NYTimes essay questions whether writing is essential for thinking

In short: A new New York Times opinion essay argues that colleges should stop assuming writing is the main path to better thinking, especially as AI can produce polished text for students.

What's going on

A Williams College professor wrote a New York Times opinion essay titled “What if Writing Isn’t Central to Thinking?” published on September 29, 2026. The essay challenges a common idea in higher education, that students learn to think critically and creatively mainly by writing.

The author says writing can help people learn, remember things, and study on their own. But the essay questions whether those benefits justify making writing a requirement in every class, especially when students are asked to write without a clear learning purpose. The author links this long-standing belief to “writing across the curriculum,” a teaching movement that grew in the 1970s.

The topic has become more urgent because of generative AI, which can produce fluent paragraphs on demand (like having a fast helper that drafts emails and essays). The essay draws a key line between writing as a finished product and writing as a learning process. If the goal is to show thinking on the page, letting AI do the drafting can defeat the point.

What to watch

The essay points toward a more practical approach. Teachers can start by asking what each writing task is supposed to teach, then match the assignment to that goal. That could mean more short reflections, drafts, and notes that reveal a student’s thinking, and fewer long essays when writing itself is not the skill being taught.

Source: NYTimes