The Double Helix is not a science book; rather, it is a literary book about scientists—a fascinating account of one of the most important discoveries of the 20th-century. Sir Lawrence Bragg advises the reader of this important fact in the Forward when he outlines what he believes are the three salient themes that surface in […]
Teaching & Education
Enrich the Well From Which You Draw Your Inspiration
Last week I began a discussion around the idea that if we want people to read and follow our work, it has to be interesting. I don’t mean interesting in the sense of cool, hip, or flashy. I mean intriguing and meaningful in a human sort of way. It concerns me that so many writers are […]
Three Tips to Writing Interesting Work that Actually Gets Read
If you want people to read and follow your work, you have to be able to write something interesting. And isn’t that what all of us writers want–to write interesting work? While there are a lot of us calling ourselves writers, how many of us are doing really interesting work. Those who are doing interesting work seem […]
Two Tips You Can Use Today for Better Reading Comprehension
Some readers are naturally better than others. To be on the bottom end of that spectrum is to be disadvantaged in many respects. After all, as the saying goes: readers are leaders. So what makes the difference? How does one move up the spectrum and improve his or her reading comprehension? In his classic work, […]
On the Profit of Pagan Literature
One of the ongoing questions often asked–and it’s one that is frequently addressed in ancient Christian literature–is why Christians should incorporate ancient pagan literature in their own education and literature. In other words, “What does Jerusalem have to do with Athens?” Basil the Great, in a work titled, To Young Men, on How They Might Derive Profit from […]
Saturday School: Lesson #10 – Analysis and Synthesis
Lesson #10 – Analysis and Synthesis Complete the reading assignment Complete the writing exercise Post your assignment in the comments Share the lesson with a friend Reading Review In the last lesson, we discussed the five topics of invention most useful in developing arguments for our thesis: What is the definition of X? What are its characteristics, both […]
Saturday School: Lesson #9 – Supporting your Thesis, Part V (Invention)
Lesson #9 – Supporting your Thesis, Part V (Invention) Complete the reading assignment Complete the writing exercise Post your assignment in the comments Share the lesson with a friend Reading Review In the last couple of lessons, we have learned that a deductive argument uses syllogistic logic to make a point that supports your thesis, and an […]
That ‘Inconceivable’ Liberal Arts Education
In William Goldman’s, The Princess Bride, Vizzini gets into the habit of saying, “Inconceivable!” To which Inigo Montoya eventually objects and says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Such is often the case when folks in modernity use the expression, “liberal arts education.” The frequency […]
Saturday School: Lesson #8 – Supporting your Thesis, Part IV (Induction)
Lesson #8 – Supporting your Thesis, Part IV (Induction) Complete the reading assignment Complete the writing exercise Post your assignment in the comments Share the lesson with a friend Reading Review Last week we learned how syllogisms work. They are the framework of a deductive argument. We learned there are three kinds of syllogisms writers need to […]
Saturday School: Lesson #7 – Supporting your Thesis, Part III (Syllogisms)
Lesson #7 – Supporting your Thesis, Part III (Syllogisms) Complete the reading assignment Complete the writing exercise Post your assignment in the comments Share the lesson with a friend Reading Review Last week we discussed how the ideas a writer develops to support a paper’s thesis can be classified into two main categories: logic and topics of invention. We addressed the first, […]