Writing and literature have been man’s primary way of sharing and preserving information for thousands of years. However, while everyday pieces of writing such as letters or diary entries may seem mundane and trivial in comparison to textbooks or newspapers, such sources provide coherent information for historians and researchers that might otherwise be overlooked. Preserving and evaluating everyday writing helps people understand relevant social issues and feel more personally connected with historical events, in addition to providing relevant data for historians and researchers. Initially, ordinary pieces of writing provides historians a guide for writing secondary sources such as textbooks or websites. Similarly, modern researchers can use twenty-first century writings to observe data trends and document society for the future. To elaborate, Doug Gross of CNN specified that the Library of Congress is seeking to “archive Twitter posts” and “has already received about 400 requests from researchers all over the world looking into topics ranging from the rise of citizen journalism to tracking vaccine rates to predicting …show more content…
For instance, commoner Mary Stafford wrote a letter to friend Mattie Thomas in 1863 explaining that there were “a few cases of smallpox in town” (Source B). Stafford’s attention to the issue of smallpox in her letter not only helps her friend be aware of the situation and protect herself from it, but it also forces society to address such problems as the outbreak becomes more widely known and discussed. Furthermore, historians could use the information disclosed in Stafford’s letter to understand the exact location and time period of the smallpox outbreak and prevent its occurrence in the future. Ordinary writing samples such as letters provides insight into social conflicts and the tools to assess the situation for future
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.
In “Writing to Connect,” Pipher writes, “Any form of writing can change the world…” and goes on to say, “Ordinary people can and do change the world every day” (440). Pipher’s intended audience “is not directed toward sophisticates or literary critics. It is designed to influence cousin Shirley, farmer Dale, coworker Jan, Dr. Lisa, neighbor Carol, businessman Carl, or voter Sylvia” (438). Pipher uses every day language in “Writing to
A few years back, there was some concern over the fact that texting may be affecting the writing composition of teenagers. John McWhorter from Times Magazine wrote, “Is Texting Killing the English Language” on this very phenomenon, with the rhetorical aim to persuade people that this wasn’t the case. In the article, McWhorter refers to historical texts to persuade his audience, middle-aged
Centuries ago, man faced a significant transition in society from an oral-based to a writing-based culture. In Phaedrus 274, Socrates said with regard to written culture “Writing will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. . . .” Others, such as Plato saw the benefits of writing and recommended that all citizens should receive education in writing. Change was indeed coming, with both positive and detrimental
Writing is a form of communication that can be expressed in various ways. The short story “On Keeping a Notebook” written by Joan Didion guides the reader through her thinking process as she tries to answer why and what it means to write in her notebook. Although, it can be difficult to follow and understand her thinking it fascinates me to see her thinking process come to a full circle. I felt a personal connection with her when she writes “We are brought up in the ethic that others, any others, all others, are by definition more interesting that ourselves; taught to be diffident, just that this side of self-effacing.” Didion’s statement made me realized the experiences one has can affect one’s perspective as one writes and reads despite how
A synthesis essay should be organized so that others can understand the sources and evaluate your comprehension of them and their presentation of specific data, themes, etc.
...writers? Looks were exchanged, pages were ripped out, and who knows what was kept from this document. Having a record is the best way to present the gift of knowledge, so that we can make the world better but so much is affected by the surrounding situation. Our knowledge is fallible.”
Everyday writing has been done since the Sumerians created cuneiform. Postcards, diaries, letters, to-do lists are all included in everyday writing. Although some people claim we are faced with an inundation of information, and trivial writings should be discarded for the sake of space, it is important to preserve and study these everyday writings, as these everyday writings are part of the United States’ heritage, and studying them enriches our knowledge of rhetorical and historical concepts. (Source F)
Freedoms have been excluded from certain individuals throughout history. They created literary works to express their beliefs and viewpoints on the subject, containing similar and different aspects such as their overall messages, styles and textual structures. These literary works include, “I Have a Dream," by Martin Luther King Jr., "Cairo: My City, Our Revolution," by Ahdaf Soueif, and, “Reading Lolita in Tehran," by Azar Nafisi.
Despite the world being full of diverse people with varying accomplishments and skill sets, people oftentimes assume the qualities and traits of an individual based purely on the stereotypes set forth by society. Although these stereotypes are unavoidable, an individual can be liberated, empowered and ultimately overcome these stereotypes by obtaining an advanced education.
The cohesion of the members of the oral community is achieved because there is no separation of the knower from the known. The meters, sounds, and images can “not be abstracted beyond commemorative practices…they do not constitute information as a separable body of mental objects” (30), but rather function as an aid to memory. Print culture cannot bridge this gap. Although “writing” permits communication over space and time” (13), the reader is forever distanced from the content. There is no immediacy of knowing, no necessity for memory, and the print culture is provided a license to forget.
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.
Writing is essential for passing on human history. Things you see today such as bibles, textbooks and hieroglyphics are key to understanding the people who lived before us. Without these written information, one would not know about the true hardship and bloodshed of the past. Frederick Douglass created his autobiography in order to show his conditions within slavery. This act was one of the many influential factors that motivated the abolishment of slavery. His ideas are still viewed today to show people the importance of reading and writing. Similarly, an the essay "Superman and Me" by the author Alexie Sherman explains his difficult life living on a poor Spokane Indian Reservation. Overtime, he develops the ability to read by picking up his father’s comic book and using the pictures to help him understand the content. By reading at an early age, he was more than capable of ...
Television has affected every aspect of life in society, radically changing the way individuals live and interact with the world. However, change is not always for the better, especially the influence of television on political campaigns towards presidency. Since the 1960s, presidential elections in the United States were greatly impacted by television, yet the impact has not been positive. Television allowed the public to have more access to information and gained reassurance to which candidate they chose to vote for. However, the media failed to recognize the importance of elections. Candidates became image based rather than issue based using a “celebrity system” to concern the public with subjects regarding debates (Hart and Trice). Due to “hyperfamiliarity” television turned numerous people away from being interested in debates between candidates (Hart and Trice). Although television had the ability to reach a greater number of people than it did before the Nixon/Kennedy debate, it shortened the attention span of the public, which made the overall process of elections unfair, due to the emphasis on image rather than issue.
Literary works continue to be recorded thousands of years after the initial writings of the ancient world. Up until the last hundred years, this consisted strictly of works that were recorded by an author and then made available to the masses. The invention of the printing press greatly increased the availability of literature. No longer were books required to be hand copied and c...