Warriner's High School Handbook

This handbook harkens back to when English grammar was still taught to American students. In my day, Warriner’s grammar books were widely used in public junior high (middle) and high schools. My own education was even stricter, and I learned most of my grammar by 8th grade in a parochial school. I learned little more English grammar in public high school except what I gleaned from foreign language study.The key was diagramming sentences, which is seldom taught nowadays and which Warriner’s High School Handbook does indeed cover. Current college handbooks relegate students’ grammar problems to “surface errors” and are much less comprehensive than Warriner’s. Those college handbooks are bloated with general writing instruction better left to freshman composition textbooks.If you want a rigorous presentation of English grammar, if you want it the old-school way, or if you are an ESL learner, Warriner’s High School Handbook is the way to go.

This book provides a clear exposition of English grammar, word usage and common faults of writing. Because high schools rarely teach these principles, it is indispensable for directing college students and even graduate students who are used to blogging or texting. I purchased copies for each of the teaching assistants working under my direction in a university writing course so that they could explain how to construct a coherent paragraph and organize an essay. It did not dissappoint!

Excellent product

The book was in pristine condition, which I appreciated. I remember using Warriner's Grammar books when I was in Middle and Senior High School. Now, as a teacher, concerned with meeting CCSS, I plan to use this book to develop my students' grammar and usage.

The best

The title is probably the worst possible decision the writer made in creating this manual for english grammar. This books takes no shortcuts, which makes it both long but also detailed in comparison to other style manuals. If you truly want to understand the 'rules' of english usage, this is your guide.