How Do You Define Bad (or Good) Writing?
Jonathan Morrow has a thought-provoking article on the 7 Bad Writing Habits You Learned in School.
I think that in stating his case, he may have gone a bit too far. For example, there are many situations when I want to know the source of information and I'm not always averse to footnotes. I also think that it's important that students learn enough grammar to be able to express themselves in something approaching standard English. But, I do think it's true that students' creativity can be endangered by too many stultifying writing assignments and too many rules to follow. I do believe that it's important that students develop the ability to write in ways that provoke both thought and feeling. I want students to have the self-confidence to allow themselves to break grammatical rules in the interests of voice.
What are your thoughts on the matter?
ETA: I'm listening to music composed by John Boswell that uses electronic modulation to remix snippets of old science shows. You can see videos and download mp3s at http://symphonyofscience.com/.
I think that in stating his case, he may have gone a bit too far. For example, there are many situations when I want to know the source of information and I'm not always averse to footnotes. I also think that it's important that students learn enough grammar to be able to express themselves in something approaching standard English. But, I do think it's true that students' creativity can be endangered by too many stultifying writing assignments and too many rules to follow. I do believe that it's important that students develop the ability to write in ways that provoke both thought and feeling. I want students to have the self-confidence to allow themselves to break grammatical rules in the interests of voice.
What are your thoughts on the matter?
ETA: I'm listening to music composed by John Boswell that uses electronic modulation to remix snippets of old science shows. You can see videos and download mp3s at http://symphonyofscience.com/.