The Decline of Students Writing Skills Causes and Outcomes

The Decline of Students Writing Skills Causes and Outcomes The Decline of Students’ Writing Skills: Causes and Outcomes Writing is still the most common form of evaluating students’ achievements. You must write term papers, coursework, theses, and dissertations to prove that the teachers effort did not go to waste, and that you can acquire knowledge on your own. But something did go to waste, as more and more teachers begin to realize that they spend more time fixing grammar mistakes than focusing on the information related to topic of the work. So, what happened? If the problem keeps getting worse, maybe it’s high time to get to the bottom of it and find out the reasons for weak writing skills. Statistics on Student Writing Skills Numerous studies have been taken involving writing skills of grade-school to college age students. Annual reports from the National Center for Education Statistics show that the SAT mean scores in writing have dropped from 497 to 484 in 9 years (2006 – 2015). It’s already bad that the score is decreasing, but it also never stayed the same two years in a row during this period. Therefore, we can assume that the SAT result in writing will continue to decrease at the same rate. The same statistics show that SAT reading scores have also decreased in the same way. This also contributes to poor writing skills, particularly where analyzing and synthesizing sources is required. Causes of Students Poor Writing Skills Many teachers think that the main reason for poor writing is social media. Student paper writing seems to have shrunk to 140 characters in Twitter. But if you think about it, shouldnt these 140 characters teach young people how to express their thoughts concisely? Maybe the problem is not in the communication services that they use, but rather because they were never taught how to think and write properly. Actually, the basis of the problem lies in the limited skill set students get from secondary and high school education. They were not taught what they are required straight after entering college. Most of the time, high school students dont get to do anything more than argue an opinion in their essays. Analyzing and synthesizing information are neglected. Another point to consider is that more and more students are becoming reticent about sharing something personal, including their point of view on an essay topic. Possible Outcomes and Solutions Poor writing skills influence both employers and their prospective employees. Employers waste hundreds of dollars on training; that is, when they can attract applicants. If you’ve ever searched the job market, you’ve seen the error-filled job descriptions. Those vacancies are certainly not too appealing. On the other hand, if you’re a student looking for a job, writing skills are essential in writing a believable resume or cover letter. And in the future work place, you’ll have to write reports, business letters, and maybe even press-releases. This means you have to be prepared before you even start searching for a job. Writing is a way to communicate your thoughts, feelings and opinions. It’s an essential skill in everyday life, as well. Grade school should be the place to lay the basis for such skills. Considering that students come to colleges and universities unprepared, the grade school system should be altered to raise interest in writing and to develop the basic required knowledge for literacy. In the end, students should be encouraged to write rather than criticized. It’s one thing to evaluate grammar and structure, but if students feel like their personal opinions are evaluated, they’ll be hesitant to express them. Unfortunately, this is what grade school education is lacking today – freedom of expression.

10 Principles of Writing for the Web

10 Principles of Writing for the Web 10 Principles of Writing for the Web 10 Principles of Writing for the Web By Mark Nichol Writing for online reading is basically the same as writing for print publications. â€Å"Writing for the Web† is more about the presentation than the content itself, but it does require a shift in thinking and some mechanical changes to prose. Here are some tips: 1. Introductory Text Site visitors rarely read introductory paragraphs on their first visit. Why? Most people arrive at a site via a search engine, so they often bypass the home page. Others, of course, follow a link to a home page, or click on a Home link inside the site to see what else it has to offer, so an introduction isn’t useless, but make it short and sweet, answering the what and the why in as few words as possible. The same goes for introductory text on interior pages. 2. Points of Entry Most people scan, rather than read, Web pages, at least initially. Many, of course, read entire articles and essays, but home pages and other top-level pages should catch visitors’ attention with scannable text like linked or unlinked keywords, practical (not clever) display copy (otherwise known as headings, subheads, and the like), and bullet lists. 3. Pare Paragraphs Brief paragraphs that contain just one idea are ideal for online readers. (See?) 4. Key Facts First Employ the inverted-pyramid model of writing, based on journalistic style, in which the most important information is featured first, followed by decreasingly significant information. One advantage of this strategy is the same one that made it integral in newspaperese: If content is too long, it’s easier just to cut from the bottom rather than try to delete passages throughout. (You can always repurpose the deleted content for another article, or, like many online newspapers, have visitors click to a new page to finish reading.) 5. Link In and Out Provide links to related material on your Web site and on others. Don’t be concerned that visitors won’t come back to your site once they leave; if you routinely send them to good material, and you have good material waiting when they return, they’ll return. 6. Say It Straight Chant your new mantra: SWYM, MWYS. (Say what you mean, mean what you say.) Objectivity equals authority; avoid marketese, promotional excess, hyperbole whatever you want to call it. If people trust you to be evenhanded in your writing style, they will trust you. Also, be literal, not figurative: If, in a heading for a sports story, you use metaphorical language like curse instead of something more concrete like â€Å"losing streak,† you lose the opportunity for search optimization. 7. 1st Words Count Many site visitors scan in a rough F pattern, keeping their eyes on your page’s left-hand margin as they dart slightly along each line before dropping to the beginning of the next. Make the first dozen or so characters in your display type count. Avoid bland and coined terms, and start with keywords. 8. Be Passive Don’t go out of your way to avoid passive sentence construction, at least in initial sentences. Why? â€Å"Mark Nichol recommends that online writers embrace the passive voice so that key information appears up-front in sentences† breaks the rule recommended in the previous paragraph. Who cares about Mark Nichol? Start with the point of the sentence: â€Å"Passive voice is recommended by Mark Nichol to help online writers place key information up-front in sentences.† Of course, you can also place important words at the head of an active sentence: â€Å"Passive voice is useful for placing key information up-front in online writing.† (And leave me out of it.) Note, of course, that not every first sentence in a paragraph or even a section needs to be headed by keywords, but don’t pass up an opportunity to do so. 9. Write Well The best way to attract visitors to your site is to provide them with high-quality content. It may not get them there, but it will keep them coming back. 10. Break Rules Disregard any and all of these rules as you see fit, but know them and apply them often. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Inquire vs Enquire"Gratitude" or "Gratefulness"?Especially vs. Specially