Redefining Writing in the Twenty-first Century:

1. Redefining Writing in the Twenty-first Century: What Does It Mean to Write?

2. Problem Statement: How we write has drastically changed in the past ten years, and the standard definition of what “writing” is no longer accurate. We need a new definition of what “writing” is and what kinds of communication it can/should include. We also need a new approach to teaching writing to include these new forms of communication that many of people now use on a daily basis. The purpose of this paper is to explore how writing has changed, what it means to write and to provide a new definition of what “writing” is. This project will also discuss ideas of how writing should be taught in the twenty-first century.

3. Background: This project includes social, professional, workplace and academic issues because all of these are tied together. How we write and what forms of communication we use affect us and our audiences in both professional workplace and academic settings, along with the many social interactions we all face every day.

4. Audiences: • Primary Audience: My primary audience will be everyday writers, and will include workplace professionals, students, and teachers. The age level will range from 18 and older, and the audience will be people who currently use many different methods of communication, such as instant messenger, texting and emailing in their everyday lives. • Secondary Audience: The secondary audience will be managers/bosses in the workplace, editors, and parents of students and while they will probably be reading this project in the similar contexts as the primary audience, they might have less positive responses to what they are reading. The project will have to have a positive tone and will have to show why a new definition and approach to writing will be beneficial to keep from alienating the secondary audience. • Tertiary Audience: As with the secondary audience, the tertiary audience will need to see the pros of changing something that is standard and will need to see that the benefits of changing how we write will be worth the change. A positive tone throughout the project along with examples and supporting research will help show these benefits and will help minimize any negative responses.

5. Primary Audience Analysis: • Reading level/Expertise level: The education level of the intended audience will be that of a high school graduate or above, and the expertise level will include those are familiar with the common uses of technology although no real experience is needed to understand the topic. • Circumstances/Context: Readers will be able read this in print or online. Since magazines can be read anywhere, there are many places where readers might be when they read this. They might have time to read through the whole article, might read only parts of it or could also just skim over it, reading sections that stand out. • Attitudes: There will be favorable attitudes, especially by those who are younger, but some might feel that it’s a negative to move away from traditional methods of teaching and the tradition definition of writing and will want to stick with the current standards. • Intended effect: The intended effect of this article is to give people something to think about and consider. I would also like people to realize that new forms of communication are just as important as our standard forms and that it is important to expand on the methods currently used to teach writing to include these.

6. Project Format: The project format will be an article written for a magazine, but I will follow the procedures used for a standard research paper as I research and write for this project.

7. Project Research: National Council of Teachers of English. National Council of Teachers of English, 1998-2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.ncte.org/press/21stcentwriting> This source will be useful because the National Council of Teachers of English has some valuable ideas on how writing should be should be defined in the twenty-first century. One quote that stood out on the NCTE website states: “Our schools and our nation need to recognize and validate the many ways we all are writing. We need to develop new models of writing, design a new curriculum supporting those models, and create models for teaching that curriculum.” These ideas fit into my thesis/topic and will help support a new definition of writing.

8. Hauck, Darren. “Linguists mixed on effects of text messaging.” USA Today. 14 Feb 2003. Web. 20 Jan 2012. < http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-02-14-messaging-linguists_x.htm> This article discusses the effects of text messaging on writing. I found this article helpful and think the quotes used in the article will be helpful for my project. This article looks at the down side of how technology is affecting writing: Is it for the better or is it harming writing standards because we’re letting our short cuts become current standards? One part of the article that stood out was the paragraph: “That worries American University linguistics professor Naomi Baron. Messaging is another example of an established trend in written communication. ‘So much of American society has become sloppy or laissez faire about the mechanics of writing," Baron said.’”

9. Schuessler, Jennifer. “The Muses of Insert, Delete and Execute.” The New York Times. 25 Dec 2011. Web. 21 Jan 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/books/a-literary-history-of-word-processing.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=technology%20on%20writing&st=cse&scp=6> This article discusses the effects technology has had on writing. It gives an idea of what writing was like before we had word processors and how different writing, even a few years ago, is from writing today. We’re able to compose, edit, preview and distribute much faster allowing for better access along with much quicker access, to more information. This article helps to answer the questions: If we’re surrounded by massive amounts of information, how should we write if we want to be effective writers?

10. Ferris, Sharmila Pixy. “Writing Electronically: The Effects of Computers on Traditional Writing.” Vol 8, Issue 2. Aug 2002. Web. 21 Jan 2012. <http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=jep;view=text;rgn=main;idno=3336451.0008.104> While this article is a few years older (2002), the writer includes some relevant discussions including “The Impact of Computers on Traditional Writing” and “Traditional Quality to Value.” It examines the various changes that computers (email, Internet, instant messaging, electronic information sources) have had on writing and provides a conclusion that will tie in well with my own conclusion.