Carolina Gonzalez

Professor Doutherd
English 5M

Research Paper
To respond to a reading is an important factor when it comes to understanding a piece of
writing. Responding to a reading engages a student with the reading and invites a student to
make connections. When going from high school into college, many students have a difficult
time transitioning what they have learned in high school to the writing expectations of college.
Readings like Multilingual Students and College Writing by Dana Ferris and Writing What
Matters: A Students Struggle to Bridge the Academic/Personal Divide by Emily Strasser, are
readings that help these students with that transition. When compared to readings like Reading
and Writing Without Authority by Anne M. Penrose and Geisler, Multilingual Students and
College Writing by Dana Ferris and Writing What Matters: A Students Struggle to Bridge the
Academic/Personal Divide make influential connections with the audience, shape the writing of
students, and convey strong learning lessons.
First and foremost, a student must know what it actually means to write. Someone can
write their entire educational career, and not know what it means to write. As Strasser states,
writing and education are useless tools if they fail to speak to a students life, experience, and
passions (200). The reading Writing What Matters: A Students Struggle to Bridge the
Academic/Personal Divide is an important reading because it explains what writing should be,
and what attitude a student should have towards reading. Strasser describes writing as a tool for
self-empowerment and expression. Writing should be taught with the purpose of empowering
oneself and others. When students write about what matters to them, they write better, more
passionately, and more strongly which are all elements of a vivid, understanding, and compelling
composition.
An idea that any student or reader/writer would benefit the most from Writing What
Matters: A Students Struggle to Bridge the Academic/Personal Divide would be the
understanding of valuing writing as a way of telling ones own stories and expressing ones
thoughts (200). To value ones writing and to see it as telling a story and expressing ones
thoughts will make writing much more valuable. Every voice deserves to be heard.Writing
should be taught with the purpose of empowering yourself and others. Students are always taught
to write in a specific way with a specific structure. But when students write about what matters to
them, they write better, more passionately, and more strongly which are all elements of a vivid,
compelling composition; which will prepare them for the writing they will face in college.
Students encounter countless amounts of articles and readings each year, among those
many readings only a few of them manage to leave a great remark on these students, a
connection. Multilingual Students and College Writing by Dana Ferris makes this connection
by creating comfort and an understanding of those who struggle with the transition. She states,
students who have learned to read and write in another language may be affectedthe
language they were familiar with [is] different from typical American college-level writing (23).
Ferris understands the challenges these writers face therefore making that connection. She makes
it clear that although it is crucial for writers to have an understanding of the expectations in
American Colleges, they should not change their aspect, style, or opinion of their reading and
writing.
From forming a connection with the reading comes shaping ones own writing. For a
piece of writing to mold the writing of another is a concept not every author can pursue through
their writing. In the article Reading and Writing Without Authority by Penrose and Geisler,
there is not much a student can pick up to apply to their own writing. The article is attempting to
bring across the idea of becoming aware of ongoing textual conversations and to take part in
those conversations (517). Their attempt does not provide very much information that could
shape the writing of another, much less aid a student or anyone in any shape or form. the authors
themselves state it, This paper will define paternalism and discuss its justification[it] is the
action of one person interfering with another person's actions or thoughts (505). For a piece
of writing to shape anothers writing, there has to be elements and guidelines offered that a
students will take in and apply to their own writing. This is not seen to be taken in this article, it
is one of the less important readings.
Reading and Writing Without Authority of course has a purpose like any other piece of
writing does. A lesson a student could make the best use of is becoming aware of the authors
circumstances and to become an insider in the academic domain. The thing here is, this lesson is
made for college students with more experience in writing. It is conveying that the more
knowledge and experience one has in writing, the stronger their piece of writing will be (517). A
student making that transition from high school to college does not exactly have that experience
Penrose and Geisler are portraying. With that being said, the purpose here defeats the purpose of
facilitating the english life of a student and the standing of being one of the more important
readings.
Furthermore, between these three readings, it can be clearly seen that some readings are
more important than others. Not to say that Reading and Writing Without Authority is a horrid
and useless writing, but not much can be taken from this writing that can be carried out to other
courses. One can argue that "What is a multilingual writer? was only intended for a specific
kind of audience, but anyone can take certain notions from it to be applied to present and future
writing. Writing What Matters: A Students Struggle to Bridge the Academic/Personal Divide
is a piece of writing rich in simplistic context yet context that any writer, especially those lost in
their writing, can find a pathway to viewing writing from a different perspective. This
perspective can be the gateway to finding their own writing.
Amongst the course of reading and writing education and beyond, people will come face
to face with many writings and will be introduced to many different flavors of writing. Being that
some make a bigger impact than others. More elements can be taken from one writing compared
to another, this regards the influential connections being made with the reading, how much of an
affect has been on ones own writing, and the notions grasped by the end of the reading. These
impacts, made or not, have an effect on students who are transferring from one specific structure
and language of writing, to a completely new universe of college writing. It all comes down to
the personal experiences one feels towards the writing and whether one can pursue the notions
expected from the author on to other courses.