Do ideas matter in writing?
Do ideas matter in writing? Yes, they are the only thing that matters in writing. Well, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but writing is certainly not about commas alone. What is writing about then? It has somehow been established in the Russian ELT community that writing is all about language - grammar, vocabulary, linking phrases, maybe commas or dashes. But ideas - who cares? Well, I think ideas are the only reason to write. Why else would you sit down and spend an hour on this activity?! What is more, ideas are the only reason to read. No one reads for commas or linking words. People read for ideas. As a result of this erroneous understanding of writing, people tend to believe that this is an example of bad writing: "It's important to protect the environment." But this is an example of good writing: "Never has it been more crucial to protect the environment. Little do people realize how imperative it is. The environment - the world we live in - is ou