2. Summary
● Parents and teachers believe texting has negative effects
● Teenagers use “textspeak” when they text
○ Teens know when not to use “textspeak”
■ Textspeak is not appropriate for formal writing
● Texting has no effect on students’ formal
writing abilities and skills.
● Texting is popular- it’s important
3. Rhetorical Situation
Genre/Medium- high school student research essay
Audience- teachers, parents, students, texters
Purpose- allow others to see pros and cons of texting
Stance- texting is not good nor bad
Context- rise of technology, compare old + new writings
4. Keywords/phrases
Throughout the source material there are multiple keywords and phrases that are stressed
more than others implying they are a key concept or take away from the text.
1. Textspeak
2. Language
3. Skills
4. Convenience
All of these point back to the central main idea of the text.
5. Key Concepts
1. Texting reinforces simplistic writing that is not acceptable for formal academic
writing.
a. “2” → “to,” “gr8” → “great,” “4” → “for,” and “wut” → “what.”
b. Forgetting commas, apostrophes, and capital letters to begin sentences.
c. Text language has become “second nature” to students.
6. Key Concepts
2. Texting is beneficial because it motivates students to practice their writing skills
and to gain confidence in writing.
a. Txtng: The Gr8 Db8 by David Crystal- Texting helps foster “the ability to
summarize and express oneself concisely”
b. Helps students to “sharpen their diplomatic skills . . . [because] it allows more
time to formulate their thoughts and express them carefully”
c. Continually writing in some form
7. 3. Texting is not interfering with students’ use of standard written English and has no
effect on their writing abilities in general.
a. A study asked students to complete a questionnaire about their
texting/writing/spelling habits.
i. The results did not support researchers hypothesis
b. Students recognize the difference between texting friends and writing
formally and know what is appropriate in each situation.
Key Concepts
● Most experts and students- see no effect, positive or negative.
● Most teachers and parents- see texting as negative
8. ● Compare: Because the brain is malleable, people can use symbols,
abbreviations, etc. to make a new language
○ “We have to teach our minds how to translate the symbolic characters we
see into the language we understand.” (“IGMUS”)
○ “Teenagers have...created an entirely new language—one that uses
abbreviations and symbols instead of words...throughout the entire
conversation.” (“DTAW”)
Comparing to “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”
9. Contrasting to “Is Google Making Us
Stupid?”
● Contrast: Technology rewired our brains vs. Technology has taught
us something new
○ “...someone, or something, has been...remapping the neural
circuitry...”(“IGMUS”)
○ “inventing a new language ideal for communicating in a high-tech
world”(“language evolution”)(“DTAW”)
10. Other voices
Michaela Cullington uses outside sources to boost credibility. She brings up
statements from Authors, Journalists, Teachers and professors in this text. Some of the
more noticeable sources in this piece were…
1) Jacquie Ream, a journalist for USA Today, wrote “Texting destroys kids writing”
2) David Crystal, an author of the book “Txtng: The Gr8 Db8”, says “Texting helps develop
students social and communication skills”
3) Dennis Baron, an English Professor, backs up Michaela saying “students know when they
need to write professionally and when they can let their guard down and use “textspeak”
11. Supporting info.
● “Textspeak” is very popular among teenagers and is not a negative thing
● Students can stay away from slang and other forms of “textspeak” when
needed
● Most studies performed have shown that there is little to no direct
negative effects
● Some people tend to blame technology without researching further.
