Preparing for Research
10
Overview
This chapter talks about the processes your brain goes through before attempting to write. Through this chapter you will be able to identify writing habits and effective ways to reach an audience and display your point. In this chapter you will be challenged to be creative and use recursive process to display knowledge of rhetoric and the role of reading and writing in critical thinking and establishing reading comprehension.
Reading & Writing as a Researcher
Reading and writing might appear separate but ultimately, they go hand in hand, when responding to any situation, the motivation for asserting a claim in an essay and entering a particular conversation with a selected audience is presenting through that medium. Reading and writing are important components to building reading comprehension, this is not formed through memorization but rather by exercising critical thinking functions. When writing there is a need for conversation, your text should flow which is why there is value to knowledge, experience and interest in text, not solely memorization. Inquiry of academic writing involves the process of annotation, this is known as the first act of composing, it shows traces of responding voices while you’re reviewing, marked text shows signs of critical thinking which involve engaging, questioning, and testing those ideas inquired significance. Although in academic writing you should always address a series of question before writing or responding, these questions are:
- Is this information relevant or significant?
- Is it truthful information and if so how do you know?
- What arguments in response to authority are being made?
- What are the exceptions to the authors argument?
- Is it a legit? Is this sufficient?
- Are there any counter-arguments?
Activity #1
In your own words write 1-2 paragraphs about the different ways to present these six questions in a paper and provide one example of each you have seen in previous writing.
Writing as a Reader Vs Writing as Writer
Reading is a main component of writing. To begin with most of all college writing is based on reading, when reading through texts you are able to see an individual’s writing style, approach and arguments. By being an active reader, you are able to see many types of writing and methods to display information, this gives you an advantage while writing, it allows you to study other writing styles and mimic good habits displayed by other writers in your own text. Someone who is a good academic writer is bound to be a successful critical thinker which results in an active reader.
Writing goes hand in hand with reading, by reading text and understanding it you have done half the work but being able to communicate and display that information intelligently is the other half. When dealing with writing you will always see rhetoric close by, rhetoric is the study of how writers influence readers with language, in addition, there is rhetorical analysis which is when a writer’s purpose is identified in response to a situation by displaying an essay that puts forth claims. Audience: Identified through language intended for a specific genre while considering references and structure. Below are a few things to think about before beinging to write academically: To be culturally literate is to possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world. -Hirsch
- Purpose: What a writer is trying to accomplish or a response to a particular situation. What is the writer goal, to think, advocate, raise awareness, change or a combo?
- Situation: Moves a writer to write, urgency is not always triggered by a single situation; it is multifaceted.
- Claims: Assertion authors must justify and support with evidence and good reason. While it must also include a thesis/main claim which controls the idea of the writers point and crafts the main argument claim and presentation of evidence and assertions.
- Minor Claim: An assertion that requires support and does not shape what the author writes in the remainder of the essay.
- For example inside “Inquiry” a minor claim would be….
Curious Writer
When writing you must be aware that writing is recursive & messy and requires a flexible process. This means that shifting perspectives as you read is positive in developing good writing strategies, for example, a camera with lens uses different angles to capture the desired image. Perspectives taken into consideration should be: Believing, Doubting, Updating, Hunting & Gathering, Interpreting, Pleasure Seeking, Connecting, Reflect & Resisting. However, when writing there is never a “right” way to answer and it is meant to influence creativity, self perspective in relation to the texts subject & genre/medium is also necessary in addressing a text.
Reading Visuals
The process of reading an image goes through the process of: What to know —> Should read to find out —> How should I use what I read?
- Framing,
- Angle,
- Relationship,
- Light,
- Color
- Arrangement
Reading, understanding process and reflect in writing is a way of discovering how you think and should be demonstrated through your writing.
Activity #2
List three ways a person can build reading comprehension?
Activity #3
In a paragraph describe, what is an example of visual reading students would have access to while participating in class?
This chapter is supported by points made in Habits of Mind, that chapter talks about the thinking done before writing in order to make your content appealing.