Writing in the 21st Century

In this article Yancey gives us everything from history of writing to argument pertaining to how important that writing is in today's society.  Yancey begins by presenting the reader with three challenges that are also seen as opportunities.  She makes the point that in today's society people are writing in ways that they never have before.  The three challenges are: developing new models of writing; designing new curriculum supporting those models; and creating models for teaching that curriculum.  These all present unique challenges and opportunities for the potential of writing.  

In another one of Yancey's points she says that historically composers have chosen to write in spite of their cultures.  In the past writing has been seen as a way of rebellion because of irs richness in free thought of the individual who is writing the piece.  In addition to the act of writing sometimes being frowned upon, the writers themselves have at times been oppressed.  For example, women and African-Americans have typically been considered the "lesser" in our society.  This caused writing by either of these groups to be disregarded. 

Yancey's main argument is that writing as a whole has always been and will always be important to mankind.  Especially in a time like today where so many forms of writing are constantly available to people ad are constantly changing.  She shows that even throughput history the importance of writing has always maintained its precedence.  Historically, reading has been given a more likable approach than writing.  To me this is because of the fact that writing is an actual labor of composing your own original works where as reading is simply enjoying that of another person.  Reading always seems to be perceived as a happy and enjoyable thing whereas writing seems to be portrayed as dismal or as work. 

When people think of writing they typically think of school or work.  This to most people is not a pleasant thought.  I think this is because most people who have had education have spent most of their lives having countless writing topics, which usually have no personal meaning whatsoever, shoved down their throats as nothing more than a requirement to pass a class.  Personally, I find it much easier to write about a topic that interests me or that I posses any bit of knowledge on.  Having to write about something that seems to be completely irrelevant to my oe=wn life and exoeriences can become quite miserable.

None the less we are all required to be able to write in some form or fashion if we plan to make it very far in life.  Luckily we have things to base our writings on and systems to follow.  Process writing helps us to give our writings some sort of structure.  Although at times this can be a hassle for the lowly college student just trying to finish his paper to make the grade, structure really helps us understand what the piece is about and what the point of it is.

Because of a surge in technological development in the past several years, people have become writers in their own right.  Through the use of social media, e-mail, blogs and chat-rooms people have become "self-sponsored" writers.  This term refers to writers and their compositions that are not owned by any institution but are solely their own works for their own reasoning.  

Because we all are so involved in our own forms of writing this time has been referred to as the age of literacy and composition.  Literacy has been more deeply defined as not only the ability to read and write but the ability to read into and interpret everything that we encounter in text.  Composition has been defined as no longer the process of writing but as the creation and deep investment into a work of literature that is required to meet today's standards.

This article has defined literacy  much in the way that we have been discussing throughout this unit.  It defines literacy as not only the ability to read and write bu the ability to analyze and find the deeper meanings of a work.  

Focus On Facebook

As technology and communication continues to advance, communication is becoming easier every day with the development of social media.  The days of having to call friends to catch up on their day's activities are long gone.  Today, seeing your friends and family's latest picture, thought or even completely unnecessary complaint is simply a click away.  Social media is a wonderful way to keep up with friends whether they live hundreds of miles away or you see them every day but it can easily get people in trouble.

Personally I have several social media accounts.  Facebook has become simply a formality so that I continue to be "friends" with parents, family and grandparents.  I most frequently use Twitter and Instagram.  Twitter is a place that is typically uninhabited by parents so people tend to speak more freely and post some things that may otherwise be considered questionable.  Instagram is strictly for photographs.  Whether its the typical Starbucks coffee of the day for girls or, in my case, a football tailgate picture or the latest catch fresh from the river, Instagram is a way to share your life in pictures.

Some people seem to post more freely or without as much of a filter.  Personally I'm not the type to jump on the internet and shoot off about my latest issues or arguments with people but that seems to be the norm with many social media users.  As a more reserved and conservative person I tend to keep things off the internet and stick to sharing things that I think people would actually enjoy seeing.  My Instagram and Twitter posts frequently include the latest bass, catfish or dove harvest and the most recent of tailgate party pictures.  I feel like my profiles represent me very well because I stay true to my morals.  I don't post anything that I wouldn't be comfortable saying directly to my grandmother.  Being a young man that loves and respects his grandmother, my posts tend to stay pretty mild. 

The use of social media has been both good and bad for Americans.  It has been a great tool to help people reunite and keep up with people they care about but has also caused problems by giving people a place to openly express themselves but still giving them something to hide behind.  With that said the internet and social media are like many other things, they should be respected.  People should know that anything they say can and will be used for or against them and having it in writing on the internet can make them be very respected or ruin their reputation all together.

