Book Description
In this three-book series, Brandon follows the traditional framework of instruction while broadening the scope of topics to include personal, cross-curricular, and career-related issues. Designed specifically for community colleges and business programs, the diverse range of topics and assignments in Writing Connections helps students of varying backgrounds, ages, and majors recognize how strong writing skills can allow them to achieve both their academic and professional goals.
Brandon focuses on helping students find common denominators and patterns across all key forms of writing—from narration, analysis by division, process analysis, cause and effect, and comparison and contrast to persuasion. Students practice each form and learn to apply what they learn to personal, cross-curricular, and workplace writing. After covering the principles of comparison and contrast, students can write an analysis of cross-cultural issues that arise as a result of being a part of a mixed-race family, evaluate different architectural styles for an art history class, or assess how individual managers approach crises at work. Extensive student examples illustrate all stages of the writing process and serve as good models on which students can pattern their own work.
- The series covers sentence-level writing, from grammar and mechanics to rhetoric, as well as paragraph-level, essay-level, report, proposal, technical, and summary (including the two-part response) writing.
- "Microtheme practice" exercises focus on sentence-level writing and mechanics. Students write briefly on a key topic and then revise their work after completing end-of-chapter exercises, demonstrating their mastery of the content.
- In keeping with a cross-curricular emphasis, Brandon reviews basic study skills—including how to underline, annotate, and create an outline—and test-taking strategies that students can immediately apply in their other classes.
- A Writing Process Worksheet provides students with clear, step-by-step guidelines on the complete writing process and also offers instructors a record of each student's work. In addition, a Self-Evaluation Chart promotes independent learning and helps students take responsibility for their progress.
- The readings cover traditional selections as well as excerpts from textbooks and vocational manuals.
- A unit dedicated exclusively to career topics includes details on how to conduct an Internet search for resources on different vocations, as well as advice on writing résumés and letters of application.
