UCF Writing May be Lacking One Key Aspect: Exigence In all the writing we do as students here at UCF, it may seem unusual to ask yourself “why am I writing this?” Any UCF student that has passed ENC1101 may be familiar with potentially the most important part of writing: exigence. Without exigence, students lack the essential part of writing that recognizes a purpose, a cause, and the intended effect a writer wants the audience to have. Exigence is the compelling force a person feels from an event or circumstance to urgently respond to and impact an audience. For example, MLK’s most famous speech “I Have a Dream” was given as a response to the inequality in the U.S. and spoken with the intent to create a society without prejudice. The exigence behind this famous piece is clear and evident. Without a writer keeping an exigence in mind, most works would become wasted words with no impact towards an audience. Compelled writing with intentions and goals is what makes a paper effective and impactful. Students around campus feel that when they write for a class, their only motive is to receive a good grade from their teacher. If that is the case, then they’re most likely writing about why they literally deserve an “A”. Real exigence puts a purpose in writing, for example, the factor that provoked us to write this article —our exigence— came from grading essays that lack an incentive. Instead of addressing assignments directly, UCF students need a real exigence that will respond to the assignment with a sense of urgency and conclude a discussion on the same topic, leaving an impact on an audience. Having real exigence will guide a paper’s discussion.
It has been observed that students who keep on topic throughout a paper do so by focusing on its exigence. With a goal in mind, a paper is kept in check and relevant to the overall point of the paper. Subsequent writing