Based on the title “Reading and Writing without authority”, I thought to myself how authority pertains to reading. I remembered throughout this article that readers interpret and observe things differently therefore what one reader may interpret as authority another reader may not. For example in this article, it was pointed out that Janet and Roger made observations on different issues they focused on. They both came to different understandings and set goals for the subject matter they worked with. This made me come to the realization that authority doesn’t only occur through writing but reading as well.
Rodger acknowledged and was influenced by the prior author’s knowledge on that subject. Whereas Janet didn’t really acknowledge authors, instead refer to their work as ‘“the book” or “it.” Rodgers saw reading as a process of identifying, sorting, and evaluating claims the authors made. Janets approach was to search for facts and claims or proposals were viewed as facts. She eliminated evidence of authors and her own role in her writing.
The lack of authority was very visible in Janet’s writing. She was unable to voice herself through the text and changed her mind often. For example she would switch from inserting herself in first person to third person instead. The lack of authority seemed to be based on lack of self confidence, because Janet seemed so hesitant in her writings she couldn’t successfully get her point across and provide her genuine perspective on the subject. Rodgers however because he had a deeper knowledge on the subject matter, he had the advantage. He had more experience and greater understanding therefore could speak more confidently through his writing.
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