Monthly Archives: December 2021

“A Better Lens: Reading and Writing”

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“A Better Lens: Reading and Writing”

David Gorra Collazo

College feels like being on a roller coaster, so fast and thrilling at the same time, but to succeed, one must adapt. One of the many challenges students face in college is the process of reading and writing. Students have “rules” and preconceived notions in their heads about what they can or can’t do, some true, some false, and many circumstantial. One such notion is that reading and writing are not connected. High schools and Colleges alike prioritize writing over reading significantly which further supports the notion that writing is the most important of the two and as such, should be prioritized. This problem stems from an issue apparent in college freshmen, the inability to enjoy or fully comprehend either, making it harder to make college-level essays that will satisfy instructors. Carrillo along with Westin’s ideas about reading and writing allows me to conclude a better idea regarding the subject, and that is, rhetorical reading and using social media to enhance a student’s this skill.

 

 

In the book Bad Ideas About Writing, Ellen C. Carrillo addresses the issue in detail. In her essay, “Reading and Writing Are Not Connected” she argues the opposite of her title. In other words, she argues against this bad idea by stating that “if students are not given the opportunity to continue working on their reading throughout their college careers, they may struggle to analyze, interpret, and evaluate all that surrounds them” (Carrillo paragraph 4). She concludes that for students to have a comprehensive set of skills to comprehend, analyze, and interpret writing tasks associated with reading, students and teachers should prioritize rhetorical reading. Rhetorical reading strategies that, “wherein readers pay particular attention to how a text is working on them, persuading them. A better understanding of this as a reader can also support students’ writing as they develop their own arguments.” (Carrillo p.42)

“Designer sketching Wireframes” by Green Chameleon. Unsplash.

 

In Westin’s article, for instance, she talks about the negative impacts social media has had on her students but at the same time agrees that the benefits outweigh them. She argues that some skills associated with reading and writing are strengthened using social media. Stating, that communication and writing are enhanced “by the use of social media in my opinion. It forces us to write a lot more, which is always a good thing” (Westin p.1). 

 

 

 

In Conclusion, reading and writing are an integral part of a student’s career and as such, students that neglect either will not fare as well as those that incorporate both in their routine. Rhetorical reading and using things that students do normally like using social media if looked at through a learning lens it can help strengthen both skills simultaneously.

A better Idea

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As students are transitioning from high school to college, students learn the way they are writing is outdated. In which students won’t make it far in college if they keep using the method that is known for being used in high school. In the book Bad Ideas About Writing, author’s Bernstein and Lowry address the bad idea known as the five-paragraph essay method. 

“Writer” by Hannah Ollinger. Unsplash

Bernstein and Lowry go further into detail on the usage of the five-paragraph and explain as to why it is deemed as a bad idea. Throughout their essay Bernstein and Lowry further explain that the use of the five-paragraph essay method is not to be used as the only means of writing. “For first- year college students, the five-paragraph essay is considered to be a kind of catch-all for the would-be writer, a formula that students are often taught works for any kind of essay, on any topic, upon any occasion. Except when it doesn’t.” (Bernstein and Lowry 1), when writing an essay, a simple five paragraph essay might not always be used to appeal to readers. Because a lot of students were taught the strategy their entire school career, many will disagree and think differently. But as we grow older the simple ways of writing an essay simply will not do

Bernstein and Lowry discuss what Paulo Freire, an internationally well-regarded Brazilian educator and activist does. “According to Freire, the bank- ing model is a form of teaching and learning in which knowledge is understood to be a kind of currency that is literally deposited into students’ heads by an expert.” (Bernstein and Lowry 1). When students are taught the five-paragraph method, that is all they know so there is no way that they can know how to expand from it without being taught otherwise. Students don’t know the different and better techniques of writing because the method that educators teach/ are currently teaching is just for simplicity. “The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world.” (Bernstein and Lowry 2) When students are just crammed with a constant influx of information it can be hard to put it to the use that it is intended for. In order to correctly store important details, it is important to make a connection to their own experiences and what’s going on around us.

