Write Like You Teach - (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) by James M Lang (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This engaging guide offers practical advice to teachers on how to utilize their existing classroom skills to become more effective public writers. After years spent cultivating their expertise and passion for a subject, scholars are uniquely positioned to write great books. Yet, accustomed to writing for an audience of their peers, many scholars find it challenging to adapt their writing to a style that is accessible and engaging to the general public. But what many academics frequently overlook is that they are regularly called on to pitch their research to a general audience: their undergraduates. If only there were a way to translate the skills they use in the classroom into their writing . . . James M. Lang is just the person to help. In Write Like You Teach, Lang--a veteran writer and teacher--distills the elements of good classroom teaching into guidelines for writing for a general audience. He encourages authors to take an interest in how their readers learn and to embrace exploration, experimentation, and creativity when writing books, just as they might in the classroom. Lang asks his readers to consider the questions that all great teachers ask themselves: How will I get the attention of my students? How do I make them curious about the subject? What stories or examples will illustrate the more difficult concepts or theories in the course? When will I pause in the class and give students a break from hard thinking? What will I do at the end of the class to remind students about my key messages, and leave them wanting to learn more about my fascinating subject? Write Like You Teach includes examples from successful writers and useful anecdotes from Lang's own classroom and writing career. Indeed, Lang takes his own advice to heart: like a good teacher, he varies the form of each chapter, making sure to introduce some surprises to keep the reader engaged. Each chapter ends with writing prompts to help readers practice their newly acquired skills, and an appendix provides additional advice on publishing and promoting one's work. Teachers who follow Lang's suggestions will find new ways to connect with their readers-and like any good student, they will never approach writing the same way again"--

Book Synopsis

This engaging guide offers practical advice to teachers on how to utilize their existing classroom skills to become more effective public writers.

After years spent cultivating their expertise and passion for a subject, scholars are uniquely positioned to write great books. Yet, accustomed to writing for an audience of their peers, many scholars find it challenging to adapt their writing to a style that is accessible and engaging to the general public. James M. Lang argues that academics are regularly called on to pitch their research to a general audience: their undergraduates. If only there were a way to translate the skills they use in the classroom into their writing. . . .

In Write Like You Teach, Lang--a veteran writer and teacher--distills the elements of good classroom teaching into guidelines for writing for a general audience. He encourages authors to pay attention to how their readers learn and to embrace exploration, experimentation, and creativity in their writing. Lang asks his readers to consider the questions that all great teachers ask themselves: How will I get the attention of my students? How do I make them curious about the subject? What stories or examples will illustrate the more difficult concepts or theories in the course? When will I pause in the class and give students a break from hard thinking? What will I do at the end of the class to remind students about my key messages and leave them wanting to know more?

Write Like You Teach includes examples from successful writers and useful anecdotes from Lang's own classroom and writing career. Indeed, Lang takes his own advice to heart: like a good teacher, he varies the form of each chapter, making sure to introduce some surprises to keep the reader engaged. Each chapter ends with writing prompts to help readers practice their newly acquired skills, and an appendix provides additional advice on publishing and promoting one's work. Teachers who follow Lang's suggestions will find new ways to connect with their readers--and like any good student, they will never approach writing the same way again.

Review Quotes

"The best book I've ever seen for showing academics how to translate their current skills and practices to another audience and purpose. I'm excited by this book because we need as many academics as possible putting their voices into the world, not just because they have so many interesting and worthwhile things to say as individuals, but because it also helps remind everyone about the value of institutions where this kind of work happens."-- "Inside Higher Ed"

"By a serendipitous quirk, James M. Lang's books tend to appear when they are most needed. In this case, Write Like You Teach surfaces at a moment when sociology in the United States reckons with its impotence in the broader political ideological narrative. Lang's book, aimed at teacher-scholars who work in higher education, is a resource for those who recognize the importance of engaging with a public audience as both a vocation and a scientific necessity. Write Like You Teach argues that the teaching skills sharpened in classrooms are the same skills needed to write effectively for a generalist public audience. Scholars must acknowledge that translating scientific research to the broader public in books is as necessary as student learning. Lang's Write Like You Teach provides the motivation and tools to translate academic research into public-facing monographs."-- "Teaching Sociology"

"Write Like You Teach is a welcome, original, and engaging book. Lang uses examples from the classroom and his own experiences, encouraging us to maintain our scholarly identity while learning how to reach a wider audience. I know of no other book quite like this one; it has helped me and will help many other academics."-- "Joli Jensen, author of "Write No Matter What""

"I hope teachers of every description take the time to sit down and absorb this book's important lessons. You'll become a more engaging writer."-- "Jane Friedman, author of "The Business of Being a Writer""

"Writing is like teaching, a kind of structured working out of ideas in the presence of others, whether those others are implied or sitting right in front of you. In Write Like You Teach, Lang draws upon a lifetime of thinking about teaching and, with characteristic generosity, shows us how we might better understand that big classroom we call the page."-- "William Germano, author of "On Revision""

About the Author

James M. Lang is a professor of the practice in the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Notre Dame and an emeritus professor of English at Assumption University. He writes a monthly column on teaching and learning for the Chronicle of Higher Education, and he is the author of six books, most recently Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning, and Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty.