For over thirty years, students have mastered the basics of writing with Wilson and Glazier’s The Least You Should Know About English: Writing Skills. Uncomplicated, well established, and student tested, the Eleventh Edition continues to cover the essentials of spelling, word choice, sentence structure, punctuation, paragraph and essay writing—as well as more advanced skills such as argumentation and quotation—in a brief, easy-to-follow way. Each concept includes concise explanations accompanied by plentiful exercises (with corresponding answers in the back of the book for immediate feedback) so that students quickly grasp and reinforce what they learn. Popular Continuous Discourse exercises include tidbits from history, literature, science, and current events that engage students in the concepts being explored. When the course ends, this self-teaching text becomes an excellent reference tool for students to use in their future courses and careers.

Key Features

  • Part 1 has been reorganized to present “Spelling” before “Word Choice” and to discuss dictionary use throughout. Part 1 also includes helpful new ways to distinguish between “Words Often Confused.”
  • Part 2 presents a streamlined “Using Pronouns” section and a revised “Avoiding Shifts in Person” section to clarify the use of first-person, second-person, and third-person pronouns.
  • Part 3’s coverage of “Punctuation” is enhanced throughout, with references to the new “Choosing and Using Quotations” section in Part 4.
  • Part 4 offers a comprehensive new section on “Choosing and Using Quotations,” complete with an explanation of signal phrases and their punctuation, as well as the use of brackets and ellipses when altering or shortening quoted material. Part 4 also now includes a discussion of first-person and third-person approaches to writing.

Series Components

Least You Should Know about English ISBN
ISE Student Text (Form A) 9780495916871
ISE Student Text (Form B) 9781133435501
US Student Text (Form C) 9781111830922