Brief writer's handbook with activities: pp. 217-248.

Takes a step-by-step approach that centers on the essential processes and organizational strategies of teaching students how to effectively transition from paragraphs to essays.

The Second Edition ofGreat Sentences for Great Paragraphsteaches beginning- and low-intermediate-level students the grammar needed for accurate sentence construction and the basics of paragraph development. The text uses sample paragraphs to provide students with authentic input regarding English composition, paragraph organization, and cohesion. In addition, contextualized grammar activities, suggestions for additional writing practice, journal-writing assignments, and an emphasis on peer editing all work together to help students develop academic writing skills. TheWord Buildingfeature offers practice with common suffixes and helps students develop a rich vocabulary. Building Better Sentencesencourages students to practice constructing and combining sentences—the cornerstones of good paragraph writing. Many guided writing activities are supported by additional online material and provide independent practice of targeted structures. Activities with additional web-based content are indicated by icons in the text. Quizzes on the instructor web site help you assess student progress.

"[In this book] basic writing skills are built by focusing on the elements of a good sentence within the context of a paragraph..."--Back cover.

Uses clear explanations and extensive practical activities to help students write great sentences, paragraphs, and essays. This book takes a step-by-step approach that centers on the essential processes and organizational strategies of teaching students how to effectively transition from paragraphs to essays.

#1 New York Times bestseller “An epic and a legend” —Washington Post “Quite simply, an American masterpiece.” —Boston Globe “The dialogue in True Grit is exquisite.” —David Mamet “Charles Portis had a wonderful talent—original, quirky, exciting.” —Larry McMurtry Charles Portis has long been acclaimed as one of America’s most enduring and incomparable literary voices, and his novels have left an indelible mark on the American canon. True Grit, his most famous novel, was first published in 1968, and has garnered critical acclaim as well as enthusiastic praise from countless passionate fans for more than fifty years. This story of danger and adventure in the old west became the basis for two award-winning films, the first starring John Wayne, in his only Oscar-winning role, as Marshall Rooster Cogburn, and the widely praised remake by the Coen brothers, starring Jeff Bridges. True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen when the coward Tom Chaney shoots her father in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 cash. Filled with an unwavering urge to avenge her father’s blood, Mattie finds and, after some tenacious finagling, enlists one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available US Marshal, as her partner in pursuit, and they head off into Indian Territory after the killer. True Grit is essential reading. Not just a classic Western, but an undeniable classic of American literature as eccentric, cool, funny, and unflinching as Mattie Ross herself. For fans of either the John Wayne classic or the more recent Coen brothers’ movie, it’s a chance to relive the story of Mattie and Rooster and experience their story as it was originally told. For fans of taut, funny storytelling, it will be a joy to experience in its original form. This edition includes an afterword by bestselling author Donna Tartt (The Secret History and The Goldfinch) and a reading group guide.

From Great Paragraphs to Great Essays helps students perfect their paragraph writing skills in the first half of the text, and introduces the essay in the second half. Students will generate essays through a step-by-step process focusing on definition, process, description, and opinion.