Interesting passages from historical, political, and medical sources along with excellent exercises are packed into this series from Prestwick House. You won’t even notice that it’s missing glitzy touches. The Student Book gets right to the point with a brief introduction to both the passage and the author. Passages are presented with sidebar annotations which identify literary devices, draw attention to important aspects of the passage, offer “thinking” assignments, and occasionally highlight vocabulary usage. Other vocabulary words are bolded throughout the selection and then listed with definitions at the end of the passage. Following the passage is an exercise set which include content and literary analysis, sometimes require citations from the passage to support answers and conclude with an essay question. The Teacher Edition includes all the same content as the Student Book with answers and talking points. Additionally, series introductory information plus a one-page teacher orientation overview precedes each passage.