The Twilight Effect - Readers Score Better Results on Finals

I haven't done a scientific study of this, but it seems like students who read the entire Twilight series in the months leading up to the final exam have gotten better writing scores.

I'm serious. If you look at the writing that students did at the beginning of the year (let's say the first term test), then you look at the reading hours in the past three months (especially those of Twilight fans who read a whopping 2400 pages in a short time) and then you look at the scores on the final exam, you will see a strong correlation in improved writing scores.

It's no mystery. Meyer's intense narrative is exactly the kind of writing that makes for good O-level Paper 1 scores. Students who read her stuff before an exam (or something like Harry Potter), are likely to imitate her style and to hear that "narrative voice" in their heads as they write. They devise interesting plots and relationships in their stories. Each character that they write about is more interesting. Their paragraphs have greater emotional depth to them.

You know, you only spend three hours a week with me, so it is great if you can spend an extra hour each day with Cg Stephenie. She is modeling exactly the kind of thing you need to do to be a successful writer. Forget tuition classes. Put down your $20 and get endless hours of English lessons with Cg Stephanie. She can teach you a lot and you don't even have to leave your home.

I'd like to take this chance to congratulate the students who put in the extra reading hours this year and are now enjoying the benefits. Those students have seen an incredible (almost magical) transformation of their writing. I am truly amazed at how much some students have improved and, in fact, I think many of you are worthy of publishing.

Last night I marked a large number of scripts and I felt a bit like I was reading a short story collection from a book - some of the stories were that good! Numerous writers had me turning the page, breathless, wondering what was going to happen next. Some scary stories even creeped me out. Wonderful!