What’s in LaunchPad for Current Issues and Enduring Questions?
LaunchPad for Current Issues and Enduring Questions is packed with digital content that works with your textbook to help you sharpen your ability to read analytically and write successfully in first-year composition and in your coursework across campus. Whether your instructor assigns the resources in LaunchPad or encourages you to work with the material at your own pace, we’re confident that LaunchPad will help you develop the skills you need to succeed in college and beyond. For help using LaunchPad, please join the College Students Support Community or contact Tech Support. You can find Tech Support contact information by clicking “Help” in the upper right corner of your screen.
E-book
In the e-book you’ll find all the great content and activities from the printed book, including:
New essays and topics illustrate real-world arguments. Over a third of the selections in the book are new, including timely readings such as these:
Jonathan Safran Foer examines how beliefs about food are often cultural or instinctual rather than rational in "Let Them Eat Dog: A Modest Proposal for Tossing Fido in the Oven."
Lynn Stuart Parramore warns against the recent trend toward workplace biosurveillance in "Fitbits for Bosses.”
Sanjay Gupta argues for the legalization of medical marijuana—a position he once opposed—in "Why I Changed My Mind on Weed."
3 new debates and 4 new casebooks. Based on user feedback, new themes take on some of today’s most controversial issues, including race and police brutality, whether military service should be mandatory, the role of social media in shaping "real life," American exceptionalism, and whether technology has a place in the classroom.
A sharper focus on critical thinking in Part One shows students how effective reading, analysis, and writing begin with critical thinking. Enhancements from new co-author John O’Hara include the following:
An expanded vocabulary for critical thinking;
Instruction on writing critical summaries;
New reading strategies;
Additional techniques for generating essay topics;
New "Thinking Critically" activities that prompt students to apply critical thinking, reading, and writing concepts in the book.
Over fifty new visuals such as ads, cartoons, photographs, and Web pages provide occasions for critical inquiry.
Expanded discussion of developing thesis statements in Chapter 6 helps better illustrate the difference between taking a truly critical position versus choosing an easy side in an argument.
Updated coverage of visual rhetoric in Chapter 4 helps students see images as layered arguments.
Interactive content and tutorials
"Thinking Critically" activities give you practice in constructing arguments, focusing on skills such as generating topics, drawing conclusions, varying tone, and establishing credibility. Comprehension quizzes on the instructional content, as well as every selection, help you to assess your progress and understanding. In addition, you’ll find helpful tutorials on topics such as reading critically, working with and citing sources, and using digital writing tools.
LearningCurve
Developed in light of the latest advances in learning research, LearningCurve is a game-like adaptive quizzing program that covers topics from grammar and usage to reading critically and argument. The less you know about a topic, the more LearningCurve focuses on it, and the better you do, the more challenging the questions become, helping you concentrate on exactly what you need to learn.
