Readers Response #11

In the article, “Sponsors of Literacy” Deborah Brandt introduces the ideas that people can’t become literate on their own. She portrays that literacy is “sponsored” by people, institutions, and circumstances. Brandt discovers after interviewing a large amount of people, literary sponsors are everywhere. She also talks about the fact that people “misappropriate” literary sponsor’s intentions by using the literacy for their own reasons rather than the sponsors, portraying tensions between the two.

I can really connect Deborah Brandt’s “Sponsors of Literacy” to James Porters “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community”. Porter introduces the idea that every text has a trace of another text. I think that really connects to the fact that although people often have their own personality, who they become has a lot to do with who their sponsor was while they were growing, and that has a big effect on them.

Before You Read:

2. I have seen U.S. culture and my own local community encourage and emphasize reading in many different ways. Growing up, our teachers stress the importance of reading. In today’s world you can rarely get a job without knowing how to read. Teachers as well as parents stress to kids about the importance of reading.

AE:

1. My literacy history compared to those of Branch and Lopez were quite different. I would say I was somewhere in the middle of the two. Growing up in a middle class family I went to a public school and learned to read and write through school. I had early education, plenty of access to books and computers, and a lot of parental support. My primary literacy sources would have been the teachers that taught me to read and write. I think I definitely had an adequate amount of access provided by my sponsors, and I took advantage of that. I think I have had access to all the literacies I could even hope for growing up.

I really enjoyed Brandt’s article, I never really thought about all the advantages I have had when it comes to previous schooling. Unknowingly, literacy sponsors have a lot of effect on you as a person which is a topic most people don’t even usually acknowledge.

Readers Response #10

In the article “Good English and Bad” Bill Bryson explains how the rules of grammar are simply fading. He starts with the history of English, explaining its complexity. He talks about the fact that since there are not grammar police, the rules have been broken. Bryson believes that this problem was created because of how we teach grammar.

When Reading Bryson’s article “Good English and Bad” I could really relate it to James Porter’s article about the discourse community. Although different topics, they both touched on the idea of having to fit into a certain community with their writing. They both realized that what we write depends on the community you are in and whether it’s there or not determines if you follow the “rules”.

Before You Read:

1. I would consider good English from bad English depending on the usage of words, variety of vocabulary, and sentence structure. Bad English would be more considered as simple and full of error. I think this because growing up our teachers would show us clips of good writing and bad.

QD:

1. Bryson is challenging grammar. Bryson states “Consider the parts of speech. In Latin, the verb has up to 120 inflections. In English it never has more than five…” when explaining how watered down the complex language really is. He also mentions “We seldom stop to think about it, but some of the most basic concepts in English are naggingly difficult to find” and explains the fact that the definition of a sentence is a lot different than how we use it.

AE:

2. I think what Bryson means when he says the English is fluid and democratic is that it is always changing with the popular crowd. I have seen this in writing because it is always changing and writers sort of change their style with the popular demand at the time.

MM:  Verb. Noun. Adjective. When I write I am never really thinking about the part if speech. You learn about parts of speech in middle school. I think when your younger knowing the parts of speech does help you with writing. It’s what shapes the sentence and helps you get a better understanding of it. I think as you get older you don’t really think about the parts of speech when you’re actually writing it just happens.

I thought Bryon’s article was kind of interesting. Grammar is something that’s not so important to people more so now a days. I really think grammar needs to be enforced a little more. Grammar is something we deal with in everyday life whether realizing it or not.

Project 1 Intro/Conversation

When defining plagiarism, one might say: an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author, or without the fancy terms, cheating. What do we really do to avoid plagiarism? What is the real purpose of plagiarism rules? If I were to rewrite the rules of plagiarism I would make sure to separate the people who aren’t guilty to the actual cheaters.

In today’s academic world, plagiarism is something that can ruin someone’s life if you’re not informed of it properly. Plagiarism is often misconceived as something easy to avoid because of paraphrasing, but what it really is to writers is a burden. When trying to inform someone about the facts of a topic, the last thing you want to do is rearrange the words to make the statement less efficient. But hasn’t it all been said before? While were busy paraphrasing someone else’s words to make it our own, how do we know that the same combination of words we are using haven’t been used before? We don’t. Writing has been around for hundreds of years. Every combination of all the words in the English language has been used once before. This takes originality to a whole other level. It questions if originality can even exists in today’s writing. More people struggle with trying to watch how they re-word a sentence so there not considered “cheaters” rather than focusing on how to draw in their audience with facts. There is a fine line between someone who has their motive set out to copy someone else’s writing, to put their name on the top of it, versus someone who just wants to get facts out there.

