In the essays, “All Writers Have More to Learn”, by Shirley Rose, and “Learning to Write Effectively Requires Different Kinds of Practice, Time, and Effort”, by Kathleen Blake Yancey, both authors support the fact that all writers are always learning and always have more to learn.
In “All Writers Have More to Learn”, Rose talks about how people are born with certain skills but when it comes to writing you have to learn how to apply those skills to your writing. Rose makes the statement, “However, many writing abilities, such as choosing
the most appropriate and precise word, and exercising good judgment in deciding whether to quote directly or to paraphrase in any given writing situation, cannot be learned just once. This imperfectability of writing ability is even more evident when a writer must learn how to choose and use evidence to make an effective argument in an unfamiliar situation”. This quote from her essay goes right along with the main point of the essay. She thinks that writing cannot be learned just at once, you either have it or you don’t. If you don’t, you must take the time to learn how to choose the right word choice in order to be able to make the most effective argument possible.
In “Learning to Write Effectively Requires Different Kinds of Practice, Time, and Effort”, Yancey believes that writers can improve their writing skills by finding different types of writing to practice. The quote, made by Yancey, “The threshold concept that learning to write effectively, especially in different contexts or communities of practice, takes different kinds of practice, and such practice takes time and effort”. This quote supports her main point of the essay. Learning to write not only on multiple different occasions but also many types of writing can be challenging. The only way to master new writing types or to become a better writer in general is to take the time to practice and to give it your full effort.
Based on these reading, when it come to school, I think that educators should make it more known that it is alright to make mistakes and that it’s not going to be perfect the first time. I think that they should focus more on teaching students that practice makes perfect and less on the grade you will get or that it needs to be perfect the first time. Writing students should take the time to practice their writing skills and should try to broaden their writing genres. Broadening students writing abilities earlier on will help them in the future when they are faced with new and harder types of writing that they may not be familiar with.
