Essentials of College English

Rating:
Summary: College English
Review: I first encountered this book as part of an online class requirement (Diablo Valley College, Business English-101). I find the book easy to read and use. It's layout is eye-catching and user-friendly. In fact, I recommend this book a buy for those needing to brush up on any college level English....

Rating:
Summary: Not the best organized
Review: This is the grammar workbook chosen by the university for which I teach. The workbook combines exercises and explanations together.

The best advantage to this is the sections which allow the student to check his or her understanding. At the beginning of each section, about ten questions have the answers at the bottom of the page. Also, the unit review has answers printed for the student's reference.

One of the disadvantages is the organization. For instance, section 8 lists avoiding and correcting for double negatives as an objective. Unfortunately, double negatives are not covered there. In checking the index, double negatives are mentioned on page 128 in section 13. There, the reference is only a hotline query that states what a double negative is.

Another disadvantage is there are less exercises than in previous editions. The previous editions had "Proofreading Alerts," which I thought were very helpful in providing a more practical way to test comprehension.

This is a usable workbook, but it would not be my first choice.