James Porter draws out the idea of intertexuality when it comes to plagiarism. He proposes the idea that every text has a “trace” of other texts. He also touches on the fact that every text draws some ideas from other texts. So who is given credit for being original?

Darise Bowden describes plagiarism “On the one hand, plagiarism is a nasty, venal, and immoral crime that needs to be eradicated while, on the other, plagiarism cannot be a problem--sharing and borrowing is inherent in the nature of language”, explaining the many sides plagiarism can be looked at. But can plagiarism be taken so lightly as to not have a set definition?

Readers Response #9

In the article "Seeing the Text”, Stephen Bernhardt discusses the concept of how a text is presented and its effect on who picks the text up. Visual appearance has a lot to do with how appealing it is to certain people. One of the most important ways to draw someone into text is through images or the certain way the text is set up. In most of the advertisement, resumes, and many other documents we use a mixture of images and words to make it look presentable to the reader. In this article, Bernhardt shows us that these work together when it comes to how it is portrayed.

This article is really in a way connected to McCloud’s. They both introduce the way that people unknowingly connect images to different symbols and in this case presence. Without realizing it, how you present a text has a lot to do with the attraction people have to the text.

Before You Read:

2. With a text heavy advertisement I am most drawn to the image. I think the text emphasizes the image by drawing your eyes to the image. Being the only image, your eyes are horizontally drawn to the image.

QD:

4. I think you are supposed to write an essay in a specific format to make it easier to understand. Unknowingly your eyes are drawn to specific things when it comes to

AE:

4. A website I visit often is the Ohio University home page. It guides me by having a directory bar on the side of the page. I think the website does a good job at guiding someone to finding what they’re looking for. They also have a search bar to help with guidance.

After You Read:

1. I think that McCloud would have represented this argument just like Bernhardt. They both cover the concept that by taking first look at something you associate it with other things and presence can draw someone into a text.

MM:  In all the formal writing assignments in this course I think that questioning constructs requires the most visual thinking about presentation for text. In order to complete this assignment you have to really think outside the box about how a construct is constructed.

I really enjoyed this article. I can relate to seeing a magazine or text that appeals to me so I end up picking it up and taking a look. I also think that presentation can go a long way with how successful something turns out to be.

Readers Respons #8

James Porter in “Intertexuality and the Discourse Community” covers a major point in writing. He starts with questioning the construct of originality. What is originality when every text has a “trace” of plagiarism? He believes that everyone is guilty of drawing some ideas from another text. He is questioning how we should even define plagiarism when originality is so hard to find.

Porter’s article to me has a different purpose than previous articles that we have read. You can, however link it to Kantz’s article. They both pertain to the usage of sources, but have a very different meaning and audience.

Before You Read:

2. I get help from various books, websites, friends, and teachers when it comes to my writing. I explore different views on the subject in order to take my own stand.

QD:

4. I agree with Porter. I believe that when it comes to evaluating writing they key focus should be on its “acceptability” rather than its sources. Porter states “…choosing the “right” topic, applying the appropriate critical methodology, adhering to standards for evidence and validity…” when explaining what really is important in writing (96). I think that this relates to the writing I have done in the past because the teachers are so focused on how good I reworded the text than the actual text itself.

5. I think his own work reflects on the principles he’s writing on very well. He’s explaining that nothing is really original! The fact that everyone gets these ideas from somewhere just supports the claim that he is trying to make.

AE:

2. I think they should rewrite plagiarism by telling students you can’t copy a paper or take credit for work that isn’t your own. I don’t think as a student is writing a research paper they need to re-word every sentence that they come about in their research. I also don’t think the way you word a sentence is crucial to plagiarism because hasn’t it all been worded before? This differs than the original definition of plagiarism by eliminating the need to change every word you come in counter with and just get your point across without worrying about getting kicked out of school because you forgot to paraphrase.

