Literate/Semi-Literate/Illiterate VS. The Five Point Scale

[Enfys]

If you'd like to be rated on the Five Point Scale, please visit The Five Point Scale: A new way to judge RPing skill.

Lately I've been mulling over this a lot. What IS "semi-literate"? The dictionary defines it as:

–adjective
1. barely able to read and write.
2. capable of reading but not writing.
3. literate but poorly skilled or informed; lacking the proficiency of a literate person.

None of these, except perhaps definition #3, sound like what we describe as semi-literate, and even the generally-accepted definition of semi-lit on CS is frustratingly vague. I mean, sure, three sentences is what most people say, but I don't really like the idea that quantity is what makes you a good writer. See below:

Charles got up. He looked around. Then he walked up to Talon. "What are you doing?" he said.

Charles yawned widely and shook his burly body, the morning light that had woken him filtering into his den. He stretched and slipped out of his den, observing the slowly waking world around him. The big male spotted his comrade, Talon, and padded up to him with his usual relaxed gait. "What are you doing?" he questioned.

We'll refer to these two blokes as #1 and #2. Even though #1 has proper grammar and writes three sentences, #2 is obviously the better writer. It's immensely frustrating when someone such as #1 is in a Semi-Lit RP with people who can write like #2. Now, I'm not saying that #1 will never improve, and I have nothing against people who are still learning to write, but it's like training your body: throwing yourself into running marathons every day when you've been sitting on the couch for the last year isn't productive. In fact, it's harmful. You'll get worn out and discouraged. There's simply too much to take in if you're aiming to improve. You've gotta take baby steps.

I think we should re-write the scale and make it more user-friendly. Role players get rated on a scale of 1 to 5:

1- Beginner. Has difficulty with proper grammar and has low vocabulary skills. Often uses textspeak. Posts are often difficult to understand to even a sympathetic reader and characters are often Mary- or Gary- Sue'ish. Often has "writer's block". Do not influence the plot with much skill.

charles woke up, he said hey what are u doing talon. he heard an evil wolf in the bushes and snarled at ti freaking out

2- Intermediate-Low. Still has trouble with grammar and vocabulary, but has dropped textspeak. Posts are sometimes difficult to understand. Characters are more developed and flaws are now occasionally incorporated into their personality. Writer's block occurs occasionally. Influences the plot, but not always productively.

Charles woke up yawning. he walked out of his den. He walked up to talon and asked, "what are you doing? He heard a wolf in the bushes. He turned around and snarled at it. "Who are u?"

3- Intermediate. Grammar is mostly proper with only one or two mistakes every post. Vocabulary is average. Has begun to use personification, metaphors, similes, etc. Posts are almost never hard to understand. Characters always have at least one flaw, but they still don't seem quite as natural as they could be. Is capable of influencing the plot and creating interesting situations.

Charles woke up with a huge yawn. He stretched and walked out of his den and up to Talon. "Hey Talon. What are you doing?" He flicked one of his ears back at the sound of something moving through the growth behind him and turned around, snarling. "You there! Who are you?"

4- Intermediate-High. Grammar is almost never improper. Vocabulary is improving and they are good at using personifications, metaphors, similes, ect. Posts are never hard to understand. Characters are believable. Is skilled at manipulating the plot in a way that isn't mini-plotting and comes up with creative issues. Is not afraid of being the "bad guy".

With his maw stretched into a yawn, Charles awoke. He shook himself and squeezed out of the den, his big frame dwarfing the rest of the camp. With a smile he padded up to Talon. "What are you--" he whipped around and snarled angrily, sensing an intruder in the undergrowth behind him. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

5- Experienced. It's very rare that they make a grammatical mistake. They have fantastic vocabulary and are great at using personification, metaphor, simile, ect. Posts are never hard to understand. Characters are very real. They're quite good at manipulating the plot and comes up with creative issues. Enjoys being the "bad guy" or the "good guy" and can do both with skill.

