Writing vs. Speaking -- Two Different Brain Systems

It may seem strange at first that people can write sentences they would never have spoken. Yet, this is a phenomenon every writing teacher has encountered -- from pretty much every student, even if in different degrees. Well, it turns out that writing and speaking are different brain systems.

When I have taught students writing, I have always encouraged them to read aloud what they have written so that they can pick up on errors in writing they would not make when speaking. You can hear what you wrote wrong, but only if you read it aloud to hear it. I doubt many students ever listened to me. This research shows I was right to suggest this, and that they all should have listened to me. I hope readers of this blog will listen to the science.