"A few years ago, I taught a summer class in nonfiction writing at Southampton College on Long Island. I was very impressed by the students’ abilities, but they had a group flaw: they wanted to write primarily about their own feelings. One day I said: Write me 2000 words on any subject, but don’t use the word 'I.' Many in the class balked at this and wrote their essays with great difficulty. Confusing an opinion with an argument has one big advantage. The text is uncriticizable, since the writer can always say, 'It’s my prose and I’m entitled to my opinion.'"
John Leo in City Journal discusses the significance of writing well.
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