Includes bibliographical references.

''Reason to Write is a two-book intermediate writing series that offers students strategies and practice in writing for academic success. Students are carefully guided through the stages of writing, from generating ideas, to drafting and revising, to proofreading and editing. The Low Intermediate level helps students understand the basic elements of a well-written paragraph; the Intermediate level moves students forward from paragraph writing to essay writing.

Units are theme-based for deeper, sustained exploration of ideas. Each unit begins with a short, stimulating reading passage followed by a variety of discussion and writing activities, which build towards the central structured writing task. Grammar, vocabulary, and rhetorical objectives are carefully interwoven within the context of each theme. The thorough, systematic approach eases the writing process, and the wide range of themes provides every student with ideas for meaningful writing.

Features: A wide choice of writing topics insprires students' meaningful self-expression. Thought-provoking readings engage students' interest and challenge them to think analytically, preparing them for the demands of academia. A communicative approach to writing encourages students' awareness of audience. Numerous step-by-step writing tasks help students gain fluency and build confidence. Fully integrated grammar and vocabulary improve students' accuracy in these areas. Creative ideas for supplementary activities extend each unit and provide opportunities for independent writing." (Book Cover)

CONTENTS

UNIT 1 THE PATHWAY TO FREEDOM

Writing a Personal Narrative

Reading: Excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Writing practice: taking notes and summarizing a discussion — developing paragraph unity

Editing focus: habitual past vs. simple past — pronouns and possessive adjectives — identification — capitalization — quotation marks

UNIT 2 WHAT'S YOUR VERDICT?

Writing a Three-Paragraph Opinion Essay

Reading: ''The Case of Leroy Strachan''

Writing practice: writing introductions, thesis statements, and conclusions

Editing focus: adjective and passive voice — transitive and intransitive verbs

UNIT 3 MEN AND WOMEN: NOTHING BUT THE FACTS

Writing about Graphs and Statistics

Reading: ''Teenagers and Sex Roles'' ( a poll from The New York Times)

Writing practice: understanding graphs and statistics — comparing and contrasting data — using the language of statistics

Editing focus: contrasting verb tenses: the present perfect, simple past, and simple present — subject-verb agreement

UNIT 4 THE BEST TIME TO BE ALIVE

Writing a Paragraph Essay

Reading: ''There's No Time Like the Past'' (an interview from The New York Times Magazine)

Writing practice: explaining reasons — identifying effective thesis statements — writing topic sentences — creating coherent paragraph order — choosing the best conclusion

Editing focus: adjective clauses — present unreal conditionals

UNIT 5 THE HAPPIEST SCHOOL IN THE WORLD

Writing a Classification Essay

Reading: Excerpt from Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing / A.S. Neill

Writing practice: classifying information — writing a thesis statement for a classification essay — giving examples in body paragraphs

Editing focus: parallel structure — quantifiers: one of many

UNIT 6 ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP?

Writing a Cause-and-Effect Essay

Reading: ''The Cause of Sleep Deprivation in America: A Nation of Walking Zombies''

Writing practice: categorizing research notes — creating body paragraphs from research notes — writing transitional sentences

Editing focus: subordinate clauses — because / because of — logical connectors — fragments — run-on sentences and comma splices

UNIT 7 HOW I'LL BECOME AN AMERICAN

Writing a Satirical Essay

Reading: ''How I'll Become an American" / Miklos Vamos

Writing practice: using text references to support your opinion — making inferences — understanding puns — writing humorous details

Editing focus: causatives — -ing / -ed adjectives endings

UNIT 8 FOR AND AGAINST BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Writing an Argumentative Essay

Reading: ''Bilingual Education: Parents' Views'' (from The New York Times)

Writing practice: defending your point of view — refuting opposing views — conceding to an opposing view and replying — using the language of concession

Editing focus: present unreal conditionals — connectors: despite / despite the fact that and although / even though

UNIT 9 CASE STUDIES IN BUSINESS ETHICS: MALDEN MILLS AND BEN&JERRY'S ICE CREAM

Writing a Comparison and Contrast Essay

Reading: ''Malden Mills'' — ''Ben&Jerry's Gets Scooped Up''

Writing practice: writing a business letter — using point-by-point organization — writing transitional sentences

Editing focus: connectors showing comparison and contrast — direct and embedded questions — noun clauses

UNIT 10 THE TELL-TALE HEART

Writing an Essay Analyzing Literature

Reading: ''The Tell-tale Heart'' / Edgar Allan Poe

Writing practice: Writing about plot, climax, narrative point of view, characters, setting, pace, mood, foreshadowing, irony, and theme — supporting your interpretation with references and citations

Editing focus: cause and effect with such...that / so...that — simple present and simple past verbs in an essay on literature

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES

ANSWER KEY

This book is intended for intermediate learners.