Titles in Barron's Painless Series are textbook supplements designed especially for classroom use by middle-school and high school students. The approach of each title is an appeal to students who think that the subject is boring, or too difficult, or both. The authors, all experienced educators, take a light approach, showing kids what is most interesting about each subject, and how seemingly difficult problems can be transformed into fun quizzes, brain-ticklers, and challenging puzzles with rational solutions. Here is practical advice that transforms essay writing into a satisfying experience for middle school and senior high school students. The author offers tips on enlivening writing with vivid images, smoothing out sentences, silencing the dull passive voice, and adding rhythm to writing. He also shows how to create a template that students can use when writing research papers for all subjects. In addition, students will find web site reference s cited throughout the text, which they can access. Brain ticklers (short quizzes) appear throughout the book with an answer key at the back. Table of Contents: Introduction Clean Up Preposition Clutter Enliven Your Writing Silencing the Passive Voice Reduce Nominalizations and Activate Your Writing Smoothing Out Your Writing Harness the Power of the Comma Add Rhythm to Your Writing Gremlins in Your Writing Create a Template for Your Term Paper Appendix—Further Reading Brain Ticklers—The Answers Index