Good and Bad Writing

All of the examples of bad writing break one or more of the conventions of the “Seven Types of Bad Writing.” The first example of bad writing includes many of the described seven types. The biggest problem with the first example of bad writing is that it has no direction. After reading and re-reading, I am still questioning the intent of the piece. With good pieces of writing, the reader should be able to instantly pick out the thesis, or at least the core idea. However, this example has no clear focus. It also attempts to use words and ideas that are unnecessarily grandiose, which aid in creating the confusing read. In order to improve this writing, I would not only fix the grammatical errors, but also remove the excessive amount of questions, and reduce the length by about one half. Example number two uses far too many big words, and is just one long, run on sentence. On top of this, it an also a large frankenquote. The other main issues are that it thinks too highly of itself, trying to make a simple issue far more important, and ignores the needs of the reader - simplicity. The third example of bad writing clearly does not prove its thesis. Like the first example, it to has no direction, and thinks too much of itself. Also, in trying to prove a scientific argument, an author should include relevant facts and citations. This piece does not, which leads me to question if the Freud reference is fact or fiction.

The examples of good writing, however, completely avoid the types of bad writing. “The Spawning of the Capelin” has a very clear focus. The first sentence makes it clear what the rest of the paragraph will be about. It also makes use of sophisticated language, without speaking too highly of itself. Finally, I believe it is successful because it is concise and to the point. There is no unnecessary information included, which makes for a simplistic and satisfying read. The second example, “The Genes for Color Vision” is primarily successful due to its succinct style, and reference to a credible source. It has a clear direction, and uses scientific terminology, which would appeal to a Scientific American reader. “Is the Brain’s Mind a Computer Program?” discusses a very complex and sophisticated topic, however, it does not use language that is above its context, no does it forcefully try to “sound big, grown-up and clever.” Also, like all the other examples of good writing, it too has a very clear direction and fully executes its intent.

The concept of audience is clearly the most decisive factor for the assessment of good and bad writing, yet it is also the most difficult. Ultimately, it is the reader, or audience, which decides of something is written well or poorly. However, it is also the most difficult factor to appeal to, as all readers have different abilities, background knowledge and tastes. It is without question that a one may read an article and think it is brilliant, while another may feel it is trash. To combat this, an author must implement all of their tools as a writer to craft the most widely appealing work in order for it to be universally regarded as “good writing.”