Kleine

1.     Kleine is trying to figure out if there is a certain pattern that researchers do to develop profound and thorough research. His goal was to find ways on how to allow students to do better research. 

2.      The term heuristic simply means a problem-solving pattern as described by Kleine. Exigence is something that needs and immediate action. It can also be described as an emergency. Epistemology is defined as the theory of knowledge.

3.     Kleine faces multiple implications. One of which is the hunting and gathering method. This method allows the researcher to better understand their work and allow them to obtain mass amounts of rich research. The next implication would be how students need to do their research for the interest of their community and not just for their teacher. This would create a greater interest for the student who is doing the research and strengthen their knowledge on the topic. This would also allow conversation between the students and peers to get a better perspective on the topic. The third implication was that students are assigned research projects that can only be done in the library. Kleine suggests, “promoting genuine reading in our classrooms (31)”. This goal would create a more personal process and would make the student want to share their research. The next implication was to broaden the research topics and let students decide to pick between the natural and social science aspects or the characteristics of humanities not just one or the other. The final implication was to get students to greater their research capabilities by having a better focus, hunting and gathering information, and to have a better interest in the topic. 

Berkenkotter and Murray

The article, Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer, written by Carol Berkenkotter was the process of a lab experiment she did on a man named Donald Murray. This wasn’t a typical experiment with lab coats and terrified rats but more of a study on the process behind writing. Berkenkotter had two concentrations. She wanted to compare the difference it makes on the location of writing as well as the revision process. Murray was allowed to write and organize his thoughts wherever he thought necessary. He used a tape recorder to record his thoughts out loud as well as used journals to write down concepts that lingered in his head. When Murray was in the comfort of his own home, he was able to form profound ideas for his articles. Berkenkotter spent a total of sixty-eight days studying the habits of Murray and his process of writing and revising his work. He never had a specific way of revising his work. It was somewhat sporadic. He would constantly go from planning, to translating to reviewing then revising all at different times. Murray was also studied on how he preformed when placed in a room and assigned a prompt to write about in a specific amount of time. It was hard for Murray to grasp the idea of who is audience was or to gain an interest in what he was suppose to write about. Needless to say he did not preform efficiently at this task compared to the work he was intrigued in. Murray was able to reflect on the experiment in a different article that he wrote. He believed the experiment went well, he just wished that Berkenkotter had added a few things. Murray found it interesting how much he got into his writing at the time, that he felt that Berkenkotter understood more about his writing that he did. He also reflected on how it is important to go back and forth with writing and revising even though it may seem confusing.

I thought the two articles were very compelling. I found it interesting on how much time Murray spent on his writing and revising. It was almost a lifestyle for him. He always was thinking about his writing and somehow managed to record his thoughts. I personally have never spent so much time on a piece of writing. I do know that it is Murray’s career and his passion but I have never put that much effort into any sort of writing. I barely ever make rough drafts for my assignments let alone revise them unless it is a really important piece of work. I do know that if I enjoy something and have a strong passion for it I will put forth so much hard work and try to make it as close to perfect as possible. I guess that is what Murray strived to do with his writing. I can also relate to Murray by the whole idea on writing about something you don’t have an interest in. For example, when I took the Act I was forced to write about school dress code. It was hard for me to write about this because I didn’t really have a preference either way and in the back of my mind I know the maker of this prompt didn’t really care about it either. He was just forced to come up with something that could create a counter argument. It also is difficult because they put a time limit on you and you are in a room with a bunch of other students on a Saturday morning. I also found it interesting how Murray got so into his writing that he barely even knew what he was writing about. He was so stuck in the moment of writing and forming ideas. 