MM:

1. Porter’s idea has not changed the way I view writers. I never really thought that good writers come up with brilliant ideas without any help or all by their selves. Adopting his notion might be a relief to me. It won’t necessarily change the way I write a lot, but I will be more comfortable presenting ideas in the way they were meant to be written and not paraphrase so much that it takes away from its own meaning.

I liked Porter’s argument, it made a lot of sense to me and I support his ideas. I think that plagiarism is sort of a wall put up between the writer and the information. If someone is going to steal someone else’s work they should suffer the consequences, but don’t hold everyone’s work accountable. Let the cheaters be aside from the writers who want to get their point across.

Readers Response #7

Peter Elbow in "Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries" addresses the arguments that come about writers write when it comes to “voice”. He states that this argument is one that’s been dead for quite some years now but it needs to get woken up. He argues that voice is still in everyone’s writings today, whether they realize it or not. Elbow also addresses the positive aspects of using voice in your writing. He states “With practice people can learn to write prose that “has voice” or “sounds like a person,” and, interestingly, when they do, their words are more effective at carrying meaning.”(Elbow 52) He also lists negative outcomes from using voice in your writing. “Ignoring voice is necessary for good reading.” (Elbow 54) He touches on the fact that students improve their ability to understand the context by ignoring the voice.

I think that Peter Elbow’s “Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries” is very similar to Greene’s “Argument as Conversation”. Although both articles have different topics they are also alike. I think both articles point out to you that while writing, you’re doing something you never even realize. In this case, putting yourself into the text.

Before You Read:

1. You construct an identity on Facebook by what you post and what you write about yourself. I think your identity online can be more made up rather than in person. You can exclude all the negative things about you and only focus on the positive. You can also lie.

QD:

1. Voice is putting yourself into your own writing, whether it’s past experiences, cultures, or anything that shapes you as a person. I think my definition of voice has always corresponded well to Elbow’s definition.

4. Elbow closes his argument with stating that he supports utilizing both ways of writing or thinking. He acknowledges the necessity of using both forms. If the tension between both ways of thinking was completely gone there would be no growth in writing. He states “Just as we can see more about texts through if we learn to look at them with two lenses in succession- the lens of voice and not the voice- so, too, in our thinking game we need to learn to use both intellectual modes: the doubting and believing games.” (Elbow 58)

AE:

2. When you read something out loud you’re more likely to listen to your words and understand what you are reading. “Ear training” has affected comprehension of words. Reading it out loud makes students more comfortable to speak. I think it is a great tool to use, and you should implement this when reading a more difficult text.

3. Elbow addresses the positive aspects of using voice in your writing. He states “With practice people can learn to write prose that “has voice” or “sounds like a person,” and, interestingly, when they do, their words are more effective at carrying meaning.”(Elbow 52) He also lists negative outcomes from using voice in your writing. “Ignoring voice is necessary for good reading.” (Elbow 54) He touches on the fact that students improve their ability to understand the context by ignoring the voice. I think these coexist with a single piece of writing because we want to have a more effective meaning and understand the text at the same time.

MM: I think for both perspectives on voice to co-exist you need to establish the right time for either or depending on the article you are writing. I believe that it is not possible to do such a thing at the same exact time.

I thought this article was very easy to read, but at the same time dragged out. It was a little difficult to comprehend in some ways. He got his point across but I think it could have been done a little clearer. Other than that I enjoyed learning about voices in writing.

Readers Response #6

In “The Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen discusses the differences between the inspired writer versus what we do when we write. Allen states that even professional writers have experiences with “slogging’ through their own writing processes. She also mentions good strategies on revising your paper and who to go to for such revisions.

It’s hard for me to really connect Allen’s piece to a previous reading. I think what makes her article different than the ones I have read is that most of the time the articles I have read are ideas I have never even thought about. Her article was very clear to me, and didn’t make me think like the ones we have read.

 Before You Read:

1. When I think about professionals writing I imagine it to be very time consuming and all over the place. I don’t think there experiences are any easier than the rest of us. I believe everyone has a different writing process, expert or not.

QD:

1. The myth of the inspirational writer is a familiar one. You have a writer that gets an inspiration and literally can’t stop writing and comes up with an amazing piece. This discourages students that don’t feel the same way. It makes students think because it doesn’t come so naturally that it can’t be as amazing. The reality is that many good pieces come from people who aren’t inspired writers and most of the time from people who have worked really hard.

