Writing and Reading and their variants

The text I read

This article by Haas and Flower analyzes how people read differently. It focuses on how experienced readers, such as teachers, principals, administrators, etc. , read with greater difficulty than less experienced readers. They argue that skilled readers better understand the author's point of view and way of seeing the text. In conclusion, good readers think like experts and as if they are always right.

What I learned from this text...

There are different types of readers: content readers write down all the information, article readers pay more attention to the structure, and rhetorical readers review the author's purpose and context. Rhetorical readers are considered the most advanced.

Think-aloud protocols involve students reading aloud while expressing their thoughts, which helps analyze mental processes.

Hass and Flower

Thinking aloud while reading feels unnatural and disrupts my reading style. This raises the question of whether we are actually assessing reading skills or simply our comfort with expressing thoughts.

This article says rhetorical reading is the best approach, but this overlooks situations like reading scientific articles to gather data or studying for exams, where memorization is key.

Furthermore, the article assumes that all students read uniformly and value the same strategies, ignoring the needs of multilingual students, international students, and those with disabilities, making its model appear overly simplistic.

My Reflection and Thoughts

Yes, this article was helpful. Although I disagreed with some points, reading it made me realize that I often don't question academic texts. Instead of simply remembering what the authors intended, I became more active and hesitant when reading.

As a student, this text taught me to take things slowly and reflect on what I read—not just the content, but also the reasons behind it and their assumptions. This is valuable for writing articles and participating in debates, and it makes me feel less intimidated by academic texts.

As citizens, we encounter many texts that seek to influence us, such as news articles and advertisements. Learning to read rhetorically has made me more aware of who is saying what and why, which is important in a world filled with misinformation.

As someone figuring out life, I’ll need to read various documents critically in my future career. This skills of active reading is important beyond just school. 

Haas and Flower may have been overly confident, but their article inspired me to think and read differently and to engage instead of just accept. While I believe they could have included more perspectives, I appreciate the chance to read critically. This week, I didn’t just annotate a text; I debated with it, which feels like growth.