Teaching College Freshmen to Write: A New Method

This short essay describes how I moved from deep frustration in teaching freshman comp at the Berklee College of Music to real satisfaction and great student improvement. When I taught Freshman Comp the standard way, using the standard textbooks and making grammar notes in the margins of student papers, I became exhausted and students learned little. While at Berklee, through insight and accident, I stumbled on a novel way to teach college writing. This is a "readable writing" method based on the insights of the great Rudolf Flesch. The new method should work for high school juniors and seniors. It certainly produces great results for freshmen writers, and has for the last 15 years. It will work for anyone who needs to learn clear expository writing. It's a step-by-step skills method. Many readers have said this essay is exciting, restores their optimism, and makes them want to buy my book College Writing Guide. Maguirejohn@comcast.net