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Good Columnist, Bad Columnist

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Opinion Writing

Good Columnist, Bad Columnist
Paul Krugman

Krugman's sentence syntax, word choice, clarity of argument and logical paths toward establishing a chronology of events specific to a given topic make him the easiest columnist for me to mentally digest. Not that his concepts or arguments are simple, but rather he sidesteps so many issues with language that other writers are not nearly as savvy at avoiding. In addition to his precision with language, he seems to be one of the few columnists who applies his creativity to typically innocuous aspects of a typical column, such as tying back the title of his piece to a common theme he hopes to point out. He even forgoes traditional SEO principles to maintain this tradition.

Ann Coulter

Coulter is not without her positives – however few they may be – and the two that I'm aware of are her differing sentence structures, and her incorporation of descriptive language to demonstrate her points. She points out propaganda and talking points of certain liberals and Democrats, though she typically uses this as hook for attracting non-neoconservatives to her creative conclusions. Her ultimate aim seems to be to deceive her readers, opposed to employing her observations on fraudulent emotions and language from Democrats for greater civic awareness, or leading the formation of a new, legitimate debate on a given topic. Her batting average for making valid arguments and conclusions is too low for me to recommend her to anyone, and I cannot think of a better poster child for the dangers of column writing, and particularly blogging, when used to confuse, rather than to educate.

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