Drumhelller1 Samantha Drumheller Bud Kanyo English 111.

P14 04 November 2013 The Written Word Everyone has one thing in common in this world and that is communicating. There are so many ways to communicate but one way or another we all do it. One of the most common ways to communicate is writing. Many fear that written words are fading. Not only has books started to decline but a large number of people are starting to short hand their words. Short hand writing not only harms communication but also learning. Kids learn to spell in school starting in kindergarten. Spelling is a key factor in communicating weather it is to talk to a family member or to a coworker. The medium that a composer uses to deliver her message affects every aspect of the contents of a message (Melzer and Coxwell-Teague 16). How is that message going to get delivered if no one knows how to read it? People have lived in the fast passed world for so long that now they are even rushing there words and no longer spelling them out. Technology has helped that happen. Teachers have worked so hard to teach their students how to spell and make sure that when they write to someone they are understood. Just like everything else spelling takes practice and need to be used all the time but it seems like overnight web sites like Facebook have changed all of that. Anderson says, For most sites there is a minimal vocabulary that you have

to be familiar with (Anderson 270). Short hand writing is the new normal for most thanks to web sites like Facebook. Now students who short hand write are so used to it that if they were asked to write a paper for their teacher they would fail due to not being able to spell out there words and express themselves clearly. We use words to understand, describe, and define the world as we see it (Sturken and Cartwright 245). If no one understands one another then how can anyone see the world through the other persons eyes? People learning to express themselves to each other has helped get this world to where it is today so to put a kink in that process can not only slow down the growth but harm bringing people together. Web sites like Facebook are not what needs to be blamed for so many students getting a set back on their written literacy it is the fast pace of the world. If people would use Facebook for the great potential that it could be it really could be used to help students learn. The biggest difference between digital and print literacy is that digital literacy allows for widespread and instantaneous distribution as we compose (Anderson 267). In other words web sites could be used just like schools use Moodle. A great tool that uses our writing skills that has been hammered into us sense the first time we all went to school and the ability to get help with whatever we might need help with. They explain it so much better Genres such as the online petition or the social networking web sites (such as Facebook) are new forms that have evolved as useful ways of communicatingnew genres of communicating (Melzer and Coxwell-Teague 4). The sad part is people do not use these web sites to better themselves or their written word. Almost all of them short hand their writing in the hopes to do everything faster. Harming their memory of how to spell and harming their ability to communicate effectively. Just like everything else writing has rules or goals. In writing the goal is to get your point a crossed but sadly this doesnt always happen for one of two reasons. One reason is the way

things are worded can hurt how people take what they read wrong. The second reason is a simply the writer could not spell and from the lack of spelling the reader could not read what was written. This process takes place through systems of representation, such as language and visual media, that have rules and conventions about how they are organized (Sturken and Cartwright 245). How long can people push these rules before it really starts to harm our students and our communitys? The written word has gotten the world far over the years. Writing might be with letters or symbols depending on the place people live in the world but it can always be translated for someone else to read. Using the new technology that has become wide spread will help the world go even farther but people still need to write out there words instead of short hand writing to make that possible. Teachers have it right by helping us all learn to spell.

Drumhelller 4 Works Cited Anderson, Dustin. Surfing, Searching and Social Networking: Redefining Digital Literacy with Facebook and Wikipedia. Everythings a Text: Reading composition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2011. 266-273. Print. Melzer, Dan, and Deborah Coxwell-Teague. Everythings a text: Reading for Composition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2011. Print. Sturken, Marita, and Cartwright, Lisa. Excerpts from Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. Everythings a Text: Reading for Composition. New York: Pearson Longman., 2011. 244-250. Print.