Literacy, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the ability to read and write, and the quality or state of being literate. Although this is a technically accurate definition of the word, literacy to me is more than the comprehension of certain texts and the capability to produce pieces of writing. It is the ability to experience emotions, develop ideas, and draw personal connections to the works of literature being read. It involves possessing the capacity to be able to react to the text positively, negatively, or even neutrally, contributing to a personal development of one’s literary self. The idea of literature being an important aspect of life has always been greatly prevalent in my upbringing. This notion that I supported was spurred on at the cause of my obstinate parents insisting upon my reading of two books a week to benefit my vocabulary and to develop the articulate thought process of a skilled reader. As a young child, my biggest influences were my parents’ passionate and persuasive ideas regarding the correlation between …show more content…
the presence of literature and widely desired success in one’s life. Heading into primary school, this idea was further encouraged as I found myself befriending people who believed reading to be of paramount importance to significant levels of academic prosperity. Due to the fact that at the easily influenced age of eight, I surrounded myself with avid readers, I was only further galvanized to view reading as a crucial factor involved in intellectual development. However, despite my currently strong beliefs in the benefits of both being able to comprehend literature as well as create it, in the past, I never was quite passionate about writing. I identified solely as a reader and my writing skills suffered to a broad extent as a result of my lack of exposure to the beauty of this creative process. All the past influences in my life stirred within my creative mind a passion for reading, however, my equally – if not greater – love for writing arrived at the later age of twelve. This moment of realization started with my completion of the usual and routine scan of the public library’s young adults’ section. I came across an interesting book that stood out amongst the insignificantly hackneyed supernatural love stories that usually filled the youth bookshelves. Unknowingly, I had picked out a book written in verse. This wonderfully beautiful launch into the world of poetry opened my eyes to the liberty of expression that can be conveyed through the process of writing. It was this precise epiphany that brought the onset of experimentation in varied categories of literature that ensued. Since that wonderful moment of literary realization, I not only have studiously practiced my skills, but have developed certain ideas and preferences towards various types of literature being read and also being written. As a young and naïve child at the time, I practiced writing short stories with mystical plots and riveting scenes of action. The writing I produced reflected the books I read. Nevertheless, as I started to delve deeper into poetry and more specifically, free verse, I had undergone yet another major epiphany. It brought on the thought that writing does not have to be pretty and neat but it can be full of emotion, messy, and awfully ambivalent as well. This idea that literature could be anything took seed in my mind and opened up a whole different pathway of writing that no amount of supernatural books – however copious – could ever have led me to. This is where my journey as a writer truly began. As my last years of primary school started to approach, I focused on devoting both time and effort into honing my writing abilities.
I wrote short stories, poems, and articles; all centering on an idea of deep relevance and striking resonance. I experimented with various styles and numerous techniques with the majority of them proving to be useless and unimportant. However, despite these seemingly futile grasps at concrete steps towards amelioration and evolution as a writer, all of this experimentation paid off when it finally led me to the one particular style of writing that I enjoyed immensely: essays. After discovering my hidden talent for creating formal compositions and literary pieces, my writing had improved vastly. This was because I finally gained the crucial self-analytical skills required to be able to identify my strengths and weaknesses and break through this obstacle which had obstructed my path to
enrichment. With this barrier broken, and improvement on the near horizon, I was led to the level of writing that I am at today. I developed the idea that writing is an art of high distinction with mastery being a difficult task to accomplish and the acceptance of this, an even harder one yet. However, I was also led to believe that all the moments of the past have greatly influenced my identification as a writer and will continue to do so as long as I live. Yet, despite all of these past vivid and precious moments in time that have greatly affected and moulded my writing technique, style, and overall abilities, there are many more experiences to be had and lessons to be learned. Although the role of literacy is constantly evolving and being redefined in my life, I can ensure that, as an avid reader and an expanding writer, the efficiency of my literacy will always be an integral aspect and crucial factor in my scholarly development, learning process, and general progression as an intellectual human being.
Literacy by mainstream society standards includes having the freedom to choose what to read and write, and the use of critical thinking to evaluate what has been read. But it can also be defined, as in the Amish culture, as being culturally literate by the standards of your own culture.
My personal view of literacy is the ability to communicate and interact with yourself and one another. Without the ability to talk to one another, hear one another, or be able to understand what others are trying to say, you will be completely lost in a lonely world. I do not want to be stuck in a dark and quiet world, so I keep myself as literate and have as much knowledge as possible. Literacy is being able to communicate, read, and having knowledge while doing so.
