All Writers Have More To Learn

To me personally “Good Writing” is something that really kept me so interested. To me this text meant and seemed to be directed at how much reading and writing can come in so many different forms. This text was very put together. within Good Writing it had talked about how reading and writing is so overlooked by just being words on a paper and that most people tend to forget the bigger picture of how things can be and that it is more important to make sure what you are reading or writing and truly understand what is being talked about throughout the entire text.

Good writing to me is something that catches my eye and leaves me wanting more. My initial response to the reading would be writing can come in all different forms. It also has to be organized, have descriptive words, and flow well. I’ve heard that good writing can come in many different ways just depending on the reader. In this chapter it explains how writing isn’t just about words which isn’t something I’ve heard of in the past. It’s about listening and processing that information and turning it into a good piece.

My initial take on “What Do We Mean by Good Writing?” is the new perspective. I personally have never broken writing down this far, so it’s really intruiging to me. What’s sticking  to me is the section about the conciseness. Usually when I’m writing I always try to elaborate so my point doesn’t get misconstrued. But the chapter says “we want our work to be as comprehensive as we can, but we want to do so using as few words as possible.” That kind of contradicts my writing entirely. Which makes this new point of view very drawing to me.

Writing is difficult for many people. I know myself pretty well and know that I struggle with writing. I can hit all the points on “good Writing”, but it is not as good as someone that can actually write good. For example, writing “clear” is always hard for me because I usually go all over the place with ideas and put it in my paper. Having this class and reading all this information will help a ton and hopefully you too. Overall, this class will help me, and you become a better writer.

Everyone perceives writing differently from one another.  One may think a writing is very well written while another may think it could use some touch ups.  There are some qualities that can help someone determine what a good piece of writing looks like.  Good writing will be clear, concise, correct, and compelling.  To start off, you need to understand what the writer is trying to say or make you aware of.  You also need to be able to understand what they are trying to say without other topics getting in the way.  There should not be any random words in the writing.  When you are reading, you want to make sure that the writer is using the correct information or evidence and not making mistakes.  Lastly, see how interested you are in the writing.  You should be able to pay attention and want to keep reading.  These four general qualities can help someone determine what good writing should look like.

Grading and assessing writing can be perceived in different ways. People describe different forms of writing as good compared to others. There is also a way to know if it’s a good piece of writing, even without explanation. To try and describe a piece of writing is to use certain qualities; clear, concise, correct, and compelling. Clear means to make sure the reader can understand the passage, with structure, sequence, and correct grammar. Also means no errors in the writing so no one can get confused. Concise means not making something too long, and using as little of unnecessary words as possible. Using only necessary words to get a direct point across, as well as leaving out useless words. Writers should also leave out information that doesn’t help or correspond with their main point. Correct, to put it short, needs to include only truthful and accurate information. With accurate facts, we also need to correctly represent the information with reasoning. The last quality is compelling. To be compelling means writing is intriguing. A piece of writing that can challenge the mind or make you look at something in a new way is a good piece of writing. All of these qualifications make up a good piece of writing.

I think that writing is different for everyone, but is also similar. It is similar in the aspects of how we write and how we make it “good”. For example “good” writing includes facts that are true and how we use grammar and write. I’ve heard many things about writing. One is that you don’t have to be the best at it as long as it sounds good and uses good descriptive words and don”t drag it out.

Good writing has four qualities; clear, concise, correct, and compelling. These concepts are the key to successful writing that is easily interpreted by the reader. When writing is clear that means it is easy to comprehend. The reader should be able to follow along with the writer’s thoughts and ideas. Concise means no extra words that could confuse the reader. The included information should be relevant and useful. The main point should be recognized immediately. Correct means the material should be completely true. If evidence or facts are taken from another piece of work they need to be accurate. Lastly, compelling means that your writing should want to be read. Writing is about learning and good writing supplies knowledge. Without these four elements, writing would be dry and hard to digest. Good writing is exciting and leaves you wanting more.

My initial thoughts of this chapter was that I now have a checklist I can refer back to while writing an essay. In past English classes I have been told to be correct and clear. My teachers wanted lots of correct evidence to clearly prove our topic while also pulling the reader in. I do not remember ever being told to be concise, and I am now realizing that not being concise could be one of the reasons I got an okay grade instead of a good grade on my essays. I will keep all four of these in mind when writing an essay from now on.

In the text “What Do We Mean by ‘Good Writing’?” it is broken down into everything that should be included in a decent writing piece. I’ve heard most of these points before through other writing and English classes, especially the compelling portion. That was a big stress point all through school, that your writing should always grab the reader per say and make them want to read more. The only portion that could be considerably “new” to me is being concise. Although I do agree with this point, I mention it because lots of teachers always wanted more out of their students. They wanted a deeper description of something versus just getting to the point in their writing. The first paragraph was very relatable because, as a reader, certain things just hook me and I have a hard time pinpointing what they are, but nonetheless it leaves me able to say, wow, this is good. I enjoyed the formality of this writing and the descriptions; they were very understandable and left no confusion. These points are very universal and can be put to use by anyone.