In the article “Writing Involves Making Ethical Choices,” John Duffy discusses how powerful writing requires writers to make ethical choices about how they want to present themselves to others. What type of communication will be done right and understood by their audience. Readers ethical responsibility is overall based on the writer’s ethical responsibilities. The reader has to have an open mind, goodwill, and respectfulness when it comes to reading other people’s writing. Readers have to have an open mind while reading because it will allow the reader to see different perspectives. Readers have to have a goodwill to be understanding even if it’s not what they truly believe in. Writers have to keep in mind to be honest, accurate, and to be fair when it comes to their own writing. Honest to their readers, accurate so the readers know the information is correct, and to be fair for their readers so they don’t have all opinion based writing.
(Writers)Prioritize accuracy, truthfulness with their work, and respect
- Writers have to prioritize accuracy to give their readers correct information and this makes your writing more credible and have readers trust you more. Writers have to be honest and also prioritize accuracy. If you are honest about the information and maybe even your own opinion, readers will want more and come back to your writing. Writers need to have respect because the author wants their writing to be read. The readers will respect the writer and will come back.
- An example of writers prioritizing accuracy in reading is “…writing as an activity that involves communicating information, or making an argument, or expressing a creative impulse…” (pg1). Accuracy can be in anything like an argument and creative writing you have to make sure your information is correct to have your readers come back. An example of truthfulness is “And that, in turn, initiates a relationship between writer and readers, one that necessarily involves human values and virtues.” ( pg 27). Truthfulness can make you closer to your readers and can make the writers understand what the readers want. An example of respect is when “Writing involves ethical choices because every time we write for another person, we propose a relationship with other human beings, our readers.”(pg8) respect can go a long way when it comes to writing. It can make the raiders trust you more like a relationship.
- It is important to make ethical choices when writing because it strengthens the writer’s credibility and makes sure the writer doesn’t have a weak bias.
(Readers)Trust, engagement, and have a open mind
- Readers have to trust what the writer is giving them and could help understand the writer’s meaning. Engaged reading is a consolidation of motivation and thoughtfulness. Readers need an open mind to really take in the information and to sympathize with the writing.
- An example of trust is “To say that writing involves ethical choices is not to suggest that individual writers should be judged as ethical or unethical in the sense of being moral, upright, honest, and so forth.” (pg18). The readers have to give trust to the writer, you either have a moral right to write accurate information or not, you have to pick and choose who really is truthful. An example of engagement is “we cross a threshold that both expands and complicates our understanding of what it means to write.”(pg 55). You have to be fully endangered when it comes to reading to understand what it takes to write, to really appreciate their hard work. An example of an open mind is when John Duffy explains how it gives the reader an easier way to connect with the writing.
- It is important to make ethical choices when reading because it can really open your mind to other things in the world and can help you as a reader to write as well.
