Unless the educational process has changed at the college level, organizing one's thoughts and placing them on paper or in a computer program ie; writing papers is still a requirement for a college education. Judging by what I read in the various blogs I subscribe to, this expertise is in a decline.
Dropping the essay component is just another step towards becoming a society that communicates like life were one big text or tweet. Can you imagine official documents a generation from now? Example of a future official White House memo from Secretary of State to the President:
Yo POTUS,
ICYMI the Chinese peeps just totally spanked those German dudes. IMHO you should totes harsh their mellow, that was whack yo! Anywhooo, hit me up if you wanna chillax and hash out some moves. Mad props to FLOTUS for the shout out the other day. Gotta fly, YOLO
On an individual level, I think colleges really should require writing samples from their students.
On the National scale-SAT level, it was a really stupid idea when they added the Essay requirement in 2005. SATs are supposed to be standardized tests that compare all students. Grading essays tends to be anything but standard as soon as you have more than 1 person involved in the grading process. As I recall, many colleges announced their intention to ignore the Essay portion of the SAT before the Essay portion was even administered for the first time. I fail to see how a person's ability to write an essay under a short time constraint on an unknown topic accurately reflects a person's ability to write an essay on a known topic with days or even weeks to plan out their writing.
This from my friend Emma Kate, who for whatever reason, has after multiple attempts, has been unable to secure admittance to this site:
Jason I happen to work for these companies. The essay grading is far more standardized than you'd guess. Readers are current and former educators; they go through extensive training, and there are many "safeties" in place. Most, if not all, of the readers have post-graduate degrees. Each essay is scored by two separate readers; if there is any discrepancy, a third "senior reader" scores the essay.
Also, the essay portion of the SAT is not being dropped; it will, however, no longer be mandatory (as of spring 2016). Most students, however (at least most smart and savvy students) will probably continue to take the essay portion of the test, as many colleges and universities will continue to require that portion of the exam.
As someone who has taught college-level English, I happen to think that the essay portion *should* be mandatory.
In any case, in addition to what my friend, Scott, posted above (on my behalf), I'd also just like to add the following thought:
Not all writing tasks and assignments provide you with the time and "space" that formal papers and research projects provide, Jason. Indeed, many times, throughout college and beyond, you *will,* in fact, be required to organize your thoughts and to prepare a coherent written response under tight time constraints.
Not just in blogs is the decline of the written word evident, Tom.
Read articles on the Rochester or Buffalo news sites. Grammar, context, and spelling mistakes abound. Disorganization is common. All at the hands of these "wordsmiths".
Unless the educational
Unless the educational process has changed at the college level, organizing one's thoughts and placing them on paper or in a computer program ie; writing papers is still a requirement for a college education. Judging by what I read in the various blogs I subscribe to, this expertise is in a decline.
Dropping the essay component
Dropping the essay component is just another step towards becoming a society that communicates like life were one big text or tweet. Can you imagine official documents a generation from now? Example of a future official White House memo from Secretary of State to the President:
Yo POTUS,
ICYMI the Chinese peeps just totally spanked those German dudes. IMHO you should totes harsh their mellow, that was whack yo! Anywhooo, hit me up if you wanna chillax and hash out some moves. Mad props to FLOTUS for the shout out the other day. Gotta fly, YOLO
On an individual level, I
On an individual level, I think colleges really should require writing samples from their students.
On the National scale-SAT level, it was a really stupid idea when they added the Essay requirement in 2005. SATs are supposed to be standardized tests that compare all students. Grading essays tends to be anything but standard as soon as you have more than 1 person involved in the grading process. As I recall, many colleges announced their intention to ignore the Essay portion of the SAT before the Essay portion was even administered for the first time. I fail to see how a person's ability to write an essay under a short time constraint on an unknown topic accurately reflects a person's ability to write an essay on a known topic with days or even weeks to plan out their writing.
This from my friend Emma
This from my friend Emma Kate, who for whatever reason, has after multiple attempts, has been unable to secure admittance to this site:
Jason I happen to work for these companies. The essay grading is far more standardized than you'd guess. Readers are current and former educators; they go through extensive training, and there are many "safeties" in place. Most, if not all, of the readers have post-graduate degrees. Each essay is scored by two separate readers; if there is any discrepancy, a third "senior reader" scores the essay.
Also, the essay portion of the SAT is not being dropped; it will, however, no longer be mandatory (as of spring 2016). Most students, however (at least most smart and savvy students) will probably continue to take the essay portion of the test, as many colleges and universities will continue to require that portion of the exam.
As someone who has taught college-level English, I happen to think that the essay portion *should* be mandatory.
Yayyy! I'm finally in! In
Yayyy! I'm finally in! :)
In any case, in addition to what my friend, Scott, posted above (on my behalf), I'd also just like to add the following thought:
Not all writing tasks and assignments provide you with the time and "space" that formal papers and research projects provide, Jason. Indeed, many times, throughout college and beyond, you *will,* in fact, be required to organize your thoughts and to prepare a coherent written response under tight time constraints.
Not just in blogs is the
Not just in blogs is the decline of the written word evident, Tom.
Read articles on the Rochester or Buffalo news sites. Grammar, context, and spelling mistakes abound. Disorganization is common. All at the hands of these "wordsmiths".