“Writer” by Hannah Ollinger. Unsplash

While writers seem to have a good perception of what’s good or bad writing for them, it was not always like that. One might think that writers know how to write good in the first place, however they too struggled to get to the point to where they are now. It does not matter if someone is a writer or not, at some point in their life people will write essays, research papers, poems, and other writings that they have to know for who and what they are writing for to reach a certain point.

There are many ideas about writing that in the book, Bad Ideas about Writing author Elizabeth Wardle mentions one misconception about how no one can learn to write in general. The title of her essay, in which she opposes the idea is “You Can Learn to Write in General.” 

“Audience” by Alexandre Pellaes. Unsplash

In other words, Elizabeth is trying to prove that writing is not general by explaining that writing is very broad meaning that there are various types of writing that one can write. However, each writing has a different purpose to reach a certain audience. In letting the idea go that writing is easy, Wardle tells the use of writing is to improve. In order to grow as a writer, Wardle suggests that the better idea is to give time and effort to engage in several types of writing so we can learn. 

Usually when we write, we mostly think about how one should write or structure the paper. A scenario Elizabeth Wardle uses is imagining writing with nothing in mind, which she claims that we cannot do it as writing has a certain purpose (Wardle 30). In order to write one must know what includes in writing, in which Elizabeth implies, “This is because context, audience, purpose, medium, history, and values of the community all impact what writing is and needs to be in each situation” (Wardle 30). If we put all these requirements into our paper, then we have a clear idea what our paper is supposed to be but no. The situation is what type of writing are we supposed to use to in order to reach a goal, claim or purpose in that writing. In figuring out what specific writing we will be writing, then we can apply those other skills or elements we will be using to support and define what the writer is trying to say.  

“Learning” by NeONBRAND. Unsplash.

Despite knowing the different types of writing we should use, do not expect writing will be easy just because we know what each writing is for. Elizabeth Wardle states, “A better notion of how writing works is one that recognizes that after learning scribal skills (letters, basic grammatical constructions), everything a writer does is impacted by the situation in which she is writing” (Wardle 31). Even though we are applying many concepts into writing, it does not mean each writing will involve all the same elements. There are many types of writing that not all elements will be included in the writing, which makes it difficult for people to have their own writing style. In thinking that every writing is just the same is wrong as Elizabeth argues that writing is all about learning and finding new experiences so one can explore many types of writing.  

In knowing that each writing is not the same, Elizabeth provides the idea of improving one’s writing based on the article Elon Statement on Writing Transfer. In the article, Elon University researchers correlate transfer and writing by stating “Writers consistently draw on prior knowledge in order to navigate within and among various contexts for writing and learning” (Elon University). By practicing and taking advantage of what one knew before and applying old and new skills into writing can help establish a good paper. Not only that, as the skills are set to prepare people to build up their own knowledge and communication in their writing using metacognition (Elon University). In setting forth the idea of experiencing new things will help the mind learn more about writing.  

“Skills” by UX Indonesia. Unsplash.

Overall, in order to improve one’s writing, one must know that writing is not in general. Elizabeth Wardle repeatedly says each writing has a unique way of setting for their purpose. In talking about transfer, Wardle, and Elon University sets that there are many skills in order to focus and consider trying to use it in our writing. This is what makes a good writer; we must experience and learn what writing is supposed to be and how it is written in various kinds of writing. 

Works Cited 

Wardle, Elizabeth “You Can Learn to Write in General” Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, West Virginia University Libraries, 2017, pgs. 30-33 

“Elon Statement on Writing Transfer.” Center for Engaged Learning, May 22, 2014. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/elon-statement-on-writing-transfer/ 

                In Bad Ideas about Writing, an essay called “African American Language is not good English,” by Jennifer M. Cunningham, disputes the false perception of the African American language seen as English. The term “African American Language” has had multiple terms such as Ebonics, African American English, Black English, and many more. The bad idea is the African American language is not good English, but the better idea Cunningham and Mike Vuolo who has an article called “Is Black English A Dialect or A Language?” present it as its own language. To begin we must analyze the facts of how it is its own language.

                Cunningham explains that “African American language combines English vocabulary (the words used) with an African grammar (the way the words are ordered and conjugated) and phonology (the way the words are pronounced)” (Cunningham, 88). The article “Is Black English A Dialect or A Language?” by Mike Vuolo also presents a similar statement that the African American language has a unique and different pattern from standard English. Both authors agree on the fact that the African American language cannot be considered bad English because it is not linguistically speaking English. An example Cunningham shows of the differences between the two are some of the linguistic principles of the language changes a pronounced th sound with a /d/ producing dis, dat, dese, and dose creating the words in standard English, this, that, these, and those (Cunningham, 90). Cunningham followed up her example by stating that the reasoning behind this was that the th sound is difficult to pronounce for those where English is not their first language. 

