Ross Anderson (54923856)
September 4, 2013
Recitation class 968
Writing’s importance in the Business World In the recent generations writing has a taken a serious hit due to slang creeping more into everyday life and the prevalence of texting. These parts of our culture have begun to wreak havoc in the work place with thousands of wasted emails in which people are trying to decipher the previous emails. Writing and grammar in particular should be more heavily stressed throughout high school and even in college. There are many forms of “bad writing”, but when business people say that I think they are referring mostly to overall sentence structure and grammar of their associates in emails. This causes a lot of unneeded confusion and frustration in the office. This also can slow down business deals or cause massive corporate issues that can lead to companies parting ways just because people are unable to convey their thoughts clearly in an email. To me, good writing is good grammar and good sentence structure which will lead to thoughts being communicated a lot easier between people. I was honestly astonished to read some of the examples that were in the article. To think that some people in high-tech companies would write emails like text messages is mind blowing. Another key factor that causes this poor writing is how early some kids are getting cell phones. This teaches them from an early age that the way they talk in texts is acceptable on school work and other things that require correct and proper grammar and writing habits. The fact that some of the leaders of America’s companies were struggling with this also very surprising. As a CEO I would be more than embarrassed that fellow associates couldn’t understand my emails because I was writing it like a text. In analyzing my own writing I find that every once in a while my sentence structure is off or I don’t exactly express my thoughts clearly but for the most part I do a pretty good job with my writing. In high school I took both AP language and AP literature which are classes very heavy on writing and analyzing texts that are not exactly simple. I received a 4(above average score) on my AP language test which actually got me college credit which is why I am not required to take a English class here at UNL. A lot of the writing skills from those classes are now evident in my writing and even in my preparation for writing papers and time management skills. Although my writing is pretty good at this point I started off very slow. Changing your writing style or even your bad habits is a slow and gradual process in which you have to pretty much change your thought processes and your vocabulary. For adults this would be even harder due to how drilled in their writing style is to their brain. I’m sure also some of these grow men were very reluctant and stubborn to attend writing classes. Overall this article was very enlightening to me. I had no idea that poor grammar and poor writing in general was causing so many problems. Also it was very shocking knowing that some of the brightest people in their respective industries couldn’t write an acceptable email. I feel like my current writing skills will continue to grow and develop. This will lead to success throughout college and translate in to the career that I choose in the business world.