5 Concepts (group 3)

Group #3:

Holly Braxton

Joe Ferrin

Bethanie Isaac

Sarah Scerbo

           

Throughout this course, we as class purpose the question, “What is everyday writing?” Is it public or private, formal or informal, personal, and does it have a purpose to all of it? We have used all types of examples of everyday writing and professional opinions to try to answer this million-dollar question.

            The concept of everyday writing is all judged on who is reading the piece of writing, and whether that piece is public or private is connected to mass production. A novel is considered a public work due to the fact that it is mass-produced, where a note is private because it is intended for a smaller audience. There are counter examples because graffiti is displayed to the public, but has a private meaning to the creator of the graffiti. A postcard is intended to be private, but since the actual writing is not covered by an envelope the writing itself could possibly become public.

            What the general public thinks everyday writing is for example a grocery list this is not necessarily or intended to be a formal document, but there are pieces of everyday writing that are considered formal. According to Lyons, a resume is most definitely intended to be a formal document, yet it is considered everyday writing. This example contradicts what the society believes everyday writing is. A love letter is something that society would believe to think is everyday writing because of its informality.

            Whether the everyday writing is public or private, formal or informal, the author has some personal connection to the writing itself. Lillis fully believes that her article on everyday writing is connected to everyday life, is apart of a routine and has an ordinary and almost invisible characteristic to it. She thinks that everyday writing establishes a piece of insight into someone’s life, but is not necessarily the whole story. The personal connection is what makes the work and without that connection the reader would get bored.

            Like a personal connection, every writer has some type of purpose to what they are writing. A letter to someone you love has a purpose to convey that love to the reader. Even from an outsiders perspective reading a letter like this they can see the underlying message behind the letter. Graffiti for example is meant to make a permanent mark on a wall, and has the purpose to convey a public yet personal message to all who see it. A postcard may seem small and unimportant, but for those who read it might feel connected to it in some type of way.

            Based on these major concepts we can then make assumptions of what the definition of everyday writing truly is. It can be public or private, formal or informal, personal and have a hidden purpose behind it. Everyday writing is not what all you think it is, it is much more than a simple grocery list.