Concise College Writing Guide

Even after years of teaching and tutoring, it still amazes me that college students so often need basic writing advice. Students do not want to write and do not understand why they need to be able to write well.

The “Thinking” section of Michael Harvey’s The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing begins by addressing student attitudes toward writing:

Why do students write? Easy, most students would say: Because we have to. Honest, perhaps, but discouraging. It makes writing seem pretty trivial. How about another go? Here’s a likely second answer: To show what we know. Hmm, I’m not sure I like that much better. Isn’t there something more positive we can say about writing?