Authors are often ambivalent; editors love them; readers revel in them. These are reactions to journal papers that are a pleasure to read. Invariably, such papers are the result of authors who have taken extra steps (often many, many steps) to improve their writing. The time this entails accounts for the ambivalence of authors who may believe that their energies are better spent in other activities. But for all who want to please editors and readers the only path is to improve writing skills.

There are several ways to accomplish this goal. One is to fly to Montreal for the fall term and take the course I give at McGill on scientific presentations. If four readers do so that will double the number of students who enrolled for this course in 2003.

A second way is to hire …