Write It .5: A Process Approach to College Essays, with Readings

The goal of Write It .5 is to introduce international and generation 1.5 students to the idea of academic argument and the academic essay form that they will encounter in many of their classes in American colleges and universities. The opening sections of the book help familiarize these students with conventions of language, basic course organizations, and writing in the college classroom. The following sections guide the students through the writing process itself by providing thought-provoking questions and activities designed to help them gain skills and strategies that enable them to approach a writing assignment. Each of the later sections then helps them develop their skills in critical reading and textual analysis. Ultimately they are lead through the processes of gathering evidence, drafting, and editing. The practice of each stage of the writing process in isolation allows them to focus on writing one stage at a time.

Write It .5 is a workbook that provides practice that aids understanding of

• college course organization and etiquette
• vocabulary and dictionary usage
• idioms
• the steps in the writing process
• critical reading
• analysis of a reading
• summarizing
• construction of a thesis
• formation of an argument
• marshalling evidence
• drafting
• editing
• proofreading