How University Students Can Engage in Better Academic Skills Through Reading Like a Writer

As a university student, developing academic skills is essential in acquiring, retaining, and using information one comes across. They include listening, note-taking, attention to detail, reasoning, data analysis, and written/verbal communication. The skills help in learning, taking tests and scoring high, effective communication, and completing projects or assignments, which constitute a good writer. They acquired are not only useful in school but workplace and career advancements. Since acquiring the skills helps improve productivity and success, different authors suggest being effective readers. Bunn (2011, p. 72) states that developing effective writing skills goes hand in hand with developing reading skills by reading in a particular way. Therefore, university students can engage in better academic skills through developing their reading skills.

Existing Research

What does Reading like a Writer mean?

Reading like a writer, abbreviated as RLW, means identifying an author’s strategies to find ideas that relate to your writing. Bunn (2011) states that “When you RLW you work to identify some of the choices the author made so that you can better understand how such choices might arise in your own writing” (p. 72). He adds that it involves carefully examining the author’s idea, the writing techniques, and deciding whether you can adopt them in your writing. RLW is not just reading to get content but getting writing ideas that influence readers. For instance, starting an article with quotes from prominent people is likely to draw more attention from the readers than quotes from unrecognized people (p. 73), but it all comes down to considering the pros and cons of using such techniques in your writing. What makes it different from other types of reading?

The difference between RLW and other types of reading is the aim. People often read to get more information about their topics of interest, which include diverse aspects such as recipes or world history. It can even be as simple as going through Facebook posts and their comments to understand different people’s perspectives about the topic of discussion. However, this type of reading does not involve in-depth analysis of the piece of information provided. Unlike other types of reading, RLW involves analyzing the structure of a text. Bunn (2011) says, “You are reading to see how something was constructed so that you can construct something similar yourself” (p. 74). RLW involves looking at a text the way a carpenter looks at furniture or an architect looks at a building. However, adopting this view can only be possible by asking whether the written piece answers several questions.

Reading like a Writer

Deciding whether to adopt an author’s writing techniques requires asking several questions before you start reading. In most cases, a student is likely to consider their assignments and source contexts before reading a text. Considering the question is important, but Bunn (2011, p. 76) states that one must consider the author’s purpose and the intended audience before reading. Other considerations include the text’s genre, the effectiveness of the language used, the credibility of evidence used to support claims, whether it is published, and if you may be required to write such writing in the future. One should also practice note-taking when reading. It is essential to keep in mind that answering these questions relates to your likes, dislikes, and opinion on what could have been done differently. It is essential to consider whether the intended audience could find the techniques successful. To explain this, Bunn (2011) states,

If the text you’re reading is a model of a particular style of writing—for example, highly-emotional or humorous—RLW is particularly helpful because you can look at a piece you’re reading and think about whether you want to adopt a similar style in your own writing. You might realize that the author is trying to arouse sympathy in readers and examine what techniques he/she uses to do this; then you can decide whether these techniques might work well in your own writing. You might notice that the author keeps including jokes or funny stories and think about whether you want to include them in your writing—what would the impact be on your potential readers? (p 78)

It may be difficult at first, but once these questions are answered, one can decide whether to adopt them in their writing or not. To establish the effectiveness of Bunn’s (2011) RLW suggestions, further research is necessary.

Research

I conducted research to verify Bunn’s (2011) reading suggestions and their effectiveness among university students. The methodology involved interviewing several university students about their educational experiences and thoughts on the existing RLW research. The sample included ten volunteer students from the university premises spending their leisure time in the field. The interview consisted of seven open-ended questions. I printed an article on the impact of COVID -19 as a basis for the interview questions. The article includes the impacts on different economies, the healthcare system, and social sector as Shang et al. (2021) researched. Each participant answered the following questions, and I noted the results for analysis.

1. What do you consider before reading a text?
2. What do you expect from the article?
3. Can you tell what the author is trying to communicate in the article? How?
4. Who do you think is the article’s audience?
5. Is the language used appropriate for the intended audience?
6. Were your expectations met after reading the article?
7. Given a chance, would you change something in the article?

