#Academic writing in particular just feels so... Hackable

[stardustedknuckles]

The thing about math and English analysis/essays is that they both have formulas, and people are taught their whole lives that math is predictable and safe and logical, whereas English is more exception than rule and you must work on vibes alone unless you become some kind of monk who can diagram sentences and I'm like. The fact that I can diagram a sentence is why I like grammar. Everything has a place and everything goes in its place. And tbh, algebra is about the only math that stays predictable and safe and even it's full of theorems and whatnot - just not as bad as other maths. I know the structure of an analytical essay as surely as I know the quadratic formula. I can solve for a thesis paragraph as well as I can for x. They are siblings to me, and there was a moment where I wanted to maybe be a math teacher until I realized the sheer level of actual theoretical guesswork I would have to absorb in order to just be left alone with my algebra.

Idk man, pattern recognition is a hell of an instinct. I've never really understood the divide between math and English (the subject, as it pertains to analysis and essays). Things that can be solved by formula are safe, and that's not just math. It's just that with English and writing/grammar, you learn the rules and formulas so that you can better make your point in an academic setting. It's a tool in order to execute a belief or a project. It's communication. It's purposefully setting up a trope and then turning it inside out just for fun because you know what everyone is expecting. You know the rules your readers have learned because you learned them too, and you've learned that individuality is stored in the nuances and exceptions you're most keen to explore.