Essentials of Graduate Writing

~~~~
#2. Reading like an Academic
Writer
BY
OMAR HUSSEIN
GRADUATE WRITING SPECIALIST
GSRC
First, a note on sources…
Much of what is discussed here is shamelessly plagiarized from the following text—

Mike Bunn, “How to Read Like a Writer,” in Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing,
vol. 2. (Parlor Press, 2010).
—along with other sources cited throughout. While every effort is made to give fair attribution of
words and ideas to their original creators (i.e. I’m telling you that I’m using Bunn’s words & ideas),
this presentation is designed primarily to help students with structuring papers—NOT to model
proper citation of sources (e.g. since this is not a research paper, it includes quotes, from the above
article, without using quotation marks).

THE BOTTOM LINE: Don’t think of this presentation as a guide for proper citations for your
graduate assignments. It isn’t (we have other workshops for that topic). For tips on citation, use
your discipline-specific handbook—like the APA handbook—along with helpful online resources
like the OWL at Purdue: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Or come see us at the GSRC (our
contact info is at the end of the presentation).
Starting with the fundamentals:
A Disclaimer
• John Wooden famously started off every season by having
players review how to tie their shoes. He did this because
it’s never a bad idea to practice the fundamentals, even if
you already know them.

• There’s always room for growth and you might be surprised

to learn something new.

• In a similar fashion, this workshop reviews fundamentals.

Some of this you may know, some of this you may not
know. Either way, it’s always good to review the basics.
Preliminaries:

Tips on reading in grad school

OR
“You can’t read like a writer if you can’t get your
reading done”
 Miriam Sweeney’s 4 tips for reading in grad school
1. Read strategically, not linearly –Mine texts for information, don’t read them
like novels. Start with (a) the abstract, table of contents, and intro, then (b) the
conclusion, and only then read (c) the body text. Skim, when possible, rather than
reading every word.
2. Take notes! – Otherwise, future you will have no idea what present you was
thinking. Jot down 3-5 questions (minimum) for every assigned reading.
3. Be purposeful – e.g. asking relevant questions of the reading, like “What is the
author trying to say?”
4. Apply a critical perspective – ask questions of your text like “What values are
underlying this text?” and “What perspectives does this author fail to include?”

All of this is good advice. And you would do well to follow it. But these tips are NOT the main
subject of today’s workshop…

See accompanying handout for more info or visit Dr. Sweeney’s blog: https://miriamsweeney.net/2012/06/20/readforgradschool/
…which leads to…

How to Read Like a Writer

 Reading like a writer (RLW)
• Mike Bunn (Assistant Professor, USC) talks about reading one word at a time,
just as the text was written. Obviously, this advice runs counter to what
we just discussed, and is not something you do with every reading –
it’s specifically for those times when you’re trying read like a writer.

• Reading like a writer means reading not only for content, but also looking at
ways that the text was put together—choices the author made—and using these
as a guide for how you could write on the same, or a similar, topic.

• You identify the author’s choices and ask yourself what the author could have
done differently.

See accompanying handout for more info or visit: http://writingspaces.org/bunn--how-to-read-like-a-writer

 Reading like a writer (continued)

• An example: Say you’re reading an essay in class that begins with a short quote from former
President Obama about the war in Iraq.

• As a writer, what do you think of this technique?

o Do you think it is effective to begin the essay with a quote?
o What if the essay began with a quote from someone else?
o What if it was a much longer quote from Obama, or a quote from the former president about something
other than the war?

• And here is where we get to the most important part: Would you want to try this technique
in your own writing? Would you want to start your own essay with a quote? Do you think it would
be effective to begin your essay with a quote from Obama? What about a quote from someone else?

Find Mike Bunn’s full article here: http://writingspaces.org/bunn--how-to-read-like-a-writer

 Reading like a writer (continued)

You could make yourself a list:

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of starting with a quote?

• What about the advantages and disadvantages of starting with a quote from a former
President?
• How would other readers respond to this technique?
