Best texts & exercises for adults in a professional writing class?
July 13, 2013 3:48 PM Subscribe
What are the most useful writing tips and/or resources (books and the like) that you have come across as an adult? New teacher of a course in professional writing wants to know.
I am teaching a writing course to adults for the first time, and finding it a challenge. A good challenge. But I could use some ideas. I have taught composition to college freshmen before, but the task here is a bit different. My students are mostly working professionals, many with advanced degrees, who are in the class because someone at work told them that their writing could use improvement. The syllabus I inherited calls for Strunk & White and William Zinsser's On Writing Well, along with a book of contemporary essays that we're supposed to use for discussion.
I can already tell that the students would like more instruction in grammar than is currently built into the syllabus. I like Strunk & White, but it's old-fashioned, and it's also so brief as to be a bit elliptical, especially for adults who haven't reviewed grammar terminology for years. Has anyone had experience with a friendlier, modern grammar book that would be suitable to use in class?
Any other suggestions are welcome too. Teaching composition to undergrads usually means teaching how to write term papers. My adult students are focused on something different (emails? reports? everything that might fall under the heading 'business writing'—though some of them have creative writing aspirations as well), and I want to make things fun and also useful to them. What are some writing exercises, bits of advice, etc. that have helped you?
I am teaching a writing course to adults for the first time, and finding it a challenge. A good challenge. But I could use some ideas. I have taught composition to college freshmen before, but the task here is a bit different. My students are mostly working professionals, many with advanced degrees, who are in the class because someone at work told them that their writing could use improvement. The syllabus I inherited calls for Strunk & White and William Zinsser's On Writing Well, along with a book of contemporary essays that we're supposed to use for discussion.
I can already tell that the students would like more instruction in grammar than is currently built into the syllabus. I like Strunk & White, but it's old-fashioned, and it's also so brief as to be a bit elliptical, especially for adults who haven't reviewed grammar terminology for years. Has anyone had experience with a friendlier, modern grammar book that would be suitable to use in class?
Any other suggestions are welcome too. Teaching composition to undergrads usually means teaching how to write term papers. My adult students are focused on something different (emails? reports? everything that might fall under the heading 'business writing'—though some of them have creative writing aspirations as well), and I want to make things fun and also useful to them. What are some writing exercises, bits of advice, etc. that have helped you?
Warriner's Grammar and English Composition is normally used in high school but it's the only grammar book you'd ever need.
posted by seemoreglass at 4:39 PM on July 13, 2013
posted by seemoreglass at 4:39 PM on July 13, 2013
Try Eats, Shoots & Leaves for a handy grammar guide. It sounds like they need, in addition to basic skills, is to see what really good writing of whatever type they need looks like, so I would suggest having them read examples and analyze them to determine what makes them good. I would also suggest having them write -- a lot -- and then, as @mochapickle suggests, doing group and individual editing exercises.
posted by platitudipus at 5:11 PM on July 13, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by platitudipus at 5:11 PM on July 13, 2013 [1 favorite]
The Sense of Structure: Writing From The Reader's Perspective, by George D. Gopen. It's less about grammar, and more about structuring your sentences and paragraphs to lead the reader through your argument or story.
Here's Gopen's summary of his approach:
In trying to make sense of an English sentence, readers need to answer five essential questions:
1. What is going on here?
2. Whose story is this?
3. How does this sentence connect backwards to the previous sentence?
4. How does this sentence lean forwards to the next sentence?
5. What is the most important piece of information in this sentence?
Remarkably, the interpretive clues to the answers to all five of these essential questions are conveyed to the reader not by word choice, but rather by structural location. Where a particular word shows up in a sentence -- and not what that word is -- controls the way that word will be interpretively processed.
I've been lucky enough to attend a workshop series taught by Dr. Gopen, and it was incredible stuff. It's really a fresh perspective on what writing is for: communication, not just demonstration. Term papers are about demonstration: you're just trying to prove to a teacher or professor that you learned enough information to pass the class. Writing in the real world, especially in business, is about communication: you're trying to impart information and ideas to your audience, trying to actually accomplish something in the real world with your writing, rather than just trying to show what you know.
