Recently expanded with new examples and self-assessment quizzes, this popular book by Jane Straus is both a reference guide for the rules of grammar and punctuation, but also a workbook that provides exercises to review those rules.
The first section covers the most common rules of grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. It then addresses the importance of writing numbers consistently with a review of stylistic styles recommended by Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style. Topics include parts of speech, subject and verb agreement, effective writing, commas, semicolons/colons, quotations, question marks, parentheses/brackets, apostrophes, hyphens, dashes, ellipses, exclamation points, capitalization, writing numbers, confusing words and homonyms, and much more-basically all the grammar rules you need to know in high school and college. Along with each rule, there are examples so students can see the rule put into practice.
The final part of the book contains numerous quizzes (2 sets of exercises for each grammar topic or punctuation mark), as well as a grammar pretest, a grammar mastery test, and a punctuation, capitalization and writing numbers pretest and mastery test. The pretest and mastery tests given are great for before and after evaluation, and the exercises for each topic ensure that students know how to use the rules they are learning. Exercises generally prompt students to find errors in sentences, rewrite sentences, pick the correct word for the sentence, or identify parts of a sentence. These review methods are probably more effective at incorporating the rules into real life than multiple choice or matching exercises found in other books. Answers for all the exercises are included in the book. This is a great quick reference book with effective tests and exercises, and it is also well organized, practical, and easy-to-use. Reproducible. 242pgs, pb. ~ Rachel/Deanne