A woman typing up her work on her desktop

Bernstein and Lowry explain how knowledge isn’t being transmitted correctly into the essay because of the hindrance of the five-paragraph essay method. When using the five-paragraph method, students aren’t using what they have learned, they are more like writing it down because the knowledge isn’t flowing properly into the essay as it should be. “The five-paragraph essay is widely believed to be useful in terms of making students assimilate, absorb, store, categorize, and organize new knowledge, but it is not useful in terms of getting students to actually use that knowledge creatively or critically for productive problem posing and solving.” (Bernstein and Lowry 2). Bernstein and Lowry believe that when students use the five-paragraph method to do essays, that they aren’t using the information that they learned in a fundamental way that establishes growth within their writing as well as understanding their own writing personalities. Students can’t show growth and expand in their writing if they are stuck within their own creative box whilst using said method. 

 A better idea than the five-paragraph essay format would be to write more or less than five paragraphs, as long as the student’s ideas are coming out clear and concise. When writing, students can often find themselves lacking information and try to sum up their essays within the five-paragraph method. By writing more paragraphs the students wouldn’t be limiting themselves from great success when writing their essays. Bernstein and Lowry compare the five-paragraph essay format to that of using training wheels; they should only be used as a means to start when riding a bike. The same thing goes for the use of the five-paragraph method. “Without training wheels, it may be tough to get started at the beginning of a ride, but eventually we figure out how to do it. Bumpy rides may pose a challenge, but they make us resilient.” (Bernstein and Lowry 3). A student can also write less than five paragraphs and still bring their points in their essay.

Comparision between Student grade

Front view portrait of two students showing failed and passed exam grades

The five-paragraph essay format shouldn’t be used in college, because students should know that they are able to write more or less than that. Students shouldnt limit themselves when writing essays in college. Bernstein and Lowry made key points on the negative effects of using the five-paragraph method and that it will only hinder students in the long run. It was only meant for starting off when writing, not a definitive way of writing. In order to show growth, the students must break free from the recommendation of only five paragraphs and push themselves to form better ideas and to no long limit themselves.

Work Cited

 Susan Naomi Bernstein and Elizabeth Lowry “The Five Paragraph Essay Transmits Knowledge” Bad Ideas About Writing, Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe West Virginia Libraries 2017 pp. 214-218

 

A better idea…African American Language is not Good English kori ellison

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A better idea…African American Language is not Good English  

There are a lot of stereotypes about reading and writing and if the way people talk affects the way they write. There are a lot of arguments in debate whether or not African American language is a good language. In her essay “African American Language is not Good English” Jennifer M. Cunningham (Bad Ideas about Writing), Cunningham gave us a little background information as to what some might refer to as “African American” English. African American language can range from large, to Ebonics, to broken English, according to Cunningham.

Ebonics 2013

Cunningham proves a point as to why the African American language is in a class by itself and is not related to regular English. Based on the things that Cunningham studied and the sources that she pulled information from and came up with a better idea of the topic’s approach. While explaining her approach to this writing, Cunningham gets into what a lot of people might say “African American” language is. As stated before, she says that “(also called Ebonics, African American Vernacular English, black English, broken English, bad English, or slang) has been discounted as a lesser form of communication than other forms of spoken and written English.” She talks about the different types of African American language or what people think the African American language is. One of the sources that Cunningham uses to better get her point across is Talkin and Testifyin: The language of Black America by Geneva Smitherman. Throughout Smitherman’s writing, she looks inside to black culture and lifestyle to better get her point across. She talks about how African American culture and the lifestyle that is lived and endured had a lot to do with the African American language. She states that African American English is its origin of language and it dates way back to slavery days. Cunningham takes some of Smitherman’s points to further help her point across. They give a better idea rather than saying that African American language is a bad language. 

 

In writing this, Cunningham puts her ideas and the sources that she studied to make a good idea. In her writing, she explains how African Americans often replace the th sound with other vowels or sounds. “African American Language speakers tend to replace a voiceless th sound (such as with) with another voiceless sound, usually a /d/ or /t/, which produces wif or wit.” She never said that this kind of English was incorrect, she states that African American speakers tend to change the way that things are spelled/pronounced. Another source that Cunnigham used and pulled information from is African American English: A Linguistic Introduction by, Lisa J. Green. Green uses a lot of her viewpoints and what she thinks the African American language is. Cunningham uses some of her points as well in her argument. 

Resistance, Rebellion, and Culture: Exhibitions Around London Renew Questions About a So-Called Black Aesthetic – ARTnews.com

In conclusion, Cunningham gave a new outlook on the topic. She turned something that was looked down on into educating people on what some might say African American language is. The author marched the source’s ideas, plus some of her own, to come up with a better idea and a new approach to the topic. Cunningham informs us that African American Language is in a class all by itself and it is not necessarily bad English, more so different English. Cunningham broke down the reason as to why people have this assumption about African American language and gives background information as to why African American language is not bad English. 

