A new, more open design: To help students make better use of the extensive support that it provides for writing paragraphs and essays, A Writer's Resource will be completely redesigned, with a larger typeface, more white space on each page, and a pleasing second color.

Online support for writing and research, powered by Catalyst: The Online Learning Center for A Writer's Workshop includes exercises and activities, along with support for online research. The next edition will offer resources from Catalyst, McGraw-Hill's powerful online resource for student writers, including over 3000 grammar exercises, writing tutors for the different patterns of organization, a tutorial on how to avoid plagiarism, and more.

Visual assignments at the end of each assignment chapter: Each assignment chapter in Units Two and Three will include one visual assignment for students to respond to, along with four other alternate assignments.

A new appendix on writing research papers: Appendix A is a step-by-step guide to writing a brief source-based paper. It includes guidelines for quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing information from sources, avoiding plagiarism, and citing sources using MLA style, along with a model student paper in MLA style.

Helpful hints and cautions in the margin: These marginal “hints” and “cautions” reinforce the instruction in the text by emphasizing key points that students need to pay attention to.

Plenty of Guidance on the Writing Process:A Writer's Workshop helps students improve their writing with careful attention to the writer's process and a sustained emphasis on revision.

An Abundance of Student Models: Every assignment chapter offers 2 to 3 student samples with extensive, focused apparatus, in addition to an annotated student sample in 4 drafts.

Balance of Paragraph and Essay Coverage:A Writer's Workshop moves students from paragraph-level work into serious exploration of the essay: 60% of the material refines paragraph-level skills and 40% focuses on essay-level writing.

An Aims-Based Approach:A Writer’s Workshop provides the greatest number of opportunities for student writing of any basic writing text. The exercises – individual and group activities, journal prompts, and writing assignments – are all firmly grounded in the aims and purposes that inspire writing.

New reading selections in Unit Six: Three of the reading selections in Part Six are new: “Friends, Good Friends, and Such Good Friends” by Judith Viorst, “The Fine Art of Complaining” by Caroline Rego, and “They Gotta Keep It: People Who Save Everything” by Lynda W. Warren and Jonnae C. Ostrom.