Texting is ubiquitous in modern Western society. It's a convenient way to communicate basic ideas quickly without having to commit to a phone conversation or the long wait for a letter. All of this is done through cellular phones on the go and many teenagers have subscribed to this method of communication as their primary one. When texting, it is customary to abbreviate certain words in order to save time. These abbreviations can be considered a language that evolves out of texting, and that language can be referred to as textspeak. The influence of textspeak on teenagers' writing is a polarising concept with both fans and critics of texting weighing their opinions. In her essay, "Does Texting Affect Writing?", Michaela Cullington, a previous student of Marywood University in Pennsylvania, outlines her investigation into whether or not texting affects writing. Cullington analyzes the critiques of texting and why critics believe that texting has a detrimental affect on teenager writing. Along with the critics, …show more content…
It showed that students do not believe textspeak is appropriate in formal writing assignments. They recognize the difference between texting friends and writing formally and know what is appropriate in each situation. This was proven true in the student samples, in which no examples of textspeak were used" (Cullington 367). In order words, Cullington's research showed that there is little effect on writing ability from texting. She collected sample essays and found no evidence of textspeak. This, along with her own anecdotal experience, lead her to the conclusion that texting is not something to be afraid of by teachers because it does not harm students' writing abilities. The abbreviations have the purpose of speeding up the process of typing, and as long as expecatations about writing assignments are clear there would be no
An essay titled "does Texting Affect Writing?" was published by Michaela Cullington while she studied to gain her masters degree in speech and language pathology at Marywood University. In her essay she claims that texting and texting language neither benefits or harms a students academic writing. Michaela Cullington asserts that a conspiracy has been going around concerning how texting can limit a students writing ability in ways such as not being able to convey emotion in writing, forgetting how to write a formal English paper and use correct punctuation, and most of all a decline in spelling.
The author, Natalie Wexler is a one of the founders of the board of trustees for the Writing Revolution. In her article, Why Americans Can 't Write, with the advent of email, writing ability has become more important than ever, and writing deficiencies have become increasingly apparent. The writing skills have been lacking in America, and the reason is because schools have only 24% of the students in eighth and 12th grades were proficient in writing and just 3% were advanced. The exercise doesn 't provide kids with the tools they need to write analytically. The standards in middle and in high schools teachers expect students to know things.
Lunsford, she discusses the fact that over the years writing has changed dramatically. There is the idea of “new literacies” which are “more participatory, collaborative, and distributed” (Lunsford 49). Literacy is no longer just about the author; rather there are many different aspects about society as a whole go into literacy today. Millennials are being seen as having a “cyberspatial-postindustrial- mindset” (Lunsford 49). This mindset is defined as having a “focus on collectives as the unit of production, competence, intelligence” (Lunsford 49).
Cullington after summarizing her research and having said both sides of opinions about texting affecting writing, she used the results as evidence of why Cullington disagreed that texting has no effect in writing. “On the basis of my own research, experts research, and personal observations, I can confidently state that texting is not interfering with student’s use of standards written English…” (Cullington 370). As you can see she used the strategy of disagreeing but with an explanation and summarized what her discoveries were. Cullington also agreed that texting is used on an everyday basis and at every moment that is possible. To agree to this Cullington included her own personal experience as a reference that texting effectively is used anywhere at any
Katie Hafner’s article “Texting May Be Taking a Toll” divulges that texting is becoming a major issue among teens, leaving parents and teachers struggling to find ways to keep up and get it under control. The article begins by proposing that teenagers are texting more and more often and it could be taking a toll on their health; sleep deprivation, stress injuries, failing grades, and many more. The author illustrated this by saying “...it is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation,” (1). This quote specifies that kids are more focused on their phones and the text messages they are receiving, then they are on their classes, grades, getting adequate amounts of sleep and their
Goldwasser claims that “They’re connected, they’re collaborative, they’re used to writing about themselves, on their own time, rather that its being a forced labor when a paper is due”. Facebook status’, tweets, and Pinterest “how to’s” are instantly posted and shared every second presenting to the world the unique segments of writing from teenagers (and adults!) all over the world. Individuals are
All of these factors combine and work well together to form a well-executed argument within Cullington’s essay. Cullington begins her essay by addressing her opposition: “It’s taking over our lives” (pg. 361). She cites studies done that suggest that a decline in the quality of students’ formal writing has occurred since the advent of text messaging, and she also cites teachers who believe that their own students’ works are influenced for the worse by the students’ being accustomed to texting and using textspeak. Cullington then proposes her opposing position that the writing of students is unaffected by their use of texting and text speak. She also cites studies that support her thesis that text messaging and textspeak do not have an effect on
Everyone’s An Author with Readings by Andrea Lunsford, Michal Brody, Lisa Ede, Beverly J. Moss, Carole Clark Papper, and Keith Walters; is about how everyday writing is very closely related to academic writing. This book discusses The Need for Rhetoric and Writing, Genres of Writing, The Role of Argument, Research, Style, and includes Readings. The text also bridges the gap between Facebook and academic writing, showing how some tactics students use in social media may also be used in their academic
Article Analysis: The Importance of Writing Badly Bruce Ballenger’s article titled “The Importance of Writing Badly” takes a rather peculiar approach to addressing the issue of effective writing. The author eccentrically argues for the importance of ‘bad writing’ by describing different reasons to support his arguments. He argues that it is normal to apportion blames without understanding the root causes of poor writing skills. The author quotes different people who have expressed concerns about poor writing among students including his doctor. He proceeds by explaining why he would encourage his students not to concentrate on their poor writing experiences.
In her essay "Does Texting Affect Writing?", Michaela Cullington presents her argument that texting does not impact formal writing written by students. She discusses the concerns presented by many people about how texting language can transfer into writing, but through the use of personal experiences and credible sources she discusses how this is not true. Her use of multiple different studies and situations help boost her argument and allow the reader to truly see how students actually do formal writing. She presents a strong argument as to why those who believe students don't have the control and knowledge to write formally, instead of with text speak, are wrong.
Not So Fast”, conducts her own study with a few colleagues to take notes on how students writing skills are changing. She decides to conduct another one twenty five years later to see how much the writing skills have changed since technology has been updated and became more available to students. She found that “students today are writing more than ever before.” Although we still have the same amount of writing errors as before, the patterns of errors are different. Many people argue that technology is only making our writing skill worse, this study helps to prove a different theory.
Today, texting has become the most widely used communication technique for teenagers and young adults. It is written in completely informal language and it has no literature value in it. Although the critics believe texting is destroying literature value, McWhorter has another opinion in mind. McWhorter thinks that texting is another form of language that is developed by teenagers. It is the creation of a brand new language evolving from the old literature.
Not So Fast” Andrea Lunsford researched students’ writing for 30-plus years to see what effect new technology has on how students learn. Lunsford discovered that students are actually improving their own writing skills with the help of mass media. Not only does it allow students more access to educational resources and information, but it also encourages students to do more creative thinking and writing outside of class which Lunsford refers to in her article as “life writing.” In her research she recalls the account of a student who sent a friend a text message which was completely informal and would be considered unprofessional by most piers. However, the same student also sent a very formal and professional report to her faculty adviser later on.
Writing About Writing, A College Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 481-495.
Writing is a vital part of life. Before the creation of written language human communication was limited to verbal, in-person conversations. Everything changed when writing allowed thoughts and ideas to travel farther and more efficient than ever before. Writing is a talent that we learn at an early age and only hone as we proceed through our academic careers. This being said, as with any talent every writer has strengths and weaknesses.