Assignment#01

:Submitted By
Muhammad Rizwan Ali
:Submitted To
Sir Ijaz Hashmi
:Class
BSCS(6thEven.)
#Roll
503
:Subject
Technical and Business Writing
:Topic
Myths and Realities about
Writing
:Date
25-07-2020
 Myths and Realities about Writing
Q. What are Myths?
Ans. Myth is a legendary or a traditional story that usually concerns an event or a hero, with or
without using factual or real explanations. Typically, a myth involves historical events and
supernatural beings. There are many types of myths, such as classic myths, religious myths, and
modern myths.

Characteristics of Myth
Myth usually features ruling gods, goddesses, deities, and heroes having god-like-qualities, but
status lower than gods. Often, the daughter or son of a god (such as Percy Jackson) is fully
mortal, and these characters have supernatural abilities and powers that raise them above average
human beings.
Myths are mostly very old, and happen to have ruled the world when science, philosophy, and
technology were not very precise, as they are today. Therefore, people were unaware of certain
questions, like why the sky is blue, or why night is dark, or what are the causes of earthquakes.
Thus, it was myths that explained natural phenomena, and described rituals and ceremonies to
the people.

The Myths and Realities of Writing Well and Great Writing:

Among students, parents and teachers, there are a number of myths about writing that we weigh
in on here. Are great writers born, not made? Is there one definitive way to learn how to write?
For answers to these questions and more, read on…
1. Myth: Writing well is a gift.
Reality: Writing well is a learned skill.
Many people believe that great writers are born, not made – a most unfortunate misconception.
Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, students are taught to write through a
structured process. With consistent formal instruction, extensive practice, and helpful feedback,
most students can become proficient writers.
2. Myth: Writing well is often thought of as a single special skill.
Reality: Writing well is the cumulative outcome of mastering a large number of
skills.
Good writing starts with a student having a clear idea of what they want to say and the type of
writing they need to use. Many times students are given a writing prompt from which to begin
the writing process. Are they trying to inform (expository writing), persuade (persuasive
writing), narrate (narrative writing), document research (research reports), or report (journalistic
writing)? When they write, students need to apply grammar and vocabulary skills. They need to
organize their paragraphs around a single thought, to organize an essay around a collection of
tightly organized ideas, and to structure an essay that succeeds in purposeful communication.
Successfully writing an essay demonstrates mastery of all these skills and the ability to use them
all together.
3. Myth: There is a single writing process that all students should follow.
Reality: Most students follow the writing process in their own unique way.
This myth might come from confusion over the teaching of the writing process. Time4Writing
teaches a writing process that consists of pre-writing, writing, revising, proofreading, and
publishing. Formally learning and using the steps is a reliable technique to create quality writing.
In reality, most students adapt these steps in a way that works best for their individual learning
style. For instance, many students find it easier to brainstorm as they write, especially since word
processors make it easy to reorganize their thoughts. Then, after writing the first draft, they will
create an outline to tighten the essay structure and start editing and revising based on that
structure.
4. Myth: Brilliant writing and story-telling is probably teachable.
Reality: This one is debatable. Many great writers share some common traits that
come from within and simply cannot be taught.

The most common characteristic of great writers seems to be that early on, they start to read
differently than the rest of us. It’s often been observed that the people who grow up to be writers
start studying the writing craft on their own. Not only are they voracious readers, but they also
tend to be intrigued by how authors put stories together. Do they use short or long sentences?
Lots of details and modifiers or are they concise and matter-of-fact? How do they handle point of
view and what insights do they provide into characters? There is some interesting literature on
“reading like a writer.” And while these skills of analyzing an author’s style and technique can
be taught, most authors explain that they started down this path on their own.

While your child might not become the next Shakespeare, the bottom line is that anyone can
learn to become a good writer. From their first sentences to complex essays, children can hone
their writing skills throughout the years. All it takes is a little motivation and lots of practice.

Integrated Writing: Myths and Realities:

Myth: Teaching writing takes time away from teaching content
Reality: You can teach writing by using course readings to examine how people in your field
produce and share knowledge, make arguments, and use specialized language, formulas, or
evidence
Myth: Teaching writing means assigning more papers
Reality: Teaching writing is about quality, not quantity; the focus is on preparing students to
write better papers
Myth: Teaching writing means much more grading time
Reality: Providing clear assignments and guidance for writing can make grading more
manageable, and students’ papers are likely to be better
Myth: Teaching writing means I have to assign long, formal papers
Reality: Teaching writing can involve short, low-stakes writing assignments, presentations, and
multimedia projects
Myth: Teaching writing means I have to read and comment on everything my students write
Reality: You can help students learn about writing is by asking them to review and comment on
each other’s work
Myth: Teaching writing means teaching editing and grammar
Reality: Teaching writing means letting students know when their form, style, or approach to
argument doesn’t meet the expectations and standards of their audiences
Myth: Our students would write well if only they could get the grammar and mechanics right
Reality: Writers struggle to get the language right when they’re unsure about the content