This is a superb introduction to teaching the components of voice. The selections not only illustrate diction, imagery, detail, tone, and syntax with brevity and specificity, but also they afford an opportunity for deep discussion and reflection. I use these exercises with my sophomores every day.

Nancy Dean's Voice Lessons provide 100 quotes from a variety of writers, genres, and styles followed by poignant analysis questions and corresponding modeling exercises.

The introduction thoroughly defines each facet of Voice to be explored. The body is divided into 20 pages of exercises per category: Diction, Details, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone (here linked with Attitude). Each page has ample space for answers on photocopies or on an overhead transparency (both permissable and encouraged). Dean outlines practical-- and flexible--methods for utilizing the activities straight from the book with no additional preparation stress. (I can testify that the suggestions do work!)

My general level to AP students' interest was piqued by samples from modern writers such as Tom Wolfe, Erma Bombeck, Chinua Cchebe and Toni Morrison along with cannonized authors like Shakespeare, Orwell, Steinbeck, Milton, Yeats, and even G.B. Shaw. The book is a wonderful resource for state and national competency test preparation or for increasing reading comprehension and literary appreciation. Compliments to Ms.Dean.

Voice Lessons is a collection of writing exercises that will stretch the brightest students and focus the rest. Each exercise begins with an example from a broad range of English literature and then challenges the reader to examine how it manages one of the following components: Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax and Tone.

In addition to being a quite useful collection of exercises, there are some important, benefits to the manner of presentation. The diversity of the selections (as well as their brevity) establishes, as a given, that the issues explored in these exercises have a wide application. Also, there are no lauditory introductions to or explanations of the excerpted authors: instead, each selection is placed on our workbench and we are encouraged to paw the offering and then to fashion our own. I particularly like this respectful, workaday approach to the student and the task of learning.

The exercises work independently so you should find it easy to mix and match them to conform to your existing course-plan. If you have the luxury of an independent plan for each student the book is a whole kit of ready starting points.

More than 350 terms are defined with over ninety illustrations. The definitions are simple and straightforward--clinically direct without technical, scientific language.

This dictionary allows readers of all ages to garner exactly how much information they need, when they need it. It is appropriate for the library's reference or general collections or in the home...an excellent choice...

350 terms carefully defined and illustrated for teens and preteens. It presents a single source to easily explain sexual terms, and it encourages useage of correct terminology.