The Practical Grammar Handbook for College Writers

Many college students do not know how to find the subject or verb of a sentence, much less how to use commas or semi-colons correctly. Yet teachers need to spend most of their class time on composition and thinking skills. The Practical Grammar Handbook for College Writers (formerly My Dog Bites the English Teacher) allows teachers to cover all the grammar students need for correct writing in as little as 10 minutes a week for college-level writing courses.

Unlike other handbooks cluttered with rarely needed information, The Practical Grammar Handbook for College Writers focuses on the grammar students actually need to write clearly and correctly. Appropriate both for higher developmental and college-level writing classes, it provides a step-by-step curriculum that guides students to a thorough understanding of the structure of the English language. The Practical Grammar Handbook for College Writers can be used as a teaching textbook in developmental courses, and it is also very effective as a reference book for college-level courses because it explains concepts clearly so that students can read and understand the material on their own.

The chapter on research skills (throughly expanded for the second edition) presents the steps for writing a research paper in a clear, step-by-step manner that begins with analyzing a complete research paper and then learning the various skills needed for writing a research paper: conducting research, taking notes, paraphrasing, summarizing, quoting, and MLA documentation (signal phrases, in-text citations, and list of Works Cited). The chapter includes engaging activities to give students direct experience with research skills, and it answers the questions that always come up for students — those writing their first research paper and those with more experience.

The Practical Grammar Handbook for College Writers makes life much easier both for the students and the teacher. Students who have a natural ability for language will finally know WHY they put a comma in a sentence, and students who are more mathematically inclined will rejoice that at last grammar makes sense.

The Teacher's Manual is available electronically on a CD or via email. Please contact Beth Hall at bhall@cap-press.com to request a copy.

"Concentrating on the most-useful grammar and punctuation (not obscure rules), English teacher Anders…offers an excellent handbook for all students, especially students in pre-college courses, less-prepared students, second-language students, and others who struggle with writing. Unlike many grammar handbooks, this one features larger print, step-by-step explanations and exercises, and clear, simple examples, plus a conversational writing style that second-language students especially will appreciate." — Book News, Inc.

"…is extremely easy to understand…useful as a reference work or textbook for beginning college students as well as those in high school." — CHOICE