Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Why do most high school students start writing poorly?


Abstract:

Until very recently, most high school students could easily engage in writing quite comfortably and relatively well. They had to write stories, letters, articles, essays and reports, but they didn't seem to have any problem with the writing skills although they were short of resources and references. Yet, now that information and resources are abundant, available and easily accessible, the majority of students today have difficulty handling a normal basic one-paragraph composition. Most teachers report that technology has damaged a lot of the learners’ writing skills and it has suffocated any willingness in them to even hear about formal writing.

       Is technology alone the real reason why most students today shun writing the maximum? No doubt, writing is a true scary experience for most learners; the proof is that they don’t like to hear about it, and when they have to do it, they do it very poorly; and this is due to several other diverse causes apart from the familiar complex nature of writing. There is unmistakable evidence that technological devices have a lot to do with this decline. In fact, they contribute greatly in transforming the teens’ communication means and styles. Let’s say simply that it is maybe a warped ramp in the culture of this generation.

This paper will try to make it clear that this deterioration in writing skills is not only the students’ fault, neither is it connected to technology alone. There are other exterior factors behind this awkward situation. The paper will also try to explore, objectively, the causes behind this frightening mediocrity of the learners’ writings. It will also try to suggest remedies to help students cease producing those “junk” writings believing that what they write is good enough as far as there are piles of words and signs on the paper as most of them could no longer hand in a legible paper.

Thinking of remedial classes as a solution is absolutely a good idea; however, we have first to fetch for the pests behind this attitude towards writing, and then manage an efficacious curative process to root those pests out, and pave the way for the learners to get aware of the importance of these crucial skills for their future life. I bet this idea would almost be absurd in the information and communication technology era in which computers and smart phones have deeply distorted our students’ views of writing.


Key Words
Writing, skills, genres, reading, textbook, lingo, topical, essays, code switching, technology, curricula, jargon, texting, chatting, slang, abbreviations, acronyms,  emoticon, smiley, copy-paste, copyright, 


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