Q&R-1

State one “common misconception” about writing that this article attempts change. How did it change your view of writing?

This article concentrates on de-categorizing writing and informing students about the different misconceptions about the study of writing. In an effort to teach us, FYC professors or any writing professor assumes that what we learn in that one semester in their class will automatically carry over to all other subjects. In reality, every subject has its own distinct style of writing that does not apply with FYC. The misdirection of FYC is that academic writing is universal and that any thing you learn in FYC applies in all other subjects. It is difficult to help students understand writing with the system that is currently in place because it is taught mostly in English departments. Professors from other courses expect or assume that the style of writing you learn in FYC applies to what they’re teaching. Professors are also subconsciously forced to teach writing based on their own experiences and cultural differences.

Before I read this article, my idea of writing was based on what I was taught in high school. There I learned correct grammar skills and how to correctly write a sentence. I was given prompts and asked to expand on the ideas of them. In my past experiences I was taught that the longer my composition, the better my score would be. I used to write as much as I could just to make the three-page goal that was set for me. I know now that what I was taught then does not completely apply in college. This article helped me change my view of writing by showing me that even though we’re taught a certain style of writing in FYC we should not use it as our foundation of all of our writing tasks. Writing should not be taught as a single subject; it should be taught on all courses. Practicing different styles of writing will help us better understand the subject as a whole. In reading this article, I understand that writing should be expressed in our own words and that even though were taught how to write, we shouldn’t use those principles as the basis of every subject. This article teaches us about the reality of writing and the flaws that our currents system has in how we learn writing skills.