Reflective analysis

Abbey XXX

Professor: XXXX

Nov, 11, 2012

Writing technology

In the contemporary society, just as dialect is subject to change, so does writing. Usually, writing is influenced by the technology that has become a common place in the society today. This is facilitated by use of mobile phones to text messages, informal emails, facebook, twitter and blogging. In these, users have developed a different writing style to communicate to their friends and fans. More often than not, people use abbreviations, cut long words short, and use of emerging words in that particular community. The form of writing depicted in these sites is informal, and people from different societies may find it difficult to grasp the messages being communicated. Similarly, changes in language for specific communities may strain the use of international accepted words of a particular language.

Research question: why do I find that I can write prolifically on my blog, but I struggle in an academic setting?

With the emergency of online use and advancements, blogs have become very common. Every online business that is seeking to thrive, blog is paramount. This means that every online business has to seek experts for blog writing to increase its search engine. Usually, these blogs are updated frequently, sometimes daily. Blog update is usually short so that readers can grasp the idea quickly on online entry. The fact that these updates are short and easy to formulate makes it easier for many bloggers to create as many blogs as possible within a single day.

The importance of blogs is gaining popularity daily as people try to keep abreast on the latest news without having to use the phone bill. With blogs, they can easily read important updates on the sites and find out the latest. Additionally, they can keep people on track on the current fashions, wedding plans and baby’s growth. In turn, blog writing has become very common to keep up with the demands and needs of people who are constantly becoming engrossed in reading blogs.

With their increased popularity, many people, including me, have become experts in writing for blogs. Usually, blogs are informal writing that uses friendly tone, rather than professional tone. They are best known for their casual writing with unpredictable subject matter. As such, they do not require professional editing and prove reading, as is the case with academic writing. When writing them, all you need to do is identify the most intriguing content that is entertaining and attractive to a broad audience. Research and editing are not priorities for this kind of writing.

Unlike blog writing, academic writing takes a different style altogether. Usually, academic writing, unlike blogging, requires a thorough research on the topic. It involves using many sources from different categories ranging from professional books, articles or websites. Similarly, the writing tone is professional as casual writing is prohibited. Also worth taking note, academic writing requires a special writing style that requires academic guidance. Use of vulgar language and unnecessary abbreviations is discouraged for this type of writing.

In some cases, academic writing involves lengthy research and scientific inquiry. Often, proof of the writing is required for this kind of writing. This, therefore, means that academic writers have to take a step ahead of bloggers to come up with a well researched subject material. Academic writing, unlike blogging, is not for entertainment, but meant for inquiry by readers. It helps the readers to understand why something happens, the processes involved among others. Obliviously, for this writing, comprehensive research is vital.

My research on academic writing verses blogging is directed to all the students, who are my audiences. It has come to my attention that, just like me, many other students have difficulties in distinguishing writing for blogs and writing for academic purposes. Usually, this brings confusion in the academic writing as many people have become accustomed to blog writing making it difficult to efficiently write academic papers. Obliviously, academic writing is more tedious and lengthy thus; many students have difficulties in managing academic writing accordingly.

Conclusion

New technology is affecting our academic writing in a negative way. Example of this is blogging, which is very informal type of writing that does not require editing and use of professional language. On the other hand, academic writing requires professional language, deep research and a specified formatting. The fact that blogging has become very common has made it very difficult for many students to adhere to the bounds of academic writing accordingly.

Bibliography

Day-MacLeod, Deirdre. Career Building Through Blogging. New York: Rosen Pub, 2008. Print.

This book, published by Rosen publishing group, critically analyses the importance of blogging, how it relates to online business success, and provides a clear suggestion on creating a successful blog. The author of this book, Day-macleode, published the book after a thorough research on how to write blogs for business and entertainment. He has paid special attention to blog writers, as well as owners of small emerging online businesses. The author further clarifies why it is important to strategically develop good blogs for online businesses. He stipulates that online businesses thrive well under the development of good blogs that are attractive, entertaining, as well as brief and to the point. How to write a successful blog is also perilously put in to consideration. Contrasting to academic writing, the author stipulates that friendly writing tone that does not require much research and sources, is an important aspect in blog writing. The book goes ahead to explicate that casual writing, without necessarily having to proof read or edit, can make an attractive blog. Audiences, who are the blog writers and online website owners, find this book very informative.

This book affects my academic writing negatively. It relies profoundly on the informal type of writing that has no professional grounds and does not require any kind of formatting. Being an entertainment field, research is not required. This makes students lazy in doing their academic writing as they have do a thorough research, which they are not accustomed to in blog writing.

Soles, Derek. The Essentials of Academic Writing. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning Houghton Mifflin, 2010. Print.

This book, written by Derek Soles, explicates the requirements for academic writing. Being an academician, the author knowledgeably expounds the prerequisites for academic writing. The author insists on the essentials of academic writing, research and formats of academic writing. Similarly, he gives auxiliary details on the boundaries of language use for academic writing. He notes that, unlike in casual writing, use of language and writing skills is paramount. Academic writers need to use an acceptable language as opposed to the emerging languages that are inherent today. Similarly, academic writing requires a thorough research where editing and prove reading are necessary to make it acceptable to international standards. The author goes ahead to illuminate to his audiences, who are students, on the guidelines of academic writing. Unlike casual writing common in internets, blogs and messages, academic writing takes an entirely different approach. He notes that, academic writing is not for entertainment purposes, but for research and attainment of academic knowledge purposes.

This book is a guide to academic writers. It helps us as students to forget about the casual writing where quality is not prioritized. At the end of the day, this book will help me to overcome the negative form of writing that I acquired from blog writing, and help me improve in academics. It makes students reflect on the realities of writing academic papers, contrary to informal type of writing that does not require critical analyses of the situation, and the in depth of research.

Source: http://www.google.co.ke/imgres?q=photographs+of+blog+writing&start=0&hl=en&sa=X&sz=21&biw=1024&bih=497&tbm=isch&tbnid=1MznjPGspqxlQM:&imgrefurl=http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-44308588/stock-photo-white-male-caucasian-young-adult-writing-out-his-plan-for-his-blog-with-a-marker-isolated-on-white.html&docid=hvZglLNyHANIEM&imgurl=http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/196033/196033,1263271282,1/stock-photo-white-male-caucasian-young-adult-writing-out-his-plan-for-his-blog-with-a-marker-isolated-on-white-44308588.jpg&w=450&h=344&ei=Cg2iUKSZOtS5hAeWpIH4Dw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=346&vpy=4&dur=7&hovh=196&hovw=257&tx=89&ty=105&sig=106878951604727741252&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=206&ndsp=5&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:4

The above photograph outlines the important contents in the blogs. It shows the content of a blog, its objective and how to design it. Unlike in academic writing, blog writing has its objectives based on promotion through advertisement. Typically, marketing is the key concept in blogging online. The designs are varied and may include, side bar, layout and widgets. There are no specific formats so long as the blog plays its function of marketing. Additionally, research, language selection and proof reading are not prioritized in the above picture. This implies that these are not essential ingredients in blog writing, as opposed to academic writing.

The above photograph further affects my academic writing in a negative way. It shows the contents of a blog and how it is developed. Professional language and formatting have not been given precedence in this type of writing. Relying on this kind of writing as shown in the photograph is a device towards my academic writing deterioration.