A Writer Teaches Writing

I stumbled on the first edition of this book in the late seventies while I was preparing to teach a college course in how to teach writing for English and education majors. I don't know about my students but the book transformed my teaching.This book covers the hows and whys of teaching writing as a process rather than as a product. It comes from a very active publishing writer who writes very well and knows how to teach, even through his very words on the page. From discoverying what to write about, to focusing on an audience, to accomplishing one's purpose from writing, Murray's book is not only instructive in its presentation but is also an excellent model for audience, purpose, and the processes a writer can use to accomplish his/her goals. Revision is Murray's forte. He believes it to be the key to successful writing."A Writer Teaches Writing" assumes that the teacher writes. Certainly, Murray does, and so well that all other books on the subject are ecllipsed by this masterpiece.