                A question then arises how does this correlate to African Americans born in the country, and English is their first language? Why is the African American language so commonly and widely used? Mike Vuolo states from Walter Wolfram that “the number one attribute of “acting white” was “speaking white,” talking white” (Vuolo,1). “Talking white” in this context is using standard English, which causes an identify factor to play a role. The correlation that Wolfram makes is that when African Americans are learning standard English, it becomes a social decision because standard English is associated with “talking white”, and one naturally wouldn’t want to disenfranchise themselves to their community. An example in “African American Language is not good English,”  shows two phrases with the same meaning but different sentence structures. “I aint got no time” (African American Language) is equivalent to “I don’t have any time” in standard English. Leading back to Cunningham’s statements on the th sound being difficult to pronounce for those whose English is not their first language could be a social decision for African Americans not because they can’t pronounce the sound, but they choose to pronounce otherwise for social acceptance.  

                In the article “Is Black English A Dialect or A Language?” Vuolo states that the school board acknowledged that African American kids came to school speaking a language other than standard English. Vuolo agreed with the school board’s proposal which was to use those kids’ language in the classroom to “transition” them to standard English. Cunningham had a similar solution because she stated in her essay “When we focus on the ways that African American Language and Standard American English are different, communicators are able to better understand, acquire, and switch between both, and society is more capable of recognizing the validity of the language and its users” (Cunningham, 91).  Both solutions are connected with the better idea that the African American language is not English because then it would be verifying or acknowledging the language as its own and its users.

                Having the school board have to make a proposal is related to a term Vuolo used called Principle of Linguistic Subordination which means “If a people are socially subordinated then their language will almost always be as well” (Vuolo,1). There were those who disapproved of the school board proposal such as Mario Cuomo and Joseph Liberman. Both agreed that “it is a lowering of the bar” as Cuomo says and It wouldn’t properly educate a person which shows that they too practice this principle because even the political parties felt that the language was a lesser form of English.

                Cunningham and Vuolo both come to the same conclusion the language has its own sets of rules and principles to be considered a separate language to English. By recognizing African American language as its own language, even if it is a social decision, it could be incorporated in the education system as a reference educators can use to transition students who use the African American language into standard English. As Cunningham thoroughly explains “In the writing classroom, teachers can help students navigate Standard American English expectations while not suggesting a linguistic hierarchy. By speaking about language choices in terms of difference rather than deficiency and in relation to academic and non-academic conventions, we can value both (or any) languages” (Cunningham, 91).

Works Cited

Cunningham, M, Jennifer. “AFRICAN AMERICAN LANGUAGE IS NOT GOOD ENGLISH” In Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe,88-92. Web. https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf

Vulo, Mike. “Is Black English a Dialect or a Language?” 27 February 2012. http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/lexicon_valley/2012/02/lexicon_valley_is_black_english_a_dialect_or_a_language_.html

In competitive environments there will always be those who attempt to rise to the top through deception, some will do so successfully, some will stumble and fall. The academic sphere is no different, plagiarism as well as other forms of cheating are commonly viewed by most of society as a large issue in college education. Many academic institutions have very little tolerance for plagiarism and are quick to discipline students for perceived academic misconduct. This opens a deep multifaceted issue regarding plagiarism and begs the questions: “What should constitute plagiarism?”, “When should and shouldn’t plagiarism be punished?”, and “What measures should be taken to prevent plagiarism?”. 

In the Bad Ideas About Writing book, Jennifer A. Mott-Smith discusses in her essay “Plagiarism Deserves to be Punished” a bad idea about writing, which is that plagiarism should always be punished. The Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA), a national association of college and university faculty, and Malcolm Gladwell, a journalist personally impacted by plagiarism, echo Mott-Smith’s idea that plagiarism shouldn’t always be punished. A better idea about writing is that unless plagiarism is directly copying information word for word from a source without attempting to cite the source it should be examined on a case by case basis and determined if there was malicious intent on the student’s behalf. It is important to consider various factors when examining plagiarism such as cultural factors, misunderstanding on the student’s part of what constitutes plagiarism, lack of knowledge on how to cite sources, or clumsy integration of ideas. In some cases there might not be malicious intent on the student’s part, as opposed to punishment for plagiarism, more education about writing and citation conventions would be beneficial.

