About Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison (1672–1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. With Richard Steele he founded The Spectator (1711–1712), a daily paper of short essays on manners, morals and literature, and he wrote the tragedy Cato (1713). As a teenager Benjamin Franklin taught himself to write by rewriting Spectator essays from notes.
Joseph Addison’s writing style
Addison writes short, polished periodical essays in an easy, even tone, often with gentle irony. His sentences are clear and carefully balanced, and he favours moderation over display. Samuel Johnson wrote in his life of Addison that "whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison."
Practice Joseph Addison’s essays
1 essay
How to write like Joseph Addison
Pick one of Joseph Addison’s essays and retype it word for word. Copying slows you down enough to notice how each sentence is built: where it starts, how long it runs and which words carry the weight. Keep the style notes above in mind as you type, then write a paragraph of your own in the same voice. New to this? Read what copywork is and how to do it.