Here is your blog topic for Unit 5. Responses are due by Friday, November 19, 2010.
For this week's blog, we want to compile your opinions on academic (formal) writing at the post-secondary level. Choose a particular focus to incite a discussion using personal observations and experience. By reading the article below, you should be able to develop a framework for your discussion. Feel free to use bulleted questions as a guide to your response but be sure to expand on them in paragraph form. The site is:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2009/02/c2005.html
Be sure to address most of the following questions in your response:
Is proficiency in writing a valuable skill?
What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of formal writing?
Do you find academic writing difficult to understand? Why or why not?
Is a society of good writers essential or non-essential to a thriving economy?
Do you feel that academic writing is part of an elitist attitude at the post-secondary level?
For this week's blog, we want to compile your opinions on academic (formal) writing at the post-secondary level. Choose a particular focus to incite a discussion using personal observations and experience. By reading the article below, you should be able to develop a framework for your discussion. Feel free to use bulleted questions as a guide to your response but be sure to expand on them in paragraph form. The site is:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2009/02/c2005.html
Be sure to address most of the following questions in your response:
Is proficiency in writing a valuable skill?
What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of formal writing?
Do you find academic writing difficult to understand? Why or why not?
Is a society of good writers essential or non-essential to a thriving economy?
Do you feel that academic writing is part of an elitist attitude at the post-secondary level?
Writing proficiency is an important is a valuable skill to a certain degree. Being able to write your thoughts in an organized manner with minimal spelling and grammar errors is sufficient for the average person. Formal writing is necessary for post-secondary school students but is overkill for the general population. The majority of academic writing that I have read was very difficult to understand and felt like narcissistic verbal diarrhea. Complex words and terminology seemed to be included at every possible opportunity, which made lose interest in the writing almost immediately.
ReplyDeleteHaving a society of good writers and having a literate society are two separate things. Yes, barely understanding the English language is problematic for people living in our country. However, being unable to write a formal journal article will only affect a small number of people in post-secondary school. A friend of mine has to perform frequent conflict resolution for his job. He is an intelligent and logical person with excellent problem-solving skills. His writing on the other hand usually contains a fair amount of spelling and grammar errors. Formal writing skills are not necessary for a thriving economy. Academic writing is only essential for the elite groups at the post-secondary level.