The Common Sense: What to Write, How to Write It, and Why

by Rosemary Deen, Marie Ponsot

The Common Sense is elemental and beautifully succinct. It focuses on the expository essay, which, despite its association with abominable teaching techniques and vapid results, is at its best the one form that reveals to students and teachers the power of writing. "It is not second-rate writing," Deen and Ponsot state, "nor is teaching it second-rate work." This is a commonsensical text that puts its principles directly at the service of upper secondary and college students of all abilities. It perceives the composing class as an active community of writers, stresses the uses of listening and reading aloud, and lays out a core of work that can't be done wrong.

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Rania El-Badry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I am rating this at a 3, it has more to do with the nature in which it is written than the content. As a writing instructor, the material included in this is useful and thought provoking, approaching certain assignments in a way I have not encountered previously--but the book does come across as a tad too authoritative and didactic, and certain exercises are repeated too often.

A useful tool, regardless, but one to be used in a manner that suits individuals' teaching styles.