📕 Part 1: Writing

This episode's vocabulary

A great deal (noun phrase) – a large amount or quantity. → I've learned a great deal from working with international students.

Put together (phrasal verb) – to assemble or create something by combining parts. → I need to put together a presentation for tomorrow's meeting.

Saturated (adjective) – completely filled or supplied beyond capacity. → The job market is saturated with qualified candidates right now.

Effective (adjective) – successful in producing a desired result. → Online learning can be very effective when done properly.

Dictate (verb) – to speak words aloud for someone or something to write down. → I often dictate my notes to save time when I'm busy.

Bits and pieces (idiom) – small amounts or fragments of something. → I've picked up bits and pieces of Spanish from watching films.

Repetitive strain injury (noun phrase) – damage to muscles or tendons from repeated movements. → Office workers can develop repetitive strain injury from typing too much.

Volume (noun) – the amount or quantity of something. → The volume of homework has increased significantly this semester.

Foresee (verb) – to predict or anticipate something before it happens. → It's difficult to foresee what technology will look like in 20 years.

Doubt (verb) – to feel uncertain about something or consider it unlikely. → I doubt we'll finish the project on time given the delays.

Time-consuming (adjective) – requiring a lot of time to complete. → Preparing for exams can be quite time-consuming but it's necessary.

Keep track of (phrasal verb) – to monitor or maintain awareness of something. → I use a calendar app to keep track of all my appointments.

Nowadays (adverb) – in the present time, especially compared to the past. → Nowadays, most people prefer digital books to physical ones.

Come in handy (idiom) – to prove useful in a particular situation. → Learning basic cooking skills really comes in handy when you live alone.

In the long run (phrase) – over an extended period; eventually. → Investing in education pays off in the long run.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Rory, do you write a lot?

Rory: Well, that depends on how you define a lot, I suppose. Compared to before, when I wrote whole books, I don't write a great deal, but I probably still write more than the average person, considering I constantly have to put together notes on various books and plan for classes and things like that.

Maria: What do you like to write?

Rory: I used to love writing fiction, especially science fiction, and various things about teaching, though I don't have much time for it these days, sadly. Plus, the need isn't really there, given how saturated the markets and internet are with these things. So usually I just write down notes for lesson plans. And I do like that because that's effective. It's just the volume is not so high.

Maria: How often do you use a pen?

Rory: Every day. I need one to write my diary, my lesson plans, and take notes during lessons while I'm listening to people. And so I have a record of decisions that I make. If I didn't do that, then I'd forget everything that happens or needs to happen throughout the day.

Maria: Do you prefer typing or handwriting when you are writing?

Rory: Well, for longer pieces, I'd like to write them by hand first and then dictate them to an AI to create the text for me. But usually I write shorter bits and pieces, so typing works just fine for that since I'm less likely to get a repetitive strain injury or something like that.

Maria: Do you think the things you write will change?

Rory: Assuming I'm always a teacher, I doubt it. I'll always need to have a plan and follow it. It's possible the content might change. Actually, that's certain. But the format is unlikely to, unless some revolution in teaching happens that I've yet to foresee.

Discussion

Maria: Writing, dear listener. Do you write? Maybe not. Do you prefer typing? Yeah. So you can say that I don’t write a great deal. I don’t write much. And writing is like, when you take a pen or a pencil and you write things down, like physically, ok? You can say like, I don’t write much, I prefer typing, or I always use my phone. And here Rory’s like, Yeah, when I wrote books… How lovely.

Rory: Well, I did!

Maria: Yeah! But normal people like you and me, dear listener, we don’t write books…

Rory: Well, I imagine most people write things like essays, for example, so you probably don't do that now. Or at least you don't do it as much as you might do now.

Maria: Yeah, because I used to write a lot, yeah, at school, at university, even after that. But now you just type, right, on your phone or on your laptop. I don't know, dear listener, what about you? And you can say that I write more than the average person, so I write a lot, or I don't write much. I have to put together notes and prepare for classes, so I prefer writing everything down. Or you can say I don't write at all, I just type. I used to love writing fiction. I used to love writing poems or books, science fiction. Like, what did you write? Or what do you write, dear listener? Maybe you write notes, lists for yourself, like what to buy. Maybe you write it down by hand. And, Rory, I say write by hand with a hand, with my hand?

Rory: Yes, write things by hand, I think, is the main way to talk about it.

Maria: Yeah. Or you can say I write down lists by hand, shopping lists, or some notes to myself. Or I don't have much time for writing these days, sadly. Or you can say, like, sadly, I don't write much. Or maybe I write essays, I write notes for my blog before I type it in, right, type everything in. Or I write things at university while listening to a lecture. We write with a pen, so I write by hand, and I write with a pen, with a pencil, or by a pen.

