Comments on: Good Writing “A Matter of Opinion”? http://www.dailywritingtips.com/good-writing-a-matter-of-opinion/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:00:10 -0600 hourly 1 By:   Is Good Writing Relative? by Blog Tutorials http://www.dailywritingtips.com/good-writing-a-matter-of-opinion/comment-page-1/#comment-26725   Is Good Writing Relative? by Blog Tutorials Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:26:18 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=532#comment-26725 [...] recently read a post at Daily Writing Tips about “good writing being a matter of opinion.” The moment I read the title, I already knew [...] [...] recently read a post at Daily Writing Tips about “good writing being a matter of opinion.” The moment I read the title, I already knew [...]

]]> By: Maeve http://www.dailywritingtips.com/good-writing-a-matter-of-opinion/comment-page-1/#comment-26251 Maeve Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:35:48 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=532#comment-26251 Flipper, As of July 21, there are no more days until the short story contest deadline. The deadline was midnight, July 20. Hope you got yours in. Flipper,
As of July 21, there are no more days until the short story contest deadline.

The deadline was midnight, July 20.

Hope you got yours in.

]]> By: Tarah http://www.dailywritingtips.com/good-writing-a-matter-of-opinion/comment-page-1/#comment-26212 Tarah Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:42:10 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=532#comment-26212 Hi Maeve What to do when there are millions of errors on one of my favourite sites? I love reading the site for its information, but the mistakes make my eyes bleed. Hi Maeve

What to do when there are millions of errors on one of my favourite sites? I love reading the site for its information, but the mistakes make my eyes bleed.

]]> By: flipper http://www.dailywritingtips.com/good-writing-a-matter-of-opinion/comment-page-1/#comment-26145 flipper Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:21:26 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=532#comment-26145 How many days are left to submit our story? How many days are left to submit our story?

]]> By: David Bowman http://www.dailywritingtips.com/good-writing-a-matter-of-opinion/comment-page-1/#comment-26000 David Bowman Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:51:50 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=532#comment-26000 As we say: Good writers write well. In this way, the definition of "good writer" is "those who write well." Defining "writing well" is more difficult, but I absolutely agree that good writing is writing that 1) communicates clearly and 2) accomplishes an inticipated purpose. Writing that is unclear and does not follow the expected and functional (i.e., useful) conventions cannot do either of these. With that said, not all writing has to follow conventions accurately--as suggested by the previous paragraph, purpose is very important. By this, I suggest that how we write a friendly note to our friends may have different requirements than how we write to business colleagues, for example, much like we alter our speech patterns according to our audience. Different recipient groups (i.e., audiences) have different expectations, different understandings, different lingo and jargon, and different abilities to understand what a person writes. In every case, though, clarity and attention to the purpose are essential, and these are often dependent upon how well the writer follows the conventions (e.g., grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling) of writing. As we say: Good writers write well. In this way, the definition of “good writer” is “those who write well.” Defining “writing well” is more difficult, but I absolutely agree that good writing is writing that 1) communicates clearly and 2) accomplishes an inticipated purpose. Writing that is unclear and does not follow the expected and functional (i.e., useful) conventions cannot do either of these.

With that said, not all writing has to follow conventions accurately–as suggested by the previous paragraph, purpose is very important. By this, I suggest that how we write a friendly note to our friends may have different requirements than how we write to business colleagues, for example, much like we alter our speech patterns according to our audience. Different recipient groups (i.e., audiences) have different expectations, different understandings, different lingo and jargon, and different abilities to understand what a person writes.

In every case, though, clarity and attention to the purpose are essential, and these are often dependent upon how well the writer follows the conventions (e.g., grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling) of writing.

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