1

Aldo Giannattasio
WRRH Major
2019 Scandling Center,
Hobart College, Geneva, NY 14456
1/7/18

Professor Ben Ristow

WRRH Professor
216 Smith Hall
Hobart College, Geneva, NY 14456

Dear Professor Ristow,

As children we all remember exchanging texts on our T-Mobile slide phone back
when all of us wanted the razr flip phone and doing our basic algebra, writing summaries
on stories, and learning facts about U.S. history when entering middle school.
However, what stuck with me the most was my middle school teacher Mr.
Steenson who made us as students pursue writing him an email as a homework
assignment but in more of a letter format. At the time I don’t think I had known what
email was and didn’t even have my own computer. The style of writing was one that
completely contrasted any sort of writing that I had done up to that point in my life and
was my first introduction to structure and word choice. Now you might be saying that
writing a letter is not a form of techno-literacy but techno-literacy can be any sort of
writing or reading that occurs through digital means. According to Self and Hawisher
techno-literacy is “the practices of reading and writing, and exchanging information in
online environments, as well as the values associated with such practices- cultural, social,
political and educational.”
When looking at the email, it was not just an assignment meant to educate us but
in fact allowed for me to be introduced to a different side of the digital realm and to
become more techno-literate. Therefore email is something that is able to bridge the gap
into becoming literate from both a cultural and educational standpoint. As Kress
emphasizes “text is not merely constituted of meaningful symbols but is the result of
social action.”
It is around 1:00 p.m. and we have all just finished having our lunch and the 15-
minute recess break, which encompasses a game of backyard tackle football. Stumbling
back to Mr. Steenson’s room with my muddied pants I try and conceal the dark stain that
lines the tan caci’s from the fresh mulch. Sitting in the pale classroom, the white
fluorescent bulb shines down on me as if I am about to be interrogated by Mr. Steenson
about what we were doing. As we all sit there waiting for class to resume again Nino says
“Your a bunch of ******* cheaters”, only to be meet with the response “Whatever
Anotonian” by Pascius and Maloney. The door opens and Mr. Steenson tells us to follow
him to the upper schools computer room. Steenson is a short man and has come to be
known as the white catholic version of Mr. T. Upon sitting down at the computer table
Mr. Steenson gives us the instruction to turn our computer on and to write him a an email
in the form of a letter. The red, green, blue and yellow flag pops up and the bars fade
followed by the soft start up noise. After being aided by Pascius I get onto my email with
 2

a blank inbox and click onto new message to see the blank page. I begin to type.
Through writing in email I was introduced to forming sentences in a structured
manner from what previously seemed like clumps of thoughts carelessly placed on paper.
Writing in this manner forced me as a student to learn how to form questions and
thoughts in a more organized manner. One of our rules was to always start out by asking
someone a personal question and then following up with more succinct writing. This
allowed for me to understand that within an email there exists a kind of introduction
followed by body paragraphs and then a few concluding sentences. Having to do that
demonstrated in a way not only what basic educational essays were but also what the
daily skills needed in the digital world are in order to function within a society. As stated
by Snyder “in an electronically mediated world, being literate is to do with understanding
how the different modalities are combined in complex ways to create meaning.” Along
with that through the need to write on a computer forced become literate in the physical
sense as well where I learned how to become proficient in using the keyboard.

Running to my locker, I search for the book with the letters physics in bold. With
the locker door propped open with my bag, I throw my books into the abyss and pull out
my physics textbook. Quickly walking through the hall I try to escape the looming bell.
As I open the door to class, I narrowly escape the bell as it rings. Sitting in class our
teacher tells us to open up to chapter 16. None of us really are thinking about physics
though as it is Friday and we all often mingle about what we are going to do this
weekend. After opening our books half of us slide our phone between the book and desk.
In a uniform manner most of the guys start to flip through social media, tweet, or text. As
the red number one pops up to signify a new message, I open up my email and notice a
response from an employer asking me if I finished doing a task for them.
 3

Using email makes ones not just literate from an educational standpoint but also
helps one enter into society. As Warnick states, “the aim of rhetoric in digital literacy is
explicit persuasion and its primary methods for accomplishing this task is through forms
of appeal.” In this sense then having to write an email is very much a lesson about
providing someone what he or she wants or trying to get what you want. In the end
though the email functions as a body that focuses on improving the position of oneself.
For example if you want something from someone the structure of the email suggests that
you start out with something personal followed with what your actual message is and
then concluding with a personal statement again. This format is one where there is the
sense of concern for the other and makes one more willing to want to do something for
you. On the other hand if it is for someone like your boss it often takes on the format of
stating something followed by an explanation of what you did and then reverting back to
the assignment.
When looking at the process though of an email exchange, it also teaches one the
importance of listening. According to Welch electric rhetoric is “the new merger of the
written and oral…” Although it only involves visual processing, it forces us to always
pay attention in that you have to remember things about the person and what they are
saying to you in order to not become repetitive. As adults this is an important skill in
being able to remember key things from our interactions with others. It not only shows
the other a general interest in what they say but also prevents repetitiveness within our
interactions.

It is 2:00 p.m. and the bell has just sounded signaling there is one more class until
the weekend begins. Waiting in class for others to arrive I open up my email and see a
few emails pertaining to my flight. At the top of my inbox I notice a message from my
cousin asking me when I will be coming over to his house.
Email also though functions as a means that allows for one to hone their ability to
write in an effective manner. As Johnson Eilola states, “text in the gizmo format
 4

represents a dramatic departure from text as a product … as gizmos, texts are highly
unstable and user alterable in ways that printed texts are not. They can be moved around,
recombined and transformed.” When looking at email one learns to always take in
consideration our audience and to think about the choice of our words along with what
the meaning is behind our choices. As a writer you have to therefore always contemplate
what the actions of what you are saying have on the person you are writing to. This then
leads to the constant editing of what one is saying. Just in looking at ending emails one
can notice multiple types, all of which take on different meanings. Sincerely, or regards
symbolizes distance and therefore is the most formal style. While best regards or
cordially symbolize a more personal knowledge of the person. There is also the usage of
warm regards or best wishes, which symbolizes a connection with the person. Practicing
this is then crucial in the everyday requirement of acknowledging and recognizing
hierarchy through the digital realm of email. The type of interactivity seen in email
therefore very much plays a crucial role in our ability to find success in interacting with
others. As Warnick states most of our communication “includes some form of reciprocal
message exchange involving mediation and occurring between [an organization] and
user, between user and site text, or user and other user.” Therefore email is very much
“the vehicle for identification” of being able to acknowledge existing system and how to
respond in situations.

Sitting in the cool air-conditioned room all I can here is the soft sound of air
flowing through the vents along with the movement of my hands across the keyboard. As
I sit there typing away an email, my mind is not thinking of technologies impact on
literacy or even the different ways that I can write the email. Instead all I am doing is
unconsciously writing an email. No longer is techno-literacy something that has to be
calculated but instead is now just something that has become as naturalized as either
reading or writing. I don’t think of where I am using inflection when reading aloud nor
 5

do I think about how I am going to write the email anymore. The process is just an
unconscious everyday task that now is seen as a requirement in order to function within
our own culture and society.

Sincerely,

Aldo Giannattasio