My name is Brianna (she/her), and I was born and raised in Staten Island. This is my second year at City Tech, finishing my prerequisites for my Radiology Technologist major. In my spare time I am learning how to sew with a sewing machine and listening to true crime podcasts.
Day: February 5, 2021
Reading Games and How to Read Like A Writer
One of the three takeaways from these articles was from Karen Rosenburg, in regards to not being the primary audience. Oftentimes when a text is more scholarly I struggle to remain focused on the subject. Rosenberg reminds us that those articles are not written with the intention of entertaining and captivating your attention. “ Second, if you’re not the primary audience, don’t be surprised if you find that the writing isn’t appealing to you.” (Rosenburg).
In How to Read Like a Writer, Mike Bunn my second takeaway was that if the author’s choices are identified in the text you can better understand the kind of choices that may come up in your own writing. When you are reading you are also learning about how to write. “The idea is to carefully examine the things you read, looking at the writerly techniques in the text in order to decide if you might want to adopt similar (or the same) techniques in your writing.” (Bunn, 72).
Another helpful takeaway from Bunn is asking questions related to the context of the author’s writing. The author’s purpose for writing the piece and the intended audience of the piece should be considered before it is read to help understand the intent of the author. While reading the text will most likely be necessary to figure out the answers to these questions, an attempt can still be made with the title and publishing information.
When Rosenberg writes about reading academic texts as entering a conversation she means putting the text into your own interpretation and using your own words to describe the text. The key points to describe the text are the purpose and audience.The reader is supposed to analyze the information in the writing and ask yourself questions about it. You can have a conversation with a text by expressing your opinion or thoughts about the texts in academic. A conversation could also start with your professor or peers to gain a different perspective and broaden your beliefs. Professors assign reading not solely because of the assignments, they enjoy the texts that they are reading.
According to Bunn before you begin reading a text, the reader should consider the context of the assignment, as well as the text. The ways this can be learned is by asking questions like what the genre is or the author’s purpose of the piece or intended audience. Knowing who the text was written for and what the intended purpose is can help you to understand the author’s writing choices.The genre can help you to figure out the author’s purpose and even the title of the text could be beneficial in helping a person to understand what it is about before they even begin reading.
Get to Know the Class
Hello All,
My Zenayda Bonilla, I am from El Salvador. I 38 years old, I am a mother and wife. I live in Brooklyn.
I will be happy to make a study group, may share our contacts, and connect one to each other.
Best for all and be safe!
Reading & Writing Essentials
After reading “Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources” by Karen Rosenberg and “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn I like the fact of how both writers lure my attention with their personal vivids. In my opinion, I always like to read something that helps me to connect with the writer, therefore I think that is a smart beginning.
From Rosenberg, I like to incorporate the following tips or advice on my reading: Identity the audience, and the introduction. Asking myself who is the audience is will help me to understand better the context (which is like playing the writer role). “I can’t remember how many times I’d find myself in the middle of some dense reading, perhaps understanding the content of a particular paragraph, but completely unable to connect with the overall structure of the article” (216). I have to admit that most of the time I skip the introduction because I thought it may be better to jump to the “meat” instead of wasting my time. Yes, I was doing a mistake.
Another tip is: Ask questions. I always avoid aks because I feel sometimes I can express myself or I don’t know how to ask. Yet, I will be pushing myself to do it, in order to perform a better job. Since I am learning English, and my vocabulary is not extensive like others’, however, I will incorporate different words. As Bunn stated, “Ask you begin reading, you can ask yourself whether the word choice and tone/language of the writing seem appropriate” (80).
For me what Rosenberg is emphasizing is in connecting with the author ask we are having a conversation where we are able to ask questions, or seeing things from his/her perspective in other con link and enjoyed the lecture. I think asking for what is coming next or why the author put that story in the text? It will help me to plug in the text.
Bonus: I find Bunn’s article less informal and I was able to connect with him right away. For Rosenberg, I find that he was using bog words, I have to search for the meaning. Both are really interesting and informative, however, for some reason, I enjoy RLW more!
Week 2
In both readings by Karen Rosenberg and Mr Bunn the reading comprehension is essential to understanding what the author wants to relay to the readers. For example, in Reading Like a Writer the article quotes “Author David Jauss makes similar comparisons 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’.” Similar to Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources Karen Rosenberg states that reading strategies are important in order to comprehend what you are reading. A reader must ask questions like, why am I reading this article? Why was it assigned? What am I suppose to learn from this text? In order to comprehend we must be reading detectives similar to what Bun states in his text.
