Reading Response 2

Summary

            In his article, What Is It We Do When We Write Articles Like This One–And How Can We Get Students To Join Us, Michael Kleine attempts to determine whether those who write on either an academic or professional level immerse themselves in their subject matter, or go to the library and binge on facts, tweak the wording into original material, and repeat. Kleine argues that there is merit to academic writing, and those who practice it, practice is with passion.

Pre-reading Exercises

1)        My roommate and I both located our sources through the internet. We’d search the subject of our research and then read about experts in whatever field it was in which they had their expertise. We’d use these sources as the go-to for any large fact we detailed in our writings. Basically, we’d quote the source and cite it. Then add our own input afterwards.

2)        Three of my courses require researched reading. I picture myself being semi-invested in most of them. I’ll research, and I’ll write, but I will not obsess. It’s likely we won’t be discussing my one obsession: film. So, a sincere, borderline obsessive investment may not be likely. I know I’ll have to research thoroughly, and I will. I just hope there is no disconnect between the subject and I.

Questions for Discussion and Journaling

1)        I would say that Kleine’s initial observation of the library is somewhat accurate when comparing it to mostly any of my high school research papers. I was never really invested with the subject I had been given or the subsequent research that followed it. However, I wasn’t as active with my fact-gobbling, and most of the paper would consist of my ramblings on the subject, in order to reach the page requirement.

3)        The sources in Kleine’s research are paramount. Without them, there would be no analysis, as they are his only subjects of observation. Sources have played a decently large role in my past research projects. It’s what I’ve based all of my writing on, so without them, I would have nothing to support my original claims and opinions.

4)        If I researched the way Kleine describes researching, my papers would likely be much more rich with substance, they’d argue the points I aimed to make much more efficiently, and they’d seem more credible.

My Thoughts

            I didn’t find the article particularly interesting. Academic writing seems very stale and rigorous to me. It’s certainly possible that I’m wrong, but that’s simply the stereotype I’ve believed in. Though I didn’t find the article personally interesting, it does contain much information that will be useful to me in the future. The very publishing of Kleine’s article calls out all of those who aren’t personally invested in their research. Kleine suggests that this disinterest shows. With that in mind, it prompts me to take my research more seriously and more personally.

Reading Response 1

Questions for Discussion and Journaling

2)        Greene quotes Kenneth Burke’s metaphor for writing to reinforce his viewpoint of writing being a continuous and everlasting conversation. He spends three paragraphs defining argument and listing its many facets and forms. To solidify and complete his definition of argument, Greene provides us with a quote that supports his interpretation of writing.

Burke describes writing as a conversation that has been in existence much longer than anyone currently engaged in it. The “participants” in this particular conversation are other writers who, at one point in time, had just entered that same parlor you’ve recently stepped into. This idea of writing as a form of argument, and argument as a form of conversation, suggests that there is no specific or dominant way to write, so long as you research your information thoroughly and articulate the points of your argument in a sensible and concise fashion. This “conversation” metaphor may also challenge the way we write. Thoughts and opinions could be described in incomplete or fragmented sentences, conflicting with the way we conduct traditional analysis.

3)        Framing is the way a writer channels his vision of an idea, subject, concept or argument. It is the way he designs the presentation of his subject matter in order to get the reader to think in the same way he does. Greene likens this concept of framing to photography and the different ways a picture can be taken. He views this as a key component to good argumentative writing because it essentially places the reader on the same perch from which the writer sees everything.

Applying and Exploring Ideas

2)        Stuart Greene’s article does represent a conversation, a conversation with other analysts of the written language. Greene frames his argument by immediately telling the reader that argument is an integral part of everyday life. He then goes on to list various facets, forms, styles and mediums in which argument happens. By doing this, the reader is forced to think about argument and the ways in which he/she experiences it personally, thus accomplishing the very thing he describes in his article.