 

Work cited 

“Lexicons and Meaning.” African American English: a Linguistic Introduction, by Lisa J. Green, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009

“Talkin and Testifyin.” Wayne State University Press, 1 Jan. 1986, https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/talkin-and-testifyin. 

Cunningham, Jennifer M. “African American Language is Not Good English.” Bad Ideas About Writing, edited by Cheryl E Ball and Drew M Loewe, West Virginia University Libraries, 2017

Bad Ideas About Writing – FACE-TO-FACE COURSES ARE SUPERIOR TO ONLINE COURSES

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In their essay “FACE-TO-FACE COURSES ARE SUPERIOR TO ONLINE COURSES”,  Tifanny and Andy Bourelle discuss the misconceptions among educators and students that online courses are much easier and less educational than the traditional face-to-face classroom.  They argue against the misinterpretation that online courses are only offered for monetary value and that it only benefits the school. They bring up the oppurtunties that online courses offer such as diversity, a more open environment and more interaction through writing. This might suggest that no matter type of course its the instructor that affects the learning.

“Photo of Child Sitting by the Table While Looking at the Imac” by Julia M Cameron

A volume from the academic journal titled Journal of Online Learning & Teaching mentions a survey made for students in online course and their perception of a caring instructor. All the points mentioned can be both percieved in a face-to-face  and an online setting. “Express belief that students will successful in the online setting(437)”, this was one of the points made by the students in the survey, which further demonstrate the effect an instructor can have on a course.  

 

“Woman having a job interview” by Tima Miroshnichenko

In her US News article “Americans Doubt the Rigor and Quality of Online Education”, Allie Bidwell talks about how even a majority of Americans believe that “online education are equal to or better than traditional education.” surveys show that some people believe that a traditional degree is more accepted for most employers. Another survey was made where partcipants were asked to rank the types of course (4-year, 2-year, and online courses). A majority of participants said that online courses are only fair in terms of quality. This might hint at the fact that most people pay more attention to the instructor rather than the course type when choosing classes. Bidwell also brings up Jeff Davidson, a manager of the free education iniative at Saylor Foundation, who believes that types of courses are on par with eachother and both have an equal amount of pros and cons. 

 

With perpectives from different standpoint I have come to the conclusion that an instructor is what makes a course. Everyone involved in education needs to realize that online course can provide the same experience as face-to-face. We need to  start making more efforts and  open up more oppurtunities for all kinds of people. With all technological advances we’ve made we should be using this advantage to create a more interactive environment between the student and instructor. This way we can remove the stigma of online learning and progress further into the future of education.  ‍

 

Works Sited:

Bourelle, Tiffany and Bourelle, Andy. “Face-to-Face Courses are Superior to Online Courses ”, Bad Ideas About Writing. Cheryl E. Ball, Drew M. Loewe. (pg. 351-355).

Bidwell, Allie. “Americans Doubt the Rigor and Quality of Online Education”, U.S. News, Oct. 15, 2013, https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/10/15/americans-doubt-the-rigor-and-quality-of-online-education

“The Importance of Student-Instructor Connections in Graduate Level Online Courses,” Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, MERLOT. Vol. 10, No. 3, December 2014 

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Better Idea About Writing: Texting Is Writing Practice

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“text girl” by uberculture is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Since the early days of texting, many people have had an issue with the way that this form of communication supposedly causes poor writing skills in teens. The general idea is that texting habits carry over into a student’s writing abilities, causing them to forget even the most basic grammar rules.  Authors David Crystal and Christopher Justice beg to differ.

 In his article, “Texting Ruins Literacy Skills”, published in the book Bad Ideas About Writing, Justice covers a lot of the negative attention that texting has gained over the years. He mentions that various news articles have bashed this specific form of communication by pushing the narrative that avid texters are predictable and lazy. According to this point of view, teen texters especially will experience a lapse in grammar, lack of punctuation, and disregard for correct spelling within their school essays. These teens will supposedly have trouble connecting with audiences and getting their points across clearly.

