Laurie G. Kirszner - Focus on Writing

Text on the cover reads as follows:

Bedford/St. Martins puts writers first.

To the left is a first place model icon.

From day one, our goal has been simple: to provide inspiring resources that are grounded in best practices for teaching reading and writing. For more than 35 years, Bedford slash St. Martins has partnered with the field, listening to teachers, scholars, and students about the support writers need.

Contact your Bedford slash St. Martins sales representative or visit macmillanlearning.com to learn more.

Looking for digital formats?

Innovative digital learning space.

Bedford slash St. Martins suite of digital tools makes it easy to get everyone on the same page by putting student writers at the center. For details, visit Macmillan learning dot com college back slash us back slash English digital.

Popular e-book formats.

For details about our e-book partners, visit Macmillan learning dot com slash ebooks.

Text reads as follows:

The best way to learn how to write is by actually writing, and Focus on Writing, Fifth Edition, will give you all the hands-on practice and instruction you need. In addition, our TEST (Topic sentence or Thesis statement, Evidence, Summary statement, and Transitions) method will help you self-edit all of your writing for unity, support, and coherence. TEST checklists help you master the core elements of effective paragraphs and essays. Checklists are tailored to each pattern of development: exemplification, narration, process, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, description, classification, definition, and argument.

Shown here are the checklists to test argument paragraphs and argument essays.

The screenshot as an example for argument paragraphs has text under the title has the following checklist:

Topic Sentence Unifies Your Paragraph

Checklist 1. Do you have a clearly worded topic sentence that states your paragraphs main idea?

Checklist 2. Does your topic sentence state your position on a debatable issue?

Evidence Supports Your Paragraphs Topic Sentence

Checklist 1. Does all your evidence support your paragraphs main idea?

Checklist 2. Have you included enough facts and examples to support your points, or do you need to add more?

Checklist 3. Do you summarize and refute opposing arguments?

Summary Statement Reinforces Your Paragraphs Unity

Checklist 1. Does your paragraph end with a strong summary statement that reinforces your main idea?

Transitions Add Coherence to Your Paragraph

Checklist 1. Do you use transitions to let readers know when you are moving from one point to another?

Checklist 2. Do you use transitional words and phrases to indicate when you are addressing opposing arguments?

Checklist 3. Do you need to add transitions to make your paragraph clearer and to help readers follow your ideas?

The screenshot as an example for argument essayhas text under the title has the following checklist:

TESTing an argument essay

Thesis Statement Unifies Your Essay

Checklist 1. Does your introduction include a thesis statement that clearly expresses your position on the issue you will discuss? Is this issue debatablethat is, does it really have two sides?

Evidence Supports Your Essays Thesis Statement

Checklist 1. Does all your evidence-facts, examples, and expert opinionsupport your thesis, or should some evidence be deleted?

Checklist 2. Do you have enough evidence to support your points?

Checklist 3. Have you considered whether readers are likely to be hostile toward, neutral toward, or in agreement with your positionand have you chosen your points accordingly?

Checklist 4. Have you presented your evidence in a clear inductive or deductive order?

Summary Statement Reinforces Your Essays Main Idea

Checklist 1. Does your conclusion include a summary statement that reinforces your essays thesis?

Transitions

Checklist 1. Do you include transitions that introduce your points?

Checklist 2. Do you include enough transitional words and phrases to help readers follow the logic of your argument?

Text reads as follows: Focus on Writing, Fifth Edition, offers clear, thorough coverage of college writing, with a chapter design that puts writing first. The Focus on Writing strand in Chapters 2-17 prompts students to write, learn essential concepts as they follow a student model, and apply those concepts to their own writing in a series of manageable steps. The text also empowers students with a unique tool for assessing and revising their work: the easy-to-grasp, easy-to-remember TEST (Topic sentence or Thesis statement, Evidence, Summary statement, and Transitions). A complete three-in-one text, Focus on Writing, Fifth Edition, not only covers the process of writing paragraphs and essays but also includes a grammar guide with exercises and an essay collection.

The official logo of MacMillan Learning Bedford slash St. Martins, and the ISBN number, 978-1-319-20739-7, are at the bottom portion of the cover.

Kathleen E. Bachynski and Daniel S. Goldberg, Facing the Concussion Risks of Youth Football, Philly.com, September 26, 2014. Copyright 2014 by Kathleen E. Bachynski and Daniel S. Goldberg. Reprinted by permission of the authors.

Russell Baker, Slice of Life, New York Times, November 24, 1974. Copyright 1974 The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used under license.

Naomi S.Baron, The Case Against E-Readers, Washington Post, January 12, 2015. Copyright 2015 by Naomi S. Baron. Reprinted by permission of the author.

Judy Brady, I Want a Wife. Copyright 1970 by Judy Brady. Reprinted by permission of the author.

John Carlson, Real Solutions for Curtailing Gun Violence, Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2018. Copyright 2018 by Dow Jones & Company. Republished with permission of Dow Jones & Company; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Ben Carson, Vaccinations Are for the Good of the Nation, National Review, February 11, 2015. Copyright 2015 National Review. Reprinted by permission.

Junot Daz, Watching Spiderman in Santa Domingo, The New Yorker, November 13, 2017. Reprinted by permission of Aragi, Inc. on behalf of the author.

Olivia Goldhill, Should Driverless Cars Kill Their Own Passengers to Dave a Pedestrian? Quartz, November 1, 2015. Copyright 2015 by Quartz. Republished with permission of Quartz; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Tom Hanks, I Owe It All to Community College, New York Times, January 14, 2015, A25, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/opinion/tom-hanks-on-his-two-years-at-chabot-college.html. Copyright 2015 The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.