Susan Wise Bauer wrote the Writing with Skill for students to begin to work through independently, and the text is written directly to the student. Organized by days, each "step" progressively moves students through the workbook as they move from one day to the next. Covering the basics of composition, outlining, sentence skills, beginning literary criticism of poetry and prose, writing narratives and descriptions, and researching and documenting sources, the course culminates with a final project. Using extensive literary models and step-by-step instructions on the lesson concepts, students will gain the tools needed to write with clarify and confidence. All source material is included; students will need to write their assignments in a separate book. Grade 5-8. 544 pages, softcover.