Foundations First guides students through the process of writing sentences and paragraphs with simple explanations, appealing visuals, and student-friendly examples. Kirszner and Mandell's compelling approach lets students practice grammar in the context of their own writing and helps prepare them for success in college composition and beyond. Treating students with respect -- a hallmark of the Kirszner and Mandell approach -- the book also addresses study skills, ESL concerns, vocabulary development, and critical reading, providing beginning writers with all the support they need to master the essentials of good writing. The fourth edition gives students even more help transitioning into college, with new coverage on communicating in college and new tips for college success. Read the preface.

Foundations First combines engaging readings, concise yet thorough instruction, student-friendly examples, and practical exercises to get your students writing sentences and paragraphs immediately. While recognizing and respecting students’ abilities, best-selling authors and veteran college writing instructors Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell break down the steps necessary to excel in college writing, tackling ESL concerns, vocabulary development, critical thinking and reading skills, and the essentials of grammar. The authors believe that students learn to write best when they use their own writing as a starting point. Each chapter starts with a visual writing prompt that students respond to right away. As students move through the book, their skills are reinforced by samples of exemplary writing, recursive writing process instruction, and practice exercises. Students are also encouraged to return to their own writing throughout the process as they learn the value of editing and revising. This new edition incorporates user feedback with the inclusion of TEST, the Kirszner-Mandell model emphasizing the significance of the topic sentence, evidence, summary statement, and transitions in student writing. Foundations First has been redesigned with a clean, bright, and clear layout. This edition can be packaged with LaunchPad Solo for Foundations First, which includes LearningCurve, the adaptive online quizzing program with immediate feedback that 95% of students surveyed recommended to their peers. Additional online multiple-choice grammar exercises offer even more practice on the grammar concepts students find most challenging.

Foundations First guides students through the process of writing sentences and paragraphs with simple explanations, appealing visuals, and student-friendly examples. Kirszner and Mandell's compelling approach lets students practice grammar in the context of their own writing and helps prepare them for success in college composition and beyond. Treating students with respect -- a hallmark of the Kirszner and Mandell approach -- the book also addresses study skills, ESL concerns, vocabulary development, and critical reading, providing beginning writers with all the support they need to master the essentials of good writing. The fourth edition gives students even more help transitioning into college, with new coverage on communicating in college and new tips for college success. Read the preface.

Best-selling authors and veteran college writing instructors Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell believe that students learn to write best when they use their own writing as a starting point. In Writing First with Readings: Practice in Context, designed for the paragraph to essay course, Kirszner and Mandell take seriously the ideas and expressive abilities of developmental students, as well as their need to learn the rules of writing and grammar. Visual writing prompts that open every chapter get students writing immediately. By moving frequently between their own writing, writing models and instruction, and workbook-style mastery exercises, students get constant reinforcement of the skills they are learning. Thoughtful chapters on college success, research, and critical reading, along with high-interest essays, round out the text, making it the perfect introduction to college writing. Read the preface.