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WRITING ESSAYS

Part One

How to Read and Write in College

1. Succeeding in College 3 2. Reading and Writing in College

and Beyond 22

3. Writing Basics 45 4. Finding and Exploring Your

Topic 62

5. Making a Point 74 6. Supporting Your Point 88 7. Making a Plan 100 8. Writing a Draft 110 9. Revising Your Draft 125

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You Know This

You know the importance of advice. • You ask a friend which shirt looks best on you. • You ask an older brother or sister what a certain teacher is like. • You ask an experienced coworker how to work toward a promotion. • You ask a teacher for advice on choosing a major.

1

Succeeding in College

What You Need to Know

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably just started a college writing course, and you might not know what to expect. What kind of writing will you have to do? What do you need to know to pass? What will the teacher expect? In the first section of this chapter, students who have recently completed their first year of college supply answers to these and other common questions. These students were in your exact spot very recently, so they’re in a good position to tell you what you need to know. In the second section of this chapter, you’ll learn four strategies that will be critical to your success in all your college courses — how to identify your goals, how to manage your time, how to use the resources available to you, and how to find and use your learning style. Paying attention now to the students’ advice and the four success strategies is definitely worth your time.

PRACTICE YOUR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

Write about your educational experiences so far, including things that may help your teacher understand what you’ve done so far and things that you hope to learn in this course.

■ IDEA JOURNAL Write about some good advice (or some bad advice) you’ve gotten in the past.

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Advice from those who’ve been there

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Janice Diamond,...