Ten Essential Lessons about Writing

1. Writing is more than communication. It’s a process of discovery and learning. Writing is really not a step-by-step process of gathering info and organizing it into a specific form. It’s not really about rules or procedures. Instead, it’s a complex process of discovery and comprehension of ideas. Writing is an indispensable mode of learning.

2. Writing is a social activity. Although writing often feels like a solitary activity, it is actually a fundamentally social one. Writing is a social transaction between a writer and reader(s). It’s a rhetorical act and process. Even rules, conventions, forms and standards are socially agreed upon norms.

3. A writer must have something to say and then back it up. A clear, valid point and sufficient support for it constitute effective college writing. Even kinds of writing that aren’t explicitly persuasive always have—and need to have—an “angle” or point.

4. There is always a voice in writing, even when there isn’t an “I.” Academic writing seems very “disembodied,” objective, or formal. But there is still always a person “behind” it. “Voice” is the term used to describe that sense of a real person “behind” the formal prose.

5. There is no such thing as “good” writing, except in context. The form or genre you are writing in influences what counts as “good.” The circumstances or context in which a piece of writing in created and received shapes what counts as “good.” The purpose of the piece of writing dictates “good”—did it do what it set out to do? Whether we like it or not, in and out of school, what is “good” is ultimately very subjective.

6. Form follows function. Purpose comes first: What is the text trying to do? Who is it trying to reach? Answers to those questions drive decisions about form, format, genre, organization, structure, and style. Remember: writing is not about applying rules but understanding the purpose of any given text.

7. The medium is part of the message. Multiple media are available for composing texts. How you say something is as important as what you say. How you say something should be driven by what you want to say.

8. Revision is an essential part of writing. When asked why he revised the ending to A Farewell to Arms 39 times, Ernest Hemingway replied, “I was getting the words right.” The most significant different between novice and expert writers is their approaches to revision. Revision is not about fixing or tinkering; it’s about gaining clarity and complexity of your ideas.

9. Good grammar is necessary, but it doesn’t necessarily mean good writing. Good writing is much more than “good grammar.” “Grammar” is a catch-all term to talk about (bad) writing, but usually the problem is not technically a grammatical one. Writers don’t learn about grammar through “skill and drill.” They learn about the complexities of grammar by writing! And making mistakes. And revising. And trying new things.

10. Practice makes perfect (almost). Learning to write is not like learning to ride a bicycle. It’s more like learning to play the piano.