In response, Justice argues that students who text frequently often have better comprehension and summary skills. “Texting improves texters’ summarizing skills and their overall ability to write more concisely along with their diplomacy skills,” he writes. (Justice, 311) He mentions that instead of viewing texting as some flashy new language, it should be seen as a tool to help students “augment their writing.” (Justice, 312) Justice believes that since texting can actually get students to build upon preexisting writing habits, that it should be just as respected as any other form of writing. In addition, he challenges the idea that texters have issues with audience connections. “Texters often already have a sophisticated sense of audience when texting because the medium facilitates frequent communication with vastly different audiences:
spouses, parents, bosses, friends, health professionals, grandparents, colleagues, lovers, and so on,” Justice explans. (Justice, 311) This vast knowledge of audiences would not hinder a writer; rather, it would allow for better delivery, no matter the context.

Also challenging the poor outlook on texting, Crystal writes in his book, Txtng, the Gr8 Db8, that the media coverage on texting and teenagers has turned a few rogue assignments into a full blown catastrophe. “The formal examination reports are not much help,” the author expresses, “for they present an unclear picture, and their conclusions are distorted by media hype.” (Crystal, 153) Articles have been published with headlines such as “Texting Deprives Children of Sleep” and “Texking and Emailing ‘Fog Your Brain Like Cannabis’,” which generate a sort of wariness when it comes to the correlations between texting and language. However, Crystal explains that even though some teens cannot differentiate between ‘texting language’ and proper English, many teens are put off by the idea of using text slang and abbreviations in their academic works. He says that the skills picked up from texting can help students to be more concious of how their writing sounds and actually find errors faster than someone who does not text as frequently. 

Instead of the fear driven belief that texting will kill the English language, the two authors seem to agree that texting should be used as another writing medium. Crystal sees texting as its own language, one that has proven useful when it comes to keeping students on a word limit without restricting their creative flow. Texting, according to him, teaches students to make clear statements in different ways. Similarly, Justice believes that texting should be considered “as a complex complement to formal writing that allows people to augment their writing skills in fresh, complex ways.” (Justice, 313) He concludes his article by writing that people should be as open to studying texting methods as they are with writing methods. Both authors come to the conclusion that texting can build on real world writing comprehension and should be taught alongside writing.

“Smartphone” by anykeyh is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

  1. Justice, Christopher. “Texting Ruins Literacy Skills,” in Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball & Drew M. Loewe, 308-314

https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf

  1. Crystal, David. Txtng, the gr8 db8, 2008.

Txtng, the gr8 db8

The Knowledge of Writing

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Knowledge is what we need to live as human beings.  Over the years, students use knowledge to sharpen their skills in other to pass different obstacles in life. Students use different way to gain knowledge and many use a tactic to write down what they learned about to get the information in their brain faster when that’s not the case. In the book “Bad Ideas About Writing”, Ellen C. Carillo addresses how it’s a bad mindset to think that you can transfer information easily by writing because it takes a lot of time and effort since knowledge isn’t automatic. The article she covered “Are Cognitive Skills Context Bound”, is used to prove how people learn information.

                

Carillo has used article like “Are Cognitive Skills Context Bound”, to prove her point of how an effective problem that consider researchable from over 30 years ago. The article itself deals with human’s intelligence by using a wide range of academic and nonacademic tasks. She studied how people learn subjects differently and how they performances. Even though these arguments, knowledge is more influences of gifted domains (writing for example) to reflect on inborn aspects of intelligence. It has come to a conclusion that specialized knowledge is learned from low and high g(IQ or general intelligence) people; it was studied that nature of people with more knowledge will perform well because they have a rich knowledge base, while the lower g but more knowledge will perform because knowledge is more important than g.

                In the chapter “Writing Knowledge Transfers Easily” in “Bad Ideas About Writing” Carillo discussed how colleges want freshmen to automatically to apply to a new major/course when transfer in not possible. She states how why writing instructors should not assure that knowledge will transfer easily. By using the article (Are Cognitive Skills Context Bound) by Gavriel Salomon and David Perkins, it was states “instances in which learning in one context or with one set of materials impacts on performance in another context or with other related materials” (Carillo 34). She explains how Charles Judd (an educational psychologist) years later would show how transfer is in fact possible but did not provide evidences if transfer is automatic. So when Anne Beaufort and Elizabeth Wardle came along, Wardle explains that students “did not appear to make even near connections of those skills, much less transfer those skills to very different contexts… no students suggested they were being asked to write a persuasive paper to be able to write persuasively in other courses”(Carillo 34). With back up evidences, Carillo was able to use sources from different professors to prove her point of view.

