When people read they often just skim through, “Although there are virtues to skimming, the vast majority of writing tasks you will encounter in college and in the workplace require your conversancy with material you have read.” (David Rosenwasser, of Home from Nowhere:Remaking Our Everyday World for the Twenty-first Century, as Rosenwasser defines, become conversant 107).
To truly be conversant, you have to form your own questions, not just scan for answers (107). When reading to absorb, and translate you must read actively and critically. (108) In order to do this you must, “pay attention to the actual words in a reading and to use them when you write” (Rosenwasser 108). This can be done by individually breaking down passages, and picking apart the meanings (108). When “Passing your eyes or highlighter over the text or generalizing about it or copying notes from someone else's power point will not teach you the skills to become an independent thinker” (Rosenwasser 108).
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The pitch is what the the author of the story is trying to sell you, they want to convince you to buy in to their problem. The best way to discover the pitch is to “Look for language that reveals the position or positions the piece seems interested in having you adopt” Rosenwasser 112). When searching for the complaint, you are looking for the reaction to the problem the author presents (112). In order to find this we “Look for the language in the piece that reveals the writer's starting point” (Rosenwasser 112). Finally by understanding the moment, the time and place in history at which this has happened, it is an identifying a relation to the insight that shaped the fundamental ideas of the authors writing
Reading and writing should be seen as interactive subjects rather than just reading or writing words on paper in ink. John Beans suggests that individuals should look at both reading and writing as conversations. In his article “Reading and Writing as Conversations” Bean states by envisioning yourself having a conversation with the author, referenced individuals, and characters, readers are more likely to better understand the text. Texts are seen as different conversations each text has a connection to another text. Such as if you were referencing a particular article,book,or quote in your text. Many people have a reason for reading different types of text. Some reasons could simply be because the individual wants to, needs to, discover new
“All attempts at gaining literary polish must begin with judicious reading,” H. P. Lovecraft famously advised aspiring writers. Indeed, reading is an essential skill on par with writing, and though non-reading may be an intellectual choice on par with reading, reading itself — just like writing — is a craft that requires optimal technique for optimal outcome. So how, exactly, do we hone that vital technique? While speed-reading tutorials, courses, software, and books abound today, some of the most potent tips you’ll ever receive come from an unexpected source:
Schools often require reading materials containing unfamiliar subjects to students. Recognizing that there is significance for critical understanding of the text itself as well as the act of reading, this explains why many students today struggle with reading material that is not relevant to their lifestyle. Freire portrays that by the statement, "reading the world precedes reading the word, and reading the word implies continually reading the world" (Freire 286). A person should read their world, and then interpret it. They can then use their existential experience of the world to connect to what they are reading in print, and better understand it.
Reading: Locates, understands, and interprets written information in prose and documents--including manuals, graphs, and schedules--to perform tasks; learns from text by determining the main idea or essential message; identifies relevant details, facts and specifications; infers or locates the meaning of unknown or technical vocabulary; and judges the accuracy, appropriateness, style, and plausibility of reports, proposals, or theories of other writers.( 134 USDOL)
Reading Rhetorically, the second chapter of The Academic Writer by Lisa Ede covered many topics I have studied in the past, but it captured my attention when book often returned to the theme of how reading and writing are such an integral part of our society. There are obvious examples of this such as books, poetry, and magazines but many times the author mentioned how much more of our lives involve reading than what occurs to many people. It fascinated me how we read material from The Count of Monté Cristo and Socrates to Internet blogs and road signs. When we see a word, our minds automatically read it. This became evident to me when I returned from Mexico for the first time after a trip. In Mexico it took work for me to read the Spanish
There is no doubt that we are quickly learning to read in a way so that we find only the information that is pertinent to us. Skimming is our way of adapting to the technology in front of us. According to Carr, reading nonlinearly and skimming greatly reduces our ability to think deeply. Carr argues that “What the Net diminishes is [Samuel] Johnson’s primary kind of knowledge: the ability to know, in depth, a subject for ourselves, to construct within our own minds the rich and idiosyncratic set of connections that give rise to a singular intelligence” (Carr, 143). Carr is right about skimming; when reading over something quickly we do not process what we are reading. There is no way for us to think critically about the piece we are reading without knowing all aspects of the text. We miss pieces that could give us a greater understanding. These are the reasons why we are going to lose the ability to read linearly and think deeply about the things we read.
