Colleges that transform undergrads into great writers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean by great writer? A novelist, or just someone who is able to write a grammatically correct email, Power Point presentation, or business plan? IMO, the best way to become a good writer is to read a lot.



OP here

Yes, fair question.....

DC, a HS junior, wants to pursue a career in law or business. So in that sense.



Such a silly question for someone interested in law or business. If you want to pursue a career in law, get top grades in a good school and score well on the LSAT while majoring in whatever you want. If writing is a big deal to you, major in English or philosophy. If you want a career in business, go to a school with a good B-school.



No, not a silly question. Being a good writer as an attorney is a must. Being a great writer as an attorney puts you head and shoulders above. Anything that puts you in that second category is a HUGE plus.

And being a great writer in business, coupled with very good quantitative skills, makes you stratospheric.



Being a good LEGAL writer is a must. There are plenty of generically good writers who can't write like lawyers to save their lives. You need to understand the difference.



LOL! Law school has turned many a fine writer into a terrible writer.



I don't disagree. But you've proven my point that being a good writer doesn't necessarily translate into being a good legal writer. Two different skill sets.

I wasn't trying to disprove your point. I just thought it funny that you thought that being a good writer was a must to being a successful lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Fwiw, I went to Cornell and started out in engineering. Floundered in it and switched to history, of all things, after freshman year. T14 law school afterwards and eventually tax partner at a v50 firm. Now, I'm not saying I'm head and shoulders above the rest, but the improvement in writing I enjoyed during my time at Cornell was remarkable and while law school certainly wasn't a breeze, I easily transferred my new found talent into legal writing and actually found it somewhat enjoyable.

Was it Cornell? Was it history? Was it history at Cornell? Who knows!

All I'm saying is that my time in college really sharpened my ability read, analyze and write.

Professors with high expectations of their students are critical. Any school in the top 20 heck, top 50, will give you that imho.

All that being said, i vote Cornell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by great writer? A novelist, or just someone who is able to write a grammatically correct email, Power Point presentation, or business plan? IMO, the best way to become a good writer is to read a lot.

OP here

Yes, fair question.....

DC, a HS junior, wants to pursue a career in law or business. So in that sense.

I think this is a great question. I highly recommend looking at philosophy and public policy majors. I studied both at a T10 and a T30. No regrets. Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean by great writer? A novelist, or just someone who is able to write a grammatically correct email, Power Point presentation, or business plan? IMO, the best way to become a good writer is to read a lot.



OP here

Yes, fair question.....

DC, a HS junior, wants to pursue a career in law or business. So in that sense.



Such a silly question for someone interested in law or business. If you want to pursue a career in law, get top grades in a good school and score well on the LSAT while majoring in whatever you want. If writing is a big deal to you, major in English or philosophy. If you want a career in business, go to a school with a good B-school.



No, not a silly question. Being a good writer as an attorney is a must. Being a great writer as an attorney puts you head and shoulders above. Anything that puts you in that second category is a HUGE plus.

And being a great writer in business, coupled with very good quantitative skills, makes you stratospheric.



Being a good LEGAL writer is a must. There are plenty of generically good writers who can't write like lawyers to save their lives. You need to understand the difference.



LOL! Law school has turned many a fine writer into a terrible writer.



I don't disagree. But you've proven my point that being a good writer doesn't necessarily translate into being a good legal writer. Two different skill sets.

I wasn't trying to disprove your point. I just thought it funny that you thought that being a good writer was a must to being a successful lawyer.

You're confusing me with another poster. I don't think being a good writer is a must to being a successful lawyer. I do think, though, that you need to be a good brief writer to be a successful litigator -- or at least to advance in a law firm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, I went to Cornell and started out in engineering. Floundered in it and switched to history, of all things, after freshman year. T14 law school afterwards and eventually tax partner at a v50 firm. Now, I'm not saying I'm head and shoulders above the rest, but the improvement in writing I enjoyed during my time at Cornell was remarkable and while law school certainly wasn't a breeze, I easily transferred my new found talent into legal writing and actually found it somewhat enjoyable.