Rosenberg

Karen Rosenberg shares her story of how her ways of reading has changed. At the beginning of Rosenberg’s college years she discusses how she enjoyed to read and would always find a comfortable place in the library to read. After realizing that you mostly read scholarly articles in college, she started to get a resistance towards reading and began to dread her assignments. Rosenberg attended graduate school and realized there would be many more scholarly articles that had to be read. She decided to bite the bullet and learn to find ways to enjoy and make it through the long treacherous readings. She states that it is important to understand why you are reading what you were assigned because it will help you gain a better understanding of the reading. She also says it is important to find the primary audience of the text as well as breaking the text into pieces. This will ultimately help the reader understand the text as a whole by gaining knowledge on the basic parts. Another important tip Rosenberg provides is to ask questions when confused. This will not only help the reader comprehend the reading on another level but also create conversation, which is the purpose of most texts. 

Allen and Lamott

The articles, “ The inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer” written by Sarah Allen and “Shitty First Drafts” written by Anne Lamott, both worked hand in hand explaining the controversies with writers. Both writers explain how the “Inspired Writer” doesn’t actually exist. It is rare to find a person to wake up every morning inspired to write a rich piece that is flawless that flows perfectly. Before writing, people tend to get stressed and feel like their paper is going to fail write off the bat without even writing down a single word. Allen and Lamott both found ways to help us relieve this stress and sense of guilt that our work won’t succeed. Lamott simply states to write a shitty first draft. To write like a child and let everything spill out onto the paper. She says to not worry if it doesn’t make sense or if there tremendous amounts of mistakes. No one will ever see this shitty first draft so there shouldn’t be any worries or embarrassment.  Lamott stresses the fact that if you write on numerous pages random thoughts, that at least one sentence on one of those pages is bound to inspire you and give you direction on where to go next. Allen has a similar approach of the writing process. She says to write a first draft that may seem like a “train wreck”, but let a select few people read it. She clearly states to not let a mother or a friend read the paper, but someone who is educated in the field of writing.  Both authors state to not let the voices in your head stress you out. They give the advice to just relax and let the words pour out onto the paper not worrying about who may see it. In the end it is just a draft that will hopefully turn into a wonderful piece of work.

I thought both articles were very helpful. I feel the same anxiety when beginning to write a paper. It is refreshing to know that I am not the only one who feels like they are “sinking or spinning” when trying to come up with a well-written paper, as Allen states. In high school, I would always freak out when assigned with a paper. I would never know how to begin writing or what to even write about. My teacher would always suggest writing rough drafts but I never felt like they would help and were time consuming. I would even freak out about writing a rough draft. I would never know were to start. I think it will be very beneficial for me to take Lamont’s approach at writing. If I just pour out everything that’s on my mind about the topic assigned I will be sure to have something worth writing about. If my draft isn’t to horrific, maybe I will take Allen’s approach as well and hopefully get some positive feedback. I think it is important that both authors stated to not worry about the people in your head telling you that the paper wont be thought provoking and interesting. I would always limit my writing ability because I was nervous of being judged. In the end it is my paper and as long as it is well thought out and creates good conversation, I will be satisfied whether or not my grade is h

Introduction

The introduction of “Reading about Reading” has very useful information and prepares you for what to expect during the next semester. The introduction explains what the class is not about and how many people go into the class assuming they know what they are going to learn that semester. This book will guide us on how to connect the readings assigned into our own personal experiences. The introduction also gives tips on how to move through the introduction of readings because they maybe difficult to understand. After reading certain articles or anything for that matter, the introduction states that you should be able to raise new arguments and ideas, which will then produce rich conversation. In order to form good conversation simple questions should be asked so they can become more in-depth as conversation continues creating counterarguments. Stuart Green explains how writers use frames to create work, making the most important aspects of their writing stand out. The purpose of this book is to show how different research allows for new information to be discovered as well as, how research creates conversation and arguments.

            After reading the introduction, it became clear to me what this class was going to be about. The introduction helped me understand how to read the articles by forming new ideas from them and being able to form and answer questions. I think the introduction was very helpful because it gave me useful tips on how to go about reading these scholarly articles. At first I was a bit hesitant when we were assigned our first reading and writing assignment because the information seemed to go over my head. Now I know how to break it down and understand why the writer chose to write they way they did. I now will be able to think more deeply about the text and I will hopefully get better overtime.