Stalking Ideas: The Generation and Elaboration of Arguments.
Karen B. Quinn, Ann Matsuhashi · 1985
A case study investigated how writers use information from reading for writing. Specifically, it examined what happens when writers are asked to read about an unfamiliar topic and then use that information to write an argument. A student was requested to complete four tasks that represented stages one might go through to write an argumentative essay: reading a passage, recalling the passage, planning the argument using the reading material, and writing the argument. Results of this case study show that there are certain things to consider in writing based on reading. For example, text has such an influence that it is often difficult for writers to move beyond the ideas and even the original language of a text. In addition, the ways writers generate and elaborate ideas from reading for writing show the influence of the writers' real world knowledge and experience. The knowledge writers have about events acid situations plays an important part in comprehension and production. The ability to comprehend unfamiliar. information from reading and then to use it to write for a different purpose requires calling upon existing knowledge structures to accommodate and assimilate new information. Also, reading and writing interact and influence each other. A strategy that helps promote the creation and elaboration of ideas in writing, analogical reasoning, encourages writers to reason from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Given that most learning at the college l&vel involves reasoning from reading for writing, students must learn how to write and reason with information from their reading. (El) *******************:.*****************************w********************* * Reprquctions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * *************t*********************************************************