Synopses & Reviews
John Langan's best-selling sentence-level worktext returns in a new edition highlighting the essential grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and usage skills needed for clear, college-level writing.
About the Author
John Langan has taught reading and writing at Atlantic Cape Community College near Atlantic City, New Jersey, for over twenty-five years. The author of a popular series of college textbooks on both writing and reading, John enjoys the challenge of developing materials that teach skills in an especially clear and lively way. Before teaching, he earned advanced degrees in writing at Rutgers University and in reading at Rowan University. He also spent a year writing fiction that, he says, "is now at the back of a drawer waiting to be discovered and acclaimed posthumously." While in school, he supported himself by working as a truck driver, a machinist, a battery assembler, a hospital attendant, and an apple packer. John now lives with his wife, Judith Nadell, near Philadelphia. In addition to his wife and Philly sports teams, his passions include reading and turning on nonreaders to the pleasure and power of books. Through Townsend Press, his educational publishing company, he has developed the nonprofit "Townsend Library"--a collection more than thirty new and classic stories that appeal to readers of any age.
Table of Contents
PART ONE: EFFECTIVE WRITING CHAPTER ONE: Learning Sentence Skills Why Learn Sentence Skills? Your Attitude about Writing How This Book is Organized How to Use This Book CHAPTER TWO: A Brief Guide to Effective Writing What Isa Paragraph? The Goals of Effective Writing Activities in the Goals of Effective Writing CHAPTER THREE: The Writing Process Steps in the Writing Process Activities in the Writing Process Ten Writing Assignments
PART TWO: SENTENCE SKILLS Section 1: Grammar CHAPTER FOUR: Subjects and Verbs CHAPTER FIVE: Fragments CHAPTER SIX: Run-Ons CHAPTER SEVEN: Sentence Variety I Section 2: Verbs, Pronouns, and Agreement CHAPTER 8: Standard English Verbs CHAPTER 9: Irregular Verbs CHAPTER 10: Subject-Verb Agreement CHAPTER 11: Consistent Verb Tense CHAPTER 12: Additional Information about Verbs CHAPTER 13: Pronoun Reference, Agreement, and Point of View CHAPTER 14: Pronoun Types Section 3: Modifiers and Parallelism CHAPTER 15: Adjectives and Adverbs CHAPTER 16: Misplaced Modifier CHAPTER 17: Dangling Modifiers CHAPTER 18: Faulty Parallelism CHAPTER 19: Sentence Variety II Section 4: Punctuation and Mechanics CHAPTER 20: Paper Format CHAPTER 21: Capital Letters CHAPTER 22: Numbers and Abbreviations CHAPTER 23: End Marks CHAPTER 24: Apostrophe CHAPTER 25: Quotation Marks CHAPTER 26: Comma CHAPTER 27: Other Punctuation Marks Section 5: Word Use CHAPTER 28: Dictionary Use CHAPTER 29: Spelling Improvement CHAPTER 30: Omitted Words and Letters CHAPTER 31: Commonly Confused Words CHAPTER 32: Effective Word Choice PART THREE: REINFORCEMENT OF SENTENCE SKILLS Combined Mastery Tests Fragments and Run-Ons Verbs Pronouns Faulty Modifiers and Parallelism Capital Letters and Punctuation Word Use Editing and Proofreading Tests Test 1: Fragments Test 2: Fragments Test 3: Run-Ons (Fused Sentences) Test 4: Run-Ons (Comma Splices) Test 5: Standard English Verbs Test 6: Irregular Verbs Test 7: Faulty Parallelism Test 8: Capital Letters Test 9: Apostrophes Test 10: Quotation Marks Test 11: Commas Test 12: Commonly Confused Words Combined Editing Tests PART 4: REINFORCEMENT OF THE SKILLS Introduction to the Readings A Change of Attitude Grant Berry Do It Better! Ben Carson, M.D., with Cecil Murphey Lost Years, Found Dreams Regina Ruiz Papa Leo Buscaglia Let's Get Specific Beth Johnson All the Good Things Sister Helen Mrosla Responsibility M. Scott Peck The Most Hateful Words Amy Tan My Daughter Smokes Alice Walker Wonder in the Air, Jeff Gammage The Warrior Within, Dawn Cogliser Appendixes Appendix A: How a Computer Can Help Appendix B: Parts of Speech Appendix C: ESL Pointers Appendix D: Sentence-Skills Diagnostic Test Appendix E: Sentence-Skills Achievement Test Appendix F: Ansswers to Introductory Activities and Practice Exercises in Part Two Index Corrections Symbols