Riki Thompson - University of Washington



Textual Analysis of Writing Guides

Dummies, Idiots, & Cowards

Writers in Need of Salvation

Let me introduce you to the main characters in the story of composition. Our hero—the protagonist—is known as “the writer,” who is supported by both the writing instructor—our hero’s mentor traditionally—and the reference guide. And of course, as is necessary in all good stories, there is the antagonist—the evil force that our hero must contend with; in this tale the “writing” will be the daunting task that is loathed and dreaded by our hero.

Where once the teaching of composition was left primarily to English teachers, there are now other sources—namely reference guides on writing—that claim to have the formula for success. There are a number of publishers who have capitalized on employing rhetorical strategies of sarcasm and humor to gain a larger share of the reference guide market. In this paper I will examine a few of these writing guides—specifically: Barron’s Painless Writing, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Well, and Research Papers for Dummies—that have become so popular, extracting how they position the writer, the instructor and the writing process, as well as considering the usefulness of these texts for English 131 student[1].

It is clear that these books are appropriating similar generic features to appeal to a certain type of audience. Humor is the main component used by all, from the title that refers to the person using the book as a self-proclaimed “dummy” or “idiot”—clearly an intelligent person would not be reading the “idiot’s guide—to the cartoons and jokes that fill the pages. On the cover and back of each book, they make their claims about what the offer the student. Each guide claims to provide advice that will “help” writers to “improve” or “transform” their writing with very similar language: Painless Writing offers “detailed advice” and “tips”; The Idiot’s Guide provides “expert advice” and “terrific tips”; For Dummies provides “explanations in plain English” and “icons and other navigational aids.” The generic qualities of these guides are obvious, as they all utilize a system of marginalized icons and advice tips that is evident as soon as one flips though the pages. Capitalizing on the fast-food style consumerism of the U.S., these guides are represented as the fast and easy ways to improve the student’s writing skills as can be seen on the back cover of The Idiot’s Guide which offers “quick and easy ways” and “idiot proof steps” and the For Dummies which offers the “easiest and fastest methods.” Each of these humorous reference guides sells writing as a teachable genre merely by the fact that they are able to package the necessary skills, rules, and techniques that are said to make the writer succeed.

But who is the writer?

Though all of these guides describe themselves to be guides on similar types of writing—including essays and research papers—they are not in fact writing for the same type of writer; our hero takes on many forms in these texts.

The clues to who the writer is in Painless Writing may be obvious to some who think that the writer who most complains about writing “essays and other school papers” would be the middle-school and high-school student, despite my own recollection of freshman college students as equally pained by the process. A more useful indicator of who the writer is in Painless Writing is based in recognition of the publisher and the series that this text resides in: Barron’s is the publisher of this series—known to many for their SAT study guides—which also includes Painless guides on Algebra, American History, Fractions, Science Projects, and Spelling. It becomes undisputable that the writer in Painless Writing is a pre-college student when the writer is advised “as a further check, ask your parents or some other adults; notice how they react to your proposition statement” (Strausser 1997, p. 197). Though many college-freshmen still live at home with their parents, we would not expect them to be advised to ask their parents—or other adults about their grammar—especially since most college students are adults.

The writer in The Idiot’s Guide is not a student in the scholastic sense, but rather a student of life, in that our hero is expected to be writing primarily for life outside of the college classroom. Writing is describes as a “new skill” for this writer who is expected to be turning to this guide for help with the skills needed “to write fine essays, letters, e-mails, and reports” thereby inferring that the writer has minimal experience with writing and needs to be shown “point-by-point through all the important English skills,” unlike the college freshman that is expected to have a basic understanding of writing (Rozakis 2000, p. xxiii). Despite the emphasis on genres of business writing—as seen in the table of contents—the writer is not limited to writing experiences in the business world, but instead is introduced to a variety of writing that includes research and term papers. The writer in For Dummies has multiple identities—although not in the post-modern sense. Our hero may be either a student or a business professional who “approaches work seriously” and “wants to do even better” (p.3), implying that the writer already possesses basic skills but hopes to improve them. Also different from the previous guides is the information presented; For Dummies, focusing on the research paper genre, thus includes information that may be considered more useful to the college composition student. While this guide positions itself as one for academic work—such as research papers, For Dummies reminds us that they are not solely focused on helping students by stating, “I don’t ignore those of you who have left your schoolbooks behind and entered the business world” (p.1). This marketing strategy allows for a larger audience, as it claims to appeal to a variety of writers, making For Dummies a self-proclaimed best-selling book. The table of contents clearly shows the many types of writers are expected to use this guide in their search for help writing research papers—such as the dissertation, the laboratory report, and the business plan—from a variety of disciplines—such as the humanities, science, and business.

