Writing specialist Jim LaBate has a new book out, and the book is dedicated to everyone at Hudson Valley Community College.
On the dedication page, LaBate writes the following:
“This book is dedicated to everyone at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. I have been working there for over 25 years now, and everyone at HVCC has contributed to this book in some way. My students have always pushed me to make my ideas clearer and more concise. My fellow teachers and librarians have always been kind and considerate and generous with their time and suggestions when I pestered them with questions and requests for help. And the other employees on campus have always been helpful and encouraging, no matter what crazy idea or project I wanted to explore. I am sincerely grateful and blessed to have been placed in such a nurturing environment. Thank you.”
The book is entitled “Writing Is Hard: A Collection of Over 100 Essays.” LaBate began writing the essays not with the intention of publishing a book. Instead, he wrote them to publicize The Writing Center. He began with an essay on the importance of a thesis, and then he branched out into other areas of writing ranging from punctuation and grammar to the writing process and literary techniques. Each essay is a self-contained lesson of about 700 words written in an informal, conversational style.
This book serves as an alternative to the traditional writing handbook, which typically attempts to explain the entire writing process or to address thoroughly all areas of punctuation, grammar, and usage. Such a text can be overwhelming and intimidating to many students. Instead, LaBate uses each essay to focus on only one small aspect of writing with the hope that the reader will walk away with the key idea, one that can be easily remembered and implemented.
The book is available in the campus’s Viking’s Cove Bookstore for $19.95, or it can be purchased online at Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format.
LaBate also will be selling the book when he participates in two local book fairs on the weekend of Sept. 29-30: The Albany Book Festival at the University at Albany on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and The Local Author Book Fair at the Bethlehem Public Library from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30.
Published: Wed, 19 Sep 2018 19:22:53 +0000 by d.gardner