The 500-Word Theme: Discovery, Organization, Expression

I had excellent results for eleven years using this text with college-bound seniors in a blue-collar school district in New Jersey. It presents the writing process slowly and methodically. There are numerous samples of actual student writing provided after each concept to demonstrate what constitutes good application of the concept and what does not. The chapter that trains students how to correctly formulate the thesis statement and appropriate blueprint is superb. The chapter on paragraph development methods is equally excellent. I'm now reaching for a copy as a resource for an inner city student population that struggles to pass the persuasive writing task portion of the New Jersey HSPA. What I'm really after is this text's material that sets forth advanced, yet "teachable" techniques (elements of ethical appeal)to build into the persuasive essay.