5th December 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Results of a poll issued by the National Literacy Trust suggest that boys are twice as likely as girls to say they don’t like to write. About 20% of boys surveyed said that they did not enjoy writing, compared with just 8% of girls who said the same thing. The results are drawn from a survey conducted amongst about 35,000 pupils from across the UK, and suggest that there are marked differences between boys’ and girls’ attitudes towards writing. 30% of the boys surveyed said that they rarely or never wrote outside of school, while girls were much more likely to write for pleasure or keep journals.
One of the biggest issues picked up by the survey was that many boys would be embarrassed if their friends saw them writing, a problem which girls generally did not report. When questioned further, a third of the boys surveyed said that there was no point in learning spelling and grammar in the age of computers and spellcheckers. The survey also suggested that 15% of students who responded write some of their school work in text-speak, using abbreviations such as ‘LOL’ and ‘YOLO’ when writing essays. Girls who responded to the survey were more likely to say that they engaged in writing outside of school, and to consider this a prestigious activity.
The National Literacy Trust has said that steps needed to be taken by schools and parents to encourage boys to write. Teaming up with children’s author Simon Mayo, they said that the key to engaging children is to find topics that capture their imagination. Asking students to write about subjects they enjoy is a key part of encouraging writing, and the Trust advises that schools give students freedom to explore their favourite topics. They also suggested that teachers and parents use visuals aids, asking children to draw their stories, or showing them pictures which would help them think out what they wanted to write. Students should also be encouraged to think about their characters and settings before they think about plot, in order to let their ideas flow in a workable order. The Trust concluded by saying it was vital that students, especially boys who currently hate writing, be encouraged to develop their creativity and thinking skills.