It happens once a year or so. A student will suggest that we study something that is badly written. “I know,” she’ll say, “Let’s read Twilight!” While I recognize this as a ploy, a way to get credit ...

F ads may come and go, but criticizing academics for their bad writing never goes out of style. With headlines such as “Why Academics Stink at Writing,” “Why Academics Revel in Bad Writing,” and “Why ...

Vice in America: The New Issue of NR Is Out The Health of American Democracy Isn’t Measured in ‘Free’ Stuff We Cannot Be Casual About Antisemitism Sneer and Grifting at the 2025 National Book Awards ...

We are graduating bad writers. Despite increases in the number of students finishing high school and enrolling in four-year colleges, poor writing is ubiquitous. Students with subpar writing skills ...

When we think of essential business skills, delegation, time management, and networking are probably at the top of everyone’s list. However, a recent survey conducted by Harvard Business Review ...

“Fred, having noticed that he could mark the passage of time by the repetitive replacement of his empty toothpaste tube with a new one, stared at this latest tube wondering just how many more he would ...

We are living in the Golden Age of Bad Writing Instruction. Mind you, the teaching of writing has always been problematic in the K-12 world. If you are of a Certain Age (i.e. mine) you may have fond ...

If you’ve got a story to tell, tell the story. No need to dress it up in a tutu. Many moons ago, my late friend John Van Doorn strolled ‘round the newsroom flashing a $5 bill, promising it to whoever ...

The process by which writing goes from bad to good--or even great--totally fascinates me. I think the main reason more people don't write is the sheer terror of ...