To ask for paragraphs?

Marydoll, you got there before me. And you put it so much better...

You are quite right, Grannylaine!

Time to let it go!

I think this has all become a bit forensic and a long way from the intention of original post, which I'm sure refers to a tiny percentage of posts. FWIW, my older grandchildren are all in state primary schools and are taught English Language at a very complex level and they paragraph very adeptly.

I wrote a very long post and then deleted it, as I have no desire to get into a spat with anyone.
Life is far too short, especially in the present circumstances, when we should be supporting each other.

Breaking up lengthy texts is important to those of us who find it difficult to decipher screeds of information without a break, that in itself can be discriminatory.
I want to read these posts, but can't, as it hurts my eyes and brain, so I move on. No nastiness intended.

All that the OP asked was that posters try and break up lengthy texts to make them easier to read.
No-one has demanded correct spelling, correct punctuation etc.

This part of my post is addressed to Trisher and Suedonim.
I assume, Trisher you are referring to the English curriculum, (please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure you will) but on the other hand Suedonim, your grandson attends a Scottish school, where the curriculum is somewhat different.
I am not au fait with the English Curriculum, so I wouldn't presume to comment on it.

The Scottish curriculum, Curriculum for Excellence is much more flexible and less prescriptive than some curricula, so it feasible for a child to be paragraphing earlier than the age you suggest Trisher.
Suedonim, you must be very proud of your wee grandson.

If a teacher feels a child is ready to paragraph earlier than expected, in Scotland the teacher can support a pupil in developing that skill, without being asked by management why it was being done in P2 or P3, as opposed to P4.

Some pupils are way ahead of their peers and it would be unprofessional to hold that child back, because a document states they must wait until a prescribed stage, before learning to paragraph.
Other pupils may still not be paragraphing by the time they leave primary school.
We have to try and meet the needs of all pupils, using our professional judgement and expertise.

I noted with interest your point that the average reading age is 9 years, however, I believe in Scotland it is 11 years old.
The important word is average. I hope the implication is not that all members of GN have a reading age of 9 years . I would hope that mine is at least 11 years old, as I live in Scotland and have had a Scottish education. .

My final point, Trisher is that I may not have your vast expertise on educational matters, but I am fully aware that those with dyslexia have different needs and difficulties and consequently, any support has to be tailored to suit their individual needs.

I have previewed this post, but as I have some difficulties of a dyslexic nature, I may have made errors. I'm sure you will go over my post with your red pen and be quick enough to point them out, as you did previously. .

Thank you for your reply, trisher. In the general context of this thread, I couldn't resist a little dig.

More seriously, I need to be really interested in a subject to get my teeth into an unattractively long paragraph, which seems to me to be like someone talking at length with identical pauses between sentences. I suspect that when we address a subject at length we think in paragraphs, however subconsciously, and whether we speak out loud or not.

this is social media *FFS! - it simply isn't important

I've a tendency to agree with trisha.

Having said that, out of respect for others on here I will do my best to make my posts at least decipherable!

I do understand that some find it easier to read paragraphs, and so I try to comply.

The fear that I may upset someone on here because I don't spell something correctly or don't use paragraphs and or full stops correctly.
Or (G forbid), put an apostrophe in the wrong place is sometimes palpable.

It can feel like being bullied, or if not then at the very least being 'told' what to do.
Which in of its self points to a segregation of those who tell and those who are told!

I appreciate that's not the principle aim of most Gnetters who probably just want to be able to read easily.

Thinking it over, I don't think this type of complaint would feature much on any other smedia site.

But as I don't use any others I haven't any direct comparisons.

7 year old GD is using paragraphs, punctuation and spelling in Year 3 English school. I thought they all were?

Maybe it’s coming naturally to him, then.

All of mine could paragraph well before Y3. Perhaps Scottish schools do it (or did, mine are all adults now) differently.

Paragraphing isn't taught in literacy until year 3 SueDonim I have no idea why your GC is using them but it certainly isn't taught in most schools at 5. Most children won't be competent using them until year 4 or even 5.

