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Successful College Writing
Eighth Edition| ©2021 Kathleen T. McWhorter
The eighth edition of Successful College Writing is available for the first time in Achieve, Macmillan’s new digital platform. Achieve was co-developed with instructors and students to support best practices in commenting on student drafts, and includes a full e-book, a set of reading co...
The eighth edition of Successful College Writing is available for the first time in Achieve, Macmillan’s new digital platform. Achieve was co-developed with instructors and students to support best practices in commenting on student drafts, and includes a full e-book, a set of reading comprehension quizzes, and fully customizable book-specific writing assignments.
Successful College Writing moves first-year composition students—whatever their level of preparedness—toward achieving their goals in college through a unique visual approach and extra support for academic reading and writing.
Kathleen T. McWhorter’s supportive, visual approach is evident in graphic organizers, flowcharts, and Guided Writing Assignments that provide hands-on writing activities and practical, step-by-step instruction for drafting and revising.
In the eighth edition, McWhorter includes even more help for students learning how to write for an academic audience:
- New “Academic Writing” sections throughout Parts 1 and 2 show students how to accomplish the kinds of writing tasks they will be expected to complete in college
- “Explore, Research, Write” assignments move students toward effective source-based writing
- “Just-in-Time Tips” call students’ attention to challenging features in a reading and offer strategies for understanding and thinking critically about that reading.
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This package includes Achieve and Loose-Leaf and Paperback.
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This package includes Paperback and Paperback.
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This package includes Paperback and Paperback.
GO DIGITAL WITH ACHIEVE.
Support students when they need help, challenge them when they’re ready.
The eighth edition of Successful College Writing is available for the first time in Achieve, Macmillan’s new digital platform. Achieve was co-developed with instructors and students to support best practices in commenting on student drafts, and includes a full e-book, a set of reading comprehension quizzes, and fully customizable book-specific writing assignments.
Successful College Writing moves first-year composition students—whatever their level of preparedness—toward achieving their goals in college through a unique visual approach and extra support for academic reading and writing.
Kathleen T. McWhorter’s supportive, visual approach is evident in graphic organizers, flowcharts, and Guided Writing Assignments that provide hands-on writing activities and practical, step-by-step instruction for drafting and revising.
In the eighth edition, McWhorter includes even more help for students learning how to write for an academic audience:
- New “Academic Writing” sections throughout Parts 1 and 2 show students how to accomplish the kinds of writing tasks they will be expected to complete in college
- “Explore, Research, Write” assignments move students toward effective source-based writing
- “Just-in-Time Tips” call students’ attention to challenging features in a reading and offer strategies for understanding and thinking critically about that reading.
Features
A comprehensive guide to writing, with detailed coverage of the writing process, 9 rhetorical patterns of development (narration, description, illustration, process analysis, comparison-contrast, classification and division, definition, cause-effect, and argument), research and documentation, and a brief handbook with exercises.
Visual tools that help students analyze readings and write essays. Unique graphic organizers demonstrate essay structure. Flowcharts guide revision and peer review. Writing Quick Starts introduce chapter topics and get students writing. Guided Writing Assignments provide step-by-step advice and enriching activities for planning, drafting, and revising.
More help with reading and study skills than any other book of its kind. Crucial reading-to-write strategies (Part 1 and the new "Just-in-Time Guide to Reading and Responding"), along with scaffolded support following reading selections in Parts 3 and 4, help students master the skills they need to succeed in college and beyond.
62 readings: 46 accessible and high-interest professional readings (15+ new) and 16 student model essays (3 new) modeling the 9 rhetorical patterns of development, responding to a reading, the writing process, and writing about literature.
New to This Edition
ACHIEVE with Successful College Writing
Achieve puts student writing at the center of your course and keeps revision at the core, with a dedicated composition space that guides students through drafting, peer review, source check, reflection, and revision, developed to support best practices in commenting on student drafts. Achieve also includes a full e-book, a set of reading comprehension quizzes, and book-specific writing assignments. For corequisite composition courses, Achieve lets students sign in to their composition and corequisite sections with one easy process–and no additional fees.
"Academic Writing" sections in Parts 1 and 2 that show students how to introduce, present, and explain material borrowed from sources; avoid plagiarism; write titles, introductions, and conclusions appropriate to academic papers; and develop a tone appropriate to an academic audience
"Explore, Research, Write" assignments that help students move toward source-based writing, by providing vetted, reliable, and relevant sources from which students can draw information.
"Just-in-Time Tips" that call students’ attention to challenging features in a reading and offer strategies for understanding and thinking critically about it.
Digital Options

