Written Communication in the 21st Century
The 21st century has moved our society fully into a technological world where a lot of what we own today is electronically based. We have had to continually learn and adapt to these changing technologies. Mainly, the way we communicate is changing because of the rapidly moving digital progression. Surrounded by technology and electronics, we have learned how to save time and money in work, school and our social lives. Students in the 21st century need knowledge and skills to succeed as workers and leaders. Unfortunately, there is a big gap between that knowledge and the skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st century workplace, specifically in writing.
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The postal service has become a tediously slow process for communicating with someone else. A quick note or letter used to take several days to deliver across the country, but it can now be sent in a matter of seconds using technology. Cell phones have become the way we communicate using instant messaging, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other applications. Writing in the 21st century no longer relies on handwritten information. Composing and creating on the computer allows for combining expressive technology modes such as hyperlinks, images, video and sound files, all which could not be accomplished in a printed piece. Writing has now become something that conveys meaning in unusual ways using …show more content…
Spelling and grammar errors are easily picked up by the programs and less time is spent correcting errors. Accessibility to computers has grown so much that most young adults have no problem finding a computer to use for a school assignment. Teachers also can use computers to deliver writing instruction at many different levels and in different ways. However, students and workers have a tendency to be side tracked by all of the information available online. It is easy to copy and paste and plagiarism becomes an issue. Everyone looks for the easiest way to accomplish a task and the computer has definitely become an easier way to
Sam Dillion wrote “What Corporate America Can’t Build: A Sentence” for an audience of college students, employees and corporate people. In his article, Sam points out that companies are spending a lot of money annually on remedial training. According to Sam, the writing problem appears in e-mails, reports and texts. He is informing his audience to brush up on writing skills before entering the corporate world, in order to avoid remedial training. Companies like to hire employees with excellent writing skills but many of employees and applicants fall short of that standard.
Technology is not killing our ability to write, but it is reviving it and pushing our literacy to new directions. Andrea Lunsford, from Stanford University, conducted an experiment to scrutinize college students way of writing. Her results were alarming, "I think we are in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven't seen since Greek civilization." Lunsford discovered that only 38% of students writing occurred within the classroom, the rest was written in their own free time. Most of our socializing now takes place online and always involves text or writing. Before the Internet, most of our communication was verbal. The only time Americans wrote was for a school assignment and if their job required writing. Otherwise most people didn't write another paragraph once they left
Learning to read and write are both considered to be fundamental human skills, that we begin to learn from the day we start school. As time advances, as do our minds, and we are expected to evolve in our reading and writing skills. Finishing high school is a large milestone for the lives of young adults; however, there is so much to learn in order to reach the next big milestone. To be a writer in college can challenge our preconceived thoughts on how we write. Although some skills remain unchanged, high school graduates are faced with overcoming new ways of doing a skill that seems so simple that it is practically innate. The definition of writing skills for college students is much different than high school. However, considering we have come so far it is time to go over the information we already know and challenge ourselves with ideas that we are yet to learn more about.
The article claims that students are “remarkably adept” at “addressing their audience and adapting their tone and technique to best get their point across.” In the social media atmosphere, children post a paragraph or two in which they get their point across. This teaches them to write in a way to display their tone in a deliberate and distinct manner. The usage of technology by students is appropriate. Thompson’s excerpt evidently proves this prominent truth as it shows a “literacy revolution” in which technology improves the capability of writing.
While preparing for one of his college lectures, Dennis Baron, a professor and linguistics at the University of Illinois, began playing with the idea of how writing has changed the world we lived in and materials and tools we use in everyday life. This lecture slowly transitioned into “Should Everybody Write?” An article that has made many wonder if technology has made writing too easy for anyone to use or strengthens a writer's ability to learn and communicate their ideas. Baron uses rhetorical strategies in his article to portray to his audience his positive tone, the contrast and comparison of context and his logical purpose.