I think bottom line is.....
Instead of one big chunk could we have some wee chunks

I did say some people with dyslexia, not all.

As for paragraphs, my grandchildren have all been taught to use them since they started writing pieces long enough for them to be required. My 5yo GS sent me a nicely-written paragraphed Easter letter, it’s a pretty basic lesson that’s taught in schools.

The thing is, Suedonim, posters with dyslexia may also find it difficult to break up their own lengthy posts. ?

That's a very broad statement and no one can make it. Every dyslexic is different and has their own problems. It isn't a single condition and it very much depends on what is the cause of the problem. With 10% of the population having difficulties expecting paragraphs from most people is elitist. How many 9 year olds can paragraph? Because that is the average reading age of people in the UK.

Thanks, Marydoll. So that presumably means posts without paragraphs exclude some people with dyslexia, if it’s difficult for them to decipher.

grumpa as I am not previewing, have the occasional slip of the finger, and quite frankly don't give a damn, the sentence properly spelt and punctuated should have read.
Some are more dificult than others, but, if a poster has taken the trouble to write, expecting a certain standard is restricting.
If it was satire it was entirely accidental. But perhaps appropriate.
If I am writing something for publication or presentation I will make every effort to check my spelling, punctuation and paragraphing and proof read everything, but this is social media FFS ! It simply isn't important. I don't think the long winded posts are half as annoying as the people who post the same thing over and over again.

No capitals at all does make it hard to see where one sentence ends and another begins. It is what we are accustomed to see, I suppose. There was a trend towards never using capitals for a while, but I don't think it spread very far.

"Some are more difficult than others but of a poster has taken the trouble to write expecting a certain standard is restricting"

I must confess to having struggled with this sentence of yours, trisher, but then I thought it might be a clever piece of satire, or some kind of a test.

Have I passed?

It's the posts with no capital letters that I struggle with the most. I can't tell where the sentence is supposed to begin and end. I'm afraid I give up on those.

Yes elegran I think you’re right to some degree. I can’t abide being picked up by my grammar I see it as a deflection tactic usually but not always. The shouting capitals came about really I suppose when email etiquette was learnt. To be honest that’s when I stop reading posts because I can sense the anger or frustration behind them. I make a point also of not picking up people on their spelling ?
I agree with op original post though paragraphs make it easier to read.

SueDonim, definitely!

I agree with your post, May7 but I have to point out that we only think that capitals are shouty because we have learnt it, by being told that they are whenever we used them.

Hurt pride makes us resent being told that we have spellling or grammar wrong, but no-one seems to mind being reminded about capitals. Is it that we are prepared to learn about something new - the internet - but we think our days of learning spelling and grammar are long past and we are too old to be told?

This is a genuine question, because I don’t know that much about it - do some people with dyslexia find it difficult to read long unbroken pieces of print or writing?

Inverted snobbery rubbish, Sussexborn! No-one is condemning anyone for their spelling, grammar, punctuation or anything else that they may have missed because they lack a decent education.

It doesn't actually take advanced or expensive education to look at a long chunk of text that you have just typed in and say to youtrself, "You know what? This is a great slab of words! If I saw this in a book, I wouldn't like to try to read it. I'll chop it up a bit."

Does it take education to see something as someone else would see it? No, it doesn't!

I prefer to read posts that are paragraphed correctly but I will read them. It’s about content for me and I agree trisher there are a few posters that seem to be distressed when keying them in. What I really dislike though is posters commenting on apostrophies and grammar . We are all grown ups aren’t we? Do we really need to be corrected? It’s bad enough that auto correct does it. The use of capitals to shout is just rude.

Harsh comment sussexborn and in my opinion, totally missing the point of this thread. Nobody has made any rude remarks about lack of education, snobbery or any of your other wide of the mark points. All some of us are saying is to break up long chunks of text, take a breath writing to allow the readers to do so too.