Jelani Pritchard
Professor Werry
RWS 100
19 Sept. 2014
Draft
Some may ask teachers, scholars, or authors an
interesting question in regards to literature in society today; What makes an
individual a skilled writer? Clive Thompson, a Canadian journalist, blogger, and writer, may have an answer
to that. In his book, "Smarter Than You Think," he addresses the
factors on what may make an individual a good writer. His purpose in writing
this text was to help readers explore the factors that affect the skill of a
writer. Thompson addresses the audience effect and how an audience can actually
alter the quality of work an individual may write. He also discusses the idea
of the multiples, how individuals can connect with another on a cognitive level
through literature on networks. Thompson presents his claims to the audience
through sought out statistical research, experiments from Universities, and information
from qualitative authority. Thompson persuades us that the internet and the
advancement of technology has improved our skills in writing without us
actually being aware of it. To find out if Thompsons argument is accurate or
has many weak points, I will explore his claims of the audience effect, the multiples,
and the effect of the internet/technological advancement on improving writing
skills of individuals.
In the text,
Thompson points out that the internet/technological advancement has helped people write more and even improved
their writing skills. According to Thompson, "we compose of 154 billion
emails, 500 million tweets on Twitter, 1 million blog posts and comments, and
about 150 billion words written on Facebook each day" (Thompson 47).
Thompson supports his claim by stating that through social networks and emails,
individuals are making huge accomplishments
without even being aware. Social media such as Twitter has created us to
share our thoughts and writings more often than ever. Millions of individuals
have created an account on Twitter and is active in tweeting. Believe it or
not, Tweeting is a form of writing an it is argued that the more active an
individual has become in their writing, the better the writing gets. Thompson
also provides researched data from an English Professor from Stanford
University who states, "teens who message online appear to have better spelling
and literacy abilities from those who do not" (Thompson 67). The evidence
Thompson provides helps readers to understand that individuals who use the
internet are more active in writing than those who are not. Involvement with
the internet allows the individual to be more active in writing, which will
enhance their writing skills . Statistical data is provided to strengthen the
argument for the audience. Thompson believes that there are other factors that
affects the quality of writing an individual composes, such as the audience
effect.
Performing
under pressure for individuals tend to improve their performance. Social
scientist in Thompsons text, calls this the "audience effect"- which
is the shift in our performance when we know people are watching. He exemplifies
his claim through a interview with blogger Gabriel Weinberg. Weinberg asserts
"even if I was publishing it (writing) to no one, it's just the threat of
an audience...If someone could come across it under my name, I have to take it
more seriously" (54). The audience effect does not only explain the
increase of quality of our writing but it can be applied to almost anything.
College athletes that want to go pro do their absolute best to be scouted. They
do so by competing well in games and showcasing their talents at combines. The
audience effect is a such an important factor in our performance, it occurs
even at a young ages. He supports his claim by presenting an experiment at
Vanderbilt University that has two groups of kids trying to solve a puzzle
(55). One group had to solve the puzzle alone in silent while the other had to
explain the way they were solving the puzzle into a tape recorder. The results
showed that the kids who tried completing the puzzle did much worse than the
group who didn't (55). Through his
presentation of the Vanderbilt experiment and the interview with blogger
Gabriel Weinberg, Thompson creates a strong argument that the audience effect
is a key factor that improves our skill in writing. Thompson also discusses the
theory of the multiples and how it plays a role in our writing today.
Because of
the internet, individuals are able to write more actively and effectively for
an audience. Not only does our quality in writing increase day by day in the
modern era, but it has also created a broader scale of public thinking. Thompson
asserts that individuals are able to make connections with others through the
internet. Making connections has been vital in the history of thought and its
future. He calls this the theory of multiples. He supports his claim by using
information from sociologists William Ogburn and Dorothy Thomas that argued that
our ideas are a product of our environment. Before the era of technology, four
astronomers, including Galileo, all individually discovered sun spots (59).
Without actually having any communication with each other, they all made the
same discovery because of their surroundings, which was the popular topic of
their time of space and religion. Thompson discusses how the things us humans think
about are influenced by the state of art around us, the shared information from
the internet, or even the tool of technology at the palms of our hands (59). Now
that technology has advanced, the
internet has been a tool in sharing ideas with others and spreading thoughts.
It has created a platform for public thinking, and it certainly improves the
way we write and how we present it to an audience.
Thompson addresses
several claims that appoint to how writing has changed in our modern era. The
main claims that seem to be the key points of his text makes strong arguments
on how our skills in writing has altered. The internet and technological
advancements has increased the amount of writing humans compose each day. It
has made us more active in writing which certainly does improve our quality in
writing. Although it is stated that we compose over 36 trillion words per day, it
does not make a certainty that we compose productive words. It can be argued or
questioned that because of the internet and social media, it might of created a
more lazier way of writing. Individuals for example, may type out
"lol," "tgif," or
any other texting terminology instead of writing a full word out. Does acronyms
counted in the "36 trillion words" we compose every day? There are
few weak points in this argument, but overall no matter what is being typed
out, it is known that the internet has allowed individuals to be more active in
writing. The more writing an individual does, the better they get. Another way
writing has changed in our modern era is the increase of the quality in our
writing. With the help of the internet, our work can be viewed by others. An
audience is now watching and we are under pressure to perform well. The
audience effect, claimed by Thompson, is said to play a key role in the change
of our writing skills. It is argued that an audience will force an individual
to perform better. Several reasons can be put into play here depending on the
individual. They may feel like they want to avoid embarrassment if their work
does not satisfy their audience or to simply impress viewers. Not only does the
audience effect and technological advancements such as the internet has
increased the quality and quantity of our writing, but it has created a
platform for public thinking. Our works can be shared on social media, blogs,
etc. to have others criticize it or help contribute. Thompson makes the claim
that without public thinking, it would have not made the same accomplishments
we have made today in our works of writing. Writing skills have improved
tremendously with simply writing more, people watching us, and sharing our
ideas and works. It is important that we acknowledge Thompsons to continue this
improvement in our era.
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