Guides
guidesHow to Practise Reading Comprehension with the Classics
Knowing every word isn't the same as understanding the page. How to practise reading comprehension with the classics — and check you actually followed it.
guidesOne Text, Every Level: Teaching a Mixed-Ability Reading Class
A mixed-ability class doesn't need different books — it needs different tasks. How to differentiate one shared reading by support and challenge.
guidesThe Hidden Order of Adjectives: Why It's a 'Big Red Ball,' Not a 'Red Big Ball'
English sorts stacked adjectives by a strict unwritten rule: opinion, size, age, shape, colour. You follow it perfectly, and were never taught it.
guidesWhen to Look Up a Word — and When to Keep Reading
Looking up every unfamiliar word kills the story; looking up none leaves you lost. A simple rule for deciding which words actually need a definition.
guidesWhere to Start with the Classics: Why Difficulty Isn't One Number
A classic's difficulty is two things: how rare its words are and how long its sentences run. Here's how to read both before you open the book.
guidesWord Order Is English Grammar: How Position Decides Meaning
English barely changes its words, so it leans on word order to show who did what. Here's how position carries the grammar, and how to see it.
guidesHow to Read Shakespeare's English Without a Glossary
'Wherefore art thou' never meant 'where are you.' A guide to the pronouns, verb endings, and false friends that make Shakespeare hard to read.
guidesHow to Read a Long Sentence Without Losing the Thread
You know every word and the sentence still defeats you. Why classic prose runs long, and how to find the subject, verb, and spine of any sentence.
guidesHow to Get Better at Reading English (Without Just Reading More)
Getting better at reading English isn't about reading more — it's about reading at the right level and turning the words you meet into words you keep.
guidesDecoding the Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby: What the Manuscript and Discarded Titles Reveal
Fitzgerald's discarded titles and revised manuscript reveal how color works in The Great Gatsby — green, gold, white, grey, and blue, decoded.
guidesPhrasal Verbs in the Classics: When Knowing Every Word Isn't Enough
You can know every word in a sentence and still miss it, because 'make out' isn't 'make' plus 'out'. How to read the phrasal verbs that fill the classics.
guidesOne Word, Several Meanings: Looking Up the Sense That Fits the Sentence
A word like 'bank' means different things in different sentences. Here's how to look up the sense that fits, instead of sorting the whole entry yourself.