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There is a lot of debate in writing. Why is it taught exclusively in English classes? Why does academic writing focus mainly on literature until college, and ev
by the_watcher 13y ago
There is a lot of debate in writing. Why is it taught exclusively in English classes? Why does academic writing focus mainly on literature until college, and even then, English is the equivalent as a writing major? PG wrote about this once [1], but it makes no sense.
[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/essay.html http://www.paulgraham.com/essay.html
- eli_gottlieb 13y agoYeah, I got through my schooling long, long ago and that one is still a mystery to me. I can tell you why there's a debate, though: different contexts have radically different standards for what constitutes good writing. If I attempted to publish some of the stuff I've written or seen written in research literature as a prose nonfiction article, I would be rightfully crucified for crimes against communication. And yet, attempt to write clear, explanatory prose in a research context, and you will be called a sloppy amateur. /grumble /grumble
- chongli 13y agoThere is a lot of debate in writing. And in reading. Literary criticism is a big deal! And in math, for that matter. There is a great deal of math research taking place. To suggest that it's all settled and there's no room for debate is pretty silly of the GP.