Achieve
Achieve is a comprehensive set of interconnected teaching and assessment tools that incorporate the most effective elements from Macmillan Learning's market leading solutions in a single, easy-to-use platform.

E-book
Read online (or offline) with all the highlighting and notetaking tools you need to be successful in this course.
Table of Contents
Part 1 An Introduction to Reading, Writing and Learning in College
1 Reading and Writing for College Success
2 Active Reading and Responding
3 Thinking, Reading, and Writing Critically
Just-in-Time Guide to Reading and Responding
Part 2 Strategies for Writing Essays
4 Prewriting: How to Find and Focus Ideas
5 Developing and Supporting a Thesis
6 Writing Effective Paragraphs
7 Drafting an Essay
8 Revising Content and Organization
9 Editing Sentences and Words
Part 3 Patterns of Development
10 An Introduction to Patterns of Development
11 Narration: Recounting Events
12 Description: Portraying People, Places, and Things
13 Illustration: Explaining with Examples
14 Process Analysis: Explaining How Something Works or Is Done
15 Comparison and Contrast: Showing Similarities and Differences
16 Classification and Division: Explaining Categories and Parts
17 Definition: Explaining What You Mean
18 Cause and Effect: Using Reasons and Results to Explain
Part 4 Reading and Writing Arguments
19 Reading Arguments
20 Writing Arguments
Part 5 Writing with Sources
21 Planning a Research Project and Evaluating Sources
22 Finding Sources, Taking Notes, and Synthesizing Ideas
23 Drafting, Revising, and Formatting a Research Project
Part 6 Academic and Business Applications
24 Reading and Writing about Literature
25 Essay Examinations and Portfolios
26 Multimedia Presentations and Business Writing
Part 7 Handbook: Writing Problems and How to Correct Them
Authors

Kathleen T. McWhorter
Kathleen T. McWhorter is professor emerita of humanities and former director of the Learning Skills Center at Niagara County Community College. She has also been on the faculty of the State University College at Buffalo. She is the author of a number of books on writing for freshmen-level students, including the popular guide Successful College Writing, Seventh Edition (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018), and the composition reader Reflections: Patterns for Reading and Writing, Second Edition (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017). She has also written a number of textbooks on reading and writing for developmental students, including In Concert: Reading and Writing, Second Edition (2016); In Harmony: Reading and Writing, Second Edition (2016); Reading Across the Disciplines: College Reading and Beyond, Sixth Edition (2015); Academic Reading, Eighth Edition (2014); and Efficient and Flexible Reading, Tenth Edition (2014).
Instructor Resources
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Course Plans
Online/Remote Instruction: Using Achieve with Successful College Writing 8e
Instructor's Resouce Manual for Successful College Writing (Online Only)
Kathleen McWhorter | Eighth Edition | ©2021 | ISBN:9781319321291Lecture Slides for Successful College Writing (Online Only)
Kathleen T. McWhorter | Eighth Edition | ©2021 | ISBN:9781319382070Sample Syllabus
Successful College Writing 7e to 8e Transition Guide
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Related Titles

Successful College Writing with 2021 MLA Update
Kathleen McWhorter | Eighth Edition | 2021 | ISBN:9781319457136Videos
Corequisite Composition for Writing Courses in Achieve
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