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The sense of style steven pinker summary5/31/2023 ![]() He prefers to loosen rather than tighten rules. Pinker is a descriptive linguistic he prefers to describe what the common communication practices are rather than defining what they should be. A clear explainer and a wonderful stylist, Pinker has the authority to speak on the topic. It’s Pinker’s entry into a rather overcrowded field of writing improvement books that are traceable to very influential The Elements of Style by Strunk and White (1920 revised in 1959). The subtitle provides a good indication of its intentions: A Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 20 th Century. He’s the author of a number of influential books: The Language Instinct explored the phenomenon of language acquisition, The Blank Slate examined the nature of consciousness and mind, and The Better Angels of Our Nature made a case for the decline in violence over the centuries. ![]() Who is Steven Pinker? He’s a Harvard professor with specializations in cognitive psychology and linguistics. It also a contribution to the many conversations about writing taking place during National Writing Week. She wants the Faculty Forum to be a site for reflections about the teaching of writing to college students – writing instruction for college assignments, for workplace writing, and for making sense of their lives. This post is a response to the call by my English Department colleague Sheila Kennedy. ![]()
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