Literacy is the ability to read and write and use written information and to write appropriately in a range of contexts. It also involves the integration of speaking, listening, viewing and critical thinking with reading and writing, and includes the cultural knowledge which enables a speaker, writer or reader to recognise and use language appropriate to different social situations (Freebody & Luke, 1990).
Literacy is a very intriguing topic; it seems simple yet it is so vast and complex that it takes some people their whole lives to understand it. If I say the phrase ‘Discourse Community’ most people in a random selection from the population would just stare at me waiting for me to finish my sentence, as they would not understand the gravity of the phrase. A discourse community is a group with similar interests that uses communication and other devices together to expand their knowledge of a subject and accomplish goals. Readers from a young age do not understand the fact that they are contributing to their community before they even know of its existence. By communicating to their teacher that they are having issues with a certain area and that this type of learning helped them to understand it, their teacher can then reiterate to the community what the issue was and how it was resolved so that
As long as I can remember reading hasn’t been my thing, in my four years of high school I've read no more than four books that I truly liked. I don’t remember being read to as a child but my mother says she read to me all the time. The only thing I really like about writing is persuasive essays, or maybe when I type, it is fun to try to type with my eyes closed. I feel like reading and writing are something I have avoided throughout my life. I am literate, I can read and write fine, literacy means to me "being able to read and write fluently".
Literacy, which means the ability to read and write. Literacy is the backbone and overall structure to learning any information, without that, our world would be very struggling. During this essay, I would like to talk about my English literacy history, and how it has been influenced and developed throughout portions of my life.
Being literate defines who I am, and forms an integral part of my life. From the practical to the creative, it aids, and enables me to perform in the tasks that modern society dictates. I shall explore the many aspects of my life that are affected by literacy. Through this, understanding in greater depth what it means for me, to be literate.
Literacy is not just limited to reading and writing. Someone can be literate or have a good understanding, of more than just Basic English. There are symbols, signs, and even numbers. Band students read the symbols for music, drivers read the road signs, and architects
Moreover, literature matters because it helps the individual escape reality. Whether its a mother getting some time alone, a patient in a hospital room, or the youngster at their local cafe, anyone and everyone can read to escape the current situations of life. As Edmundson put it, “They read to be diverted, assuaged, comforted, and tickled” (Edmundson 1). As much stress a book can bring to a college student in class, reading comes as a great chain of entertainment and escape. It gives the human being the super power to transport themselves somewhere
The world around us is constantly changing and technology has a lot of impact on the rapid changes. This is one of the reasons why it is hard to give a specific definition of the word literacy. Literacy can be broken down into two main subcategories: literate and illiterate. One of the main discussions with this is what qualifications or qualities separate someone who is literate from someone who is illiterate. Historians have been researching literacy for the past five decades and have been trying to come up with a fixed definition of the word. To me, literacy is a very complex word as the definition has evolved over time, but in the end it is how one excels in their discourse(s), which have changed throughout the years and helped create their
Literature has many purposes, and opens doors to unique worlds. Through Literature, we discover ourselves and world time and again.
“What is literacy?”, you may wonder. When the topic arises, it is traditionally associated with solely reading and writing. I believe it is much more than that. Two elements, along with reading and writing, are communication and the ability to listen. As children, we begin to listen to those around us and copy the words they say and how they say it. Speaking and listening are the foundations of learning. From our first steps to being taught the alphabet, we gather skills that will be with us our whole lives. As we grow older and advance in education, we go from speaking and listening to reading and eventually writing. When I think back at some of my very first memories, I notice that they involve reading and writing. Around the age of 3 or
What is literacy? Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. Now, as most would take the term with a grain of salt and think its importance is slim to none,
Literacy also took on several different forms. My first introduction to social media came in the way of AOL instant messenger and eventually Myspace. My introduction to social networking presented a new language where acronyms like LOL (laugh out loud) became common in my written communications with others. Around this time, I also began often writing both poetry and music, which was something I did as both a hobby and a stress reliever. Writing music was a way for me to tell stories similar to rappers like Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG, who were able to paint vivid and graphic stories through their lyrics. I listened to their music quite a bit and tried to write stories like
What is literacy, and who establishes it? In recent times, definitions of literacy were strictly centered around reading and writing, but nowadays these definitions are no longer sufficient and accurate in the modern society. Literacy is inevitably a combination of both cultural and communicative practices shared between people, particularly of similar groups. Literacy in present-day society is not strictly defined as the ability to read and write, but as a reflection of evolving skills needed to fully function within a society.