Readers, writers and authors I don't think you need to distinguish between writers and authors here; I would just use authors all need improvement at some point in time with their writing. After reading both Strunk and White: Elements of Style and Williams Style Toward Clarity and Grace, the rule I chose to deal with is the use of identification towards gender in examples and reference to an author’s audience. Rather than saying "the rule I chose to deal with" I would say something along the lines of "the rule that caught my attention" or "the rule that I found relevant." It would make it seem like less of a chore.

In this essay I would like to delve into the issue of using gender in writing and introduce my own take on how gender should be used while writing. I will first explain my take on this rule and the impact it has on writing in general and through specifics.

Use of Gender:

Below explains my take on how gender should be used and a general sense on how gender has been used in writing. This is the third time you've used the phrase "my take" in three sentences. I would consider using a different phrase.

When writing, authors should refrain from using he or she in examples:
• The author typed the next page of their book with passion.
• One of the child’s parents had to make an errand to the store.
• My neighbor mows their lawn twice a week. (this one has to do with number. Neighbor is a singualr noun and their refers to a plural noun, not sure it would work here unless you changed that rule as well-kinnell)

If the noun ends with ‘woman’ or ‘man’ it should be changed to indicate both genders in general: These are great examples!
• The firefighter controlled the blaze within a matter of two hours.
• My mail carrier dislikes the dog across the street.
• The police arrived on the scene to make an arrest.

When referring to the audience, authors should refrain from addressing the audience by saying ‘you’:
• While writing, authors should end a sentence or thought with a period.
Instead of
• ‘While writing, you should end a sentence or thought with a period.’

Why limit gender to be general?
The thought of coming up with a Style Rule came from a class that I am currently taking called Writing, Style and Technology. During this class students read two books pertaining to style rules and helpful advice on how to improves a writers writing; Style – Toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams, and The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. I don't think we're supposed to talk about the class or the assignment in this essay. Readers that have become familiar with these books would acknowledge that both books recite several rules provided with supportive examples.

Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, provides helpful advice and information in a tiny carry along type book. This book offers straightforward advice to any struggling writer in need of guidance. A rule that is discussed in Strunk and White’s book supports the gender rule I have addressed in this essay: I think you could set up this quote better.
“The use of he as a pronoun for nouns embracing both genders is a simple, practical convention rooted in the beginnings of the English language. Currently, however, most writers find the use of the generic he or his to rename indefinite antecedents limiting or offensive. Substituting he or she in its place is the logical thing to do if it works” (Strunk and White 60).
Here we can clearly see that Strunk and White agree upon the fact that it is logical to eliminate the use of he or she in reference to writing. “…put all controversial nouns in the plural and avoid the choice of sex altogether, although you may find your prose sounding general and diffuse as a result” (Strunk and White 61). Yet by saying that the author’s writing may sound general and diffuse brings to the attention that because an author does not use he or she the authors writing can be considered boring.This sentence is a little long winded. (I see where your going, but I'm not sure its pratical to put all nouns in the plural, what if what your refering to is singular - can you make it plural?-kinnell) According to Strunk and White, the elimination of he or she in writing can cause repetition that can be ‘boring and silly.’ My rule about gender in writing is not for the intent to make a writers writing boring, but to make it fair in general. That unless we are writing books based on stories we should refrain from using he or she in certain texts. I would remove that from the beginning of this sentence.

Williams Style-Toward Clarity and Grace, provides in-depth explanations that are the supportive grounds for the main concept or rule that is presented. This book offers advice on a deeper level than Strunk and White’s book by giving explanations to each rule that have several supportive examples for the rule that is presented. In Williams book, several examples support the gender style rule I have addressed earlier in this essay. When we look at gender in writing we can apply Williams subjects and characters concept to making the gender he or she as the character of a sentence.
“There are many kinds of characters. The most important are agents, the direct source of an action or condition. There are collective agents:
Faculties of national eminence do not always teach well.
Secondary or remote agents:
Mayor Daley built Chicago into a giant among cities.
And even figurative agents that stand for the real agents:
The White House announced today the President’s schedule.
The business sector is cooperating.
Many instances of malignant tumors fail to seek attention. (Williams 27).”
With these examples we can see that when we narrow down the gender to a label we can give the audience a better understanding of who the character is, rather than just a general he or she. By providing a label we can see that the character is not just a male or female but something more understandable. Williams also provides writers with advice on decision of whether to use he or she:
“The second problem is whether to use a masculine or a feminine pronoun to refer to indefinite pronouns like someone, everyone, no one and to nouns that do not indicate gender: a teacher, a person, a student…what we perceive to be our social responsibilities and the sensitivities of our audience must always come first: Many believe that we lose little and gain much (Williams 193-194).”
Overall, the use of he or she in writing can either be beneficial or not. I understand what you're doing with the opening sentence in this paragraph, but I think the way you have phrased it weakens your point. Personally, I would either leave out the personally or say Personally, I think writers should always be conscious about who they refer to in their writing. Examples should be kept off limits to this rule I have created. But when we refer to legal documents and educational textbooks, it should be consistent throughout the text that gender is kept at a general basis. There are audiences that might judge an author’s (I think this should read an author as) sexist and we must find ways to express our writing and thoughts through a uniform nonsexist way.

Works Cited:

White, E.B. and William Strunk. The Elements of Style. New York: Longman, 2000.

Williams, Joseph. Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995