This semester, we have a few readings that specifically address reading. These readings help us learn about ourselves as readers and writers. This week, we’re reading Mike Bunn’s “How To Read Like a Writer.”
In a comment below, include a piece of advice or a technique Bunn recommends. Copy his words into your comment (that is, quote him), and note the page number from the article. Then paraphrase what he’s saying. Here’s the tricky part: be sure not to duplicate what anyone else wrote. That means you have to read everyone else’s comments, and if the one you want to write about has already appeared, you have to find a new one! When we’re done, we’ll have a great list of advice!
On page 72, Mike Bunn writes, “The goal as you read like a writer is to locate what you believe are the most important writerly choices represented in the text—choices as large as the overall structure or as small as a single word used only once—to consider the effect of those choices on potential readers (including yourself). Then you can go one step further and imagine what different choices the author might have made instead, and what effect those different choices would have on readers.”
In other words, when I read, I can consider what choices the author is making to create the text. Not only can I see how those choices shape the text into what it becomes, but I can also see how the text would be different if the author made different choices. I can see how those different choices would make the text different, which would in turn make me experience it differently. So if the author used different words, or organized the materials, or gave more of fewer examples, I can imagine how that would shape my experience of the overall message of the reading.
In page 8 it states “I think a lot of the way I read, of course, depends on the type of text I’m reading. If I’m reading philosophy, I always look for signaling words (however, therefore, furthermore, despite) indicating the direction of the argument . . . when I read fic- tion or creative nonfiction, I look for how the author inserts dialogue or character sketches within narration or environ- mental observation. After reading To the Lighthouse [sic] last semester, I have noticed how much more attentive I’ve become to the types of narration (omniscient, impersonal, psychologi- cal, realistic, etc.), and how these different approaches are uti- lized to achieve an author’s overall effect.” In other words using context clues can help us better understand the author and the purpose the author had for writing the text .
At the bottom of page 74 it states “While I don’t know anything about Corinthian columns (and doubt that I will ever want to know anything about Corinthian columns), Allen Tate’s metaphor of reading as if you were an architect is a great way to think about RLW. 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” (64). Perhaps I should change the name and call this Reading Like an Architect or Reading Like a Carpenter. In a way those names make perfect sense. You are reading to see how something was constructed so that you can construct something similar yourself.”
After I read these paragraphs, it stood out to me that reading and writing is like other jobs. For example, an Architect is a person who creates a building and the little details about the building. You can compare that to an author who writes books/articles. I say this because an author has to add little details to their story/article. The authors should us readers/students that reading and writing is very similar to other jobs out there in the world. The author showed us why it is important to learn about reading and writing.
On Page 75,it states”For most college students RLW is a new way to read, and it can be difficult to learn at first. Making things even more difficult is that your college writing instructor may expect you to read this way for class but never actually teach you how to do it. He or she may not even tell you that you’re supposed to read this way. This is because most writing instructors are so focused on teaching writing that they forget to show students how they want them to read”.
The Advice I think their giving is to be aware of what your learning and making sure you understand what your learning because It’ll matter and heavily Impact your life.For example when you get a job and don’t know what to do then you’ll just get fired, so you want to make sure you understand and be aware of the choices you make as a person.
I like how you’re thinking about what we’re learning in class now as skills that will transfer to what you do in your job. It’s so important to learn how to do the things that are expected of you–here, Bunn points out that the instructor doesn’t always teach the method. Part of our work this semester is learning how to do things, not just submitting the final product.
on page 75 he states for most college students RLW is a new way to read, and it can be difficult to learn at first. Making things even more difficult is that your college writing instructor may expect you to read this way for class but never actually teach you how to do it. He or she may not even tell you that you’re supposed to read this way. This is because most writing instructors are so focused on teaching writing that they forget to show students how they want them to read.
The advice I think is being given is to make sure you prepare yourself to venture into new lessons and expectations. What i mean by that is to prepare yourself for the things you might not expect because of the fact that professor may expect you to be are at a level your probably not at and to get there on your own you have to prepare.
on page 81 it states “I am encouraging you to question whether aspects of the writing are appropriate and effective in addition to deciding whether you liked or disliked them. You want to imagine how other readers might respond to the writing and the techniques you’ve identified. Deciding whether you liked or disliked something is only about you; considering whether a technique is appropriate or effective lets you contemplate what the author might have been trying to do and to decide whether a majority of readers would find the move successful.”
The advice i took is when you find the authors purpose you can see things you don’t like, and you can see what they were trying to go for and didn’t meet their target. You can also see what they added to have you drawn and interested so you know what may hook other readers.
On page 79, Mike Bunn writes, “It is helpful to continue to ask yourself questions as you read like a writer. As you’re first learning to read in this new way, you may want to have a set of questions written or typed out in front of you that you can refer to while reading. Eventually—after plenty of practice—you will start to ask certain questions and locate certain things in the text almost automatically. Remember, for most students this is a new way of reading, and you’ll have to train yourself to do it well. Also keep in mind that you’re reading to understand how the text was written— how the house was built—more than you’re trying to determine the meaning of the things you read or assess whether the texts are good or bad”.
The objective being given by Mike is to prepare and focus on the main details of an article before trying to breakdown the text. Giving that the text has a certain objective as a writer you want to ask yourself how would a reader think when reading , with this you can use start up questions to help. It’ll take time but after a while you get used to asking yourself what you get out of the text , and if its easy for you to receive the concept. Overall as a reader we want to think like the writer and worry more on the main point , than why the main point was made .