Final Reflection
Straight path
In the beginning of this semester I did not have a reason to read. I read the same since I was in grade school. That has all changed after this course. During this course, I learned the three registers, thematic, mimetic, and synthetic readings of a text. I learned to discover controlling values, and counter ideas. With that, I am now able to form a value graph, even in my head while I read to point out different topics of the text.
I have also learned to become the addressee of a text, in which I can find relatable things to my own life, in the text. Even though, I do still make the mistake of projecting, and becoming a submissive reader, I am more aware of my reading techniques, and can catch myself submitting to the text more often. The rhetoric of reading is what has stood out to me the most. The rhetoric of reading asks, what am I reading for? How does the text want me to read? After just a few days being in your class, I realized I had been looking at the text in the wrong way all this time. Gallop states, in the Ethics of Reading, "What do I mean by ethical? I believe it is ethical to respect other people, by which I mean: listen to them, try to understand what they are actually saying, rather than just confirming our preconceptions about them, our prejudices." This quote stands out to me because when I had my meeting with you, I realized how much of a picky reader I am. I like reading one type of book and that is it. I can spend hours in the library picking just one book out. I need to broaden my genres. This class not only opened my eyes up to that, but gave me the chance to actually do it. After reading both, Franny and Zooey and Angela's Ashes, I have been able to expand my reading for. What am I reading for now? Instead of reading for my own enjoyment, I now have the opportunity to expand my "enjoyment," and learn about other texts, learn about different authors, learn anything I want to learn. I have now came to the realization that my reading has effected my writing. My writing used to be simple, and plain, but now after learning different styles and techniques of reading I have the opportunity to broaden my writing. The first three core values of the Writing Arts major are: 1. Writing Arts students will demonstrate understanding of a variety of genre conventions and exhibit rhetorical adaptability in applying those conventions. After participating in this course, I have had the opportunity to grow and a writer, due to my understandings of reading. This class gave me the chance to understand what I needed to change within my own reading and writing in order to grow and expand my knowledge. It is important to understand different meanings of texts, such as codes, forms, registers, etc because it lets you as a reader interpreted your readings better. As far as becoming a better writer, I was able to connect with the text once I understood the conventions of reading. I am now able to make better changes such as interpreting my reading into my writing. This portfolio has given me the chance to express my understandings of the texts I have read, and write about the process. 2. Writing Arts students will understand theories of writing and reading and be able to apply them to their own writing. After learning the different conventions of reading I was able to enhance my writing. In the writing world, there is always room to improve. I am thankful for this course because I have never learned anything like what I have learned in this class before. I had no idea what projecting even was, and I had been doing it since I learned how to read! I was surprised at how much I was not aware of until you were able to bring it to my class's attention. Throughout this time in the class my writing has improved, even in other classes because I am more aware of what I am writing. I try to stay on topic and use the different techniques of reading I have experienced, into my writing. 3. Writing Arts students will demonstrate the ability to critically read complex and sophisticated texts in a variety of subjects. When I first started this semester I began to read The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This text opened up my eyes to all different versions of a similar story. At first, I was confused, but after breaking down the text together with you, and talking to my group, I was able to break down different elements of the text to find out the controlling values of the text. I was also able to break the text down into different forms and codes to make more connections to the story. Although this book was out of my box, I gave it a try and it ended up being challenging to me. It was challenging to me because I am not used to reading texts of such nature. It was an eye opener for me, I did not realize how stuck in my own genre I had been. After our one conference, specifically, we were able to talk about how close minded I am to reading different style texts. I have known I was a picky reader because I like specific genres but I had no idea what I was missing out on. Reading the "Hero with a Thousand Faces," was a difficult read but talking about it out loud made more sense. It was different stories all compiled into one book, but each one had a similarity which you helped me by pointing out. At first it was like reading a foreign language on a piece of paper, but I now learned to break text down further until I am able to understand and make meaning from it. |