Reading is the way to good writing, and the foundation of all learning.

We all know that reading is the way to good writing, and even more, reading is actually the foundation of all learning. ​But why? ​

Literacy is the foundation of all learning.
One of the U.S. Senators, Patty Murray, a former educator,  mentioned that “if students don’t have a strong foundation in reading and writing, there is very little else we can do to help them succeed in the modern world.”
According to an article in The Guardian, children who frequently read books at age 10 and read more than once per week at age 16 had higher test results than those who read less. Reading for pleasure was linked to higher academic achievement in vocabulary, spelling and even mathematics. Not only academic achievement, but literacy also brings positive impacts to kids behaviorally, economically, and even health. 

The Key to Good Writing is Reading.
Stephen King had advised that an aspiring writer should read something like five hours a day. But how exactly reading could improve writing skills? According to one of Wendy Rider’s article, Improving Student Writing through Reading Strategies, in her 20+ years of experience teaching writing, composition courses emphasize documentation, but students also learn about essay content and structure from exposure to effective models. Below are her findings of how reading intersects with writing:

• In all disciplines, reading is an important precursor to writing on a purely informational level. Students must understand a topic before they can write coherently about it. They must do the research before they can write a research paper.
• Students who read widely (in any genre) usually have a greater command of vocabulary and the nuances of written expression. Many readers also absorb correct grammar and punctuation subconsciously, whether or not they know the rules behind when to use a comma. The poet Jane Kenyon’s advice to “have good sentences in your ears” is often quoted for a reason (qtd. in Popova) .
• This relationship between reading and writing is not a new concept. Reflecting on his writing process, for instance, the popular author Stephen King notes the value of ineffective models as well as inspirational ones. “One learns most clearly what not to do by reading bad prose,” he says. In contrast, “[g]ood writing . . . teaches the learning writer about style, graceful narration, plot development, the creation of believable characters, and truth telling” (211). While fiction writing is less emphasized in academia, the principle holds true.
• Finally, college writers need a deeper knowledge of their subject to think—and write—critically about it. Whether it be anthropology, economics, or literature, that knowledge often comes from scholarly articles and books, whether in print or online.

So, how to pick books? Let Lighthouse help you. We will regularly share our recommendations on books, with a variety of topics, for different ages as well as reading levels. Follow our blogs to pick books for your kids and develop their lifelong reading habits as young as possible. You’d also join our reading clubs, L3 Reading and Writing, Academic Writing, as well as precollege writing courses.