The first time I taught an essay writing class, one of my students raised her hand as I was talking.
“Excuse me,” she said. “But what does S. A. stand for?”
Like I always tell my students, there is no stupid question. But that question was surprising to me at the time!
Now I realize why people haven’t heard of essays: because they don’t see a need for them in their daily lives.
In reality, though, essays are not only … Read the rest!
When we speak casually with other people, we make lots of grammar errors. We say things like “I’m gonna go” and “lay down in bed” and “he got less cookies than me!”
But when we write, all of a sudden you’re supposed to write in a more formal way. Why?
I like to use a clothing metaphor:
When you’re in bed, you might wear pajamas…or nothing at all.
When you’re hanging around at home, you probably wear really casual … Read the rest!
You know how sometimes you finish reading something and you say, “Wow, that was great”?
Why is one piece of writing good and another not so good?
Well, to a certain extent, everyone likes different things. For example, I like Harry Potter, but I’m not terribly fond of Percy Jackson. That’s what we call “taste.” I can’t really explain it, because those are both well-written book series.
But aside from taste, there are some things that make writing “good.” … Read the rest!
I will be that you’ve heard this before: it’s really important that you learn how to write well.
But why? What’s the point of writing when we have so many other ways of communicating in modern times?
History
First, I’m going to give you a little history. Human beings tramped around the Earth for many years before they learned to write. They figured out how to make stone tools, hunt animals, and even farm before they learned how to write.… Read the rest!