For courses in Developmental Writing — Paragraph/Essay.
This version of Writing for Life: Paragraphs and Essays has been updated to reflect the 8th Edition of the MLA Handbook (April 2016)*
Skills for writing–process and strategy
Writing for Life: Paragraphs and Essays is part of a two-book series that helps students understand the importance of strong writing skills and motivates them to become better writers. Students are encouraged to take charge of their own learning, and to transfer the strategies they currently apply to reading visuals to reading and writing text. The Fourth Edition offers high-interest topics, meaningful visuals, clear learning objectives, a wealth of examples, and ample opportunities for students to practice applying new concepts to their own writing skills.
* The 8th Edition introduces sweeping changes to the philosophy and details of MLA works cited entries. Responding to the “increasing mobility of texts,” MLA now encourages writers to focus on the process of crafting the citation, beginning with the same questions for any source. These changes, then, align with current best practices in the teaching of writing which privilege inquiry and critical thinking over rote recall and rule-following.
Acclaimed textbook author D.J. Henry is a veteran teacher with over 25 years of community college experience and is a former developmental education student herself.
Over the course of her teaching career, she has served on several federally funded grants designed to infuse teaching and learning with sound pedagogies and technological support. Her extensive experience in the standardized testing of literacy competencies includes working with the State of Florida from 1982 to 2002 as an item writer, rubric writer, and reader for the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) and the State Developmental Reading and Writing Exit Exam. For more than 15 years, she served as a reader for the Florida Teacher Certification Exam (FTCE). In addition, her expertise has led her to work with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as a Lead Evaluator for the Quality Enhancement Plans of several colleges and as a co-presenter of workshops on assessment at SACS’ annual conferences in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
A passionate educator and dedicated colleague, Henry continues to share her expertise in reading, writing and authentic assessment through numerous presentations and workshops at national, regional and local conferences and at individual colleges.
