Diagramming Step by Step: One Hundred and Fifty-Five Steps to Excellence in Sentence Diagramming

SUMMARY OF REVIEW: Diagramming Step by Step is a five star superior, advanced textbook/workbook for sentence diagramming. I was compelled to buy this book because I remember how fun and demystifying sentence diagramming can be for the student. Similar to crosswords, sentence diagramming can be a fun and challenging game. For students preparing for SATS, ACTS or other standardized tests, this textbook/workbook will hone your grammar skills, preparing you for your test(s). Note, this book is no 4th grade walk in the park, for that you're better off with Eugene Moutoux's Drawing Sentences: A Guide to Diagramming, which starts with the absolute basics, slowly but thoroughly building a solid knowledgebase. In contrast, in this book (Diagramming Step by Step) Moutoux rapidly covers the basics, moving the student along at a challengingly fast but equally rewarding pace. Reiterating the true value of this teaching tool and standardized test prep workbook, the "Writing Correctly" section after each sentence diagramming lesson is my absolute favorite gem, teaching students how to properly use adverbs, when to you "whom," and so much more.FULL REVIEW: As a professional writer, I bought this book to improve my grammar and writing. I'm always looking to perfect my writing skills, whether it's learning how to write a compelling story, down to correctly applying grammar rules. So far, I'm enjoying the lessons in this workbook/textbook. I find each lesson to be informative, providing several examples for each lesson, including many sentences for the student to practice diagramming. The book covers all the basics of grammar, but moves quickly. It's great for a refresher for people who generally know proper grammar; it is not a book for a student just learning grammar rules. If you're still learning the basics of grammar, this book is a bit too advanced - it moves too quickly.What this book does masterfully is teach you how to DIAGRAM SENTENCES. It gives 6-10 examples ("steps") of diagramed sentences expressing the new rules for each lesson, than it provides 10 or more sentences for you, the student, to diagram. There is ample space to write answers in the book, so one doesn't even need an extra pad of paper. I sat on my couch listening to music while diagramming away with nothing more than this book and a pen.The answer key is excellent, and is large enough to easily be read. (The answers are at the end of the book - teachers and homeschoolers be aware!) The amount of provided examples increases as the lessons increase in complexity. There are 155 steps in all, as the title states. By lesson five, the student is diagraming sentences like, "Not surprisingly, the fatuous man loves a diffident woman." Lesson twenty-two has sentences like, "A year and a half after they moved to Cincinnati, they moved back to California." There are 100-word sentences, 145 word sentences, and larger.... Basically, this book moves rapidly and will challenge the reader, even if the reader happens to be a grammar teacher or professional writer! Further emphasizing the power of this book as a teaching tool, Moutoux constantly reinforces lessons taught in prior chapters, helping to solidify in the students' minds this dense workbook/textbook of grammar rules.By the way, I really love the "Writing Correctly" lessons following each section. These little teaching gems quickly (often on one side of a page) remind the reader of frequent grammar mistakes, little know grammar rules and peculiarities, and often overlooked editorial blunders. Here's an example: "Everyone must bring ["his or her" or "their"] pens and pencils.")If you're on the fence whether you should buy Diagramming Step by Step or Moutoux's Drawing Sentences: A Guide to Diagramming, here's a word from the author:"Should you buy this book if you already have 'Drawing Sentences'? Not necessarily, but if you are looking for additional diagramming challenges for yourself or your students, you will find plenty in this book. Should you buy this book instead of 'Drawing Sentences'? Again, not necessarily. In general, I think 'Drawing Sentences' is a better choice for younger learners and 'Diagramming Step by Step" a better choice for older teens and adults...."I'm giving Diagramming Step by Step five stars because it's an exceptional teaching tool, and for me it's a fun little brainteaser. When crosswords get old, and Sudoku isn't doing it for you, maybe you should give Diagramming Step by Step a try.Tags: Workbook, Grammar, Textbook, Sentence Diagramming, Standardized Test Prep, College Prep, Grammar Practice, Homeschooling, Writing Tools, English Language, ESL Learners, Students, High School, Word Games, SAT, ACT, Editing, Writing, Editors

I am not one of those people who believes grammar is irrelevant to writing. Used as a tool to develop syntactical knowledge and encourage stylistic variety, I think a knowledge of English grammar is invaluable. One way to get at the grammar of English is to use sentence diagramming, and I use diagramming a lot in my ESL classes. Actually, although grammar instruction has practically been banned from American classrooms, I was susprised to see some research encouraging it among ESL students. It's my opinion that both ESL and native speakers could benefit from studying grammatical relationships. For that purpose, I have found this book to be one of the best around to help students see how the pieces of English can be fitted together to not just make sense but also create a voice or style.

I found this workbook immensely helpful by testing whether or not I had understood each lesson. If you're hoping to attain an in-depth understanding of sentence structure this book is for you. Its only shortcoming is that the lessons, although detailed and complete, could have been presented more clearly. I found myself having to re-read some of them multiple times and then reorganize the information into a framework easier to understand, remember, and apply. But that may be just my method of learning. Supplementing it with a more basic book helped. Overall, this workbook contains exactly the depth I wanted.

My grandchildren are being home schooled. I bought this book because I thought it would be a huge help in their being able to understand how sentences are put together, etc. I was NOT disappointed! The kids love it because they are all into art and they see the artistic aspect in diagramming sentences. Their command of the English language has improved. Surprisingly, it has also helped them with learning Spanish too. My daughter found it easy to use the book and to understand how to teach this aspect of language to children.

I love this book! One page has an excellent daily lesson that is sometimes tied to the following page of diagramming and other times is just helpful editing/revision remarks. This has been really fun to do with my 5th and 6th grade grammar students who are accelerated and breezing through grammar concepts. This would be a fun book as an adult to review grammar skills if you are interested.