New Directions Second Edition is a thematic reading-writing book aimed at the most advanced ESL learners The Student's Book prepares students for the rigors of college-level writing by having them read long challenging authentic readings as a precursor to writing This emphasis on reading gives New Directions its distinctive character Each of the five topic-based chapters contains three core readings & five additional readings The readings come from a variety of genres & are accompanied by exercise material The second edition represents a major revision It contains two entirely new chapters & many new readings & activities in the other three Another significant new feature is a section at the end of the first chapter that takes students through the writing process Students work through it for their first writing assignment & return to this thorough treatment of the writing process for each subsequent major writing assignment