Ranking Student Writing as Bad Pedagogy and a Bogus Pretence of Objectivity

Abstract

Academic tradition and individual wishful thinking incline many Creative Writing professors toward an exaggerated opinion of their own powers, especially in regard to ranking student talent and work. It would be one thing if the merits of writers and their writing could be evaluated merely by reference to a certain set of standards or skills, but artistic success is a far more complicated and mysterious entity than that.