Reading and writing are so closely connected, yet most students aren’t given the opportunity to gain reading skills that can improve their writing. This creates students who struggle with writing because they fail to learn how to read for context, tone, audience, and digging deeper into what the author is saying. Julie Myatt Barger wrote the essay, “Reading is not Essential to Writing Instruction,” where she introduces the bad idea a lot of English instructors make of not realizing the importance of teaching effective reading skills to improve students writing. In “Reading Practices in the Writing Classroom,” Linda Adler-Kassner and Heidi Estrem explain some strategies for teachers to improve students’ reading comprehension and set them up to succeed in writing through learning productive reading skills. The authors of both of these essays agree that English instructors, specifically in high school, do not teach students how to look for complex ideas and look further into readings. The authors suggest ways of aiding students with reading comprehension so that they are able to thrive in college and their work life.
“books” by whereisyourmind is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Julie Myatt Barger, the author of “Reading is not Essential to Writing Instruction,” exposes why teachers aren’t challenging their students to look into the context of readings and analyze what the author is saying. Many states have standardized testing that focuses more on grammar and short passage comprehension rather than deeper connections and context within texts. “As teachers understandably grew fearful about losing their jobs because of low test scores, they devoted class time to preparing students for the tests rather than developing practices that would have helped students improve as readers and writers.” (Barger 44) Barger refers to these widespread tests as a cause for teachers to sacrifice teaching strategies that could improve students reading so that they can make connections between what the authors are saying and their own experiences.
English programs in high school and college rely on studies and practices conducted decades ago. Many college English professors have studied English writing for so long, they explain the main ideas without letting students have the freedom to learn how to find the main ideas and make connections with the reading. Instead of spoon-feeding the information to students, teachers should encourage students to look beyond the text into what the author is pointing to. “Every activity [in your class] should help students move toward entering into a dialogue with the reading/s in their writing.” (Adler-Kassner, Estrem 37) Here, the authors, Linda Adler-Kassner and Heidi Estrem, describe what the goal of reading in the classroom should aim to be. High school students too often assume they are poor readers because of the limited strategies they’ve been taught, which leads them to believe they are lousy writers as well. “Analyzing texts not for meaning as one would in a literature class but rather to determine how and why the texts were constructed…” (Barger 48) Julie Barger suggests here what English teachers’ objectives should be for their students’ reading comprehension. She encourages students to look beyond the text to figure out the audience of the reading, and what the author’s purpose is among other things.
As students get to college and take an English Composition class, as often is required no matter their major, they often ask themselves why the teacher won’t just tell them exactly what to write as teachers usually do in high school. Writers think of themselves as inadequate when getting to college because their previous reading skills are no longer useful, and they wonder why they aren’t succeeding in their English class when the class is meant for beginners. The strategies that create good writers out of practically anyone are ones that: “use writing and discussion to work through and interpret complex ideas from readings and other texts.” (Adler-Kassner, Estrem 37) The authors, Adler-Kassner and Estrem, describe the connection between reading and writing and how impactful better reading can be for students’ writings. When students start learning these beneficial reading practices, there is a positive shift in their writing and writing process. The bad idea that reading is not essential to writing instruction is one that should be addressed before students get to college and teachers ought to implement more efficient strategies so that students are able to succeed in their academics as well as their work later in life.
Bibliography
Adler-Kassner, Linda and Estrem, Heidi. (2007). “Reading Practices in the Writing Classroom”. WPA: Writing Program Administration, p35-47.
Barger, M. Julie. “Reading is not Essential to Writing Instruction.” Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, Bad Ideas About Writing, Digital Publishing Institute: West Virginia University Libraries, 2017, textbooks.lib.wvu.edu. p44-50.