How is the Writer Positioned?

Our hero in the tale of composition is not always represented as such, but rather is called names such as dummy, idiot and coward. This does not paint a positive picture of the writer but rather presents our main character as less than capable without the aid of these reference guides; in need of salvation from the writing forces that be. The writer is referred to by derogatory terms and presented as helpless; conversely, when the writer is spoken to the claims of disability and referents of derogation are retracted. These contradictory acts of naming and valuations are rhetorical strategies being used to gain solidarity with the writer as well as empower.

The titles and book covers are the first indication of the ways in which these texts position the writer. Painless Writing does not use direct name calling in the title, instead they subjegate the writer in relation to the evil pain-inflicting antagonist—writing. While Barron’s refers to the writer in an indirect speech act as weak while speaking about them. On the cover (in bold faced type) Barron’s assures the student, “Really. This isn’t going to hurt at all…” while representing the writer as frightened of the process and in need of this guide to help them to overcome their fear. Barron’s continues this representation by speaking about the demise of the student who must write: “The thought of writing long essays and making them grammatically correct once turned brave students into cowards…but no more!” which is coupled with a cartoon of a terrified cat shaking in fear. Painless Writing offers hope for the student to return to their “once brave” status—turned into a coward by the mere thought of writing an essay—with the help of this texts. Unlike the indirectness of Painless Writing, For Dummies and The Idiot’s Guide turn to a different approach; one of direct reference to the writer’s capabilities—or lack thereof in this case.

Although these texts refer to the writer as a “dummy,” an “idiot,” and a “coward,” this move carries great rhetorical weight as it allows for the writer to position themselves as such, thereby reclaiming agency through this self naming process. At the point in which the writer buys this book, he claims the name of dummy—rather than bearing it as the burden of another’s tongue—thus taking ownership or their[2] lack of writing skills with an intention of improving them. The agency afforded through self-naming returns the power back to the writer, thus empowering our hero. If for some reason the writer does not feel secure enough in his stupidity and requires further confirmation that the goal of these guides is in fact to be empowering, these texts makes a point to recant their direct references of abusive address and affirm their expectation of the writer’s intelligence.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide speaks to the writer on the back cover—as if stating the obvious, “You’re no idiot, of course.” This announcement is followed by a move to claim empathy and understanding with the plight that the author is expected to imagine for themselves when consulting this text:

You know how to tap out an e-mail to your boss, scrawl a note to your sweetheart, [sic] even throw in an extra flourish when you sign a greeting card. But when it comes to that excruciating process of transferring your thoughts to paper without inventing some strange new language, let’s just say you think you lack the write stuff.

Though The Complete Idiot’s Guide attempts to negate the term idiot, they set forth an expectation that the writer is only capable of writing in the most simplistic contexts—which may be construed as condescending; or oppositely, a good marketing strategy to appeal the consumer’s self-perception as a minimalist writer.

For Dummies also employs this style of retracting the label of stupidity in the introduction by stating, “The wise decision to buy this book tells me (modesty being my best quality) that you’re pretty smart” (p. 3). This renunciation continues in the preface where For Dummies describes their audience in a positive light:

For Dummies [sic] business and general reference books are written for those hard-working souls who know they aren’t dumb, but find that the myriad of personal and business issues and the accompanying horror stories make them feel helpless. For Dummies books use a lighthearted approach, a down-to-earth style, and even cartoons and humorous icons to dispel fears and build confidence.

After reading this retraction of naming, it seems that For Dummies considers its audience to be filled with “souls”—that are not actually dummies—who have been made to feel helpless by forces around them and are in need of these reference guides to help them to “dispel fears and build confidence” much like self-help books proclaim. Tempting as it is to claim that these books construct the student as an actual dummy through sarcastically naming them as such, the goal of these guides may actually be to empower the writer.

How is the Instructor Positioned?

In Painless Writing and The Idiot's Guide the texts are the teachers, as the supporting role of instructor has been usurped by the writing guide. Whereas, For Dummies—in a move to create solidarity with the writer—positions themselves as a friend to the writer, one who sympathizes and can help the writer to learn what is needed to please the “Authority Figure (the one that will ultimately read the research paper that you (the writer) will write” (Woods 2002, p. 9). The Authority Figure—the person who is responsible for assigning this torturous project—is called a number of sarcastic and belittling terms such as Ms. Sharkface, Attila-the Hun-wannabe, and Professor Swampthing, thereby placing the instructor or supervisor in the role of antagonist in this story of composition. Regardless, of these less than flattering terms, the role of the writing instructor is actually included in For Dummies as the college composition student is a possible consumer of this text. This hunch is confirmed by the mention of the thesis advisor—who is said to be provided by most institutions to provide help with the work, “perhaps to ease the feelings of guilt provoked by assigning such a horrible task” (p. 18). Clearly the role of the writing instructor has not been forgotten in For Dummies.

