HW 2 – Bunn Reading

Homework 2: “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn

  1. What did you think of the piece? Did you like it? Or not? Why? Explain! (Don’t worry my feelings won’t be hurt! Be honest!)
  2. What tips or ideas did you learn about how to Read Like a Writer? How might you apply it (use it) when you read? Identify at least 3 and explain them! In 2-3 sentences! 
  3. Can you explain what you think the author means when he says, “When you read like a writer, you are trying to figure out how the text you are reading was constructed so that you learn how to ‘build’ one for yourself” (74). Be specific. Share a personal example, if possible.
  4. Let’s think about the “context” of this text. What is the author (Mike Bunn’s) purpose in writing this piece? Who is his intended audience?
  5. What is the genre of this text? It’s okay if you don’t know! Just give it a shot! (Remember the genre is TYPE of writing– for example, essay, article, poem, etc.)

7 Comments

  1. Jelias Nieves

    1. I liked this writing piece because it further explains the relationship between reading and writing in a way that I didn’t necessarily think of before. I also didn’t know that this technique was called RLW.
    2. The author mentions starting an essay with a quote, and how you should list the advantages and disadvantages of doing this, I never thought of starting an essay with a quote and next time I have one (if it is applicable) I think I might try it out. The author states “When you read like a writer, you are trying to figure out how the text you are reading was constructed so that you learn how to “build” one for yourself.” Seeing how my major is architecture, I also find this tip useful.
    3. In the quote provided, I believe the author is trying to express the idea that if you read like a writer, you can take a piece of text and fully analyze it so that you can write something informative yourself. For example, in architecture, the architect draws out building plans for the construction workers to understand. It is the architect’s job to make sure that the plans are visible and understandable. It is the construction workers job to fully understand and make something physical out of a plan from the architect.
    4. Mike Bunn’s purpose for writing this text is to help those understand the RLW technique and further explain the relationship between reading and writing on a deeper level for those to understand better. The main intended audience is college students as he states on page 75. However, I don’t think you need to be a college student to understand or possibly use this technique in your reading to writing.
    5. I think that the genre of this text is an informative article because he provides a lot of information on this topic, and it seems to be given in pieces with good detail and explanation.
  2. Karyll Aina

    “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn gave me mixed feelings about whether or not I liked this writing piece. I liked the fact that it allowed me to have a new perspective and formulate new ideas on how to read that I haven’t considered before. However, I feel as though that the longer I read, I seem to lose interest in the ideas that Bunn was expressing.

    Asking myself questions prior and while reading a text can allow me to “read like a writer”. Questions like “what is the purpose of this text?” or “who is this text intended for” further enhances readers’ capabilities of fully understanding the objective of the writing piece. Marking up or annotating the given text can also allow readers to get a better grasp of what they’re reading. I often use this technique as well by also sectioning different parts of texts so that I can be able to understand different parts and ultimately put them all together. Identifying the writers’ techniques can also help in “reading like a writer” because this would allow readers to make a connection as to what the writer’s intention was as to why they wrote their text a certain way.

    When Bunn says, “When you read like a writer, you are trying to figure out how the text you are reading was constructed so that you learn how to ‘build’ one for yourself” (74), I believe what he meant by this is that readers should make it a habit to break down the ideas behind why the text was written as well as making a connection to the text. This would allow readers to correlate it to their own way of writing and improve how to better express themselves. I believe that by breaking down a text and understanding its purpose, makes it easier for readers to fully explain their thoughts and ideas. 

    I believe that Bunn’s intended audience is for individuals or student writers who might be struggling to make a connection with reading and writing. He teaches us how to grasp various ideas and later on apply them to our own writing pieces. 

    The genre of “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn might be an informative text because he teaches us several ways to help individuals break down texts in order to fully understand them and not read them so literally. 

  3. Willdarlyn Martinez

    The book in my opinion was kind of in between, it was interesting because most people can relate to him and his point of view. So basically instead of just reading the text you read like a writer. Which would basically be you thinking to yourself how did the writer make you feel or how did the writer say something to make it remain in your head/memory. The difference from reading like a writer and regularly reading is that you actually pay attention to detail and how it is written and how you can learn how to write more based off of what you see from the text that is in front of you. What the author meant or was trying to say was that whenever you read like a writer you are looking to then learn how to write in the same kind of structure which would be to somewhat intrigue the audience and have them interested in what your writing. The authors audience in this piece would be for the people that viewed reading the same way he did at first which in most cases people view reading that way. He was also looking to help them out in finding strategies like he did, explaining the different things that he learned. I wouldn’t really know what the genre of the text is but I would go with that it is an article. Now I say this because it is very informative on how to take your views on reading and writing from basic to actually knowing different things and strategies on how to be a better writer.

