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Observing Meteorological Phenomena
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For I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother me. |
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For I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother me. |
W r i t e E x p o s i t o r y E s s a y s
Good writers are all voracious readers. I have never encountered anyone who wrote with clarity and style who did not delight in reading.
But, one can no more become a good writer by reading, than can one become a good athlete by watching: one must write, and write, and then write again. (Adopt a minimum of a half hour of aerobic writing three times a week).
After twenty years of teaching expository writing, I (and others) have detected an apparent improvement in the writing of recent students. There can be many reasons for this: the high schools are doing a better job; Penn State's new emphasis on writing across the curriculum is paying off; students are finding an increased need to write to communicate by e-mail.
If I had to guess as to what has had the greatest influence, it would be the latter: e-mail. I have watched the progression even over a semester of classnews discussions (the private netnews group students use to dissect topics in a course). Initial communications are often halting, but paragraph after paragraph, week after week, the flow of words becomes smoother and clearer. The incessant need to write hones the skill faster than a bevy of admonitions.
As writing fluidity increases, so does delight in the results. It is probably at that time that the writer begins to welcome the advice of more experienced writers: seeing the guidance, not as a burden to be borne, but a garden to be explored.
In the sprit of enjoying those gardens, the following sources of information and help are offered. If you know of other useful ones, inform me so I can add them.
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