No master chess player is born able to play the game perfectly. No Olympian can play the sport with their current skill in kindergarten. Even the most mundane of skills, such as driving, requires practice before anyone can become proficient in it. So why do we expect writing to be any different? Some people believe that good writers are born, not made, and while it is true that some people are more naturally gifted than others, it is also true that practice and effort can easily improve anyone’s performance on any task. In this essay, I will discuss how practice, effort, and having a teacher to guide you can make anyone a better writer, no matter their innate skill level. 

A common saying about learning anything is to practice, and practice perfectly. If you play the same three notes over and over again perfectly, you’ll be far better at doing so at the end than you were in the beginning. If a poor writer continues to practice, they will gain experience, which is “… more powerful than unchangeable ability, and…” allows them to overcome “… challenges which help move writers forward rather than delaying their progress.” (Parrot, Pg. 73). Continuing to practice will show improvement, and allow for a writer to not remain stagnant, instead changing with every attempt. This is better advice about writing than simply saying that you must be born with talent, as in addition to being true, it also provides hope to those who are not currently at the level they wish to be at, writing wise. 

Everyone has a memory of completing something with less effort than they likely should have. Oftentimes, as a kid or teenager, this is a chore, or homework, but even as an adult, this could occur. Making a true and honest effort to get better at writing is important in improvement. Some may argue that the youth are bad writers due to the way they converse online, and in person, in ways that may not go along with the academically accepted versions of English. For example, code switching is an important part of any person’s interactions. For POC especially, it can be difficult to know which linguistics to use when writing a research paper, as “….correctness in language devalues people…” and can make them feel bad at writing. (Pattanayak 82) As long as an individual put in the effort to try and learn, these issues can be overcome without discouraging them from writing under the pretense of not being born innately talented at writing. 

A good teacher can teach anyone, anything. Therefore, writing should be able to be taught to anyone, given that the teacher is good enough. A lot of writing courses are taught by adjunct professors, who “… have no job security or protection against being fired at will…” (Kahn 364). If teachers are unable to get the support they need, teachers won’t be able to teach well. If not given the support they need, their students will not be able to get better. If given the support system that they need, students will be able to improve, just as they would at any other subject. 

In conclusion, if the reader is not satisfied with the way their writing currently is, they should consider following the methods outlined in this paper in order to improve. Practicing through continuing to write, even when you do not feel that you are able to will help to improve your writing by showing you your mistakes, and what you excel at. Putting effort into the work you do is important in getting better. Additionally, having a teacher who is well enough prepared and well suited to teach this subject, and give students the attention they deserve is an important aspect in getting better at writing. If the reader wants to improve, they should write a comment, or other response, and make an effort to follow these guidelines in order to get better. 

Works Cited:

Bunting, Joe. 100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises. 7 Dec. 2020, thewritepractice.com/writing-practice/. 

Ball, Cheryl E, and Drew M Loewe. “Bad Ideas About Writing.” Open Textbook Library, open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/794. 

Kahn, Seth. “Anyone Can Teach Writing.” Bad Ideas About Writing, WVU Libraries, 2017, pp. 363–368. 

Parrott, Jill. “Anyone Can Teach Writing.” Bad Ideas About Writing, WVU Libraries, 2017, pp. 71–74. 

Pattonayak, Anjali. “Anyone Can Teach Writing.” Bad Ideas About Writing, WVU Libraries, 2017, pp. 82–86.