Group #4 - Bethanie, John, McKenzie, Rebecca

            While reading the our last three assignments, we have found that there are many opinions about what “everyday writing’ is. The three readings all have similar ideas as well as different ones.

            Between Lillis and Barton and Papen, they all agree that writing makes up connections in societies. They agree that writing is practiced by everyone in a community (except the illiterate) to form networks and a means of communication. The both use postcards, and their prevalence in society, as an example. Lillis, Lyon, Barton, and Papen all agree that writing travels through time. Even as technology has advanced, we have not stopped using writing as a form of communication.

            While the authors have similar ideas of what makes up everyday writing, they all have different definitions of what everyday writing actually is. Lillis believes that everyday writing can come in nearly any form. This includes doctors’ notes, love letters, school notes, and legal documents. Lillis and Lyons also disagree on the importance of writing in today’s society. Lyons says that writing was more valued in earlier times, as it is not valued much anymore. Lillis says that the smallest form of writing, such as a text message, is still important to the study of everyday writing. It is also interesting how Lillis is the only one to have an interest in modern forms of communication, such as emails and text messages. Lyons, Burton, and Papen all focus on more outdated forms of writing, such as postcards and letters.