Category: Weekly Assignments (Page 3 of 4)

Every time when I read, I always hurriedly understand the content of the story in the book, but I have never been able to appreciate the author’s words and writing techniques. After reading “how to read like a writer”, I learned a better way to read. I no longer read stories blindly, but focus on writing techniques. This allows me to have more than just fun in the book, but also knowledge. As the article said, “you are better able to “see” the choices that the author is making in the texts that you read. This in turn helps you to think about whether you want to make some of those same choices in your own writing, and what the consequences might be for your readers if you do.”

I also learned that before reading, I need to be clear about the purpose of my reading. Only when I have a goal can I make the reading process clearer. And the way to achieve this is to ask yourself questions. Two very good questions are raised in the article. “Do you know the author’s purpose for this piece of writing? Do you know who the intended audience is for this piece of writing?” I think I can also ask myself “what I want to learn from the book, or what could I learn from the book.” This not only allows me to better learn from reading, but also allows me to distinguish whether the reading is worthwhile.

After reading “how to read like a writer” by Mike Bunn I was able to learn new reading and writing techniques like how some writers start off essays with quotes, and the advantages and disadvantages of doing this. As I was reading “How to read like a writer” by Mike Bunn I  also learned that 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 and improve your writing. What I also noticed when reading “how to read like a writer” the author states that college students are going to need to know how to read like a writer to improve their writing skills and reading skills because they will need it to succeed in college and their future writing.

In the essay, a quote states “In addition to the fact that your college writing instructor may expect you to read like a writer, this kind of reading is also one of the very best ways to learn how to write well. Reading like a writer can help you understand how the process of writing is a series of making choices, and in doing so, can help you recognize important decisions you might face and techniques you might want to use when working on your own writing. Reading this way becomes an opportunity to think and learn about writing. “I picked this quote from the essay because it was one of the quotes that I really liked while reading this essay. This quote basically states the importance of reading like a writer and the benefits of reading like one.

Another quote that I really enjoyed reading 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. Author David Jauss makes a similar comparison when he writes that “reading won’t help you much unless you learn to read like a writer. You must look at a book the way a carpenter looks at a house someone else built, examining the details in order to see how it was made.”