A 70-Word Sentence with Dr. Denny Wilkins

Denny Wilkins' story is that of a geology major from Massachusetts turned into a journalism professor at St. Bonaventure.

It’s also the story of a professor who taught a generation of St. Boanventure journalism graduates — Brian included — to omit needless words.

Denny and Brian, now colleagues at the Jandoli School of Communication, bring faculty meeting energy to this week’s episode. Denny discusses the challenges of teaching college students how to write, the importance of curiosity, and how he teaches it. Denny talks about his own journalism experiences, why he views himself as a coach, and what he learned from former St. Bonaventure women’s basketball coach (and current coach at Providence) Jim Crowley about teaching.

Can you make each sentence one word shorter? If so, you’re halfway to a better story.

Yep. He also talks about what Brian was like as a student. I immediately regret this decision.

Denny Wilkins

St. Bonaventure University Writing Style Guide

Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash by Elizabeth Royte

The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future by Gretchen Bakke

Concrete Planet: The Strange and Fascinating Story of the World’s Most Common Man-Made Material by Robert Courland

The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance by Hentry Petroski

The Road Taken: The History and Future of America’s Infrastructure by Henry Petroski

Rust: The Longest War by Jonathan Waldman

John McPhee’s books

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