After I had read “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn and “Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources” by Karen Rosenberg, I immediately noticed something in both of their writing. I noticed that both author’s used a personal story to start off each of their writings. I thought this was interesting because it made the rest of the reading feel real as I feel it gave the writing authenticity. Mike Bunn had an interesting tip which was to continue to ask yourself questions as you read like a writer. I thought this was interesting because I feel that a lot of time when I am reading, I am taking in what is being said at face value and I do not put too much thought into a deeper meaning or motive. Sometimes I will find myself asking questions such as I wonder why the author decided to use a specific word or setting to describe a scene but those times are often few and far between.
In Karen Rosenberg’s article a tip that she gave that I thought was fantastic was that it is sometimes okay to judge a book by its cover. What she meant by this was that you would be able to tell who the target audiences are based on the type of publication that article has. As I read that line I was instantly reminded of my Pysch 1101 class last semester where every week I would read 1-2 articles that were cited in the fashion that Rosenberg had described with a volume number and an issue number. Those readings were painstakingly boring but I never would have put the articles citation and who the primary audience should be. I think that I can potentially use this to my advantage when reading so I know how to prepare myself.
In regards to how can you have a conversation with a text, I believe the Rosenberg is saying that when we read a piece of text, it is almost like having a conversation with the author, the text is the author’s thoughts and the conversation being held is the thoughts and questions of the reader. But then she goes on and talks about using the texts to open up conversation with professors and peers to get a better understanding of the work.
Bunn kept reiterating in his article that a way to get context of a text before you begin reading it would be to ask questions such as “what is the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?”, and “who is the intended audience?”.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
As I read these two texts I also realized that I never really looked at the text in this way, instead, I would just be reading to understand the material. I also very rarely questioned why the author used specific words to describe things but never saw it from a writer’s point of view. I also agree that having a conversation with the text is the thoughts and questions of a reader after reading the text that could be discussed with peers and professors.
i agree with you that 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. i realized that A reader can converse with written texts by challenging the reasoning of their writers.
I totally agree with you Anindita Datta when we read we are only trying to absorb what the author writes rather why they wrote it. As readers we tend to go straight to the main idea of the text, or article instead of learning the content and comprehending why they wrote the piece or what knowledge the author want you to walk away with. I also see your point that this read helps see where we are taking the time to examine and interact with the text to better comprehend what we are reading.