Copywork was the primary way that schools in 18th and 19th century America taught children how to write. It was thought to be a highly effective way to teach students handwriting as well as proper grammar, punctuation, and syntax.
But during the 20th century, schools began to shift away from the method, believing that “mere” imitation wasn’t the best way to teach children how to write well. Instead, teachers sought to convey the overarching strategies that made for good writing and then set students loose to produce it.
This approach makes sense in theory, but the studies mentioned above, as well as my own anecdotal evidence (98% of the guest posts we receive – and these are articles from folks who want to write for a living – are abjectly terrible), show that it doesn’t seem to be working very well in creating competent writers.
So maybe our educational forebearers were on to something after all. While it may sound dull and ineffective on the surface, imitation is the primary way we learn things. When we were babies, we learned how to talk, interact with other humans, and walk through imitation. When we learn an athletic skill, we begin by simply imitating others. When we want to know how to act in different situations, we watch how others act. So why do we shun the idea of copying when it comes to writing?
At issue is our modern infatuation with the idea of originality and creativity – a belief that good art of any kind will spring unabated from a place of passion within us. Yet ironically, many of history’s greatest writers achieved that status not from harkening to the muses, but by laboriously copying the work of others.
