The style often used in composing texts, tweets and e-mails is taking a toll on the communication skills of young writers, says one concerned University of Central Florida instructor who created a summer camp to instill principles of good writing in middle- and high-school students.
Terry Ann Thaxton, an associate professor in the English department, doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 blame computers and technology, but rather the new communication techniques that make it easy to shortchange precise and lively writing.
麻豆精品 S淐omputers have brought writing more to the foreground, 麻豆精品 S� she said.聽 麻豆精品 S淐ommunication is part of being human, but social-media writing is taking out all the imaginative threads, all the description, all the interesting parts of language. 麻豆精品 S�
Thaxton has taught at UCF since 2000, and also interacts with public school children during the year through The Literary Arts Partnership at UCF that she founded 10 years ago. The partnership offers free storytelling and poetry workshops to underserved children, youth and adults in Central Florida.
She said that when she first started offering the writing workshops she noticed that many of the children didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have an imagination, so they just gave up trying to write creatively.
麻豆精品 S淲e had to show them how to pretend, 麻豆精品 S� she said. Learning how to write creatively helps enhance an author 麻豆精品 S檚 literacy, attitude, character and self-awareness, which also benefits the community, she said.
Thaxton organized the July 9-13 writing camp at UCF after receiving requests from parents and seeing firsthand the increasing need for young writers to improve their skills.
麻豆精品 S淎lso what I 麻豆精品 S檝e noticed in the classrooms in public schools is that teachers are pressured into having high scores on the FCAT, so they focus on teaching just those skills but not the 麻豆精品 S榤eat 麻豆精品 S� of writing, 麻豆精品 S� she said. 麻豆精品 S淐reative writing allows students to draw from the raw materials of their life and be imaginative. You need your imagination for writing everything from journalism to a memo for your boss. 麻豆精品 S�
And what are some simple tips to improve writing?
For starters, Thaxton said, tighten up sentences, don 麻豆精品 S檛 rely on spellchecking, and reduce reliance on adverbs.
麻豆精品 S淢any writers overuse adverbs by using one for every verb, 麻豆精品 S� she said. 麻豆精品 S淚f you 麻豆精品 S檙e using too many of them, you 麻豆精品 S檙e probably not using the right verb. 麻豆精品 S�
The summer writing camp will have morning and afternoon sessions at UCF Continuing Education, 12565 Research Parkway, Suite 390.
The morning session (9 to 11 a.m.) will study the basic structure of a screenplay as a starting point for writing stories and short scripts.
The afternoon session (1:30 to 3:30 p.m.) will focus on writing as an act of imagination, and memory as a source of ideas for creative nonfiction.
The fee for each session is $100, or both for $175. For more information or to register, go to http://ce.ucf.edu/creative. The deadline to register is July 5.
Proceeds will go toward supplies for The Literary Arts Partnership’s free writing workshops during the year at public schools, foster homes, community centers, residential treatment facilities, shelters, prisons, and assisted living facilities.