The New Writing with a Purpose

Writing with a Purpose has always been distinguished by its emphasis on the role of purpose in the writing process, its comprehensive coverage for first-year writing, and its effective use of examples and exercises. Designed as a four-in-one (rhetoric, reader, research guide, handbook) for one- and two-semester composition courses, this respected and reliable text has helped train countless students. The Fourteenth Edition includes streamlined coverage to allow for expanded material on such critical topics as research and argumentation. A technology program, Writing with a Purpose Online, allows students to access writing guidance as needed while drafting and revising.

Joseph F. Trimmer is the professor of English and director of The Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry at Ball State University. The author of numerous articles on literature, culture and literacy, Professor Trimmer's books include THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION: THE FIRST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS (1978), UNDERSTANDING OTHERS: CULTURAL AND CROSS-CULTURAL STUDIES AND THE TEACHING OF LITERATURE (1992), and NARRATION AS KNOWLEDGE: TALES OF THE TEACHING LIFE (1997). Professor Trimmer has also worked on 20 documentary films for PBS including the six-part series, Middletown" (1982). His textbooks include WRITING WITH A PURPOSE, 14th Edition (2004), THE RIVERSIDE READER 9th Edition (2008), and eFICTIONS (2002). Trimmer's A GUIDE TO MLA DOCUMENTATION, 8th Edition (2009) is a perennial bestseller."