The Confident Writerhas taught countless students the fundamentals of writing--how to turn a good idea into a full, polished essay--with an eye to audience and strong supporting detail. It builds writing confidence by strengthening writing skills and encourages students to try out strategies to develop a writing process that works best for them. The four parts ofThe Confident Writerfocus on writing and developing an essay or research paper, selecting a thesis and patterns of organization, analyzing and synthesizing diverse readings, honing new writing skills, and improving and proof reading for grammatical accuracy. The Text Web Site has been updated to complement the Fourth Edition, and Icons in the book direct students to additional activities and information available online. New!A four-color design reinforces the text's message and method to all students. Photographs with accompanying exercises challenge students to engage all their senses as they apply chapter concepts and writing strategies. New!Over 60 percent of the readings have been updated to include contemporary topics such as how success increases stress, why women as well as men should be required to register for the draft, whatBrown vs. The Board of Educationmeans for every American, and why beauty/makeover reality-television shows send the wrong message. New!Updated Internet exercises in every chapter are now more focused, and each chapter contains one or more new exercises. New! The Confident ReaderWeb Site has been revised in conjunction with the Fourth Edition of the text. Expanded resources include additional exercises, more annotated student passages, guidelines on APA and CMS forms of documentation, links to relevant websites on writing and research, a Discovery Journal, and more. Icons in the book identify when there is a corresponding online activity. Your Discovery Journalat the end of each chapter has a new self-reflective format that encourages students to monitor their growth as writers. Students have the option of doing this activity online at the Students' Web Site. New!Chapter 8, Researching and Writing, has been updated to more fully address researching and evaluating information online, and information on documenting sources has been expanded and revised to reflect the latest guidelines. Chapter 8 also includes an in-depth look at plagiarism and how to avoid it. Many Topics for Writing at the end of each chapter and writing prompts within exercises are now more oriented to engage critical thinking.