Groggily, Charles opened his eyes. Light filtered through the entrance, poking through the foggy blanket of sleep. He yawned widely and snapped his jaws shut as he squeezed his bulky frame through the entrance of the den, seeming to dwarf the rest of the camp. He spotted Talon standing at the edge of camp and padded up to him lazily. "What are you--" a rustling in the bushes evaporated the remnants of sleep and he twirled around with a snarl, facing the intruder. "Show yourself!"

Although I do shy away from the terms "Literate/Illiterate", I think that this scale fits well into the Literacy scale.

1-2=Illiterate
2-3-4=Semi-Literate
4-5=Literate

I know this sounds like a bit of work, but I would be willing to "grade" a fair amount of people's work. Not everyone would have to do it, but some RPs could require a rating for being able to join.

I think that this plan could greatly improve the quality of RPs for everyone. Let me know what you think!

Some Good Points:

Brevity is the soul of wit, and often it seems like "literate"* way of doing things rewards purple prose. Let us be completely honest: big blocks of text describing your character aren't good writing and they aren't good roleplaying either. Good writing is short and punchy. Roleplay is all about action and reaction. This doesn't mean abandon description, this means couple description with a relevant action. In other words, you have to give the other roleplayers some reason to care about the information they are being given.

I see people finding partners and a five part grading scale can be overwhelming to newcomers where a simple division between one or the other at the moment is a simplified but welcoming manner. You can opt to change the terms, but while it's easy to read this as "What's so hard to get?" I find that when it comes to showing someone something new, or having them come on their own, the more text and categories involved, the scarier it is for them.

It's that vagueness and simplicity that welcomes people's curiosity and let's them take the simple steps forward to then go from a beginner to branching out into broader means. "Illiterate" can be seen as a shield for people instead of a discriminative term since people who are less well versed in English feel that they can fit in somewhere without being judged, and they move at their own pace to strive towards "literacy."

Maybe the Five Point Scale would compliment the Literacy scale. So semi-literate would include 2, 3, and 4 from the Five Point Scale. Literate includes 4 and 5, Illiterate includes 1 and 2.

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[Shimmerleaf]

I like it! I have a feeling I am around a 3.5. Is that good?

[Enfys]

Thanks! And yeah, 3.5 is a little over average, I'm guessing.

[Trick;]

I think I'm a 3.999999999999999999999999999999999? I just can't absolutely see me in the 4. {Even though I always have proper spelling and grammar. Grammar Nazi--------------->}

[Mardigraskit]

I belive I'm at.... four, seeing at how most of my replies now are atleast a paragraph or two, I have a wide vocabulary, my grammar skills are at their peak....sometimes if I type fast I spell something wrong, but I'll go back and fix it.

[Kites]

I reckon I'm a four/five, depending on the situation/if I can be bothered.
xD

~Kites

[Slimedog]

I am like a medium 4 . DX Gosh what a epic fail I am. I have been rping for 6 years and I am only a 4. T.T I hate myself.

[pizzas and scream]

are you sure? sure 2 is better writer, but what if they wrote a wonderful story, but didn't have enough punctuation? I guess the over haul in the grading system is needed.

I just never can recall how to do word-magic, I forget what was in school and, ironically do not understand when I read "how to grammar"

such as what comes first. does Charles wake up with a yawn? or yawing in a groggy fashion Charles awakes?
do we go out the door with a happy step? or with a happy step we skip merrily out the door greeting a new adventure?

it dosen't matter, as long as "someone can read it". it is only necessary for abstract writing and not simple directions.

I am a -0.

[Trick;]

Scratch my post. I think I'm a 4 ^^

[Enfys]

@.:Aisling:.: I'd say you're a 4!

@Mardigraskit: Like I said before, it's not so much quantity for me as it is quality. I think that with quality comes quantity. I think you're a 4

@Kites: I'd say a 4, but I only looked at one of your posts.

@MSIfan: I've been RPing for at least 5 and I'm a four. Don't fret, milove!

@Kuu: ... What? I don't understand.

I'm on my iPod right now, but as soon I get home I think I'm going to make a form or something that we can evaluate.