In today’s world, writing is highly important since it is so widely used on a daily basis. But it isn’t as easy to do, simply because there are a lot of bad ideas out there that tend to make it difficult for some. Jill Parrott, in her essay “Some People Are Just Born Good Writers” (in the book Bad Ideas About Writing) argues that the idea of the title is a bad idea because it puts inexperienced writers in a bad mindset where they think they can’t improve their writing and make themselves believe that all good writers are just born being able to write well. But, she says, this bad idea shouldn’t let inexperienced writers be kept from writing, because there are solutions out there in order for them to improve and not to feel so discouraged about writing.

“struggling kid writing” by Getty Images/VStock RF. Calvert Education ttps://www.calverteducation.com/parent-teacher/teaching-a-child-who-hates-writing

Jill Parrott, the author of “Some People Are Just Born Good Writers”, suggests on what inexperienced writers can do so they do not get in that bad mindset of labeling themselves as being a bad writer. “Persistence emphasizes that experience is more powerful than unchangeable ability, and challenges help move writers forward rather than delaying their progress.” (Parrot 73). Here, she says how being a persistent writer is key to improving one’s writing. Persistence and going back over previous work will improve future projects because then the writer will know what mistakes not to make. It’s like anything else in life where practice makes perfect, a writer can’t expect to become better if they don’t practice and keep trying. One can’t expect to be able to write an amazing paper without having previous experience and having grown from the mistakes they made previously. As the writer looks back at previous work, they must be able to take any feedback, being bad or good and use that as another way to keep improving.

As writers continue to be more persistent with their writing and growing, they often tend to realize how the writing process they use works and/or if it’s actually working for them. Every writer goes through the writing process when writing something and in order to not get in the mindset of “Some People Are Just Born Good Writers” the writer has to find a process that fits them. Peter Elbow, author of “Writing Without Teachers”, suggests using a certain type of model of the writing process in order to make things easier.” If on the other hand you adopt the developmental model of the writing process, you might well try to write it four times, not once, and try to help the piece evolve through these four versions.” (Elbow 33). In other words, as someone might spend hours just working on one draft and killing themselves to make it perfect then just revising and editing it at the end, the writer should write that paper multiple times. As they re-write it, each time they keep fixing it up and seeing if the last draft was going anywhere or if they can use any of it and keep going from there. In the end, as you write each draft, the paper is going to keep growing and should make writing a little less of a headache for those writers that find writing difficult.

As any writer is writing their paper and follows the previous suggestions in order to make the whole writing process better, a very important thing the they must also do is to include his or her voice in their paper. Voice is very important to have when writing something because it’s what draws the readers attention. “When teachers talk about the good qualities of student writing, one of their favorite terms is “voice.” Good student writing has it; bad student writing doesn’t” (Hashimoto 70). In other words when writing in academia having one’s voice present is a must because it’s what separates good writers / students from bad ones. Voice gives a type of energy to the reader such as humor, rhythm, flow, or individuality that makes them feel like the writer is actually talking to them. Without a present voice, the paper might seem dull to the reader and they might become uninterested.

All inexperienced writers such as students who wish to become great writers must always seek to improve. By sticking to the bad idea that some people are just born good writer does the complete opposite of that. That will just get the writer stuck in a bad mindset where they think they can’t improve. But, by being a persistent writer and taking any feedback and using it to improve their writing will help of keeping them out of that said mindset. As persistence is always important, the writer must figure out a good writing process for them in order to make writing less of a hassle. As stated, using the developmental model can help ease that struggle. As the writer is putting the paper together, they must remember to include their voice. This is highly important because with this they can catch the reader’s attention and make them want to read their work. Practicing all three will help the writers work and should shed light on them with some hope that they can improve and become the great writers they’re aspired to be. “Good writers are not born. They are learned” (Parrot 74).

Works Cited

• Ball, E. Cheryl; Loewe, M. Drew. Bad Ideas About Writing. Parrott, Jill. “Some People Are Just Born Good Writers”. Pp. 71-75
• Elbow, Peter. Writing without Teachers, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 1998. ProQuest eBook Central, pp. 30-60. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/gsu/detail.action?docID=516289
• Hashimoto, I. “Voice as Juice: Some Reservations about Evangelic Composition.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 38, no. 1, 1987, pp. 70–80. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/357588.