Pauli

Shauna Pauli
Professor A. Lohmeyer
Composition 1
2 December 2015
Paper 1: Summarizing What They Say
Summary of Michaela Cullingtons Does Texting Affect Writing?"
Its taking over our lives. We can do it anywhere Its quick, easy, and convenient. It
has become a concern What is it? begins Michaela Cullingtons essay (361). With a series of
hints, Cullington introduces texting to the reader via riddle. The answer, of course, is the
infamous act of texting. She tells us that while some people believe that using textspeak is
harming the academic writing of students, others contend that it may actually have a positive
effect on writing. However, introducing a third viewpoint, Cullington also suggests that the use
of the abbreviations used while texting have little to no effect on student writing (362).
To begin, Cullington shares with us the source of this argument, saying that the issue was
brought to light by a few teachers noticing a decline in the writing abilities of their students.
(362) These teachers then attributed that decline to the increase in texting and the use of
textspeak. She also points out that many people who think that texting is detrimental to academic
writing believe such because texts are short and simple, students find proper punctuation
unnecessary, which reflects in their writing. (363) In order to show a personal example, she
shares with us testimonies from two teachers who had noticed textspeak showing up in the work
of their students. The teachers concluded that they often notice text abbreviations, poorly
constructed sentences, and weak arguments. To correct this, they point it out and take off points.
(363)

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After covering the negatives, Cullington enlightens us with research and testimonies for
the side favoring the idea that texting positively affects students writing. She entertains the idea
introduced by Sternberg, Kaplan, and Borck: that teens enjoy texting, and if they frequently
write through texts, they will be more motivated to write formally. (364) Teens also learn
effective communication skills by finding ways to convey thoughts in the shortest, most concise
way possible. (364) She found that texting may benefit students by motivating them to write,
increase creativity, and promote practice in effectively expressing thoughts while raising
students confidence (364-65). Texting is something that teens enjoy doing, so they do it often.
This is a form of writing. The process of thought here is that if they do it a lot, they will
eventually get better at it, and in turn improve their formal writing. (365)
Because she wanted to get a different, more personal take on the argument, Cullington
decided to conduct her own research. Her three-part research included: survey[ing] seven
students on their opinions about the impact of texting on writing question[ing] two high school
teachers [and] ...analyz[ing] student writing samples for instances of textspeak (366). In fact,
Cullington found no instances of textspeak use in the samples she read. After reviewing her
research, Cullington concluded that texting did not have a significant effect on academic writing.
She discovered that students were able to distinguish between situations where the use of
textspeak is appropriate and when it is not (367). Cullington, through the research of University
of Illinois English professor Dennis Baron, claims, Students do not even use the
abbreviations in their text messages very often. (368) She supports Barons suggestion that
college students have already put away such childish things, and many of them had already
abandoned such signs of middle-school immaturity in high school (Baron 368). Cullington
herself admits she texts often. Using a personal example, she states that she uses textspeak rarely,

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and sometime even finds it takes longer to try to figure out an abbreviation rather than just type
out the phrase. (369) She also is able to tell the difference between a situation in which the use of
textspeak is appropriate and a situation in which it is not.
After exploring both the positive and negative viewpoints, Cullington stands by her own
research, endorsing the idea that texting neither hampers nor helps students writing. She
compares the sources of her arguments in order to show the reader which evidence should be
taken more seriously, noting that the majority of those who agree with the negative or positive
side are teachers and parents, and most of those who claim that texting has little or no effect are
experts and the students doing the writing themselves (370). From this, we can clearly see which
evidence to accept as more fact-based and unbiased.
[722 words]

Works Cited
Cullington, Michaela. Does Texting Affect Writing?. They Say/I Say. Gerald Graff, Cathy
Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2015.
361-370. Print.