Many people tend to read solely for enjoyment or entertainment purposes and I for one have been guilty of doing this through the years. I never really thought about how important the connection between reading and writing were until I read this article.
From the article: “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn, the author placed numerous emphasis on how important it is to focus on understanding the piece of writing, as well as the purpose and choices intended rather than merely reading for content purposes. Additionally, he stated that “You are already an author” which I believe means that we are the originator or creator of our own pieces of writing which derived from previous practices or involvement, conversations we’ve had on a daily basis, contents we’ve actually written or work we’ve done within the classroom.
I vividly remember writing a story about police brutality back when I was in high school. It was a story about a pregnant woman who was wrongfully stopped by the police, which quickly escalated into her being brutally murdered. It was a story that invoked different types of emotions based on the imagery, details and rhetoric that were used. It was also something that my intended audience could relate to since it was a type of event that was rampant at the time in my country.
Based on my existing expertise, as well as the knowledge that was acquired from reading the article; I believe that going forward I’ll be more open and receptive to focusing on examining the intricacies of my college readings or texts rather than merely reading for entertainment. In the article, I noticed the way the author used personal details, as well as literary devices such and imagery, similes and metaphors to bring his point across in a more appealing way. These are some writing techniques that I would use when doing my own composition.
