Peter Elbow makes a strong case for teaching something along side or even besides academic writing in colleges and university. Elbow starts of by acknowledging the importance academic writing has on college life. Many courses that students take, from freshman year on, will require them to write academically. Yet Elbow is sure of that only teaching academic writing and disapproving of any other kinds of writing harms the students in the long run. Elbow believes that a writing course should teach students how to incorporate writing in their everyday life, whether is journaling or writing letters to loved ones but he points out these days students are only writing when asked to for an assignment. He believes that stems from having academic writing shoved down their throats, the students have forgotten that writing can be enjoyable.
"There's something self-serving about defining people as ignorant unless they are like us."
Elbow compares different pieces of academic writing,some are convoluted and long winded while others are clear prose.
Elbow ends his piece remarking that academic discourse is changing for the better, but certain scholars are worried about what they consider to be the dumbing down of their precious subjects.
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