Lend Me Your Ear

The sound of language accounts for a lot of its power – and if you doubt this, just look at how many people listen to the radio or watch TV compared to how many read books. The art of enjoying writing is to hear the language (to hear the voice speaking to you), and the art of writing well is to hear what you have written. Even textbooks have a voice, though it is subtle and often dry. This is one reason why reading your work out loud is helpful. It is the best way to discover errors or ambiguities. Your ears will pick up on things that your eyes do not – awkward sentences or words used out of context. Having someone else read your work out loud is a great method to test the effectiveness of your written clues, especially punctuation.