Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Billy Carpenter
Lindsey Shereda
Ms. Parent
24 April 2019
The world's knowledge lies before the American people like a tome. A young child
reaches for the book with curiosity and wonder. He is ushered away before grasping the book,
for some pages must be torn out and some rewritten. The book gets translated, its words
mutilated, but the public cherishes it without understanding a page. America's book is the
Internet, which provides instant access to streams of thought ‒ and then some. Currently, in
assumed that more information directly correlates with a greater understanding of the world.
However, alongside the rise of information, America has seen a fall in critical thinking and
comprehension. The ability to articulate intelligent thoughts has become increasingly difficult
because people lack a deeper understanding of language. Although Americans live in the
Originally, the Internet served as “...‘the great democratizer of knowledge’...,” but the sea of
information available to people has instead divided common understanding (Wright). The
overwhelming amount of information has not propelled learning. For example, in the article
“SAT Verbal/Critical Reading and Writing Exams,” the SAT, also known as the Scholastic
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Aptitude Test, has indicated a decrease in verbal SAT scores since 1967 (see Appendix A). The
SAT verbal section requires students to interpret the meaning of passages and vocabulary. Over
time, students’ ability to accurately answer these questions has declined, indicating students have
trouble comprehending the meaning of vocabulary even though they have access to an
abundance of knowledge.
between writers and readers. Readers miscomprehend what the writer says because writers are
not exact with word choice. According to English novelist George Orwell, one issue in modern
English is the use of clichés. When writers use clichés, they may be unaware of the adverse
effects and convey an unintended meaning. For example, a writer may use the cliché “a hammer
and an anvil,” in which the writer implies the anvil is harmed, but in reality, the anvil always
ends up breaking the hammer (Orwell). The overall effect of clichés renders the reader unable to
accurately comprehend what the writer is saying. Orwell states another issue in modern English
is that writers eliminate simple verbs and favor wordy phrases. Quantity does not trump quality,
and the author’s true meaning behind his/her words can be muddled by these unnecessary
additions. Orwell claims the last issue in modern English is the usage of abstract terms in place
of concrete terms. Abstract terms cloud the meaning of passages and create vagueness. For
example, the word “freedom” is subjective: its meaning varies depending on who interprets it.
Someone from the United States may see freedom as the right to religion and speech while
someone from North Korea defines their freedom as avoiding incrimination. The use of abstract
terms fogs the audience's mind as they are unsure of the author’s intended meaning. In general,
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these issues, according to Orwell, have caused not only readers but also the writer himself to be
Even though George Orwell died in the mid 1900s, his words remain significant today.
Critics of his work may claim that the state of education has changed monumentally since
Orwell’s time, but, in fact, many of the issues Orwell highlights in his essay “Politics and the
English Language” remain true. It could even be argued that in some cases, the detrimental
language trend that Orwell identified has become more widespread in American culture today.
American journalist and author David Orr points out, “We are losing, in short, the capacity
to articulate what ought to be most important to us.” Orr’s statement indicates that Americans’
language has been manipulated by those attempting to control others. People with malicious
intentions restrict vocabulary, so those under them cannot properly name critical issues within
society. Because submissive citizens are unable to name serious issues, authority can easily
control its people. In addition, Orr believes the use of jargon separates language and lacks the
coherence American culture needs. Jargon is like the two sides of a coin: it can be used to
describe certain fragments of the world but is unable to describe a coherent whole. As an
example, Orr uses the specialized language of economics, which is useful in economics but does
not describe the state of our well-being. The use of jargon detaches Americans from an overall
Orr goes on to describe that as a result of increasing technology, American lives have
become pre-packaged due to everyday visual media. In a personal interview, David Orr was
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asked about the trend toward visual consumption of information. Orr explains how people have
become “..suckers for visual stimuli, lacking a reliable immune system for advertisements,
television, smart phones, etc. This is a large and growing problem that could undermine our
collective intelligence.” The hunger for easily digestible information encases Americans in their
rooms. In his article “Verbicide,” Orr states that the American people are no longer participators
but are spectators: Americans lack real-world experience, so they are less knowledgeable on
acquired from the Internet requires no reciprocation and therefore does not bring upon critical
thinking through analysis (Sinha 2326). Information from the Internet can be consumed without
example, the Internet provides people with individualized information based on their interests, so
they consume biased information (Wright). As a result, people’s opinions become more extreme.
In terms of language, common literature has subsided in recent years due to tailored information.
Although Americans have access to the same information online, instant gratification removes
their desire to fact-check information and question the credibility of sources (Wright). In this
way, propaganda infects the minds of those who read it, and the information people accept as
true influences their beliefs and actions. In turn, communication becomes polarized because
people with strong opinions are able to spread their agenda online to unsuspecting victims.