• Would certain readers (say Democrats or liberals) appreciate an essay that started with a
quote from Obama more than other readers (say Republicans or conservatives)? How
about Marxists? Feminists? Tea Partiers?
• What would be the advantages and disadvantages of starting with a quote from a less
divisive person? What about starting with a quote from someone more divisive? (Maybe
“The Donald”?)

Find Mike Bunn’s full article here: http://writingspaces.org/bunn--how-to-read-like-a-writer

How is Reading Like a Writer (RLW)
Different from “Normal” Reading?
How is RLW different?
• Most of the time we read for information.
We read:
o A recipe to learn how to bake lasagna.
o The sports page to see if our school won the game
o Facebook to see what our friends are up to
o A history book to learn about the Vietnam War
o A syllabus to see when the next assignment is due.

• When you reading like a writer, you’re not looking for information. You’re looking at the
choices the writer made…
How is RLW different? (continued)
• To quote the poet and critic Alan Tate:
There are many ways to read, but generally speaking there are two ways. They correspond to the
two ways in which we may be interested in a piece of architecture. If the building has Corinthian
columns, we can trace the origin and development of Corinthian columns; we are interested as
historians. But if we are interested as architects [or maybe as engineers – OH], we may or may not
know about the history of the Corinthian style; we must, however, know all about the construction
of the building, down to the last nail or peg in the beams. We have got to know this if we are going
to put up buildings ourselves.

• It’s the same for RLW: You’re trying to figure out how the text you’re reading was constructed so that
you learn how to “build” one for yourself.

• Author David Jauss says that “reading won’t help you much unless you learn to read like a writer. You
must look at a book the way a carpenter looks at a house someone else built, examining the details in
order to see how it was made.”

• So, if it helps, you can think of it as “reading like an architect” or “reading like a carpenter” or “reading
like an engineer”
Why learning to read like
a writer is important.
Why is RLW important?
• Many of your instructors may expect you to RLW already, assuming that you already know how to
do it (and thus don’t need to be told about it or taught how to do it).

• Reading like a writer is one of the best ways to learn how to write well.

• You are already an author. You’ve written many, many texts already to get to this point. Therefore,
you’re well-equipped to think more deeply about choices authors make and whether you’d like to
make the same choices. This is true whether you realize it yet or not. 

• Much of what we learn to do in higher education involves asking the right questions. Reading like a
writer begins with asking questions of the text…
What are some questions to ask before
you start reading?
Pre-reading questions and considerations
• Consider the context of the text you’re reading.
o Do you know the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?
o Do you know who the intended audience is?
o (For assignments) Do you know why your professor assigned it? What point or lesson is it
intended to convey?

• You may need to start reading a text to answer these questions, but it’s worth trying to answer
them before you start.

• For example, if you know that the author is trying to reach a very specific group of readers, then
her/his writerly techniques may seem more or less effective than if s/he was aiming for a more
general audience. Going back to the Obama quote about Iraq:

o If the author is addressing dangers and challenges of counter-insurgency, then this quote
may be appropriate.

o If the author is talking about wearing sunscreen when visiting sunny places (like Iraq), this
quote may not make sense.
Pre-reading questions and considerations (c0ntinued)
• In what genre is this text written? Genre means type of writing, for example:
o Poems
o Newspaper articles
o Personal essay
o Journal/research article
o Novel
o Legal brief
o Instruction manual

• Different genres have different expectations. For example, using personal pronouns like I might
make sense in a poem, but they may not be acceptable in journal articles in certain fields.

• It makes sense to pay attention to genre conventions so you can use them effectively when you’re
writing in the same genre.
Pre-reading questions and considerations (c0ntinued)

• Is this a published or unpublished text? Was it written by an expert in the field or a

student (or an informed layperson)?

• Most students have experience critiquing the writing of other students, but may be apprehensive
about critiquing published work – after all, it was good enough to get published. Who am I to
talk about how it could be improved?

