How to Read Like a Writer

I really find it effective that our readings have correlated so well with assignments that have been due. I started with the reading on research thinking I would already know much of what would be discussed, as I have written numerous research papers before. Much to my surprise, this was very incorrect. Prior to the reading, I did not realize how many important steps there were when researching something and how this can change the effectiveness of a paper. For example, before even conducting an interview, it is important to create a narrow enough topic, develop clear and powerful research based questions, and then find the correct person to interview, based on your genre. Interviews are not something I know much about, so it was helpful to learn how to break down what a good interview was composed of.  I feel it is hard to know right off the bat how an interview will go, so follow up questions are very important. The reading suggested printing out a transcription of the interview after, and highlighting the important areas which is something I would have never though to do, but I’m sure will help with the outcome of my final paper. Not every answer is going to be important, so it is good to be able to factor out the unnecessary ones.  Overall, I will probably resort back to this ready 100 more times before completing my final paper – very helpful!!!

Reading is something I usually do in order to wind down after a long day. Unless I am reading for school, I do not put much thought into dissecting what it is I am reading. How to Read Like a Writer gave me a whole new way of thinking about any sort of reading. Every piece of writing has a purpose, and is directed for a certain audience. Whether the reader sits down and actually thinks about these factors or not, they are always there. Language is a huge dynamic in writing, for example, formal or informal? In depth or brief? When outside distractions actually forced me to read each sentence thoroughly more than once, it made me really realize the effort that goes into every form of writing – even just a magazine article. By learning to “read like a writer”, I found it changes the way I absorb the information and is much more effective when understanding the foundations of the reading.