Write Source: Student Edition Softcover Grade 5 2006

Homeschooling parents are always looking for the Magic Bullet when it comes to writing and grammar. Well....I truly believe Writesource is that proverbial Magic Bullet. It is an extremely complete, grade level writing program that includes all appropriate grammar. The student handbook by itself is very easy to implement in a homeschool setting---it includes EVERYTHING a child needs to know, in a step-by-step fashion, about all writing genres, the writing process, studying, learning test taking, speech, listening, note-taking--phew! I could go on. The graphics are SO good, the book not only tells how to write---it shows it!! Great for visual learners. My favorite part, though, is the creativity factor. The book shows step-by-step, for example, how to produce a great research paper, but leaves topics up to the student/parent---so we can pick a topic from what we are currently studying in History...or even Math. They provide plenty of 'student' writing samples, which really gets the kids' minds and creative juices flowing!! No 'box' here. Grammar instruction, integrated into the writing, is right there in the student book also. To make this a complete language arts program, all that is needed to add is a vocab/spelling program like Wordly Wise 2000 and of course literature. But then again, Writesource has a wonderful, complete section on LIterary Analysis writing! As the reader can tell, I am thrilled to death with this program. In the homeschool world, there is much pressure to use a very popular Structure and Style writing program----but without graphics that 'show' and contrived sounding writing prompts and checklists---and certainly no easy connection to what the kids are studying in the rest of school......it never felt like the right program. Writesource is it! I highly recommend it.

Quick Shipping, The book was just as it was described. No problems. Will do business with again. Thanks!

My eighth grade son is enrolled in The Potter's School this year for several homeschool classes (online rigorous middle and high school level correspondance/conferencing courses) and his English I class uses The Write Source 2000 as a grammar text and writing reference. As a former eighth grade English teacher, I used an earlier edition of this book 13 years ago in public schools. It is a FABULOUS resource for grammar review and any adventures in expository writing. The instructions are clear and the examples are excellent. It is an engaging text with lots of colorful and amusing illustrations. In my opinion, it is a must have composition and grammar handbook for any student. It covers the writing process, gives specific guidelines and models for the following forms of the standard five paragraph essay: descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive. It also covers response to literature, creative writing and does a thorough job of tackling research writing. Other topics include speaking to learn, writing to learn (eg. note taking, journal writing...)and other basic elements of writing: basic grammar, sentence and paragraph structure. Finally, a section called "A Writer's Resource" covers concepts like word choice, "voice" and presentation and a section called "Proofreader's Guide" references punctuation, mechanics, spelling and so on. This text can serve as a grammar and composition course and will also provide an excellent reference for years.