Collaboration Journal: Marin, Nick, Hunter, Katie

   Everyday writing is a form of communication that is so obvious and so everyday that it escapes our sight unless we study it in depth and focus upon the minute details it holds. On a very surface level view it could be put into five aspects: Mass-produced versus personal, hand written versus typed, formal versus informal, private versus public, and the last being it has to have an emotional component to it.

            Writing is meant to communicate ideas and thoughts to other people; everyday writing does this on a more personal level. A concept that applies to everyday writing is mass-produced versus personal. A message to a specific audience could be everyday writing but it’s the way that it was communicated is what makes the difference.  A person could have it mass printed causing a disconnect between the reader and the sender, or the writer could have personally written it to the sender. The personal aspect gives a better connection between the two because they can see the hand writing and the writing was meant for them specifically.

            This leads into the next idea of is it hand written versus typed. If a letter is handwritten it has a more personal touch to it as apposed to typed, which feels more business like or impersonal. Handwritten is important to everyday writing because it adds personality to the letter, note, or whatever it is being written.  This is similar to what Katrell and Farrell say when they discuss scrapbooks. Pictures, stickers, and captions all add individuality to a scrapbook, much like handwriting adds personality to a letter.  Handwriting is an expression of the self and is individual as no one else has your own handwriting. This is juxtaposed to a typed letter, it has a square format usually and is very much associated with business and a removed form of communication.

           

            Another aspect would be formal versus informal. These terms seem to be important key concepts in this course because they stir up many opinions and arguments as to what they are. Many people believe that only informal pieces of everyday writing are considered everyday writing because the authors do not put into them real effort and they are not regulated by “society.” For example: letters, postcards, grocery lists, and so on. On the contrary, many people also argue and say that formal writing is not everyday because of the amount of time. Many formal pieces of writing such as documents or other government papers and artifacts are carefully redone and revised, hence why many people do not agree that is it considered a piece of everyday writing.

           

            Second to last is private versus public writing, private writing is more personal and taps into the stream of consciousness. Private writing is intended for a specific audience and contains more personal details then public writing. According to Lillis, private writing includes letters, note writing, and post cards. She says that writing encompasses the emotional and individual aspect of writing, whereas public writing scratches the surface. Public is less personal as it is meant for everyone to see and is open to everyone’s interpretations. Both of these approaches make up everyday writing though.

            To conclude, the final aspect is that it has to be emotional.  Writing is meant to express ones feeling and this is a major part of everyday writing. It encompasses the previous four parts, as it all is emotional.  Someone is meant to give off emotion and someone is meant to receive emotion whether it be mass-produced or personal, handwritten versus typed, formal versus informal, private versus public, and lastly it has to have emotion.