willfitzhugh's blog

[originally published by Educational Leadership in 2006, and since reprinted by
EdNews.org, History News Network, and New Media News.]

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April 11, 2007

Contentless Writing
by Will Fitzhugh

“Reading maketh a Full man, Conference a Ready man, and Writing an Exact man.”
Francis Bacon, 1625

Abraham Lincoln’s address at Gettysburg was short. Indeed, the President had spoken and taken his seat before many in that large crowd gathered outdoors even realized that he had spoken. Fortunately, an alert reporter took down his words. Short as the speech was, it began with a date and a fact—the sort of factual content that is being drained away from student writing today.