2.8: There Are No Rules

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Wisdom about writing\(^{34}\)—as a product and as a process—is often expressed as hard and fast rules. Always begin an essay with a catchy hook. Never use the passive voice. Always make your writing flow. Always make a detailed outline before you start to write. Never edit as you draft.

In his article\(^{35}\), “The Phenomenology of Error,” writing scholar Joseph Williams lists this history of fierce tirades against poor grammar and writing, but he also demonstrates that many “rules of grammar lack practical force.” Williams takes a clever approach to make his point. He repeatedly shows that people, including some famous writers who express strong views about specific writing errors, fail to notice such errors in their own writing. Williams states that we often do not see errors unless we look for them, and he makes this assertion directly about the way teachers read and criticize their own students’ writing. To further emphasize this point, Williams embeds 100 such errors in his own article and asks readers, mostly English teachers, how many they saw; doubtless, few noticed the vast majority of them. As readers, we tend to see errors where we want to, and we ignore errors where we do not expect to find them (such as a published article about writing!). Williams ultimately asks this: If an error is on the page but no one sees it, is it really an error? Does it matter?

Questions:

Are there rules to writing?
- Start with the list in the second paragraph:
  - Can you write a good essay without a catchy hook at the beginning?
  - Can good writing be done in passive voice?
  - Do some good writers have choppy writing, the kind that doesn’t flow?
  - Do you have to outline everything you are about to write?
  - Can you edit as you write, and everything will turn out okay?
What are the rules to writing that you’ve been taught? Take time to rethink why those rules exist. Are they legit rules? Are they myths? Are they just ways to get people to write “one correct way”\(^{36}\) that doesn’t really exist?

Answers

The Outline Rule\(^{37}\)

Many undergraduate writers have been taught that they must create a detailed outline for a research paper before they begin writing. And they are often told that a first draft of a research paper must be presented in polished, error-free prose, and that the draft must be complete, from beginning to end. In fact, we know many teachers who refuse outright to read messy or incomplete works-in-progress. So, students put extensive effort into planning just how the essay will proceed and what it will say before they write. Of course, outlining can be a powerful conceptual and organizational tool. However, when writers believe that they must outline first, they often lock themselves into the ideas as expressed on the outline, rather than allowing their ideas to develop and change as they work.

The Catchy Hook Rule\(^{38}\)

Catchy hooks such as vivid anecdotes can be used to excellent

effect, if they meet the needs of the text and the circumstances. A writer can try it out and see what happens. What effect does it have on the text? Does it meet the audience’s and context’s needs (i.e., the rhetorical situation\(^{39}\))? Does it contribute to expressing what the writer is trying to say? How do real readers respond? In this way, writers can experiment with techniques, deliberate about their implications, and make judgments about the best course of action among their options. And, most importantly, writers focus their goals and purposes, rather than on the rote adherence to rules, which is more meaningful, and more fun.

Questions:

Could an introduction that is “boring” work? Wait, what is a “boring” introduction?

\(^{34}\)Snippet from = Dufour, Monique and Jennifer Ahern-Dodson. “Good Writers Always Follow My Rules.” Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Libraries, Digital Publishing Institute, 2017. CC-BY.

\(^{35}\)Snippet from = Warnock, Scott. “Texting Ruins Students’ Grammar Skills.” Bad Ideas About Writing. This resource is licensed CC-BY.

\(^{36}\)See the chapter on “White People Language” for more on this.

\(^{37}\)Snippet from = Dufour, Monique and Jennifer Ahern-Dodson. “Good Writers Always Follow My Rules.” Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Libraries, Digital Publishing Institute, 2017. CC-BY.

\(^{38}\)Dufour, Monique and Jennifer Ahern-Dodson. “Good Writers Always Follow My Rules.” Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Libraries, Digital Publishing Institute, 2017. CC-BY.

\(^{39}\)More about this in an upcoming chapter.