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Scathing Online Schoolmarm Says…

… if you’re the New York Times editorial page, we expect better of you.

If Pakistan has a future, it is embodied in Malala Yousafzai. Yet the Taliban so feared this 14-year-old girl that they tried to assassinate her. Her supposed offense? Her want of an education and her public advocation for it.

As La Kid (UD‘s daughter, if you’re new to this site) would say, AWKward.

Here’s what you do.

You drop supposed.

You sit down and think about how confused your use of the phrase “want of an education” makes your reader. Do you mean desire for? Do you mean lack of?

You change advocation – which is certainly a word, and it means what you want it to mean, but it’s seldom used – to advocacy.

You think some more about how the way you’ve written the sentence makes it sound as though Malala is advocating for an education that’s wanting.

Margaret Soltan, October 11, 2012 7:22AM
Posted in: Scathing Online Schoolmarm

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2 Responses to “Scathing Online Schoolmarm Says…”

  1. MattF Says:

    No one edited that sentence because it was written by an editor. Next question?

  2. Jonathan Says:

    They could also try writing a less ideological and dishonest opening sentence. Like it or not, the future of Pakistan belongs to its men.

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