The Interpretive Leap

The concept of the "Interpretive Leap" gives the reader, or in our case the listener, a chance to really dig deep into what the piece means to them.  In Bob Seger's "Like a Rock," he sings about his days as a young man coming into his own.  He talks about hos he was strong both physically and in his ideals as a young American.  He tells the listener that he stood straight in his morals and that he still believed in his dreams.  I believe that Seger's reminiscence of this time in his life shows that he may not have realized it at the time but he sees his youth as a time when he was truly in his prime.  Toward the end of the song he sings about how he wonders sometimes where those days went.  This implies that as he aged, he may not have stood for his values as he should have.  Also, this shows that he knows now that the days of being a young, strong man may have been his best days.  He recalls how much he enjoyed that time in his life and sees where he is now and wonders what happened to the young, strong man that he was twenty years ago.  The "Interpretive Leap" is extremely important to the analysis of a piece because it helps the interpreter take that extra "leap" to truly understand what the piece is intended to mean.  

The Method used on Crossfire

After watching the segment of "Crossfire" again, it was apparent that the two men from the show were not expecting Jon Stewart to be as serious or present such stringent questions about the true purpose of their show.   He came prepared to tell them what he honestly thought about the show and what could be done to improve it.  The men were caught off guard by his hard hitting questions which caused them to become defensive.  This caused the segment to turn into a sort of "my show is better than your show" fight.  Stewart seemed to maintain his composure while the Crossfire men became upset which he pointed out to them was a flaw of the show. 

 Jon Stewart repeatedly states that if the show were actually what it was portrayed as, it would be a very good show.  Stewart, being the comedian that he is, tries to ask the Crossfire men why they always have to fight.  This being the concept of the show is obviously is non-negotiable.  After they were hit with such serious questions the men proceeded to attempt to turn the questions around on Stewart.  They tried to make it seem like their shows were more similar than they were.  The Daily Show, although of political and news nature, is a comedy based program that really is not meant to be a debate show.  Crossfire, however, is described as a show where two sides of an argument can be argued evenly without bias and is shown on a more serious network with more serious topics.

The Crossfire men did not seem to grasp the fact that their show was supposed to be "real news" while The Daily Show was comedy.  Jon Stewart frequently reminded the men of the fact that his show was not meant to be anything but comedy.  Despite his explanation of the show,  the Crossfire men continued to criticize him for not asking tough enough questions whenever he has a politician or someone from the news on his show.

Stewart gives some very tough questions and statements to the men throughout this segment.  He says "Crossfire does not uphold their responsibilities," by holding debates that are even for both sides and that Crossfire "fails as real news."  Jon Stewart seems very genuine in saying that America needs a show like Crossfire because the media forces politicians to say what they think the people want to hear.  If Crossfire had actually done what they said they were intended to do, it could be a place for even debate over important topics where people could give their real opinions on issues rather than what the media wanted to hear.

After watching this segment and using "The Method" and "Notice and Focus" to analyze it, it is easy to pick out the important points of both arguments to see what the overall purpose of the debate is.  It is important to use these tools to analyze any piece that must be broken down.  It helps bring out the high points and show the most important things that are the main topics.  These tools can be used to effectively analyze anything. 

My High School Writing Process

As a high school student I always tried to focus on my school work as much as possible.  Whenever I was assigned an essay I knew that planning and research were vital parts of the writing process but personally, I found it easier just to sit down with my computer and begin writing.  Brainstorming ideas was always more effective if I could begin putting my ideas down as soon as they came to me.  Getting started has always been my largest challenge in writing.

When choosing topics I always found it easier to work if I was interested in what I was writing.  This helped me to gain knowledge of something I was interested in which enabled me to produce a quality product.  When it came to working environment I generally enjoyed having background music, preferably country.  This made me more relaxed and able to focus on the task at hand.  During High School I was very active outside of school.  If it was sunny outside I could not stand to be in.  From duck and deer hunting in the winter time to fishing during the warmer months, there were plenty of distractions from homework.  Because of this I had to force myself to stay in and do my work which usually meant doing it during spare time at school or at night after I got home from doing various after school activities.

Whenever I wrote anything I knew that it was important to utilize my resources for assistance and proofreading.  My mother was always a valuable asset for proofreading along with many of my teachers who offered assistance in subjects other than those that they taught.  During my writing process I typically found it sufficient to go through two drafts before turning in the final.  I would write the original draft then revise, edit and correct mistakes in it and then rewrite the piece before doing the previous once more.  After making sure that everything had been completed and the work was how I wanted it, I was able to complete the final draft to be turned in.   

During High School writing was an important part of my literature classes.  This helped me to realize the importance of writing in everyday life and also in Business which is my chosen field of study.  I learned that it was vital to know how I could be successful in my writing.  Knowing things like my preferred writing environment and when I could be most focused and prepared to write helped me to be able to produce a quality product in the end.