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Chapter 5. A Definition Of Everyday Writing: Methods For A Writer-Informed Approach To Lifespan Writing, Jeffrey Naftzinger

English Faculty Publications

This chapter suggests that everyday writing (EW), both the practice and the term, are valuable for studying writing through the lifespan for two major reasons. First, EW is the type of writing that is most often engaged in through the lifespan, but—in and out of the field—it is often overshadowed by academic and professional writing; turning our attention to EW can give us the opportunity to understand how most people use writing in the course of their daily lives. Second, the term EW helps non-academic and non-professional writers shift their perspectives of what writing is, what it does, and who …