Patterns Plus: A Short Prose Reader with Argumentation

Arranged rhetorically, this anthology of short essays and paragraphs suits both essay-level developmental writing and freshman composition courses. Each chapter focuses on a different rhetorical mode, from narration and description to process writing. Three features make PATTERNS PLUS: A SHORT PROSE READER WITH ARGUMENTATION a perennial best-seller: an engaging mix of nonfiction, fiction, and user essays with careful consideration of multicultural issues; a strong pedagogical apparatus that helps develop comprehension, analytical, and writing skills; and clear presentation of the writing process and paragraph/essay structure. The tenth edition includes new user readings, as well as works by well-known writers such as Woody Allen, Stephen King, and James Baldwin. Updated pedagogical tools offer students exactly what they need to master the content, including pre-reading, vocabulary, and post-reading questions that test comprehension and encourage critical analysis of each selection.

Mary Lou Conlin completed her education at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, earning a B.A. and M.A. in English, and a Ph.D. in education with concentrations in special education, reading, and curriculum. Conlin worked for over twenty-five years teaching English Composition and developing curriculum for developmental reading and writing at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio. She developed individualized reading and writing instruction, and also established a Learning Center staffed with instructional assistants and tutors who provided both individual and small group instruction. In addition, Conlin developed computer-assisted instruction and tracking in the early 1980s.Her publications include PATTERNS, PATTERNS PLUS, CONCEPTS OF COMMUNICATION: WRITING, and CONCEPTS OF COMMUNICATION: READING. The Concepts texts, a modular series, became the basis for the individualized program provided through the Learning Center. Other publications include SIMON PERKINS OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, a biography of an early land agent of the Western Reserve published by the Western Reserve Historical Society.