Pam Besser, author of the Mayfield/McGraw-Hill textbook A Basic Handbook of Writing Skills, has a varied educational background that spans 34 years. She has a Ph.D. in rhetoric and composition and currently is a Professor of Rhetoric at Jefferson Community College in Louisville, Kentucky, where she teaches courses in medical terminology (online and on campus) as well as classes in business writing (online and on campus). Her administrative positions at Jefferson Community College include, but are not limited to, the following: Business Division Chair, Acting Dean of Academic Affairs, Acting Allied Health Division Chair, Acting Respiratory Care Program Coordinator, and Acting Human Resources Director. She has published numerous articles in such journals as Teaching English in the Two-Year College and Exercise Exchange. In addition, she teaches regular medical terminology classes for two of the major hospital complexes in Louisville.

Dr. Besser has taught at the University of Louisville, where she was Assistant Director of Composition, and the University of Southern Illinois–Carbondale. Prior to teaching in university, she taught introductory courses in algebra, trigonometry, and biology to advanced junior high school students.

This edition was co-authored by J. Patrick Fisher, former teacher (now retired) at the Elkhart Area Career Center, Elkhart, Indiana. Mr. Fisher holds a bachelor’s degree in business education from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. He has also done extensive graduate work at Indiana/ Purdue University. Mr. Fisher graduated from the U.S. Army Court Reporters School at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, and served as a court reporter.

Before joining the staff at the Career Center, Mr. Fisher was Dean of Education at the Elkhart Institute of Technology, and he taught courses such as medical shorthand, medical terminology, and medical transcription. He helped develop the curriculum for the medical secretary, medical transcription and secretarial programs at the Institute and the Career Center.