3. I am guilty of some form of conclusion. In high school writing so many essays for acceptances one of my teachers actually edited my piece by rewriting almost every sentence. I didn’t realize that was a form of plagiarism until reading it in the text now. I think conclusion doesn’t always have to be a form of plagiarism. I think revision is an important step in the writing process. I believe there can be minor and major cases when it comes to conclusion.

AE:

1. I can’t recall ever using imitation in a piece of writing. I have realized that I love the style a writer has used but never decided to try it out for myself. I think this would be appropriate when you’re establishing your style. Wanting to imitate how a writer writes isn’t technically plagiarism.

MM:

1. I have never really had an experience with an inspired writer. I have felt a little discouraged when writing didn’t come as easy. I think my experience will be better when it comes to my struggles, I will have a more broad view on how many people feel the same way as me. It will make my writing easier by not giving up as quickly.

I really liked Allen’s article “The Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer”. I think it helped me gain more confidence with my writing. It was an easier piece to read and I definitely understood it a lot more clear than other pieces I have read in the past.

Reading Response #1

In the article “Argument as Conversation” by Stuart Greene he attempts to explain to the audience the differences and similarities of a scholarly discussion and an argument. He discusses the principles of how issues and situations contribute to framing a disagreement in a different way.

Before You Read

1.  I would define an arugment as two people disagreeing on a topic in a angerly manner. Arguments can be thought of as differences, so in everyday conversation you will find that not everyone has the same view as you. In an academic setting I would refer to it as a debate. I think the difference is being loud and angry or just having a debate about different views.

QD

2. Greene quotes Kenneth Burke yet again to stress the importance that every argument is connected to another. Whether or not you just entered the debate no one has the knowledge to retrace all the actual steps of the discussion at hand, because it has been present long before any had got there. The extended metaphor about his passage is that no matter what time you enter the conversation you will always have to exit while still so heated. When writing an argument you can position yourself in many other different ways. This depends on three things, which arguments you share from previous occasions, which arguments you want to argue against, and what new information or personal opinions you will bring to the table. You can challenge it by forming important issues that haven given enough thought.

3. Framing is a strategy to help include different views in advancing an argument. A metaphor associated with framing is a camera lens. The way a photographer focuses on one piece of a picture with the lens rather than another is the same as framing as a writer. Framing is a strategy writer’s use in developing arguments. It forces you to name your position, offer a definition and description of the foundation of which your argument develops, specifies your argument, and helps organize thoughts.

AE

2. Greene’s article represents a conversation itself with the readers. He frames his argument by bringing different and conflicting voices to light. I believe in his article he has practiced what he preaches about "argument as conversation" by presenting the many different ideas of writing through his writing.

I personally thought that the passage on “Argument as Conversation” was very interesting to me. I find it very hard to decipher deeper meanings of arguments and never seen it in such ways presented in the text. I think having a broader view on argument could be helpful to me in the future, to be more open minded. I think these ideas will help me be more informed in future debates.

Readers Response #5

John Bergers “Ways of Seeing” helps us understand the way that men and women are portrayed in classical paintings. He includes that women are very stereotyped on how they are seen by other people from their actions.  Berger compares this identity with how people view men by their actions to be manly or powerful. To support this Berger studies nude paintings that portray women as objects for men. He also forced us to think if there is really a difference from how people saw artwork back then to how spectators see it today.

Berger’s article was a lot different than any article we have touched base on this year. I think the comparison this article has with anything else would be modern life today. You can see how time has changed how we view men and women but you can also tell the similarities it still has in todays world. Advertising uses women as sexual objects just like they did in the oil paintings.

 

Before You Read

1.       A women in a classical art portrait and a women in a modern day magazine have many similarities but many differences as well. Some things they have in common are nudity. Both women are portrayed with fewer clothes. But the differences with that are that women that were nude in a classical art portrait are seen as just beautiful art. Versus now a days women are portrayed in a way that tries to seduce other men or be portrayed as sexy.

2.       Men are depicted a lot different than women in the celebrity world. Seeing a picture of a women celebrity you notice the need to wear a lot of makeup and they are portrayed a lot more sexual than men are.

