The problems of boys in schools, especially in reading and writing, have been the focus of statistical data, but rarely does research point out how literacy educators can combat those problems.

div Composition research consistently demonstrates that the social context of writing determines the majority of conventions any writer must observe. Still, most universities organize the required first-year composition course as if there were an intuitive set of general writing "skills" usable across academic and work-world settings. In College Writing and Beyond: A New Framework for University Writing Instruction, Anne Beaufort reports on a longitudinal study comparing one student’s experience in FYC, in history, in engineering,;

This practical handbook examines the gap between high school and college-level writing instruction, providing teachers with guidance for helping their students make the transition, including strategies for dealing with the many challenges of the writing classroom.

This second edition of Fundamental College Composition: A Grammar and Style Guide (FCC: AGSG), contains nine new chapters designed to further assist college students in their journey to become clear and precise writers of English. College classrooms--even college level English courses themselves--often overlook the teaching of fundamental writing. Consequently, students may acquire content knowledge, but often lack the language skills necessary to either demonstrate or apply that knowledge. College-level study exposes students to ideas that are complex. A cursory study of grammar and the rules of basic language arts give students the tools they need to express complex ideas clearly and persuasively. FCC: AGSG provides systematic lessons that progressively build the students' understanding of the clarity and efficacy of language. Acquiring knowledge certainly deserves possession of the language skills to express it. Without those skills, education does not meet its primary objective. FCC: AGSG was written to assure exposure to those skills. REVIEWS and WORDS of PRAISE This book is a great guide for student writers. It concisely and clearly presents useful style and grammar techniques. I assign it in all my writing classes, and my students swear by it. I even used it as a reference when I wrote my first textbook. Anyone who uses this book will become a better writer. ---Thomas A. Miller, J.D., Associate Professor, Justice and Law Administration, Western Connecticut State University, co-author of Business Law: Foundations for the 21st Century Fundamental College Composition provides a concise and accessible explanation of grammar components and importance. DeFeo’s prose is fluid and an excellent style example for writers to model. All writers should memorize this quote from the text, "Electronic, immediate, thoughtless communication has tainted the substructures of academic, formal written communication." ---Deanna Schaab, Adjunct Professor, Western Connecticut State University. This is a textbook aimed at improving the language skills of its readers. Written with humor and a broad vocabulary, it entertains as it educates. It will give today's students a deeper understanding of the basic rules and structure of the English language and improve skills that are often overlooked during their academic careers. Anyone looking to improve their language skills whether in an academic setting, the workplace, or one's personal life will benefit from reading this text. --Roseanne Shea, J.D., Professor, Attorney at Law, Legal Reference Librarian at the Haas Library, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury Fundamental College Composition has accomplished the near impossible--it has made writing instruction for the college student accessible and easy to understand. The book's concise and informative 12 chapters will be a welcome addition to the undergraduate curriculum of any post-secondary institution. The content reflects the author's many years of teaching writing to students and highlights what he considers the main pitfalls in student writing. To that end Professor DeFeo's longest chapter, “Punctuation”, identifies a key villain to poor composition. The book removes the mystery that adorns most pedagogical approaches to college level writing instruction and sets a path for student improvement of this most critical of communication skills. --Terrence P. Dwyer, J.D., Professor, Western Connecticut State University. Author of Legal Issues in Homeland Security – U.S. Supreme Court Cases, Commentary, and Questions (2014, Loose Leaf Law Publications, Inc.) Professor DeFeo's Fundamental College Composition is an invaluable tool for the college student, academic, executive, and anyone else who needs to improve their writing skills. As his Foreword reveals, DeFeo's text is laced with subtle humor and moments of delightful insight. All of us need help with writing, at least occasionally. This highly accessible book will nourish the careful and determined reader who puts forth the effort to learn. --Peter Weston Wood, author of To Swallow a Toad (1987, Donald I. Fine, Inc.). Guest columnist, The New York Times, The Jersey City Journal In the first edition of Fundamental College Composition William DeFeo provided undergraduate students with a concise but thorough exposition on the habits and tools of being a good writer. Professor DeFeo has now expanded on what is going to become a classic of college writing instruction. Seven new chapters and a prior chapter expanded into two updated individual chapters add to this engaging and straight-forward approach to establishing solid writing skills. As he did in the First Edition with his chapter “Punctuation,” Professor DeFeo in this new edition has added an important chapter on “Verb Tenses and Moods.” This is another culprit of poor composition that has perpetually plagued the college writer. After reading Professor DeFeo’s expanded Second Edition to Fundamental College Composition there can be no excuse for failing to present clear and flowing syntax. --Terrence P. Dwyer, J.D., Professor, Western Connecticut State University, columnist and author

Composition directors often have little time to prepare new instructors in methods of teaching writing and to forewarn them of the many daily problems that arise in this challenging work. Teaching College Composition, which can be read in a weekend, goes a long way toward meeting those ends. It provides information on twenty-six topics, from issues of class conduct to methods of critiquing papers to ways of evaluating student work. It also provides approaches to six of the most common writing assignments in first-year composition. Teaching College Composition can also serve as a supplemental text for a teaching of writing course, providing an element of "street knowledge" to the theoretical content.

This book helps students succeed in composition by showing them: How to be effective students How to handle the most difficult challenges of academic writing How to approach the most common writing assignments. How to pass a timed writing test William Murdick has a Ph. D. in rhetoric and is the author of three other writing textbooks, The Portable Business Writer (Houghton Mifflin, 1999), and The Portable Technical Writer (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), and College Writing: A First Course - Writing and Reasoning (Jain, 2006). Note on the Second Edition: This expanded Second Edition includes full-chapter treatments of the five-paragraph theme and the cause-effect essay.