Summary for Chapter 26

Diana Hacker shares methods and basic ways in which to write about texts. There are different types of texts, they range from essays to visual texts and anything in between. Hacker divides this procedure into five steps. First, you need to read actively. Second, it's important to sketch a brief outline of the text that you're reading. Third step is to summarize the text. Fourth, analyze the text. Lastly, it's vital to understand the different kinds of texts that can be analyzed, depending on the discipline that they're derived from.

Reading actively means that you're making annotations as you read along. Hacker encourages you to underline important concepts and to circle concepts that you find interesting. This permits you to fully absorb the text that you're reading. Rereading can also be extremely beneficial because you might have missed certain things in previous readings. Once you've done this, you can sketch a brief outline of the text. You don't want to write out a lengthy outline. Instead, you should focus on the central points and most importantly, you want to find the author's thesis. A visual text doesn't have a thesis, in that case you have to personally interpret the meaning. When summarizing the text, you want to employ your own words. If you use phrases from the text, make sure you put them in quotation marks and indicate the page in parenthesis.  The first sentence has to have the the title of the text, the author's name, and the author's thesis. Hacker stresses the point of maintaing a neutral tone while summarizing. Finally, it's important to understand that there's various types of texts. Some examples are literature, music, photographs, government documents, and many more. The basic guidelines to summarizing or analyzing these texts can be adapted to fit the text being read.

Hacker points out some really useful methods that can be used. Personally, I think that i'm going to try to read actively. I usually don't bother underlining or highlighting anything when i'm reading. I'm sure it would help me out a lot because it would make it more of an interactive experience. I'm not just reading, i'm physically involved and  key concepts would be clearer and easier to identify. Also the use of an outline would be a good idea. If I can briefly sketch out what the author's main points are, then my understanding of the text would be a little more wholesome. This way I would have a visual aid that didn't provide all of information, just the important information.

Freewriting Exercises

Freewriting is a very loose and unorganized way of writing. Basically you write for a certain period of time and you don't stop while in the process. The point of the exercise is to write continuously even if that means repeating yourself or writing down random thoughts that are running through your head. You're not supposed to go back and correct anything, it's perfectly okay to misspell words. You simply can not stop writing.

This exercise does have a purpose and it's actually very interesting. Freewriting helps you because it eliminates the usual process that we take when writing. We tend to think, edit, and write all at the same time. This can be good, but most often then not, it prevents us from pouring all of our ideas onto paper. We're so busy trying to edit what we're thinking, that sometimes we forget to jot down some really good points and ideas. By freewriting regularly, we're able to produce work without editing at the same time. It permits for a smoother flow of words.

I found the article to be of great interest. It made a lot of sense. I personally find myself editing quite a bit when i'm writing essays or doing any other assignment that involves typing or writing. Not always, but there are times when i'm stuck on a certain sentence for a long time because i'm trying to make it sound just right. While this is going on, a lot of my other ideas or thoughts are getting put on the back burner. Unfortunately, this means that I end up abandoning  solid points that I could have made. Freewriting in theory seems like an excellent way to improve your writing. You may produce a lot of "garbage" in the process, but you'll probably be able to get down great material that you wouldn't have otherwise.

Week One

My name is Sarahi, plenty of people have trouble pronouncing my name, but I don't blame them. I, in fact, am unsure of the correct pronunciation and so I prefer to simply be refereed to as Sarah. I am 18 years of age and i'm originally from Southern California. I grew up in a very small mountain town north of Los Angeles. Here I completed grade school and I graduated from high school this past summer. Now i'm attending SRJC and working towards an associates degree. I'm undeclared, which means that i'm not quite sure what kind of degree i'm be working towards, but I do know that I will receive one! For now i'm just trying to get some general education out of the way.

I've recently grown to really enjoy my English classes. My sophomore, junior, and senior year of high school I was fortunate enough to have an excellent teacher. He explained literature in a way that made sense and it really opened up my eyes to new ideas and concepts. I found myself enjoying writing essays and pondering on the words that were found in books, poems, etc. I hope to have a very similar experience in this class. More than anything, i'm hoping to progress in my writing and to overall do good.

I can't say that i'm any type of specific learner. I don't like to categorize myself, but I have noticed that I do surprisingly well when I take my time. I am very capable of cranking out an essay within a matter of hours, but it wouldn't be my best work. When I take the time to think and organize my thoughts, I can produce decent school work. It also helps a great deal if i'm genuinely interested in what i'm reading or writing.