English Skills with Readings, 7th Edition

Abstract

English Skills with Readings will help students learn and apply the basic principles of effective composition. It will also help them master essential reading skills. It is a nuts-and-bolts book based on a number of assumptions or beliefs about the writing process: • First of all, English Skills with Readings assumes that four principles in particular are keys to effective writing: unity, support, coherence, and sentence skills. These four principles are highlighted on the inside back cover and reinforced throughout the book. Part One focuses on the first three principles and to some extent on sentence skills; Part Five serves as a concise handbook of sentence skills. The four principles are applied in different types of paragraph development (Part Two) and in several-paragraph essays (Part Three). Part Four discusses research skills. Part Six presents seventeen reading selections. The ongoing success of English Skills with Readings is evidence that the four principles are easily grasped, remembered, and followed by students. • The book also reflects a belief that, in addition to these four principles, there are other important factors in writing effectively. The second chapter discusses prewriting, rewriting, and editing. Besides encouraging students to see writing as a process, the chapter asks students to examine their attitude toward writing, to write on what they know about or can learn about, to consider keeping a writing journal, and to make outlining a part of the writing process