By: Taylor Bush
In an article “Writing Involves Making Ethical Choices”, John Duffy discusses the importance of practicing ethics in writing. Relationships between writers and readers are impacted by how ethical or unethical each individual is. When a writer is ethical readers are able to obtain a more positive attitude toward them. Writers become more respectable, and readers are able to develop a better judgment of their character. When a writer is unethical, writers will have a negative attitude towards them and their writing.
Ethical responsibilities as writers:
- Provide evidence to back up factual statements
- No plagiarizing – paraphrase and cite sources
- Be moral, upright, and honest
I chose this GIF because when it comes to making ethical decisions in writing, writers should avoid including false information, making false statements, or things that are not proven to be true. A writers ethic can be quickly judged by a reader, in order for the writer to be respectable and maintain a good image, would be by making ethical choices when writing.
Ethical responsibilities as readers
- Be open-minded and respectful
- Be observant
- try to see from the writer’s point of view
I included this GIF because being open minded when reading is respectful to the writer. Imagine you are in another country and someone offers you food that you have never even heard of before. Instead of sticking your nose up to it because it doesn’t look like something that you would ever try, you are respectful, openminded, and at least give it a chance. It is the same for writing. It is one thing for a writer to be unethical, maybe they plagiarized, or made false statements, but a reader should do their part. They should be aware of potential false information, they should try to see the stance of the writer. It is okay to have a different take on the topic, but there is a way to respectfully go about it.
I chose these responsibilities because they aid in creating positive reader-writer relationships. Typically, a writer should hope that their writing is well perceived. Practicing ethics will help them gain the respect of their readers. For example, having ethic qualities such as honesty and accuracy will lead to respectfulness and open-mindedness of the reader. Not only do the writers need to practice ethics, readers need to do their part too. It is important to make ethical choices in writing because it is ideal for writers and readers to have mutual respect for each other.
