What is Good Writing?

While labeling a work as a piece which showcases ‘good writing’ may seem fairly subjective, across the board scholars seem to agree that a few key qualities exist in almost all acclaimed literary works: revision/ writing as a process, structure and style, and the originality of one’s ideas/ the new-ness of one’s subject and the manner in which that subject is presented. Revision—while it may seem extraneous and even odious to some—is the process through which mediocre writing is refined. Writing as a process instead of a singular task allows an author to organize and synthesize ideas over time—it alleviates some of the pressure that accompanies trying to write a ‘perfect’ first draft. In fact, it could be argued that any writer could become a great writer if time was not a constraint on their creative development. Perspective, structure, and stylistic organization often are other components which heavily influence audiences to decide that a literary work is deserving of the title ‘good.’ If a work is composed mainly of simple words and standard grammar conventions but told from a fresh point of view or in the form of varying time frames, one might consider it as a work of excellent organization and skillful synthesis. With the right use of language and structure a glimpse can become a story, an image can become a narrative. Conversely, the originality of one’s plot and subject could be a ‘good’ work’s main draw—the focus of individual craftsmanship on a narrative and the presentation of a unique subject could create a riveting plot. Elements such as the skillful use of language, creative development of plot, and uniqueness of structure—often accomplished through scrupulous revision—seem to be trends which appear in many, if not all, ‘good’ literary works.

During my sophomore year at Texas Tech I wrote a paper entitled “Societal Identity Conceived in Commodification as seen in Mary Robinson’s “The African,” Anna Laetitia Barbauld’s “To the Poor,” and Mary Prince’s The History of Mary Prince.” This essay discussed the cultural obstacles encountered by Africans, lower class citizens, and women during the Romantic period because of their inability to own property and consequently their inability to participate in material exchanges within their consumer driven society. This paper seemed to do well because it had a focused argument on sociocultural issues in the Romantic period supported by sufficient evidence, justification, and analysis, and the essay leant itself to the discussion of feminist and humanist theory.

            In college it seems good/ quality writing is defined by focused arguments, justification of one’s claims through textual evidence, and the processing of one’s analysis in a skillful and stylistic manner. Learning to write at a colligate level; however, seems to be the direct result of studying various works which have withstood the scrutiny of multiple generations and maintained their ‘good writing’ status. It is my impression that if one studies multiple works with this quality of ‘goodness’ longevity, one could begin to develop the skills to personally compose ‘good’ works.