Getting Past the B.S.

In both essays "A Kid Word for Bullshit: The Problem of Academic Writing" by Eubanks and Schaeffer and "Kitchen Tables and Rented Rooms: The Extra Curriculum of Composition" by Anne Ruggles Gere, the authors address the issue if academic writing versus personal writing. Despite the fact that each peice considers academic writing from completely different lenses, each conclusion is clear: academic writing often is filled with bullshit that does not help the reader or the writer.
In "Kitchen Tables and Rented Rooms" Gere focuses on the need for writing outside of the classroom and the need for writing for personal reasons. Although she does not seem completely opposed to academic writing, she seems to find most academic writing practices frivilous and ineffective in teaching people to truly use writing to their benefit. Gere consistantly supports writing groups of all ages and from all backgrounds and points out the accomplishments they have made using tactics involving group edits and attempts at publication. Through such examples, Gere shows how many academic writing practices can hinder students because they learn to regurgitate information rather than write for themselves and real-world situations. Because of this, people grow up to see writing as a chore, not something that can be creative and give way to new concepts and ideas.
While coming from a different angle, Eubanks and Schaffer's "A Kind Word for Bullshit" also sees the unsucessful side of academic writing. The authors focus on all the "bullshit" academic writing is filled with, namely gargantuan words and long, twisted sentences that seem to house ten concepts at once. These drawn-out pages that never seem to make an actual point can allow writers to get away with looking good and saying nothing, while readers are stuck with guesswork rather than a solid idea. Eubanks and Schaffer see the lack of real writing in these pieces that are too complicated for most people to get through. They end up hindering both reader and writer when the reader is coming up with their own interpretation and the writer only needs to know half of what they are talking about. This leaves everyone with a mixed-up conclusion that they assume is right because it is "academic writing" after all. Sometimes simple words and a clear, concise point is much stronger than a rambling writer who hopes they stumble upon something relevant that sounds good.
Clearly both pieces touch on the negatives of academic writing, therefore relaying the positives of writing strong personal pieces. While Anne Gere focuses on the good that can come out of learning to write in a different manner, Eubanks and Schaffer focus on the bad that has come out of "academic writing" in general. In the end, both authors are trying to tell their audiences the same thing: Write for yourself because it is an interest, or even a passion, of yours - not because it's an intellectual subject or you're trying to impress your teacher.