For task 3, I am asked to speak an unscripted, 5 minute long story into a voice-to-text app. Hence, I will first print my unscripted story here as reference.
My unscripted, 5-min story: Okay, so let me think where to start oh yeah last week I had this kind of funny kind of annoying experience on my way to school so normally I drive but that day my car just wouldn’t start the completely dead and of course it was the one morning I was already running late, so I thought fine. I’ll just take the bus. It’s been ages since I Lasted that and you know how when you’re in a rush every little thing feels bigger the bus took fewer forever to come I swear like 20 minutes and when finally that it was completely packed, I’m standing there holding onto the pole half asleep and there’s this little kid just staring at me the whole right like full of staring at first it was killed you know kids are curious, but then it was like 10 minutes in and he’s still looking at me and I’m like do I have something on my face anyway? so the bus was crawling along then I was watching the time and I realise I was going to be super late so I texted my colleague to cover my first few minutes and then right when I was typing the bus slammed on the bricks my phone went flying out of my hand like literally slid three seats forward everyone looked at me and a kid left so I shuffled forward grabbed my phone both sorry to the people glaring at me and then I noticed I’ve accidentally send my colleague half a text like it just sets I will be and then nothing so she called me and of course it’s super loud on the bus and I was yelling into my phone. I’m on the bus and I’ll be late everyone still looking at me at that point. I was just like great let’s make this the most awkward ride ever so finally I got off walk the rest of the way and when I arrived at school, my students were ready sitting there waiting and the first thing one of them said was teacher you look tired and I just saw yeah things you have no idea but honestly looking back it’s kind of funny now because it’s been so long since I wrote the bus and I kind of forgot that Whole fight of being stuck with strangers the small embarrassing moments and also just weird little stories that come from it so yeah, maybe my car breaking down wasn’t that bad it gave me something to love about later.
After analysing the written script I got, here are my comments:
1. How does the text deviate from conventions of written English?
The written text deviates from the conventions of written English in several ways. Most noticeably, it contains very long run-on sentences without clear punctuation or paragraph breaks (which I have already foreseen). Spoken pauses such as “oh yeah,” “anyway,” or “so” appear, but because they are not punctuated in the transcript, the story reads as one breathless stretch of text. Moreover, there are many oral fillers. These oral fillers like “kind of,” “you know,” and “so” are common in speech but look redundant in a formal written work. There are also inconsistencies in tense and grammar, such as “the completely dead” instead of “completely dead,” or “It’s been ages since I Lasted that,” which does not make sense in written English.
2. What is “wrong” in the text? What is “right”?
To me, “wrong” in the text refers to the mistakes found in a “written text,” while “right” in the text refers to “the authenticity of an oral speech.”
What seems “wrong” in the text are these issues of grammar, transcription, and structure. First off, the lack of punctuation makes the text hard to follow. Also, the transcription errors such as “bricks” instead of “brakes” or “a kid left” instead of “a kid laughed” distort the original meaning when it was said orally. At the same time, much of the story is “right” in terms of oral speech. The conversational tone, the use of fillers, and those personal comments create authenticity and show the speaker’s tone and voice. There are many emotional words such as “funny,” “annoying,” and “awkward” which give the story colour and a hint of personal touch.
3. What are the most common “mistakes” in the text and why are they “mistakes”?
The most common mistakes in the written text are those run-on sentences, speech-to-text mishearings, redundant fillers, and inconsistent grammar. These are considered mistakes from the perspective of written English because readers expect to see punctuation, accurate grammar, and precise word choice in written text. However, when we speak, we do not read out those punctuations, and those AI-tools might also mistakenly transcribe the original spoken words as some other words (due to noise of the surroundings and mispronunciation). These mistakes show the difference between how speech is produced spontaneously and how writing is carefully constructed.
4. What if you had “scripted” the story? What difference might that have made?
If the story had been scripted, the result would have been very different, as a scripted version would include proper punctuation, well-formed sentences, and corrected grammar. Mis-transcriptions like “bricks” would not appear. The story would be smoother and easier to read, but it would also lose the authentic rhythm of natural conversation. The hesitations, fillers, and small mistakes that make it sound spontaneous would disappear, meaning that the whole text would be more polished but less genuine.
5. In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling?
After doing this task, I think oral storytelling and written storytelling differ in several ways. Oral storytelling allows for spontaneity, digressions, fillers, and on-the-spot corrections. It relies on tone, pauses, and body language to give meaning. On the other hand, a written one requires structure, coherence, and conciseness. It is because readers cannot rely on non-verbal cues (like body language). Errors that pass unnoticed in speech become highly visible in writing. Oral stories flow in unbroken chains of thought, while written stories must be broken into paragraphs and sentences, with punctuations to guide readers.