 “Copy stock photo” by PashaIgnatov. iStock.

Firstly, it is important to define what plagiarism is before analyzing what the appropriate responses to plagiarism are. The Council of Writing Program Administrators defines plagiarism as “when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source.” (“Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices.”, 1). It is important to point out that the WPA distinguishes the difference between plagiarism and the misuse of sources. If a student makes a good faith effort to cite a source but inadequately cites the source, that is not plagiarism. However, according to the WPA, a student who is “fully aware that their actions constitute plagiarism” and claims someone else’s ideas as their own original ideas and/or copies someone else’s writing is guilty of academic misconduct. This stance is similar to Jennifer A. Mott-Smith’s stance in her essay “Plagiarism Deserves to be Punished”. Mott-Smith states “unless plagiarism is out-and-out cheating, like cutting and pasting an entire paper from the Internet or paying someone to write it, we should be cautious about reacting to plagiarism with the intent to punish.” (251) The consensus across both sources is that if an idea, section of text, or other intellectual material was taken from a source and no attempt was made to cite the source, and/or permission was not granted by the owner of the intellectual material, then plagiarism has taken place. 

Now that it has been established what exactly constitutes plagiarism, it is important to investigate in which circumstances instances of plagiarism should be punished. Mott-Smith and the WPA both agree that unintentional plagiarism or inadequate source use should not be punished, the proper response in this scenario would be providing further education for the student to teach them to cite sources properly. To prevent unintentional plagiarism the WPA recommends for faculty to “design contexts and assignments for learning that encourage students not simply to recycle information but to investigate and analyze its sources” (“Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices.”, 1) and “to include in [the] syllabus a policy for using sources … that clearly explains the consequences of both plagiarism .. and the misuse …  of sources.” (“Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices.”, 1) Mott-Smith corroborates the WPA’s stance by stating that “for much plagiarism, a better response is to just relax and let writers continue to practice the sophisticated skill of using sources.” (Mott-Smith, 251) The WPA also recommends the creation of an honor board to hear plagiarism cases and to teach all students proper citation conventions and expectations. 

 “Person Stealing Purse From Handbag” by Andrey Popov. iStock

What about in cases of intentional plagiarism? This is a morally ambiguous question. In the article “Something Borrowed” by Malcolm Gladwell, he discusses how plagiarism personally impacted his life and the life of a friend of his, Dorothy Lewis. A British playwright, Bryony Lavery, had written a play called “Frozen” about a psychiatrist who specializes in the study of murderers. In the play, Lavery had included many scenes that were very similar to case studies in Lewis’s book, “Guilty by Reason of Insanity.” Lavery had also verbatim quoted from a magazine profile of Lewis that Gladwell had written while Lavery was creating the character for the psychiatrist in her play without Lewis’s or Gladwell’s permission. Lavery in her meeting with Gladwell stated that she didn’t have malicious intent in plagiarizing their work, she stated that she didn’t know it was necessary to ask permission and cite them as sources. 

This is undeniably plagiarism, although without ill intent, but is this a breach of ethics for which Lavery should be punished? Lewis felt that Lavery should be punished, her viewpoint can be summarized as “I was sitting at home reading the play, and I realized that it was I. I felt robbed and violated in some peculiar way. It was as if someone had stolen—I don’t believe in the soul, but, if there was such a thing, it was as if someone had stolen my essence.” (Gladwell, 1) However, Gladwell felt differently. Gladwell felt that Lavery had copied descriptions of Lewis’s work and the outline of Lewis’s life to create a new and original play, Lavery hadn’t copied musings, or conclusions, or structure. Gladwell states that “old words in the service of a new idea aren’t the problem. What inhibits creativity is new words in the service of an old idea,” (Gladwell, 1) Gladwell’s mindset is that plagiarism, although distasteful, shouldn’t be punished if it was used to create something new and original, as that would inhibit creativity. According to the WPA’s guidelines, this would be considered plagiarism since Lavery did not make any attempt to give credit to her sources of inspiration and claimed it as her work, so Lavery is liable for repercussions. But, the WPA and Mott-Smith also state that in cases where a person doesn’t have ill intentions it is more effective to educate them on proper source use than to discipline them. So, it would be most effective to educate Lavery on conventions as opposed to a lawsuit.

