""I long ago lost count of the number of instructors who have told me that the Four Bases really work. When you explain the four bases to students and make the bases really clear with a lot of activities, students get it. You can see the light in their eyes." - John Langan."

About the Book: Highly regarded and used by countless students, this effective rhetoric/handbook is ideal for freshman writing courses that focus on the essay. College Writing Skills features the successful Langan approach that focuses on the four essentials of writing: unity, support, coherence, and sentence skills.

About the "Media Edition": This media-enhanced version of John Langan's College Writing Skills improves the link between the text of the fifth edition and the media supplements developed and class-tested to complement the text's pedagogy. Each of the 45 chapters features new icons that let students and instructors know where to find additional exercises, extended explanations, and supplemental resources for the topic at hand.

PART 1: ESSAY WRITING

CHAPTER 1: An Introduction To Writing

Point and Support

Structure of the Traditional Essay

Benefits of Writing the Traditional Essay

Writing as a Skill

Writing as a Process of Discovery

Journal Writing

Word Processing

Final Activities

CHAPTER 2: THE WRITING PROCESS

Prewriting

Writing a First Draft

Revision

Final Activities

CHAPTER 3: THE FIRST AND SECOND STEPS IN ESSAY WRITING

Step 1: Begin with a Point, or Thesis

Step 2: Support the Thesis with Specific Evidence

Practice in Advancing and Supporting a Thesis

CHAPTER 4: THE THIRD AND FOURTH STEPS IN ESSAY WRITING

Step 3: Organize and Connect the Specific Evidence

Introductions, Conclusions, and Titles

Practice in Organizing and connecting Specific Evidence

CHAPTER 5: The Fourth Step In Essay Writing

Revising Sentences

Editing Sentences

Practice in Revising Sentences

CHAPTER 6: The Four Bases For Evaluating Essay Writing

Base 1: Unity

Base 2: Support

Base 3: Coherence

Base 4: Sentence Skills

(and more...)