Writing the Classical Way

REVISED EDITION. What if you could learn to write well using a method that had been successful for thousands of years? Writing the Classical Way does just that, teaching ancient writing exercises (the progymnasmata) to pre-rhetoric students. These fourteen exercises help students master each aspect of narrative, expository, and persuasive writing through incremental steps.

Developed and tested in the classroom, Writing the Classical Way features the following:

• Overview of each progymnasmata exercise containing its definition, purpose, and organization
• Emphasis on historical literature and examples
• Connections between each progymnasmata exercise and the modern world
• Use of standard forms of English paragraph and essay organization
• “Think It Through” questions to de-mystify the progymnasmata
• Model essays in each chapter
• A proven method for teaching students to write well