2 of 13

Write now Article Tools

I have a precious piece of history I keep tucked away in a silken little box, it is a letter. I take it out and look upon it every now and again, careful not to damage the decades old paper. I am enraptured by the beauty and attention paid to each stroke of each letter. I am in awe of the thought and the care put into the choosing of every word, each flowing into the next as though they were always meant to be one. It is a simple letter yet so much more; it was written in a time when words were used with pride and given a place of honor and prestige in the world. There is magic woven throughout the beautiful tapestry of the words.

As a writer I respect the written word. I am quite careful to properly use it. Spelling, grammar and punctuation seem to be fading, no longer important in the age of the Internet. Internet shorthand has become the norm for many, time is of the essence in today's world and unfortunately, it seems to be creating ignorance and laziness when it comes to the ways things once were in regards to the written word. Yes, efficiency is essential but at what price? What of words? Should they fall to the wayside giving way to acronyms and simplistic shortcuts?

It is my job to critique and edit many written works and I am finding many writers, that is what they are calling themselves, are sending me not only creative works, but articles and essays with little to no punctuation, with words chopped into pieces. They appear to have a non-existent grasp on grammar. The rules have seemingly changed. I have read entire stories not containing even one capitalized letter. Before you submit an assignment or an article and expect an editor to give it more than a passing glance, it needs to be written correctly and with care.

Recently, I found my youngest son copying and pasting the definitions to his vocabulary words. When I read the assignment sheet, I was shocked to find this was the instructed method given. It was disheartening to say the least. Teachers are accepting what should be considered substandard work from their students.

How are they to learn if they are not held accountable? If they are indeed being taught the basics in schools, why are they not expected to utilize what they have learned? High school students are graduating with the handwriting of grade school children simply because they were allowed to type their assignments as opposed to writing them. I am quite thankful computers were not around when I was in school to be honest. One may argue

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Are we losing our written language skills??
We want to hear your view. Write now!