Grassroots with Readings : The Writer's Workbook

by Fawcett, Susan

• ISBN13: 9780618508532
• ISBN10: 0618508538
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Heinle

Summary

A long-standing bestseller,Grassrootsremains the preeminent worktext for developmental writers. With its excellent writing instruction, well-crafted and paced exercises, and engaging writing activities,Grassrootshas taught several generations of students how to write correct sentences and effective paragraphs. The new 4-color Eighth Edition is completely updated, with mixed-error proofreading practice; more critical thinking; practices with topics of interest to students such as Wyclef Jean, online dating, Habitat for Humanity, and job-search techniques; a revised first chapter that concentrates on writing as a job-skill; more humor; new instructor tips; and new online technology.Grassrootsalso comes with WriteSpace, an online writing program and course management system, which motivates students with carefully developed writing modules and exercises, innovative writing assignments, and online tutoring. New!A four-color design and additional color images--all arising from the book's content--enhance the pedagogical goals ofGrassroots.The photos, ads, cartoons and paintings were chosen to engage students and prompt them to pause, think more deeply, and connect with a passage they have just read. For example, a photo of Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall lets students see why the adjacent paragraph claims his buildings are unique. Other images include a giant Galapagos tortoise, Tony Hawk in flight, a public service ad from Adbusters, Butterfly Hill in the redwood she saved, Aaron McGruder and hisBoondockscharacters, Lady Cowdiva from the Cow Parade, a painting by Carmen Lomos Garza, and many more. New!Chapter 30, "Putting Your Proofreading Skills to Work," provides a number of high-interest paragraphs and essays for proofreading, each containing a random mix of errors. This chapter works well for grammar review, proofreading practice, or assessment. New!A focus on critical thinking means a bit less first-person narrative, and more third-person models and assignments. Provocative practice content and humor, linked web activities, photographs, and more collaborative thinking and writing assignments all foster college-level thinking skills. New!Updated high-interest models and practices keep students interested as they practice grammar skills, promoting cultural literacy, sparking discussion, and modeling good writing and rhetorical modes. Topics new to this edition include activist rapper Wyclef Jean, tornado chasers, Latina crossover stars, police artist Jeanne Boylan, advertising in high schools, rude cell phone users, job-search techniques, Habitat for Humanity, Surgeon General Richard Carmona, surfer Lisa Anderson, robotics genius Dean Kamen, online dating, and gratitude research. Chapter 1 has been revised to focus on writing as a job skill, and is now more engaging for students, with an advertisement to analyze and more emphasis on writing and success. New!Exploring Onlinefeatures throughout the text provide links to online resources for further study, practice, or discovery. For example, one or more top OWL (online writing lab) sites conclude every chapter. In addition, Web sites follow selected practices and readings, on topics like Television Turnoff Week, goal setting, Barbie and body image, and the paintings of Jacob Lawrence. Unit 9 has been extensively updated with nine contemporary readings on a broad range of topics, based on suggestions from instructors and students. New are Rutgers University student Lauren Mehler's suggestions on choosing a career path, Dave Barry on SUVs, Ana Veciana Suarez on lottery dreams and work, Julia Alvarez on learning English, Leonard Pitts on the dark side of the Internet, Jack Riemer on an unforgettable concert, Norman Lobsenz on the value of childhood memories, and Firoozeh Dumas on her family&a

Table of Contents

Chapters 6–12 also include a Writing Assignment and a Chapter Review

–8 include Unit Writing Assignments and a Unit Review

Writing Forceful Paragraphs

Exploring the Writing Process

The Writing Process

Subject, Audience, and Purpose

Guidelines for Submitting Written Work

Prewriting to Generate Ideas

Freewriting

Brainstorming

Clustering

Keeping a Journal

Developing Effective Paragraphs

Defining the Paragraph and the Topic Sentence

Narrowing the Topic and Writing the Topic Sentence

Generating Ideas for the Body of the Paragraph

Selecting and Dropping Ideas

Arranging Ideas in a Plan or an Outline

Writing and Revising the Paragraph

Writing the Final Draft

Improving Your Paragraphs

More Work on Support: Examples

More Work on Arranging Ideas: Coherence

More Work on Revising: Exact and Concise Language

Turning Assignments into Paragraphs

Moving from Paragraph to Essay

Defining the Essay and the Thesis Statement

The Process of Writing an Essay Writers' Workshop: Discuss Your Name

Writing Complete Sentences

Subjects and Verbs

Defining and Spotting Subjects

Spotting Singular and Plural Subjects

Spotting Prepositional Phrases

Defining and Spotting Action Verbs

Defining and Spotting Linking Verbs

Spotting Verbs of More Than One Word

Avoiding Sentence Fragments

Writing Sentences with Subjects and Verbs

Writing Sentences with Complete Verbs

Completing the Thought Writers' Workshop: Discuss an Event That Influenced You

Using Verbs Effectively

Present Tense (Agreement)