The most interesting aspect I discovered about my writing this semester is my ability to read, appreciate, and interpret a piece of literature and write analytically about it. In this course I’ve grown to change my reading process completely. I had a tendency to read
Based on the course material, many attributes make up a good reader. Not only should good readers avoid numerous distractions, like technology, but they should also be active readers. In a book entitled, How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler lists many characteristics of good readers. On active reading, Adler claims that “since any sort of reading is an activity, all reading to some degree must be active. Completely passive reading is impossible; we cannot read with our eyes immobilized and our minds asleep…the more active the reading the better” (5).
In today's society a plethora of information is immediately available at the touch of a button, and long gone are the days of careful hours spent scouring through a library for information. In "How to Read a Book" author Mortimer Adler points out that this ease of access to information has turned the masses into inattentive readers. In the first chapter, "The Activity and Art of Reading" Adler distinguishes between different types of reading such as active vs. inactive reading and goals that should be associated with reading such as reading for information and reading for understanding. In the latter chapter he goes on to point out how to be a successful and demanding reader through critical reading and asking oneself questions about the text.
Bauerlein’s volition toward complex text crafted high knowledge that made the argument competent. First thing bauerlein;s explain how American high school and college students are developing a habit of only doing “fast reading” requiring them to deal with complex texting that require slow contemplative readings.as a result, their ability to comprehend and appreciate complex text is declining I agree with the author that we want to avoid hurting readers who are unable to deal with a complex text, but I also feel that the new generation is going to deal with complex text in new ways with new digital technology.Bauerlein also
“How to Mark a Book” by Mortimer Adler is an essay about how one should mark a book in order to actively engage in the act of reading. The essay describes the benefits of writing in books and how writing in books benefits the reader. Many interesting points are argued in this essay about why one should mark a book; however, some of the points mentioned are not entirely true. Even though marking in a book has proven to help a reader actively engage, that is not always the case. Adler’s essay is directed towards a specific reader, the scholarly reader, and ignores the multitude of reading styles and needs, which is biased.
In the article, Making Sense of Texts, Rebecca Harper of Georgia Regents University discusses ways in which students interpret unfamiliar texts based on Rosenblatt’s Transitional Theory. Rosenblatt’s Transitional Theory of Reading and Writing is the exchange that occurs between a reader and the texts (2004). Meaning each reader interprets the reading through their own thoughts and experiences. Rosenblatt’s reasoning intel’s that readers relate to the texts based on signs which link them to the subject.
When thinking about effective reading and writing, a lot of terms come to mind. Terms such as comprehension, writing fluency, etc. Yet one thing I noticed is that these terms can be addressed by one simple idea. The most important aspect of reading and writing has to do with being “critically engaged”. What this means is that you are able to maximize your effectiveness in terms of pacing, time management, and analyzation.
In the age of technology, we have become accustom to instant gratification. You type a few words into the search engines of your choice and BAM! Millions of websites, articles, videos, image, and books all relating to those words are instantly available. It becomes easy to turn into passive, lazy readers, merely taking in one surroundings and just accepting it for what others tell you it is. Reading, absorbing information and looking at it in a critical way has become like a lost art form. Philosopher Mortimer Adler explains this art in the book “How to read a book”. It seems like such a simple concept, it is something moth Americans learn to do at a young age and reading level is often seen as a sign of intelligence. However, as Adler
When it came to becoming an active reader and a critical thinker, I found it difficult to better understand reading books or articles. I began setting goals as to wanting to ask more questions about the text, context the author 's writing to comprehend the moral of the story and be able to reflect on what the author is trying to achieve to bring it into a personal level. Throughout the whole WIFYS course I determined myself to successfully accomplish these goals, but creating my essays from actively