SQR4

Brie Fenton and Yesi Ontiveros
Eng 1301.28
Trang Phan
09/20/10

Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning

Haas, C., Flower, L., “Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning” College Compositions and Communication. May 19: pgs, 167-183

When you read text, you make your own meaning of it. We dissect readings and think of how our own experiences relate to them. Trying to understand the purpose of a text requires searching, inferencing, and transforming of what you already know. The “multiple-representation thesis” helps us explain why we need to do this. “It suggests that readers’ and writers’ mental representations are not limited to verbally well-formed ideas and plans , but may include information coded as visual images, or as emotions, or as linguistic propositions that exist just above the level of specific words.” (169). Therefore, it is possible for different readers to form different concepts about the same piece of writing.

Teachers are now focusing on teaching students how to read in a certain way so they all get the same meaning from the same text. Many students paraphrase instead of analyzing the readings to actually get meaning out of them. They read for information rather than constructing representations. Rhetorical strategies go beyond the actual text, they try to find out the authors purpose, context and effect on the readers. Rhetorical reading is an extra strategy that experienced readers use. This is what teacher’s desire for their students to use.

What do you consider to be a “good reader”?

The article explains a good reader as someone that comprehends and understands everything they are reading but they don’t analyze it. They read for information. A good reader does not use rhetorical reading strategies and is unable to read critically. They can identify important parts of the article but don’t connect using their previous knowledge. “They paraphrase rather than analyze, summarize rather than criticize texts.” (170)

In our point of view a “good reader” is any one that can go beyond the actual text, someone that can elaborate into the meaning of the writing. The reader sees the information the author is trying to get across, they understand his/her point of view. A good reader analyzes and criticizes the text. They build representation of meaning and understand intended effects. A good reader is always interested in the topic so they can add on and understand it more. Personally, we do not consider ourselves good readers because it’s hard to analyze a text when you have no interest in it. Many people have different interpretations of what a “good reader” is, we see them as a person who can elaborate on texts and use the ‘felt sense’ to relate to it.