Teaching writing is not for the faint of heart, but it can be a tremendous gift to teachers and students. Students often approach writing courses with trepidation because they think of writing as a mystical and opaque process. Teachers often approach these same courses with dread because of the enormous workload and the often-unpolished skills of new writers. This approachable composition textbook for beginning writers contends that writing can be a better experience for everyone when taught as an empathetic and respectful conversation. In a time in which discourse is not always civil and language is not always tended carefully, a conversation-based writing approach emphasizes intention and care. Written by a teacher with more than fifteen years of experience in the college writing classroom, Composition as Conversation explores what happens when the art of conversation meets the art of writing. Heather Hoover shows how seven virtues--including curiosity, attentiveness, relatability, open-mindedness, and generosity--inform the writing process and can help students become more effective writers. She invites writers of all skill levels to make meaningful contributions with their writing. This short, accessible, and instructive book offers a reflective method for college-level writing and will also work well in classical school, high school, and homeschool contexts. It demystifies the writing process and helps students understand why their writing matters. It will energize teachers of writing as they encourage their students to become careful readers and observers, intentional listeners, and empathetic arguers. The book also provides helpful sample assignments.

This book explains the functions and correct uses of 21 of the most used punctuation marks like the apostrophe, brackets, semicolon, dashes, and also some you may not know about like guillemets, forward slash, or the interpunct. The book is humorous, fully illustrated using real life scenarios with stylish cartoons, and is for a wide age range (young to aging) and intelligence (emerging to expert). Written in down-to-earth easy to understand language, this book is ideal for young people learning to read and write, and reluctant teenage readers. It is also for professional editors and writers, or anyone with an interest in writing, language, grammar and punctuation. It makes an ideal gift, birthday present or special occasion gesture. If you have an interest in punctuation or would like to know more about punctuation, then this book is for you!