Description
Learning to write, Dr. Peikoff explains, requires not only an understanding of the proper principles, but also the ability to apply those principles to one’s actual writing.
These lectures feature exercises on six different aspects of good writing. The topics are:
- Selectivity: How to determine what is essential.
- Structure: How to organize your material hierarchically.
- Emotional vs. Factual Tone: How the same idea can be conveyed in dry, factual terms, or in colorful, emotionally evocative language.
- Context: How to compose an introductory sentence that sets the context and makes a complex subject fully intelligible.
- Motivation: How to prepare a brief, motivational opening for a talk.
- Condensation: How to write in concise English.
Writing assignments for this course can be found here.
(Dr. Peikoff’s lectures on reading are not collected in this course, but you can find his appraisal of Monna Vanna here.)
Disclaimer: Although Dr. Peikoff granted permission for the creation of this course in a new format, he has not reviewed or approved any of its content.
Recorded at Second Renaissance Conference 1994 in Secaucus, NJ.
