Synopses & Reviews
For the past twenty years, THE WRITER'S WORKPLACE has served the needs of half a million two-year and four-year students as they have worked their way toward rewarding careers in many fields. John Scarry and Sandra Scarry present writing instruction in a clear and manageable form, with step-by-step explanations to help build and maintain students' confidence in their writing. The result of many years of classroom teaching and research, this comprehensive and time-tested resource reflects the authors' understanding that every student is unique, with different backgrounds and interests that must be accounted for as they engage in the writing process. In addition, this new edition offers instructors the opportunity to customize their own version of the book by including or excluding any sections that they do or do not teach in their course-making this a text that reflects not only the students' needs and experiences, but their instructor's as well.
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"A teacher has little need to go 'outside' the text to augment instruction."
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"…this is the best text for developmental students. It provides the material that they need to become better writers with better grammar skills….it covers all that the students need and is in an order that is appropriate."
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"The Writer's Workplace is a user-friendly text that has a favorable format for developmental or curriculum students. The layout of the text is awesome and very beneficial to the students. We have been using it for two years and will continue to use it for semesters to come."
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"The text book provides a comprehensive selection of options for a variety of pedagogical approaches to teaching writing. There isn't a better pound of paper you can place in a writing student's hand other than blank sheets for original work."
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"The text does an excellent job on the topics presented....The text is very well written and enables me to approach introductory writing and grammar review quite adequately. I also feel the readings are timely and introduce students to the interaction of reading and writing."
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"I have described this text as thorough and detailed with excellent exercises and reading selections that all students can enjoy….The number of exercises for the students, the paragraph topics, and the critical thinking questions are probably the three greatest strengths for me, but it is hard to name only three."
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"…this book is organized well and it provides a strong overview of the writing process and the progression of sentences to essays."
Synopsis
Presented in a clear and visually appealing fashion, THE WRITER'S WORKPLACE breaks down difficult writing concepts into easy to read, step-by-step explanations. All elements of writing, from grammar through the writing process, are covered in this text, making it the most comprehensive yet most engaging book on the market for the beginning writing student.
About the Author
Sandra Scarry is the former Academic Coordinator of the COPE program (College Opportunity to Prepare for Employment) at The City University of New York. She came to that position after many years of classroom teaching in English and ESOL. She has published numerous textbooks in the areas of grammar and writing.John Scarry holds a Ph.D. from New York University and is the senior professor in the English Department of Hostos Community College, The City University of New York. He has been publishing writing textbooks for thirty years and his scholarly articles have appeared in many journals here and abroad.
Table of Contents
Part 1: AN INVITATION TO WRITING. 1. Gathering Ideas for Writing. 2. Recognizing the Elements of Good Writing. Part 2: CREATING EFFECTIVE SENTENCES. 3. Finding Subjects and Verbs in Simple Sentences. 4. Making Subjects and Verbs Agree. 5. Understanding Fragments and Phrases. 6. Combining Sentences Using Three Options for Coordination. 7. Combining Sentences Using Subordination. 8. Correcting Fragments and Run-Ons. 9. Choosing Correct Pronouns. 10. Working with Adjectives, Adverbs, and Parallel Structure. 11. Practicing Irregular Verbs. 12. Mastering Verb Tenses. 13. Using Correct Capitalization and Punctuation. Part 3: UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF WORDS. 14. Choosing Words that Work. 15. Paying Attention to Look-Alikes and Sound-Alikes. Part 4: CREATING EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS. 16. Working with Paragraphs: Topic Sentences and Controlling Ideas. 17. Working with Paragraphs: Supporting Details. 18. Developing Paragraphs: Illustration. 19. Developing Paragraphs: Narration. 20. Developing Paragraphs: Description. 21. Developing Paragraphs: Process Analysis. 22. Developing Paragraphs: Comparison/Contrast. 23. Developing Paragraphs: Cause and Effect. 24. Developing Paragraphs: Definition and Classification. Part 5: STRUCTURING THE COLLEGE ESSAY. 25. Moving from the Paragraph to the Essay. 26. Following the Progress of a Student Essay. 27. Writing an Essay Using Examples, Illustrations, or Anecdotes. *Professional Essay: "Darkness at Noon" by Harold Krents. 28. Writing an Essay Using Narration. *Professional Essay: "Salvation" by Langston Hughes. 29. Writing an Essay Using Process Analysis. Professional Essay: "How to Ace a Job Interview" by Richard Koonce. 30. Writing an Essay Using Comparison/Contrast. *Professional Essay: "The Ugly Truth About Beauty" by Dave Barry. 31. Writing an Essay Using Persuasion. *Professional Essay: "It's Time We Helped Patients Die" by Dr. Howard Caplan. Professional Essay: "Censorship or Common Sense?" by Roxana Robinson. 32. Other College Writing: The Research Paper and the Essay Exam. Part 6. FURTHER READINGS FOR THE COLLEGE WRITER. Strategies for the Active Reader. Summer Reading, Michael Dorris. My Daughter Smokes, Alice Walker. The Paterson Public Library, Judith Ortiz-Cofer. A Day at the Theme Park, W. Bruce Cameron. Unforgettable Miss Bessie, Carl T. Rowan. My Heroes, Elizabeth Berg. America's Gambling Craze, James Popkin with Katia Hetter. On Writing, Stephen King. How to Mark a Book, Mortimer Adler. Neat People vs. Sloppy People, Suzanne Britt. Dream Houses, Tenaya Darlington. Why Marriages Fail, Anne Roiphe. Requiem for the Champ, June Jordan. I'm a Banana and Proud of It, Wayson Choy. The Ways of Meeting Opression, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Changing American Family, Alvin and Heidi Toffler. No Comprendo, Barbara Mujica. Why Don't These Women Just Leave? Elaine Weiss. Should Women Go into Combat? Catherine L. Aspy. Where Have All the Fathers Gone? Chicago Tribune Editorial. APPENDICES: A. Reference Guide for the ESOL Student. B. Parts of Speech. C. Irregular Verbs. D. Spelling. E. Transitions. Answer Key to Practices and Selected Exercises. Credits. Index.