Analysis of Mike Bunn's 'How to Read Like a Writer' and Other Articles

Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and

In the article “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn explains how reading more can actually improve your skills as a writer. Bunn states that “When you Read LIke a Writer you work to identify some of the choices the author made so that you can better understand how such choices might arise in your own work” (72). What this quote means is that when you carefully read the writing of other authors, you can pick up their writing style in your own writing, To adopt the techniques of a writer, you must have an idea of how the author created the writing as a whole. Bunn states that “When you read like a writer, you are trying to figure out how the text you are reading was constructed so that you learn how to ‘build’ one for yourself” (74). The quote means that you must get in the mentality of the author to get an understanding of what the text is saying. In addition, reading like a write is an opportunity to learn more about increasing your skills in writing by assisting you in understanding the process of what an author goes through during a writing process. To read like a writer, you must read the text in a certain context. Not only is the context of the text important to, but knowing the genre is necessary when reading like a writer. Bunn states “Genre… most often used to indicate the type of writing: a poem, a newspaper article, an essay, a short story, a novel, a legal brief, an instruction manual, etc” (77).

I agree with what Allen states in the article “The Inspired Writer vs. the Real Writer” because of how much my writing skills had evolved over the years. When I first started in high school, I believed I was a horrible writer and I struggled a lot just to write a few paragraphs. However, after determination, and several trials and errors, I was able to improve greatly on my skills. In Irvin’s article, “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” goes over the myths about writing. When I first started to write essays, I believed some of the myths that Irvin talks about in the article. Such myths were the five paragraph essay and the use of “I.” However, the more experience I gained in writing, the more I realized how the five paragraph essay is more of a suggestion. The format might had helped when I first started, but I had grown apart of it now. In addition, I had learned how the use of “I” is situational. In some of my past essays, I have used “I” to help develop my essays. In Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer,” it mentions the importance of Reading Like a Writer. When I first started writing essays in high school, my essays were cookie cutter. The essays were not imaginative and lack literary devices. However, the more I payed attention to how an author writes, the more creative my essays become. I am able to include methods that give creativity in my writing,