Combining streamlined, nuts-and-bolts writing instruction with accessibility and visual appeal, The College Writer helps visual learners and less-prepared students master the writing process. The text features step-indexing and color-coding that allow students to thumb directly to a topic, and checklists and summary boxes that make it easy to refer back to previously covered material. In addition, thorough coverage of drafting, writing, revising, and proofreading includes sample paragraphs and visuals that walk students through the process of identifying a topic and writing a paper. The Second Edition offers 20 additional professional readings, new information on stylistic choices, and enhanced coverage of incorporating visual elements into the writing process. Market leading technology support--including The College Writer CD for students, online professional readings, and the WriteSpace online writing program--help make teaching and learning writing more dynamic.

Randall VanderMey (PhD, University of Iowa; MFA, Iowa Writers' Workshop; MA, University of Pennsylvania) is a full professor of English at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, where he teaches composition, creative writing, theory, British literature, and world literature. He also has taught at Iowa State University, Dordt College, and the University of Iowa.Verne Meyer (PhD, University of Minnesota) has taught English for 25 years, most recently at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. He is considered an authority on writing across the curriculum and on workplace writing.John Van Rys (PhD, Dalhousie University; MA/BA, University of Western Ontario) previously taught at Dordt College and now teaches at Redeemer University College in Ontario, Canada. After earning his undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Western Ontario, he completed his doctoral work in Canadian literature at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.Pat Sebranek, (MA, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater) editorial director of Write Source, has taught English, speech, and multimedia for 16 years at the high school level and has studied the work of Nancie Atwell and other contemporary educators.

Each chapter contains an Intro, an Overview, Guidelines, and Writing Checklist/Activities. I. A Rhetoric: College Student's Guide to Writing Reading, Thinking, Viewing, and Writing 1. Critical Thinking Through Reading, Viewing, and Writing The Writing Process 2. Beginning the Writing Process 3. Planning 4. Drafting 5. Revising 6. Editing and Proofreading 7. Submitting, Writing, and Creating Portfolios The College Essay 8. One Writer's Process II. A Reader: Strategies and Models Writing Across the Curriculum 9. Forms of College Writing Narrative, Descriptive, and Reflective Writing 10. Narration and Description "Mzee Owitti" by Jacqui Nyangi Owitti "That Morning on the Prairie" by James C. Schaap "A Hanging" by George Orwell "Sunday in the Park" by Bel Kaufman "Northing" by Annie Dillard 11. Description and Reflection "The Stream in the Ravine" by Nicole Suurdt "Call Me Crazy But I Have to Be Myself" by Mary Seymour "None of This Is Fair" by Richard Rodriguez "Who Shot Johnny?" by Debra Dickerson Analytical Writing 12. Cause and Effect "Adrenaline Junkies" by Sarah Hanley "The Legacy of Generation N" by Christy Haubegger "Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids" by Anna Quindlen 13. Comparison and Contrast "A Fear Born of Sorrow" by Anita Brinkman "Two Views of the River" by Mark Twain "Shrouded in Contradiction" by Gelareh Asayesh "Like Mexicans" by Gary Soto 14. Classification "Three Family Cancers" by Kim Brouwer "Four Ways to Talk About Literature" by John Van Rys "No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch" by Ann Hodgman 15. Process Writing "Wayward Cells" by Kerri Mertz "Downloading Photographs from the MC-150 Digital Camera" (from WFB) "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow" by Verne Meyer "Campus Racism 101" by Nikki Giovonni 16. Definition "The Gullible Family" by Mary Beth Bruins "Understanding Dementia" by Sarah Anne Morelos "Deft or Daft" by David Schelhaas On Excellence by Cynthia Ozick Persuasive Writing 17. Strategies for Argumentation and Persuasion 18. Taking a Position "An Apology for Ms. Barbie D. Doll" by Rita Isakson "In Defense of the Animals" by Meg Greenfield "Apostles of Hatred Find It Easy to Spread Their Message" by Leonard Pitts Jr. "Pornography" by Margaret Atwood "Demystifying Multiculturalism" by Linda Chavez 19. Persuading Readers to Act "To Drill or Not to Drill" by Rebecca Pasok "Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time" by Paul Rogat Loeb "I Have a Dream" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "The Media's Image of Arabs" by Jack G. Shaheen 20. Proposing a Solution "Preparing for Agroterror" by Brian Ley "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha" by Anna Quindlen "The Media and the Ethics of Cloning" by Leigh Turner Report Writing 21. Observation Report "The Beach" by Laura Apol "Scab!" by Randall VanderMey "Communication Styles" by Deborah Tannen 22. Interview Report "The Dead Business" by Benjamin Meyer 23. Lab, Experiment, and Field Report "Working with Hydrochloric Acid" by Coby Williams "The Effects of Temperature and Inhibitors on the Fermentation Process for Ethanol" by Andrea Pizano Special Forms of Writing 24. Writing About Literature and the Arts "'Good Country People': Broken Body, Broken Soul," by Anya Terekhina "Brooding on 'The Darkling Thrush'" by David Koza "Sigur Ros Agaetis Byrjun" by Annie Moore "Wonder of Wonders: The Lord of the Rings" by Jennifer Berkompas 25. Taking Essay Tests 26. Writing for the Workplace 27. Writing and Designing for the Web 28. Preparing Oral Presentations III. Research and Writing Research and Writing 29. Getting Started: From Planning Research to Evaluating Sources 30. Conducting Primary and Library Research 31. Conducting Research on the Internet 32. Drafting a Paper with Documented Research Documentation and Format Styles 33. MLA Documentation Format 34. APA Documentation Format IV. Handbook Punctuation, Mechanics, Usage, and Grammar 35. Marking Punctuation 36. Checking Mechanics 37. Using the Right Word 38. Understanding Grammar Sentence Issues 39. Constructing Sentences 40. Avoiding Sentence Errors Addressing Multilingual/ESL Issues 41. Multilingual and ESL Guidelines