HW 1.2 “How to Read like a Writer”

In Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer,” he discusses his main idea of learning how to write” (p. 72). Readers using this method are forced to set specific intentions. The author gives readers numerous questions to ask or think about while reading. This will further develop your writing skills. In this article, Mike Bunn writes “You are already an author”. I interpret this quote as, since all readers have written before, analyzing the choices authors make in their writing is something we as writers must do as well. Reading with the intention of learning from their techniques and choices allows readers to fully develop a more analytical way of reading. We are constantly authors, whether it’s as small as a quick text, an Instagram post, homework assignments, or even your final paper. Writing is a major form of communication that everyone uses in their everyday lives. Bunn described on page 76 the importance of thinking about an author’s purpose and intended audience. Though this seems like a simple tip, this will help me both with my college reading and writing, as it gives me major context while reading and allows me to plan out the way I write. One important tip I took away from Bunn’s article was recognizing the various devices the author used to grab the reader’s attention. I chose this tip because it functions almost like research for writers in order to develop new techniques for telling stories in the most readable manner possible. Additionally, when I write, I constantly struggle to engage the reader in the opening paragraph. In Bunn’s article, I truly enjoyed his introduction. He sets a scene with very descriptive details and even background on his life at the time he discovered this reading technique. The reason I enjoyed this part so much was that, though this article is focused on the technique itself, the story he told really compelled me to read it, as it had kind of a narrative feel at the beginning.

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