"Oh, dude! It's important!"

The professor that I interviewed in the English department believes that language has incredible power in the field. She is convinced that a person who is a shabby writer is much less likely to persuade their audience, whether it’s in the classroom or professional world. When asked about the importance of correctness in writing, she exclaimed, “Oh, dude! It’s important!” Once again the issue of belief, authority, and trust rests on one’s command of grammar. She said that power in writing comes when one can knowledgably break the rules. In the English department, there is not any particular style of writing that is most desirable. The most important thing is versatility and a tremendous sense of flexibility. In her opinion, the most impressive skill in student writing is the ability to support ideas with very precise detail economically. This is important in both literary analysis and fiction writing. In essence, a good understanding of the rules of language is crucial for English majors.