--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I teach writing, I always tell my…" description: "\"When I teach writing, I always tell my students you should assume that the audience you're writing for is smarter than you. You can't write if you don'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/tony-kushner-2204_assuming_when-i-teach-writing-i-always-tell-my-st_763337.jpg" --- # When I teach writing, I always tell my students you should… ![“When I teach writing, I always tell my students you should assume that the audience you're writing for is smarter than you. You can't write if you don't think they're on your side, because then you start to yell at them or preach down to them.” quote by Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/tony-kushner-2204_assuming_when-i-teach-writing-i-always-tell-my-st_763337.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/tony-kushner-2204_assuming_when-i-teach-writing-i-always-tell-my-st_763337.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/tony-kushner-2204_assuming_when-i-teach-writing-i-always-tell-my-st_763337.jpg) > “When I teach writing, I always tell my students you should assume that the audience you're writing for is smarter than you. You can't write if you don't think they're on your side, because then you start to yell at them or preach down to them.” [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assume readers are intelligent and supportive to avoid condescending tone and foster clear communication. **In simple terms:** Treat readers as smart allies. Key Takeaway Write respectfully and clearly. Themes communication humility audience awareness Mood thoughtful encouraging Type advice educational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - workshop feedback - online content creation - public speaking Key Concepts pedagogy tone management reader empathy Questions to Reflect On - How does assuming intelligence change your word choice? - What strategies keep readers feeling respected? A Different Perspective If audience is hostile, respect may not be enough; adjust approach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/when-i-used-to-teach-creative-writing-i-would-tell-the-students-to/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I've learned over the years that the writing is smarter and far larger than the writer and his or her own desires for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus/i-ve-learned-over-the-years-that-the-writing-is-smarter-and-far/) [Andre Dubus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus/) > [Clear writing is universal. People talk about writing down to an audience or writing up to an audience; I think that's nonsense. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/clear-writing-is-universal-people-talk-about-writing-down-to-an/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [You have to hold your audience in writing to the very end-much more than in talking, when people have to be polite and listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/you-have-to-hold-your-audience-in-writing-to-the-very-end-much-more/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [I'm still a fanboy geek. I always will be. In many ways, if my work still resonates with the audience, it's because I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-wein/i-m-still-a-fanboy-geek-i-always-will-be-in-many-ways-if-my-work/) [Len Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-wein/) > [I've always been drawn to the best writing that I can find. I don't care if it's in movies or theater or whatever -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-the-best-writing-that-i-can-find-i-don-t/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) > [In truth, I never consider the audience for whom I'm writing. I just write what I want to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/in-truth-i-never-consider-the-audience-for-whom-i-m-writing-i-just/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I don't think too much about the audience when I'm writing... I'm aware that 'Holes' was read by kids as young as 8, up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sachar/i-don-t-think-too-much-about-the-audience-when-i-m-writing-i-m-aware/) [Louis Sachar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sachar/) > [I like the performing. And interviews, even. And the stuff that's not sitting in a room by yourself with empty paper. But I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-newman/i-like-the-performing-and-interviews-even-and-the-stuff-that-s-not/) [Randy Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-newman/) > [“Storytellers think they're writing for the audience. They're writing, in a way, to hurt the audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/storytellers-think-they-re-writing-for-the-audience-they-re-writing/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [I have had an inordinate and painful concern for the audience in my writing career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-norman/i-have-had-an-inordinate-and-painful-concern-for-the-audience-in-my/) [Marsha Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-norman/) > [“People ask me how to start writing. I tell them that 'Creating Creates Creativity'. Put your notes and outline aside. Start with one anecdote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-sederquist/people-ask-me-how-to-start-writing-i-tell-them-that-creating-creates/) Dick Sederquist > [It's possible I'm a weird person, you know, and if I could only write for people who are like me, I wouldn't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/it-s-possible-i-m-a-weird-person-you-know-and-if-i-could-only-write/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [I tend not to think about audience when I'm writing. Many people who read 'The Giver' now have their own kids who are reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-tend-not-to-think-about-audience-when-i-m-writing-many-people-who/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [I try not to think too much about an audience when I'm writing the first draft of a book - at that stage, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wasserman/i-try-not-to-think-too-much-about-an-audience-when-i-m-writing-the/) [Robin Wasserman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wasserman/) ## More by Tony Kushner > [My whole life has conspired to bring me to this place, and I can’t despise my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/my-whole-life-has-conspired-to-bring-me-to-this-place-and-i-can-t/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [The big influence on me was Robert Altman, who, especially in 'Nashville,' transformed my sense of dramatic structure and showed how you could handle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/the-big-influence-on-me-was-robert-altman-who-especially-in-nashville/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [“Fabulous. If you possess it, you don’t need to ask what it is. When you attempt to delineate it, you move away from it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/fabulous-if-you-possess-it-you-don-t-need-to-ask-what-it-is-when-you/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [People are more easily manipulated when they don't have information. If you ensure that kids grow up without basic reading skills, math skills, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/people-are-more-easily-manipulated-when-they-don-t-have-information/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [The white cracker who wrote the National Anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word "free" to a note so high nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/the-white-cracker-who-wrote-the-national-anthem-knew-what-he-was/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [“If the snake sheds his skin before a new skin is ready, naked he will be in the world, prey to the forces of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/if-the-snake-sheds-his-skin-before-a-new-skin-is-ready-naked-he-will/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [“MATAMORE: I never fight with my love face on, I worry that it might get scratched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/matamore-i-never-fight-with-my-love-face-on-i-worry-that-it-might-get/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [“I never really feel that I’m stuck. I actually think that people are never stuck, there’s no such thing as writers block, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-never-really-feel-that-i-m-stuck-i-actually-think-that-people-are/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [The act of thinking and interpreting is so central to Judaism that it makes more sense that we've become people like Woody Allen -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/the-act-of-thinking-and-interpreting-is-so-central-to-judaism-that-it/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [Respect the delicate ecology of your delusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/respect-the-delicate-ecology-of-your-delusions/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [The general consensus among historians, among the ones who can handle the fact that 'Lincoln' is, in fact, historical fiction, is that we demonstrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/the-general-consensus-among-historians-among-the-ones-who-can-handle/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [“I've lived through such terrible times and there are people who live through much worse. But you see them living anyway. When they're more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-ve-lived-through-such-terrible-times-and-there-are-people-who-live/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [When really writing I'm not a good friend. Because writing disorganizes the social self, you become atomized. It scrambles you, sometimes to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/when-really-writing-i-m-not-a-good-friend-because-writing/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [My back went out and I gained 40 pounds while sweating over 'Perestroika.' It was incredibly hard, the hardest thing I had to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/my-back-went-out-and-i-gained-40-pounds-while-sweating-over/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [Film is like tech starts on the first day of filming and it never stops. There's never a moment when the audience comes in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/film-is-like-tech-starts-on-the-first-day-of-filming-and-it-never/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) [Explore all 179 Tony Kushner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) ## More Assuming quotes > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) James T. Conway > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing-whatsoever-must-change/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [I think the biggest problem working with me would be that I'm an only child, and so I have an internal dialogue that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-think-the-biggest-problem-working-with-me-would-be-that-i-m-an-only/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [People just assume that if you're famous, you're in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/people-just-assume-that-if-you-re-famous-you-re-in-hollywood/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) Browse all 2,452 Assuming quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I teach writing, I always tell my students you should assume that the audience you're writing for is smarter than you. 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