Writing assignment

Definition of “Literacy”
When literacy comes to our mind, most of us automatically perceive it as the ability to read and write. I agree that it is a true saying. However, I believe that it is not reasonable to define it to one certain meaning. It does not simply indicate the ability to read and write, but also contains something beyond its meaning. It contains broad concepts that people haven’t thought of. There are two different ideas from James Paul Gee and Walter J. Ong that defines the meaning of “Literacy.”
James Paul Gee, an author of “What Is Literacy,” defined literacy as “control of the uses of language in secondary discourse.” In other words, literacy means the ability to use everyday language used in daily conversations and also indicates the capability of using professional language that is learned from secondary institution such as schools, workplaces, stores, and business and so on. Therefore, in order to do well, literacy should be mastered through acquisition, which is a process of acquiring something subconsciously by exposure to models and a process of trial and error, not from formal learning. In addition, he said, “discourse is a socially accepted association among ways of using language, of thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or a social network ell-use of this literacy a socially accepted association among ways of using language, of thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or a social network.” Well-use of this literacy helps us to live socially in this world. Literacy is an inevitable element to survive.
On the other hand, Ong defined literacy associated with the importance of writing. People regarding literacy as a normative, unconscious and natural behavior like driving a car or tying shoe laces could severely restrict the understanding of what writing really is. Such perspective also ignores the natural human mental processes that occur before writing enters the process of consciousness. Therefore, literacy has to be formally learned in order to do right writing process. This argument is clearly summarized in his quote, “Illiterates should learn writing as they learned to tie their shoe-laces or to drive a car.” This is also helpful to our social life because the right process of engaging in writing helps us to compose its thought in oral form.