In conclusion, Malcolm Gladwell, the WPA, and Jennifer Mott-Smith all agree that although plagiarism is a serious issue, improper citation of sources and unintentional plagiarism should not be punished if the student made an good-faith effort to attribute credit and did not have malicious intent. Gladwell takes it further by proposing that intentional plagiarism shouldn’t be punished if it is without malicious intent, isn’t excessive, and is used to make something new and creative. Mott-Smith points out that “citation standards vary widely and are often in the eye of the beholder.” (Mott-Smith, 251) The WPA and Mott-Smith both agree that it is better to educate students on expected citation and writing conventions as opposed to punishing them unless the plagiarism is blatant and ill intended.

Works Cited:

“Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices.” Council of Writing Program Administrators, 30 Dec. 2019, wpacouncil.org/aws/CWPA/pt/sd/news_article/272555/_PARENT/layout_details/false.

Gladwell, Malcolm. “Something Borrowed.” The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2004, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/11/22/something-borrowed.

Mott-Smith, Jennifer, editor. “Plagiarism Deserves to Be Punished.” Bad Ideas About Writing, Morgantown, WV, Digital Publishing Institute, 2017, pp. 247–52.

In her essay “Strunk and White Set the Standard,” Laura Lisabeth discusses the limitations of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style is a popular reference book on Standard English that can trace its roots back to 1918. However, Strunk and White’s style of English “marginalizes the identities, knowledge, and being of many people who come from other literacy practices” (Lisabeth 118). An alternative to Strunk and White’s style of English is the idea of “understanding Standard Academic English as a historically formed, culturally specific language among many other languages (Lisabeth 119). Only by first understanding there is a problem, can we begin to address it.

“Everyday English Book” by Ivan Shilov. Unsplash.

While The Elements of Style has remained popular for decades, it is not without its detractors. Even in 1959 “… The Elements of Style was greeted with criticism by the field of college composition for being vague and misleading about the complex act of learning to compose academic writing” (Lisabeth 117). Professor Lisabeth herself excoriates “the kind of writing Strunk and White put forth as good writing” as a discourse that limits and excludes (Lisabeth 118). Feagin discusses Shirley Heath’s Ways with Words epilogue where changes in the schools which have eliminated the possibility of creative teaching have discouraged teachers to the point that many are leaving the field (Feagin 491). These criticisms suggest there is room for improvement and flexibility in Standard Academic English.

In understanding Standard Academic English as one culturally specific language among many other languages, then its criticisms, what is a better system? “Sociolinguists point to the ways English is already operating as a flexible medium, repurposed by American users to include, for example, Black and Latinx variations and the language and punctuation of social media, all of which expand the expressiveness of English and make it relevant to more users” (Lisabeth 118-119). A better system encourages flexibility and creativity to fully bring out the identities and knowledge of the people using the language. This system would not be limited to a personal capacity; “access to such uses of language can help many emerging academic writers to develop more competence and to perform better in school as they capitalize on existing meaningful ways of expressing knowledge” (Lisabeth 119). Therefore, students can also benefit professionally. Feagin, through Heath, discusses the value of this better system in helping teachers “deal with non-mainstream children from Roadville- and Trackton-like communities who were having trouble in school and gives examples of projects which worked in that particular population” (Feagin 491). The better system did not marginalize or trivialize the identities and cultures of the non-mainstream children, but rather included them and was enhanced by their uniqueness.

“White Printer Paper” by Toa Heftiba. Unsplash.

In conclusion, while The Elements of Style by Strunk and White has been widely taught for many decades, it is not the only possible style of Standard Academic English nor the best. By recognizing English as a constantly evolving language rather than something rigid and exclusive, we can understand there are better systems. Feagin corroborates this by saying “we need such an extended work [A Way with Words] to show us how ignorant we are of the people around us” (Feagin 491). Then, comes the important steps of bringing that awareness and teaching those better, inclusive systems to the next generation of students. After all, they will be the ones to inherit the English language and enhance it in ways we could never imagine. As Professor Lisabeth states “these networked ways of writing, along with social-media inspired ways of thinking about punctuation, continue to explode definitions for what constitutes meaningful language and educated English” (Lisabeth 119).

Works Cited

1.) Lisabeth, Laura. “Strunk and White Set the Standard.” Digital Publishing Institute, 2017. Bad Ideas About Writing E-book, https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf#page=128.

2.) Feagin, Crawford. Language, vol. 61, no. 2, Linguistic Society of America, 1985, pp. 489–93, https://doi.org/10.2307/414163.