Alison Benedetti, In-Class RLW

1) "Reading Like a Writer" is very different from the readings I typically do in school. Since I am a science major, the only purpose of reading our class material is for information, without concern as to strategies that the author uses or reasons why one paragraph is in front of another. Science textbooks have no purpose, other than data and information, so learning how to read like a writer was something that I never learned how to do well. Being able to read like a writer is definitely something I would like to improve in.

2) I try to follow the basic writing structure of introduction-body-conclusion papers. This can be easily identified in my written work because I tend not to branch away from this structure at all. I also try to be somewhat humorous in my writing, because I have the fear of boring my readers. I still have yet to identify whether or not this is a beneficial tactic to incorporate in my writing. If I am writing an argumentative paper, I always like to establish the main argument early and often, another characteristic that can be easily defined in my work.

3) As a writer, putting myself in the reader’s shoes (something I’ve never really done before) would probably be beneficial to the overall outcome of my work. Thinking ahead, before the writing production process, considering the targeted audience and building the contextual and rhetorical strategies around the basis of that particular audience would also be something that would better my writing. I would be able to do this by further investigating my topic and arranging the text in the way that would most appeal to the audience.

4) Being able to identify the author’s purpose for writing, as well as their intended audience are two ways to easily learn about the text before reading it. Knowing the historical context or basic background of a piece of writing would also help improve the understanding of the text before it is read.