Rhetorical Reading Strategies

Summary:

This article is an exploration of the theoretical realm of rhetorical reading. Linda Flower and Christina Haas entered their unique experiment with the supposition that there may be something to the idea that if students could see their readings as a joining into an actual discourse relationship rather than a simple task of knowledge gathering, they may become more proficient readers, writers, and thinkers. The problem with a supposition, however, is that it is completely unsubstantiated. Flower and Haas attempt, after explaining their stance, etc., to construct an experiment that may shed some light onto this problem. The trouble they face, however, is that during "constructive reading" -- in which the reader gathers nodes of information into a "rich network of disparate kinds of information"-- the actual building takes place in the mind in a myriad of ways. The experiment used four "experienced" readers, and six "student" readers. All of the readers were required to assess the text at nine different points to let the testers observe how the construction was going on. The results showed that both the student and experienced readers performed equally well on the content and feature strategies of reading the passage; the experienced readers far outperformed the student readers on seeing the passage as a discourse situation through the classic tenets of rhetoric.



Response:

This article and its experiment were fascinating to me. I had never really thought of reading beyond the simple act of understanding what is being said, although I suppose I do it all of the time. I have to admit, though, that that is probably a recent development in my life as a reader. The authors don't really seem to come to any kind of conclusive state about why the experienced readers may view the passage as part of a larger discourse community. Given my own personal experience, I would suggest that perhaps this is due to their being in the college community for longer. When a passage is assigned at the University level, it is with the purpose of being useful to the student's education and is discussed and dissected, usually in class, but also in various writing assignments. I think that the longer someone is exposed to the type of discussion that brings awareness about the passage as part of a rhetorical relationship, the more their mind will begin to develop that type of thinking.
Unfortunately, this type of theory doesn't seem all that useful to me. I am not sure that this is the type of thing that can be taught by implementing some new assignment into a lesson plan. I believe that this is one of those skills (like good writing) that is achieved through a layering effect. The authors mention that the experienced readers were not dissecting their comments through strata, but that doesn't negate the fact that learning comes that way. The mind can integrate many things once it has been honed to be receptive to certain things.