5//9 Reading response

I thought that this was easily one of the most articles we have had to read so far. Many of the examples that the author gave seemed relevant to frustrations that I also hear from students, and he used current publications which is always nice to see.

One of the best points I felt he referenced was this paragraph:

What we read and what we know sometimes meld together so

unnoticeably that we don’t know which ideas and pieces of information

are “ours” and which aren’t. Discussing “patchwriting,” a term

used to describe writing that blends words and phrases from sources

with words and phrases we came up with ourselves, scholar Rebecca

Moore Howard writes, “When I believe I am not patchwriting, I am

simply doing it so expertly that the seams are no longer visible—or I

am doing it so unwittingly that I cannot cite my sources.”

As a student, I have felt this exact same problem occur when attempting to site sources, especially if the paper is on a topic that I was previously already familiar with. I cannot go back through my memories and pin point what I already know to be ‘true’, now can I ever confirm the ‘source’ of how I have heard certain things phrased. This type of source ambiguity can make students nervous, as they can often feel that they will in some way be plagiarizing unintentionally. I think this type of fear can often leave to ‘over sourcing’ which can make a paper difficult to get through.

I am glad that the author included a ‘fix’ for this, as it is something I have innately had to pick up over time. Sighting the author or article in the sentence prior to what you are quoting or paraphrasing helps to make the paper flow better, but still shows that you are referencing the words of someone else.

I also felt that the closing quote was highly relevant to students:

In some cases when driving, signaling is an almost artistic

decision, relying on the gut reaction of the driver to interpret what is

best in times when the law doesn’t mandate use one way or the other.

Often when re-reading, you get a gut decision that tells you if your paper is heading in the right direction. If something seems off, especially when read out loud, it probably needs to be re-worked. I think it’s important for students to learn to listen to their inner critic, and to practice skills to become better proof readers.