BASIC COMPOSITION FOR ESL combines traditional approaches to composition with process writing through step-by-step explanations, exercises, and strategies. It has been designed for university-bound students or professionals who are studying English as a Second Language yet it is flexible enough to be used by any others wanting to improve their basic writing skills. The text is intended to be used after students have gained rudimentary competence in writing at the sentence level.

1. GIVING INSTRUCTIONS How to Feel Comfortable at an American Dinner Party How To Make a Good Impression at a Job Interview How to Use a Copy Machine How to Get to Arlington National Cemetery From the White House 2. TELLING WHAT HAPPENED: OBJECTIVE REPORTING Ice Causes Accident Rain Causes Accident The First Manned Flight to the Moon An Historic Event Independence Day in Middleburg 3. ANALYZING BY CAUSE AND EFFECT Why Blake College is Popular Why Croft College is Unpopular Why Sandra Miller is Not Healthy Why Bob Adams (or Someone You Know) is Healthy The Causes of Famine 4. COMPARING AND CONTRASTING My Two Brothers Two Sisters Two Houses for Sale Two Items for Sale and Two Apartments for Rent Two Cities 5. CLASSIFYING Amount of Carbohydrates in Foods Amount of Protein in Foods Contact Sports Careers and Noncontact Sports The Uses of Cattle 6. DESCRIBING A MECHANISM OR A PROCESS A Television An AM/FM Radio The Human Respiratory System A System or Machine Earthquakes