Popular and scholarly writing each has its own time and place.  It is important to know the intended audience as to what form of writing to take on.  No matter the form of writing, both scholarly and popular sources try to communicate information.  The difference is the audience and the content.  Scholarly writing is “…the active process of clearly communicating original research in a field of study” (O’Brien, Marken, & Petrey, 2016).  There is a need for both forms in society, but the reader needs to be able to determine the source of the writing and whether it comes from a factual peer-reviewed basis.  The problem with scholarly writing is that not everyone can understand it and have access, this is where the audience comes to play.  Most of the population, my assertion, has access to popular writing.  We as humans are constantly reading or watching the news to gain information. Where does the media get their information?  Hopefully, it is coming from a scholarly source.  It is important for the popular writing to include sources so, if interested, the consumer can learn more about the topic and make informed decisions about its validity.

I would like to look more at the audience.  While this was not an example of writing, it does demonstrate the importance of the audience.  Recently an early childhood teacher posted a lesson to a social media challenge equating pepper to germs and the importance of soap usage in hand washing.    The students saw from observation that the pepper covered the entire surface of the water, but when a finger with soap was added, the pepper was repelled by the soap.  The kids were amazed as were some adults.  Was this beneficial in demonstrating the importance of using soap, absolutely.  Did it accurately portray the relationship between soap and germs/viruses, not exactly?  It was extremely oversimplified, and she was called out on various platforms for this.  Some tried to explain what was happening but do 3 to 5-year-olds need to know that the virus contains a lipid layer, no, they just need to know that using soap will “repel” and wash off the germs.  The importance of knowing the target audience.  Had the teacher gone in there with a scholarly explanation she would have lost the students, but the same lesson undergraduate and graduate students, while appreciated, would not have been explained at the proper level of the consumer.

“What is your sample set?” is a question I ask my family, on a regular basis, when they try to tell me something that they have heard or learned.  The reason I ask is to determine what their source is and if it has any factual basis.  It has become a joke in our family.  Consuming knowledge helps shape our beliefs and the source of that knowledge matters (Braun & Nuckles, 2014).  While popular sources may pique interest it is important to ensure that the information presented comes from a reputable source with an acknowledged background and expertise.  As my sister would say, just because you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express does not make you an expert.  Too much misinformation occurs in popular media, especially in today’s climate.  As consumers, we need to do our due diligence to ensure the media we are consuming is fact based from a reputable source and not based on feelings and misconceptions.

References

Braun, I., & Nuckles, M. (2014). Scholarly Holds Lead Over Popular and Instructional: Text Type Influence Epistemological Reading Outcomes. Science Education, 867-904.

O’Brien, S. P., Marken, D., & Petrey, K. B. (2016, July). Student Perceptions of Scholarly Writing. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 4(3), 1-19.