Why facts are just claims.
Most visible in textbooks, especially history books.
It influences how we think about text because we take statements that the text present as a fact to be completely true, when in reality it could be exaggerated or not true at all.
It directs us to write stating that things that may not be true are true.
It makes us think that history books are good writing when in reality they could be inaccurate or slanted.
facts, claims, angle, statement, persuasion, inaccurate.
idea 2
Texting is ruining our grammar and spelling.
This construct is most visible in English teachers who tell you that by texting improper grammar you will develop improper grammar.
It makes us think that grammar and spelling are not very important.
It directs us to write with improper grammar and spelling when not texting.
It may make us think that good writing does not need to include accurate grammar and spelling.
how texting is ruining grammar and spelling, why texting has not affect on grammar and spelling, why people need to put accurate grammar and spelling into texts.
Hi Roland,
ReplyDeleteBoth of these ideas could be really productive, so I'll leave it up to you which one to examine. I think the first idea will get you into more complex, messy but really fascinating territory. When we challenge the idea of "facts" -we're really challenging the idea of a shared, objective reality. You can ground it somewhat, as Kantz does, by thinking specifically about how these issues present problems for students learning to write (at any level) and by thinking about how education is somewhat always dependent on the construct of objective truth. If we jettison that, what will we learn? What will we test? Perhaps that second question is more apt. Testing culture permeates education completely and thoroughly, and in a very real way, perpetuates the construct of the "fact." So that could get you into some really interesting territory, and you can use Kantz as a starting point by looking at her Works Cited and going from there.
As far as the second idea, I'm going to tell you what I told another student interested in the topic. A key concept you'll want to pay attention to when thinking about this construct is discourse community or discourse ecology. The idea is that the way we write/speak/communicate depends greatly upon what particular community or ecology we're participating in. Texting, then, is a very effective means of communication within a specific discourse ecology (a personal circle of friends communicating with mobile devices). Outside of this ecology, however, it may not be as successful. So when people complain about how texting is ruining our grammar, they're actually neglecting an important point about what we need to be able to do to be effective writers/communicators. We need to be able to move rapidly between different "ecologies" and to recognize that the "rules" change depending upon where we are. I hope this will give you a little head start in the right direction. You might want to check out Chapter 4 in Writing About Writing as it is completely devoted to the idea of discourse communities. It's fine to use any of those articles from the book for research. Of course, you'll also want to show that this is a common misperception in society- so you might look outside of academic journals to do that. I'm sure those types of arguments are everywhere. It might make sense to pick a source that is the most "mainstream" in that regard.
Either topic is a great choice. And it's ok that another student is writing on the second one. You'll both do different, really interesting things with it. Ok. Good luck. We'll keep talking about this.