What is writing?
Writing can be defined by a series o f contrasts:
• It is both a physical and a mental act. At the most basic level, writing is
the physical act of committing words or ideas to some medium,
whether it is hieroglyphics inked onto parchment or an e-mail message
typed into a computer. On the other hand, writing is the mental work of
inventing ideas, thinking about how to express them, and organizing
them into statements and paragraphs that will be clear to a reader.
• Its purpose is both to express and impress. Writers typically serve two
masters: themselves, and their own desires to express an idea or feeling,
and readers, also called the audience, who need to have ideas
expressed in certain ways. Writers must then choose the best form for
their writing-a shopping list, notes from a meeting, a scholarly article, a
novel, or poetry are only a few of the choices. Each of these types of
writing has a different level o f complexity, depending on its purpose.
• It is both a p…
Comments
Post a Comment