Categories: Continue
Date: Nov 7, 2008
Title: Put It In Writing
In this visual age, writing doesn't seem to be very important. Betty Burger shows us that it is, and how to improve our writing by making it more precise.
Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.”
Though written in modern English, this quote from Sir Francis Bacon might as well be in Swahili to many modern folks. Translated into twentyfirst century English, it might read, “Reading fills a man with knowledge, discourse or conversation teaches him to answer arguments and think on his feet, and writing makes him precise.” All three of these abilities are important for educated persons. Someone who has read nothing of substance knows nothing. Someone who has only read, secluded from company and the challenges of others’ opinions, cannot well defend his own opinions. {$pullquote}
But what about writing? We are told that this is a visual age. Books are supposed to become obsolete according to some. It is the day of movies, TV, DVDs, PowerPoint presentations, and graphics of all sorts. It takes discipline to develop the skills necessary to write well. Is it worth the effort when “a picture is worth a thousand words”? A picture may be worth a thousand words, if you are trying to assemble a Lego creation… but not if you are trying to explain the nature of truth.
Bacon points out that written communication is even more precise than verbal communication. Have you ever listened to a lecture or a sermon and suddenly realized that the speaker just contradicted himself? Did anyone else notice? Spoken language can be hard to follow. The listener must concentrate on the argument closely and remember what was said previously. You cannot go back and replay it unless it is recorded. Whole crowds of people have been led to folly by speakers who were not giving a credible argument for their proposed solutions to problems. But the error can be difficult to spot in spoken form—especially when emotions are engaged.
That is why for centuries people have said, “Put it in writing.” King John’s barons did so when they made him sign the Magna Carta. In written form you can pin down the details and the other party finds it harder to squirm out of what he has agreed to. The most significant evidence that the written word is important is that God was not content to reveal His truth to us in either pictorial or verbal form. He wrote it down very early on including writing His Law Himself on two tablets of stone. (Exodus 32:16)
How do we become precise writers and encourage our students to do so, as well? There are three theoretical parts that are necessary for lucid writing: diction, definition, and logical defense. Diction involves word choice. Some words are over-used and therefore, have become essentially meaningless. Nice is the standard example given, but the slang word cool qualifies as well. When someone says something is “Cool!” does he mean it is beautiful, or exciting, or surprising, or acceptable? Work at expanding your own and your students’ vocabularies. English has more words than any other language—use them. Ask your students: is it a porch, a stoop, or a veranda on the front of the house they are describing? Use a thesaurus to find possible synonyms and a dictionary to determine the differences between the possibilities.
People tend not to define terms, but definition is essential. How can you talk about salvation, or Christianity, or peace, or freedom, or even fair tax laws unless you define your terms so that your reader knows what it is you are really talking about? Keeping the argument vague to obtain agreement with more people is deceitful and counter-productive in the end because you have not really agreed on the same thing—just your separate versions of it. Teach your students to give a proper definition.An example is not a definition.Nor is saying “X is when…” X may be a dog, a dish, a dance step, or a determination to become something, but it is not “when” anything! Forbid students to use that construction. Teach them to define by classifying. For example: Love is not when you do the dishes for your sister because she is sick. That is not a definition of love. Love is obedience to the law of God. (If you doubt this definition, check John 14:15 and 1 John 5:2–3.) What is love? It is obedience to a particular rule, God’s rule, whether we are loving God or other people. An example of a definition of a verb could be: “Believing is the act of putting your trust in someone or something.”
The third part,logical defense,is more complex. It involves outlining an argument, sticking to the point, and providing credible evidence for your position. No one is entitled to an unsupported opinion. The Scriptures demand of us that we be able to give a reason (not feeling) for the hope that lies within us (I Peter 3:15). We must be able to organize our thoughts, keep to the subject without straying off topic, and cite credible reasons for our beliefs—whether it is which animal makes the best pet or which person should be elected to the presidency.
How do we help our students learn the three theoretical aspects of precise writing? One means is to practice them ourselves. Setting an example is a powerful teaching tool. Also, on a daily basis in their studies, we can suggest that our students keep a journal. Journals are great tools for overcoming the fear of putting words on paper. Anything we do often we are rarely afraid of. Encourage accurate diction including clear, precise descriptions and explanations. Brainstorm with them about other ways they could word what they wish to say—especially if they are struggling with how to say anything in the first place.
A second simple step is to point out good writing when you are reading aloud. Point out words that are effective that may not be part of your students’ vocabulary. Note good descriptions and accurate analysis. Try to define words often—new ones as well as ones you use regularly. Defining words is not easy, but it hones our thinking skills.
As your students mature, require them to write essays—papers that have a thesis which must be supported. Refuse to accept meandering thoughts. Make them organize their ideas and stick to the topic as well as supply evidence for their opinions. Their readers should not have to wonder where the argument is going or simply get lost in it because it is confusing. It should flow logically in an organized way. Most beginning writers fail at this because they either skip steps of the argument or wander off the topic. Having someone else read the outlined steps of the argument helps to catch the first problem. In the second, they introduce stray elements unrelated to their argument which they don’t (and shouldn’t) develop. Disciplining oneself to sort out the essentials, and to stick to them, eliminates this issue. Finally, accurate support for the argument is essential. No one should have to believe something just because someone else said it, unless that someone else is God. The rest of us must supply evidence for our opinions or convictions. These elements are essential whether students are asserting the best method of making pie crust or debating the merits of a federal system of government.
God demands clear thinking of us. Jesus reasoned with the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees over and over, and the Lord thought those arguments (debates) significant enough to have them recorded for us in writing in the Gospels. Jesus developed the doctrine of the resurrection from the tense of one verb (Matthew 22:31–32). He reasoned from the implications of the tense of the verb to the doctrine of the resurrection: if God is (present tense), not was (past tense) Jacob’s God, then Jacob must still be alive. Paul often reasoned with the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 17:12) Peter assures us that the written word is the “more sure word of prophecy” (II Peter 1:19). In order to be like our God, we must work at similar skills—through writing.
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