PART ONE: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITING 1. An Introduction to Writing 2. The Writing Process 3. The First and Second Steps in Writing Step 1: Begin with a Point Step 2: Support the Point with Specific Evidence, Practice in Making and Supporting a Point4. The Third Step in Writing Step 3: Organize and Connect the Specific Evidence, Practice in Organizing and Connecting Specific Evidence5. The Fourth Step in Writing Step 4: Write Clear, Error-Free Sentences Revising Sentences Editing Sentences Practice in Revising Sentences6.Four Bases for Revising Writing Base 1: Unity Base 2: Support Base 3: Coherence Base 4: Sentence Skills Practice in Using the Four BasesPART TWO: PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT 7. Introduction to Paragraph Development 8. Providing Examples 9. Explaining a Process 10. Examining Cause and Effect 11. Comparing or Contrasting 12. Defining a Term 13. Dividing and Classifying 14. Describing a Scene or Person 15. Narrating an Event 16. Arguing a Position17. Additional Paragraph AssignmentsPART THREE: ESSAY DEVELOPMENT 18. Writing the Essay What Is an Essay? Important Points about the Essay Essays to Consider Planning the Essay Writing an Exam Essay Essay Writing AssignmentsPART FOUR: RESEARCH SKILLS 19. A Quick Guide to ResearchPART FIVE: HANDBOOK OF SENTENCE SKILLS
Grammar
20. Subjects and Verbs 21. Sentence Sense 22. Fragments 23. Run-Ons 24. Standard English Verbs 25. Irregular Verbs 26. Subject-Verb Agreement 27. Pronoun Agreement and Reference 28. Pronoun Types 29. Adjectives and Adverbs 30. Misplaced Modifiers 31. Dangling Modifiers
Mechanics
32. Paper Format 33. Capital Letters 34. Numbers and Abbreviations
Punctuation
35. Apostrophe 36. Quotation Marks 37. Comma 38. Other Punctuation Marks
Word Use
39. Using the Dictionary 40. Improving Spelling 41. Vocabulary Development 42. Commonly Confused Words 43. Effective Word Choice 44. ESL Pointers
Practice
45. Combined Mastery Tests 46. Editing TestsSentence-Skills Achievement Test PART SIX: SEVENTEEN READING SELECTIONS
Introduction to the Readings
Goals and Values
“All the Good Things” by Sister Helen Mrosla “Rowing the Bus” by Paul Logan “The Scholarship Jacket” by Marta Salinas “Joe Davis: A Cool Man” by Beth Johnson “Tickets to Nowhere” by Andy Rooney “What Good Families Are Doing Right” by Delores Curran
Education and Self-Improvement
“Do It Better!” by Ben Carson, M.D. with Cecil Murphey “Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name” by James Lincoln Collier “Old Before Her Time” by Katherine Barrett “Let's Really Reform Our Schools” by Anita Garland “How They Get You to Do That” by Janny Scott “Dealing with Feelings” by Rudolph F. Verderber
Human Groups and Society
“The Most Hateful Words” by Amy Tan “The Storyteller” by H. H. Munro (Saki) “Rudeness at the Movies” by Bill Wine “Bullies in School” by Kathleen Berger “People Need People” by S. Leonard Syme “A Drunken Ride, a Tragic Aftermath” by Theresa Conroy and Christine M. Johnson Appendix: Answers and Charts | 
2006 McGraw-Hill Higher Education