Final Project

John Moug

English 101.002

Ms. Angela Kennedy

December 10, 2010

Literacy and its Affect

I have developed as a writer immensely throughout my time in this class. I have

extensively pushed myself to acquire the fundamentals that will require me to become a stronger

and more enhanced writer. Many things have helped me acquire these fundamentals. I have been

reading everything that I can get my hands on. Reading other materials and learning about up to

date world problems and crisis have really helped me stay in the loop of the literacy in the world

today. Knowledge of key events and social problems with our society today really help me create

strong arguments for my papers that I have worked so hard on this semester. I have a very unique

writing style. I love to write about things that are important to me, and when I get on a role with

my writing, I become very passionate about my view on the subject. Using metaphors and other

catchy literal devices help me keep my papers entertaining, and that in turn gives the reader a

different perspective on the matter. I try to keep my writing to the point, and that’s why

sometimes in this class, my papers have dragged on. Having a length requirement for a project is

not something that I do not enjoy dealing with. Having this requirement results in me focussing

so much on length, that I do not develop strong enough arguments to get my entire point across.

Being able to write without having to worry the length of my paper really helps me relax and that

results in me creating a well thought out paper.

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Having a good place that I feel that I can focus without distractions is key for my when I

am creating a paper. Every writer has their sanctuary where they feel comfortable to express their

creative ideas onto their eight by eleven inch paper. Everyone has a different time and place

where they do their best writing. For me, I go up to the top floor of the library where no one

goes. As soon as I get the fresh sheet of paper on Microsoft Word and plug my ears with my

headphones, I am ready to write. If I am not able to listen to music as I write, I feel as though I

cannot get into a rhythm with my writing. Getting into a rhythm is very important to me because

I sometimes get off topic when I take my eyes off my paper. When I was taking my finals in high

school, the students were not allowed to listen to music when writing their essays. I found this

very difficult because I have been using music to help me get through my writing since I was in

my elementary days. Having a place where you feel comfortable to share your ideas onto paper

is probably the most important thing when it comes to getting prepared for writing an

assignment.

My writing style is very simple. I do not try to wow the reader by using words that are

never used in regular day life. I try to write as though I have saying it to the person I am writing

it for. In this case, I am writing this to Professor Kennedy. I feel as though if you pretend you are

just talking when you are writing your papers, it makes it more enjoyable for the reader because

it gets them more involved and on their toes. When I am creating my arguments, I research both

sides I can take, and I take the side that I feel is right. Writing about things you are not passionate

for, never results in a well written paper. If I do not care for the subject I am writing about, the
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reader will know it. Having all the materials needed to create my paper before I begin is very

important for my writing style. I begin all my papers by writing my thesis statement before

anything. This helps me divide what I am going to talk about in each paragraph. Having a stellar

thesis statement also helps me with my conclusion. I believe that a really good and thoughtful

conclusion can save an average paper. Most students when they are writing their conclusion

breeze through because they can see the finish line. The conclusion is the most important part of

the paper, and that is why I spend the majority of my time on it.

The last and most important step I take when I have writing my papers is the revision

section of it. If a paper is unrevised, it looks very sloppy. When I revise my papers, I read it

aloud and that helps me get the idea on how the reader will portray it. Many people think that

revising simply means clicking the spell check button on the computer but it is so much more

than that. The last thing that revising is meant for is punctuality. To me, it is meant to add on to

my paper and develop my arguments more extensively. Personally, I struggle with “run on”

sentences. That’s why revising is so important because I can go through my sentences and

change them to make them shorter and more to the point without going on a rant. Before I began

this class, I used to think that revising was not very important, but being in this class has helped

me realize that it is a crucial step for writing papers.

The term literacy is a very broad term. It can be applied to many different things, not

just English. There are three key areas of literacy. One is “Prose literacy” this is the ability to
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read and comprehend documents with continuous text, such as instructions and newspaper

articles. The Second one is “Document literacy” this is the ability to read and understand

documents without continuous text, such as maps, job applications and transportation schedules.

The last one is “Quantitative literacy” this is the ability to perform calculations, such as

reviewing taxes or balancing a bills and check books.

To be completely honest, before I began this semester, I was not familiar with the term

“Literacy”. Now that I understand the meaning of it, the world has opened up to me. Literacy is

so much more than reading and writing. It is involved with everyday life, and I see it and

embrace it throughout my daily routine. Ever since I learned about literacy, I read everything I

can get my hands on. I see literacy in places I never realized was there.

Literacy has a tremendous effect on our world. Without it, nothing would function.

