In the essay “Reading and Writing Without Authority” by Ann M. Penrose and Cheryl Geisler it explores the concept of authority in academic writing and how students often struggle to develop their own authoritative voice. Oftentimes, many students stay away from being “too” demanding in their writing. The fear of being too honest, raw, and even brutal at times is something that many have a hard time with. As a student myself, I also have a difficult time finding my own authoritative voice. In high school, I was taught to write safely, inside of the box. Navigating how to write completely freely is something that I continuously feel as though I have to keep pushing myself to be better at. Penrose and Geisler analyze the differences between novice and expert writers. They state that with expert writers they are able to highlight properly how to engage with texts, construct arguments, and establish credibility. Evidently, they are able to detect how novice writers do not have these skills. More importantly, novice writers try to execute these qualities properly, but are not as successful as those who have been writing for many more years and have more experience.
They argue that gaining authority in writing involves not only mastering the content, but an understanding of the foundation to academic Discourse alongside the expectations of the academic community. With many things in life, in order to be good at something, or an expert in something you have to understand and practice. For example, someone who has very little skills with playing the guitar wants to be the next Jimi Hendrix would require a lot of practice and an understanding of music as a whole. Lastly, the essay touches upon the importance of teaching students strategies so that they can build their own authority in writing. I know I was not as lucky in the department of having a teacher in high school to teach me to be fearless in my writing, but for the future generations to come, this is such an important skill to have.
Leave a Reply