Many an English teacher has asserted
that students tend not to be assertive enough in writing. And it's
true that there's little point in writing if you don't actually have
anything definite to say. But I believe that the value of
assertiveness in writing is overrated. Assertiveness is generally
valued for bringing power and clarity to writing – traits absent
from aimless, wishy-washy prose. However, I believe that it is
perfectly possible to express uncertainty without sacrificing either
clarity or power. In addition, the
expression of uncertainty encourages the reader to engage in
conversation with the author by confirming, arguing against, or
adding to what they've presented. In contrast, a reader presented
with overly assertive prose may be intimidated into believing that
the author has already considered their ideas, or is not willing to
listen. I propose, therefore, that if an author has doubts about the
truth of what they are writing, he should consider respecting his
readers' potential to answer those doubts by expressing them, rather
than hiding them behind a mask of assertiveness.
Agreed. A lot of us need to be more aware of and honest about what we don't know. It seems everybody has an opinion on so many issues, yet so few are expert. We should have opinions, but we should be very aware of how little we know. I fear writing and speaking assertively tricks others and ourselves into trusting our opinions too much.
ReplyDeleteSome what agreed, It is ok to have questions and state them clearly, but it should not become a cope out for when assertiveness is required.
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