As a reader I always look for that introduction and the hook to seek the main idea of the text or reading. My favorite read are informative articles that enhance my knowledge and seek a deeper understanding, but in order to read and comprehend I must ask myself why, what does the author want me to learn from the reading. When reading for a class, it imperative that readers ask clarifying question. That is key to successful reading, especially when reading for content. As a reader I want to know what is the reading mostly about, and what key terms should I know. If I am reading a text on democracy then I should know exactly what it means and the text should begin with a quote on democracy and the importance of democracy. Deep readers and thinkers should always question the who, what, when, where, and why they are reading the text. In Strategies for reading Scholarly Sources by Karen Rosenberg she states that instead of focusing on the reason why one is reading the text instead we should be questioning or looking for clues in a professors syllabus or lecture. Also the the “Strategies for Rhetorical Reading” one must consider who is the intended audience and what group of people they are writing for. For example, a doctor that writes about heart disease with terminologies, he is targeting potential cardiologist, but if they are writing an article about heart disease and awareness then the intended audience is broader. Also, as Karen Rosenberg stated if you want to understand the text don’t overlook the hook to get to the meat (Main Idea) of the story.
reading and writing (shafi khan)
Excellent reading and writing skills are basic requirements for students across all the faculties. In both readings, the authors of the texts cement the significance of developing reading and writing skills in different ways. In his article, Bunn provides insightful ideas about the art of reading and writing by Bunn. From the article, it is evident that reading should help one to develop writing skills by emulating how writers sum up their pieces of work. The author challenges the primary intention of readers which is usually to comprehend the text and instead suggests that reading should bolster our writing by Bunn. On the other hand, from the article by Rosenberg, it is clear that reading is a form of communication. That is particularly true because the writers write their work with their readers in mind by Rosenberg. A reader can converse with written texts by challenging the reasoning of their writers, their choices of writing, or through rhetorical writing initiated by the writer.
Before reading a text, readers could know the context of the written work by comprehending the purpose of the author’s writing. For instance, by asking themselves why and for who was the work written, readers could develop the context of the writings by Bunn. Additionally, the choice of words and quotes authors apply could tell the context of their writing by Bunn. For instance, readers can tell the scope of a written work by examining the reputation of characters included by the authors in their work. In the articles, both authors have used a formal tone which is manifested by their respect in communicating about the reading and writing aspects to the audience.
Reading and Writing Essentials
Analyzing the texts “Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources,” by Karen Rosenberg and “How to Read Like a Writer,” by Mike Bunn was an enriching experience. I began by reading Rosenberg’s text because the introduction got my attention from the very beginning and kept it throughout. Rosenberg’s style of writing felt as if I were conversing with a peer, since the tone of the author’s writing leaned towards an informal and conversive manner. The aforementioned aspect is what I really enjoyed from the writing, and it made sense that the goal of Rosenberg’s essay was to guide and advise the reader on how to achieve “rhetorical reading”- term that is defined in the essay as deliberately looking for what the role and relationship is between the writer, reader, and text. Rhetorical reading is like you are having a conversation with the writer and their text, but how can you do that? Firstly, consider the audience the writer is addressing. One may not always be the intended audience, and actually that’s ok. Although there is no need for discouragement, one must understand that there will be references unbeknownst to us as the unintended audience. Therefore, other characteristics of the text will help us achieve our desired “rhetorical reading” without giving up on the text too easily. The following are points Rosenberg mentioned to look for in the text:
- Title
- Abstract (discusses main points of the text in the beginning)
- Introduction
- Section Headings
- Conclusion
These points may seem basic, but are indeed effective. As a brief example, if you skim through the introduction and ignore most of it, you may find that you missed the content that will help you connect the structure of the article to what you’ve read. The intro is sort of like a “road map,” states Rosenberg. Well, from what I’ve discussed so far, at least one takeaway from Rosenberg’s essay was how the simple techniques to “rhetorical reading” can lead to greater understanding of what may seem to be overly complicated scholarly articles, but truly can be read and enjoyed.
This was my second look at Mike Bunn’s essay, “How to Read Like a Writer.” His method, Read Like a Writer (RLW) can be broken down into the following points:
- Look for the author’s purpose.
- Know who the audience is. This will help you understand why the author chose certain techniques, words, or phrases.
- Determine the genre of the piece of writing.
- Be well informed of your expectations for the writing. You may be expecting a published article to be a great work of art, but also remember that no writing is perfect, since we can all improve in some area of our writing. Approaching the text without expecting a monumental masterpiece, but instead asking yourself why the author chose a certain technique and why it was a good option or what might have been a better option will be greatly effective to properly employ the RLW method.
- This is probably the most reiterated point in Bunn’s essay: look for the techniques!
- Ask yourself what decisions the author made in their writing and why.
I boiled down what seemed to me as the main points from Bunn’s essay. A takeaway from this reading that will help me improve is asking myself why the author chose a certain technique and if I would have done the same. Interestingly, Rosenberg’s advice to read like you’re having a conversation with the text ties to Bunn’s RLW method. If you ask yourself questions about the text and writer, you’ll understand their relationship to each other and to you. Consequently, your reading will become more enjoyable and you’ll be able to get the most out of it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Rosenberg’s style of an essay and the informal tone of voice in the author’s essay was probably the best choice in order to teach the reader such reading techniques.
