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Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers is a 420 page book that is divided into two parts. The first part of the book is an introduction to essays and arguments. The second part of the book is an introduction to usage and style. Some sample pages from each section are in the picture below.
- Arguments: Some Simple First Principles
- Deduction and Induction
- Organizing the Main Body of an Argument
- Paragraph Functions
There are also several samples at the end of the first section. Here the student can see how everything is put together into one great essay.
The second section of the book is an instruction guide to style and usage. This section is the grammar part of the handbook and has nine chapters with over 200 page. Some of the chapters from this section include the following:
- Basic Punctuation
- Modifiers, Gerunds, Infinitives
- References and Bibliographies
- Basic Format for Essays and Research Papers
At the end of the second section, there are several pages for the student to use as they are writing - a visual guide, the six sections of an approach paper, eleven things a paragraph can do, and a rubric for writing evaluation.
During the review period, I printed off the different chapters that I wanted my son to work through. I had my son work through both sections during this time also. He has a good grasp on grammar, so we didn't spend as much time on that section as we did on the first section. He is actually using Excellence in Literature: Introduction to Literature this year for his literature course. He was having difficulty forming the essays he was to write, so this review came at the perfect time. Working through the Handbook for Writers has helped him tremendously with his writing and has helped him while working through his literature course. He is able to see how to put the essay together and use the right words to make a good essay. I have also read through several of the chapters, so I would know how to help him with his writing. There is a lot of good information in this book and it is a book that he can use during the rest of his high school years and also use while he is in college. We both like this book very much and I plan to use this when my younger children get into the high school years.