I wish I could remember what my writing was like back during my senior year or early college. I have a couple papers I wrote, but for the most part I was extremely talented at throwing things away. Makes me wish I'd kept a few things.

I also wonder what effect the internet and texting is having. I think something like a blog where you write within the conventions of the English language can be beneficial, but if all you do is post on Myspace and text message C U L8R D00D it's not going to help.

Exactly what I thought and what I was about to say, Nathan!!!  I also noticed that in my online classes... and I feel bad for these kids!!! I didn't go to school here at all... all my schooling was done in the Philippines so I don't know what kind of writing and composition students do at school here.  Just to share what kind of English writing work we do at our schools, we have to do a lot of writing in our English classes... theme compositions, position papers, essays, short stories, book reports, reaction papers, etc... If I remember it right, we wrote compositions in class everyday!!!  And then we have the big papers due every quarter and a final paper due towards the end of the schoolyear which is usually a book report.  My DD's Kindergarten teacher told me to always let my DD practice her reading and writing... and I agree with her... maybe our kids these days are not getting a lot of writing practice??? Papers they write at home does not help a lot esp. if they can just copy and paste their work from the internet... they need write their compositions in class so teachers and parents could see what kind of writing they are capable of doing and see if they need help.

I agree with you Kevin. I think the problem gets worse each year. When I went to college, I thought it was bad, but the problem continues to grow. I think a lot of it starts early. We see so many children enter school behind and they never catch up. I also see many adults using very poor grammar. How are they ever supposed to help their children if they do not even know the correct rules? Teachers are pressured to teach to the test and I think writing is often pushed out to make room for more drills. I haven't been in a local high school recently, but I'm sure the classes are overcrowded and long writing compositions probably aren't assigned very often because the grading would be too difficult.

I am taking a class at BC (I graduated with my BA almost 24 years ago... I needed some stimulation and a 'place to be' so there I am, in Wowen in American History.) I am amazed at how much work we have to do, a paper a week, a research paper EVERYTHING is writing based. I am a writer by trade so not intimidated EXCEPT unlike when I went to college, I won't be able to fake the reading! LOL.

Perhaps the caliber of students in the online courses are different? I don't know what to tell you except after my first class session I was blown away by all the expectations the teacher had of all of us (ME!) and how I would fit this one class into my busy schedule. I looked around at the young single moms in the room and wondered how they do it?!

When I graduated from High School, I recalled not really thinking much about my sentence structure or forming an essay...I was good enough to get into the honors program in English, so I thought I must write decent....I went to BC and took the assessment test, thinking - I will be in the top English class.  WRONG!  I wasn't ready for that yet.  I took the intermediate class and learned SO much!  At the end, I learned how to form basic sentences.  Create your main points and then build your essay from there.  However, since the advent of texting, computer lingo, and the like....afraid that most of the younger generation is not up to writing essays, or forming coherent sentences that fit the topic.  It seems as though the teachers today are so pressured by test scores and making the grade with that to keep their school funded, that they don't have the time to really teach.