This textbook for beginners seeks to help pupils take an interest in the quality of their English and speak more correctly, more effectively and more agreeably, and to write with due regard for the essentials of good form. Until the language lesson is understood to be distinctively a lesson in craftsmanship, it will contribute little or nothing to the improvement of the pupil's speaking or writing. It is this fresh and fruitful understanding of the problem that the present textbook stresses in every lesson. This textbook includes the technique of preparation, which is learned in learn-to-study exercises that combine directed study and silent reading.