How to Choose the Right Focus for Discourse

Lessons from the faux-curiosity of a legacy-media columnist

Here’s a fun exercise sometimes used for students making the leap from descriptive to persuasive writing. Pick two objects—any objects, or ideas—and write a paragraph on how they are alike. Start with the obvious, then move to the surprising. Mix up sentence structure. Play around with connecting phrases. Include a pleasing twist, if you can: maybe an e…