by Matt Lipford

Created on: March 03, 2011

From a purely logistical standpoint, the co-relative factors that merge the necessary functions of reading and writing seem almost explicitly obvious: The better one can read, the better one can write. That would seem to be the most obvious avenue of thought.  But what exactly is it that ties these two linguistic processes together?  Of course, “writing a poem or essay relies on more complex processes that writing a friendly letter” (Gunning, 2005), but a well-read individual with good comprehensive reading skills will “acquire a knowledge-transforming ability in which they alter their thought as they write” (ch. 11:481).

When it comes to composing, Gunning explains that “the idea is for the writer to put her or his thoughts on paper” (ch 11:486).  However, for many beginning writers, this is not always easy.  Often, young writers do not have enough material to adequately compose a written piece, mainly because they are “used to oral conversations in which the responses of the listener act as cues for retrieving knowledge” (ch 11:486).  Soon enough, the young writer discovers that he or she must read more in order to get the needed information.

Many studies have also pointed to the seemingly obvious parallel between frequent reading and good writing skills.  Some results of these studies, which were reviewed by S. Stotsky (1983), an author and researcher, found that “students who were assigned additional reading improved as much or more in expository writing as those who studied grammar or were assigned extra writing practice” (Gunning, ch 11:515).  This is an important discovery, since, apparently, one must become more worldly in order to write with more authenticity.

I believe that this is because, as students become exposed to a wider array of written styles, they begin to “read like a writer, which means that as they read, they notice the techniques the author used to create a story” ( ch 11:515).  I can attest to this personally, because my reading/writing skills were always pretty average until my junior year, where I discovered Stephen King (cliche, I know, but at least it got me started!). Suddenly, after consciously (and I suppose sub-consciously) analyzing his writing abilities, I noticed that my written pieces were not only scoring higher, but also beginning to get read out loud in class, published in the school newspaper, and gaining acclaim from students and teachers alike.  What’s more, I really began to enjoy writing, which is a tremendous step for a student to take.

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