Titles in Barron's Painless series are designed for middle school and high school students, helping them excel in subjects they might expect to be either hopelessly boring or excruciatingly difficult. The authors are all experienced teachers, adept at winning the hearts and minds of adolescents, and skillful in adding a light, humorous touch to even the heaviest and grimmest topics.

This book opens with a general description of government and a comparison of democracy as practiced by the founding fathers and how it operates in today's America. The author goes on to discuss the Constitution as our basis of government, civil liberties and civil rights, the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government, elections and political parties, how public policy is created and shaped, and how each citizen can become involved in the process of self-government. The book includes quizzes with answer keys.

Painless Writing

by Jeffrey Strausser

Published 1 September 2001
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.