Great Writers are Great Readers

From an interview with Leonard Joseph, a principal with the engineering consulting firm Thornton Tomasetti.  The interview was in the current issue of Civil Engineering.

"It is important to read broadly and critically and to learn from other people's writing.  If you are reading a newspaper, you can notice that the lead paragraph has the key points, so you should never "bury the lead."  We remind our engineers to start with an executive summary when they write long reports.  Looking at articles in newspapers, magazines, and books, consider whether they are engaging and how they could have been better written.  I often read articles and find myself wishing they had sidebar or provided basic information; your brain should always be engaged in recognizing whether there is something missing or if something could have been said better.  You should read enough to understand distinctions among different kinds of writing and how they address targeted audiences."