Many inexperienced writers have not yet learned that spoken language and written language are not the same thing, that written language is not speech, but only gives the illusion of speech. Good writing "sounds like" speech, but it certainly is not speech. Spoken language is "idiomatic," that is, it uses words and follows rules that are quite different from the words and rules of written language.
© 1999, 2000, 2001 by Lloyd Worley. All rights reserved under international copyright convention. Other than a single printout for archival purposes made by a student in Prof. Lloyd Worley's classes at UNC, neither this page nor any other link to this page may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the copyright holder.