The four areas are analysed following the order of the chapter title.

In the first section, the various punctuation marks are listed and analysed; specific differences between French and English in their use are noted, e.g. in the accounts of the comma and the hyphen (both expanded in this edition).

The rules for the use of the four French accents and the cedilla are explained and exemplified in detail. This account includes an explanation of the rules for the circumflex accent and, in the sub-section on the tonic accent, of the stress placed on particular syllables.

The section on spelling includes a summary of the orthographic rules of 1990, contractions, the apostrophe and the use of capital letters (expanded in this edition). A list of spelling rules is followed by specific considerations, e.g. in the spelling of adverbs and numbers.

The final section, on the sounds of French, covers the phonetic alphabet, combinations of vowels, final consonants, phonemes, silent and aspirated h, nasal vowels, silent e and liaison.