  4. Samantha Ismael

    The way I feel about “how to read like a writer”by Mike Bunn is that I really like this article a lot. It shows us to become a better reader by understanding the articles and understanding why the author’s purpose of writing the article.“The idea is to carefully examine the things you read, looking at the writerly techniques in the text in order to decide if you might want to adopt similar (or the same) techniques in your writing.

    You are reading to learn about writing.”

    I choose this idea because it shows you when you read in the way the author’s techniques.

    “ As you read in this way, you think about how the choices the author made and the techniques that he/she used are influencing your own responses as a reader. What is it about the way this text is written that makes you feel and respond the way you do?”

    I choose this idea because when you read you need to see how writers’ techniques work in articles.

    “Instead of reading for content or to better understand the ideas in the writing (which you will automatically do to some degree anyway), you are trying to understand how the piece of writing was put together by the author and what you can learn about writing by reading a particular text”

    I choose this idea because when you read you need to understand why the author wrote it.

    “When you read like a writer, you are trying to figure out how the text you are reading was constructed so that you learn how to “build” one for yourself.”when the author say this to show when you reading you need to make understand of the article in your own words.

    The author purpose of writing this piece to help readers to think like a writer and help reader to understanding the piece of writing too.Mike Bunn intended audience it may make sense to be more or less formal in terms of language.

  5. Ibabaev

    1. I thought the book was interesting because it helped me understand the difference of reading and writing and how to better understand it. The book was informative
    2. I liked when the author said “The goal as you read like a writer is to locate what you believe are the most important.” I would use this method because it would show the reader to see what my belief is on the topic.
    3. When you are reading like a writer you are able to find out how the text was written and while you are reading you will figure out how it was formatted. i have no personal example.
    4. the point of this text is to help understand and deepen the relationship between reading and writing on a deeper level.
    5. i think the genre of this text is article because it feels like more of an informative text
  6. ashley

    1. What did you think of the piece? Did you like it? Or not? Why? Explain! (Don’t worry my feelings won’t be hurt! Be honest!)
    2. I enjoyed reading “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn. The piece was a informative one, it teaches the readers on how to analyze readings and to read like a writer. You pay attention to detail and how the text is written. You can use what you analyzed to better improve your own writing.
    3. What tips or ideas did you learn about how to Read Like a Writer? How might you apply it (use it) when you read? Identify at least 3 and explain them! In 2-3 sentences!
    4. “Instead of reading for content or to better understand the ideas in the writing (which you will automatically do to some degree anyway), you are trying to understand how the piece of writing was put together by the author and what you can learn about writing by reading a particular text.”
    5. This quote advises you to shift your focus from simply understanding the content of a text to analyzing how the author constructed it, with the aim of learning about the art of writing. By adopting this approach, you can gain insights into the writing techniques and apply them to enhance your own writing skills.
    6. Can you explain what you think the author means when he says, “When you read like a writer, you are trying to figure out how the text you are reading was constructed so that you learn how to ‘build’ one for yourself” (74). Be specific. Share a personal example, if possible.
    7. Reading with the intention of becoming a better writer requires carefully evaluating a text’s construction and techniques in order to comprehend how it was created with the aim of learning and applying those skills in your own writing. It’s a method for studying literature that can help you understand the craft of composition and storytelling. You use this to know how to pull your reader in for the specific audience.
    8. Let’s think about the “context” of this text. What is the author (Mike Bunn’s) purpose in writing this piece? Who is his intended audience?
    9. The author’s purpose in writing this piece is to inform the audience on how to improve their reading and writing skills. To open up their minds and help them think like a writer. The intended audience is college students but any new writer can read this piece to get a better understanding and improve their skills.
    10. What is the genre of this text? It’s okay if you don’t know! Just give it a shot! (Remember the genre is TYPE of writing– for example, essay, article, poem, etc.)
    11. The genre of the text is instructional and educational. I believe it is an article.
  7. Oluwatomisin

    The piece “How to Read Like a Writer” was okay, but it felt lengthy and somewhat dull to me. While it did offer some useful tips, my interest waned the more I delved into it. I discovered the importance of understanding why a book or article was written and who the target audience is. This insight helps in setting expectations and approaching the reading material more effectively. One piece of advice I found helpful was to focus on grasping the writing techniques used in the text rather than solely seeking to understand the story or context. The main idea is to learn from how the author constructs the text. For example, if an author uses catchy metaphors or engaging idioms to begin a chapter and it captures my attention, I might consider incorporating similar techniques into my own writing. I believe Mike Bunn’s aim in writing this piece is to assist those who want to improve their writing skills by learning from other writers. I see this text as similar to an informative article.

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