For decades, students have mastered the basics of writing with THE LEAST YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ENGLISH: WRITING SKILLS. Uncomplicated explanations allow students to focus on fundamentals, reinforced by real-world samples, over 200 exercises, and instant feedback in all areas of writing. Parts One to Three clarify and provide practice in the essentials of word use, sentence structure, and punctuation. Part Four on writing covers all types of paragraphs and essays and fundamental reading-based writing skills in a brief, easy-to-follow way. Each numbered section includes concise explanations followed by lively exercises with answers in the back of the book so that students can instantly grasp and apply what they learn. Exercises from multiple disciplines broaden students' understanding and interest in science, art, history, film, literature, social studies, business, and the media. When the course ends, the book becomes a valuable reference to support students' future writing needs.

Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Getting the Most from The Least You Should Know about English.
Part I: WORD USE.
What Is the Least You Should Know about Word Use?
Word Use Preview Test.
1. Words Often Confused (Set 1).
2. Words Often Confused (Set 2).
3. The Eight Parts of Speech.
4. Adjectives and Adverbs.
5. Contractions.
6. Possessives.
7. Consulting a Dictionary.
Word Use Progress Test. Word Use Practice.
Part I: SENTENCE STRUCTURE.
What Is the Least You Should Know about Sentence Structure?
Sentence Structure Preview Test.
8. Locating Prepositional Phrases.
9. Finding Subjects and Verbs.
10. Understanding Dependent Clauses.
11. Correcting Fragments.
12. Correcting Run-on Sentences.
13. Identifying Verb Phrases.
14. Using Standard English Verbs.
15. Using Regular and Irregular Verbs.
16. Maintaining Subject-Verb Agreement.
17. Avoiding Shifts in Tense.
18. Recognizing Verbal Phrases.
19. Correcting Misplaced or Dangling Modifiers.
20. Following Sentence Patterns.
21. Avoiding Clichés, Awkward Phrasing, and Wordiness.
22. Correcting for Parallel Structure.
23. Using Pronouns.
24. Avoiding Shifts in Person.
Sentence Structure Progress Test. Sentence Structure Practice.
Part III: PUNCTUATION.
What Is the Least You Should Know about Punctuation?
Punctuation Preview Test.
25. Periods, Question Marks, Exclamation Points, Semicolons, Colons, Dashes.
26. Commas Used to Separate Elements.
27. Commas Used to Enclose Elements.
28. Quotation Marks and Italics/Underlines.
29. Capital Letters.
Punctuation Progress Test. Punctuation Practice.
Part IV: WRITING.  
What Is the Least You Should Know about Writing?
Writing as Structure.
First, Second, and Third-Person Approaches.
Basic Structures.
30. The Paragraph.
31. The Essay. Writing Skills.
32. Writing in Your Own Voice.
33. Finding a Topic.
34. Organizing Ideas. Organizing an Essay.
35. Supporting with Details.
36. Choosing and Using Quotations.
37. Writing in Response to a Reading.
38. Writing an Argument.
39. Writing Summaries.
40. Revising, Proofreading, and Presenting Your Work.
Answers.
Index.

For decades, students have mastered the basics of writing with THE LEAST YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ENGLISH: WRITING SKILLS. Uncomplicated explanations allow students to focus on fundamentals, reinforced by real-world samples, over 200 exercises, and instant feedback in all areas of writing. Parts One to Three clarify and provide practice in the essentials of word use, sentence structure, and punctuation. Part Four on writing covers all types of paragraphs and essays and fundamental reading-based writing skills in a brief, easy-to-follow way. Each numbered section includes concise explanations followed by lively exercises with answers in the back of the book so that students can instantly grasp and apply what they learn. Exercises from multiple disciplines broaden students' understanding and interest in science, art, history, film, literature, social studies, business, and the media. When the course ends, the book becomes a valuable reference to support students' future writing needs. A Preview Test and Progress Test now frame each of the first three parts on word use, sentence structure, and punctuation. Extended answers to these tests provide full explanations with page references to help students self-manage the improvement of their sentence-level skills. Part One, "Word Use," includes a new "Consulting a Dictionary" section that offers brief explanations and a full set of exercises covering eleven different uses of this often overlooked but valuable resource for writers. In Part Two, "Sentence Structure," the section on locating prepositional phrases now precedes the related skill of finding subjects and verbs. Reordering these sections doubles the number of exercises in which students can practice finding intervening phrases that influence subject-verb agreement and sentence clarity. Two new charts in Part Two follow the section on understanding dependent clauses to illustrate the kinds of clauses and patterns of punctuation used to create simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. Parts One through Three teach students the essentials of word use, sentence structure, and punctuation and put these skills into practice with more than 200 self-teaching exercises. Complete exercise answers provided in the back of the book give students the power to learn on their own, wherever they are, and immediately apply what they've learned in their writing. All four parts include model sentences, paragraphs, and essays by both student and professional writers, including excerpts from full-length texts that cross disciplines and borders and that present a balance of male and female writers in the fields of science, business, and popular culture. Writing exercises in Part Four encourage students to practice the skills and stages involved in different aspects of writing: writing a thesis, finding a voice, organizing, summarizing, arguing, quoting, and in-class writing. Sections in Part Four on writing in response to a reading, choosing and using quotations, writing an argument, and writing summaries -- and a chart offering tips for in-class essays -- form a foundation of skills necessary for complex analytical writing assignments.