Book excerpt: Click here to find out more about the 2009 MLA Updates and the 2010 APA Updates. Real Essays with Readings is the essay-level book in Susan Anker’s highly successful series of writing texts that motivate students with their message that writing is an essential skill in college and in real life — and that this skill is achievable. Anker’s advice, examples, and assignments show the relevance of writing to all aspects of students’ lives, and profiles of former students prove that success is attainable. Like all the books in the Anker series, Real Essays presents writing in logical, manageable increments: step-by-step writing guides and a focus on the "four basics" of each mode of writing keep students from becoming overwhelmed. Real Essays maintains its emphasis on what really matters by focusing on the four most serious errors (fragments, run-ons, subject-verb agreement problems, and verb form problems). Real Essays gives students what they need to succeed in college and become stronger academic writers.