The Bare Essentials: English Writing Skills

I have NOT read this edition (1983), but HAVE read the more recent "The Bare Essentials" (4th Edition, 1996), ISBN: 0-7747-3361-6.Perhaps you feel that you are pretty good in writing in English, but if you don't know why you write the way you write; if you are unsure of certain rules of language; if you feel you need to convey your ideas better, then you may need to recover, discover, and refine your English skills. This book is the one. "The Bare Essentials" (4th Edition, 1996) gives short lessons, followed by rules of principle in-between, and then straight to exercises. There is hardly any waste of paper -- no winded and unnecessary vocabulary or explanations, or unnecessary redundancy. I don't remember a time when I was confused. The instructions and principles are explained in such a clear way that the idea that "the reader must understand" takes precedence over anything else. The book covers some topics we often have trouble with because of lack of attention given to them; they include common spelling mistakes, the semicolin, and writing paragraphs.This book took me back to the basics and by the end of the book, my English had improved significantly. Since reading this book and doing the exercises, I'm of course, still not perfect, but I am a lot more confident in my writing as well as my verbal skills. I rely on, and continue to build my skills I have learned from this book. This is a sound investment.Thank you Sarah Norton and Brian Green.