The authors ofStrategies for Successful Writing: a Rhetoric, Research Guide, and Reader have strived to achieve the same steadfast goals that have motivated them from the beginning: create a rhetorically-organized writing guide that combines three books into one convenient and flexible teaching tool while offering students an exceptional value. By having at their disposal a comprehensive textbook that offers ample material for a full-year composition course, instructors teaching aone-termcourse can make various selections from Chapters 1-17, from whatever types of specialized writing suits the needs of their students, and from the appropriate essays in the reader. As well, because the authors believe strongly that an effective composition textbook should address students directly, they've aimed for a conversational yet clear style that invites students into the book, lessens their apprehensions about writing, and provides a model for their own prose. This style complements the authors'strong student-based approach to writing, and together they help create a text that genuinely meets student needs.