Standards for Writing

Standards for Writing: Basics

As the class starts, you could be wondering, “What is she going to expect me to write?”  Well, the beginning of this document contains basics to help you get a general feel for the writing that will be acceptable in our class, and the rest of this handout will explain more elaborately the details associated with writing in a persuasive, academic-style while arguing a point.

Learning from the Experts I remember my years in college where I mistakenly believed that my professors had to allow me open-creativity while completing my assignments.  After all, I was an adult, now.  I was led to believe that after high school, I would get to begin making my own choices in life: whether positive or negative.  However, this did not happen in my college classes, nor did it occur in the ‘jobs’ that I worked to help pay for my studies.  Each professor—no matter the discipline of the course—had a specific requirement that I had to follow.  Whether it was the precise set-up of my Chemistry lab reports, the required step-by-step showing of my equation solutions in Calculus, or the seemingly restrictive structure of my essays in Studies in Medieval Literature, I was certain that I knew how to organize, sort, and present my information better than they did. Looking back, I now know that they were correct.  Each professor—whether I liked or personally related to him or her—had insights that I did not.  Each professor had experience in his/her field-of-study and knew best how to most productively succeed in it.  It only took me my first year of college-level studies to realize that the structure and organization touted by each of these professors in their given fields were the most logical and useful way of proceeding.  While I did not always agree with their personal views, one thing I could not dispute was that they all knew how to be methodical in their fields. I retell this so that you can hopefully learn more quickly than I did to respect the experience of professors.  While you may not always like their approach, beliefs, or views of the world, their experience in their fields are valuable.  Once you have learned from them—throughout your years of study—you have the option of stepping out of that ‘box’ of organized, prescribed structure and venturing out on your own.  However, while within the confines of the academic society, you will want to follow the pattern of presentation pre-set by your field.  In our case, this is writing.  There are basic standards for writing in English.  While your content may be subjectively reflected upon at times, the structure of your writing is objectively scored based on whether you have followed the pre-set conventions that best work to order ideas in a predictable and informative way.  Please review the organizational structure below and know that there is a method to my (writing) madness.  There is a reason that I want you to follow a specific order in your writing.  It is not so that I can have control over you.  I want you to follow this order so that YOU can have CONTROL over your presentation of material and CONTROL over the way you lead your reader through your argument.  I believe you will find ease and comfort in this structure once you use it effectively.  Try to respect the experience of those whom you have gone to for education and guidance.