Week 2 Assignment
- When reading or studying books, blogs or watching videos, we usually only absorb the raw materials provided, but there is a deeper knowledge behind this information. In the article “How to read as a Writer by Mike Bunn”- he emphasizes the fact that writing is a sentence-by-sentence, and a word-by-word process. This idea made me stop and see the way I was reading and made me realize that I should read one word at a time and also read text not only for the content but to read and examine the author’s decisions behind their piece. Correspondingly, the article Reading Game: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources by Karen Rosenberg also captured my attention as she shares her own experience as a student. She says we often overlook small posts like the title or heading and asks us as readers to view the layout of writing as a road map which will guide us through the content and authors discussion. I always tend to rush through the introduction and go directly to the main content of the writing without even realizing the importance of it. By reading this article, it made me realize the importance of every detail starting from the title, section heading, abstract introduction and finally the conclusion. These steps will help me understand the main idea or point of view behind the content. The takeaways from both the reading, definitely will be engaging myself when I am reading. Annotation is the best ways to apply in critical reading practice that will help me to interact with the text and help me understand the context.
- Karen Rosenberg wrote about reading academic articles when entering a conversation, which means that in a conversation, we tend to listen to other saying, and then we gather opinions or information internally and respond with our own thoughts and ideas. If we view the text as the relationship of giving and receiving, we can have a dialogue with the text, for example, read what the author said, then review the main points, and then respond. This idea gives us the room for questions where we are taking the time to identify the intended audience, the message and the context.
- The different ways that can help us learns about the context before reading is by asking questions like-
Do you know the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?
Do you know who the intended audience is for this piece of writing?
In What Genre Is This Written?
Is This a Published or a Student-Produced Piece of Writing?
What is the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?
Who is the intended audience?
Bonus:
Both the writer’s voice was informal which felt like having literal conversation with them.
Week 2 Assignment
- When reading or studying books, blogs or watching videos, we usually only absorb the raw materials provided, but there is a deeper knowledge behind this information. In the article “How to read as a Writer by Mike Bunn”- he emphasizes the fact that writing is a sentence-by-sentence, and a word-by-word process. This idea made me stop and see the way I was reading and made me realize that I should read one word at a time and also read text not only for the content but to read and examine the author’s decisions behind their piece. Correspondingly, the article Reading Game: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources by Karen Rosenberg also captured my attention as she shares her own experience as a student. She says we often overlook small posts like the title or heading and asks us as readers to view the layout of writing as a road map which will guide us through the content and authors discussion. I always tend to rush through the introduction and go directly to the main content of the writing without even realizing the importance of it. By reading this article, it made me realize the importance of every detail starting from the title, section heading, abstract introduction and finally the conclusion. These steps will help me understand the main idea or point of view behind the content. The takeaways from both the reading, definitely will be engaging myself when I am reading. Annotation is the best ways to apply in critical reading practice that will help me to interact with the text and help me understand the context.
- Karen Rosenberg wrote about reading academic articles when entering a conversation, which means that in a conversation, we tend to listen to other saying, and then we gather opinions or information internally and respond with our own thoughts and ideas. If we view the text as the relationship of giving and receiving, we can have a dialogue with the text, for example, read what the author said, then review the main points, and then respond. This idea gives us the room for questions where we are taking the time to identify the intended audience, the message and the context.
- The different ways that can help us learns about the context before reading is by asking questions like-
Do you know the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?
Do you know who the intended audience is for this piece of writing?
In What Genre Is This Written?
Is This a Published or a Student-Produced Piece of Writing?
What is the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?
Who is the intended audience?
Bonus:
Both the writer’s voice was informal which felt like having literal conversation with them.
Week 2: Reading & Writing Essentials( Jennifer Hasani)
- A tip I took from “Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources,” by Karen Rosenberg is to analyze a piece I am reading such as considering things like the audience, title, introduction, etc. She mentions“ Once you understand the different parts of the text and the writers main argument, use this information to see how and where you can enter the conversation.” I sometimes forget that reading is sort of like detective work where you’re on the lookout for clues as to what the writer’s main idea is. It’s really important to pay attention to small details because they can have the biggest impact.
A couple tips I took from “How to Read Like a Writer,” by Mike Bunn is to question why the writer wrote their piece the way they did. Asking questions like“ What if the essay began with a quote from someone else?”, can help me as a writer see if I would want to try that technique in my writing. Bunn also mentions considering what effect the writing techniques I chose have on the reader. Like would the quote I pick help the reader have a better grasp on the topic I am writing about.
2. Rosenberg discusses the idea of “reading academic texts as entering a conversation” to me this implies that you are able to interact with the reading and create your own position on issues that really matter to you. You can have a conversation with a text by asking yourself questions in order to have a better understanding. Talking with professors and your peers also helps you engage with the conversation.
3. According to Bunn, different ways that you can learn about the context of a text before you begin reading is to consider the context surrounding both the assignment and the text you are reading. Bunn explains, “Knowing why the piece was written and who it’s for can help explain why the author might have made certain choices…”. Looking at things like what genre the piece your reading is from can give you background information.
Bonus: Both Bunn and Rosenberg had a mix of formal and informal speaking. I actually enjoyed the variation as the informal parts were relatable and the formal parts helped me takeaway the writing tips.

