Hacker Exercise Analysis

      Last week, I completed the Bedford Handbook's 'clear sentence' exercises found at : http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedhandbook7enew . Now I will evaluate their usefulness, form, and what I've learned from them.
      The exercises are categorized by the subject of the question, and there are ten questions for each category. The different kinds of questions include revision, rearranging the structure, and omitting. After each question, regardless of your answer, it tells you the correct answer. One thing that I've learned from the exercises is how and where to place modifiers. Before the exercises, I didn't even know what a modifier was, but now I know WHY to place them in certain spots. Another topic that I learned quite a lot about is needed words. This topic dealt with omitting or keeping words depending on how it changes the sentence. I've learned from these exercises to examine how omitting or keeping words changes the meaning of the sentence. The final thing that I've learned from the Hacker exercises is about mixed constructions. This topic was focused on the task of rearranging sentences and omitting words to make the sentence clearer. If I had to summarize this entire experience into one thought, I would say: Make sure everything in a sentence is there for a reason, clearly worded, and concise.