Is writing important?

This is obviously a vague question and most would say that it is

absolutely important. I would like to dive deeper into this and decide for myself is it important. I
understand that for many, writing is a form of expression and as Cecilia Knapp suggests, it is an
outlet to express oneself, especially those with mental health issues. Other than technical writing
such as research or career related writing, I want to investigate if writing is important, at least for
me.

My first source is web article written by Jeff Bradford, President and CEO of Braford
Group, who has more than 30 years as a public relations professional. I found this article through
Google search and this source is non-academic. Basically, Mr. Bradford is speaking about the
importance of communication in business. As we know a large portion of communication
methods involve writing. Mr. Bradford gives his break down of what makes a good writer and
breaks it down into a handful of tips. According to Jeff, a good writer need to know the rules of
grammar, have good reading habits, a bit of curiosity and empathy, and be strait forward. This
article relates to my question, "Is writing important?". It does relate to what I think the answer is
to my question which is that writing is important but only sometimes. This article was published
on Forbes less than a year ago and the author has more than 30 years of experience in business.
The content of the article seems to give good writing advice and also shows the importance of
writing.

My next source is a book written by Anne Ruggles Gere, a Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
and Gertrude Buck Collegiate Professor, is director of the Sweetland Center for Writing and
serves as chair of the Joint PhD Program in English and Education. Specifically, chapter ten of
this book relates to my question as it speaks of a study conducted on college students beginning
from sophomore year to senior year, they are asked questions about the importance of writing
and why it’s important. This source helps give insight to the importance of writing to student at
the beginning and end of college.

Another source I found interesting is a TEDx Talk by Cecilia Knapp, a writer and poet. In
this video, Cecilia speaks about the power of writing. Cecilia is a strong believer of the
correlation between writing and self-expression. She speaks about mental health with personal
anecdotes. Cecilia explains how writing can be used to help alleviate stress and create bonds to
others by allowing one to open up about issues. This presentation attributes great insight to my
question to whether writing is important or not.

For me personally, I do not find writing an easy task and writing the bare minimum can
be challenging at times. Throughout middle school and high school, English classes were
basically all the same, we would read books that I had no interest in, write cliché essays with no
guidance as to what the teacher expected and a bunch of other annoying assignments. On top of
that, most teachers expected us to know how to write and how they specifically wanted it written.
Writing has been and will more than likely continue to be a laborious task for me. If I do not
have to write, I more than likely will not. With some of my sources however, I begin to realize
that is some cases writing is inevitable and your writing skills could very well dictate your
success in a chosen career.
Bradford, Jeff. “Council Post: Why Writing Ability Is The Most Important Skill In Business (And How To
Acquire It).” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, January 29, 2019.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/01/29/why-writing-ability-is-the-most-
important-skill-in-business-and-how-to-acquire-it/.

Gere, Anne Ruggles. “WRITING BEYOND THE UNIVERSITY.” Developing Writers in Higher Education: A
Longitudinal Study, edited by Anne Ruggles Gere, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2019, pp.
281–312. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvdjrpt3.19. Accessed 27 Sept. 2020.

TEDxTalks “Why you should write | Cecilia Knapp | TEDxWarwick” Youtube, Apr 14, 2016,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTAquXIa1Fs

Stanier, James. “The Importance of Writing,” July 12, 2018.

https://www.theengineeringmanager.com/growth/the-importance-of-writing/.