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Viewing reading as an interactive process can help you better understand the complex nature of writing from sources. And the need to be an active critical reader to when you view it as an interactive process. For example, it helps you understand why a story you read your first year in high school means something different to you, when you read it again, your first year in college, you know, the words on the page have not changed, but you have. And because you have changed the meaning, you know, the quote unquote, meaning of the story has changed for you as well. So this is an interactive view of reading that we're talking about, right. And this is the kind of thing this interactive view of reading that can help explain how say 20 students in an introductory philosophy class can read the same meditation by Descartes, or, you know, whoever your favorite philosopher is, and then come away with 20, slightly different interpretations of the piece. 20 different students, same text, but 20, slightly different interpretations. And that's not a bad thing. That just means that each reader is bringing something different to their own reading. Because active critical readers understand that for any given person, the meaning of a text results from the interaction between the words on the page, and that readers knowledge, feelings and expertise, what they bring to the reading. Alright, so well, why is this the case? Well, it's because reading involves more than a simple transfer of information from the words on the page to the mind of the reader.
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Now, this begs the question, right? Does this mean that all interpretations of a reading are equally valid? Well, no. Because while every person forms their own understanding of a reading, people can and often do miss read texts, they may not read carefully, they may not understand certain terms or ideas, or they may lack the knowledge and experience that they need to form an adequate interpretation of the text. So as a safeguard against this kind of misinterpretation, critical readers will discuss the material with others who have also read it, which of course can help clarify the material, especially if it's difficult. And, you know, this all prevents misunderstanding, and really enables the reader or writer both to handle the material with confidence, that confidence translates into writing and doing things with the text, aside from interacting with it, through reading alone, you interact with texts, when you write about them, when you bring one idea into conversation with another idea, and that all feels good, you know, being able to have these complex discussions, it's a very satisfying thing. And the feeling of accomplishment that accompanies that satisfaction is unparalleled. Now, of course, when reading, we actually have to talk about writers to write the authors of the things that we read, as well as when we play the role of the author. So the author of the piece plays an important role in reading, good writers try to influence their readers understanding of and response to a text. How do they do this? Well, when they write, authors manipulate the language and structure and content of their prose or poetry, to achieve a certain effects on their audience. A lot of what writing is boils down to the effect that is created upon an audience, as well as the intended effect put into the composition. So just remember that, but you know, success is never guaranteed. But good writers know that they can at least influence how readers might respond to their work through the choices they make during the composition process, as their writing, they give great consideration to these factors when they're writing as they're writing during their writing process, right? Familiarize yourself with your writing process and really set your sights on trying to achieve that meta awareness of thinking about how you're writing at the same time as you are actually writing. So while you are in the act of composing also be in the act of thinking about how that composing is unfolding. So how does this relate to reading you know, we're talking about writing now. Well, critical readers take Take all of this into account when approaching a text, you can position yourself in the role of the author that you're reading. And, you know, it's it's sort of an act of empathy. But more immediately, it's bringing you closer to the text, but not just the text, the choices that went into the making of the text. Because you know, what you read is a product of a series of complicated choices, some maybe even invisible to the author of the texts that you're reading. And mental deconstructive exercises like these lead to theorizing about how writing forms, and any theory can lend itself to at least the possibility of being put into practice. So of course, when you're approaching a text that you did not create, you have to do a lot of supposition will work with this deconstructive mental exercise. It's imaginative, it's hypothetical. Maybe sometimes if you're clever enough Sleuth. Literary sleuth, you know, you can track down evidence that can testify to some idea you have about how the author formed, you know, part of or even a whole work.
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So, that means you have limited access when reading a text external to your own creation. But if you do this with what you've written yourself, when you do this with your own texts, you have the master backstage pass, like you have access to all of the formation and the production of the text. You know, as you're writing something, your mind kind of makes a documentary of its coming into being that documentary, you know, it's really just your memories of doing the writing. It's your experience with your own writing process, and you create your own mental records of this, but to access them at the level of writing about them. That is writing about what you've written, you know, creating a reflection essay, you, you're able to gain so much insight into the moves that you make. It's like what a professional athlete might do to improve their form, you know, they make video of themselves. And when they review that tape, when they reflect on those actions of their process that they were able to record or document, they can analyze them in great detail as if they were themselves their own text. This allows them to, you know, make adjustments, sometimes very fine adjustments, sometimes even see what they were not aware of. And they can do other interesting things too, such as, position their self as audience to their own text. This in turn, you know, reinforces the original point that even though success is not guaranteed, good writers know that they can at least influence how readers might respond to their work through the choices that they make while composing. And this is what critical readers take into account when they approach a text, especially if it's their own text. No, they try to be aware, not only of what they bring to the reading, but also of the choices the writer has made to achieve a certain goal. Okay, so by now, you might be thinking, This sounds really awesome, but it also sounds kind of difficult, you know, there's a lot of conditioning that I really need to get a move on, you know, like, I've got a lot of ground to cover very quickly, I'm kind of freaking out. Okay, maybe so, but no need to panic. I mean, yeah, it's learning to read material actively and critically, can be difficult. However, think about what this is going to do for you know, how it's going to benefit you. And not just you, you know, maybe like everybody who reads your writing can find some greater interest or you know, some kind of at least small benefit, but that kind of outward, you know, audience based effect will come as a result. So, for now, consider the more immediate personal payoff. So, what exactly can you look forward to? Well, as a critical reader, you'll definitely tend to understand course material more fully. It's not a guarantee, but it will create a strong tendency for that outcome to happen. And you can prepare for class more efficiently. If you're not Enjoying your classes? Ask yourself, is it because I just genuinely don't find interest in this material? Or is it because I don't feel as equipped as I could be to engage with this material, and therefore feel distant when you're in class or when you're trying to do the work for the class. Eliminate that distance become a critical reader, right? And not only that, you'll be able to write from readings much more effectively. All right, awesome. That's, that's great. That's all I wanted. As a student, tell me, tell me what I need to do. Come on. You're holding back man. Just tell me already. Alright, fine. In the following the following episodes in this series, you will find a number of suggestions aimed at helping you become a more active critical reader. Yes. All right. That's what I'm talking about. Good question. I'll tell you. So, central to this process is the ability and willingness to ask good questions about your reading of a text and to keep a written record of your responses. Let me repeat that and you might want to write it down this time. Central to this process is the ability and willingness to ask good questions about your reading of a text, and to keep a written record of your responses to those questions. Because critical readers refuse to sit back passively while they read. They actively question and respond to texts in light of their own knowledge, feelings and experiences.