To the Student

We have written Good Measures to give you practice in applying the concepts presented in Rules of Thumb: A Guide for Writers. At the foot of each page, we’ve put the corresponding page numbers from Rules of Thumb, 8th ed., so that you can look up the relevant rule.

Good Measures presents two kinds of exercises. Some are drills that offer a quick way to test your understanding. But drills can take you only so far; the real proof of your knowledge comes in actual writing. Therefore, we’ve also included writing activities that require you to apply your knowledge. In some cases, the required writing is very brief - making up single sentences. But often we’ve given longer assignments that we hope will be enjoyable as well as instructive. The drills in Good Measures give you ways to “measure” your learning by testing yourself. The writing activities present “measures” you can take to practice new skills and to grow as a writer.

In addition, you will find a sample research paper in the latest MLA documentation style, written by a freshman at Nassau Community College. We have made necessary changes in format and documentation, but have left other elements of the paper (logic, organization, style, and use of evidence) as written.

To the Instructor

We are eager for your reactions to Good Measures. We would like to know if it meets your needs in the classroom; we also welcome your suggestions for improvements.

Please send any comments on Good Measures - or on Rules of Thumb - to us directly:

Jay Silverman and Diana Roberts Wienbroer
Department of English
Nassau Community College
Garden City, New York 11530-6793