English people aren't good at english. Wait a minute...

[BuildTO]

I think the "internets are ruining our children" argument is tired by now...Almost all of the kids I've known during high school speak on the internet or chat with poor grammar and spelling, similar to adma's post above mine, yet some of them are still at the top of their English classes and some remain at the bottom, just like always. I did well in the class myself, but I do not write essays and speak conversationally in the same manner....

Anyways, this is a literacy test, not an essay contest. I think mostly everyone here so far has been pretty literate...

I'm not referring to internet and phone texting abbreviations. As discussed in previous threads on grammar, I'm referring to the inability of so many to figure out basic distinctions such as contractions and possessives. There are real differences in writing ability now vs. when some of the older forumers here were going through high school.

 

[Dan416]

Luckily there was no literacy test in my day. And I think I turned out all right! Although I'm sure my essay-writing skills have turned to shit in the years since I've been in school. I always prided myself on my essays. They take a lot of work and revision, and that's how they come out all polished and pretty. Generally on the internet, you write as a train of thought, not as an essay (or at least I do). Very different.