I have the same issue in the community college where I teach. The writing sounds like speech, filled with slang, colloquialisms, and fillers that one would find in speech but undesirable in writing. Sentences preceded or interrupted by.."let me tell you something.." "Really?" "Snap..." "Totally," "Of course, everyone knows..." and my favorite: "Seriously..." 
 
Carol Morrison 
 

________________________________
 From: Stephen King <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 7:04 PM
Subject: Spoken vs. formal written English
 
Can anyone direct me to a text that focuses, at length, on the differences between spoken and written versions of language? It seems to me that a great many of my community college students, especially those who have been out of school for some time, use a version of English that could be characterized as "Spoken English Written Down." (A colleague suggested the acronym "SPEWD.") I have my own list of those differences, but am looking for other resources. Many thanks in advance! 

Steve King

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