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[quote=Anonymous]I'm someone who excelled at reading and writing.  College BA English.  I went to top public schools but I don't recall "learning" how to write per se.  I think there's all different kinds of good writing.  Professionally I write quite a bit by way of presentations.  I studied journalism and there's a lot of writing for the ear there.  I don't know that you can teach someone to be a good writer.  I have actually gotten jobs because my employers loved my writing style - this was an ad exec and a corporate senior marketing exec.  I think you can teach the mechanics of writing which essentially is draft and multiple revisions.  You can teach grammar for sure.  But in terms of putting words together that engages the audience, that comes from a love of words and reading great books - a lot of classics - and reading a variety of great writing styles.  You need a bit of that even if you're not doing creative writing.  Writing is the execution of thought so yes, executive functioning does play a part.  Generally a solid education in humanities will train your mind for the ability to communicate and write.  There's various styles and most would agree that on a practical level, most people place high value on persuasive writing but good writers are able to write in all styles.  Like anything you have to have a bit of talent - it's an art not a science. My point is that to a degree you can't learn how to write.  You can learn techniques and grammar but ultimately it comes down to the individual - how educated (not school but a love of reading great books and a love of the sounds of words put together).  I read a lot of great speeches when I was young and loved it.  George Will is an amazing writer.  There's really very few truly great writers - there's just a lot of writers.  So when you say you want your son to learn to write - in what capacity is my question? Teaching him mechanics is pretty easy but you sound like you want him to write well.  That's really up to him.  You don't have to teach it as much as let him read great writers.  [/quote]

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