The Future of Writing And Editing
                                                          by Erin French

Communication Is A Timeless Skill

 Here are some opinions and perspectives from a variety of professional sources on just how important written communication is today…perhaps more important than ever precisely because we are in the digital age!

The future of writing and editing has been pondered for years now. Although some people believe certain applications may become obsolete, knowing how to communicate effectively through writing is extremely important in the lives of many.

Austin Mabrey, a mechanical engineer major at the University of Texas at Austin, feels that as a practicing engineer it’s expected of him to know how to write down what he’s thinking as he’s making decisions during the design process:
“It’s just very important that I can do this because then I can go back on a later date and read and understand what I was thinking in that moment,” Mabrey said. “I can also just imagine how difficult it would be for the reader if I ever spelled something incorrectly.”

Elizabeth Weeks, an Elementary Education major at Texas State University at San Marcos also knows that her future will involve practicing and upholding the importance of writing:
“As a future teacher, when I think about the skills I want my students to have, I find writing and reading skills at the top of the list,” Weeks said. “I want my students not only to learn to read and write, I want them to have the ability to analyze literature, write expressive pieces that show emotion and have purpose, write informative pieces, persuasive pieces, and creative fiction pieces that they can have fun with and share with peers.”

Vicki French, a retiree of DSHS/WIC, also feels that the ability to communicate the written word is very important:
 “Whenever we needed to let a grocery store owner know perhaps an answer to a very important question that they had, we would of course write them a letter and then communicate with them that way,” French said. “That would then open up a two-way conversation to where if they had other questions then the question and answer session could go back and forth.”

Dustin Mabrey, manager of Rockin’ Tomato in Austin, Texas, also feels that communication through writing is in his workplace:
“We use checklists often, and that’s how we pass on obligations and duties in the kitchen to other people, so by having that form of communication written down, it allows it to be referenced at any time during the day,” Mabrey said. “This allows work to continue being done even when the person who made the checklist is no longer present.”

John Purgason, Mass Communications graduate of Texas State University at San Marcos and entrepreneur based out of San Antonio feels that communication should be held in a higher regard among more people:
  “If you or someone you have employed cannot communicate your message effectively, that can have severe consequences,” Purgason said. “And if someone can’t even write correctly on their own, what does that say about their work ethic or their ability to do practically anything?”

..Erin French is an editorial / journalism intern at booksandmocha.com