Is Good Writing Inherently Good Or Bad?

Good writing is often thought to be subjective; it depends on the opinion of the reader whether the writing is “good” or not. However, there are some elements that make writing inherently good or bad. The main goal of writing is to convey a message of some sort. If the message and necessary information have been transferred, then it is effective writing that makes it at least somewhat good because its purpose has been achieve. While this is one criteria for good writing, great writing expects slightly more. Great writing has to express the information it is intended to in a way that is conducive to understanding with a style and voice appropriate for the medium of the writing. We explored this idea at the beginning of the semester when we looked as eight samples of writing and

Getting the meaning across in writing is half the battle. The other half is including style and voice so that the writing is not only efficient, but also beautiful. I remember a letter that was written by a principal to the parents of the student body. At first look it was well written as in included the main elements of a letter; a greeting, body, and sign off. However, under closer inspection, we found that the writing conveyed that there was a parent teacher meeting on Friday, but it neglected to tell the parents where or what time. Maybe this was to be assumed by the parents who have a regular time and place for such meeting or possibly the principal did not expect any parents to come and so he did not include any of this helpful information. Either way, his writing did tell its audience that there was a meeting, but could not be called good writing because it does not give the reader all of the necessary information and the style was lacking as well. A good writer knows how to express their ideas precisely and succinctly while employing their own writers