Tailored specifically to first- and second-year composition courses at the college level, The Empowered Writer: An Essential Guide to Writing and Research offers students a detailed and widely applicable approach to developing their skills in research and writing as well as in personal and business communication. The Empowered Writer uses as its foundation Eric Henderson's Writing by Choice, and in keeping with the successful, proven approach used in that volume, this text emphasizes that students need to research and make informed choices in order to write well. This edition includes new pedagogical features, college-appropriate readings, and a partial answer key at the end of the text. Key principles are illustrated through sample essays and reinforced through exercises specifically designed to engage students working either independently or in groups.