A Down-to-Earth Approach to Clear Writing

FEDERAL SECTOR REPORT

October 1998

Jim Kendrick , P2C2 Group, Inc.
kendrick@p2c2group.com
4101 Denfeld Avenue, Kensington MD 20895
(301) 942-7985 * Fax (301) 942-7986

The Little Red Schoolhouse: Better Writing

Writing for Research and Technology is an exceptionally important skill for developers of proposals. Unfortunately, even experts with advanced degrees are often found wanting in terms of their ability to put facts and ideas on paper. The lament about inept writing skills was expressed recently in the 1998 report by the Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University:

The failure of research universities seems most serious in conferring degrees upon inarticulate students. Every university graduate should understand that no idea is fully formed until it can be communicated, and that the organization required for writing and speaking is part of the thought process that enables one to understand material fully. Dissemination of results is an essential and integral part of the research process, which means that training in research cannot be considered complete without training in effective communication. Skills of analysis, clear explanation of complicated materials, brevity, and lucidity should be the hallmarks of communication in every course. (Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America's Research Universities, 1998, Boyer Commission, p. 24.)

It was with great delight that Ron L. Collins, Dean of the Honors Division at Coppin State College, introduced me to "The Little Red Schoolhouse," a writing instruction course at the University of Chicago. The instructional approach has worked for students as diverse as freshmen and postdoctoral fellows. Most are seeking to communicate about complex scientific and technical topics, sometimes involving very specialized research.

The course was developed under the leadership of one of America's deans of clear writing: Joseph M. Williams, who is author of such books as STYLE, Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (ISBN 0673180581, Scott, Foresman and Company, 1985). The 3-ring notebook for The Little Red Schoolhouse is unlike any that I ever experienced in my writing classes (back in the days). Here is a sample page from a 2-inch thick binder:

We Make the Word "Point" a Technical Term

Papers Exist to Support Point Sentences.

But here is a point just as important:

Points are not limited to the whole essay.

Every coherent unit of discourse also has-or should

have a point:

Every paragraph has a point.

Every sub-section has a point.

Every section has a point.

We can therefore ask, what's the point of the

So many writing teachers (and their texts) that I have known are wordy, and the widely-used University of Chicago writing style book is, er, useful but boring. Williams practices what he preaches, making points clearly and concisely. This is an approach that propellerheads, scientists, and technologists could appreciate. No bull; just the nuts and bolts of how to write clearly and make your point.

Schoolhouse is one of the best practices cited in the Boyer Commission report. A number of other institutions of higher education have already implemented adapted versions of the curriculum (such as Georgia Institute of Technology). Temple University's Writing Center also has a guide for clear sentences adapted from the principles of the Little Red Schoolhouse.

Clarity and grace are beautiful.

LINKS RELATED TO LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE

http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/schoolhouse/

http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/courses/