John Maguire

John G. Maguire is a man obsessed with teaching people how easy it is to write clearly. He has taught college writing in the Boston area since 1987, currently runs Readable Writing Press, and blogs about writing pedagogy at readablewriting.com.

He began his writing career as a reporter for daily newspapers, including the Albany Times-Union, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and the Miami News, specializing in science and medical news. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He later did press work at a major hospital and a medical school. He is the author of a book about Jonestown called Hold Hands and Die.

He began teaching college-level writing at Boston University School of Journalism, where he directed the master's degree Program for Reporting on Science and Medicine. He later taught writing and communication at other Boston area colleges, including the Berklee College of Music, Babson College and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. In the middle of his teaching career, while at Berklee College, he invented the Readable Writing method of writing instruction, which is described in this article. He lives in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

His textbook, John Maguire's College Writing Guide, is now being used at 10 U.S. colleges. Home schoolers also use it. The Readable Writing website is www.readablewriting.com.