ENTRY #1: Reflecting on the reading and writing process

     Little did I know when I started thinking about the writing process and reading process together that I would find so many similarities. Before starting my Masters program at Nazareth, I saw the two as completely different processes, not two things that would be talked about in similar ways. I think the reason for this was based on how they were divided in school as two different subjects, there was a block for writing and a block time for reading. Having this in mind when I read about the writing process described in Tompkins and the Tierney & Pearson article, I saw reading and writing in a new light. When I sit down to read an article/book I read the first few words/sentences and think about as I read what it is exactly that I'm learning from the reading and is  the information included going to be helpful to me. I have a new understanding that this can be connected to the drafting process of writing, as Tierney & Pearson (1983) talk about how the writer is doing the same by drafting the topic and ideas that are to be included to give the audience a good understanding of the plot (p. 571).

    As a writer, I have always been one to plan everything out before I put the pen to the paper when engaging in formal writing. On a lined piece of paper I would write the topic I choose with colorful details, and the reason why I was writing about the topic or what I wanted my readers to take away. As I read Tompkins "Prewriting phase", part of the stage was considering an audience. I realized that I couldn't think of a time where I was not writing to someone other than a teacher or my classmates in school. Ultimately what this meant for me was I was thinking in what ways can I write this to get a good grade, because my teacher is the one reading it. I was doing the opposite of what Tompkins (2012) says the writer should be feeling comfortable that the audience is interested in responding to what is writing instead of how it was written (p.7). As for genre I always thought about the genre because it effected the way I would pick details that were to be included in my writing. I think that overall what makes prewriting more effective is when you use some kind of graphic organizer or create your own organized way, it can be challenging to go into the drafting stage without a plan or being able to reference your ideas. 

    Moving forward in our reading/writing blog assignment just as I did in this entry I will draw connections to the readings inside and outside the class as well as drawing connections to personal experiences. I believe that drawing connections helps to support my understanding of my own thoughts and allows for me to consider different points of view of reading & writing. I will also as I read the articles that help us to formulate our ideas in the blogs, make sure to annotate. Annotations will help me to gather my thoughts of the readings and put those thoughts into words. As I start to write my Genre Pieces Project assignment, I will begin to prewrite by creating my own organizer that lays out the topic I want to focus on, with branches of what I would like included. I will think and write what that will look like under different genres. 

References 

Tierney, R & Pearson, P.D. (1983). Toward A Composing Model of Reading. Language                   Arts, 60 (5), 568-580.