How is Writing Positioned?

In all of these reference guides writing is represented as a difficult and daunting task—“about as much fun as a root canal or an IRS audit” according to The Idiot’s Guide to Style & Grammar (Rozakis 1997, p. 13). This is a wise position to take considering that the writer is expected to be referring to these reference guides during moments of frustration with writing, not moments when their thoughts flow effortless across the page. Despite the solidarity move taken by the guide books—aligning themselves with the writer’s expected loathing of writing—each of these guides actually describe writing as a valuable skill and worthy of the time needed to gain mastery.

Painless Writing compares developing a good writing style to learning to play a sport or musical instrument; each requiring practice and mastery of specific techniques. Writing is not described as a process, but rather a skill where “practice makes perfect” that is reflective of a skills-based or product-oriented approach to composition. Form is given precedence over procedure, presenting rules and models throughout the text for the writer to imitate. This notion of writing as skills-based would place Painless Writing in what Richard Young (1980) would call the “new classicists” camp (Mason 2002, p. 1). As a text that is dedicated to a skills approach, little value is attributed to writing other than the direct benefits that are straightforwardly evident: This guide does not dedicate a chapter—or even a paragraph—to speaking of the virtues of writing as a process, but rather makes a simple claim that if the writer improves their writing they will in turn improve their grades. Painless Writing is the only reference guide in this group that does not inform the writer of the intangible values of writing, but rather choices to illustrate only the symbolic value connected to the direct task at hand—the grade. This move has the ability to reinforce the perception of writing as a “painful” task that is only embarked on to meet a specific requirement as well as perpetuating the prevailing ideology that devalues the work of composition (Miller 1998).

Unlike Painless Writing, The Idiot’s Guide immediately establishes the importance of writing by titling Chapter 1 “Why Writing Matters”; a title that rhetorically claims that it does. The value on writing goes beyond the grade in the classroom and exists within local and global contexts. The Idiot’s Guide claims that “a mastery of writing is essential for anyone who wants to play an important role in society” as well as a “key skill for getting—and keeping—the plum jobs” (p. 6). The global perspective is illustrated with the rise of English as an international language that is presented to be a sign of the global climate that values those who possess good writing skills.

Once the writer has been shown the value of writing, The Idiot’s Guide proceeds to instruct the writer using a combination of skills and process-based approaches to composition. The contents of this text also addresses some of the concepts that are considered in the composition classroom, such as sections dedicated to: the history of writing, the writing process, descriptions of different writing styles, writing research and term papers, and even writing across the curriculum. These topic inclusions demonstrate The Idiot Guide's alignment with process-oriented writing and aware of issues surrounding contemporary composition theory. However, the writer is not expected to be employing this information in the ways that they are integrated in an academic argument paper, but rather to understand how writing is used in everyday life—as opposed to the college classroom. For example, Aristotle is given credit as the “Big Greek Daddy of Persuasion” who stated that people could be persuaded through appeals to their logos, pathos, and ethos, just as may be presented in the college composition classroom. The Idiot’s Guide uses a persuasive cover letter that accompanies a resume as an example of when to employ this writing convention, whereas the English 131 classroom would not be concerned with such genres.

Although For Dummies does not position writing as valuable in and of itself, value is placed on writing as a process, rather than skills that can be learned through imitation and mechanically arranged to produce a piece of good writing. “Whether you want to make it through eight grade or pick up one more promotion before retirement, this book helps you achieve those goals by taking you through each step in the researching and writing process” (2002, p.10). This positioning is similar to that taken in Painless Writing, with the values of writing being derived from the benefits that mastery of it brings. In the introduction, For Dummies claims to:

show the writer how to search for information; explain how to collect the valuable bits; make sense of the information; show how to write and outline; give a step-by-step guide to creating a thesis; and show the easiest writing methods. (p.1)

It is evident by the goals presented above that process takes precedence over product in the For Dummies text, as the writer is lead through not only the conventions, but the preparation--such as using an outline--prior to the actual writing outcome.

