PDF Wordsmith A Guide to Paragraphs and Short Essays 7e

Wordsmith A Guide to Paragraphs and Short Essays 7e
560 pages

The main points of the file include:

I. General Information:

• Title and Author: Wordsmith: A Guide to Paragraphs and Short Essays, Seventh Edition by Pamela Arlov of Middle Georgia State University.
• Publisher/Copyright: Published by Pearson, copyrighted 2019.
• Goal: To provide a simple, straightforward, and easy-to-use guide to writing paragraphs and short essays, emphasizing clarity and creativity while adhering to rules of grammar and form.
• Organization: The book is structured into three parts:
  • Part 1: Composition (Chapters 1–11)
  • Part 2: Grammar (Chapters 12–28)
  • Part 3: Readings (Essays by professional writers)

II. Updates to the Seventh Edition:

• Part 1 (Composition): Includes new exercises, images, assignments, model paragraphs, a new essay ("Surrender at Appomattox" by Ulysses S. Grant), and an updated Chapter 11 on Writing Summary Reports (including the latest MLA updates and a section on incorporating quotations).
• Part 2 (Grammar): Features new questions, exercises, "Grammar Alert!" boxes, and chapter openers. It includes additional paragraph-style editing exercises in key areas (Subject-Verb Agreement, Coordination and Subordination, Run-on Sentences, Sentence Fragments, Pronoun Case, and Pronoun Agreement). Explanations and examples have been streamlined.
• Part 3 (Readings): Added four new readings: "Warning: This Is a Rights-Free Workplace" by Barbara Ehrenreich, "Crossing Invisible Lines" by Eugenia Vela, and "Two Ways of Seeing a River" by Mark Twain (in addition to the Grant essay).

III. Part 1: Composition Summary (Chapters 1-4 Preview):

• Chapter 1: The Writing Process: Introduces the five-step writing process: Prewriting, Planning, Drafting, Revising, and Proofreading. It emphasizes that the process is repetitive and flexible, not strictly sequential. It also offers alternative strategies for "Right-Brained Writers."
• Chapter 2: Preparing to Write: Focuses on the prewriting stage, which is described as a "safety zone" to generate ideas and prevent writer's block. It introduces various Prewriting Methods: Brainstorming, Freewriting, Invisible Writing (a computer technique), Clustering, Outlining, and Journal Writing.
• Chapter 3: Writing Paragraphs: Direction: Introduces the first characteristic of an effective paragraph: Direction. This is achieved through a Topic Sentence that states the main idea. Topic sentences must be specific enough to fit the paragraph—neither too broad nor too narrow—and are typically placed at the beginning or after an introductory sentence.
• Chapter 4: Writing Paragraphs: Support: Defines the second characteristic of an effective paragraph: Support. It stresses the importance of using Specific Detail (examples and evidence) to give the paragraph "life" and convince the reader, contrasting them with general topic sentences.