To the Student

How to Use This Book

Part 1: Welcome to University!

Chapters 1, 2, and 3 will set you up for success in your university studies, so we encourage you to read these chapters at the beginning of the semester. We hope you will read through Part 1 in its entirety, flagging sections that you might want to return to as you work on your assignments. We encourage you to complete the Discussion and Practice exercises to help you reflect on your academic strengths and identify skills that you can build and improve.

Part 2: The Writing Process

If your post-secondary courses require you to complete written assignments, read Part 2 in its entirety. The writing process that is described in Part 2 is applicable to all academic writing assignments—from writing a paragraph to writing an essay to writing a dissertation. It is also useful for writing tasks outside of school, such as at work and at home. Learn the process successful writers use so that you can become successful too! You’ll likely want to refer to Part 2 each time you tackle a new writing task.

Part 3: Building Paragraphs and Essays

Part 3 reviews the fundamentals of writing effective paragraphs and successful essays. These are building blocks for all post-secondary assignments. This section explains how to choose a workable topic for an assignment, how to construct effective paragraphs, and how to put those paragraphs together to write a successful essay. Even if you think you already know about writing paragraphs and essays, we encourage you to read Part 3 in its entirety. There is always more to learn!

Part 4: Common Writing Assignments

Part 4 introduces writing assignments that you will likely encounter in your courses. If you’re assigned to write an argumentative essay, for example, you can turn to Chapter 17. Remember, though, that there is overlap among essay types. For example, to write an argumentative essay, you might need to summarize the results of a research study using skills introduced in Chapter 15, and you might choose the compare-contrast structure described in Chapter 16. We encourage you to skim Part 4, noting chapters that will be useful to return to when you are working on assignments.

Part 5: Research and Documentation

Most university courses require students to conduct research and integrate it into written assignments. Part 5 describes how to choose good research sources and avoid unsuitable ones. It explains the principles of documenting sources and how to avoid accidentally plagiarizing. It demonstrates how to integrate research into your assignments. Finally, it illustrates how to cite research sources correctly. When the time comes to conduct research, read this section carefully, and return to it each time you write a research paper.

Part 6: Writer’s Handbook

The Writer’s Handbook is designed as a resource you can use to look up specific grammar and punctuation topics, particularly when an instructor points out a recurring error in your writing. Having said that, many students find it helpful to gradually read through the entire handbook, a section or two at a time, to help them understand errors they may not be aware of. Perhaps you’d like to commit to reading a few pages a week throughout the semester. In particular, we encourage you to read Chapter 23: Writing Style in its entirety: the tips for developing an effective writing style can help every writer, from beginner to expert.

Practice Exercises

Throughout the textbook, we will reinforce the fact that writing, like any other skill, requires practice. Practice is the best way to improve your writing skills. Each chapter contains exercises that encourage you to practice the new skills you’re learning. Practice allows you to internalize what you are learning so that you can use those skills again next time. We recommend devoting a notebook to the practice exercises. As you work through them, record your answers in the notebook, and remember to number each one because exercises in subsequent sections may ask you to refer back and build on the work you did earlier.

Answer Key

This section contains answers to the practice exercises and quizzes that appear throughout the textbook. After you complete each exercise, refer to the Answer Key and compare your answers to enhance your learning.

Part I. Welcome to University