AI for teaching writing; Elon’s Kamala risks; crappy books in bookstores: Newsletter 30 October 2024
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AI for teaching writing; Elon’s Kamala risks; crappy books in bookstores: Newsletter 30 October 2024

ByJosh Bernoff

Newsletter 68. Banning student AI is stupid. Plus, how print-on-demand books get on shelves, the spreadsheet blooper reel, why Elon Musk loves Trump, three people to follow, three books to read, and my interview with Jane Friedman. A five-paragraph essay reveals how to revolutionize the teaching of writing It’s time to retire the venerable five-paragraph…

Could the five-paragraph essay be the reason we’ve forgotten how to think?

Could the five-paragraph essay be the reason we’ve forgotten how to think?

ByJosh Bernoff

David Labaree published a devastating takedown of the five-paragraph essay, that pernicious container that’s corrupting the teaching of writing everywhere. He’s made me wonder about my own rules and advice for writers. In my mind, writing and thinking are two sides of the same process. Separate the two, and thinking ceases to be important, which…