"...one must begin to view reading and writing as essentially similar processes of meaning construction. Both are acts of composing" (Tierney & Pearson, 1983, p. 568). Prior to reading this article, I knew that reading and writing were parallel processes that result in meaning making, but I never thought of reading as an "act of composing." The term "composing" signals writing in my head more than it signals reading. From this first lead, I knew Tierney and Pearson (1983) were going to teach me some new ways of thinking about reading and writing.
Most people who know me know that I am a planner, and often an over planner. On formal writing assignments, I spend a lot of time planning what I will say before I begin drafting. However, before this article I had never thought of planning in terms of reading. I had heard of previewing a text before reading to activate background knowledge, but I had never thought of this as planning. Tierney and Pearson (1983) also taught me that a reader's goal for reading is part of planning (p. 569). I suppose I unconsciously plan for reading all the time.
I had also never thought of drafting and revising as components of reading as I have always associated these terms with writing. When reading Tierney and Pearson (1983), I understood drafting as similar to making a prediction based on a text preview and then revising that prediction as one monitors their comprehension by stopping to think and reflect (pp. 572, 576). I also rarely engage in deep revision as I tend to read a text once and move on. I noticed that rereading Gee (2001) allowed me to gain a better understanding. There was more information that I noticed on the second read which led me to revise my understanding.
Returning to my over planner identity, Tompkins (2012) led me to think deeply about the amount of time I spend considering purpose, audience and genre when prewriting or planning and drafting. As a college student, I find that the purpose, audience, and genre for each writing assignment is typically laid out in the assignment description. Granted, there are some assignments with greater flexibility, but for the most part I write for a professor or for my peers to read. As I plan and draft, I adjust my writing based on the audience, typically using more formal language for a professor. The purpose of each assignment is typically to communicate my knowledge of a topic. Genre and form is also typically determined by the professor. Considering these three elements while planning is much easier if there are clear assignment guidelines. When the assignment description is not clear, I find myself wasting a lot of time on guessing what the purpose is or how I will be judged.
At the conclusion of my first blog post, I recognize that this Blog Assignment is more informal and a way to communicate my "in the moment thinking." Therefore, I will likely spend less time on planning and more time on editing to ensure that this is more like a freewrite. On the other hand, I will do much more planning, drafting, and revising when it comes to the Genre Pieces Project. I hope to identify my topic as soon as possible so I can begin to brainstorm and determine the audience and purpose for each genre.
P.S. I have a couple of questions about the blog. Was mine too informal or am I understanding the purpose and audience of the assignment? Also, you mentioned adding bolded words or changing font to personalize our blogs. Did you mean in our posts or on our home pages? I experimented with some bolded words here. Please let me know if I misunderstood anything!
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