Writing With Intention

Writing students often confuse subject matter with purpose.  If asked the purpose of a piece of writing, they most often will respond by stating what the piece is about.  Subject matter is certainly important, but purpose is essential to good writing.  Writers need to have a clear purpose in mind, not just a clear subject.  It is not enough, for example, to say you are going to write an essay about climate change.  You must also be able to articulate what you intend to do with your subject - in other words, what your purpose is.  Are you writing about climate change to merely inform your readers or do you want to go further and inspire your readers to take the subject more seriously and perhaps change their behavior or engage in political action to further the cause?  Being clear on your purpose for writing about your subject is critical to being able to write about it effectively.  A useful tool in helping you clarify and articulate your purpose is a pre-writing technique called writing a purpose statement.  Generally, this involves a one sentence statement that accomplishes two things.  It clearly identifies your subject and indicates what you intend to do with that subject (i.e., inform, persuade, argue, entertain, etc.).  If you have trouble writing a purpose statement or if you can't write it in a single sentence, it is a sign that you might not yet be quite as focused as you need to be on your idea.  Having a clear sense of your purpose prior to writing, whether it is fiction, nonfiction or poetry, will help you achieve that purpose by selectively choosing the most effective language and the most effective techniques.  Without a clear sense of purpose, your writing will lack the tightness of focus and appropriate style needed to have maximum impact on readers.  Think of your writing as an intentional action with specific consequences.  When you are clear what your intentions are, you will be more able to control the consequences of your finished product and your readers will appreciate the results.