On Tuesday, April 26, Sam Pizzigati visited the University of Maryland as a guest lecturer in Professor Brandi Slaughter’s Child and Family Policy Impact, a perquisite class for the Karabelle Pizzigati Initiative fellowship, named in memory of his late wife. The class listened as Pizzigati discussed his career, outlined impactful pieces of work he wrote, and shared sage advice about written advocacy composition.
What is the secret to effective advocacy writing? Make it conversational! Pizzigati presented his twenty-one rules for effective writing, with special focuses on grammar, punctuation and vocabulary. Students also learned his catchy mantra: “pep, precision, pleasure.” Writing with these three qualities, any prose can be powerful.
Following the lecture, Pizzigati put students to the test. Presented with complex prose, students were challenged to make text conversational — a feat unlike their typical academic writing experiences. What may seem easy at face value was both a fun and challenging activity.
Pizzigati left students with great knowledge and valuable resources. These tips and tricks of the trade will inevitably help our fellows as they begin their work in child advocacy.
