Writing to Learn: How to Write--And Think--Clearly about Any Subject at All - Softcover

Zinsser, William Knowlton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060915765 ISBN 13: 9780060915766

Publisher: LSU Press, 1992

Synopsis

From the author of On Writing Well comes a book on how to write clearly aboutany subject--and how to use writing as a means of learning.

About this title

About the Author

William Zinsser is a writer, editor and teacher. He began his career with the New York Herald Tribune and has long been a freelance writer for leading magazines. During the 1970s he taught writing at Yale, where he was master of Branford College. From 1979 to 1987 he was general editor of the Book-of-the-Month Club. His 15 books, ranging from jazz to baseball, also includeSpeaking of Journalism, American Places and the influential Writing to Learn. He now teaches at the New School in New York, his hometown.

From Library Journal

Using numerous examples of clear, stylish writing from a broad range of disciplines, and adding the warmth of his personal experiences, Zinsser makes a strong case for his claim that writing about a field of knowledge is the best way to immerse oneself in it and to make it one's own. Three guiding principles emergeaccuracy, brevity, and clarityand, Zinsser argues, writers who keep them in mind will avoid much of the misunderstanding that results from bad writing. Zinnser has particularly harsh words for what he calls "corporation-speak," the incomprehensible nonsense that invades many professional publications. His reference, whose title so accurately sums up its philosophy, should become a standard for those who care about good writing.Terry Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: LSU Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0060915765
• ISBN 13: 9780060915766
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256