Bad Ideas About Writing

Aug 27, 2026

Open access textbook Bad Ideas About Writing examines widespread misconceptions that hinder effective writing instruction. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, it organizes chapters around myths about what good writing is, who good writers are, and which styles, genres, assessment practices, and digital technologies should guide teaching. Each chapter presents a named “bad idea” and addresses it through scholarship, helping educators and students improve writing knowledge, pedagogy, and outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages382

Reading Time9 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe

Bad Ideas About What Good Writing Is

Rhetoric is Synonymous with Empty Speech - Patricia Roberts-Miller

America is Facing a Literacy Crisis - Jacob Babb

Bad Ideas About Who Good Writers Are

Writers are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged - Teri Holbrook and Melanie Hundley

There is One Correct Way of Writing and Speaking - Anjali Pattanayak

Bad Ideas About Style, Usage, and Grammar

Strunk and White Set the Standard - Laura Lisabeth

The Passive Voice Should be Avoided - Collin Gifford Brooke

Bad Ideas About Writing Techniques

Formal Outlines are Always Useful - Kristin Milligan

Students Should Learn About the Logical Fallacies - Daniel V. Bommarito

Bad Ideas About Genres

Excellent Academic Writing Must be Serious - Michael Theune

The Five-Paragraph Essay is Rhetorically Sound - Quentin Vieregge

Bad Ideas About Assessing Writing

Grading Has Always Made Writing Better - Mitchell R. James

Rubrics Oversimplify the Writing Process - Crystal Sands

Bad Ideas About Writing and Digital Technology

Texting Ruins Students’ Grammar Skills - Scott Warnock

Gamification Makes Writing Fun - Joshua Daniel-Wariya

Bad Ideas About Writing Teachers

You’re Going to Need This for College - Andrew Hollinger

BAD IDEAS ABOUT WRITING Edited by Cheryl E . Ball & Drew M . Loewe BAD IDEAS ABOUT WRITING OPEN ACCESS TEXTBOOKS Open Access Textbooks is a project created through West Virginia University with the goal of producing cost-effective and high quality products that engage authors, faculty, and students. This project is supported by the Digital Publishing Institute and West Virginia University Libraries. For more free books or to inquire about publishing your own open-access book, visit our Open Access Textbooks website at [http://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu](http://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu). BAD IDEAS ABOUT WRITING Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe West Virginia University Libraries Digital Publishing Institute Morgantown, WV The Digital Publishing Institute believes in making work as openly accessible as possible. Therefore, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license means you can re-use portions or all of this book in any way, as long as you cite the original in your re-use. You do not need to ask for permission to do so, although it is always kind to let the authors know of your re-use. To view a copy of this CC license, visit [http://creative](http://creative)[commons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or](commons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or) send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. This book was set in Helvetica Neue and Iowan Old Style and was first published in 2017 in the United States of America by WVU Libraries. The original cover image,“No Pressure Then,” is in the public domain, thanks to Pete, a Flickr Pro user. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data forthcoming ISBN-10: 0-9988820-0-3 ISBN-13: 978-0-9988820-0-0 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe BAD IDEAS ABOUT WHAT GOOD WRITING IS Rhetoric is Synonymous with Empty Speech Patricia Roberts-Miller America is Facing a Literacy Crisis Jacob Babb 1 7 13 First-Year Composition Prepares Students for Academic Writing 18 Tyler Branson First-Year Composition Should be Skipped Paul G. Cook You Can Learn to Write in General Elizabeth Wardle Writing Knowledge Transfers Easily Ellen C. Carillo Reading and Writing are not Connected Ellen C. Carillo Reading is Not Essential to Writing Instruction Julie Myatt Barger BAD IDEAS ABOUT WHO GOOD WRITERS ARE Writers are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged Teri Holbrook and Melanie Hundley You Need My Credentials to be a Writer Ronald Clark Brooks Only Geniuses can be Writers Dustin Edwards and Enrique Paz 24 30 34 38 44 53 60 64 Some People are Just Born Good Writers Jill Parrott Failure is Not an Option Allison D. Carr There is One Correct Way of Writing and Speaking Anjali Pattanayak African American Language is not Good English Jennifer M. Cunningham Official American English is Best Steven Alvarez Writer’s Block Just Happens to People Geoffrey V. Carter Strong Writing and Writers Don’t Need Revision Laura Giovanelli The More Writing Process, the Better Jimmy Butts BAD IDEAS ABOUT STYLE, USAGE, AND GRAMMAR Strunk and White Set the Standard Laura Lisabeth Good Writers Always Follow My Rules Monique Dufour and Jennifer Ahern-Dodson Writers Must Develop a Strong, Original Voice Patrick Thomas Leave Yourself Out of Your Writing Rodrigo Joseph Rodríguez Response: Never Use “I”Kimberly N. Parker The Passive Voice Should be Avoided Collin Gifford Brooke Teaching Grammar Improves Writing Patricia A. Dunn Good Writers Must Know Grammatical Terminology Hannah J. Rule Grammar Should be Taught Separately as Rules to Learn Muriel Harris 71 76 82 88 93 99 104 109 117 121 126 131 134 139 144 150 155 BAD IDEAS ABOUT WRITING TECHNIQUES Formal Outlines are Always Useful 163 Kristin Milligan Students Should Learn About the Logical Fallacies 168 Daniel V. Bommarito Logos is Synonymous

FAQs

What is the main purpose of Bad Ideas About Writing?

It challenges common misconceptions about writing instruction and teaching practices, framing each chapter around a specific “bad idea” and addressing its implications for writers and educators.

How is the book organized?

The text is structured into sections that cover myths about writing itself, writer identity, style and grammar, techniques, genres, assessment, and digital technology in writing instruction.

What kinds of “bad ideas” does the book address in writing assessment?

It critiques assumptions such as grading always improving writing, the idea that rubrics are straightforward solutions, and beliefs that more feedback is always better, while also examining automated evaluation and plagiarism detection services.

Aug 27, 2026

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