Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (print)
Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (print)
Grades: 9-12 | Subject(s): All | Overall rating: 9
Although this dictionary was printed in 2001, I still felt it relevant to include in this review. Unfortunately, I cannot get my pictures to cooperate in the slideshow view, so some display in portrait orientation when they should be in landscape and vice versa. The cover of the dictionary boasts over 315,000 entries, a special new words section, an essay on the growth of the English language, 2,400 illustrations and maps, and new biographical and geographical entries.
There are several neat features of this dictionary. First, it lists the letter, name, and transliteration for five different alphabets (Arabic, German, Greek, Hebrew, and Russian) and a pronunciation key for several different foreign sounds and languages at the beginning of the book. While this was not part of this assignment, it was very interesting.
The dictionary also had a new words section including around 1,000 words and meanings not found in the main section. Some words included within this section that I found interesting were: big foot, CNN, identity theft, smoothie, and my favorite (smiley). There is also an extensive and very helpful section on how to use the dictionary.
As with previous dictionaries, I looked up the word "librarian." The pronunciation and definition were similar to other dictionaries. However, one interesting feature of this dictionary was a section covering the pronunciation of the word library. The two r-sounds following each other creates tendencies for the sounds to be dropped, especially with less educated speakers. Some similar words that we were listed included colonel, February and governor.
At the end of the dictionary, the editors included a "Basic Manual of Style." Some topics discussed included punctuation use, word divisions, abbreviations, capitalization rules, using italics, numerals, footnotes, and bibliographies. There was a section to help guide readers on writing a resume that included sample resumes. There was also a really helpful section on how to write a term paper as well as a list of commonly used proofreaders marks. Additionally, a list of how to formally address political and religious leaders. The book concludes with a list of words that are commonly confused such as affect and effect, accept and except, etc.
I rated this resource as a 9. I think in 2001 this would have been an amazing asset to the library collection at CHS. It still holds value, so I plan on keeping it for a while. However, I would love to have an updated copy. I love all the extra features and lists included within the book.
Source Articles:
Random House Webster's unabridged dictionary (2nd ed.). (2001). New York: Random House
Reference.
Grades: 9-12 | Subject(s): All | Overall rating: 9
Although this dictionary was printed in 2001, I still felt it relevant to include in this review. Unfortunately, I cannot get my pictures to cooperate in the slideshow view, so some display in portrait orientation when they should be in landscape and vice versa. The cover of the dictionary boasts over 315,000 entries, a special new words section, an essay on the growth of the English language, 2,400 illustrations and maps, and new biographical and geographical entries.
There are several neat features of this dictionary. First, it lists the letter, name, and transliteration for five different alphabets (Arabic, German, Greek, Hebrew, and Russian) and a pronunciation key for several different foreign sounds and languages at the beginning of the book. While this was not part of this assignment, it was very interesting.
The dictionary also had a new words section including around 1,000 words and meanings not found in the main section. Some words included within this section that I found interesting were: big foot, CNN, identity theft, smoothie, and my favorite (smiley). There is also an extensive and very helpful section on how to use the dictionary.
As with previous dictionaries, I looked up the word "librarian." The pronunciation and definition were similar to other dictionaries. However, one interesting feature of this dictionary was a section covering the pronunciation of the word library. The two r-sounds following each other creates tendencies for the sounds to be dropped, especially with less educated speakers. Some similar words that we were listed included colonel, February and governor.
At the end of the dictionary, the editors included a "Basic Manual of Style." Some topics discussed included punctuation use, word divisions, abbreviations, capitalization rules, using italics, numerals, footnotes, and bibliographies. There was a section to help guide readers on writing a resume that included sample resumes. There was also a really helpful section on how to write a term paper as well as a list of commonly used proofreaders marks. Additionally, a list of how to formally address political and religious leaders. The book concludes with a list of words that are commonly confused such as affect and effect, accept and except, etc.
I rated this resource as a 9. I think in 2001 this would have been an amazing asset to the library collection at CHS. It still holds value, so I plan on keeping it for a while. However, I would love to have an updated copy. I love all the extra features and lists included within the book.
Source Articles:
Random House Webster's unabridged dictionary (2nd ed.). (2001). New York: Random House
Reference.