Defining Agreement

Troublesome Verb in the Present Tense: TO BE

Troublesome Verb in the Present Tense: TO HAVE

Troublesome Verb in the Present Tense: TO DO (+ NOT)

Changing Subjects to Pronouns

Practice in Agreement

Special Problems in Agreement

Past Tense

Regular Verbs in the Past Tense

Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

Troublesome Verb in the Past Tense: TO BE

Review

The Past Participle in Action

Defining the Past Participle

Past Participles of Regular Verbs

Past Participles of Irregular Verbs

Using the Present Perfect Tense

Using the Past Perfect Tense

Using the Passive Voice

Using Past Participles as Adjectives

Progressive Tenses (TO BE + -ING Verb Form)

Defining and Writing the Present Progressive Tense

Defining and Writing the Past Progressive Tense

Using the Progressive Tenses

Avoiding Incomplete Progressives

Fixed-Form Helping Verbs and Verb Problems

Defining and Spotting the Fixed-Form Helping Verbs

Using the Fixed-Form Helping Verbs

Using CAN and COULD

Using WILL and WOULD

Writing Infinitives

Revising Double Negatives Writers' Workshop: Tell a Lively Story

Joining Ideas Together

Coordination

Subordination

Defining and Using Subordinating Conjunctions

Punctuating Subordinating Conjunctions

Avoiding Run-Ons and Comma Splices

Semicolons and Conjunctive Adverbs

Defining and Using Semicolons

Defining and Using Conjunctive Adverbs

Punctuating Conjunctive Adverbs

Relative Pronouns

Defining and Using Relative Pronouns

Punctuating Ideas Introduced by WHO, WHICH, or THAT

-ING Modifiers

Using -ING Modifiers

Avoiding Confusing Modifiers Writers' Workshop: Describe a Detour off the Main Highway

Choosing the Right Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Adverb, or Preposition

Nouns

Defining Singular and Plural

Signal Words: Singular and Plural

Signal Words with OF

Pronouns

Defining Pronouns and Antecedents

Referring to Indefinite Pronouns

Referring to Collective Nouns

Referring to Special Singular Constructions

Avoiding Vague and Repetitious Pronouns

Using Pronouns as Subjects, Objects, and Possessives

Choosing the Correct Case after AND or OR

Choosing the Correct Case in Comparisons

Using Pronouns with -SELF and ûSELVES

Adjectives and Adverbs

Defining and Writing Adjectives and Adverbs

A Troublesome Pair: GOOD/WELL

Writing Comparatives

Writing Superlatives

Troublesome Comparatives and Superlatives

Demonstrative Adjectives: THIS/THAT and THESE/THOSE

Prepositions

Defining and Working with Prepositional Phrases

Troublesome Prepositions: IN, ON, and LIKE

Prepositions in Common Expressions Writers' Workshop: Tell How Someone Changed Your Life

Revising for Consistency and Parallelism

Consistent Tense

Consistent Person

Parallelism

Writing Parallel Constructions

Using Parallelism for Special Effects Writers' Workshop: Shift Your Audience and Purpose

Mastering Mechanics

Capitalization

Commas

Commas after Items in a Series

Commas after Introductory Phrases

Commas for Direct Address

Commas to Set Off Appositives

Commas for Parenthetical Expressions

Commas for Dates

Commas for Addresses

Commas for Coordination and Subordination

Apostrophes

Using the Apostrophe for Contractions

Defining the Possessive

Using the Apostrophe to Show Possession (in Words That Do Not Already End in -S)

Using the Apostrophe to Show Possession (in Words That Already End in -S)

Direct and Indirect Quotations

Defining Direct and Indirect Quotations

Punctuating Simple Direct Quotations

Punctuating Split Quotations

Ending Direct Quotations

Putting Your Proofreading Skills to Work Writers' Workshop: Explain a Cause or an Effect

Improving Your Spelling

Spelling

Suggestions for Improving Your Spelling

Computer Spell Checkers

Spotting Vowels and Consonants

Doubling the Final Consonant (in Words of One Syllable)

Doubling the Final Consonant (in Words of More Than One Syllable)

Dropping or Keeping the Final E

Dropping or Keeping the Final Y

Choosing IE or EI

Commonly Misspelled Words

Look-Alikes/Sound-Alikes Writers' Workshop: Examine Positive (or Negative) Values

Reading Selections and Quotation Bank Reading Selections

Effective Reading: Strategies for the Writer

Needed: Teaching Peace Literacy by Numbers

For Career Insight Try Talking to Neighbors

Playing a Violin with Three Strings

One Man's Kids

Another Road Hog with Too Much

You Can Take This Job and. . .Well, It Might Surprise You

A Homemade Education

Barbie at 35

Papa, the Teacher

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