Good Use :: Teaching Writing Education Essays

Good Use (Memo sent to co-workers from the president of a Fortune 200 company) Yo, hommies...Your work here has been the bomb lately. Let's meet at that happening bar and guzzle down some. If you can't come, give da man a jungle! Da Prez. (A letter sent to a kindergardener from his parents) Dear Son, On this being your first day on your road of formal education, we wish you well. Please acquire vast knowledge, have great enjoyment, and we will await your return to inform us about your duration at school. Look over these two examples of writing. Neither of them seem acceptable here. Might it be because 'Good Use' was not put to good use? These two examples of writing may be exceptable for some people but they are definitely are not acceptable in these situations. For example, because a president of a Fortune 200 company holds such a prestigious position in the work force, he should not be portraying a gang style image to his employees. On the other hand, a child should not be expected to understand the stuffy-languaged letter from his parents. There are several classes of writing that are used everyday between different people. A person who is able to judge when to use a particular style of writing in a given circumstance and is able to use it proficiently is a person who knows how to use the English language well. As I said, there are many classes of correct English depending upon what situation you are in. A young child would not have an extensive vocabulary so their accepted written English would be of a very simple and possibly misspelled style. An African-American teenager may write in Ebonics and try to stylize the writing to portray a gang image if he/she is trying to act tough amongst their friends. High school and college students would write in the "cool" language that is accepted amongst their peers, abbreviate words, and have incomplete sentence structure because between friends, they would know what each is talking about. Also, a business professional would write in polite terms and use knowledgeable words pertaining to their particular field of work. One single person may have several classes of correct English that they use throughout their day. One example may be of a graduate student. This graduate student goes to school, has friends, and may have a job in their field of study. Therefore, this person would use his written business English style at his workplace, the "cool" English style of writing among friends, and a scholarly English style for his graduate school work.