<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (September 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Functional illiteracy is imprecisely defined, with different criteria from nation to nation, and study to study . However, a useful distinction can be made between pure illiteracy and functional illiteracy . Purely illiterate persons cannot read or write in any capacity, for all practical purposes . In contrast, functionally illiterate persons can read and possibly write simple sentences with a limited vocabulary, but cannot read or write well enough to deal with the everyday requirements of life in their own society . </P> <P> For example, an illiterate person may not understand the written words of cat or dog, may not recognize the letters of the alphabet, and may be unable to write their own name . In contrast, a functionally illiterate person may well understand these words and more, but might be incapable of reading and comprehending job advertisements, past - due notices, newspaper articles, banking paperwork, complex signs and posters, and so on . </P> <P> The characteristics of functional illiteracy vary from one culture to another, as some cultures require better reading and writing skills than others . A reading level that might be sufficient to make a farmer functionally literate in a rural area of a developing country might qualify as functional illiteracy in an urban area of a technologically advanced country . In languages with regular spelling, functional illiteracy is usually defined simply as reading too slow for practical use, inability to effectively use dictionaries and written manuals, etc . </P>

The concept functional illiteracy refers to a person who leaves school before graduating