Elements of Language

The student textbook is organized into three parts. The first section provides a brief preparatory course for students getting ready to take standardized reading and writing tests. This tool does a great job of linking the student from the "test world" to the "real world," with cross-references to the places in the main body of the text where the related topics are covered more in-depth. The main body of the text is devoted to a thorough and systematic review of basic English grammar. The course begins with subjects and verbs and builds to complete sentences, paragraphs, and essays. The second part emphasizes the writing process in a variety of applications, with exercises and optional activities that get the students involved in their writing. The activities and projects in this section are well worth the price of the textbook because they give students exposure to the writing process in such a wide variety of ways.