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As the causes of decreased language comprehension are widespread, the effects are
increased visual media has taken away opportunities to reflect. Without proper reflection, those
with intense emotions will be unable to solve what mentally strains them. Without a solution,
contained emotions continue to accumulate over time. Furthermore, people are more likely to
believe propaganda than to question its credibility through critical thinking (Wright).
Questioning facilitates debate in the mind and between people, which creates numerous benefits.
As a result of questioning, people may begin to form a better understanding of the world and
their own opinions on crucial topics, and informed opinions are important assets in developing a
knowledge-rich world. Along with the previous effects named, Resmovits, the Senior Education
Reporter of the Huffington Post, points out America’s decreasing comprehensive abilities. Due
standardized tests have decreased. These vocabulary tests do not test root definitions but test
students’ ability to determine the meaning of words within the context of a passage (Resmovits).
With this in mind, it can be seen that Americans are becoming less able to correctly utilize their
intelligence, America has seen an increase in performance, which indicates that people are
gaining language comprehension ability. According to Dr. Lisa Trahan, “The ‘Flynn effect’
refers to the observed rise over time in standardized intelligence test scores, documented by
Flynn (1984a) in a study on intelligence quotient (IQ) score gains...” At first, it may seem like no
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coincidence that test scores increase as people are exposed to greater amounts of information;
however, the apparent correlation between the two does not necessarily indicate a causation.
Trahan describes that “...there have been greater gains in scores produced by nonverbal,
America’s IQ scores, Americans have not seen gains in their ability to interpret and implement
proper language use. Specifically, Trahan states, “These types of tests are strongly associated
with fluid intelligence, suggesting less of a rise in crystalized intelligence that reflects the
influence of education, such as vocabulary.” The increasing trend in IQ scores does not indicate
increased comprehension of learned knowledge; instead, it may indicate that people are
becoming more proficient in more abstract forms of thinking and reasoning. Additionally,
although the Flynn effect indicates an increase in intelligence, Fischer, a professor of sociology
at UC Berkeley, claims that vocabulary knowledge has decreased since the 1940s. The usage of
the Flynn effect as a counter is flawed because overall understanding of language has decreased,
which is essential for effective communication, while visual comprehension has increased due to
media.
Regardless of the negative trends in comprehension, hope is not lost for the future of
language: schools and teachers could be the solution. Take David Orr’s suggestion that
“...students should be given every opportunity to read ‘classic and well-written’ books, essays,
poetry, and philosophy, if for no other reason than for the sheer joy of it. Oh, it also helps to
develop the capacity to use words well and to think more clearly.” Inciting interest in the
intricacies of language is one step teachers and schools can take to positively impact the future of
communication. Professor Greenfield takes a similar stance on potential solutions to the issue,
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suggesting that schools should implement a “balanced media diet” between traditional and
technology-based learning methods, so that no one medium inhibits learning (Wolpert). Once
students’ daily source of education becomes better suited to encourage critical thinking, language
usage and comprehension can begin an upward climb toward a knowledgeable future. As a
result, communication will evolve to be effective: the words may breathe life into those receiving
them.
increased substantially, Americans’ ability to critically think and communicate has deteriorated.
The Internet serves as an archive of accumulated information that can easily be accessed, and
available information has increased substantially since the Internet’s conception. The causes for
decreased comprehension range from an attempt of control to lack of hands-on experiences, and
the effects negatively impact Americans and will continue to grow until it is cut down.
Americans’ lack of language understanding represents a desperate call for help: the words on the
page scream to be heard correctly, yet people’s hearts remain burdened with misunderstanding.
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Figure 1. Graph of Verbal, Writing, and Reading SAT Scores from 1967 to 2015
Figure 1 depicts the trend lines for verbal, writing, and math mean SAT scores from 1967
to 2015. It appears that verbal SAT scores have steadily decreased in recent years. The same
decreasing pattern can be seen in the writing scores although they were only added recently in
2006 (“SAT Verbal/Critical Reading”). The graph confirms a decrease in standardized testing
Works Cited
Fischer, Claude. “Tests Say Americans Becoming More Intelligent over the Generations. How
Could That Be?” The Berkeley Blog, 29 Oct. 2010, blogs.berkeley.edu. Accessed 24
March 2019.
Learned.”
Science, vol. 323, no. 5910, 2009, pp. 69–71., doi:10.1126/science.1167190. Accessed 26
March 2019.
Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language.” (1946) The Broadview Anthology of
Resmovits, Joy. “National Vocabulary Test Sheds Light On Reading 'Crisis', Experts Say.” The
“SAT Verbal/Critical Reading and Writing Exams.” Humanities Indicators, American Academy
2019.
Sinha, Dipankar. “Public Communication in Information Age: Time for a Requiem?” Economic
2019.
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Trahan, Lisa H, et al. “The Flynn Effect: a Meta-Analysis.” Psychological Bulletin, U.S.
2019.
Wolpert, Stuart. “Is Technology Producing a Decline in Critical Thinking and Analysis?” UCLA
March 2019.