Every island to a child is a treasure island.
P. D. JamesRead
Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.
Interpretation
Enhancing your vocabulary is essential for effective writing.
P. D. James emphasizes the importance of a strong vocabulary for anyone who writes. By recognizing words as the fundamental tools of writing, she suggests that a richer vocabulary leads to more impactful and effective communication, while also highlighting the beauty and versatility of the English language.
In practice
In a writing workshop, to motivate participants to enhance their vocabulary.
Every island to a child is a treasure island.
If from infancy you treat children as gods, they are liable in adulthood to act as devils.
I believe that political correctness can be a form of linguistic fascism, and it sends shivers down the spine of my generation who went to war against fascism.
What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give.
Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.
It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.
We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities, they will get into drugs and be vulnerable to suicide.
If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they're happy.
Free curiosity is of more value in learning than harsh discipline.
Students deserve great teachers. And teachers deserve the support they need to become great.
Schools should be diverse if we are to get past racial differences.
The examination system, and the fact that instruction is treated mainly as a training for a livelihood, leads the young to regard knowledge from a purely utilitarian point of view as the road to money, not as the gateway to wisdom.
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