English has one of the most complex orthographic systems of all the alphabetic languages. This text is a comprehensive resource for teachers of spelling across the age range, for general use in the teaching of spelling, for teachers of learners with dyslexia and for teachers of English as a foreign or additional language. It enables teachers to plan intervention to meet the individual needs of learners through structured testing and provides them with groups of related words for use in teaching.

The manual, which is introduced by a chapter on the teaching of spelling, is divided into five sections: "Testing" - graded lists of words for testing spelling knowledge, with parallel lists for monitoring consolidation of learning; "Vowels" - word lists for use in teaching, covering all the vowel sounds of English and their related spelling patterns; "Consonants" - a similiar section covering all the consonant sounds and their related spelling patterns; "Homophones and Silent Letters"; and "Word Structure" - a section covering the more complex orthographic rules with lists of words for use in teaching.

There are page references throughout the manual and a complete word index at the end of the book, so teachers should have no difficulty in finding individual words.