Was it Cornell? Was it history? Was it history at Cornell? Who knows!

All I'm saying is that my time in college really sharpened my ability read, analyze and write.

Professors with high expectations of their students are critical. Any school in the top 20 heck, top 50, will give you that imho.

All that being said, i vote Cornell.

LOL. I'd give your writing a B+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, I went to Cornell and started out in engineering. Floundered in it and switched to history, of all things, after freshman year. T14 law school afterwards and eventually tax partner at a v50 firm. Now, I'm not saying I'm head and shoulders above the rest, but the improvement in writing I enjoyed during my time at Cornell was remarkable and while law school certainly wasn't a breeze, I easily transferred my new found talent into legal writing and actually found it somewhat enjoyable.

Was it Cornell? Was it history? Was it history at Cornell? Who knows!

All I'm saying is that my time in college really sharpened my ability read, analyze and write.

Professors with high expectations of their students are critical. Any school in the top 20 heck, top 50, will give you that imho.

All that being said, i vote Cornell.

LOL. I'd give your writing a B+.

DP. By that standard, using "LOL" gets you an F.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, I went to Cornell and started out in engineering. Floundered in it and switched to history, of all things, after freshman year. T14 law school afterwards and eventually tax partner at a v50 firm. Now, I'm not saying I'm head and shoulders above the rest, but the improvement in writing I enjoyed during my time at Cornell was remarkable and while law school certainly wasn't a breeze, I easily transferred my new found talent into legal writing and actually found it somewhat enjoyable.

Was it Cornell? Was it history? Was it history at Cornell? Who knows!

All I'm saying is that my time in college really sharpened my ability read, analyze and write.

Professors with high expectations of their students are critical. Any school in the top 20 heck, top 50, will give you that imho.

All that being said, i vote Cornell.

LOL. I'd give your writing a B+.

Except I'm not the one saying I'm a great writer. See the difference?

DP. By that standard, using "LOL" gets you an F.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, I went to Cornell and started out in engineering. Floundered in it and switched to history, of all things, after freshman year. T14 law school afterwards and eventually tax partner at a v50 firm. Now, I'm not saying I'm head and shoulders above the rest, but the improvement in writing I enjoyed during my time at Cornell was remarkable and while law school certainly wasn't a breeze, I easily transferred my new found talent into legal writing and actually found it somewhat enjoyable.

Was it Cornell? Was it history? Was it history at Cornell? Who knows!

All I'm saying is that my time in college really sharpened my ability read, analyze and write.

Professors with high expectations of their students are critical. Any school in the top 20 heck, top 50, will give you that imho.

All that being said, i vote Cornell.

LOL. I'd give your writing a B+.

hmm....i don't think this guy is saying he's head and shoulders above, i think he saying his time at cornell was noteworthily transformative for him

i give your reading comprehension skills c+.....at the very best!

lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IME, it's more about specific majors. No college is going to transform accounting majors into great writers. If I had to pick, good history departments produce the best writers, as a general matter.

Accounting majors and future CPAs do need to write well and with precision. Much more so than many of the soft majors available to college students today.

[Anonymous]

Top SLAC

[Anonymous]

Jesus Christ. This thread is an example of why so many people find lawyers tedious and insufferable.

Another suggestion for the OP: Sewanee.

[Anonymous]

They should join the school paper at any school if they want to work on their writing. Academic writing won't prepare you for writing in careers outside of academia, but reporting and editing on a regular basis will.

[Anonymous]

William and Mary. If you take history classes, the department has its own writing center. Google it.

[Anonymous]

I'm a lawyer. I went to a CTCL LAC. The small classes, essay testing, and being taught solely by profs improved my writing greatly.

[Anonymous]

Carleton College.