Rory: No, I think we always write with a pencil or with a pen, not by. You write by hand.

Maria: Yeah, I write by hand, I write with a pen. I usually write with a pen, or I usually write with a pencil, or I never use a pen because I type everything, or I use my phone, or it doesn't matter what to use, my pen or my pencil. So, when I write things in my diary, I usually use a pen, or I write with a pen. I take notes during lessons with a pencil or a pen, or I prefer writing with a pen. I record decisions I make, or I record things, so I write them down. I jot it down, so I record things in my diary.

Rory: Ooh, that's a good phrasal verb, I wish I'd used that now.

Maria: Jot it down, yes, a nice one.

Rory: Yeah, take note.

Maria: Could you give us an example with jot something down?

Rory: Yes, I frequently jot things down in my diary as I add things to my to-do list throughout the day.

Maria: Yeah, there you go.

Rory: And it slowly expands from, like, five things to 15 million things.

Maria: I prefer handwriting, or I prefer typing, right? Or you can say that my handwriting is horrible, so that's why I have to type everything. For longer pieces, like for longer pieces of writing, I write them by hand and then dictate them to an AI to create the text. So, you can write it down and then use AI to create the text for you. Nice. But for shorter bits and pieces, I usually type things. Yeah, and I remember at university, I used to write quite a lot and my hand would ache. Like, my fingers, my hand, like, from writing so much. Yeah, I used to have this, you know, like a spot from a pencil or a pen on my fingers. Like, so much writing, wow.

Rory: Yeah, your hand gets sore.

Maria: During lectures, and yeah, the fingers got sore. But nowadays, it's so easy, our fingers get sore from typing. Or you can say, like, I'm a very slow typer. I'm super slow at typing, so I have to write things down by hand. I'll always need to have a plan to follow, so I'll always need to write things down. Or I'll always take notes in my diary. I'll always write down notes, little reminders.

Rory: Or write down what I have to do.

Maria: Yeah, my to-do lists by hand. So, this will not change. But perhaps in the future, I'll write more essays. I'll write, I don't know, what will you write, dear listener? Like, what do people write in general?

Rory: Essays. I think since we're getting ready for an exam where you have to write essays, people will be writing essays quite a lot. So, you can talk about your IELTS essays, your IELTS letters. Are you googling what people have to write these days?

Maria: Yeah, yeah, I'm just, like, not a clear answer. Like, to-do lists, they write in their diaries, short stories, postcards. But come on, like, we don't do it. Poems, seriously? Oh, people write their will.

Rory: Oh, my gosh, that's a bit dark.

Maria: Yeah, people write articles. Yeah, but do we, like, a normal person, what does a normal person write?

Rory: Don't ask me, I'm not normal.

Maria: True, he was a superman, Rory Superman. Yeah, but, like, usually people write down to-do lists, right? Or shopping lists, to-do lists, their plans. People plan out their day. So, they write down their plans. And also, they write reminders. So, drink water.

Rory: You have to remind yourself to drink water?

Maria: Yeah, some people do that. So, reminders, right? And also, short notes for people at home, for example. Yeah, like, the chicken is in the fridge, for example. Or, like, clean your room. Also, we write when we make comments. There we go. Comments on social media. Yeah, I usually make comments on social media. So, you write.

Rory: Do you?

Maria: Yeah, I reply to comments.

Rory: Do you write nice things?

Maria: Yeah, I write nice things. I write, yeah, I write nice things. And also, we use social media. So, we text each other. We don't write, but we type. So, texts, messages on social media. That's it, pretty much. Seriously, that's it. Nothing else. So, you may write things when you fill in some application forms, when you go to a bank to, I don't know, get a delivery or something.

Rory: That's not really extensive writing, though, is it?

Maria: No, no. Yeah, but if you are a university student or if you go to school, yeah, that's a lot of writing you do, right? But I'm talking about, like, after university. Yeah, but if you go to work. Dear listener, do you go to work? So, working writing. So, what's your working writing like? Do you kind of write in the documents?

Rory: Well, emails. Everybody writes emails at some point.

Maria: Yeah, but we type emails. We don't write them by hand.

Rory: Yeah, but typing could be part of writing.

Maria: Yeah, that's true, dear listener. So, writing, handwriting, and also typing. Everything is writing. Thank you very much for listening. Hopefully, we've given you a lot to talk about when you have to talk about writing. And we'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye!

Rory: Bye

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