Chapter 1, part 1
Becoming better writers has been the goal for some of us since elementary school, and some of the tips to achieving that goal haven’t changed. We make writing to be something completely difficult when in reality we do it all the time. In the text it listed examples of when you email a co worker, or text a friend as distinct forms of writing. Nothing really surprising was advised in the text, as said before these tips have been the same since we learned how to create short stories in elementary school. The section that stood out the most in the text was knowing who your audience is. As if they couldn’t stress it enough that you need to know whose attention you are trying to grab with your writing.
Yazmin Olvera
Chapter 1, part 2
In Chapter 1 of The Bedford Guide, the authors presented their ideal process to start writing academically. First, emphasis on planning, drafting, and developing is highlighted for the reader. After all, the age old adage- one must crawl before they can walk applies to composition too. Ch.1 also reminds us to not forget that knowledge of who the audience will be is crucial. Second, highlighted is the modality of planning, writing, and developing to create meaningful content. Next, the textbook advises to spend ample time to revise and edit your work (don’t forget to ask someone competent to proofread). Toward the end of Chapter 1, the authors of The Bedford Guide remind students to be sure in differentiating between writing for an audience and writing for a purpose. All in all, Chapter 1 is a rundown of how to begin the writing. By giving clear and concise directions, the authors demonstrated how to begin the writing process for college students.
Daniel Bell
Chapter 2, part 1
The process of critical reading is different than reading for pleasure. Similar to participating in sports rather than simply being a spectator, critical reading one must interact with the text and requires careful planning and follow through. It is not reserved for just academics, but can be applied throughout one’s professional and private lives. It is a skill that will improve the more we apply it. In college, we are expected to do more than recognize words on a page, we are expected to read and write critically about what we’ve read. There are three main parts when reading critically: prepare, respond, and read critically.
Before we read, we must think about the purpose like
· What and why are we reading?
· What does the instructor expect?
· How is the subject related to other reading assignments?
Plan our Follow-Up
· What do we need to be prepared to discuss in class?
· Are there useful conclusions to be made?
· Will I need to write about it?
Gain Background
· What’s the context of the writing?
· Is there an audience the author is attempting to reach?
Response
Read Deeply
· Concentrate
· How does the writer’s opening connect to what follows?
· How do the ideas connect to one another
· Are there any difficult terms?
· How can you recall details later?
· Can you answer the reading questions in your textbook?
Annotate
· Don’t just highlight
· Make comments to help you remember and illustrate ideas
· Note your own experiences
· Question marks for things you don’t understand
· Challenge points made by the writer
Keep a reading Journal
· What’s the subject and the writer’s stance?
· What does the writer assume the reader already knows?
· Do you agree or disagree with the writer’s stance?
· What conclusions can you draw from the reading?
· Did the reading change my stance on subject?
Personally, I thought the chapter did a good job of trying to convey the message. It gave bullet points to help illustrate the ideas. I liked the part on annotations especially. It showed a sample book with things written in the margins as though a real person read the text and commented on it.
Critical thinking is a tough skill, in my opinion, and critical reading is even harder. If one reads a novel, it’s “easy” reading because typically a story is being told and the reader is not really expected to try and analyze it for a deeper meaning. You can just let the story soak in and naturally take it in. Whereas with critical reading, you must have a strategy and follow through with the plan in order to have success. It’s strange because even though different words take up roughly the same amount of ink and space on a page, they do not all have the same importance. Some things are much more important than others. Textbooks help direct your attention by putting things in bold or by segregating them into boxes. Although critical reading takes time to master, it’s a skill that will go a long way towards a successful college career.
Dustan Sepulveda
Chapter 2, part 2
When reading chapter 2, I found Six level of cognitive activity. Each skill is higher than the one before. Six cognitive activity included knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Knowledge, comprehension and application are literal skill whereas analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are analytical skill. Over the years, people who could read and write were called literate person. The definition is the same but because of the technologies, the complexity of reading and writing have vastly increased with the help of pictures, sounds, and motions which helps us easily identify what the author is trying to make his point. I found another interesting point when reading this chapter. It said when you read a paper or an article, many people assume that reader’s eye move from left to right, from one letter to another but that is not the case; studies show that readers actually jump back and forth, skip letters and words. I learned this from todays chapter. The most important point in chapter two was; For some people when reading online they tend to jump around the website and scanning the page and not thinking. This was true for me because now if I think about it, I tend to jump around and scan the page looking for a key term.
Nirakaran B. Malla
