PB2B

Although it is more apparent in some genres than others, creativity is a substantial part of the writing process. Whether one is drafting a novel, research paper, or scholarly article choices are made in a creative matter such that assist the writer with the display of his/her ideas in the most efficient manner. Writers typically have to make choices when attempting to phrase their ideas. The choices made by the writers could either be subconscious or intentional. More often than not, writers make conscious decisions regarding the tactics that they use throughout their writing. In the case of both “Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources” by Karen Rosenberg and “Annoying Ways People Use Sources” by Kyle D. Stedman the tactics engaged by the authors are intentionally selected to help convey the ideas of the authors.

To begin, Karen Rosenberg, the author of “Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources” utilizes many tactics/ moves. For one, Rosenberg begins by offering her encounters with reading as an undergraduate student. To do so effectively, Rosenberg intentionally decides to write in the first person perspective. This is a tactic that is extremely beneficial to deliver such a message because by offering the first person perspective, Rosenberg demonstrates to her readers that they are reading a narrative offered by an actual real person. On the other hand, if Rosenberg were to talk about her experience using the third-person; the reader would naturally be forced to question whether the anecdote being told is true and whether it is relevant to what they are reading about. The first-person technique ultimately enables Rosenberg’s readers to connect with her on the matter of learning and subsequently loving to write. Second, Rosenberg uses similes in order to provide her readers with a deeper understanding of the imagery she attempts to provide. The author mentions that she “adopted an overstuffed red chair in the library that enveloped [her] like the lap of a department store Santa.” By referring to such a vivid image, one that most Americans living in cities are familiar with, the author depicts her comfort in such a specific way that enables the reader to become immersed in the imagery by the mere fact that the reader himself/herself has sat in a department store’s Santa’s lap. Moreover, this simile speaks to the fact that the chair in the library in which she read on provided her as much comfort as joy as a child experiences when sitting in “Santa’s” lap at a department store. Both a child who sits on Santa’s lap and the author is her reading niche enters a surreal, dream-like world that provides comfort and joy. Next, Rosenberg uses hyphens throughout her essay in order to bridge together phrases that ultimately feed off each other were the author having a conversation. For example, the author suggests, “Whichever it was-a problem with the readings or with me-I carefully chose my classes so that I could read novels, poetry, and plays for credit.” In this very sentence, the author’s tactic of bridging her sentence together by using a hyphen is a great move. The hyphen enables the reader to continue reading the sentence in a very conversational manner, a manner that must be recognized in order for one to truly grasp the way in which the author intended for the sentence to be read and understood. Thus, Rosenberg’s use of the hyphen is imperative to getting her readers to read her writing in the way that she intends it to be read. Lastly, Rosenberg employs rhetorical questions as one of her tactics. Her use of rhetorical questions suggests that the author is attempting to entertain, engage, and provoke the reader to think while he/she reads her writing. For instance, after Rosenberg describes herself procrastinating by noticing one of the guys in her class minute movements she wonders “Did I find him sexy?” This rhetorical question creates a space for the readers’ thoughts and opinions. Through this rhetorical question, Rosenberg drives her readers to answer the question and thus become more engaged with its answer and more engaged with her writing in general. Thus, Karen Rosenberg’s moves in “Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources” allow her to engage her readers and be more effective in delivering her ideas.

In addition, Kyle Stedman’s “Annoying Ways People Use Sources” also incorporates certain moves employed by the author that are both beneficial and disadvantageous to his writing. To begin, one of Stedman’s moves includes making lists. This is a great move employed by the author because instead of overwhelming the reader with a long sentence, or a condense paragraph, Stedman organizes his ideas in a format that makes the ideas clear and precise. Therefore, the reader is exposed to order and organization, which subconsciously helps the reader follow the flow of ideas provided by the author. Second, Stedman uses the formatting move of italicizing. This move often enables a writer to emphasize a certain word or phrase. Through this type of formatting emphasis the reader’s attention is focused on the word because it is often of much importance. However, in the case of “Annoying Ways People Use Sources,” Stedman may have overused this move thus rendering it less effective. He decides to italicize the terms “rules, decrees, or laws,” which are all in the same sentence. By italicizing words that are potentially synonyms, the author move of italicizing becomes less effective in terms of drawing emphasis. Finally, the author employs the second person as one of his moves. This could be both a great move and a disadvantage to the writer as he attempts to deliver his ideas in a clear, organized, understandable, and structured manner. In Stedman’s case, the second person allows the writing to gain a sense of timelessness. This enables the author to literally assist the reader with reading and understanding the ideas presented in his writing. By mentioning to the reader, “when you got the quotation in the second paragraph, you didn’t know what you were supposed to think about it; there was no guidance.” However, once the author writes in the second person he gains the power to literally guide his reader thus solving and clarifying any confusion that the reader might have. In conclusion, most writers use certain moves whether they intend to or not. Sometimes the moves and tactics that the writers employ work to their advantage, yet sometimes they could be distracting. Finally, the use of moves and specific techniques of one writer is a product of the writer’s creativity.