by Basel Varsally

Created on: March 14, 2009   Last Updated: March 24, 2009

The written word has been used since it was first shaped in clay tablets 6,000 years ago. Written text will certainly survive as a communication medium because we use it to the extent that it would mean sometimes life or death.

I believe forgetting about written text is a terrible thing. There are reasons for this:

1) You finally became a parent of a beautiful child, your child grows up to be ready for the first time to spend in school. Does your child know how to operate a complex machine like a computer? That's a maybe but what if he/she grows up not being able to know how to write at all? If he/she is asked to fill out a form (written text) for a job, how will he/she know how to fill out? Certainly the person will not get the job.

Today as a society, we are advancing in technology faster as days pass by. Computers for the most part will always take place for 98% of our lives. Unlike the past, PCs give you the abilities to type instead of write, which makes it easier for you create documents faster and make them look colorful or stylish. However, we depend too much on them.

Go anywhere in America and I am certain you will begin to observe that some people can speak but don't know how to write or have forgotten to write.

A second reason why written text is so helpful at times is its simplicity. Using a device for communication for "writing" is also helpful but technology has its down side. On the other hand, you pick up a paper and pen and start putting down words and take your time to write a letter or story or whatever.

A third reason is its available anywhere. What this means is you can take or make something into a writing utensil and even start to carve words out. Written text doesn't just mean pencil and paper. Sometimes in the movies, the protagonist is stuck in an island where there is nothing like computers or voice recorders or pens or papers. He/she has to find a way to make a message of words in the sand large enough for someone with help to notice it.

A fourth reason why written text is so helpful is planning. Certainly you can't picture an entire essay in your head. You have to plan it out first. This is where writing becomes helpful. You can see that writing has been in use for as long as humans existed. The cave painting you see done by prehistoric early man are all part of writing. Writing is so expressive. It can come in Logo-grams, syllabaries and alphabet (Alphabet is the most common one today).

I truly believe that this type of communication has

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