Individuals would not be able to communicate with each other. No one would be able to learn

anything about the world without experiencing it. People take literacy for granted. Way back in

the days of Christopher Columbus sailing across the Atlantic Technology is the most important

part of literacy these days. Without the technology aspect of literacy, this world would go into

chaos. So many businesses are fully dependent on connecting online. They use email to

communicate all their ideas to their employees and customers. These days, companies have

conference calls with people in multiple countries at the same time. This kind of innovation just
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makes me curious with just how far technology will take us. With more well educated people

each year, every single aspect of society may one day be all wireless and online.

Technology has opened so many different doors for me throughout my everyday life and

even my education. I cannot remember the last time I went and knocked on some ones door so

communicate with them. Technology has innovated so much that I can do every single thing on

my cellular phone. I can access the internet, my email, listen to music, shop, and of course use it

as a regular cell phone. I believe that I have become way to dependant on technology and I feel

as though it has damaged my people skills. The youth of today is smothered by technology and it

one day may come back to hurt them. In the business world, individuals need to have developed

people skills in order to land a job and keep it. With instant messaging making a huge impact on

the world today, people have begun to get lazy and start using slang. Slowly, society is beginning

to accept these slang phrases and words. I believe the business world is in danger. This

generation of children may not be able to handle running factories, or create new literature or

even raise their children.

Today, the way children are brought up and taught, they will use many different sorts of

technology such as the internet, and cell phones. More and more times you see little kids who

look like they are around ten years old walking down the street texting on a cell phone. Another

thing that is becoming more and more popular is face book and msn messenger. The reason

children are developing these bad writing habits is because of these sources of technology. Using
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terms like “lol” or “idk” or “brb” these different abbreviations lead to laziness and bad writing

habits. The most important time for our writing is at the beginning when we are just in the

process of learning. The basics and the fundamentals are most important and at the start when we

learn these good habits is a vital time. With younger children developing these bad habits it does

not help their future writing skills. This is why I believe we see the level of writing strong skills

and abilities decreasing every year.

Although technology has led to some negative conflicts in society, it has also lead to

some very positive things too. With the world constantly becoming more environmentally aware.

Technology has been the frontrunner in helping this world become a more environmentally

friendly and greener place. Thanks to technology, this world has reduced its dependence on

paper. One business that has changed significantly because of innovation is the newspaper

business. Newspapers are now available online and people have been taking advantage of this

great resource. It`s weird to think that I almost finished this English class, and I have yet to have

used a piece of paper. This is just one small example of how the progress of technology results in

new ways for the world to become more environmentally cautious.

I am constantly writing through my daily routine. My writing many comes from using

my laptop to instant message my friends back at home. I enjoy my personal writing. I keep a

journal that I express all my problems and feelings on and by keeping this journal, it has helped

me release my thoughts. When I do produce these journals, I try my best to stay formal. I almost

write them thinking that someone is going to read them. I tend to do most of personal writing at
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nights when I am not up to anything. Since I am not very interested in watching television, I try

my best to develop my writing skills via my journals.

I find that there is a huge difference between my person writing and the writing that I

do for English class. When I am for my personal enjoyment, I tend to not care as much about the

punctuality of it and I focus more on the attention to detail. Also I have found that my arguments

for my personal writing are stronger because I always have passion for the subject I am writing

about. When I develop my arguments, I use things are related to my everyday life, and because

of this, I have a lot more knowledge on the matter. Creating a paper for English class takes a lot

of planning and even more discipline. It is easy for me to just spill everything I know about the

subject and take the side of the argument that I agree with but it takes more than just that. When I

write for English class, I like to take the time to establish both sides of the argument, and in my

paper, I make sure that I introduce both sides of the matter. I tend to struggle with writing on

things that I am not particularly interested in. I try my best to educate myself as much as I can in

an attempt to become more motivated.

I believe that since I have been in this class, my writing skills have developed in a very

positive way. I have become way more discipline on how I carry out my writing. I have learned

many things from this class, and one of those things includes where I actually produce my

writing. I have learned that it is best to write somewhere where I am free from distractions.

Revision is another thing that because of this class, I have realized is an essential part of the

writing process. Overall my writing process has changed very much throughout my student life.
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At first it was all done by pen and paper, but now that the technological aspect of literacy has

been booming, everything I do is tech based. I use literacy every day and it is around me all the

time without me realizing it. It is such an important part of society and society would not

function without it.

These three photos show the three different forms of literacy. The picture of the individual

reading shows “Prose Literacy”. This is the ability to read and interpret continuous text. The

photo of an individual calculating taxes exhibits “Quantitative Literacy”. Lastly, the photo on the

far right displays a person interpreting a map by using “Document Literacy”. All three of these

forms are used in our everyday life.