Entertainment in Writing

Typically, humor in writing is unwanted, but Garner and Erickson say otherwise. Comedy and entertainment are seen as unprofessional and can “dumb down” the writing, as Garner mentions in Excellent Academic Writing Can Be Funny. Personally, I think humor can create a better relationship between the reader and the writing. This could connect the reader to the work and give them a better understanding of it since it gives a sense of comfortability. We’re usually taught that being funny in writing and joking is a bad idea but it’s only because that’s what our teachers were taught, and they’re just passing it down. Garner mentions how using humor and play on words in writing can be seen as creative technique, and that students are just exploring the range of what they can write and elevating their work. In Erickson’s work Pop Culture is Good For Writing, she compares researching reviews for movies to researching skills for classes. This is a great take on using pop culture in writing, since many students are currently into pop culture. Using pop culture to experiment your writing connects the reader and brings them deeper into their work, similar to Garner’s use of humor and jokes. Both writings connected the readers on a different level to their work and will overall improve their writings and assignments given to them.