ENG1101 Fall 2023 Tuesday 2 PM

In the Article “How to read like a writer” Mike Bunn writes that “you are already an author”. A author is usually seen as someone who wrote a piece of work or story but Mike Bunn is telling us even if we haven’t we have created or own book  we have been an author of our own stories. If you tell someone something that happened to you yesterday you are being the author of your own story while they are seen as the reader or audience member that is getting read too. Your life is like a story and you are the author of it.Mike Bunn also states how when reading you should go into the reading looking for “the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?” since that can help develop better understanding of what ever you may be reading. You have to think like the author see why one thing lead to the other the way you would when you write a story. Reading Mike Bunns article it shows you another way of reading not just reading a word then moving onto the next but diving in deeper and seeing how one sentence or would structures the one after it. In the article Mike says how he “should change the name and call this Reading Like an Architect”because of the way he structures his reading. This way of reading adds a twist to the basic reading taught in high school now its not just a reading were we try to sum up the whole story and see what it was about but rather we go to every word there is and see why that would construct the next word in the sentence breaking everything down to make it easier to understand. I will try to do this more in my reading and writing because I feel as it breaks everything down and more simpler for me to understand cause I usually do get stuck on reading because I try to look at the bigger picture when I should take it step by step.

How to Read Like a Writer article written by Mike Bunn. He writes “Reading Like an Architect” where he’s trying to reach an audience and teach them an understanding of how to read like a writer or an “architect” because it is known that architects dig deep to find how a building was built, or the different sketches, and models it went through to give us the final idea. If you can read like a writer you are the “architect “ of writing or rather reading. Bunn has a few different points throughout his Article where he says “When we read like writers we understand and participate in the writing” he means that by reading from a writer’s perspective, we can better understand and engage with the writing process. It allows us to analyze the techniques and choices made by the author. In a metaphorical sense, we are always writing our own stories through the choices we make and the actions we take. In a technical sense, we are constantly writing when we communicate through emails, text messages, or any form of written communication. Bunn brings up the point that when you start reading you want to know the context behind the assignment and the text because knowing the context behind an assignment and the text helps you approach it with a deeper understanding. It allows you to connect the dots, uncover hidden meanings, and appreciate the author’s intentions. By knowing the context, you can read with a more informed and critical perspective. I do want to start by looking into the context and meaning behind a text. I can get a better understanding of what the author wanted. I also want to make sure in the first few lines of my text I am giving the reader a better understanding of what my purpose was in writing the text.

The author Mike Bunn, who wrote the article “How to Read Like a Writer”  help’s college students in their new journey in reading and writing at a college level. The author starts us off with background on his life and with the quote “You are already an author”. By this he means that each and everyone of us are the author of ourselves, our story, our background. We each have our own way of writing and telling a personal story, meaning the way we write and the vocabulary we already use in our daily lives. I have many words and phrases that I use in particular from others, that I have used in things I have written. Some things I have already written are letters to my loved ones. In those very long letters I include very interesting phrases that only I use, and form paragraphs filled with my authorship. This existing expertise that I have already formed will help me in my college reading and writing career by already knowing how to articulate and express things in the most successful way for readers. There are many ways to read but one way which resonates with my personal life and my college major (architecture) are the two ways the author speaks about on page 74. He states “There are many ways to read, but generally speaking there are two ways. They correspond to the two ways in which we may be interested in a piece of architecture.”, as well as Allen Tate’s metaphor “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.”. This example regarding architecture is really helpful to me since I have a passion for building as well as the history behind it. I will definitely use this example in my future writings. Lastly, I also noticed all the past students’ feedback and experience in college writing and reading. One that stood out to me in particular, is the way students mentioned to first consider the context of both the assignment you’re given and the text that you’re reading, before you even begin with reading. I would like to try to do this in my future writings, since i believe it will make a big difference.