The contents make clear that For Dummies is primarily working from a process-based approach, as the first four sections are dedicated to the pre-writing phase: Part I: Figuring out what you are writing and how to write it; Part II: Finding everything about anything: Research; Part III: Collecting pearls of wisdom: How to take notes; and Part IV: More than sharpening pencils: Preparing to write. In comparison to the other guides that teach the writer how to write, this guide mainly leads the writer through the process of compiling and organizing a research paper, with only one section—out of six—focused on writing. Although we see an emphasis on “The Writing Process”—as part two is fittingly named—process and skills are both acknowledged in this guide: The writer is told that this guide will “teach you the skills you need to write well. Together, they help you grasp each specific type of writing and the entire writing process” (xxv), reflecting the approach that good writing comes from both mastery of specific skills as well as the process.

In summary, each of these guide books presents writing from different perspectives, employing different theoretical approaches to the texts. Painless Writing uses a skills-based approach as their methodology, whereas The Idiot’s Guide to Writing Well moves to a combination of skills and process-based approaches to teach the writer. Research Papers for Dummies moves away from the skills-based approach and towards a primarily process-based approach.

The Humor Guide and the Composition Classroom

According to the introduction in Academic Discourse the goals of English 131 are to focus on the aspects of academic writing, as opposed to other genres such as personal narratives or public discourse, using a process-based approach to composition as described by Stygall in the introduction to Academic Discourse. She writes: “Writing—as researchers have understood it in the past 30 years—is a recursive process, one which a writer drafts, seeks response to the writing, revises and includes new information or details, and edits for the appropriate audience” (2000, p. xi). Although For Dummies and The Complete Idiot’s Guide do contain elements that are taught in the college composition environment, they still fall short of offering adequate instruction as the information provided is merely cursory and does not address issues in-depth. For example, For Dummies does provide explanations of various citations styles[3]—MLA, APA, and Chicago—that writers are expected to use in college, yet they only provide one example and do not elaborate on how differently sources must be cited. Most importantly, although we see The Idiot’s Guide and For Dummies utilizing process-based approaches to writing—as is done in the 131 classroom—neither text dedicates much space to the argument paper which is the core of the 131 classroom[4] and therefore may not be useful to the college composition student.

Each of these guide books has something to offer students, although it might not necessarily be what is needed while in the middle of writing a paper for 131: Painless Writing, is useful for reminders about what is grammatically correct—like when to use affect or effect; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Well is useful for gaining an overview of the various genres of writing—such as narration vs. argument; and Research Papers for Dummies is useful for the pre-writing process—like “figuring out what to write and how to write it”.

Works Cited

Anderson, Richard. “Composition Theory in the Eighties: Axiological Consensus

and Paradigmatic Diversity.” College Composition and Communication, 41 (December 1990), 409-29.

Mason, Jean S. From Gutenberg's Galaxy to Cyberspace: The Transforming Power of

Electronic Hypertext. On-line Doctoral Dissertation at McGill University, Montréal, Canada.. 2002

Miller, Richard E. As if Learning Mattered: Reforming Higher Education. Ithaca &

London: Cornell UP. 1998

Stygall, Gail. Ed. Academic Discourse: Readings for Argument and Analysis.

Mason, Ohio: Thomson Learning Custom Publishing. 2000

Rozakis, Laurie. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Grammar & Style. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books. 2000.

------, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Well. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha

Books. 1997.

Strausser, Peter. Painless Writing. New York: Barron’s. 1997.

Woods, Geraldine. Research Papers for Dummies. New York: Hungry Minds, Inc. 2002

Young, Richard. "Arts, Crafts, Gifts and Knacks: Some Disharmonies in the New

Rhetoric."  Reinventing the New Rhetoric. Eds., Aviva Freedman and Ian Pringle. Ottawa: Canadian Council of Teachers of English, 1980. 53-60.

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[1] Composition programs vary throughout universities, therefore I will focus primarily on the issues that are relevant to the English 131 classroom at the University of Washington.

[2] According the The Complete Guide to Grammar and Style “many people now use the plural personal pronoun “their” rather than the singular personal pronouns “his and her” with the singular indefinite pronouns “everyone” and “everybody,” as in “Everyone take out their pepper spray.” Purists sill sneer at this usage, so agree to disagree at your own peril.” (Rozakis 1997, p. 115) I am aligned with the non-purist camp that prefers to use the generic pronoun as my own peril.

[3] Painless Writing and The Idiot’s Guide do not elaborate on the different citations styles.

[4] The argument essay is presented in The Idiot’s Guide and For Dummies, although they present short and simple explanations with examples that does not reflect the purposes of the argument paper in 131.

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