Clive Thompson speaks of a revolution occurring in the literacy world. The boundaries of academic writing are expanding as the usage of technology is more prevalent. The question arises, is technology broadening our writing capabilities, or causing us to become illiterate?
Thompson speaks of John Sutherland, an English professor at the University College of London. John is on the opposing side, believing people can’t write anymore, and technology is to blame.
Thompson uses Andrea Lunsford, a professor of writing and rhetoric at Stanford University, as an example for a positive outlook on technological writing. Lunsford collected and studied 14,672 student writing samples, including various styles of writing (formal essays, journal entries, emails, etc.) from 2001 to 2006. Based on the samples, she came to a realization that we are in a “literacy revolution.” Technology is pushing the boundaries on conventional literacy. Through the findings, Lunsford and her team realized the students were using a specific technique in their writing. The students were using kairos, a way of assessing a particular audience, and adapting the tone, in order to convey their ideas. This technique allows the writer to focus on the purpose behind the writing.
With the access to technology, there is way more time to write. Lunsford found that young people today write far more than any generation before them. The ability to socialize through text accounts for much of this writing.
Thompson suggests writing for an audience gives the students a different sense of what constitutes good writing. The tone of the writing transforms quickly based upon the audience. The audience and purpose of our communication is essential. By identifying this, we are motivated. We have a deeper connection to our own voice and we are able to communicate that through our writing. Writing becomes a basis for persuading, organizing, and debating.
Anyone who has the knowledge to read or write is literate. Being literate is a must in order to live in our society. Literacy is escaping the classroom, and entering the real conversational world through technology. Technology offers us a different style of writing, exceeding original academic formats. Writing becomes more personal as we use it to socialize. We enter into a different way of speaking, a personal communication. We find a deepened purpose in what we are trying to convey. The tone is vastly different compared to the academic papers. Communication online is fast, thus many texts are constantly abbreviated. This allows people to keep up with the fast paced communication by getting right to the point. Academic writing sticks to the basics, proper grammar and sentence structure. Academic papers generally have a main target audience, the professor. The only motivating factor behind this academic piece of writing is the grade that will be exchanged in return. Each style of writing serves a different purpose based upon who the audience is, and what the writer’s message is.
By having the basis of formal academic writing structure, writing skills can only be broadened and improved. The key is to be able to differentiate between the academic and technological style of writing. Lunsford discovered no examples of “texting speak” in the various academic papers she read from first-year students. As long as writers are capable of keeping each style separate, as each style serves a different purpose, the literacy world can only be enhanced.
Carly explaisn that writers if we can both write each sort of writting different from each other are literacy would be enhacned. Good blog post lol
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