People have always aspired to write in order to achieve a goal whether it is to make extra income on the side of their regular jobs or just to write to express themselves, the goal is unique per individual. Back in the 90s, educators sought to teach their students to not just write, but write with a purpose in mind.
Most writers have come to the realization that writing something or a piece a day will greatly enhance their writing ability which will open doors for them to perform even greater writing tasks. Some people have argued that those who write, have it easy because all they are doing is writing to impress someone so they and their writing do not get ignored; it is as if the writer is establishing a voice that they do not already have.
Recently, there have been naysayers that believe that academics should not write to express but write to impress. Arguably, writing to impress is one of the hardest abilities to master in the world of writing whether the person is a beginner or an expert. Writing to express can be difficult as well because some writers do not always convey the message that they are trying to convey through their writing.
As most writers know, writing can be difficult if it is aimed toward a specific goal such as writing for a newspaper or a magazine and the rewards for writing go well beyond recognition. My stance on this is that academics should write to express and not to impress because the pressure to write is already immense and writing to impress only makes it more difficult, writing is all about enjoyment; expressing oneself is the key to that satisfaction. There are no greater goals for a writer than writing to express themselves and not impress anyone.
Body I
Writing to Express
Academics should write to express because it is writing with expression that has allowed those academics to live lives of writing greatness. According to Smith (2015), “writing in academics should be about expression because it is one of the best forms of writing there is and plus, what writer does not love writing just to express how they feel which they should” (Smith, 2015).
I do not agree with the concept that academics should write to impress, impress who; writing is something that a person, whether they are an academic or not, should do to impress themselves. According to Donald (2001), “Writing to express often puts writers and academics alike on the path to write more” (Donald, 2, 2001). Academics should write to express different aspects of life. For example, an academic conducting a writing exercise to challenge themselves or if they are writing to boycott certain issues at their chosen university or school.
Incidentally, academics writing about certain issues has opened the door to change at their respective places of employment. Another example is when an academic individual write to express their disdain or complete approval of whatever is going on around them, academics who write to express themselves usually become much better writers and those accomplished writers inspire others as well.
Academics who write to express write stories of greatness, stories that flow greatly and able to write with emotion. All academics should aspire to write to express themselves creatively and not do it to impress anyone because there is too much pressure to impress anyone even if those they are trying to impress are their superiors, it is not worth it for academics to write to impress; writing to express has always been the easier of the two.
Body II
Why writing to impress is not advised
Most writers will argue that writing the best they can will yield rewards unimaginable and most of them are right, but that is not the case when they write to impress. As previously stated, writing to impress is one of the hardest techniques to master and it can complicate a writer’s efforts to convey their message. Writers who strive to write to impress use big words and complicated sentence structure to convey their message, this will cause people to stop reading.
This is the reason why academics should write to express and not impress because as most people will say, writing to impress only conveys the message that the academic is trying too hard to show their readers how smart or how good they are at writing which can be a really tiresome read for many. Writing to impress has gotten many a writer in trouble with their readers because the readers felt confused by what they are trying to say. For example, when an academic writes the paradoxical point of my argument is to argue that potato chips are not a better alternative than crunch chips. Or, if an academic writes, the deontological difference between ethical behavior and the treatment of elders is that both have a common denominator.
In the above example, readers know very little about the point that the academic individual is trying to say. Writing is already somewhat complicated to some academics and even every day writers, writing to impress only makes it that much more difficult; the individual has already lost their audience.
It cannot be argued that writing to impress might be good if the academic is doing a dissertation or even a thesis, but ultimately, writing to impress in everyday writing is both unnecessary and detrimental to the academic; write to express not to impress.
Body III
Conclusion
As many people even academics can agree that writing to express is a lot better than writing to impress, most academics who write enjoy it because they are not writing to impress anyone but themselves which is a lot easier. It cannot be argued that those who write for themselves become better writers and they become a lot better at it, they are able to write stories of greatness not to mention that they can inspire others to write just as well as them. According to Evans (2007), “Don’t write to impress, write to express yourself and how you think; there is nothing to be gained from writing to impress anyone” (Evans, 1, 2007).
It can be argued that many academics write because they have to, but the reality is that many academics write because they enjoy it and they enjoy it because they are writing to express their opinions or viewpoints about different issues in their environment. According to Clayton (2015), “eliminating jargon especially academic jargon is the goal of most academics especially those who write to express” (Clayton, 2015). Writing to impress has caused many writers, throughout time, to give up on writing because they did not get the appreciation and attention that they wanted. As a result, writing to impress has also led to writer’s block which has caused many a writer to give up writing and pursue other hobbies.
There have been academics who have also suffered at the hands of writing to impress and has suffered writer’s block, writing to impress leads to a lot of people ignoring the voice that their writing contains. Many academics write to express because they know that getting that writing voice heard is paramount, many people know when an academic is trying to write to impress using big words and long sentences which leads a lot of people to ignore that message; writing to express is better not to mention more beneficial.
References
Clayton, V. (2015, October/November). The Needless Complexity of Academic Writing. Retrieved February 6, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/complex-academic-writing/412255/
Donald, M. (2001). Finding your Voice. Retrieved February 6, 2016, from http://www.lbcc.edu/astarros/documents/voice.pdf
Evans, M. (2007). A Student's Guide to Writing Essays: The Write Advice. Retrieved February 6, 2016, from http://uwf.edu/media/university-of-west-florida/colleges/cas/departments/writing-lab/A-Students-Guide-to-Writing-Essays.pdf
Smith, J. (2015, November 1). Academics Against Academic Jargon. Retrieved February 6, 2016, from http://www.progress.org/article/academics-against-academic-jargon
