The most important skill for all students (and a few epinion writers)
Aug 26 '00
No, it's not how to cure a hangover, although that might be a close second. The skill that I'm referring to is vital for every discipline: writing. Writing is a skill that is far more important than most high school students and foreign students (including English-speaking ones) realize. And it only gets more important as you get to grad school.
Unlike academia in many other countries, academia in the U.S. is very much writing-based. The rhetoric in U.S. academia is, in many ways, very strict. Various disciplines may uphold the rhetoric to different degrees, and of course may require their own standards, but each will have one important thing in common: the audience.
I could write for days on rhetoric, discourse, and writing... and many have before me. But there will never be a message as important as this simple one: mind the audience. As long as you know who your audience is, and you write for them, you do well.
Audience in Academic Writing
In Western academia you are supposed to approach your audience as if they know some general truths about the world but nothing about your subject. That's a little bogus since you are allowed to use your field's jargon, which someone who knows nothing about your subject would never understand, but this is not the point (I am not arguing here that western academic standards are correct, only that they exist). The point is that in college writing assignments you must spell out your argument precisely. Do not assume that your audience--the professor who grades your work--will perceive that you understood the subject regardless of your writing skills. Remember that this is, basically, a test. After all, your instructors already know the answers to the assignments they give.
The point of your writing is not to simply answer a question but to prove to your instructor that you understood the subject. They may understand what you are trying to argue, but how can they be sure that you do? Well, from the way that you spell it out, leaving no ambiguity in your writing. If you remember this aspect of academic writing alone you should already do better.
Audience in Non-Academic Writing
For example, when writing at Epinions: I learned early on that when you review a product you should start out by describing the product a bit. Often people end up on your epinion via your member site and therefore circumvent the 'product description' page. If you don't start out with a description you are no longer writing to the audience that came from your member page (which most likely will be the bulk of the readers of your epinions). By keeping your audience in mind you improve your writing. period.
And don't forget to edit!
By keeping your audience, their knowledge and their needs, in mind when writing you will improve your writing skills immensely. This is the most important lesson I could ever teach as a writing instructor. The second most important lesson is to go back and edit your work. I always read my writing out loud because that is when it is easiest to see the small mistakes like forgotten prepositions. When reading silently to yourself you tend to skip over stuff because, after all, it's your work and you already know what you said; but reading out loud makes you read every word. That's just MY editing strategy... do what works for YOU as long as you do edit.
Final Words
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS SKILL. You may be a whiz at math, a prodigy in chemistry, a genius in physics. But who's gonna know if you can't show them? Sure, you may be able to solve problems that others stumble over, or write efficient and effective computer programs; these skills will display your abilities to your instructors, that is true. But how will you get into a competitive program if you can't tell the committee about these great skills? How will you publish your work or get grants if you can't explain to folks outside your field--who may not be quite as impressed with your ability to explain quantum mechanics--that you are so great? Yes, by writing.
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Epinions.com ID:
ngurevic
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Member: Naomi Gurevich
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 25 members
About Me:
I finished my Doctorate (in Linguistics) and had a kid. now what?!
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