The Macmillan Guided Readers provide a choice of enjoyable reading material for learners of English. The series is published at five levels - Starter, Beginner, Elementary, Intermediate and Upper. At Starter Level, the control of content and language has the following main features: INFORMATION CONTROL: There is a wide choice of interesting subject matter, covering a variety of cultural backgrounds. Stories are written in a fluent and pleasing style with a restricted number of characters. Information which is vital to the understanding of the story is clearly presented and repeated for reinforcement where necessary. STRUCTURE CONTROL: Students will meet only the simplest of grammatical features. Special attention is paid to the control of tenses. Tenses are limited to the Present Simple, the Present Continuous, the Future with ?going to?, and the occasional use of the Future with ?will?. VOCABULARY CONTROL: At Starter Level there is a carefully controlled vocabulary of approximately 300 basic words. Help is also given in the form of illustrations, which form an integral part of the text. This means that students at the very beginning of their course and with a very basic knowledge of English will be able to read Starter Level books with understanding and enjoyment.