                Knowledge itself is power but transfer itself needs to be trained properly in order to corporate in the learning field. Consistent is recommend to involve for incorporating metacognitive (thinking about thinking) exercises for students who is in writing courses. What Carillo is identifying based on Kathleen Yancey and her colleague’s research, studies has shown how students who got instructors who teach transfer are most likely to transfer information and their writing skills. It was also shown (based on National Research Council), how learning theory can give variety of teaching strategies to help students to reach a higher intellectual of maturity. Transfer is definitely possible but we need to eliminate the myth that transfer is automatic; it takes a lot of effort to remember a lot of information.

                Considering everything, in conclusion, Carillo had a writing is detailed and formed a better way to transfer knowledge. Students who are in lower level courses should not be put on the same level as high level courses because they won’t be able to transfer that knowledge to their brain. With Gavriel Salomon, David Perkins, Charles Judd, Anne Beaufort, and Elizabeth’s studies, teaching for transfer should be taken more seriously. By studying, we might have a better understanding of how humans have different learning experiences of transfer with not just using academic contexts. Are there some limits to experience some certain activities to learn? Of course not, there is no limit in learning!

Works Cited

Bad Ideas about Writing Book – WVU Libraries. https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf.

Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay. (2020, June 8). Why Grammar Instruction Does

Not Improve Student Writing: How to Teach Writing and Grammar | Teaching Writing Fast and

Effectively! Teaching Writing Fast and Effectively! | Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy

Essay. https://patternbasedwriting.com/elementary_writing_success/why-grammar-instruction

does-not-improve-student-writing/

Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay. (2020, June 8). Why Grammar Instruction Does Not Improve Student Writing: How to Teach Writing and Grammar | Teaching Writing Fast and Effectively! Teaching Writing Fast and Effectively! | Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay. https://patternbasedwriting.com/elementary_writing_success/why-grammar-instruction-does-not-improve-student-writing/

Image Used 

https://www.apqc.org/expertise/knowledge-management/knowledge-identification-mapping

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/a-personalized-entity-repository-in-the-knowledge-graph/379043/

Grammar Or Language? A Better Idea About Writing

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WorkThe argument that bad grammar habits stem from digital technology is just the most recent of what professor Harvey Daniels call “language panics.” The idea of language panics is “the assertion that new forms of communication signal the end of the world.” (Warnock. 302) With help from linguist Josef Fruehwald, Scott Warnock presents a better idea about textism. Simply that there is no correlation between texting and grammar skills and that students know when to differentiate. They believe students can identify that writing is literary while texting is a form of communication. There have always been complaints about bad grammar skills in teens being linked to digital communication. This is a bad idea not only because there has never been any accurate science behind the theory but because times change, and language evolves with it. In the article “Texting ruins students grammar skills” Scott Warnock debunked some of these theories and offers a better idea about writing.  Continue reading →

Bad Ideas About Writing: Creative Writing is a Unique Category

Aside

Many people can picture themselves writing as a child their favorite memory in class, or writing about slaying a dragon over the winter.  That’s what a lot of people imagine when they picture creative writing. However, some see creative writing as writing, while other forms are just put aside. In the book “Bad Ideas About Writing,” Cydney Alexis explains that “People who write everything except poetry and fiction—that is, people who contribute the vast majority of writing to the world in the form of lists, essays, emails, blog posts, texts, instruction manuals, and so on—see their work as less creative and less important.” (Alexis 188) This a really bad idea, as it sidelines other forms of writing and uncreative and unimportant. Creative writing is not just a unique category, but one where all spectrums of writing can be seen under one category. Creative writing should be taught as an equal with all writing styles.  

Cydney Alexis states that creative writing has a common misconception to being labeled as ONLY just poetry or fiction. But where does this thought come from? This dates back in the 1800s by D. G. Myers book “The Elephants Teach: Creative Writing since 1880,” where most see creative writing as a “dissent from professionalism” (Myers 7) however, these weren’t really taken seriously by others and disregarded. These thoughts changed, however, when creative writing gave people “a quiet life and an agreeable way to make a dollar” (Myers 8). That’s the stigma we are in today. When we think of “writers” we think of Rick Riordan of The Percy Jackson series or J. K. Rowling writing Harry Potter. However, Myers believes that creative writing doesn’t end on just poems and stories, and is a “craft that can be taught.” (Myers 75) Alexis supports this claim by saying the famous joke of “Those who can’t do, teach” (Alexis 189) which tells us to harvest those creative thoughts, and to continue creating and eliminate negative stereotypes on creative writing.