• HOWEVER, it’s useful to ask questions about all writing, even pieces written by
experts. Any piece of writing can be improved, and asking questions about what choices the
author(s) made, and whether or not these choices were effective, can greatly improve your own
ability to make effective writing choices.

• Ask yourself how the text would be different if the author did___________.
Pre-reading questions and considerations (c0ntinued)
• Is this the kind of writing you will be assigned to write yourself?
• No one has time to examine all the choices a particular author made. So knowing whether or not
you’re going to be expected to write in the same style or genre as a particular assigned reading can
help you decide what to focus on.

• For example, if your professor assigned a reading by a critical theorist (like Michel Foucault, say),
but you’re writing a research paper, then the expected writing conventions are different. You are
probably expected to (1) write clearly, (2) cite all sources you discussed, and (3) state your thesis at
or near your introduction.

The critical theorist, on the other hand, may (1) be occasionally vague, opaque, or dense in their
writing, (2) make subtle (un-cited) allusions to other theorists or philosophers, and (3) open their
discussion with a detailed example or historical anecdote, rather than state a clear thesis upfront.

• Knowing what conventions you’re expected to follow can help you to avoid writing inappropriately.
What are some questions to ask while
you’re reading?
Questioning while you’re reading
• First, if RLW is new to you, you might consider writing questions out and keeping them handy.
Remember that you’re asking about how the text was written—NOT about meaning or even
quality (whether the text is good or bad).
• Keep previous questions in mind as you read—What is the author’s purpose? Who is the
intended audience?
• There are limitless other things you could ask. Focus on building your own skills. If you’re trying
to work on structure in your own writing, ask questions about structure. If you’re focusing on
word choice, ask about word choice.
EXAMPLES
o How effective is the language the author uses? Is it too formal? Too informal? Perfectly
appropriate?
o What kind of evidence does the author use to support his/her claims? Statistics? Case studies?
Interviews? Close reading? Logical argumentation? Evidence from other studies (cited)?
o How appropriate is this evidence? Would other, or more, types of evidence be more
effective/convincing?
Questioning while you’re reading (continued)

o Are there places in the writing that you find confusing? What about the writing in those places
makes it unclear or confusing? It’s normal to get confused in places while reading. So it can be
helpful to look closely at the writing to try and get a sense of exactly what tripped you up. This
way you can avoid those same problems in your own writing.

o How does the author move from one idea to another in the writing? Are the transitions between
the ideas effective/clear/helpful? How else might he/she have transitioned between ideas
instead?

o Notice that these questions help you to think about what is appropriate and effective in the
writing– not about whether you liked or disliked it. What you like or dislike is personal—there’s
no accounting for taste. But considering what is appropriate or effective allows you to think about
what the author was trying to accomplish and whether it would seem successful to most readers.
What should you be writing
while you’re reading?
Writing while you’re reading
• When RLW, it’s never a bad idea to mark up your text, make comments in the margins,
highlight interesting points, and write notes and summaries.

• One strategy is to highlight or underline any parts of the text where you identify an
interesting choice the author has made or a writerly technique you might want to use.
Then you can ask the following question about that part of the text:
o What is the technique the author is using here?
o Is this technique effective?
o What would be the advantages and disadvantages if I tried this same technique in my
writing?

• If you follow this process of note-taking and highlighting, you’ll end up with a useful
list of specific techniques to have at your disposal when it comes time to begin
your own writing.
What does RLW look like in action?
Practice
We’re now going to return to some of these questions—and some additional
activities—with the sample research papers.
• What is the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What is the genre?
• You know that it’s published and not student writing. How does this influence
your expectations for what you will read?
• Are you going to be asked to write something like this yourself?
Recommended further reading
 Visit us if you need more
That’s all, folks help
Graduate Studies Resource Center,
Library 504

Monday- Thursday: 10am – 6pm

Friday: 9am-5pm

Website:
Omar Hussein
Graduate Writing Specialist www.csulb.edu/gsrc

Email: Omar.Hussein@csulb.edu
Email:
Campus phone number: (562) 985 -8946
gsrc@csulb.edu