QD:

2. You can see similar images of women in magazines today. These images are very like the ones that Berger has mentioned in his article. “...naked is to simply be without clothes, whereas the nude is a form of art.” (Berger 210) I think our view of women in social media has changed. When people see naked women the last thing that they think of it is art. When in reality it can be seen as a form of art, just like with classical portraits of nude women.

3. I think the assumptions that Berger makes about culture are similar to today’s world. Many people judge women on how the dress or what they say to be there character. When it comes to mean they associate their actions to how “manly” they are or how much power they possess.

AE:

      2. There are ways that we apply Berger’s ideas to texts that we read. There is a clear relationship between the author and the reader. This results in relation to the ideas and thoughts being passed through from the author to the reader.

    4. Humor defines people on how lightly they can take a situation. You can always take a horrible situation or thought and turn it into something humorous if you were that kind of person. Humor can be used to much advantage, to lighten a situation or make it a little less tense.  Humor can be seen as a compensation for some conflicts. I think that humor does not fall into gender. It depends mostly on your character rather than your gender.

MM: I think it is important to think about the similarities and differences between nude, nakedness, spectator, viewer, art and advertisement in this article because you need to understand how  people view classical art. I think this article is more connected to audience. If you are of a different audience you will probably question if nudity is classified as art.

I liked Berger’s article. I thought it was really easy to relate to. It is very clear the relations that the oil paintings have in present day magazines. I also liked the comparison of the actions women take today effect a lot on what that says about their character and how men’s actions portray how manly they really are.

Readers Response #4

Scott McCloud in “Vocabulary of Comics” demonstrates symbols and the connection they have to humans. Uniquely he showed us his views on such a topic by comics instead of traditionally writing about it. By using a comic strip it made his ideas a lot more clear. I could actually understand and connect to his concept of how we view ourselves in a less detailed drawing. It is easier to see yourself as that comic if it wasn’t so specific to an actual person.

McCloud reminded me of almost all the previous reading I have done in the past. They all manage to really get me thinking about concepts and ideas that never even crossed my mind. He was also portraying his message through framing. Greene has defined what framing was and how writers use it. McCloud made his reading dialog directly for the reader.

Before You Read:

1.       When I think of my favorite old time cartoon I think of the Power Puff Girls. Most of every girl my age could relate to Bubbles, Blossom, or Buttercup. The makers of the cartoon had made these three girls so different that while a child you at least related to one or had a favorite. The features that made the connection so strong were the hair color. Bubbles was a blonde, Blossom was a read-head, and Buttercup was a brunette.

2.       After drawing a picture of myself and then of a friend and not being the best artist I noticed that a big detail that set us apart was hair color as mentioned in the first question. My friend, being blonde and me being a brunette you could tell that most details beside that fact was mainly similar.

QD:

1.       I think adults like the simplicity of cartoons because they make you feel like a kid again. It doesn’t make you think a lot, you can automatically relate to the cartoon because its audience is so wide. I personally don’t think a cartoon can ever have an age limit. In the world we live in today there are even cartoons made specifically for adults. I think McCloud would agree with there being no age limit on cartoons. He knows the power one simple image has on drawing someone in and the power it has on relating to a wide audience.

2.       I think McCloud used the comic strip format to further express how true his argument really is. It’s a lot easier to get your point across sometimes by actually demonstrating it and he did that very well. I think by writing his points down we wouldn’t actually relate to it so well. It would be much harder for us to put ourselves in his shoes or see his point of view.

AE:

1.       I definitely think that more teaching strategies should contain visual imagery on helping to understand the piece that much more. Many people in today’s world learn better by seeing an image. They are more visual learners. I think you can get your point across by using visual images and it would help the reader see what you are seeing.

3. I think many adults give up on the idea of cartoons because they think that they are growing out of being able to relate. Little do they know that they encounter some of the same symbols in everyday life.

 

I loved everything about “Vocabulary of Comics”. I thought it was a very great way to express ideas by using examples through explaining it. I also love the fact that all of the readings require you to think about something that never even crossed your mind before. This piece really got me thinking about all the everyday symbols that we encounter every day and don’t even notice.

Research Tools Summary

In the first tutorial it demonstrates how to find scholarly/full text articles by using article plus. A scholarly article, also known as a peer reviewed or academic articles, are made up of 7 parts: a title, authors, abstract, introduction, article text, conclusions and references. After typing an article keyword into the search bar you can further narrow it down to a scholarly article and full text.

