(Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qb5y1)
What are the functions of writing？Is it just a recording device?
How did writing technologies develop?
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The ability to write is a key indicator of a person’s literacy level. Many people often think writing is nothing more than simply a recording skill. However, James J. Murphy contends that writing is not only limited to its functional use of recording and dissemination of information, it also facilitates the production and quality of discourse. I find this argument to be very true.
We have always been told to write extensively in school, be it English assignments, research papers, or simply note-taking in Economics classes. This amounts to a large volume of writing practices throughout our school years. Many of us, who would rather prefer manipulating equations and formulas than writing, frequently find it challenging and laborious to complete these writing tasks. However, as the number of writings we do accumulate over the years, we find that these writings train us in an extremely transferrable skill for all our other subjects – the ability to think and express our views in a critical and analytical manner. Drafting argumentative essays, producing research thesis, outlining Economics principles – these writing tasks invariably slow down our thinking process and force us to dig deeper into our abstract thought and creativity, and discover for ourselves new ideas and concepts. In this sense, writing is itself a “heuristic”, as Murphy puts it, for creating better thought and expression.
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