A style of speech... elegance in the age of artificial intelligence

The Art of Writing helps readers learn the basics of writing. Instead of focusing on the use of "who" or "whom," this book focuses on writing clear, concise, and engaging prose: by avoiding wordiness, using active verbs, and avoiding long, rambling sentences. John Marsh uses his experience of correcting more than 5,000 essays over a quarter century as a teacher, to introduce readers to the problems he frequently encounters. Although Marsh teaches in the humanities, his advice is relevant to writing regardless of discipline. Using examples from papers students have already written, the book invites readers to apply what they have learned to tests that combine different problems—such as ambiguous pronouns, incomplete sentences, and punctuation in quotations—from previous chapters. The book includes an in-depth discussion of how to balance the demands of good writing with combating linguistic discrimination. Finally, The Art of Writing prompts readers to consider the impact of AI programs such as ChatGPT and Bard on student writing. This book offers advice on how writers can differentiate their writing from the stereotypical writing that AI tends to produce, and how they can develop their style to stand out to their teachers, employers, and clients.