Lost Generation of Writers

The real world’s standards are constantly evolving, growing ever more demanding on the public education system, yet despite this the primary indicator used for the success of the public education system is the high school graduation rate. The high school graduation rate is a deeply flawed statistic conceived many decades ago and hasn’t changed at all, failing to encompass better and broader definitions for public education system success. However, the focus on critical writing skills at New Dorp High School had the effect of dramatically increasing the school’s graduation rate from 63 percent before the “writing revolution” to 80 percent (Tyre). At face value the increase is a tremendous success, but just because a student can graduation high school does not mean they have the technical skills to prepare them for college or the workforce. A list of the fastest growing occupations in the United States provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics mostly includes jobs from the medical field or occupations that require

Instead of focusing on the different types of writing styles they will encounter in college and the workforce, most of the writing instruction students receive in their underclassman English courses at Carrizo Springs High School is primarily focused on preparation for the English Language Arts Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Written Composition test, which has standards that are different than the outcomes they will be expected to accomplish in their dual credit English class and future college writing courses. Therefore, there must be a method implemented at Carrizo Springs High School and Southwest Texas Junior College to help students become more successful in dual credit English before they even step foot in that class. Students must understand that how they perform in that class will have an effect on their

On the evening of Thursday July 23, 2015 I conducted an interview of Alex Benavides- a senior mechanical engineering major at Oklahoma State University. Benavides describes his experiences in his english courses as enjoyable, and notes that it helped him become a better writer. Benavides also states, that from personal experience during summer internships, that there are ineffective writers in positions where clean, flowing, and proper writing is a necessity. Proper grammar is essential in professional writing situations, according to Benavides, and is also often the first area critiqued by professors and teaching assistants. “You only get out what you put in when you write”, says Benavides, “be serious and grind, it makes the difference”.

Undergraduate programs in recent years have become more and more specialized and there is a lack of diversity in the writing styles taught in writing classes. This has led to students being less prepared to enter the workplace and less qualified than the people who know the writing style of the specific job.

Coming into this class, I wasn't sure what to expect. Of course,I expected to be writing a lot but was unsure of the type of writing and the style. I was looking forward to writing challenging pieces that stretching me creatively as a writer. I wanted to explore how to express myself in my writing because it had been a long time since I'd written a creative essay. One of my main hopes for this class was challenging myself to become a better editor of my own papers. I often find it a tedious and laborious process to find and edit the grammatical errors in my papers. However, this is an important skill that I need to develop for my future as a successful writer.

In order to provide students with the best education and future possible, writing in schools needs to be focused on more in depth. Everyone needs to have a basic understanding of grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and other writing aspects. This is so they can communicate correctly when they get a job in the future and be confident in their writing and communication skills. If someone is not comfortable speaking and/or writing to communicate with others, they are not going to be willing to go out of their comfort zone when they have to communicate with others. With this being said, teachers and schools need to take larger steps to ensure that their students are receiving the proper writing skills needed to be successful in the near future.

I chose to do this assignment on Ashford Writing Resources because writing, or grammar, is one of my weaknesses, as I am sure you have discovered! Not having a problem “painting a picture” with words, I do however have a problem with sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation. I personally plan on using this resource every step of the way!

Harper’s concurrent grammar class had any hope of writing the research paper with any amount of ease. Every member of the junior class knew of an upperclassman who had received scores in the negative thousands on their rough drafts. Being a completive soul, I knew that I would be able to use the knowledge gleaned from the elective grammar class to fix any problems that may arise in my upcoming research paper.

The book How to Not Write Bad: The Most Common Writing Problems and the Best Ways to Avoid Them, by Ben Yagoda, focuses on teaching readers how to eliminate errors in their writing. To engage the readers, the author uses examples from his own students’ writing. By showing other students’ mistakes, Yagoda creates a mood of reassurance for the readers and tells his audience that everyone can make grammatical errors. This allows him to easily touch on a range of areas with an attentive audience. The topics are diverse with interesting topic titles, which help spark the reader’s interest. For example, Yagoda titles the section “,” rather than spelling “comma” in Punctuation (40). Using the punctuation symbol instead of the name is unusual and therefore

High school students usually overestimate their college-readiness, particularly in terms of writing. An advisory committee of the National Writing Project

English is such a crucial learning point in our children’s lives, as no matter what career choice students’ take being able to write efficiently and professionally will be important in improving their life. It opens more opportunities for students to further not only their future professional lives, but their personal lives as well. I am very passionate about English and all that entails. I want to instill the importance of not only correct grammar and sentence structure, but also introduce the

The ability to diagram a sentence does not make a good writer. There are many students capable of identifying every part of speech who are barely able to produce a piece of prose.” (College Entrance, 2003 p. 16). Grammar and writing are not one in the same, and the previous statement tells me that writing instruction needs improvement in today’s classrooms. I firmly believe time is of most importance when it comes to good writing. It’s crucial that appropriate time is carved out of every day for writing. I think it’s important to make writing cross-curricular; this can be very time consuming, but allowing students to see the value of writing in every subject will be beneficial to their future. During designated writing time, I want to incorporate all five of the developmental stages of the writing process. When a student can pre-write, write, revise, edit and publish their work, they are building a strong foundation of their writing

Writing is something that most people will encounter every day, whether they are composing a personal email or typing a professional resume. In a time when “text talk” is something that we have grown accustomed to, it can be ease to allow our writing skills to suffer. While being a good writer is important in school, these same skills can help you to advance in your career as well (Bethel University, 2014). Throughout Unit 2 we not only learned the benefits of being a good writer, but we were also given tips to help ensure we become the best writers we can be. By teaching the kids I work with basic rules of writing, I hope to give them confidence in their writing. Also, teaching the kids to speak properly will not only improve their

During the Alumni Panel: Writing Across the Professions I learned how writing is a critical part to any job because it is an important skill that many people do not thrive in. Mostly everyone on the panel went onto work in the business world after attending Loyola. All of the panelists shared the same sort of story. They loved to write but they could not find a job that would allow them to do what they had majored in during university. After graduation many of them felt lost but the did not realize how valuable this unique skill set was and they also did not expect employers to see this as a beneficial asset to their company. When companies write proposals or when they draft up contracts they are not the most proficient person for the job.

This case study focused on one component of the program: the process of teaching and assessing business writing for the MBA program. Furthermore, they also offered ideas for helping the students who struggled with weak writing skills. The literature on business writing courses is limited, of the 32 programs studied, 18 had required communication classes, and only four had writing proficiency requirements. The