Focus on Writing offers students clear, thorough coverage of writing college paragraphs and essays in a visually inviting format and with a unique tool for assessing and revising writing: the easy-to-grasp, easy-to-remember TEST method. Reinforcing the most important elements in academic writing--Topic sentence or Thesis statement, Evidence, Summary statement, and Transitions--this practical tool helps students self-edit their writing for unity, support, and coherence. In this edition, best-selling authors Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell have added even stronger support for academic and college success with a new introduction "How Writing Can Help You Succeed" and a new appendix chapter on Strategies for College Success.

Author Biography

During their long collaboration, Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell have written a number of best-selling college texts for Bedford/St. Martin's, including Patterns for College Writing, Foundations First, Writing First, Focus on Writing, and, most recently, Practical Argument. Laurie Kirszner is a Professor of English, Emeritus at the University of the Sciences, where she has taught composition, literature, creative writing, and scientific writing, and served as coordinator of the first-year writing program. Stephen Mandell is a Professor of English at Drexel University, where he founded and directed the basic writing program and has taught composition, literature, speech, and technical and business writing."