Real Essays delivers the powerful message that good writing, thinking, and reading skills are both essential and achievable. From the inspiring stories told by former students in Profiles of Success to the practical strategies for community involvement in the new Community Connections, Real Essays helps students to connect the writing class with their real lives and with the expectations of the larger world. So that students don’t get overwhelmed, the book focuses first on the most important things in each area, such as the Four Most Serious Errors in grammar; the Four Basics of each rhetorical strategy; and the academic skills of summary, analysis, and synthesis. Read the preface.

Click here to find out more about the 2009 MLA Updates and the 2010 APA Updates. Real Essays with Readings is the essay-level book in Susan Anker’s highly successful series of writing texts that motivate students with their message that writing is an essential skill in college and in real life — and that this skill is achievable. Anker’s advice, examples, and assignments show the relevance of writing to all aspects of students’ lives, and profiles of former students prove that success is attainable. Like all the books in the Anker series, Real Essays presents writing in logical, manageable increments: step-by-step writing guides and a focus on the "four basics" of each mode of writing keep students from becoming overwhelmed. Real Essays maintains its emphasis on what really matters by focusing on the four most serious errors (fragments, run-ons, subject-verb agreement problems, and verb form problems). Real Essays gives students what they need to succeed in college and become stronger academic writers.

Real Essays puts essay writing in a real-world context, showing students that critical writing, reading, and thinking skills are both attainable and essential to student success. Real Essays helps students to connect the writing class with their real lives and with the expectations of the larger world. This new edition has expanded rhetorical situation coverage, emphasizing the rhetorical triangle (audience, purpose, and author), and helping students think and read more critically. In addition, even more situational writing from the workplace showcases how students will use writing beyond the classroom. Profiles of Success from former students, over forty professional and student readings (50% new), and proven step-by-step grammar and writing instruction, energize and encourage students while giving them the support they need. With a simplified design, this updated version of Real Essays helps students realize their goals and gives instructors the support and tools they need to help them reach those goals.

Real Reading and Writing puts both reading skills and writing skills in a real-world context, showing students that good writing, reading, and thinking skills are both achievable and essential to their success in college and beyond. Miriam Moore, a developmental and ESL specialist from Lord Fairfax Community College, collaborated with Susan Anker to provide students with an integrated reading and writing package. Students connect reading and writing with their real lives through practical examples, model writing samples, and readings that are both engaging and relevant to their lives. To keep students from getting overwhelmed, the book focuses first on the most important concepts in each area, such as the Four Basics of the Reading and Writing Process; Four Basics of each rhetorical strategy; the Four Most Serious Errors in the grammar section; and the academic skills of summary, analysis, and synthesis

Intimate, humorous, and insightful, Readings is a collection of classic essays and reviews by Michael Dirda, book critic of the Washington Post and winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for criticism. From a first reading of Beckett and Faulkner at the feet of an inspirational high-school English teacher to a meeting of the P. G. Wodehouse Society, from an obsession with Nabokov's Lolita to the discovery of the Japanese epic The Tale of Genji, these essays chronicle a lifetime of literary enjoyment.

Real Skills with Readings offers practical, accessible coverage of basic sentence skills and step-by-step guidance on writing paragraphs. Like the other books in the Anker series, Real Skills motivates students with its message that writing is an essential and achievable skill. Real Skills connects engaging grammar and writing instruction with an emphasis on critical thinking and reading skills — the keys to successful writing. Real-world examples, assignments, and readings show students the relevance of writing to all aspects of their lives. Real Skills with Readings is now integrated with LearningCurve — online, adaptive quizzing activities that reinforce what students learn in the book.

Focus on Reading and Writing: Essays provides thorough, integrated instruction on reading and writing essays and includes many effective features to help students make the connection between the reading and writing processes, including TEST—Kirszner and Mandell’s simple and effective reading and writing tool designed to help students gauge their progress. Kirszner and Mandell believe that students learn best when they try their hand at a new concept first with their own work. That’s why they designed the Focus on Reading and Writing strand throughout each chapter. The strand first prompts students to read and write, then learn essential concepts, and ultimately apply those concepts while re-reading and revising. With a complete grammar guide, supplementary online grammar practice through LaunchPad Solo for Readers and Writers, and 23 professional reading selections, this comprehensive text gets students reading, writing, and thinking critically in preparation for academic, career, and life success. The Second Edition strengthens and further integrates reading coverage throughout, helping improve students’ comprehension and ability to think critically as they read. An updated TEST feature now applies equally to understanding and analyzing readings as well as developing, drafting, and revising essays, a new annotated model has been added in Chapter 1, and new information has been added on identifying and formulating implied main ideas.