Odyssey: A Guide to Better Writing focuses on helping students build paragraph and essay writing skills.

With its encouraging tone, careful explanations, and abundance of carefully sequenced and incrementally challenging exercise sets, Odyssey enables students to view writing as a means of discovering more about themselves and their surroundings.

• The text's organization and self-contained chapters within each part ensure cumulative skill development and allow flexibility in course design:
• Part I—A thorough overview of the writing process, including exercises that help students examine their attitudes and fears about writing.
• Part II—An introduction to the patterns of development.
• Part III—A transition to essay writing that shows how to apply the patterns to longer pieces and adapt them for essay exams.
• Parts IV-VI—Self-contained chapters provide review and extensive practice in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
• Part VII—An anthology of student and professional readings with an introduction on critical reading and comprehension. Also includes writing exercises.
• Appendices—Writing with a word processor and tips for ESL students.

In every chapter, Odyssey offers a progression of exercises that begin with comprehension and practice of fundamental concepts. Some exercise sets focus on invention and the writing of short pieces. Students can then proceed to exercises that call for critical thinking, drafting, and revision. Grammar, mechanics, and punctuation chapters conclude with summary editing exercises that call upon students to use all the grammar and sentence skills learned in the chapter.

In addition, many chapters contain a pair of “Discovering Connections” exercises. The first, which falls early in the chapter, is a prewriting assignment with an array of topic possibilities. The second is a drafting and revision exercise based upon the prewriting and calls for peer review.