All too often, students feel the writing course has nothing to do with their own lives and goals. Drawing on more than 35 years of combined classroom experience, Kate Mangelsdorf and Evelyn Posey give beginning writers the skills and confidence they need to choose topics and approaches that matter to them, providing them with step-by-step guidance for producing well-written, meaningful essays. Maintaining a supportive yet respectful tone, Choices helps students understand writing as a process, see the connections between reading and writing, and use rhetorical strategies, among other necessary academic skills. A wealth of professional and student models, reflecting an impressive diversity, chapters on writing for different situations, and a comprehensive handbook provide everything students need to become effective academic writers -- far below the cost of comparable rhetorics.