This is simple, clearly presented, and in a pleasing font; examples are profuse, and exercises numerous. It includes a complete answer key, on different colored paper, in the back of the book. Ours was just a shrink-wrapped set of 3-hole-punched pages which we put into a simple binder. No fancy bindings, but an excellent presentation. The eight chapters include The Sentence: Subject and Verb, Three Articles, Adjectives, Direct Objects, Linking Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, and A Peek Ahead. The introductory paragraph sums up the book succinctly: "Usually, we teach diagramming very gradually and even spread it over several years because there are so many details to learn. The trouble is, diagramming is a sort of language, though only a written language, and until you can use it for everyday thinking, you can't get used to it...Perhaps grammar could be taught a lot earlier and faster if it were made simple and visual." That is what the author has done...simply and visually.
Update:The second edition (2002) contains 71 pages plus a 38 page answer key. The binding is now a "perfect bound" softcover binding. The content is essentially the same.
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