Academic Writing Week 5

In "They Say, I Say," Ch. 11, I thought it was interesting to read the arguments for how to transition between classmates statements by referring back to or summarize what they just said. The reason I thought it was a good read is because I feel like that is how we already discuss subjects in class, even though there's always room for improvement.

I like how the writer brings up that it is important to make one specific point since in a class discussion, your classmates will not be able to go back and reread what you just said. Therefore, the author states, it's better to make an oral argument simple and to the point.

In "They Say, I Say," Ch. 9, I was thinking about Gloria Anzaldua the whole time since I have studied her writing in two previous classes. I was happy that she was brought up in the text. It was great to read that academic writing doesn't always have to be overly professional depending on your audience. I personally appreciate texts that I can relate to more, even though I realize I can't expect that from, say, a scientific academic paper.

I guess I feel like it gives me more freedom to play around with words as long as I keep it on a professional level in general. However, I do believe you need to be a pretty damn good writer in order to "break the rules" like that. Sticking to professional lingo is probably the best way to go until one is more comfortable as a writer. I still have a long, long way to go, but again, I was excited to learn that my future in academic writing doesn't have to get boring because of the lack of freedom.

Like Smitherman tried to convey in her writing about African-Americans, we need to open up "our habitual language practices... and... the number of participants in the academic conversation needs to be expanded."

"Reading Like a Writer" was a great read to me. A few years ago, when my English wasn't as good as it is now, I asked my journalism professor the best way to expand my vocabulary. She said "the only way I know is to read. Read books, articles, anything you can get your hands on."

So I started doing just that. However, even though I read a lot and try to get into the authors' heads, I don't write comments in the margins, and I don't actively think about the style of a sentence or paragraph or entire book, or the effect of the way it's written.

This text was a little bit of an eye opener, and after reading it, I feel like reading will be more fun than usual. The article made me want to become more engaged in whatever it is that I'm reading for school or recreationally.