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I am not sure if there is scientific evidence to support the idea that women are better writers than men, but this is my belief. I think most guys have had their wives look over a paper for school or an email for work. Before you do that, you should always consider this next piece of wife advice.

Lesson 5: Don’t ask your wife to proofread the paper you just wrote if it includes “fabricated” material about her.

We had been married a couple years and were both undergrads. One semester I needed a few more credits to fill out my schedule, so I signed up for a marriage prep class. You can form your own opinion about how much I learned in this class. One of our assignments was to go on a date, during which we were to practice some communication skills we had learned during the class.

I wrote up a paper for the assignment, and asked my wife to proofread it before I turned it in. Unfortunately, I can’t find the actual document to include here, but it went something like this:

I planned a romantic picnic in the mountains. We hiked up the trail and stopped toward the top of the mountain at a big flat rock. It was a gorgeous evening with a nice breeze. I spread out the blanket and arranged the food I had prepared. We enjoyed a nice dinner overlooking the valley. I expressed my feelings for her and we enjoyed a lengthy conversation. We discussed the different communication styles we have and how they compliment each other and how they might cause communication problems. We identified several areas we want to improve on and several areas that we want to continue.

Are you shocked yet, imagining a donkey like me pulling off a date like that? So was my wife. Especially when she was reading my paper and wondering why she didn’t recollect anything I was talking about. Yep. All made up. I think I remembered about the assignment the night before, so I just tried to describe a date she might like. I also considered the communication problems we were having and wrote a little about that. Although we hadn’t actually discussed it, I think I was probably on the right track. After my wife finished proofreading my paper, she came into the other room where I was watching tv. I could tell something was wrong, but really had no idea what it was.

“So, the last date I remember us having was you falling asleep during a movie that we had rented, after eating frozen burritos for dinner.” She went on to explain how frustrating it was that I had made up this date, including an entire heart-to-heart conversation. I asked if she would have liked the date. She said yes. I then asked if the conversation would have gone the way I had described. She confirmed that it probably would have. I asked if the solutions I proposed sounded accurate. Once again she said yes. “So what is the problem?” I asked. She went on and on about the fact that I never take her out on dates and that we never have any meaningful conversations. To diffuse the situation, I suggested that I write more fictitious stories that she could read. She didn’t find this amusing, so I just asked if she was finished correcting my paper. She said yes and left the room.

I got an ‘A’ on the paper and the teacher wrote something like, “Sounds like you guys really learned a lot about your communication styles!” I think we did.