In the next tutorial it demonstrates how to find a full text article when all you have is the citation. You can first look in the citation and identify the author, title of the journal, and year of publication. Furthermore you will click on the ALICE tab on the home page of the library, change the search to periodical title, and type in the title of the journal. After you receive your results, you click on the one with the specific year and volume and there you find your article. If you find that the article is unavailable you can request it to be sent to Alden Library for free.

You will find in the next tutorial how to request a book through OhioLINK. If you type in a book in the search bar and see that it is not available on campus all you have to do is hit request OhioLINK and it will be sent to you within 3-5 business days.

Project #1: Topic Proposal

One construct that I am most interested about is plagiarism. This construct is most visible in paraphrasing and research. Schools and universities have very strict policies on plagiarism, so strict that it could change your life in the scholarly world. We try to rephrase a sentence or fact to avoid plagiarism in a way that we don’t change the meaning of the sentence. Plagiarism directs us to sometimes move around words and sentences in a way that defers the meaning or point of the sentence. Our concept of good writing when it comes to plagiarism is working around it, coming up with similar but different words to put in place of the ones already being used.  In reality I believe that you can look at plagiarism as something unavoidable. Somewhere someone has used the same words as you have in a sentence so does that mean you are responsible for plagiarism?

Key Words:

Plagiarism
Originality
Research
Claims

Reader's Response #3

In the article, “Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively” by Margaret Kantz she points out that writing and reading are not about receiving and transferring information, but that certain texts don’t mean the same to you as it would the next reader. As readers we try to relate and put ourselves into the text and try to draw meaning from their context. She states that the intended audience has a lot to do with how you will personally view the facts.

 

I think that Kantz article is a lot like Kleines “What Is It We Do When We Write Articles Like This One- and How Can We Get Students To Join Us?” They both get you to really think about what you are reading when collecting facts for a research paper. Like Kleine, Kantz presents the idea that not only students can help with writing problems but that teachers have to guide them in the right direction to do so.

 Before You Read:
1. Most of the time having a factual argument is simply resolved. Look up the fact on the internet and there you have it. Most of the time seeing it in bold print must mean its true, so the argument ends at that.

QD:

1.       Shirley doesn’t have much of a broad horizon when it comes to facts, opinions, and arguments. Kantz contends that facts are something that cannot be seen from different viewpoints or be debated. Facts can be backed up and proven. On the other hand opinions can be viewed as a fact. Facts about certain topics and for certain audiences can be viewed very differently depending on the reader. And arguments are just conversations, not always raised voices. Arguments can be viewed as differences in opinions.

2.       Kantz says students lack or don’t know that:

-          Composite derived from public research

-          Misunderstand sources because they read them like stories

-          Expect their sources to tell the truth

-          Facts are a kind of claim and often used persuasively in objective writing to create an impression

-          Misread texts as narrative

-          Expect factual texts to tell the truth, instead of arguments

I think Kantz is correct on what she thinks the students are doing wrong. Sometimes I find myself viewing facts as something that is set in stone while in reality it is merely how someone is viewing the topic. I feel like I understand almost everything that she says students don’t know. I am very open to trying to open up my understanding on facts and sources.

AE:

1.       Although I haven’t had any college writing assignments at this point I can relate to my high school teachers not being clear about what they expect in a paper. I have had many teachers give me a project or writing assignments with a main topic but no details on the points they expect us to hit. I think well written directions and not so well written directions for an assignment have one thing in common and that’s providing the topic. They both state what the paper or writing assignment would be about but more detail explains what the teacher specifically wants from it. I think including all the main points of what the teacher wants to get back in a paper is very important in getting a good grade, and making them feel more knowledgeable.

MM:

Kantz is trying to analyze the different views people have on certain events that can change how the readers view the facts presented. Audience plays a huge role on the angle the author is going to go with and exploring many different facts on the subject can be helpful on declaring what stand you take on the topic. This would be useful when trying to understand the answers to your questions when writing. It also can help you think more constructively and have a broader stance on a certain subject.

 

I thought that the article was very interesting. It really made me realize how different audiences in different situations can exaggerate facts for their own benefit. I like how every text we read is similar to the last and they sort of connect to each other. I also feel like I am a very good audience for the articles I have read and they can make me a better writer.