Excellent! Drout is the best. ( )

I really liked this course! The professor is interesting and gives great explanations and analysis of rhetoric. ( )

I really liked this course! The professor is interesting and gives great explanations and analysis of rhetoric. ( )

This has a lot of bad Tarzan jokes which convince me that Drout never actually read Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is really interesting nonetheless. ( )

The Modern Scholar is a series of audio courses, not exactly a book, although course guides are available for ordering. After recently reading a book about the development of the English language, I thought I'd give an English class a try.

It's been 30 years since I've last been barraged by academic terms for common figures of speech. Course teacher Michael D.C. Drout of Wheaton College in Massachusetts brings them all out of the closet with an engaging style. Unscripted, he is a naturally gifted speaker and lecturer -- the subject matter might otherwise be dry to some (most?), but his enthusiasm and engaging style kept me interested throughout all 14 lectures.

The purpose of the course is two-fold, primarily to improve one's effectiveness in writing, but also with a nod toward speaking. Many of the technical terms have already leaked out of my brain -- but many of the examples of what is good and correct and what is wrong remain. He also covers the English 101 ground of grammar and punctuation, but only insofar as to show why such things merit consideration and how to avoid some of the most common and egregious errors. A medieval scholar who also has delved into the ancient roots of the English language, Professor Drout also regales us with stories on how certain forms and conventions came to be, how words and meanings evolved over time, and even in some instances how English deviates from other languages.

The course has given me things to consider the next time I write a formal discourse, and some of his tips will help me avoid some common mistakes that incur the wrath and ridicule of grammar Nazis. My writing style is unlikely to undergo any significant transformation, however, but YMMV. The Modern Scholar website offers a "final exam." I can tell which parts of the course got too bogged down in technical details by the results (87%) The questions that related more to his examples I answered all correctly. ( )