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Rhetoric
Apr 18, 2012 — Jonathan Gottschall is an English professor fed up with academia's ugly jargon. He recommends three books that help writers with their prose. Has a book ever helped you with your composition skills? Tell us about it in the comments.
Jul 15, 2011 — NPR coverage of Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose. News, author interviews, critics' picks and more.
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Jul 14, 2011 — NPR coverage of How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One by Stanley Eugene Fish. News, author interviews, critics' picks and more.
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Jan 25, 2011 — Most people know a good sentence when they read one, but New York Times columnist Stanley Fish says most of us don't really know how to write them ourselves. His new book, How To Write A Sentence: And How To Read One, is part ode, part how-to guide to the art of the well-constructed sentence.
Feb 23, 2010 — Linguist Geoff Nunberg doesn't enjoy everything about the English language. There are phrases that get on his nerves and words that he prefers not to use. And Nunberg says he's not the first person to have linguistic pet peeves — nor will he be the last.
Jul 12, 2009 — Thirty years ago, President Jimmy Carter diagnosed the nation with "a crisis of confidence," and Americans' reception of the criticism was overwhelmingly positive. But within days, the good will had dried up.
Apr 16, 2009 — In 1959, E.B. White published a revised copy of his former college professor's "little book" on writing. The Elements of Style, or "Strunk and White" as it's sometimes known, became an indispensable guide for writers. A new anniversary edition chronicles the making of a classic.
Jan 24, 2007 — President Bush included several turns of phrase in his State of the Union speech Tuesday that were meant to make his point — and to make it harder for those with other viewpoints to discount the president's ideas. Frank Luntz, author of Words That Work, talks about Mr. Bush's phrasing.
Jan 9, 2007 — Republican pollster Frank Luntz advises politicians on the language they should use to win elections and promote their policies. Although he works on one side of the aisle, he says that what he does is essentially nonpartisan, seeking clarity and simplicity in language. His critics disagree, and have accused him of using language that misrepresents policies to "sell" them to the public. Frank Luntz is the author of Words That Work.
Sep 14, 2006 — If Hemingway, Mitchell, Faulkner, and Hurston could do it... why not you? Writer Francine Prose says sometimes it's just a matter of those first few words.
