brief, no-nonsense, non-threatening guide to improving their writing abilities. As a practicing composition teacher with 35 years experience, Fulwiler is especially aware that inexperienced writers need to gain confidence in their voices and ideas as much as practice in the technical requirements of good writing. And as a practicing journalist with 25 years of experience, Alan Hayakawa insists on the importance of conventional correctness in writing destined for the real world in which writing is published. For this reason, The College Writer's Reference devotes equal time to the whys (the emphasis on rhetoric) as well as the hows (grammar, spelling, punctuation) of good writing. Students who know why they are doing what they are doing are more likely to slow down and learn how to master it.

Pedagogical Features

As a progressive alternative to traditional brief handbooks, this revised edition of The College Writer's Reference has several important features that will continue to make this book as easy for instructors to teach from as it is for students to use on their own.

Useful organization
The College Writer's Reference offers concise yet thorough coverage of all handbook concerns, uniquely organized according to the logic of the writing process: in the opening section, we urge writers to think about planning and drafting; in the later sections, we ask them to think hard about revision and editing. Traditional topics of style, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics are thus presented as "editing" choices that writers make in the final stage of the writing process. New to this edition is the placement of the editing sections students use most often (punctuation, spelling, conventions) before that used less frequently (grammar and grammar review).

Teachable treatment of the whole writing process
The opening chapters of The College Writer's Reference examine the creative but frustrating messiness of the writing process, offering plenty of ideas and strategies to help writers shape, organize, and give voice to their work. This fully teachable treatment of the writing process discusses inventing, composing, revising, editing, and publishing. Detailed chapters cover four, common purposes for writing—recounting experiences, explaining things, interpreting texts, and arguing positions. And we believe this is the only brief handbook that includes thorough explanations of both journal writing and advanced revision techniques.

This new edition of The College Writer's Reference adds a new part ("Document Design") that includes three new chapters explaining how students can use computers to design their work for stronger visual appeal both electronically and printed.

Emphasis on effectiveness
The editing chapters focus on editing for effectiveness, punctuation, and mechanics as well as grammar and usage—fundamentals that also depend upon the writer's purpose, audience, and situation. Hand-edited examples illustrate at a glance how writers revise and edit, showing proven strategies for focusing loose paragraphs, strengthening weak sentences, and finding the most precise and suitable words. Throughout the editing sections, we update samples from the earlier editions, replacing ones that seemed outdated and providing ones that illustrate concepts and editing choices more clearly. We present an increased emphasis on grammatical and mechanical processes in everyday language rather than the technical language of English grammarians. For example, the discussion of recognizing and fixing fragments is much simpler and uses fewer technical grammatical terms.

Emphasis on conventions, not rules
This edition of The College Writer's Reference continues to explain conventions of standard, written English as ways to facilitate efficient communication, not as arbitrary rules to be memorized and followed by rote. The text spends less time instructing students in grammatical terminology and more time showing students how to identify, analyze, and solve problems that can confuse readers.

Full coverage of electronic research writing and documentation methods
This edition of The College Writer's Reference includes the most up-to-date strategies of using the Internet for research and for documenting Internet sources correctly according to newly revised MLA, APA, and Chicago conventions. New to this edition is an explanation of the "Columbia Guide to Online Style," the only documentation system to focus exclusively on electronic sources. The chapters devoted to research guide writers through the many stages of the whole process, which is viewed here as yet another matter of making choices: from keeping a project log and learning how to find sources (including the proliferation of electronic choices), to conducting field research, to using and documenting sources. These chapters offer strategies for planning, organizing, and writing major research papers.

Also new to the third edition is a full chapter on "Conducting Internet Research" since that mode of research is now the most commonly used (and misused) form of college paper research. Because of the increased reliance on often unreliable electronic sources, we've also added a chapter on "Evaluating Sources" that covers electronic, library, and field sources.

Help for those who speak English as a second language
The College Writer's Reference pays careful attention to the needs of second-language students. Graphically distinct boxes throughout the text provide information on everything from grammar, word idioms, and usage, to the how and why of rhetorical conventions. All of these boxes have been critically reexamined and revised for the third edition.

Unique design that facilitates quick reference
The four-color design of the book helps students locate information quickly, as they can identify the parts of the book, such as "grammar" and "mechanics," with their corresponding color bands. Thus, navigating the text becomes a visual as well as mental activity. The spiral binding allows the book to lie fiat and fold back on itself for ease of use next to a computer.

Customizable tabs
Easy-to-use customizable tabs are included in the front of every new copy of the third edition. Just by writing down whatever topic the user wants to reference, peeling off the sticker, and placing it on the appropriate page, a user can insert a handy tab for speedy access.

SUPPLEMENTS

The following supplements accompany the third edition to aid in teaching and learning:

• Teaching Writing: A Resource for Instructors Using the College Writer's Reference guides instructors on how to help students use the text to full advantage when writing and editing their papers, whether in class or on their own. This handy resource also includes teaching tips for the composition classroom, classroom activities, and writing assignments.
• Editing Activities to Accompany The College Writer's Reference provides opportunities for students to apply and practice the editing strategies discussed in the text. An answer key is also available.
• NEW! A Companion Web site—www.prenhall.com/fulwiler—has been developed specifically for the third edition. A free access code to enter the site is included with every new copy of the text. The following features are included on the site:
• E-book. A complete electronic version of the book is integrated into the site and provides easy access to every topic via a contents search, an index search, a keyword search, and a search by heading number. The E-book is also linked to thousands of interactive exercises.
• Interactive, self-graded exercises. This section of the site includes editing exercises keyed to every chapter of the handbook. These exercises include multiple choice, essay, and fill-in-the-blank exercises.
• Blue Pencil exercises. This popular editing software program has been converted for use on the Web. This section provides contextual paragraph editing exercises in several key areas for grammar and punctuation.
• Diagnostic Tests. There are several before and after tests available for student self-assessment. These comprehensive tests are automatically graded, and the results are broken down for each student by categories listing the student's particular strengths and weaknesses. Students can click on additional exercises to practice the areas where they need additional help.
• Complete writing tutor section...

About this edition

• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0130429236
• ISBN 13: 9780130429230
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 476