Ferguson 1

Sabrina Ferguson
Nancy Roche
Writing 1010-018
8 October 2014
Literacy in Everyday Social Settings
In Barton & Hamiltons essay entitled, Literacy Practices, they discuss literacy and
how it is plays a big role in our social interactions. These social interactions are defined as
requiring more from a person than just talking; including deep thoughts from all areas of
thinking. They also discuss the difference between the social literacies at a home environment as
opposed to a work environment. These settings include all kinds of different behaviors, which
are both spoken and unspoken. Literacy is a concept that includes many different components of
communication and is a setting selective task that one must assess and comply with.
In this essay, literacy is explained as being a social practice or a way that people use
literacy to interact with others. However practices are not observable units of behavior since
they also involve values, attitudes, feelings and social relationships. (Barton & Hamilton 7)
With this being said, literacy is a lot more personal than just the basic reading, writing, talking; it
is a way for you communicate with a person and really create a bond or deep conversation. These
bonds do not have to be long term or even friendly, just as long as you are both critically
thinking about topics discussed. Critically thinking about a conversation doesnt imply that it is
serious or heated, but just that you are truly listening, interpreting and responding to the other
persons involved. Sometimes part of that critical thinking involves interpreting your audience
and evaluating how you should respond. Your surroundings may cause you to rethink you
answer because it may not be appropriate for the social literacy you are conversing in.

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Social literacies are similar to discourses in the sense that different environments lead to
different literacy. You would not talk to your coworkers about the same things that you do your
siblings and vice-versa. Literacy isnt referring to just the conversational aspect of these
environments but also the unspoken literacies. An example given on page 11 is that cooks in a
business are held up to much different standards than a cook at home; such standards are in
regards to food safety, employee dress codes etc. These rules are sometimes not always so clear
and outlined for everyone; some have to be observed or learned. Every social setting has
differences in its literacy, making observation your best friend.
Literacy is a word that is probably miss-defined by most people in our modern day. It is a
process that allows you to communicate more clear and complex thoughts with other people.
This practice is both learned and adapted by every person through-out their lives. Proper usage of
literacy in social settings is observed and learned, which is a skill that I personally think some
people lack. More careful thought should be put in when we are talking to people as it shows that
you are both interested and truly thinking about the conversation. This process is a way to show
that you are more than just listening, but hearing what others have to say.

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Works Cited
Barton, David, Mary Hamilton, and Roz Ivanic, eds. Situated Learning: Reading and Writing in
Context. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. Literacies.