Eight Myths About Writing

In almost every writing skills seminar, there comes a moment in which a participant finds that one of the notions about writing that he or she has held since elementary school is either no longer valid or is dead wrong. Many teachers and scholars, in an attempt to standardize communication in English, codify their opinion as “rules.” These “rules” are really guidelines that must occasionally yield to give flexibility to our efforts to express ourselves. Although we cannot communicate without at least some understanding of the rules, we also need to be flexible about applying them. We need to leave room for creativity as long as the goal of communication can still be achieved.