The Ultimate Harry Potter Book List

“Ultimate Harry Potter Book List”-Scholastic

The Identity of a “writer” is seen as “private, secret, and solitary” (Alexis 189) We know those harm what a writer really is, and even harms improving others of being better writers. Creative Writing was initially supposed to ease the schism on writing. Creative writing was supposed to “integrate literary knowledge with literary practice” (Alexis 191) and improve overall skill. Alexis and other teachers are using creative writing in this way Alexis cites Daniel Miller and his chapter on housewives’ shopping lists, that the writers were not using random order for the items, but “listing items to reflect food categories and writing them to reflect their planned future movement through those stores.” (Alexis 191) This reflects creative writing in not poems or stories, but in listing and shop layout. Creative writing is even being used in workshops, where in Grame Harper’s creative workshop, she uses creative writing as a way to build critical thinking. ““[My students] are required to write both creatively and critically.” When the critical is opposed to the creative, it’s easy to understand why public and academic attitudes so pervasively represent persuasive writing as uncreative, particularly when pitted against those in the so-called creative arts.” (Alexis 191) All sights read to creative writing improving not just writing but all-around experiences and lifestyles. Creative Writing | Ventura College

The Solution for this is simple: Take away the term “creative writing” all forms of writing can use creative writing and can demonstrate creativity without needed a story or poetry. Alexis states that when “they began thinking of themselves as writers, their positive feelings about writing intensified” (Alexis 192) Writers began to enjoy writing when they take away the negative connotation that stems from creative writing, and instead “bring us all together under the banner of writing studies, writing, or writing arts” (Alexis 192) Down with creative writing! 

                                                                                                                                                                       Works Cited

Myers, D. G. “The Elephants Teach: Creative Writing Since 1880”

Alexis Cydney. “Creative Writing is a Unique Category.” Bad Ideas About Writing (187-193) https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf 

Student Writing Must Be Graded By The Teacher

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“Utah State University Photo”, by Utah State University

How are essays graded by the teacher ? Are they graded by the organization, the topic, or fluent it is? How does a student learn from receiving a letter as feedback ?  According to Christopher R Friend in, “Student Writing Must Be Graded By The Teacher”, it’s a bad idea to require student writing to be graded. Friend believes that it is a better idea for teacher to promote reviewing and collaboration. Linda S. Bergmann, further explains in, “The Writing Center As A Site For Engagement.”, the importance of engagement and collaboration. 

“I got graded on my English essay”, by Ya_like_jazz, newschoolers.com

 

     In the article, “Student Writing Must Graded By The Teacher”, in Bad Ideas About Writing, Friend explains that a letter grade does 3 things poorly, ” (1) determining whether students understand a concept well enough to implement it, (2) identifying elements of student writing that need improvement, and (3) helping students learn to better self-assess.”( Friend, 275). Friend explains the very reason why letter grades work so poorly. How can anyone learn from something, that poorly teaches you ?  Friend suggests that, “Grades help label, sort, and rank students; they don’t inform students, target instruction, or encourage self-awareness.” (Friend, 275), so they can be discouraging to students that struggle. 

So what’s the solution according to Christopher R Friend? Peer review. People learn from friends and family, whether it’s tying shoes or learning how to draw. Friend states,  “… we should teach people how to improve their writing through peer review. Variations of peer review help us write in many of our day-to-day situations.”, (Friend, 275).  Friend goes on to say, ” Teachers could benefit from saved time and energy if they incorporated peer review systems of various flavors in their classes, reducing their workload and providing a variety of feedback for their students.”, (Friend, 275). Why is that peer review works? Because students aren’t just writing to please the teacher. Students have an audience that isn’t seen as an authority figure, such as a teacher (Friend, 273).