Dr. Gopen's book covers the same material as the workshops. It's absolutely chock-full of specific examples. The examples really make it clear why some writing is confusing and hard to read, and other writing is easy to read and understand.
There is a companion volume, Expectations: Teaching Writing From The Reader's Perspective, which may be useful to you as a teacher.
posted by snowmentality at 5:30 PM on July 13, 2013 [2 favorites]
Here's Gopen's summary of his approach:
In trying to make sense of an English sentence, readers need to answer five essential questions:
1. What is going on here?
2. Whose story is this?
3. How does this sentence connect backwards to the previous sentence?
4. How does this sentence lean forwards to the next sentence?
5. What is the most important piece of information in this sentence?
Remarkably, the interpretive clues to the answers to all five of these essential questions are conveyed to the reader not by word choice, but rather by structural location. Where a particular word shows up in a sentence -- and not what that word is -- controls the way that word will be interpretively processed.
I've been lucky enough to attend a workshop series taught by Dr. Gopen, and it was incredible stuff. It's really a fresh perspective on what writing is for: communication, not just demonstration. Term papers are about demonstration: you're just trying to prove to a teacher or professor that you learned enough information to pass the class. Writing in the real world, especially in business, is about communication: you're trying to impart information and ideas to your audience, trying to actually accomplish something in the real world with your writing, rather than just trying to show what you know.
Dr. Gopen's book covers the same material as the workshops. It's absolutely chock-full of specific examples. The examples really make it clear why some writing is confusing and hard to read, and other writing is easy to read and understand.
There is a companion volume, Expectations: Teaching Writing From The Reader's Perspective, which may be useful to you as a teacher.
posted by snowmentality at 5:30 PM on July 13, 2013 [2 favorites]
The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers
and:
This Year Your Write Your Novel
posted by cjorgensen at 6:41 PM on July 13, 2013
and:
This Year Your Write Your Novel
posted by cjorgensen at 6:41 PM on July 13, 2013
One of my favorite grammar and writing books is Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference. I use it as a resource in my editing practicum and recommend it to anyone involved with working with words. I've really gotten away from S&W. it also has sections on ESL issues so can be helpful to people who struggle with concepts, and MSL style.
posted by emcat8 at 10:46 PM on July 13, 2013
posted by emcat8 at 10:46 PM on July 13, 2013
I agree with Mochapickle about teaching, or at least showing, editing symbols. Sometimes that's helpful. Grammar, punctuation, etc can be abstract concepts for a lot of people, and seeing the actual little "codes" that professional editors use to mark mistakes can sometimes help make the concepts feel more concrete.
Has anyone had experience with a friendlier, modern grammar book that would be suitable to use in class?
How to Not Write Bad is pretty new, but it's plainspoken and I think it's an excellent match for what you're describing.
posted by cribcage at 5:55 AM on July 14, 2013
Has anyone had experience with a friendlier, modern grammar book that would be suitable to use in class?
How to Not Write Bad is pretty new, but it's plainspoken and I think it's an excellent match for what you're describing.
posted by cribcage at 5:55 AM on July 14, 2013
Woe is I is a great book that I just got a copy of. All the essentials in a cute, clear package. It was published in 2005.
posted by Jewel98 at 8:26 AM on July 14, 2013
posted by Jewel98 at 8:26 AM on July 14, 2013
I wonder if you might find The Transitive Vampire useful? Karen Elizabeth Gordon also wrote The Well-Tempered Sentence, which might also be of interest to you or your students.
posted by kristi at 8:30 PM on July 14, 2013
posted by kristi at 8:30 PM on July 14, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
The HBR Guide to Better Business Writing is clear and concise and approachable. It'll be a nice desk reference for students after the class is over.
posted by mochapickle at 4:21 PM on July 13, 2013