From Clear and Simple as the Truth, by Francis-Noël Thomas and Mark Turner:
The teaching of writing in America is almost entirely controlled by the view that teaching writing is teaching verbal skills—from the placing of commas to the ordering of paragraphs. This has generated a tremendous industry, but the effect of this teaching is dubious. Why is American prose as bad as it is, even though we have more writing programs than ever?
Our answer is that writing is an intellectual activity, not a bundle of skills. Writing proceeds from thinking. To achieve good prose styles, writers must work through intellectual issues, not merely acquire mechanical techniques.…
It’s a great reminder. Good grammar is about learning and mastering rules; good writing, on the other hand, is a whole nother thing altogether.
