The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy-to-Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-World Examples, and Reproducible Quizzes 11th Edition by Jane Straus , Lester Kaufman and Tom Stern (Wiley)

I am having a hard time leaving an actual star review of this book, as the content of the book deserves a 5 star rating, while the organization is not user friendly, and the "quizzes" are very lackluster.

In order to receive real quizzes and content, the authors of this book demand that you pay a substantial fee ($30.00 for a limited number of logins - one year or $129.00 unlimited logins - one year) in order to access their subscription area of the website that goes along with this book. This is never mentioned in the description, and I would like those thinking about purchasing this book based on quizzes, tests, and other content to be fully aware of what they are buying (or not buying in this instance).

Furthermore, you really do not need to purchase this book unless you would rather have paper in front of you. 



Great Lessons, Not-So-Great Everything Else

You are able to go to GrammarBook.com and view this book in its entirety on the website and even take the menial quizzes online if you choose. Just be sure you scroll down BELOW the actually "HEY, BUY ME" stuff to take the free, interactive quizzes. You may also purchase individual quizzes from the subscription service for $1.00 each. This might be beneficial if you do not want to purchase the entire subscription package but want more practice in certain areas that need more work.

If you are interested in having the book in front of you, here is a little info on it.

The book starts out with an introduction and such, like most books, then leads into the lessons. The lessons are 5 star quality as they are basic, simple to explain, teach and understand. I LOVE THESE LESSONS! One thing I particularly like in the lessons is the "note" section. The authors often keep you up to date with things such as the differences in the acceptable use of the word "none" in the SAT vs. the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage. This is very helpful if you are using this book to help students prepare for the SAT vs. an essay paper for school. The note section will have current information in relation to the English language as well as other things that may enhance the lesson itself. EXCELLENT.

After each lesson, I would really like to see worksheets, so students (or those teaching themselves) can practice the skills they just learned. There are none in this book whatsoever. You are able to subscribe for more content, however, as I mentioned above.

After each lesson, there is a quiz. I like this feature. There is one con. The quiz is not immediately following the lesson. There is no wording printed to let you know that the quiz is on page "whatever" in the book. You must search toward the back of the book to find the quiz appropriate for that lesson name. The quizzes are also very simplistic. Again, you can subscribe for more content.

There is also an answer key provided at the back of the book, but it is not user friendly nor page numbered. You will need to match the lesson name with the quiz name and the answer key name to be able to locate this key in the back of the book.

To summarize:

PROS: The lessons are fabulous! This will be my go-to book for teaching/tutoring students in grammar and punctuation. You do not have to purchase this book if you would rather learn or teach from the computer/online.

CONS: There are no worksheets to practice newly learned skills in this book. The quizzes are very menial (around 10 - 20 questions and only one quiz per lesson). The book is not user friendly, as the quizzes are toward the back of the book, not page numbered to the lesson, and the answer key works the same way. You may purchase a subscription for more workable content and quizzes (which are desperately lacking in the book) if you choose, but it is fairly pricey.