With the efficient distribution and high influence of electronics in schools, almost every student can access any type of help they need if the teacher is unavailable. As schools choose to innovate their curriculums to contribute to the demand of technology; there can be some downsides in that. Most students can lose the way they write legibly and will be mainly dependent of a computer (Source D). The consequence of being more of a “typer, not a writer” has made huge change in the system and cause worry to parents who care about older teachings such as cursive and etc (Source
The lack of basic skills is financially a problem, too. The government and employers are also spending too much money on basic writing skills. A 2003 survey of managers shows that employers are spending $1.3 billion a year on basic writing. (Begley, Sh...
In The Power of Writing by Joel Swerdlow, we are presented to the importance of writing to our civilization. Throughout the years written information has emerged as a primary method of communication. Individuals use whatever is available to write to convey their message. Early forms of writing include carving symbols in stone and bone, written leaves, silk, papyrus, parchment and paper. At the present time writing is used in many settings; for example we have books, text messages, online blogs, lyrics, street signs and emails. There are no limits to written information, and most importantly it can be preserved indefinitely. Writing helps me communicate to others, my identity, creativity and imagination. Individually, I use writing to compose lyrics, write about my personal experiences and to connect with my family. In my opinion, writing is an important tool of communication in my personal and professional development, because it gives an insight of my individual ideas.
Computers are considered standard in a student’s arsenal of weapons used to tackle not only school but also life in general. Computers have the potential to be one of the greatest assets to a student, especially when it comes to writing essays and homework, but they are being used as a crutch when it comes writing sentences with proper grammar, syntax and spelling. Students are becoming mor...
Computer has made the life easier by providing various applications and technologies. For example, while computer has replaced typewriter, it helps the students to become a better writer as they can “revise text, rearrange paragraphs, and experiment with the tone and shape of an essay” () while using word processing. Thus, the computer helps the students to improvise their writing. Human relationship with co...
Phones have changed over the past twenty years and have had a positive and negative effect on people. Man kind as find many ways to communicate and stay connected with each other and the most common way is by a cellphone. Phones Cellphones have become one apart of our daily lives and some people just cannot live without them. In fact people use them more like computes than an actual phone itself. Most people let their phones control their lives and if their not carful it could have some serious consequences. Phones continue to get more and more advanced as time moves forward. However, in the beginning phones had a tough time getting out to the public however, if it was not for the first step into technology we would not have the phones we have today.
Communication is an interdependent process of sending, receiving, and understanding messages. The definition implies that the components of the communication process cannot be examined separately. Rather, the relationship exists between the sender and the receiver, as well as the environment of the communication event, must be viewed as a whole. According to this perspective, if any of the components and circumstances change (that is, the number of individuals involved in the interaction, seating arrangements, or the time of the day) the communication event is altered. Communication is an ongoing process; we never stop sending and receiving messages. As we will discover, communication is a dynamic process, a process that changes from one communication setting to the next. Although it is difficult to predict, the ways of interpreting communication, certain components are always present in the communication process.
Writing has changed because of the efficiency that technology provides. With the invention of instant messaging, writing has started to become something new entirely. People are writing more often and faster to get a message across. Luckily, students know that the writing that they do with friends is much different than what employers are looking for in the work place (Guffey, M.E., & Loewy, D., pg. 3-29).
Communication is one of the most important factors in our lives. It dictates the relationships formed with the individuals in personal and professional lives. Effective communication provides a foundation for trust and respect to grow. It also helps better understand a person and the context of the conversation. Individuals often believe that their communication skills are much better than what they actually are. Communication appears effortless; however, much of what two people discuss gets misunderstood, thus leading to conflicts and distress. To communicate effectively, one must understand the emotion behind the information being said. Knowing how to communicate effectively can improve relationships one has at home, work and in social affairs. Understanding communication skills such as; listening, non-verbal communication and managing stress can help better the relationships one has with others.
In spite of the many benefits of computers, there are also quite a few arguments about them, one of which is the bad effect some believe they are having on children's education and learning. Before computers became really popular where almost every household had one students did research papers manually and used a type writer to type papers or hand write their papers, illiteracy is a big issue, and many people say that computers are the reason for that. Younger students these days are asked to type papers which may not be a problem for older students but for younger students they need to do assignments that are hand written to develop their writing skills. If a younger student is typing all their assignments it can have a great affect on their grammar because they are using the comp...