“Design peer reviews to support our teams growth”, by Maxence Mauduit

In the article, “The Writing Center as a Cite of Engagement” , Bergmann goes into further detail speaking about how peer review is the most effective ways to learn. Bergmann suggests that writing centers can be beneficial to writing ,because of it’s collaborative nature and are more flexible than traditional English departments and universities (Bergmann, 174). Bergmann states, that not all students may not know who to come to with writing questions in their English department. “One of the reasons that writing centers become sites of engagement is that people looking for various kinds of help, knowledge, and interaction with projects related to writing and literacy often contact effective and visible writing centers.”, (Bergmann, 160). The author gives readers a go to place for their writing questions. 

“Edgar Allen Poe Collection”, Harry Ransom center digital collections

 

In conclusion, it is a bad idea to require student writing to be graded. Students don’t learn anything from a letter nor do they define a student. It is a better idea for teachers to promote peer review and to get students to think critically. When the students main focus turns into grades and not the actual assignment they write only to please the teacher in their writing. There is nothing wrong with teachers grading essays ,but when they only grade papers students don’t get a chance to learn from their mistakes. Students need to be put into peer review collaborations to be able to critically think. It helps students learn, how to use what you learned, and when you see it. 

 

                               Works Cited

 1.  Friend, Christopher R. “Student Writing Must Be Graded By The Teacher”, in Bad Ideas About Writing. 273-277.

https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf

2. Bergmann, Linda S. ” The Writing Center As a Cite of Engagement”, in Going Public: What Writing Programs Learn From Engagement. 160-176. 

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=usupress_pubs

                                 

 

Better Ideas about: How Texting helps Literacy Skills

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Professors, Linguists, and even parents have been arguing for many years about the pros and cons of texting, some might argue and say it decreases the students’ ability to use proper grammar and vocabulary, letting students butcher English words freely but others believe it enhances the way we learn about Vocabs and the English language in general. So, the question is, does texting ruins literacy skills? I believe the answer is NO, it doesn’t, and here’s why!

“Texting” By Asterfolio, Unsplash

In the book Bad Ideas About Writing, author Christopher Justice explains the misconception about texting, The title of his essay, and the topic that he signifies the idea that texting destroys one’s ability to have literacy skills. According to,” Texting Ruins Literacy Skills,” Justice argues that it’s just a myth, and stresses that it’s crucial to end this myth.   

Justice gives a reason why it’s crucial “One reason is that in many contexts, texting allows writers more time than speech to formulate their thoughts, and like other types of electronic media, texting also allows ample opportunities to revise and organize one’s thoughts. Second, the sudden and rapid popularity of texting is radically disproportionate to illiteracy rates.” (Justice, 310) In another word, a writer can express their ideas or feelings more efficiently by just texting than through talking Furthermore, texting provides clarity of someone’s thoughts. In his second reasoning, the author states, since everyone is texting and most people do not think texting hurts our literacy, if that was true, the literacy rate would’ve decreased and we would’ve stopped texting. Also, it is worth mentioning, this generation is by far literate than any other generation that lived before it. 

“Text Notification” by Jamie-street, Unsplash

In Jessica Gross’s TED blog post, “Texting as a “miraculous thing”: 6 ways our generation is redefining communication“, Jessica paraphrases the TED Talk speaker and linguist John McWhorter by writing “texting shouldn’t be categorized as a written language –but as [a] speech.”, Through a linguist perspective, McWhorter strongly believes that texting encourages a strong form of communication through writing, as brief as it may be.

 “Message Apps” By Adem AY, Unsplash

There are dozens of slang words and phrases many students text in their everyday communication, such as FYI, WYA, BTW, etc. Justice explains that those abbreviations are not new in the linguist world people have been using abbreviations for many years and we shouldn’t be surprised. Justice further explains “Ultimately, the abbreviated language that characterizes texting discourse is a continuation of a historical trend that reveals how people have creatively used language for conciseness and efficiency,” what he saying is, it’s just a generation difference and creativity that made people think it’s a new trend but history shows that’s not true.

In conclusion, Christopher Justice, Jessica Gross, and Jhon McWhorter’s ideas came together in the essay “Texting Ruins Literacy Skills” on Bad Ideas About Writing. Texting not only improves users’ ability to read and write it is also one of the fastest ways to convey information to others. By texting, one learns how to spell words regularly which enhances one’s Literacy skills. 

Works Cited

Justice, Christopher. “Texting Ruins Literacy Skills” in Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E.Ball and Drew M. Loewe, 30-33.

Jessica Gross’s TED blog post, “Texting as a ‘Miraculous Thing’: 6 Ways our Generation is Redefining Communication”