A Portable Writing 5 Class: Write For Your Life by Charles Wheelan

Typewriters became laptops. Stringed tin cans became smartphones. And now, the latest invention: Writing 5 became a book. In Write For Your Life: A Guide to Clear and Purposeful Writing (and Presentations), Dr. Charles Wheelan guides students who have trouble writing and presenting. Many writing and presenting guides are mundane, but Wheelan’s is not a typical how-to book. He takes the reader on a journey filled with intriguing life stories, no-nonsense steps, and fresh, relatable humor. His lessons and style of teaching remind me of my freshman writing course: Reviewing Ourselves: Critical Writing and Personal Values. His book is a handy guide for alumni and upperclassmen who crave freshman nostalgia.

Wheelan notices undergraduates fail to write and speak well. “[S]tudents are invariably bright and motivated; however, many of them do not write enough to thrive in a professional setting,” he writes. The problem: students write and present without intention. Their presentations and writings are unclear. Then they lace their bad work with flowery language. But they are not to blame, he explains, for our education system encourages these bad habits. “Why did we write a six-page paper on cockroaches in Mrs. Thompson’s English class?” he asks, “Because she was paid to read them. She would get fired if she didn’t.” Assignments in school do not prepare students for real life. What time does a CEO have to read a multi-page report on cockroaches? 

As a Dartmouth professor, Wheelan wishes to provide undergraduates with the necessary tools to become great writers and speakers. “[W]riting and speaking effectively are crucial professional skills,” he asserts, “Can you communicate in ways that inform, inspire, and motivate? Can you articulate your ideas so that they lead to the intended outcome, whether that is getting a public toilet fixed or ending a violent conflict?”

The book is formatted in a step-by-step fashion. Each step takes the reader through a process for good writing and presentation. Steps for writing are divided into three sections: “Getting Started,” “Making It Better,” and “Buffing and Polishing.” “Getting Started” introduces tips most fundamental to writing. Yet they are the ones many students tend to avoid: “4. Good writing begins with a clear thesis”; “6. Make an outline”; and “7. Now write complete sentences.” Without these elementary steps, students have no reason to start writing.

“Making It Better” consists of steps which writers should take when they revise their first and second drafts. Writers should “use the active voice” and “avoid useless words and phrases.” He also advises that “every argument should be supported by evidence or analysis; the more specific, the better.” The third section, “Buffing and Polishing,” suggests advice serving as the icing on a cake: “25. Insert graphics and photos that support your analysis”; “26. Interject the voices and emotions of the people you are writing about”; and “28. Make strategic use of titles and subject lines.” Students who abide by these steps elevate their writing from mediocrity to excellence.

Advice for good presentation lies in the fourth section: “Some Points Specific to Presentations.” Presenters should structure their talking points like good writing. “Your talk presumably has a purpose. You should know what your thesis is,” he explains, “After you have been speaking for thirty seconds or so, your listeners should know what that thesis is, too…there must be an effective narrative structure.” Wheelan then provides 13 practical tips for presentations. Writers should “make sure in advance that [their] technology will work flawlessly,” “tell stories,” and “be comfortable with occasional silence.” 

Wheelan’s writing guide shines because it is written for the layman. It is fun and easy to read. His stories compel the audience to read the book more. He uses many jokes throughout, and none of them are forced. For instance, in step nine, “Get the grammar right,” Wheelan writes, “Saheer came to the office even though I had no idea he was coming I fired him Ron didn’t know either and agreed with me. What a mess. My brain is screaming, No!” With a couple of chuckles, readers understand the flaws of run-on sentences. In step 27, the author writes, “Use stories to reinforce your key points.” Storytelling is important to keep the reader engaged. “Most of us are moved by stories more than we are by data or analysis,” he says, “Stories reach our emotional core – they speak to our elephants.” Readers experience the author’s life stories ranging from tragic accidents to his memories as a graduate student in Chicago. Every step has at least one anecdote that keeps readers on their toes.

The guide is not only for the generic college student, but also for the Dartmouth alumnus and upperclassman. As a freshman, I enrolled in the Writing 5 course Reviewing Ourselves: Critical Writing and Personal Values with Professor William Craig. Many lessons from Professor Craig enlightened me and pushed me to excel as a writer. He constantly reminded his students to “give credit where credit is due,” to not be afraid of simple, clear writing, and to “allow the sources speak for themselves.” As I read Write For Your Life: A Guide to Clear and Purposeful Writing (and Presentations), I was struck by the similarities between these professors’ advice. “Give credit where credit is due” is step 12 word-for-word, while Professor Craig’s points about clear writing and sources correspond to steps 10 and 26. 

For some of his anecdotes, Wheelan mentions experiences he has had at Dartmouth. These include his interactions with undergraduates and miscellaneous facts about Dartmouth. For example, Wheelan explains the infamous “Parkhurst vacation” when he talks about citations and plagiarism. He says, “where appropriating someone else’s work will get you what students refer to as ‘a Parkhurst vacation.’ Parkhurst is the building for administrative offices; the vacation is an involuntary suspension.” In another, he amusingly describes the shocked reactions of Dartmouth undergraduates when he assigned essays with no word limits. Alongside memorable Dartmouth stories, the lessons of Write For Your Life: A Guide to Clear and Purposeful Writing (and Presentations) remind the students of Dartmouth of their experiences in Writing 5. For those who wish to relive a glimpse of freshman writing, Wheelan’s book is for you: a portable Writing 5 class.