A major reason why writing skills of high school students, college students, and recent graduates are not strong is that they have grown up using methods of written communication that value immediacy of expression over accuracy of expression: message boards, emails, instant messaging, and the like. Rules of punctuation, capitilization, and grammar are often not observed when immediacy is the goal. These rules can become forgotten when not applied, or perhaps even never learned completely. When I write on this message board, I try to give some thought to what I'm saying, but I don't labor over it the way I labor over a legal brief I'm sending to a court. And that's the problem. Young writers today not only don't labor over what they write, they've never been taught to labor over what they write. -- Fordham Rams Basketball Message Board

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Date Posted: Wed March 16, 2005 11:12:12
Author: JoltinJoe
Subject: A major reason why writing skills of high school students, college students, and recent graduates are not strong is that they have grown up using methods of written communication that value immediacy of expression over accuracy of expression: message boards, emails, instant messaging, and the like. Rules of punctuation, capitilization, and grammar are often not observed when immediacy is the goal. These rules can become forgotten when not applied, or perhaps even never learned completely. When I write on this message board, I try to give some thought to what I'm saying, but I don't labor over it the way I labor over a legal brief I'm sending to a court. And that's the problem. Young writers today not only don't labor over what they write, they've never been taught to labor over what they write.
In reply to: DamnRam 's message, "Every opinion is by definition a bias but that doesn't mean the opinion is incorrect. It is quite possible that those Ram staff alumni from the 70's and 80's are not only correct, but in a very good position to make that determination. It's an open secret amongst those in higher education that there is rampant grade inflation at the high school level, and that many students are coming into colleges unprepared for what faces them (poor writing and research skills, for example). And yes, this includes students from supposedly prestigious prep schools and elite public schools, and it's being felt at even the nation's top schools. There are many reasons for this beyond the scope of this discussion but it is reasonable to conclude Fordham is not immune from the problem. In fact, I've even seen the problem firsthand in the admissions interviews I've done." on Wed March 16, 2005 10:02:14

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See, I proved my own point. "Capitalization" is the correct spelling. (NT) -- JoltinJoe, Wed March 16, 2005 11:31:33
- Very insightful post and I agree completely on how technology is eroding standards for communication discipline. I think there are also societal factors at work as well, such as the pressure put on teachers and schools by parents to not do anything which would make it harder for their kids to get into a good college, and the very polarized climate where truth is judged through strictly ideological lenses. (NT) -- DamnRam, Wed March 16, 2005 12:00:17

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