Findings

The first question was a general question that aimed to evaluate how different students read. All the ten participants stated that they consider the context when reading. Whether it relates to what they are writing about. One of the respondents said, “I usually look at my assignments’ requirements and serach for articles related to it. Often, I use titles to determine if the artciles are relevant to my task.” Eight participants expected what was written in the article, while two noted that the education aspect was missing. Two participants said the intended audiences are those in the health sector and business people. Six said it is meant for everyone, and two stated that it is for economists. In terms of language, four participants had difficulty understanding some concepts. Four said they comprehended the text, while two said the language appropriate for the intended audience. The results were tallied and analyzed using charts for comparison.

Analysis of Findings

From the findings, it can be assumed that Bunn’s (2011) claim of having different types of reading is valid. From the first finding, it can be concluded that students mostly read to acquire information about their research topics. They rarely consider the audience and the author’s aim. It can also be assumed that those who are aware of an article’s audience can identify whether the language used suits them. For instance, the two respondents who thought the article was meant for economists are the same respondents who said the language was appropriate. However, some of those who stated that the article is meant for everyone assumed so because of the title and that the pandemic has affected everyone, as noted in real life. But they did not consider the intended audience, showing that students may struggle with identifying a text’s audience. Not knowing the audience may hinder a reader from choosing the correct reading text. The two who suggested that the education sector was missing show that some readers set expectations before reading. They stated they would include the section if they were given such an assignment because their education is also significantly affected by the pandemic, showing analysis skills of a writer (the likes and dislikes), which Bunn (2011) emphasizes one should consider while reading. Most importantly, the findings show how students have different reading perspectives, some of which are ineffective. Thus, the need to acquire reading skills to excel in the academic discourse.

Project Limitations

One of my project’s limitations is the sample I chose. Due to time constraints, I could not use questionnaires and was limited to interviewing a few people. Thus, my findings may be inaccurate even though they prove existing research findings on the importance of reading like a writer. Another limitation is not including reading time in the research. I believe that the time one chooses to read an article is essential because it relates to focus and concentration. Yet, not even Bunn (2011) mentions it in his reading suggestions. Everyone has a different reading time. Times when they feel they can have a better comprehension of what they are reading. And despite the reading strategies suggested in the existing article, it is essential to also consider the cognitive aspect.

Recommendations

Alongside asking the RLW questions reveiwed here, effective reading also includes the reader’s mental and emotional state. Erni (2021) researched how Indonesian learners deploy reading strategies, and the findings suggest that reading comprises cognitive, metacognitive, and affective strategies. Bunn’s (2011) article provides great insight into how a university student should read before writing, but cognition is also essential, and Erni’s (2021) is a good source to explore RLW. The article used for the experiment is quite long and likely to affect one’s choice of reading time. Perhaps it can further be used to evaluate a reader’s affective engagement when reading by formulating a different research question like, does a student’s mental and emotional state affect their reading?

Conclusion

A university student is expected to write and communicate their ideas in the academic discourse strategically. Several skills are required, but the essential one is reading like a writer when doing research before writing. Reading like a writer involves analyzing an author’s writing techniques and asking several questions before and while reading the text. The questions include the author’s aim, intended audience, language appropriateness, the credibility of supporting data, and the text’s genre. Note-taking skills are also necessary while reading. From the research I conducted, it can be assumed that reading like a writer differs from other types of reading. Most students read to find content, while a good writer must read while analyzing the text’s writing techniques to adapt them in their writing. As the existing research and findings suggest, questioning why the author made certain decisions, considering what techniques could have made the text better and deciding how to include the best attributes of what you read in your writing makes effective reading. However, focus and concentration are also important reading aspects that the research left out. The two aspects should be included in texts that help students understand how to read for writing.

References

Bunn, M. (2011). How to read like a writer. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, 2, 71-86.

Erni, E. (2021). The use of reading strategies in academic reading by Indonesian learners. International Journal of Educational Best Practices, 5(1), 39-59. https://doi.org/10.31258/ijebp.v5n1.p39-59.

Shang, Y., Li, H., & Zhang, R. (2021). Effects of pandemic outbreak on economies: Evidence from business history context. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.632043.