Thinking On Paper - Hardcover

V. A. Howard; J. H. Barton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688048730 ISBN 13: 9780688048730

Publisher: William Morrow and Company, 1986

Synopsis

Most books on writing assume that the sole purpose of writing is communication. These manuals seldom go beyond teaching how to avoid the problems of punctuation, grammar, and style that at one time or another ensnare the best of writers. Few, if any, of these books explore writing as a way of shaping thought.

V.A. Howard and J.H. Barton, two Harvard researchers in education, take a radically different approach. While they agree with their predecessors that an important function of writing is the clear, direct expression of thought, they point out that many of our thoughts first come into being only when put to paper. By failing to recognize the link between thinking and writing, we fall into the deadlock innappropriately named writer's block.

Thinking on Paper shows how writer's block as well as many other writing problems are engendered by the tendency, supported by traditional approaches, to separate thinking from writing. Drawing on the developing field of symbol theory, Howard and Barton explain why this sepapration is unsound and demonstrate how to improve dramatically our ability to generate and express ideas. For everyone who writes, this is a readable, accessible manual of immense educational and practical value.

About this title

About the Author

V.A. Howard, Ph.D., is co-director, with Israel Scheffler, of the Philosphy of Education Research Center at Harvard University.

J.H. Barton, M.A., is an associate at the Philosophy of Education Research Center and a private business consultant.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow and Company
• Publication date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688048730
• ISBN 13: 9780688048730
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 156