A latest topic of discussion has become centered on the issue of technology. This new discussion is in response to the writings of students today and how the writing is affected by technology such as Facebook, Blogging, video and PowerPoint, and texting. People like Professor John Sutherland have attacked this issue, blaming technology for the downfall of students writing style and technique. John Sutherland stated that these new technologies have degraded writing language into, “bleak, bald, sad shorthand.” By this statement he attacks the language in which is used in writing as a quick and thoroughly thought out in a way that is acceptable to the common teacher expected writing style. I hold that his statement does have some truth and argues a good specific area in which he believes writing has been corrupted, yet I still hold that today’s students are writing in a more natural and comfortable state which allows for more in depth answers and arguments, involving each contributor more so than if the writing was blue printed or a sort of robotic argument or answer. On the other side of the argument there are people such as Clive Thompson and Andrea Lunsford, who believe that this age of writing is more of a “literacy revolution,” states Lunsford, “the likes of which we haven’t seen since Greek civilization.” Through many studies Lunsford has come to this conclusion. She believes it is reviving students ways of adapting and assessing their writings in a way to best get their point across. Thompson states that this makes it close to the writings of ancient Greek civilizations because it is, “conversational and public...” By this he is stating that the society of today is involved in more of a community based writing style in which the writing is created with a large audience in mind rather than just a professor or teacher. This has created a different writing style in which it is more free form, which goes against the blue printed letter and essay writing styles of the recent but older generations. Technology has opened up a door in which writings can take the form of a discussion or argument rather than a highly skilled and researched essay formatted writing style. Technologies of today have adapted people’s way in which they can express themselves in a comfortable way and know that someone is listening. It has become an escape from every day stresses. The new technologies have caused a different way in which a discussion is composed and formatted depending on the audience it is intended to be directed towards. The different compositions consist of the same main points but have different ways of connecting those points through different lengths and depending on the audience, different language, to try to influence the intended recipient to try to get the main point across. I believe it is not the new technology that is possibly affecting the students of today, but rather the students themselves. Many people as well as myself believe that the society of today has become lazy and chooses the easiest route rather than the most philosophical. It is not the technology but the people behind it that affect the complexity of literature.
Welcome!
Welcome to our Eng 100 Blog “Conversations Beyond the Classroom”! The title of this blog refers to the community of active readers & collaborative learners we are creating by sharing our academic writing for Eng 100 with each other + a larger group of students, instructors, academics, and just about anybody who chooses to follow our blog! When you write and post your reader responses here (and, later, as you write your essays for the course), I encourage you to use this audience to conceptualize who you are writing for and, most important, how to communicate your ideas so that this group of academic readers and writers can easily follow your line of thinking. Think about it this way: What do you need to explain and articulate in order for the other bloggers to understand your response to the essays we’ve read in class? What does your audience need to know about those essays and the authors who wrote them? And how can you show your readers, in writing, which ideas you add to these “conversations” that take place in the texts we study?
As students of Eng 100, you will use this blog to begin conversations with other academic writers on campus (students and instructors alike). We become active readers of each other’s writing when we comment on posts here. And, best of all, we are using this space to share ideas! We encourage you to use this blog to further think through the topics and writing strategies you will be introduced to this quarter. As always, be sure to give credit to those people whose ideas you borrow for your own thinking and writing (you should do this in the blog by commenting on their post, but you will also be required to cite what you borrow from your peers/instructors if and when it winds up in your essays. More details on that later…).
Finally, keep in mind that writing to and for this audience is a good way to prepare for the panel of readers (faculty at WCC) who will be reading and assessing your writing portfolio at the end of the quarter. We hope that as a large group of active readers, we can better prepare each other for this experience. But, in the meantime, let’s have fun with it! I am really excited see how far we can take this together!
--Mary Hammerbeck, Instructor of Eng 100
As students of Eng 100, you will use this blog to begin conversations with other academic writers on campus (students and instructors alike). We become active readers of each other’s writing when we comment on posts here. And, best of all, we are using this space to share ideas! We encourage you to use this blog to further think through the topics and writing strategies you will be introduced to this quarter. As always, be sure to give credit to those people whose ideas you borrow for your own thinking and writing (you should do this in the blog by commenting on their post, but you will also be required to cite what you borrow from your peers/instructors if and when it winds up in your essays. More details on that later…).
Finally, keep in mind that writing to and for this audience is a good way to prepare for the panel of readers (faculty at WCC) who will be reading and assessing your writing portfolio at the end of the quarter. We hope that as a large group of active readers, we can better prepare each other for this experience. But, in the meantime, let’s have fun with it! I am really excited see how far we can take this together!
--Mary Hammerbeck, Instructor of Eng 100
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