The article, “Reading and Writing without Authority” by Ann M. Penrose and Cheryl Geisler talks about a study conducted between two students, each of which at a different academic standing, and other differentiating factors, where they were told to write an educated paper involving different scholarly articles and see the differences in the students work. The main difference was how the authors presented themselves in the paper, Janet writing as an outsider looking in and Roger writing as an active member in the research. The role of their authority in the paper determined the tone of the writing as Janets didn’t put much of her own input in the writing while Roger provided his own takes with the evidence and claims provided. The text states, “Janet’s approach to this task revealed that she saw no role for herself in this conversation. […] Not even when her examples clearly ‘disproved’ another author’s position did she step into the conversation to say so” (Penrose and Geisler p. 514).
I believe the big difference in each of the students writing is because high school brainwashes how students write. Janet being a freshman and Roger being a grad student influences the way they write. Janet has not discovered that she can have a sense of freewill in her writing and express her thoughts and feelings that are relevant to the task, something I think she would figure out while in college. Many high school english classes operate in a way that automatically makes the student feel unworthy of giving their input on the topic at hand while college classes allow you to involve yourself in the conversation. I believe with time Janet would find her authority within her writing and improve her confidence in it as well.
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