The article “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn instructs us on how changing the way we read can affect our writing. In his small paragraph about his post college life in London, I noticed that he used certain details to grab the attention of his target audience: college students. In my own writing I would like to be able to set a stage the way Bunn does; to be able to clearly convey my purpose and message. To be able to write complexly enough that others analyze my work in detail and dissect every little thing about it.
Mike Bunn writes that “You are already authors.” He means that we write everyday, whether we consider that being and author or not. The texts we send to friends and family, the emails we send for work, the social media posts and comments, all count as being authors. While we are aware of it or not, every piece of writing we’ve ever done translates into our writing as students. That existing expertise influences the way we think as readers and our diction as writers. When writing an email to your employer versus texting a friend, the way you read and write would change drastically. If you were talking to your boss you wouldn’t necessarily use expletives, slang or informal language. The vice versa is also true, if you were talking to a friend you wouldn’t be overly formal and depending on how good friends you are, would talk to them however you wanted. The core idea behind this kind of switching is that the tone, diction, purpose, and audience greatly influences the quality and impact of your writing. Learning to read like a writer should be taught at an earlier level as it is evidently a crucial skill in writing.
